The portrait of "Kanoko"
Rennyo's mother had an artist paint the portrait of "Kanoko" as a memento when she had to leave Honganji Temple.At that time G.Rennyo was only 6.The portrait is now owned by Chosho-ji in Fukui Prefecture. G.Rennyo was born in 1415, as the oldest son of G.Zonnyo who was the 7th caretaker of Honganji.When his mother was forced to leave the temple, it was this portrait of Kanoko that she took with her as a memento. G.Rennyo lived in obscurity during his childhood and youth. Even after his marriage,his family was so badly off that he went so far as to share a bowl of rice gruel with his family and to wash his baby's diapers. However,he studied Buddhist doctrine diligently through his father,while he helped his father enlighten people in Ohmi and Hokuriku districts and visited the historic sites of G.Shinran in the eastern part of Japan. As soon as G.Rennyo inherited his father's duties, in 1457,he worked hard to enlighten ten people in Ohmi.But as the followers belonging to the Enryakuji Buddhist temple in Mt.Hiei destroyed Honganji Temple,he moved to the south branch temple in Ohtsu.He constructed a small temple at Yoshizaki, Fukui in 1471,and issued the "Ofumi", "Shoshinge",and "Wasan" ,working and enlightening creatively. But as the number of followers increased,disputes with the government became intensified. As he wished peace, he departed from Yoshizaki in 1475. After that he spread his doctrine to Osaka and Wakayama ,building Goei-do and Amida-do temples in Yamashina in 1481 which led him to successfully restore the Honganji Temple.After his retirement in 1489,he constructed a temple in Ishiyama and built a dormitory in Osaka by himself in 1496.Going back and forth between Osaka and Yamashina,he continued his missionary work in his later years. He ended his life in 1449 at the age of 85.It was G.Rennyo's effort that made the Honganji what it is today.
He was responsible for reorganizing the Honganji Temple in a very dynamic and efficient structure that enabled the spreading of the original Shin Buddhism teaching left by Shinran throughout Japan. It was almost 3 centuries after Shinran's death. So many people had forgotten about the simple original teaching of Shin Buddhism. Many criticized Shin Buddhist temples were only concerned about gathering money and political power. Rennyo using his eloquent experience of Entrusting in the Other-Power as his only tool, he brought almost all those groups back to the original teaching of Nenbutsu and unified them under the Honganji Temple. Rennyo's teachings were very simple and he always stressed the relation between what he was teaching and what Shinran and other Shin Buddhist masters had taught. Rennyo always taught about the very moment of reaching the Entrusting in the Other-Power as the point where a person would establish the mind of faith (In Japanese, ShinJin Ketsujou). Faith here is not used in the sense of blind faith, but in the Buddhist sense of an awakening that brings us to understand about our real Self. For Rennyo, the Establishment of the Mind of Faith itself would be, according to his own words, "The Solution of The Problem of After Death". This may sound metaphysical, however, what Rennyo wanted to stress is that we should not wait until our death for a solution to our spiritual problems. Rennyo used this common concern that human beings have about after death as a method to enable them to understand Buddhism during their present lives. For Rennyo, our spiritual problems could only be understood and solved here in this world, in our present life. Rennyo taught the teaching of Entrusting in the Other-Power through letters that would circulate among Shin Buddhists in many parts of Japan. This way, all followers were able to receive Rennyo's message directly no matter where they lived. Even in our days, these letters are considered as one of the most important works on Shin Buddhism, and many Shin Buddhists all over the world read part of them every day.
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