Both Honen Shonin and Shinran Shonin were ordained Tendai monks. Although they left that school, they continued to wear their monk robes, and while Honen remained celibate, Shinran got married and had six children. Before him and after him, many monks had secret wives and children, but Shinran went public about his marriage and continued to wear the monk’s robes. Also, after he and his Master Honen were banished by the Emperor, striped of their ordination status[1]and given secular names, they also kept their robes. At that time Shinran said about himself that he was neither monk nor lay, but he continued to wear the robes of a monk. Later, they were both pardoned, so their former status was restor...