Introducing Jōkei: the forgotten Hosso Scholar

Lately, I’ve been avidly reading a book about the life and thought of a certain Buddhist monk named Jōkei (貞慶), though his posthumous name is gedatsu shōnin (解脱上人).

Jokei is one of the most respected monks and scholars of the Japanese Hossō (Yogacara) Buddhist tradition, and seen as something of a reformer and revivalist, but outside the tradition he is little known other than as a critic of Hōnen and the Pure Land Movement of the time.¹ The book above though shows that Jokei was at the very center of some very important movements in Buddhism, and that his own teachings were a fascinating synthesis of classic Hossō thinking, mixed with esoteric practices of the day, all the while striving to reach wider audience. Unfortunately, history favors the winners, and the Hossō school diminished over the centuries and by the Muromachi Period it had greatly diminished, and as such Jokei’s contributions and ideas were forgotten until recently.

Like many Buddhists of the era, Jokei was deeply influenced by Pure Land Buddhist thought, and sought a way to provide an accessible Buddhist path to a wider audience. Unlike Honen, Jokei advocated rebirth in the pure land of Kannon Bodhisattva, known as Mount Potalaka (Jpn: 補陀落山, fudarakusen), which is mentioned in the Flower Garland Sutra. In those days, people thought Mount Potalaka existed in the seas south of India back then. Other times, he advocated rebirth in the Tushita Heaven, or Tosotsuten (兜率天), with Maitreya Bodhisattva (弥勒菩薩, miroku bosatsu).² Jokei felt that, in the case of Kannon Bodhisattva, as a Bodhisattva and a very compassionate one, rebirth at Mount Potalaka was more feasible, and taught various ways to achieve rebirth. Jokei did not discourage rebirth to Amitabha’s Pure Land, but felt that unless one has awakened the aspiration for enlightenment, and puts a lot of focused effort on it, rebirth is not likely to occur. This is among the arguments he used against Honen’s teachings on the Pure Land, and part of his petition to the Emperor to suppress the new Pure Land sect in 1205.

While Honen was deeply focused on one practice/teaching and making the most of that one practice (e.g. the nembutsu), Jokei was by contrast very eclectic and was devoted to the Bodhisattvas above, but also Shakyamuni Buddha, and other figures. He advocated pilgrimages, visits to relics, and other miscellaneous practices, all designed to build up merit and also to tap into the power of these Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Jokei’s thought relied on the traditional Hosso beliefs in Yogacara conscious-only teachings, classifications of the mind, and so on. Meanwhile, he also synthesized the esoteric teachings that were popular in Nara Buddhism, especially mantras and dharanis associated with Kannon Bodhisattva (he praised the nyoirin darani kyō, 如意輪陀羅尼経 at length, among others). He also tried to apply this complex synthesis of thought in a way that was accessible by people of many backgrounds.

Most importantly though, Jokei was a strong advocate, especially in his later years, of monastic discipline and the moral precepts. Like his contemporary Myōe, Jokei was greatly concerned over the declining discipline in the major monastic institutions, and sought to revive order and inspire others to do the same. The history of the monastic precepts in Japan and their decline is complicated and will be covered in another post. However, Jokei himself was the leading figure of his time to restore traditional precept lineages, and sharply criticized the Tendai sect for disregarding the standard Vinaya ordination for the Bodhisattva Precepts only. In one scathing comment, he likened the Tendai priests to “lay people in monks’ clothing”.

Jokei’s efforts to revive precept lineages proved to be surprisingly successful, and he counted among his many disciples Eison, who went to found the famous Shingon Vinaya sect (shingon risshū 真言律宗). While the effort eventually died out for good generations later, Jokei’s discipline and dedication earned him great respect by his contemporaries.

I will be writing more about Jokei in the coming weeks, but reading this book really helped to round out the picture of late Heian-period Buddhism, and the Buddhist establishment then. Jokei is a fascinating figure, and I hope to draw more attention to Buddhists and historians in the West.

Namu Kanzeon Bosatsu
Namu Amida Butsu

P.S. Accidentally hit ‘publish’ on this one too early. Oh well. Apologies for any typos or weird grammar. :-p

¹ Same goes for another contemporary, Myōe. Jokei and Myoe usually get lumped together as the “old guard defenders” of the Buddhist establishment, and indeed they had similar viewpoints, and similar criticisms of the new Buddhist sects, but each was a pretty interesting character in their own right. Myoe’s life and thought are covered in another good book I read years ago that integrates his beliefs with the famous Mantra of Light.

² Maitreya Bodhisattva is something of a “patron saint” to the Yogacara school of Buddhism, just as Kannon (Avalokitesvara) or Manjushri are oft associated with the Chan/Zen sects. Of course, there’s quite a bit of overlap too, so don’t read into this too much!