Background
Gyonen was born in the province of Iyo in Shikoku in 1240.
Gyonen was born in the province of Iyo in Shikoku in 1240.
He entered the priesthood at Tddai-ji in Nara at the age of seventeen and studied under Ensho.
He also received instruction in Kegon Buddhism from Shusho, in Pure Land teachings from Chosai, and in Shingon from Shinku. On the basis of his wide familiarity with the teachings of many different sects, he wrote over one hundred works on various aspects of Buddhism.
Particularly famous are his first work, entitled Hasshu koyo (1268), an introduction to Buddhist doctrine that won him wide acclaim and remains today one of the best books on the subject; a systematic exposition of Kegon doctrine entitled Kegon hokkaigikyo (1295); the Sangoku bnkkyo dentsu engi (1311), the first work to attempt to deal systematically with the history of Indian, Chinese, and Japanese Buddhism; and the Jodo homon genryu-sho (1311), which deals with Pure Land teachings.