抄録
Under the theme of “Buddhism and Illness,” this paper will focus on shinran’s understanding of illness and its relationship with faith. In particu lar, I will focus on two letters that shinran is said to have written when he was 83 years old. In these letters, shinran writes that there is a difference between physical illness and mental illness. The letters state that there is a difference between illness of the body and illness of the mind, and that while illness of the body is not a question of whether or not a person will be Birth in the Pure Land, illness of the mind requires careful scrutiny. What exactly does shinran mean by “sickness of the mind”? It is thought that shinran is looking at the problem of “Mara” based on human’s Self power mind. Therefore, in this paper, I would like to describe how shinran attempted to face the sickness of the mind, focusing on his understanding of Mara.