Kakushi Nenbutsu: Forbidden underground heterodox Pure Land

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FiveSkandhas
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Kakushi Nenbutsu: Forbidden underground heterodox Pure Land

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Did a bit of reading today on the Kakushi Nenbutsu (隠し念仏), a term for several separate groups of underground Japanese Pure Land practitioners who were banned for heterodoxy in the middle ages (seemingly starting somewhere between the 13th and 15th centuries, probably depending on the group). They continued to practice in secret, however, and at great personal risk, with sporadic discoveries and persecutions up through the early 20th century, when the ban was lifted. Apparently there are still a fair number of Kakushi Nenbutsu practitioners who still conduct their rituals in secrecy, despite Japan's current freedom of religion.

It's important to differentiate the Kakushi Nenbutsu from a similarly-named hidden group on the island of Kyushu, the Kakure Nembutsu (隠れ念仏). This second group also practiced in secret (as did the "Hidden Christians" of Japan, a third banned underground group of the same time period that survived in secrecy for hundreds of years under threat of execution). The Kakure Nembutsu were, however (mostly) orthodox Jodo-Shinshu adherents who were driven underground on Kyushu due to a local ban on all forms of Jodo-Shinshu. The sect survived elsewhere in Japan, but they were suppressed on Kyushu by two powerful Southern military clans after a splinter-group of armed, violent Shinshu adherents created a new sect, the Ikko-Shu (一向宗). Following the military suppression of this militant sect, the Hitoyoshi and Satsuma clans issued a blanket ban on all forms of Jodo-Shinshu on the southern island. The Kakure Nembutsu were the underground Jodo-Shinshu believers who secretly defied this suppression. As noted they were mostly orthodox in nature and were in sustained covert contact with the Shinshu head temple Honganji in Kyoto during their time underground. Eventually the local ban was lifted on this group.

The Kakushi Nenbutsu groups, in contrast, differed in a number of important ways. Firstly, the ban on these groups was nationwide and universal, and they were located mostly in the northern zone of Honshu, a cold and barren hardscrabble land at the time. They also survived underground much longer than the southern hidden sects.

Secondly, while the Kakure Nembutsu were orthodox and supported clandestinely by the mainland Shinshu establishment, the Kakushi groups were deeply heterodox and roundly condemned by both civil and religious authorities.

The Kakushi Nenbutsu movements were a sort of blend of folk religion, "left-hand Tantric"'/"Black magical" or otherwise heretical strains of Shingon esotericism ("Japanese Vajrayana" gone bad as it were), and questionable Jodo-Shinshu inputs.

A large if not decisive portion of their Shinshu creed seems to have originated with the teachings of Shinran's son Zenran. Students of Jodo Shinshu history will recognize Zenran as the origin of an early scandal in the sect. In the 1200s, Jodo Shinshu founder Shinran Shonin sent his son Zenran to preach in Eastern Japan, close to the area the Kakushi Nenbutsu ended up squatting in for miserable centuries. But word filtered back to Shinran that his son was teaching a strange perversion of the doctrine, claiming falsely he had received a "secret transmission" from his father the sect leader. Shinran was so incensed that he permanently disowned his son Zenran.

It has always been a tantalizing mystery what exactly Zenran was preaching, but most scholars think it was a form of the so-called “licensed evil” (zōaku muge or 造悪無碍) antinomian fallacy that often dogged Jodo Shinshu in its early days. This was the belief that since one was saved by shinjin or "total entrustment" to Amida Buddha no matter how heavy one's bad karma, the Shinshu practitioner should actually consciously go out of his or her way to "be evil" as a demonstration of deep reliance on Amida-sama's salvational power. Indeed, it was a hard argument to refute for those with a superficial grasp of Shinshu theory. Shinran claimed it was the equivalent of drinking poison repeatedly just because one happened to have an antidote, and stated that since shinjin was a transformative gift from Amida Buddha, nobody who had true shinjin would feel the drive to act in a morally corrupt manner.

If it is true that some of most of the Kakushi Nenbutsu believers were acting with "licensed evil" theory from Zenran and "dark Shingon" ritualized sex magic or curse-casting esoteric praxis, it would have made for a potent and doctrinally toxic brew indeed. Since so much of the Kakushi Nenbutsu doctrine remains unknown and since it doubtless mutated in many directions as the hidden splinter groups rode out the centuries, we may never know.

One thing we do know is that everyone from the Shogun to the Jodo Shinshu high command wanted the Kakushi gone.

The 15th century Jodo Shinshu high priest and sectarian hero Rennyo, never one for subtlety, blasted the Kakushi Nembutsu's dogged survival as an outrage against the fabric of reality itself. He declared they were all bound for the grimmest pits of mugen jigoku or "infinite hell." Would even Rennyo in his darkest of wraths have denied that Amida-sama's infinite saving light could reach such a wretched claque of miscreants?

Continued below.
"One should cultivate contemplation in one’s foibles. The foibles are like fish, and contemplation is like fishing hooks. If there are no fish, then the fishing hooks have no use. The bigger the fish is, the better the result we will get. As long as the fishing hooks keep at it, all foibles will eventually be contained and controlled at will." -Zhiyi

"Just be kind." -Atisha
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Re: Kakushi Nenbutsu: Forbidden underground heterodox Pure Land

Post by FiveSkandhas »

.『法要章』は、親鸞から蓮如の流れを継ぐ正統な教えであると説く書物であり、相伝を得た善知識に会い、「タスケタマエ」と一念に頼む儀式を行って、何年何月何日何時に阿弥陀仏に頼んで救われたとわかるような信心決定(しんじんけつじょう)を得ることを目的としている[6]。しかし、この善知識に頼るということは、絶対的救済者である阿弥陀仏ではなく、善知識というこの世の人に頼ることであり、当然ながらすべてを阿弥陀仏にまかせてその力にすがろうという浄土真宗の教えに反する。これこそ、浄土真宗本願寺教団が隠し念仏を異端として激しく排除する理由である、たとえば蓮如などは、救われるためには善知識に会わなければならないという論説を厳しく否定してきた.
Interestingly, according to the quote above, we do know one aspect of their praxis from a now-freely-available but once hidden Kakushi Nenbutsu text. And apparently it was this aspect which most angered the Jodo Shinshu. It had to do with shinjin, a word I'd prefer to leave untranslated but might be rendered as "utter abandonment of self-powered efforts and entrustment of one's salvation to Amida Buddha."

In Orthodox Shinshu thought, Shinjin is essential for decisive salvation through birth in the pure land. According to Shinran, without shinjin, one was merely mouthing the "Nembutsu of self-power" which would not bring Amida-sama's embrace.

Although shinjin is a kind of surrender and entrustment, one of the most interesting and often baffling things about it is that shinjin itself cannot be achieved through one's own efforts; rather, it is a gift from Amida-sama. What feels like a total entrustment in Amida rooted in thd simultaneous recognition of the futility of one's own efforts is not a self-generated experience, but rather something that wells up in us through the power of Amida's wisdom-compassion. This true shinjin causes one to say the Nembutsu that saves, and yet all this takes place through the agency of Amida-sama.

Thus we see the deep interpenetration of Amida's compassionate action with the most basic volition of our limited selves...and the simultaneous way in which our calling of the Nembutsu allows Amida-sama to keep his Vows. It is the Buddha who powers our salvation, and it is our salvation that generates Amida's Buddahood. All this shows the total dependent arising of all phenomena involved in the process and also confirmscMahayana shunyata...keeping Jodo Shinshu theory firmly within the camp of orthodox Mahayana Buddhism and preventing it from being a kind of "oriental Abrahamic monotheism," as superficial readings often tag Shinran's thought.

Yet despite the doctrinal purity of Jodo Shinshu doctrine, on a more earthy level it tends to cause adherents to harbor the nagging question: "Is my Nembutsu the Nembutsu of Amida's true shinjin, or is it my own pitiful ineffective self-powered mutterings? And how will I truly know if and when I am granted shinjin?" Shinran has an elegant solution, which is to bootstrap this doubt into further dispair in one's own abilities and to use it to generate further, deeper reliance on Amida-sama, which may create the strong surrender-entrustment that would in its strength auger for true shinjin as being more likely. Even so, easier said than done, and it doesn't remove the nagging doubt.

The Kakushi Nenbutsu strategy for dealing with doubts about shinjin was to hold a ritual. The leader of the Kakushi group was a "Zen Chishiki" (善知識) or kalyaana-mitra in Sanskrit: a "guiding spiritual friend." One would bang ones head violently against the floor, begging Amida-sama for the gift of true shinjin, often until one's forehead was a bloody mash. It would be up to the Zen Chishiki to tell the practitioner when to stop, which would supposedly signify that Amida-sama had taken pity and granted true shinjin. The believer could then rest with confidence in the belief that he had truly attained shinjin.

It was this the Jodo Shinshu authorities saw as the decisive seal of heresy -- for of course, the Kakushi was not relying on Amida-sama for shinjin, but rather relying on his own head-banging self-effort and reliance in the Zen-Chishiki, hardly a worthy substitute for reliance in Amida Buddha.
"One should cultivate contemplation in one’s foibles. The foibles are like fish, and contemplation is like fishing hooks. If there are no fish, then the fishing hooks have no use. The bigger the fish is, the better the result we will get. As long as the fishing hooks keep at it, all foibles will eventually be contained and controlled at will." -Zhiyi

"Just be kind." -Atisha
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Re: Kakushi Nenbutsu: Forbidden underground heterodox Pure Land

Post by Giovanni »

Most interesting..thank you.🙏🏻
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Re: Kakushi Nenbutsu: Forbidden underground heterodox Pure Land

Post by Malcolm »

FiveSkandhas wrote: Sat May 01, 2021 6:23 pm It was this the Jodo Shinshu authorities saw as the decisive seal of heresy -- for of course, the Kakushi was not relying on Amida-sama for shinjin, but rather relying on his own head-banging self-effort and reliance in the Zen-Chishiki, hardly a worthy substitute for reliance in Amida Buddha.
It is always in the interest of an inquisition to misrepresent the beliefs of those judged heretics.
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FiveSkandhas
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Re: Kakushi Nenbutsu: Forbidden underground heterodox Pure Land

Post by FiveSkandhas »

A few further notes.

Infant baptism into Kakushi Nenbutsu is through a ritual known as "Otomozuke." This is followed at age 7 by the ritual "Otoriage" (see below).

The ritual of meeting with the Zen Chishiki in search of shinjin is known as "Otoriage."

The principal image of worship (honzon) was most frequently a statue of Shingon founder Kukai, Shingon reformer Kakuban, or Shinshu founder Shinran.

There are a number of secret books called "Gosho." The two most significant (or at least we'll known) are "Hoyosho" (theoretical apologetics for kakushi nenbutsu) and "Osodeshita no Gosho" (a liturgical manual for secret rituals). Possession of the "Gosho" is a sign of the Zen Chishiki's authority, and he passes the books on to the next Zen Chishiki, who he selects himself.

One contemporary religious group that is said to have been founded by a former Kakushi Nenbutsu member and supposedly includes doctrines from his tradition is the decidedly eclectic Nakayama Shingo Shoshu (中山身語正宗) sect:
http://www.nakayamashingoshoshu.com/
"One should cultivate contemplation in one’s foibles. The foibles are like fish, and contemplation is like fishing hooks. If there are no fish, then the fishing hooks have no use. The bigger the fish is, the better the result we will get. As long as the fishing hooks keep at it, all foibles will eventually be contained and controlled at will." -Zhiyi

"Just be kind." -Atisha
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Re: Kakushi Nenbutsu: Forbidden underground heterodox Pure Land

Post by Matt J »

Interesting. Thanks for writing this up! Although I agree with Malcolm, so who knows how much is actually true. The idea of an antinomian Pureland sect is fascinating! (Hope I used the word antinomian properly! :D )
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Re: Kakushi Nenbutsu: Forbidden underground heterodox Pure Land

Post by DewachenVagabond »

Matt J wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 7:57 pm Interesting. Thanks for writing this up! Although I agree with Malcolm, so who knows how much is actually true. The idea of an antinomian Pureland sect is fascinating! (Hope I used the word antinomian properly! :D )
I have to admit, whenever I hear someone mention something like the "left-hand path" I have a hard time listening. It seems to mainly be used in the west by new agers and people obsessed with "tantic sex," and I'm not sure how relevant it is in a Buddhist context.

Kakushi Nembutsu sounds intriguing, but it does make me wonder how much of the perception of them described here is based on the practice itself vs. the stories told about them by the mainstream orthodoxy.
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Re: Kakushi Nenbutsu: Forbidden underground heterodox Pure Land

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SonamTashi wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 10:07 pm
I have to admit, whenever I hear someone mention something like the "left-hand path" I have a hard time listening. It seems to mainly be used in the west by new agers and people obsessed with "tantic sex," and I'm not sure how relevant it is in a Buddhist context.

Kakushi Nembutsu sounds intriguing, but it does make me wonder how much of the perception of them described here is based on the practice itself vs. the stories told about them by the mainstream orthodoxy.
Yeah, at a high level, and with all this cryptic history surrounding it, I could easily see this as a school of Pure Landers that practiced esoteric stuff, like the mainland traditions always have (note that in both Korea and Vietnam, Pure Land practices were intimately tied to the Huayan school and its esoteric practices.. Richard McBride's Aspiring to Enlightenment: Pure Land Buddhism in Silla Korea goes over much of this history on the Korean side, could've been the same for China, I dunno). Since this stuff was literally right across a body of water from Japan, it could've been an influence from that. Or from the Tendai/Pure Land history Japan has on its own.

This additional narrative of heterodoxy and a scandal related to Shinran's son could all just be wrapped up in a propaganda campaign against a normal school of Buddhism that just wasn't politically or culturally favored.
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Re: Kakushi Nenbutsu: Forbidden underground heterodox Pure Land

Post by megaman chiquito »

I understand there's no "Pope of buddhism", so which central authority can say who is heterodox and who isnt? Im sure im missing some important information about this! :shrug: (I know there were buddhist councils at the very first sangha, maybe that defines it?)
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Re: Kakushi Nenbutsu: Forbidden underground heterodox Pure Land

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

Really sounds like a medieval Japanese version of Satanic Panic that created stories like this, tbh. Granted I know nothing of the scholarship etc., it's just that typically stories like this come from wanting to present a particular group as the epitome of evil.
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Re: Kakushi Nenbutsu: Forbidden underground heterodox Pure Land

Post by ronnymarsh »

megaman chiquito wrote: Fri Jul 02, 2021 9:07 pm I understand there's no "Pope of buddhism", so which central authority can say who is heterodox and who isnt? Im sure im missing some important information about this! :shrug: (I know there were buddhist councils at the very first sangha, maybe that defines it?)
In fact, there is a "pope" in Buddhism.

The term "Buddhism" should be used more as a "quality" of some religion than a specific religion.

In other words, just as there are monotheistic, polytheistic and pagan religions, among others, there are also several Buddhist religions.

These are what we call "schools" within the context of Japanese Buddhism.

Each of these schools has its own sovereign leader, and this has exactly the same functions as a pope or patriarch has in Catholicism or the Orthodox Church.

Obviously, this has the role of defending, preserving and transmitting the teaching of the school in a correct, orthodox way, and pointing out what are deviations from this orthodoxy.
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Re: Kakushi Nenbutsu: Forbidden underground heterodox Pure Land

Post by Malcolm »

ronnymarsh wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 8:15 pm
Each of these schools has its own sovereign leader, and this has exactly the same functions as a pope or patriarch has in Catholicism or the Orthodox Church.
This is quite mistaken. There is no pope in Buddhism at all. The Buddha himself forbad it.
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Re: Kakushi Nenbutsu: Forbidden underground heterodox Pure Land

Post by ronnymarsh »

Malcolm wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 8:33 pm This is quite mistaken. There is no pope in Buddhism at all. The Buddha himself forbad it.
Is not a mistake! Each school of Buddhism has its own patriarch who is the final word in terms of doctrine [and rite]. That's just like the pope in Christianity.

Traditional Christianity is divided into "National Churches". There is the Church of Rome, the Church of Greece, the Church of Russia, Syria, Ethiopia, India, among others, which are derived from the original division of the Pentarchy: Rome, Antioch, Jerusalem, Constantinople and Alexandria.

Each of these Churches has a top leadership who is usually called a patriarch. This is responsible for keeping the doctrine as he received it from a teacher-disciple relationship that goes back to the apostles (as they suppose). In the Church of Rome this patriarch is called "the pope", but his authority only rests with those who place themselves under his jurisdiction. It is he who presides over the councils and has the last word in terms of rites and doctrines, but only over the Church he commands, in this case the Church of Rome.

This makes the rites in the various Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches different from the Church of Rome and the non-Chalcedonian Churches. And not only in terms of rites, but also in terms of doctrine.

A classic example of this is the belief in "Original Sin". Only the Church of Rome (and the Protestant churches that derived from it) has such growth, as they carry the works of Augustine to their ultimate consequences, and its patriarch, the pope, has turned this doctrine into a dogma in HIS Church.

However, none of the other Churches and patriarchies in the East, Chalcedony or not, believe in the idea of ​​original sin.

This is exactly the same in Buddhism.

All Buddhist schools have a patriarch, and this is the one who has the final say in terms of doctrine and rite. If you are an adherent of some traditional order you are not allowed, for example, to teach the Dharma, only if your teacher gives you this permission can you talk about it, and this right to authorize you comes from their masters who are from the patriarch of the order.

At the Sotoshu school, for example, which is very popular in the West, the current patriarch of the school is His Holiness Minamisawa Donin Roshi, however, most Soto-zen adherents in the West practice in "unofficial" or "independent" associations of Japanese Sotoshu, and perhaps ignore this element, but those who practice within an organized traditional structure (usually Japanese and descendants) recognize the current patriarch.

This is something of "traditional" Buddhism, but it is not part of "modern" Buddhism, even though the large modernizing Buddhist lay organizations such as Rissho Kossei Kai, Soka Gakkai, Shinrankai, among others, have a structure of presidents or leaders who also fulfill a similar function in terms of structuring doctrine and rite.
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