Ippen
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Ippen (一遍) (1234–1289) was a Japanese Buddhist itinerant preacher (hijiri) who founded the Ji-shū branch of Pure Land Buddhism.[1][2]
The Digital Dictionary of Buddhism states:
- Ippen was born in present-day Ehime prefecture and studied at an early age with a disciple of Hōnen 法然. He left the priesthood once to return to the secular world, but later reversed this decision.
- After a pilgrimage to Zenkōji 善光寺 in Nagano prefecture, he went to a secluded temple in Ehime, where he carried out rigorous religious practice, and eventually had an experience of intimate unity with Amitabha Buddha 阿彌陀佛. He became convinced through this experience that no matter what oneʼs degree of religious preparation, he or she could be reborn in the Pure Land (of Sukhavati) by virtue of even one recitation of Amitabhaʼs name. He subsequently wandered throughout the country, handing out slips of paper to people with basic instructions for his style of Pure Land practice. He is said to have converted thousands. Approaching death at the age of 51, he burned all of his own writings, and thus none of his works survive. [Charles Muller; source(s): JEBD][1]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1
一遍 Ippen, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (to sign in, see DDB sign-in)
- ↑ Robert E. Buswell Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: 2014), s.v. Ippen
External links
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