Shoshinge
Encyclopedia
The Shōshinge or The Hymn of True Faith was written by the founder of Jodo Shinshu
Buddhism, Shinran
. It consists of an outline of the Pure Land
teaching according to Shinran's personal interpretation. The structure is as follows:
The Shoshinge is followed by six verses from Shinran's Sanjo Wasan. The first six verses of the Jōdo Wasan (浄土和讃) section of the Sanjo Wasan (based on Donran's San Amida Butsu Ge), are most frequently used but traditional temples work their way through the whole Sanjo Wasan on an annual basis. In the past Honganji temples chanted the Shoshinge and Wasan daily at 6am, but some Jodo Shinshu temples now reserve the Shoshinge for special holidays due to its length. The Shoshinge can take up to 30 minutes to chant in its entirety.
In Higashi Honganji there are 10 styles of chanting the Shoshinge and in Nishi Honganji 5. Only two or three styles are used regularly. The everyday style is fast, light and monotone whereas the formal styles are often slower, higher toned and more rhythmical.
Jodo Shinshu
, also known as Shin Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Today, Shin Buddhism is considered the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan.-Shinran :...
Buddhism, Shinran
Shinran
was a Japanese Buddhist monk, who was born in Hino at the turbulent close of the Heian Period and lived during the Kamakura Period...
. It consists of an outline of the Pure Land
Pure land
A pure land, in Mahayana Buddhism, is the celestial realm or pure abode of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. The various traditions that focus on Pure Lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bön.The notion of 'pure...
teaching according to Shinran's personal interpretation. The structure is as follows:
- Homage to Amida
- Adoration to Amida and Shakyamuni Buddhas
- Exhortation to take refuge in Amida
- Teachings of the Patriarchs:
- NagarjunaNagarjunaNāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...
- VasubandhuVasubandhuVasubandhu was an Indian Buddhist monk, and along with his half-brother Asanga, one of the main founders of the Indian Yogācāra school. However, some scholars consider Vasubandhu to be two distinct people. Vasubandhu is one of the most influential figures in the entire history of Buddhism...
- TanluanTan-luanTánluán was a Chinese Buddhist monk. He is credited by Hōnen as the founder of Pure Land Buddhism in China. He is also considered the Third Patriarch in Japanese Jodo Shinshu Buddhism....
- DaochaoTao-choTao-cho , who lived 562–645, was a Chinese Buddhist scholar of the Nirvana Sutra, but later became an eminent scholar of the Pure Land school. In Jodo Shinshu, he is considered the fourth Patriarch. According to legend, Tao-cho once visited the temple of Tan-luan, and read an inscription on the...
- ShandaoShan-taoShan-tao was an influential writer for the Pure Land school of Buddhism, prominent in China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan. His writings had a strong influence on later Pure Land masters including Hōnen and Shinran in Japan....
- GenshinGenshinGenshin , also known as Eshin Sozu, was the most influential of a number of Tendai scholars active during the tenth and eleventh centuries in Japan...
- Hōnen
- Exhortation
The Shoshinge is followed by six verses from Shinran's Sanjo Wasan. The first six verses of the Jōdo Wasan (浄土和讃) section of the Sanjo Wasan (based on Donran's San Amida Butsu Ge), are most frequently used but traditional temples work their way through the whole Sanjo Wasan on an annual basis. In the past Honganji temples chanted the Shoshinge and Wasan daily at 6am, but some Jodo Shinshu temples now reserve the Shoshinge for special holidays due to its length. The Shoshinge can take up to 30 minutes to chant in its entirety.
In Higashi Honganji there are 10 styles of chanting the Shoshinge and in Nishi Honganji 5. Only two or three styles are used regularly. The everyday style is fast, light and monotone whereas the formal styles are often slower, higher toned and more rhythmical.