Making a thorough Jodo Shin Shu reading list

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The Mantra Mongoose
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Making a thorough Jodo Shin Shu reading list

Post by The Mantra Mongoose »

Hello everyone,

I wanted to ask the more seasoned members in the Jodo Shin Shu forum what works they would suggest to help deepen a persons knowledge of the pure land tradition as a whole? In Particular, are there works that influenced Master Honen, Shinran, and Rennyo that would be a great benefit for people to read after they have a basic knowledge of the main Corpus of Jodo Shin Shu (the three pure land sutras, Shinran's works, Rennyo's works, etc)?
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Zhen Li
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Re: Making a thorough Jodo Shin Shu reading list

Post by Zhen Li »

The Mantra Mongoose wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:27 am I wanted to ask the more seasoned members in the Jodo Shin Shu forum what works they would suggest to help deepen a persons knowledge of the pure land tradition as a whole?
There's a Japanese site which compiled all of the key resources in Chinese with annotation, Japanese translation, and English translation: http://www.yamadera.info/seiten/seiten_index.htm

Your browser's in-built translator may help slightly. English translations are available under "英訳."

Those on the list are:
1. The Three Pure Land Sūtras

2. Nāgārjuna's Commentary on the Ten Stages Sūtra and Ten Praises

3. Vasubandhu's Commentary on the Longer Sūtra

3. Tanluan's Commentary on Vasubandhu's Commentary and Gathā in Praise of Amida

4. Daochuo's Pure Land Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra (Translated by Inagaki, but I cannot find it online)

5. Shandao's Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra (https://anlacpublications.files.wordpre ... ndao-n.pdf) and Liturgy for Birth (https://web.mit.edu/stclair/www/horai/raisan.htm). The rest of Shandao's works also belong on the list, Inagaki's translation of his "Exposition of the Method of Contemplation on Amida Buddha" is available online.

6. Genshin's Essentials for Birth in the Pure Land (only an old, partial translation is available at the moment).

7. Hōnen's Passages on the Selection of the Nembutsu in the Primal Vow (https://bdkamerica.org/download/1867)

8. Shinran's Works

9. Yuien's Tannishō

10. Seikaku's Essentials of Faith Alone

11. Ryūkan's On Once Calling and Many Calling

12. Rennyō's Letters and Quotations
The Mantra Mongoose wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:27 am In Particular, are there works that influenced Master Honen, Shinran, and Rennyo that would be a great benefit for people to read after they have a basic knowledge of the main Corpus of Jodo Shin Shu (the three pure land sutras, Shinran's works, Rennyo's works, etc)?
In addition to the above, Shinran was greatly influenced by the Nirvāṇa Sūtra and Saichō.
The Mantra Mongoose
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Re: Making a thorough Jodo Shin Shu reading list

Post by The Mantra Mongoose »

Hello Zhen Li,

As always your the best. thanks for the wonderful resource list and link.
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Zhen Li
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Re: Making a thorough Jodo Shin Shu reading list

Post by Zhen Li »

My pleasure.
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Zhen Li
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Re: Making a thorough Jodo Shin Shu reading list

Post by Zhen Li »

By the way, I came across this bibliography great site by Jérôme Ducor. It has a thorough bibliography in various categories that I think will be helpful for those looking for Pure Land texts:
http://www.pitaka.ch/indexg.htm
ItsRaining
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Re: Making a thorough Jodo Shin Shu reading list

Post by ItsRaining »

Zhen Li wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:54 am
The Mantra Mongoose wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:27 am I wanted to ask the more seasoned members in the Jodo Shin Shu forum what works they would suggest to help deepen a persons knowledge of the pure land tradition as a whole?
There's a Japanese site which compiled all of the key resources in Chinese with annotation, Japanese translation, and English translation: http://www.yamadera.info/seiten/seiten_index.htm

Your browser's in-built translator may help slightly. English translations are available under "英訳."

Those on the list are:
1. The Three Pure Land Sūtras

2. Nāgārjuna's Commentary on the Ten Stages Sūtra and Ten Praises

3. Vasubandhu's Commentary on the Longer Sūtra

3. Tanluan's Commentary on Vasubandhu's Commentary and Gathā in Praise of Amida

4. Daochuo's Pure Land Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra (Translated by Inagaki, but I cannot find it online)

5. Shandao's Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra (https://anlacpublications.files.wordpre ... ndao-n.pdf) and Liturgy for Birth (https://web.mit.edu/stclair/www/horai/raisan.htm). The rest of Shandao's works also belong on the list, Inagaki's translation of his "Exposition of the Method of Contemplation on Amida Buddha" is available online.

6. Genshin's Essentials for Birth in the Pure Land (only an old, partial translation is available at the moment).

7. Hōnen's Passages on the Selection of the Nembutsu in the Primal Vow (https://bdkamerica.org/download/1867)

8. Shinran's Works

9. Yuien's Tannishō

10. Seikaku's Essentials of Faith Alone

11. Ryūkan's On Once Calling and Many Calling

12. Rennyō's Letters and Quotations
The Mantra Mongoose wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:27 am In Particular, are there works that influenced Master Honen, Shinran, and Rennyo that would be a great benefit for people to read after they have a basic knowledge of the main Corpus of Jodo Shin Shu (the three pure land sutras, Shinran's works, Rennyo's works, etc)?
In addition to the above, Shinran was greatly influenced by the Nirvāṇa Sūtra and Saichō.
Are there other collections of Buddhist Classical Chinese texts written in Japan anywhere online?
源食う
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Re: Making a thorough Jodo Shin Shu reading list

Post by 源食う »

ItsRaining wrote: Tue Mar 15, 2022 9:48 am Are there other collections of Buddhist Classical Chinese texts written in Japan anywhere online?
Sorry for digging up an old post, but two more resources are the Jodo-shu Canon Database: http://jodoshuzensho.jp/jozensearch_post/search/ and this Jodo Shinshu WikiArc: http://labo.wikidharma.org/index.php/%E ... C%E3%82%B8

Both sites have a mix of Classical Chinese, Classical Japanese, and Modern Japanese.

Also, wrt a reading list, Honen listed recommended texts for the pure land gate in his "要義問答":
  • Three Pure Land sutras (淨土三部經)

    Shandao's Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra (観経疏)

    Hymns in Praise of Birth in the Pure Land in 6 Periods (六時禮讃)

    Methods of Contemplation (觀念法門)

    Daochuo's Collection of Passages on the Blissful Land (道綽の安樂集)

    Kueichi's Essentials for Birth in the West (慈恩の西方要决)

    Huaikan's Treatise Clarifying Doubts (懷感の群疑論)

    Zhiyi's Discourse on Ten Issues Regarding Birth in the Pure Land (天台の十疑論)

    Eshin Sozu's (Genshin) Collection of Essentials on Attaining Birth (惠心の往生要集)

Source is here: http://jodoshuzensho.jp/jozensearch_pos ... o=J09_0541, and a full English translation is available in "The Promise of Amida Buddha."
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