Shinran Quotes
Shinran was a Japanese Buddhist monk and the founder of the Jodo Shinshu, or True Pure Land, school. A student of the earlier Pure Land master Honen, he was exiled with him during a period of imperial persecution and used the time of exile to deepen and radicalize his teaching. The quotes below are attributed to Shinran, organized by topic.
Browse Shinran by topic
Shinran on God
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Attributed to Shinran:
“Faith alone is the cause of birth in the Pure Land.”
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Attributed to Shinran:
“If even a good person can be born into the Pure Land, how much more so an evil person.”
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Attributed to Shinran:
“When I consider deeply the Vow of Amida, I find it was for myself alone.”
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Attributed to Shinran:
“The light of Amida illuminates the heart that becomes aware of itself.”
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“True faith necessarily entails Amida's name, but Amida's name does not necessarily entail faith, [which is derived] from the power of [Amida's] vow.”
Dobbins, James C. (1989). "Chapter 2: Shinran and His Teachings". Jodo Shinshu: Shin Buddhism in Medieval Japan. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253331862 .
Shinran on Knowledge
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“Red Lotus Sangha. The Tannisho Chapters I to X”
The compassion in the Path of Pure Land is to quickly attain Buddhahood, saying the nembutsu, and with the true heart of compassion and love save all beings completely as we desire.
Shinran on Love
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Attributed to Shinran:
“I am a being of total karmic evil, yet I am saved by the boundless compassion of Amida.”
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“The compassion in the Path of Pure Land is to quickly attain Buddhahood, saying the nembutsu, and with the true heart of compassion and love save all beings completely as we desire.”
Red Lotus Sangha. The Tannisho Chapters I to X