Nichiren Shū

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Nichiren Shū. A collection of Japanese Buddhist sects in the Mahāyāna tradition which trace their origins to the 13th-cent. Tendai monk Nichiren, who sought to restore what he considered to be the orthodox teachings of the historical Buddha, Śākyamuni. Next to the Jōdo Shū (Pure Land Schools), the Nichiren tradition has the largest numbers of devotees of all religions in Japan today. There are currently, according to the Shūkyō Nenkan (Year-book of Religions), eighteen Nichiren Buddhist sects and nineteen Nichiren-related ‘new religions’ such as Reiyūkai, Risshō Kōseikai, Myōshikai Kyōdan, Sōka Gakkai, Nichiren Shōshū.

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