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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{nihongo|'''Kōsai'''|幸西||1163 &ndash; May 20, 1247}} was a former monk of the [[Tendai]] Buddhist sect and controversial disciple of [[Hōnen]] who advocated the {{nihongo|'''ichinen-gi'''|一念義||"Single recitation doctrine"}} that led to his public censure, his later expulsion by Hōnen and eventual exile to [[Shikoku]].<ref>Blum, Mark (2004). [https://web.archive.org/web/20140320093325/http://enlight.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-MAG/mag149497.pdf Kosai and the Paradox of Ichinengi: Be Careful of What You Preach], Pacific World 3rd Series, 6, 657-687</ref>  Kōsai taught that one recitation of [[Amitabha]] Buddha's name, the [[nembutsu]], would be sufficient<ref>Jodo Shu Research Institute, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120220024025/http://www.jsri.jp/English/Pureland/LINEAGE/disciples/kosai.html Jokaku-bo Kosai (1163-1247)  The Single Calling]</ref> for rebirth in the [[Pure Land]], and that further recitations would indicate a lack of faith on the part of the believer.  Thus, he taught a path strictly based on faith without any Buddhist practice, which drew criticism from established Buddhist sects at the time, and even Hōnen's other disciples.
After Hōnen's primary patron, [[Kujō Kanezane]] complained in a letter to Hōnen expressing confusion, Hōnen censured Kōsai, and asked his other disciples to sign a seven-article pledge agreeing to adhere to wholesome Buddhist conduct, as well as not slandering other teachings.  Unrepentant, Kōsai, continued to teach his doctrine, and like other disciples, was exiled from Kyoto in 1207 during the [[Karoku Persecution]].
Kōsai continued to teach the single-recitation method of Pure Land Buddhism in Shikoku, and gathered other followers before his sect was discredited and died out.  Among his harshest and most vocal critics was [[Benchō]], another disciple of Hōnen.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book | editor1-first=Jonathan |editor1-last=Watts |editor2-first=Yoshiharu |editor2-last=Tomatsu| title = Traversing the Pure Land Path: A Lifetime of Encounters with Honen Shonin | publisher = Jodo Shu Press | year = 2005 | isbn = 4-88363-342-X }}
== External links ==
* {{cite web|title=Life of Honen, Jodo Shu homepage Homepage|url=http://www.jodo.org/about_hs/ho_life.html|accessdate=2009-08-31|archive-date=31 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031030308/http://www.jodo.org/about_hs/ho_life.html|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web|title=The 4 Eras of Honen's Disciples|url=http://www.jsri.jp/English/Jodoshu/disciples/eras/4eras.html|accessdate=2009-08-31|archive-date=3 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703024558/http://www.jsri.jp/English/Jodoshu/disciples/eras/4eras.html|url-status=dead}}
* Jodo Shu Research Institute, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120220023327/http://www.jsri.jp/English/Honen/WRITINGS/shichikajo.html Shichikajo-kishomon (Seven Article Pledge)]
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[[Category:Japanese Buddhist clergy]]
[[Category:Jōdo-shū Buddhist priests]]
[[Category:Kamakura period Buddhist clergy]]
[[Category:1163 births]]
[[Category:1247 deaths]]
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