 popular buddhism in japan: shin buddhist religion & culture by esben andreasen, pp. 13,14,15,17 university of hawaii press 1998, isbn 0-8248-2028-2the life and works of shinran shonin was a japanese buddhist monk, who was born in hino (now a part of fushimi, kyoto) at the turbulent close of the heian period and lived during the kamakura period. shinran was a pupil of hÅnen, and the founder of what ultimately became the jÅdo shinshÅ« sect, in japan. == biography == shinran was born on may 21, 1173 to lord and lady arinori, a branch of the fujiwara clan, and was given the name matsuwakamaro. early in shinran's life his parents both died. in 1181 and desperate to know what happens after dying, he entered the shoren-in temple near present-day maruyama park in kyoto at age 9. he wrote this poem on entering: "like the cherry blossom, the heart planning on tomorrow is ephemeral indeed --what sudden storm may not arise in the middle of the night". acutely aware of his own impermanence, he was desperate to find a solution. he then practiced at mt. hiei for the next 20 years of his life. letters between his wife and daughter indicate that he was a tendai . because of his devotion to the practices of the lotus sutra on mt. hiei, he became known as "the prodigy of mt. hiei." according to his own account to his wife eshinni (whose letters are preserved at the hongan-ji), in frustration at his own failures as a monk and at obtaining enlightenment, he took a retreat at the temple of rokkaku-dÅ. there, while engaged in intense practice, he experienced a vision in which avalokitesvara appeared to him as prince shÅtoku, directing shinran to another disillusioned tendai monk named hÅnen.shinran's biography nishi honganji homepage in 1201, shinran met hÅnen and became his disciple. 
1173_births 1263_deaths Japanese_Buddhist_monks Pure_Land_Buddhism Recipients_of_Japanese_royal_pardons