The Origins and Development of Pure Land Buddhism

A Study and Translation of Gyonen's Jodo Homon Genrusho

Mark L. Blum

In this book, Mark Blum offers a critical look at the thought and impact of the late 13th-century Buddhist historian Gyonen (1240-1321) and the emergent Pure Land school of Buddhism founded by Honen (1133-1212). Blum also provides a clear and fully annotated translation of Gyonen's only surviving Pure Land text, the Jodo homon genrusho. This text, the first hitory of Pure Land Buddhism, documents the transmission and philosophical evolution of this school from India to China to Japan. It is an unparalleled record of the remarkable rise of Pure Land Buddhism as a dominant religious force during the Kamakura period (1185-1333).

The Origins and Development of Pure Land Buddhism

A Study and Translation of Gyonen's Jodo Homon Genrusho

Mark L. Blum

Description

In this book, Mark Blum offers a critical look at the thought and impact of the late 13th-century Buddhist historian Gyonen (1240-1321) and the emergent Pure Land school of Buddhism founded by Honen (1133-1212). Blum also provides a clear and fully annotated translation of Gyonen's Jodo homon genrusho, the first history of Pure Land Buddhism.

The Origins and Development of Pure Land Buddhism

A Study and Translation of Gyonen's Jodo Homon Genrusho

Mark L. Blum

Reviews and Awards

"...an important contribution to the ongoing re-investigation of our assumptions about the character of Japanese Buddhism in that era." --eligious Studies Review

"Mark Blum's superb book is the first Western study of Gy-onen and the first translation of Gy-onen's history of Pure Land Buddhism, the J-odo Ho-mon Genrush-o . . . . how grateful we should be to Mark Blum for his exhaustive work in offering a study and translation of Gy-onen that is worthy of his legacy."-- The Journal of Religion