Zonkaku's View on Deities

Abstract

Zonkaku discusses the relationship between deities of the native Shinto religion and Buddhist bodhisattvas with the theory of honji suijaku. Distinguishing the gonsha and the jissha, he recommends respecting the gonsha and forbids worshiping the jissha. Kenmitsu Bukkyo adopted the theory to criticize non-entrusting to the deities claimed by Honen and Shinran. Zonkaku tried to rebut such criticism by standing on the same theory. This enabled him to avoid empty disputes which would occur by simply denying the deities; he intended to lead them to Amida Buddha by admitting the deities.Shinran's thought on the deities has three aspects: non-entrusting, being protected, and non-disdaining. Zonkaku might summarize Shinran's thought in the frame of the theory of honji suijaku. By adopting this theory, the theoretical consistency with being protected and non-disdaining can be retained. Concerning non-entrusting, however, the consistency cannot be proved well. Therefore although Zonkaku adopted the theory, he emphasized the distinction between gonsha and jissha to emphasize to Shinran's policy of non-entrusting. This is a characteristic of Zonkaku's thought on the deities seen in the Shojinhongaishu and other works.