Shinran

PersonType	Category:Classical Japanese Authors Category:Ordained (Monks and Nuns)
MainNamePhon	Shinran
YearBirth	1173
YearDeath	1262
ReligiousAffiliation	Jōdo Shinshū, or "True Pure Land School"
StudentOf	Hōnen
IsInGyatsa	No
Other wikis	drl:Shinran buddhanature:Shinran bca:Shinran rtz:Shinran dnz:Shinran dudjom:Shinran khyentselineage:Shinran lcp:Shinran

Full Name

Shinran Shonin

Affiliation

Founder of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism

Biographical Data

Born May 13, 1173 in Kyoto, Japan
Died January 16, 1263 (aged 89)

Birth name: Matsuwakamaro

Shinran was born on May 21, 1173 to Lord and Lady Arinori, a branch of the Fujiwara clan, and was given the name Matsuwakamaro. Early in Shinran's life his parents both died, so in 1181, Shinran's uncle entered him into Shoren-in temple near present-day Maruyama Park in Kyoto at age 9. Soon after, he studied at Mt. Hiei for the next 20 years of his life. Many people in the court pursued careers as Buddhist scholar monks during the Heian Period as a means of climbing social rank.

Timeline

• 1173 Shinran is born
• 1175 Hōnen founds the Jōdo Shū sect
• 1181 Shinran becomes a monk
• 1201 Shinran becomes a disciple of Hōnen and leaves Mt. Hiei
• 1205 (?) Shinran marries his wife Eshinni
• 1207 The nembutsu ban and Shinran's exile
• 1211 Shinran is pardoned
• 1212 Hōnen passes away in Kyoto & Shinran goes to Kantō
• 1224 (?) Shinran authors Kyogyoshinsho
• 1234 (?) Shinran goes back to Kyoto
• 1256 Shinran disowns his son Zenran
• 1263 Shinran dies in Kyoto

Source