Shinran

Shinran Shonin (親鸞; May 21, 1173 – January 16, 1263) was a key Japanese Buddhist figure of the Kamakura Period, regarded as the founder of the Jōdo Shinshū school. A disciple of Hōnen, the founder of the Japanese Pure Land movement, Shinran articulated a distinctive Pure Land vision emphasizing faith and absolute reliance on Amida Buddha’s other-power. While Shinran trained as a Tendai monk, he lived much of his life as a married Buddhist teacher, describing himself as 'neither monk nor layman'. His major work, the *Kyōgyōshinshō*, systematically expounds Pure Land doctrine. Shinran taught that liberation arises from the entrusting mind (*shinjin*) awakened through Amida's compassionate power, not from personal merit. His interpretation significantly reshaped Japanese Buddhism and influenced East Asian religious thought.