Forging an Historical Identity for Pure Land Buddhism

Abstract This chapter looks at Gyōnen's perspective on Pure Land Buddhism and may be read as a summary of the contents of the Genrushō itself. After an introduction, the chapter has four sections. The first two discuss the history of the Pure Land Teaching, and Hōnen's disciples. Next, the absence from the Genrushō of four men influential in the Pure Land movement of the time (Shinran, Genchi, Ippen, and Seikaku) is addressed, and Shinran is selected as an example for further discussion of the reasons for omission. The last section discusses the perspective taken by Gyōnen to the Japanese Pure Land school in the Genrushō.