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Kûya, or Kûya Shônin, was a [[Tendai]] monk and prominent early proponent of the recitation of the ''[[nenbutsu]]'' (i.e. chanting the name of [[Amida Buddha]] as a means to gain salvation).
Kûya, or Kûya Shônin, was a [[Tendai]] monk and prominent early proponent of the recitation of the ''[[nenbutsu]]'' (i.e. chanting the name of [[Amida Buddha]] as a means to gain salvation).
He is known for walking through the streets chanting the ''nenbutsu'' and singing songs about Amida.
He is known for walking through the streets chanting the ''nenbutsu'' and singing songs about Amida. He preached not only in the streets of [[Kyoto]] and the surrounding [[provinces]], but is said to have even made his way as far north as [[Tohoku|Tôhoku]] or [[Ezo]], where he preached to members of the [[Ainu]] community.<ref>[[Albert M. Craig]], ''The Heritage of Japanese Civilization'', Second Edition, Prentice Hall (2011), 53.</ref>
A famous sculpture of Kûya, by Kôshô (c. 1230), depicts the monk carrying a staff topped by deer antlers, and with a series of tiny Buddhas emerging from his mouth, a representation of the ''nenbutsu'' being chanted and of its spiritual effect.
A famous sculpture of Kûya, by Kôshô (c. 1230), depicts the monk carrying a staff topped by deer antlers, and with a series of tiny Buddhas emerging from his mouth, a representation of the ''nenbutsu'' being chanted and of its spiritual effect.
==References==
==References==
*“Amida, The Pure Land, and the Response of the Old Buddhism to the New.” in Wm. Theodore De Bary, Donald Keene, George Tanabe, and Paul Varley eds., ''Sources of Japanese Tradition'', Second Edition, Columbia University Press (New York, 2001), 212-213.
*“Amida, The Pure Land, and the Response of the Old Buddhism to the New.” in Wm. Theodore De Bary, Donald Keene, George Tanabe, and Paul Varley eds., ''Sources of Japanese Tradition'', Second Edition, Columbia University Press (New York, 2001), 212-213.
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[[Category:Heian Period]]
[[Category:Heian Period]]
[[Category:Religious Figures]]
[[Category:Religious Figures]]