Background
Genshin was born in 942 in Yamato (Nara Prefecture). Genshin was also called Eshin-Sozu. His secular name was Urabe.
Genshin was born in 942 in Yamato (Nara Prefecture). Genshin was also called Eshin-Sozu. His secular name was Urabe.
The painting of 25 Bodhi-sattva, which is preserved at Mt. Koya Temple, is attributed to him. He was even something of a musician, the wasan (Buddhist psalms) of the Tendai Sect being attributed to him.
In his approach to rebirth in the Pure Land, Genshin emphasized visual meditation practices, where later Pure Land sects favored verbal recitations such as the nembutsu. Genshin's doctrine is documented in his magnum opus, the Ōjōyōshū (往生要集 "Essentials of Birth in the Pure Land"), which in later copies of the text came complete with graphic depictions of the joy of the blessed and the suffering of those doomed to chaos.