Hōnen’s Idea of Mindfulness of the Buddha: Chanting the Name and Contemplation

Abstract

The characteristic of Hōnenʼs thought is his belief in the true wish of Amida Buddha and his exclusive practice of Shōmyō nembutsu 称名念仏. In this paper, I limit myself to the Senchaku hongan nenbutushū 選択本願念仏集, which most accurately expresses Hōnenʼs thought, and examine the characteristics of Hōnenʼs nembutsu through the sanmai hottoku 三昧発得 and goshū shōgyō 五種正行 described in the Senchakushū.

I examine the descriptions of sanmai hottoku and goshū shōgyō because they are deeply related to Hōnenʼs basic thought, shōmyō nembutsu. I believe that this discussion will clarify the relationship between Hōnenʼs shōmyō nembutsu and kansō nembutsu観想念仏. First, I classify the nembutsu with only naming, and second, I classify that with contemplation, and examine how the issues of naming and contemplation appear in Hōnenʼs nembutsu. Through this discussion, I hope to clarify the characteristics of Hōnenʼs nembutsu.