Last update - September 2020.
This is an old article. However, I will keep it here as I wrote it in May 2018 for those who are looking for such information and for the sake of historical record. Amidaji is now an independent branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism with its own system of priest ordination. Click here if you are interested to know more about it.
Many people ask me about priest ordination in Jodo Shinshu, so I
thought to post this article to help them get some information, and also
to express some of my own views on this matter.
As far as I know, in Jodo Shinshu school (Nishi Hongwanji
branch) a tokudo (priest ordination) candidate must have two recommendation
letters from other Jodo Shinshu priests with a higher rank, but sometimes, even
one recommendation is enough from one’s local priest to make one join a tokudo
session for foreigners, as the other recommendation will be easier to get if
one has earned the trust of a priest with a good connection in the system.
These tokudo sessions for foreigners are usually organized from time to time
(not at fixed intervals) by Hongwanji International Center, which deals with
all matters related with ordination for non-japanese candidates. Their website
is this, http://international.hongwanji.or.jp You can also access
the official page of Hongwanji here, http://www.hongwanji.or.jp/english
The candidate must
spend 15 days in some kind of retreat at a facility near the main temple (Nishi
Hongwanji), in Kyoto. There he (or she) is examined and
attends various courses on doctrine and ritual, after which he receives a
tonsure and the actual ordination from the Go Monshu sama - the Patriarch and leader of Nishi Hongwanji branch.
Tokudo is the first
level of ordination and is sometimes followed by "kyoshi" (which allows one to teach doctrine) and "kaikyoshi", literally
"overseas teacher" which gives the permission to teach outside mainland Japan
like a missionary. However, in Europe,
a person ordained with tokudo level will do, and is practically allowed to do,
teaching activities outside of Japan.
In order to enter into contact with various Japanese officials
who can help one attend tokudo sessions for foreigners and eventually be
supported for tokudo ordination, one should first attend a European Shinshu
Conference which is organized every two years in a European country. There one
can first receive lay confirmation ceremony or kikyoshiki. Sometimes lay refuge ceremonies (kieshiki) are also given at locals temple. Kikyoshiki can be given
by Go Monshu sama or by the retired Monshu (Zenmon-sama), or somebody appointed
by him. This can be the first step.
Then, in time, if one convinces somebody (perhaps his local priest or another inside the system) that he is a serious person and that he deserves to be supported for tokudo, he can go for ordination in Japan.
Such a European
Conference where one can first enter into contact with various Jodo Shinshu
representatives, especially with Japanese, is organized this year (2018) in August, in
UK. Here is the link (click here). Those
who cannot afford to attend such Conferences can apply for a grant (details in
the above link) from International Association of Buddhist Culture (IABC –
details on the Conference website).
However, my opinion is
that such Conferences are not exactly a good place for listening deeply to the true Jodo
Shinshu teaching because not being strictly moderated one can
hear many personal ideas which may confuse a beginner and sincere seeker. This
is especially why such Conferences are not exactly on my taste as I have a very
strict orthodox approach to Jodo Shinshu Buddhism which can be easily seen if
one reads my teachings and books posted here on Amidaji website.
Thus, one is always welcomed to visit my temple for instructions if he wants to
compare Amidaji style with the style practiced at these Conferences or at
various temples in Europe, USA or elsewhere. Conditions for visitation are
posted here (click here to read).
Just to make an idea
of Amidaji teaching style, you can read the essential doctrine of my temple (Amidaji) (click here to read), and also this general info (click here) on the specific of Amidaji. The above two links
can help you decide if you wish to continue your study with me or find another
teacher and temple. I mention again that my approach in teaching Jodo Shinshu
is strictly orthodox, which is not the usual way for Jodo Shinshu temples in
Europe, Canada, South America, USA, etc. I
also very rarely support one for becoming a priest unless he (or she) proves a
high level of understanding of the Jodo Shinshu doctrine and a strong
commitment for the preservation of Jodo Shinshu orthodoxy. However, if one
wishes to work hard and have my personal support in becoming a priest (related
with my temple or not), then he must first pass this examination (click here to read), and attend regular meetings and retreats with me at Amidaji after which I still don’t promise that I
will give him anything.
However, to become a priest is very easy if one looks for the
support of other teachers and priests, so I think I offered enough
primary information on that too, in the first part of this post. Just one more
thing - the above information about how to receive tokudo by first attending
European Shinshu Conferences to get personally in touch with Japanese or
European representatives are especially useful if you live in Europe. But if
you live in USA, you can contact Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) and they may have
a different system of giving recommendations for tokudo. Also, if you live in
South America, Australia, Canada, you can contact their main temples and
representatives. You can find information about the various centers around the world on Hongwanji International Center's website. Their email is: kokusai@hongwanji.or.jp
If however, you don’t like the teaching style of your local temple, you may
have the possibility to join a temple outside of your area or even outside of
your country, and get a recommendation from there.
Ordination in Jodo Shinshu is non-monastic and equally opened to
both male and female.
Ordained people are
"neither monk, nor lay", as Shinran Shonin, our Founder, used to call
himself. Not a monk as we do not take the precepts of a monk, and not a lay, as
we are supposed to have higher aspirations than a lay who may have a limited interest in the Dharma. Of course, many lay
people may be better than priests, but you get the idea 😊 It’s supposed that
priests will put more efforts in teaching others the path to birth in the Pure
Land of Amida Buddha, and be living examples of Shinran’s urge, “receive yourself faith and help others
receive faith”, which unfortunately, is very rare nowadays when various wrong views are prevalent in the
international Jodo Shinshu sangha, with priests being the main representatives and
perpetrators of such divergences.
Although the tokudo (priest) ordination is given by the Go
Monshu (Patriarch) of the main temple in Kyoto (Nishi Hongwanji), talks about a
non-japanese ordination system were
held in Europe on the basis of the advice and encouragement of Shonyo Shonin (1911-2002), the 23rd Monshu
of Nishi Hongwanji who supported the idea of such ordinations and encouraged Europeans
to do it. Thus, the first Shinshu priest in Europe, Rev Harry Pieper, who
received ordination from Shonyo Shonin in the early sixties, himself ordained Rev
Jean Earacle (Shaku
Jôan) in 1970. Then, around 2000,
Rev Earacle, founder of Shingyoji temple in Switzerland, ordained a few other
European Jodo Shinshu priests. However, after the passing of Rev Earacle, a
great supporter of the creation of a non-japanese ordination platform and a close
friend of Shonyo Shonin, this matter was deliberately ignored by Japanese
authorities inside Nishi Hongwanji, and few or no information is now available
about those priests ordained by Rev Earacle (about whose activities or
understanding of Shinshu faith I know nothing). It is my wish that such a discussion will be re-opened soon, as I
think it can be very beneficial for the spreading of Jodo Shinshu outside of
Japan. On this matter I am in favor of a sincere dialogue with pros and cons as
mature followers, and I am very much against treating this topic
with silence, as if it doesn’t exist, which is the way Japanese are treating it now.
I hope this
information help those who want to be ordained in our school. Other priests in the Hongwanji system can offer you new or more updated information if you ask
them.
Some criticism of the present situation
Nowadays
it is too easy to become a priest in our tradition.... All one needs is to have
the right connections, smile to the people that matter, and soon enough he will
go to Kyoto as a tokudo (priest ordination) candidate. It simply does not
matter if he has good knowledge of the sacred texts or if he is dedicated
to the promotion of Amida Dharma in accordance with them.. More than this, once
he becomes a candidate, he will necessary pass all tokudo examinations because the nowadays policy of Hongwanji is
that quantity should prevail over quality. Really, isn't it strange that 100%
of all tokudo candidates pass the examinations? This shows that the examinations
have become a formality. It is a pitiful situation and it explains why many of
our priests embrace wrong views and have so little knowledge of the true Jodo
Shinshu teaching (Amida Dharma). It also shows why there were even cases of
people who left Jodo Shinshu sooner or later after receiving priest
ordination! Certainly, they were not
people of settled faith from the beginning! It is not by chance that Shinran
Shonin said, "receive yourself faith
and help others receive faith". So, before starting to teach others
faith, one should become oneself a person of settled faith. And a person of
settled faith is definitely not one with a mind filled with many
theories and ideas that do not belong to our lineage.
Into my opinion,
becoming a priest should be a hard and long process in which the candidate is
severely checked on how he understands the Amida Dharma and how he or she
intends to teach it. Candidates who do not know thoroughly the doctrines of our
school and who do not accept in faith the teaching contained in the sacred
texts, should be refused from receiving tokudo. This is because priests and
teachers should aspire to be faithful transmitters, not creators of the Dharma.
The
role of a priest is not to indulge himself in sophisticated scholarship, but to
help others receive simple faith in Amida. If he can't do that, his ordination
is useless. He should know the teaching well, of course, but he must also be
capable to explain it in simple terms. We shall never forget that Jodo Shinshu
(Amida Dharma) was meant to be a simple, faith oriented school which all people
should be able to understand and follow. Thus, any study or Dharma talk that
does not have the goal of "receive
faith for oneself and help others receive faith" is just an ego centerede action.
Priesthood
is a service to others. One who does not feel the urge to awake people to the
call of Amida Buddha, and who does not have the courage to stand up against
wrong views should not become a priest. This
is the twofold duty of a priest: 1) to teach the true teaching and 2) to fight
against wrong views. Only this twofold duty can help sentient beings
receive faith because without meeting the true teaching people cannot make a
connection with Amida Buddha.
In
the light of the above statements, I repeat what I already said – at Amidaji
one can hardly receive a recommendation for priesthood if one does not prove he/she
is well prepared for it.
Even
if one becomes a priest ordained at Nishi Hongwanji this does NOT qualify one
to be admitted as a teacher in Amidaji temple and sangha until one
passes further examinations with me and convinces me that he/she can sincerely
fulfill his twofold duty and embraces the strict orthodox approach of Amidaji. Because I know well the precarious situation
of priest ordination in Nishi Hongwanji branch, having a tokudo/kyoshi/kaikyoshi
diploma is not enough for me to accept one as a fellow priest and teacher. Until the system of ordination is not
thoroughly restored to its role of preparing true teachers, and Hongwanji does
not remove from its organization those false teachers and priests who, contrary to the official documents and status of Nishi Hongwanji itself, support various wrong views like
the denial of life after death and of Pure
Land to be found after death, or maintain sick theories like Amida being a myth, metaphor, symbol and fictional character, or mix Nembutsu with other practices (see the example of BCA – USA where they mix Nembutsu with
zazen or other meditation techniques, etc), etc, I will NOT recognize any ordination as valid just because it was
done at Hongwanji.
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