Religion:Tannishō

From HandWiki

The Tannishō (歎異抄), also known as the Lamentations of Divergences, is a late 13th century short Buddhist text generally thought to have been written by Yuien, a disciple of Shinran. In the Tannishō, Yuien is concerned about the rising doctrinal divergences that emerged in Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism after the death of their founder, so he wrote down dialogues between himself and Shinran that he could recall when his master was alive.

According to Yuien's own writing in the preface:[1]

Many of the conversations found in the Tannishō are candid when compared to more formal religious texts, and this may explain some of the popularity of the Tannishō among Jōdo Shinshū Buddhists. The Tannishō allows Jōdo Shinshū Buddhists to peer into the mind of Shinran and see how he felt about practicing Jōdo Shinshū. The Tannishō was also a major impetus for the start of The Dobokai Movement[2] among the Higashi Hongwanji branch of Jōdo Shinshū.

Format

The Tannishō[3] is divided into 18 sections (sometimes called chapters), though many of these sections are very short. Some are no longer than a couple of sentences. However, each section deals with a separate doctrinal issue.

Sections 1 through 10 focus on Shinran's thoughts with regard to Jōdo Shinshū, the nembutsu and Amida Buddha, while sections 11 through 18 deal with heretical ideas that Yuien wanted to dispel or correct on the basis of what Shinran had taught him. Further, an appendix discusses the history of the exile Shinran and other disciples of the Pure Land movement, including his teacher Honen, from the capitol during the reign of Emperor Gotoba. Finally, a postscript, composed by Rennyo states that:[1]

Notable Quotations

From chapter 3:[1][4]

From chapter 8:

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "TANNISHO: PASSAGES DEPLORING DEVIATIONS OF FAITH" (in English). http://web.mit.edu/stclair/www/Tannisho.html. Retrieved 2023-05-31. 
  2. Popular Buddhism In Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture by Esben Andreasen, pp. 72/ University of Hawaii Press 1998, ISBN:0-8248-2028-2
  3. Shojun Bandō, Harold Stewart, Ann T. Rogers, Minor L. Rogers (trans.): Tannishō: Passages Deploring Deviations of Faith and Rennyo Shōnin Ofumi: The Letters of Rennyo, Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research 1996. ISBN:1-886439-03-6
  4. "歎異抄の世界" (in Japanese). https://web.otani.ac.jp/tannisyo/. Retrieved 2023-05-31. 

External links