The Jijuyū Saṃbhogakāya Buddha in Chinzei Pure Land Buddhism: Sources of and Opportunities for Amitābha Jijuyū Saṃbhogakāya

Abstract

Jakue Ryōgyō 寂慧良暁, Rai’a Nenkū 礼阿然空, and other disciples of Nen’a Ryōchū 然阿良忠 began advocating the teaching that Amitābha achieved the Jijuyū Saṃbhogakāya （the body of personal enjoyment）. If we consider that prior to that the Amitābha buddhakāya was thought to have been achieved via the Tajuyū Saṃbhogakāya （body for the enjoyment of others [beings in the world]）, we can see how radical the Jijuyū Saṃbhogakāya doctrine was.

However, in the historical record, only Ryōchū is described as having passed down the Jijuyū Saṃbhogakāya doctrine, resulting in one of the problems associated with it, namely that details about its sources remain obscure. Thus, the objective of this paper is to establish the sources of the Amitābha Jijuyū Saṃbhogakāya doctrine as well as opportunities for its acceptance.