It is hard to speak briefly about Genshin's Idea about the Buddha-nature. Koe Yagi and Rengetu Fukuhara argued his doctrine as the same as Shinjinbussho 信心仏性. This term is used to express Shinran's doctrine of the Buddha-nature, and many scholars pointed out the influence from Genshin on this subject. But I am not in a position to agree with Yagi and Fukuhara's opinion.
Genshin thought that Icchantika have insufficient faith but do have the Buddha-nature. If piety is the same as the Buddha-nature, there is a contradiction in his doctrine. He regarded piety as a most important key for training. Genshin thought that through training, beings will see the Buddha-nature and become spiritually enlightened.

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Nichiren quoted extensively from Buddhist sūtras in his Risshō-ankoku-ron 立正安国論 of 1260. These quoted sūtras can be classified into five groups, in terms of the topic of the citation: (i) the Sovereign, (ii) Destruction of the Buddha’s Teaching, (iii) Protection of the True Teaching, (iv) Going to hell, and (v) Killing those who defy the True Teaching. Each quotation is related to the sovereign’s political position, and this treatise was submitted to Hōjō Tokiyori 北条時頼 (1227–1263), the former Shikken (執権,shogunal regent) of the Kamakura Shogunate. Therefore, it can be said that Nichiren requested that the ruler should manage the country based on Buddhism, asserting that disregard for true Buddhist teachings should be prohibited and people should embrace the True Teaching.

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The Ketsu gonjitsu-ron 決権実論 of Saichō 最澄 is one of the most important texts regarding his debate with Tokuitsu 徳一. The Dengyō daishi zenshū 伝教大師全集 and the Nihon Daizōkyō 日本大蔵経 include the text. But it is well known that the printed editions are not complete since they lack the sixth of the text’s twenty sections.

The Minobu bunko 身延文庫 kindly gave me an oppotunity to read its manuscript. I was able to discover there the missing section in this text and to recognize that this manuscript is the only source so far known which preserves all sections of the work. This paper presents a reprint edition and analysis of the heretofore missing section.

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Though the salvation for all sentient beings is vowed, there was a clear statement that rebirth into Sukhāvatī was not permitted for those who have committed grave sins, as found in the Sukhāvatīvyūha, the main Pure land sūtra in Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism. But this limiting tendency for salvation came to be eased gradually through a few prayers, especially the prayers beginning with that of Bhadracarī in the Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra. As a result, the prayer for the rebirth into Sukhāvatī of all sentient beings has become one of the major features of Pure Land Buddhism in East Asia.

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Jingxi Zhanran 荊渓湛然, the ninth patriarch of the Tiantai School, is well-known for advocating the doctrine of “the Buddha-nature of insentient beings.” By raising the question about the Buddhist view of life, this paper examines Zhanran’s criticism of the notion that Buddhahood has a substantial nature which only sentient beings can embrace. On the basis of his critique of illusory thoughts in relation to the substance of Buddha-nature, Zhanran articulates that not only sentient beings but also insentient ones have Buddha-nature.

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