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Nichiren

Also known as Dai-Nichiren (Great Nichiren), Risshō Daishi (Great Teacher of Rectification)

was a Japanese Buddhist monk and philosopher of the Kamakura period. His teachings form the basis of Nichiren Buddhism, a unique branch of Japanese Mahayana Buddhism based on the Lotus Sutra.

Person · Open Library

Born: 1222
Died: 1282
Works: 100

Top works

親鸞集; 日蓮集
日蓮大聖人自伝
立正安國論講要
立正安國論
立正安國論通釋

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Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners: 68
Total plays: 394

via Last.fm · Nichiren

Recent publications · Crossref

5 total works indexed

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Quotes

“In judging the relative merit of Buddhist doctrines, I, Nichiren, believe that the best standards are those of reason and documentary proof. And even more valuable than reason and documentary proof is the proof of actual fact.”
“The people of today all turn their backs upon what is right; to a person, they give their allegiance to evil.”
“If we do not admonish the evil priests, how can we hope to do good?”

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Key facts

Religious biography.name: Nichiren
Religious biography.image: Nichiren Daishonin Hakii Portrait.jpg
Religious biography.image_size: 235px
Religious biography.alt: Nichiren Daishonin Hakii Portrait
Religious biography.caption: Portrait from Kuon-ji Temple in Mount Minobu, Yamanashi prefecture, 15th century
Religious biography.birth_place: Kominato village, Awa province, Japan
Religious biography.death_place: Ikegami Daibo Hongyoji Temple, Musashi province, Japan
Religious biography.nationality: Japanese
Religious biography.religion: Buddhism
Religious biography.denomination: Nichiren Buddhism
Religious biography.education: Kiyozumi-dera Temple (Seichō-ji), Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei
Religious biography.teacher: Dōzenbo of Seichō-ji Temple

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Wikidata facts

Image: Ryukoji-C7229.jpg

Show 8 more facts

Commons category: Nichiren
date of birth: 1222-02-16
date of death: 1282-11-21
name in native language: 日蓮
posthumous name: 上行菩薩
pseudonym: 是聖房蓮長
name in kana: にちれん
Commons Creator page: Nichiren

Sources (4)

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~78 min read

Article

39 sections

Contents

Life
Birth
Buddhist education
Declaration of the ''Lotus Sutra''
First remonstration to the Kamakura government
Attempt at execution
Second banishment and exile
The Mandala Gohonzon
Return to Kamakura
Retirement to Mount Minobu
Death
Teachings
The Final Age and the state of Japan
Five Principles
Buddhahood and the mutual inclusion of all realms
Single-minded devotion to the ''Lotus Sutra''
The Three Great Secret Dharmas
Daimoku
Gohonzon
Kaidan
Propagating the ''Lotus Sutra'' far and wide
Polemics and shakubuku
The Four Denunciations
Bodily reading the ''Lotus Sutra''
The non-dual Lotus Land
Equality
Nichiren and his followers
Posthumous influence
Writings
Selected important writings
Personal letters
Writings to women
Disputed writings
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
English translations of Nichiren's writings
External links

was a Japanese Buddhist monk and philosopher of the Kamakura period. His teachings form the basis of Nichiren Buddhism, a unique branch of Japanese Mahayana Buddhism based on the Lotus Sutra.

Nichiren declared that the Lotus Sutra alone contains the highest truth of Buddhism and that it is the only sutra suited for the Age of Dharma Decline. He insisted that the sovereign of Japan and its people should support only this form of Buddhism and eradicate all others, or they would face social collapse and environmental disasters. Nichiren advocated the faithful recitation of the title of the Lotus Sutra, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, as the only effective path to Buddhahood in this very life, a path which he saw as accessible to all people regardless of class, education or ability. Nichiren held that Shakyamuni and all other Buddhist deities were manifestations of the Original Eternal Buddha (本仏 Honbutsu) of the Lotus Sutra, which he equated with the Lotus Sutra itself and its title. He also declared that believers of the Lotus Sutra must propagate it even though this would lead to many difficulties and even persecution, which Nichiren understood as a way of "reading" the Lotus Sutra with one's very body. Nichiren believed that the spread of the Lotus Sutra teachings would lead to the creation of a Pure Land on earth.