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{{Short description|Japanese Buddhist monk. son of Shinran}}
'''Zenran''' (also '''Jishinbō''', died 1292) was a Jōdo Shinshū monk of the Kamakura period. He was the son of Shinran and was the originator of a heresy for which he was excommunicated and disowned by his father.<ref name="Dobbins 1998 p915">{{cite web | last=Dobbins | first=James C. | title=Shinran | website=Encyclopedia Britannica | date=1998-07-20 | url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shinran-Japanese-Buddhist-philosopher | access-date=2024-01-07}} "In the last decade of his life, Shinran endured a particularly agonizing estrangement from his son Zenran (died 1292). Zenran had become embroiled in a dispute with Shinran’s followers in the Kantō region over provocative beliefs and behaviour, such as the assertion by some of license to commit wrongdoings. To counter them, Zenran made extravagant claims that Shinran had secretly imparted authority to him. Only by disowning him was Shinran able to quell the confusion among his followers and to reassure them of his true teachings."</ref><ref name="Solomon 1974 pp. 403–413">{{cite journal | last=Solomon | first=Michael | title=Kinship and the Transmission of Religious Charisma: The Case of Honganji | journal=The Journal of Asian Studies | volume=33 | issue=3 | date=1974 | issn=0021-9118 | doi=10.2307/2052939 | pages=403–413}}</ref>
== Teachings ==
Zenran was dispatched to the Kantō region to quell the appearance of radical ''nembutsu'' practitioners advocating for "licensed evil" (indulgence in evil deeds given the certainty of salvation.) There, he claimed to have received secret teachings from his father.{{sfn | Dobbins | 2002 | p=40}}{{sfn | Williams | 2005 | pp=87-91}} In 1256, Shinran disowned his son and "called the gods to witness his avowal that there was no secret teaching given to Zenran".{{sfn | Williams | 2005 | p=90}} The ''Boki-e-ji'' portrays Zenran as having syncretized popular folk religion and Pure Land doctrine.{{sfn | Williams | 2005 | pp=92-93}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
=== Works cited ===
* {{cite book | last=Williams | first=Paul | title=Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies | publisher=Psychology Press | publication-place=London | date=2005 | isbn=0-415-33234-6}}
* {{cite book | last=Dobbins | first=James C. | title=Jodo Shinshu: Shin Buddhism in Medieval Japan | publisher=University of Hawaii Press | publication-place=Honolulu | date=2002-04-30 | isbn=978-0-8248-2620-8}}


[[Category:Magic (supernatural)]]
[[Category:Shamanism]]



{{Sourceattribution|Zenran}}