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The {{Nihongo|'''''Tannishō'''''|歎異抄}}, also known as the '''''Lamentations of Divergences''''', is a late 13th century short Buddhist text generally thought to have been written by Yuien, a disciple of [[Shinran]]. In the ''Tannishō'', Yuien is concerned about the rising doctrinal divergences that emerged in [[Jodo Shinshu|Jōdo Shinshū]] [[Buddhism]] after the death of their founder, so he wrote down dialogues between himself and [[Shinran]] that he could recall when his master was alive.
According to Yuien's own writing in the preface:<ref name="tannisho_translation">{{cite web|title=TANNISHO: PASSAGES DEPLORING DEVIATIONS OF FAITH| language=English| url=http://web.mit.edu/stclair/www/Tannisho.html| accessdate = 2023-05-31}}</ref>
{{cquote|When I reflect with deep humility upon the past and the present, I cannot help but deplore the prevalence of various deviations from the true faith transmitted by word of mouth from our late Master....Therefore I have recorded here the gist of what the late Shinran Shonin told me, while it still reverberates in my ears. This has been written solely to clear away in advance any uncertainties that might arise among fellow devotees. So much by way of foreword.}}
Many of the conversations found in the ''Tannishō'' are candid when compared to more formal religious texts, and this may explain some of the popularity of the ''Tannishō'' among Jōdo Shinshū Buddhists. The ''Tannishō'' allows Jōdo Shinshū Buddhists to peer into the mind of Shinran and see how he felt about practicing Jōdo Shinshū. The ''Tannishō'' was also a major impetus for the start of [[The Dobokai Movement]]<ref name="Esben">Popular Buddhism In Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture by Esben Andreasen, pp. 72/ University of Hawaii Press 1998, {{ISBN|0-8248-2028-2}}</ref> among the Higashi Hongwanji branch of Jōdo Shinshū.
==Format==
The ''Tannishō''<ref>Shojun Bandō, Harold Stewart, Ann T. Rogers, Minor L. Rogers (trans.): [https://web.archive.org/web/20130210115106/http://www.bdkamerica.org/digital/dBET_Tannisho-Ofumi_1996.pdf Tannishō: Passages Deploring Deviations of Faith and Rennyo Shōnin Ofumi: The Letters of Rennyo], Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research 1996. {{ISBN|1-886439-03-6}}</ref> is divided into 18 sections (sometimes called ''chapters''), though many of these sections are very short. Some are no longer than a couple of sentences. However, each section deals with a separate doctrinal issue.
Sections 1 through 10 focus on Shinran's thoughts with regard to Jōdo Shinshū, the [[nembutsu]] and [[Amitabha|Amida]] Buddha, while sections 11 through 18 deal with heretical ideas that Yuien wanted to dispel or correct on the basis of what Shinran had taught him.  Further, an appendix discusses the history of the exile [[Shinran]] and other disciples of the Pure Land movement, including his teacher [[Honen]], from the [[Heian-kyo|capitol]] during the reign of Emperor [[Gotoba]].  Finally, a postscript, composed by [[Rennyo]] states that:<ref name="tannisho_translation" />
{{cquote|右斯聖教者為当流大事聖教也
於無宿善機無左右不可許之者也
This sacred scripture is one of the most valuable texts of our school.
Those insufficiently matured in faith should not be allowed indiscriminately to read it.|author=Shaku Rennyo (釈蓮如御判)}}
=== Notable Quotations ===
From chapter 3:<ref name="tannisho_translation" /><ref name="higashi_honganji">{{cite web|title=歎異抄の世界| language=Japanese| url=https://web.otani.ac.jp/tannisyo/| accessdate = 2023-05-31}}</ref>
{{cquote|{{ruby-ja|善人|ぜんにん}}なをもて{{ruby-ja|往生|おうじょう}}をとぐ、いはんや{{ruby-ja|悪人|あくにん}}をや<br />
"Even a virtuous person can attain rebirth in the Pure Land, how much more easily a wicked person!"}}
From chapter 8:
{{cquote|{{ruby-ja|念仏|ねんぶつ}}は{{ruby-ja|行者|ぎょうじゃ}}のために{{ruby-ja|非行|ひぎょう}}{{ruby-ja|非善|ひぜん}}なり。<br />わがはからひにて{{ruby-ja|行|ぎょう}}ずるにあらざれば{{ruby-ja|非行|ひぎょう}}といふ。<br />わがはからひにてつくる{{ruby-ja|善|ぜん}}にもあらざれば{{ruby-ja|非善|ひぜん}}といふ。<br />
"The saying of [[nembutsu]] is neither a religious practice nor a good act.<br />
Since it is practiced without any calculation, it is "non-practice."<br />
Since it is also not a good created by my calculation, it is "non-good."}}
==References==
<references/>
==External links==
*[https://web.otani.ac.jp/tannisyo/ The World of the Tannisho, including original Japanese text], provided by the [[Higashi Honganji]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130328060551/http://www.livingdharma.org/Tannisho/TannishoContents.html  The ''Tannisho''] - translated by Dr. [[Taitetsu Unno]]
*[https://www.amazon.com/Unlocking-Tannisho-Shinrans-Words-Pure/dp/0979047153/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511501898&sr=8-1&keywords=Unlocking+Tannisho ''Unlocking Tannisho: Shinran's Words on the Pure Land Path''], by Kentetsu Takamori, translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter, Ichimannendo Publishing, 2011 {{ISBN|978-0-9790471-5-2}}
*[http://amida-ji-retreat-temple-romania.blogspot.com/2011/11/path-of-acceptance-commentary-on.html ''The Path of Acceptance - Commentary on Tannisho''], by Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea, Dharma Lion Publication, 2011
[[Category:Jōdo Shinshū]]
[[Category:Buddhist belief and doctrine]]
[[Category:Early Middle Japanese texts]]
[[Category:Japanese Buddhist texts]]
[[Category:Kamakura-period books about Buddhism]]