About: Jōkei (monk)

Jōkei (貞慶) (1155–1213) was an influential Buddhist scholar-monk and reformer of the East Asian Yogācāra sect in Japan, posthumously known as Gedatsu shōnin (解脱上人, "Liberated Master"). Jōkei was a prolific author, asserting and compiling the Yogācāra doctrine while simultaneously refuting newer movements, particularly the Pure Land movement begun by Hōnen. Like his contemporary Myōe, Jōkei sought to make Buddhism more accessible to the public through the promotion of rebirth to Mount Potalaka, the dwelling of the bodhisattva Kannon, or aspiring for rebirth in Tushita, where the bodhisattva Maitreya dwells. Jōkei actively promoted devotion to Gautama Buddha, the historical founder, through devotional practices, access to śarīra (relics of the Buddha), and promotion of the traditional monasti