Zhēnyīng chāo 貞應抄
The Jōō-Era Compendium (Jōō-shō) by 道範 (撰)
About the work
A three-fascicle doctrinal Q&A treatise by Dōhan 道範 (1178–1252) of Mt. Kōya, composed in the Jōō (貞應) era (1222–1224) and named for it. The work is an extended doctrinal compendium addressing the major questions of medieval Shingon scholasticism — particularly the Teaching-Master (教主) and Three-Body (三身) questions — composed in response to imperial-court doctrinal inquiries.
Abstract
Authorship. Dōhan, of Mt. Kōya.
Date. Jōō 3 / 1224 CE intercalary seventh month, 13th day, when the opening question was put. The preface is explicit:
“Jōō 3, intercalary seventh month, 13th day. From His Highness Zen-jō Nihon Shinnō [the Dharma-Cultivating-Second-rank Imperial Prince] there was sent down an inquiry. The topic-titles given were:
”— The matter of distinguishing the Three Bodies of the mantra Teaching-Master.” ”— The matter of distinguishing the Three Bodies of the Awakening Buddha.”
(貞應三年閏七月十三日。自禪定二品親王所給御尋。題云 眞言教主三身分別事／驚覺佛三身分別事)
Content. The work proceeds through Dōhan’s careful Q&A treatment of these and subsequent doctrinal-disputational topics:
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The Three Bodies of the mantra Teaching-Master — what is the precise distinction between the svabhāva-kāya, saṃbhoga-kāya, and nirmāṇa-kāya of the Mahāvairocana-sūtra and Vajraśekhara-sūtra teaching-master? The work is one of the most extensive Shingon treatments of this contested question.
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The Three Bodies of the Awakening Buddha — the relationship between Mahāvairocana-as-Esoteric-teaching-master and Śākyamuni-as-historical-Buddha; how the trikāya doctrine is to be understood in the Esoteric mode.
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Subsequent topics — on the kemmitsu distinction, sokushinjōbutsu, and the relationship between the various medieval Shingon doctrinal positions.
For each topic, Dōhan provides:
- The contested doctrinal positions of medieval Shingon scholastic literature.
- The settled position of his Kōyasan lineage, with extensive citations.
- The resolution of difficulties raised against the settled position.
Significance. The Jōōshō is one of Dōhan’s three principal works and one of the major doctrinal-systematic compendia of early-Kamakura Shingon scholasticism. As a court-commissioned doctrinal-disputational response, it is also a key documentary source for the early-Kamakura imperial / Shingon institutional relationship.
The work was extensively studied throughout the medieval and Edo Shingon tradition and is one of the principal sources for the medieval Teaching-Master doctrinal-disputational tradition.
Translations and research
- No Western-language translation located.
- Ryūichi Abé, The Weaving of Mantra (Columbia, 1999) — for the broader doctrinal context.
- Kushida Ryōkō 櫛田良洪, Shingon mikkyō seiritsu katei no kenkyū — for the early-Kamakura Shingon scholastic background.