Just As You Are: The Manga Biography of Pure Land Master Honen Shonin

Honen Shonin is one of the outstanding figures of Japanese Buddhism, having initiated the first independent Pure Land school and nurtured a long list of eminent disciples, like Shinran, who developed Pure Land Buddhism as a rich and varied spirituality in Japan. Honen's legacy is also significant for the entire Japanese tradition in that by being the first to break with the dominant schools and institutions of the day, he laid the foundation for the flowering of the unique style of Japanese Buddhism by Shinran, Dogen, and Nichiren. Using the popular, comic book form, or manga as it has become popularized in Japan, this volume offers an entertaining and easy way to enter Honen s world and teachings. From the shock of his father's assassination to his trials as a young monk in search of the way to his revolutionary teaching of the Buddha s way for all to his final illumination in Birth in the Pure Land (ojo), the visual and visceral power of the manga form brings Honen's experiences to life.