Sentaku Hongan Nembutsu Shu Honen No Oshie (Kadokawa Sofuia Bunko)

[Machine Translation] In the early days of the Kamakura period, when people believed in the Latter Day Sabbath and despair was rampant, Honen preached that anyone could be easily saved by the Buddha if they would simply recite the nembutsu (the recitation of the name of Buddha). At the request of Kajo Kanemitsu, Honen himself summarized the validity of this revolutionary idea in this book. Although Honen's teachings were condemned by the old school of Buddhists because they fundamentally overturned traditional Buddhist values, they also changed the subsequent history of Buddhism. This is a basic reference work on Jodo-shu and Jodo-Shinshu, which provides an easy-to-read translation of Honen's major works that shocked the Buddhist world and gained him a large number of followers, and explores the appeal of his strong spirit of seeking the Way.

末法思想が信じられ絶望が人びとを襲った鎌倉初期、法然はただ念仏だけを称えれば、誰でもたやすく仏が救済してくれると説いた。この革命的な思想の正当性を、九条兼実の求めに応じて法然自身がまとめたのが本書である。法然の教えは、従来の仏教的価値観を根本的に覆したため旧派仏教徒から非難を受けるが、その後の仏教史を大きく変えた。仏教界に衝撃を与え、かつ多数の信者を得た法然の主著を、平易な訳文で読み、その強靭な求道の精神の魅力に迫る、浄土宗・浄土真宗の基本文献。