The Development of Hōnen’s “Senchaku Rukyō”

Abstract

Hōnen’s (1133–1212) final chapter of his main work, the Senchakushū, derives eight kinds of selections for Amitabha, Śākyamuni, and all kinds of Buddhas—“The eight kinds of selections” (Senchaku hongan, senchaku santan, senchaku rukyō, senchaku sesshu, senchaku kesan, senchaku huzoku, senchaku shōjō, senchaku gamyō) are based on “The Three Pure Land Sūtras” and the Banzhou sanmei jing (first volume). This is one of the key concepts of Senchakushū, and its stages of development have been clarified.

This paper examines the process of developing “senchaku rukyō,” based on the dissemination directions of the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha sūtra (Wuliangshou jing). This analysis reveals that “senchaku rukyō” is developed in three stages.

During the first stage, the dissemination directions are quoted, whilst Yixiang zhuannian wuliangshou fo (一向専念無量寿仏) from the Wuliangshou jing (the San paidan chapter) is emphasized. There is no reference to the permanence of nembutsu at that point. During the second stage, the influence of the third chapter of the Ōjōyōshū is seen, and it is explained that nembutsu will remain, even during the end days. At this point, reference to the permanence of nembutsu is made. During the third stage, a similar discussion takes place as in the Dissemination Part directions of Wuliangshou jing and Guan Wuliangshou jing, using the words of Shantao’s (613–681) Guanjing shu as an intermediary. Subsequently, in Chapter 6 of the Senchakushū, this is developed into “senchaku rukyō.”