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Nichiren Shoshu

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Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions

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The founding of Nichiren Shosu is directly related with the story of Nichiren Daishonin (1222–1282), the son of a fisherman who founded one of the major schools of Japanese Buddhism. Formerly a Tendai priest, Nichiren tried to harmonize Buddhism into one holistic tradition that would serve all people during the period of the decline of the Dharma, known as mappo. He renounced the world to enter the Buddhist priesthood, and upon his studies, his followers affirmed that he revealed his ultimate realization, the enlightment of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Based on this realization, Nishiren Daishonin made his declaration of the establishment of what he believed to be the True Buddhism.

By 1253 he had concluded that one Buddhist sutra – the lotus sutra – was the highest of all Buddhist teachings. This revelation was that the essence of the true Buddha’s teachings were crystallized in the sutra or scriptural narrative known today as the Lotus Sutra or Saddharma-Pundarika(the Sutra of...

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References

  • Hurst J (1992) Nichiren shoshu Buddhism and the soka gakkai in America: the ethos of a new religious movement. Garland Press, New York

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  • Pereira RA (2008) The transplantation of soka gakkai to brazil building “the closest organization to the heart of Ikeda-sensei”. Jpn J Rel Stud 35(1):95–113

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  • Quintero M (2008) Presencia del budismos de Níchiren Daishonin en Venezuela. Humania del Sur 3(5):87–103

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  • Seager RH (1999) Buddhism in America. Columbia University Press, New York

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  • Wilson B, Dobbelaere K (1994) A time to chant: the soka gakkai Buddhists in Britain. Oxford University Press, New York

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Religious Studies Department, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Rua da Consolação, 930, 01302-907, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Suzana Ramos Coutinho

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  1. Suzana Ramos Coutinho
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Correspondence to Suzana Ramos Coutinho .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sociology/Anthropology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Henri P. P. Gooren

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Ramos Coutinho, S. (2015). Nichiren Shoshu. In: Gooren, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_102-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_102-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-08956-0

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