Jishū

Jishū. A school of Pure Land Buddhism that developed during the Kamakura period in Japan under the leadership of Ippen (1239–89). This school teaches that the sole power to effect an individual's salvation lies with the vows of Amitābha (Jap., Amida) Buddha, and that all of an individual's own efforts count for nothing. Thus, not even faith is necessary for liberation; all one need do is call upon the Buddha's name once, and liberation is assured. It also teaches that, as a result of this single calling, one is already in the Pure Land, something that other Pure Land schools believed would happen only after death. The Jishū (whose name means ‘the time school’) predominated over other Pure Land schools during the early Kamakura, but was eclipsed by the Jōdo Shinshū in the early 16th century.