Kyōgyōshinshō

Kenjōdo Shinjitsu Kyōgyōshō Monrui (顕浄土真実教行証文類), often abbreviated to Kyōgyōshinshō (教行信証), is the magnum opus of Shinran Shonin, the founder of the Japanese Buddhist sect, Jōdo Shinshū. The title is often translated as The True Teaching, Practice, and Realization of the Pure Land Way in English. The work was written after Shinran's exile, and is believed to have been composed in the year 1224.

It represents a synthesis of various Buddhist sutras in Mahayana literature, including the Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life, the Nirvana Sutra, the Āvataṃsaka Sutra and the Mahaprajñāpāramitā Sutra. In this way, Shinran expounds Jōdo Shinshū thought. The work is divided into six chapters, not including the Preface:

• Chapter 1 - Teaching
• Chapter 2 - Practice
• Chapter 3 - Shinjin, plus additional preface
• Chapter 4 - Realizing
• Chapter 5 - The True Buddha and Land
• Chapter 6 - The Transformed Buddha and Land

In addition to frequent quotations from Buddhist sutras, Shinran often quotes the Jodo Shinshu Masters, who comprise the teaching lineage, which extends from Shakyamuni Buddha to Shinran's teacher Hōnen. At the beginning of each chapter Shinran begins with the phrase "Compiled by Gutoku Shinran, Disciple of Shakyamuni." The name Gutoku or "Bald Fool" was the name Shinran gave himself after he was exiled from Kyoto.