Background
JokeI was born in 1155 in Japan.
JokeI was born in 1155 in Japan.
Jokei was ordained as a priest in 1165 and studied the teachings of the Hosso sect at Kofuku-ji in Nara, but later determined to live the life of a recluse.
In 1193 Jokei withdrew to mount Kasagi north of Nara. In his closing years he lived in Kaijusen-ji, a temple near mount Kasagi. According to the work known as Tuishikiron doga-kusho, he labored to put the traditional Hosso doctrines of Kofuku-ji into finished form, at the same time he was influenced by Esoteric Buddhism Zen, and nembutsu practices.
Jokei opposed the Jodo, or Pure Land, sect founded by his contemporary Hdnen, which centered about devotion to the Buddha Amida.
Jokei observed strict rules of monastic discipline and devoted his entire life to study and religious practice.