The Views of Deities in the Early Religious Community of Jōdo-shin Buddhism and Kakunyo

Abstract

The Shinran Shōnin Goinnen 親鸞聖人御因縁 is a document created in the early religious community of Jōdo-shin Buddhism. The “Shinbutsu-Innen 真仏因縁, ” which it includes, is a document considered to be the source of the “Kumano-Reikoku 熊野霊告” in Kakunyo’s Shinran Denne 親鸞伝絵. The aim of this paper is to examine the “Shinbutsu-Innen” and “Kumano-Reikoku” from the perspective of the history of theology, and to clarify the passing on and development from Shinran’s views of deities. First, Shinran’s views of deities were confirmed, and the “Shinbutsu-Innen” and “Kumano-Reikoku” were examined from the following three perspectives: judgment of the true, provisional, and false, especially with regard to teachings; acceptance of the local manifestation theory; and views of the pure and the defiled. The “Shinbutsu-Innen” and “Kumano-Reikoku” differ from Shinran’s views with respect to the aspect of acknowledging the local manifestation relationship between Amitābha Buddha and Kumano Gongen 熊野権現. Regarding the perspectives of judgment of the true, provisional, and false and views of the pure and defiled, the succession from Shinran can be seen in the “Shinbutsu-Innen,” but is inconclusive in the “Kumano-Reikoku.”