Hossō-shū

Hossō-shū (in Kanji 法相宗, in Korean beopsang , transcription of the Chinese faxiang zong ), is the name of a sect Japanese Bouddhiste inspired by the Chinese school Weishizong (唯識宗) “pure conscience” - also known under the name of Faxiang - which is inspired itself by the Indian Cittamātra . Weishizong was founded in second half of the 7th century by Kuiji (窺基), disciple of Xuanzang. This last brought back of India a whole cart of books on the pure conscience (ja. yuishiki ) and rested in particular on About thirty (sk. Trimshika , CH. Weishi sanshisong 唯識三十頌) of Vasubandhu commented on by Dharmapala.

The name of Faxiang, “characteristic of the Dharma S”, would have been popularized by Fazang (法藏), promoter of the school Huayan, to underline what he saw like the inferiority of the pure conscience , which according to him treats only apparent characteristics ( xiang ) of the Dharma S ( F ), whereas Huayan treats nature even of these apparent phenomena.

The school is introduced in Japan between the medium of VIIe century and the beginning of the 8th century by with the six different monks and takes his place among the officially recognized schools of Nara. Impossible to circumvent for the Buddhist philosophy of the end of the Nara period, it is that which resists best the rise of the schools Shingon and Tendai during the Period Heian. Very decreased as an independent school as of the 13th century, there does not remain any more with the 21e century, but one small group of declared practitioners. It does not remain about it less as the thought of the pure conscience exerted a great influence as well in China as in Japan, in particular on the schools Tiantai, Huayan and Zen.

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