aves comes, not from imitation
of, and conformity to, the person and character of the saviour,
Amida, but from blind trust in his efforts and from ceaseless
repetition of pious formulae. It does not necessitate any conversion
or change of heart. It is really a religion of despair rather than of
hope. It says to the believer: 'The world is so very evil that you
can not possibly reach to Buddha-ship here. Your best plan,
therefore, is to give up all such hope and simply set your mind upon
being born in Amida's paradise after death.'"*

*Lloyd's Development of Japanese Buddhism and Shinran and His Work.

THE SHIN SECT

An immediate offspring of the Jodo, though not directly following it
in the chronological sequence of sects, was the Shin, established
(1224) under the name of Jodo Shin-shu* (True Sect of Jodo), and
owing its inception to Shinran, a pupil of Genku. It was even simpler
and less exacting than its parent, the Jodo-shu, for it logically
argued that if faith alone was necessary to salvation, the believer
need not trouble himself about metaphysical subtleties and profound
speculations; nor need he perform acts of religion and devotion; nor
need he keep a multitude of commandments; nor need he leave his home,
renounce matrimony, or live by rule. Only he must not worship any
save Amida, or pray for anything that does not concern his salvation.
As for the time of attaining salvation, the Jodo sect taught that if
the mercy of Amida be called to remembrance, he would meet the
believer at the hour of death and conduct him to paradise; whereas
Shin-shu preaches that the coming of Amida was present and immediate;
in other words, that "Buddha dwelt in the heart now by faith."

*It is called also the Monto-shu.

THE ZEN SECT

In the Jodo and the Shin sects an ample spiritual rest was provided
for the weary in mind or body, for the illiterate, and for the
oppressed. But there was for a time no creed which appealed specially
to the military men; no body of doctrine which, while strengthening
him for the fight, could bring to him peace of mind. The Zen-shu
ultimately satisfied that want. Zen is the Japanese equivalent of the
Indian term dhyana, which signifies "meditation." In fact, the Zen is
a contemplative sect. Its disciples believe that, "knowledge can be
transmitted from heart to heart without the intervention of words."
But though purely a contemplative rite at the time of its
introduction into Japan, 1168, it