Senchakushū
Buddhist work by Hōnen, founder of the Jōdo-shū
The Senchaku Hongan Nembutsushū (選択本願念仏集), abbreviated to Senchakushū, is the magnum opus of Hōnen, founder of the Jōdo-shū school of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism. The title means "Collection of Selections on Nenbutsu and the Original Vow" and draws upon past Pure Land Buddhist sources, sutras and especially from the writings of Chinese Pure Land Buddhists Shandao and Tan-luan to bolster Hōnen's doctrine of relying upon the sole recitation of Amitābha Buddha's name for rebirth in the Pure Land. Hōnen also asserts for the first time that he is establishing a new school of Buddhism.
Originally the Senchakushū had been composed at the behest of Hōnen's patron and disciple, Lord Kūjō Kanezane, in 1198, but Hōnen was hesitant to show the Senchakushū to a wider audience during his lifetime due to fears of criticism. Instead, he showed the text to his closest disciples only including Benchō, Shinran, Shōkū among others. Hōnen stated that his disciples could do what they wanted with the text after his death, and in time the Senchakushū was distributed among Buddhist circles. Jōkei, Hōnen's strongest critic, analyzed the Senchakushū as part of his refutation of Hōnen's Pure Land doctrine, as did Myōe.
Format
The Senchakushū consists of sixteen chapters and each chapter begins with a heading explaining the content of the chapter and then presents quotations from the Pure Land sutras and the works of major Pure Land scholars, followed by Hōnen's comments and explanations interspersed between and after the various quotes. The Chapter format is as follows:
Classification of the Buddhist Teachings
The Practices of Pure Land Buddhism
Amida's Choice of the Nembutsu in His Original Vow
The Nembutsu and the Miscellaneous Practices
The Benefits of the Nembutsu
The Eternal Endurance of the Nembutsu
The Light of Amida Buddha
The Faith of Nembutsu Practitioners
The Practitioners' Religious Life
Amida Buddha's Transformation Body
Shakyamuni Buddha's Praise of Nembutsu Practitioners
Shakyamuni Buddha's Entrusting of the Nembutsu
The Many Good Acts of the Nembutsu
The Testimony of the Many Buddhas of the Six Directions
The Protection of the Nembutsu Practitioner by the Many Buddhas of the Six Directions
The Entrusting of Amida Buddha's Name
References
Bibliography
Hōnen; Senchakushū English Translation Project (1998), Hōnen's Senchakushū: Passages on the Selection of the Nembutsu in the Original Vow (Senchaku Hongan Nembutsushū), Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.
Augustine, Morris J., Kondō, Tesshō, trans.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Senchakushū” as buddhist work by Hōnen, founder of the Jōdo-shū. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 4, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7450101. VIAF identifies the subject as 253572684. The Library of Congress control number is n81096058. None of the 5 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1198 and 1998.
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