Transcript of Amidaji Sangha meeting on Zoom (November 8th 2020)

             

Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea on zoom in Amidado
(Hall of Amida) of Amidaji temple 

 Because members of Amidaji are from   different   countries and they can't all visit Amidaji in   the   same time we organize online meetings on Zoom   twice a month. First we have a Nembutsu liturgy  and  then a question and answer session. Here is a   revised and proofread fragment from the previous   meeting. Participants are only given their Buddhist   names.  

 Joshin:

 One of the things that I'm finding amazing is the   Other Power of Amida. And how the more you   become a person of faith, you realize that faith in Amida is not from you. It can't be from you. And it comes directly from Amida and I see so much proof of that, in my faith. When it's like everything else in my life is in upheaval and change and flux. The only thing that remains unchanging is my faith in Amida Buddha. And it just I still find that amazing. 

During my Dharma study, I re-read Shingyo’s autobiography where he talks about his faith journey. And I began to reflect on my own faith journey and all the things I believed in and all the things I tried to make myself believe in. The one thing that came outside of my ability to change my way of thinking was faith in Amida and it has remained the same whereas everything else I saw during my faith journey it came in and it went because it was a product of my own undisciplined, unenlightened self. 

Josho:

Yes. This is why we can't lose faith, because faith is not the product of our mind. If it was the product of our mind then we could lose it. But because it’s origin is in Amida, we can't lose it. 

Gankai:

I have a question. It relates to beings or things that would interfere with the Amida Dharma. Are there any sort of beings that actively try to interfere with practitioners of Amida Dharma or Jodo Shinshu? Amida Dharma is the most powerful sort of teaching, the biggest threat to samsara and to Mara's domain. And I think that Mara would try to stop it or interfere with it in some way.  Is there any aspect of Buddhist cosmology that would explain that? Or a teaching of Shinran or any of the Pure Land masters that speaks to that? 

Josho:

I don't remember now the passage but Shinran spoke about human beings who might go against the Nembutsu teaching. He called those who slander the Nembutsu teaching people who don't have eyes as they don't see the truth. Because they don't see the truth they slander the Nembutsu, the single practice, and they slander those who entrust to Amida. As we can see around us, there are many modernist teachers who actually slander the true Nembutsu teaching. They also think that they say Nembutsu. If you go to various temples where false teachings are taught and heresies are presented they also say the Nembutsu but that is not the true Nembutsu because the true Nembutsu is the Nembutsu of faith in the real and living Amida Buddha. So, when they go against the true teaching according to which Amida is a real Buddha and the Pure Land a real enlightened place, they actually slander the Nembutsu. They try in many ways to stop the spreading of the true teaching because they have their own personal interpretation of Nembutsu which has nothing to do with Amida Buddha and His Primal Vow.

Then, of course, if there are human beings who slander the Nembutsu and go against the true  teaching, there are also invisible non-human beings who can do the same. Yes, this is true, but as as Shinran said people who have faith in Amida receive ten benefits in this life and the first benefit is being protected and sustained by unseen powers and divine beings. So, various gods protect us, including Brahma, Indra, and so on. People who say the Nembutsu are protected by many gods because there are many gods and invisible beings who are also converted to the Buddhist teaching. And those who are converted to the Buddhist teaching automatically protect us. Shinran said that even some type of maras protect the Nembutsu people. Usually Maras or celestial demons go against the Dharma. However, there are many types of maras and among them, according to Shinran, there are some who do not go against the teaching, but protect the Nembutsu people. That is very interesting. 

So yes, there might be people or visible and invisible beings who do not like that you entrust to Amida Buddha but they are powerless and can do nothing to obstruct you because you are protected first and foremost by Amida Buddha and all Buddhas and then because you are protected by various other gods, and also because even some maras vowed to protect you. 

Look what Shinran said - this is a passage that I want to share with you: 

“When we say 'Namo Amida Butsu',
We are protected by the great king of maras
Residing in the sixth heaven;
This he vowed to do in the presence of Sakyamuni Buddha.” 

So, according to Shinran, one of the most powerful maras vowed in front of Shakyamuni to protect people of Nembutsu. These are Shinran’s sayings from the Jodo Wasan. 

Gankai:

Thank you, Sensei, I'm remembering now reading this in your books somewhere. I completely forgotten about that. Can I just quickly ask a follow up question? When that's referring to the king of maras that is saying that’s the Mara? 

Josho:

The texts are not so specific. I think there are many types of maras. Not all the gods in the sixth realm of desire (Kamadathu) are maras. Only a part of the beings who reside there are maras. And among the maras there are many types. I am not sure if this one is the boss of all Maras or the boss of some maras.

Gankai:

It could be a mara in the sixth heaven, not necessarily the Big Daddy.

Josho:

I'm not sure if they have a big daddy. But certainly they can have many bosses, just not exactly a Big Daddy. 😀

Gankai:

Like the mafia? 

Josho:

Yes. And one of them promised to Shakyamuni that he will never hurt people of Nembutsu.

Gankai:

Ok, that’s interesting.

Josho:

And as you know, the word “mara” refer to internal demons like our blind passions, but also to exterior beings, celestial beings.

Kosho

There are many gods. You have the gods of the Kamadathu or the realm of desire, then you have the gods of the realm of form and the gods of the realm of non-form. So actually, the Mara is a king of maras that happens to be a Buddhist, but not all maras are Buddhist.  In many sutras it is taught that many maras respect the Buddha. Not all maras are evil, some of them are very pious Buddhists. This is strange to hear because you often hear that oh, Mara is the devil, but actually it is not always like that. There is a great variety  in their world.

Gankai:

Well, it makes sense. If they got it to the sixth Heaven it kind of makes sense that they have some good aspect or good karma. I mean if they didn't have some good karmic roots, how could they reach that place? You see what I mean?

Kosho:

Yes, of course. The Tusita heaven where the next Buddha resides is two heavens below where the maras reside, so actually one must have a lot of positive karma to be born there.

Gankai:

Yes, that makes a lot of sense. Thank you senseis.  

Josho:

Yes, in order to be born in the maras world you have to have a very good karma but they also have some bad tendency in them.  In their case there is a combination between good karma from the past but also a very big ego. This kind of combination can make one go to the  mara world. If you read my book, The Four Profound Thoughts you will see that there I explained in detail the causes of being born in various states of existence.

Gankai:

Thank you, again. 

Josho:

It is very important to mention that in the Primal Vow, Amida says: “sentient beings of the ten directions who sincerely interest to me”. This means that not only humans are saved. This Vow doesn't address only to human beings, but to all beings in the ten quarters. So, even maras or hungry ghosts or any type of beings can entrust to Amida,. Shinran also said, 

“When sentient beings in the various forms of existence throughout the ten quarters,
On hearing Amida's Name of transcendent virtues,
Come to attain true and real shinjin (faith),
They greatly rejoice at what they have heard" 

So people from all forms of existence can have shinjin (faith). This is very important. And also, when we read the sutras we see that in the audience of people who hear Shakyamuni’s teachings there are also maras.   

Okay, so, please continue with the next question. 

Kosho:

I have a couple of them, but I will start with the one asked by Daigan.  

In the previous meeting Joshin said that the light of Amida Buddha does not belong to us, so we are not the creators of this Light but only instruments, that is, we can become instruments of Amida’s power in this world. Is this what we refer to as “rootless faith”? They are asking about this concept of rootless faith. So this is a question for Josho Sensei. Basically he (Daigan) said we can become instruments of Amida’s light. We are not the owners of Amida’s Light but we can become instruments of His Light into this world of human beings. They (Daigan and Chikai) want to know if this is related to the concept of rootless faith. 

Josho:

Yes it is somehow related because we can't actually be instruments of Amida’s Light if we do not receive Amida’s Light ourselves. So in order to help other beings to entrust to Amida we also have to have faith ourselves as Shinran said, “receive faith yourself and then help others receive faith”. So, we somehow become like mirrors of Amida’s Light. The Light of Amida reflects into the mirror, which is us, and then goes into another direction. But the mirror must be uncovered, because if the mirror is covered, then it cannot reflect the light of Amida. 

So, yes, this is the connection. We can become instruments of Amida’s work if we first entrust to Amida and become open to Amida. And yes, because faith is not the product of our intellect, we say it is rootless faith. Because faith actually comes from Amida’s influence on us. Because we become open to Amida, then Amida can influence us so we can entrust to Him. And in this way, we become instruments of Amida’s work. I hope it is clear. If things are not clear let's continue the discussion.

Kosho:

Ok, I translated everything and they (Daigan and Chikai from Uruguay) are reading it. They don’t have a follow up question. 

Josho: If Shingyo has a question or he wants to say something. 

Kosho:  I am sending him the text of our discussion. 

Josho:

This matter of shinjin (faith) coming from Amida should not make us complicate our minds. It should not become an obstacle. I always try to offer a simple comparison so that people can understand that concept. The mother loves her child and the child trusts the mother. The child has faith in the mother because he feels his mother's love. So actually, the faith of the child is caused by the mother because the mother cares about the child. 

I also give another important comparison with the mechanic. Let's say that you must repair your car. You don't have the necessary skills but you know Mike who is a good mechanic and so you trust him to fix your car. Why do you trust Mike to fix your car? Where this faith in Mike as a good mechanic comes from? It actually comes from Mike, because you know him, you saw him doing repairs and you heard about his skills. This is why you trust him to fix your car. So actually, your faith in Mike comes from Mike, because if you didn't see him doing other repairs, or heard about his skills then you could not entrust your car to him. 

It is the same with Amida Buddha. We hear about Amida from Shakyamuni Buddha. Shakyamuni said Amida is so great, that He practiced for many kalpas just for you and emanated a wonderful Pure Land to welcome you there, etc,  so you trust this to be true. Your faith is caused by Amida and Shakyamuni, as Shinran said: 

“Shakyamuni and Amida are our father and our mother,
Full of love and compassion for us;
Guiding us through various skilful means,
They bring us to awaken supreme shinjin.”

(Koso Wasan) 

Kosho:

Shingyo has a question. Somebody asked him about the difference between Jodo Shinshu and other schools and after he explained that he was asked if he will become a Buddha after death. He said yes. Then that person replied “why don’t you suicide yourself to become a Buddha faster?” It was a bad joke somebody addressed to him. 

Josho: 

He should answer to that person like this: Because I don’t want to. I don’t suicide myself because I want to have fun until I go to the Pure Land. Because I like chicks, I like to walk in the park or go to bars. Because I like to make love, drink beer, etc. Because I am an ordinary human being who is attached to his body. It is ok to be attached to our bodies as we are ordinary unenlightened beings. And because I don’t want to die. However, I will die one day and then I will go to the Pure Land. It is exactly for such beings that the Primal Vow was made. I don’t need to be perfect and detached from my body in order to be an Amida devotee. Also, in His Primal Vow Amida did not say, “entrust to me, say my Name and kill yourself”, so I chose to follow Amida’s Vow and don’t kill myself.

Kosho:

And now the question. In connection to Mara, I studied for a long time and I came across Nichiren school of Buddhism. They say their Master (Nichiren) was a Buddha They treat him like an enlightened being. And he said that all other schools are lies including the Pure Land, and that if you believe in Amida you go to hell. Actually Nichiren wrote hymns saying a lot of bad things about Honen. Shingyo said he was shocked to read those things.  Is it Nichiren an authentic school and lineage of Buddhism or is it a perversion created by evil maras? 

Josho:

I have a friendly attitude and very good collaboration with people from other schools. But there is one school that I never ever collaborate with. And that is Nichiren. If, for example, somebody from Nichiren tries to add me on Facebook I refuse because there is nothing that I can discuss with that guy. And yes, I personally think that when Nichiren said those bullshit about Amida devotees going to hell he was in a grave delusion. So I do not recognize Nichiren as a real Master. However, the formula they say  “Namu myoho renge kyo”   is very good. To pay homage to the lotus Sutra is very good, it is great and wonderful. It is something very beneficial to pay homage to the Lotus Sutra. So I don’t have anything against “Namu myoho renge kyo”, but the things Nichiren said about Pure Land were bullshit. He was actually slandering the Nembutsu teaching and this is a grave karmic act which leads to rebirth in hell. This is what I think.

We should not enter into debates with such people. If Nichiren thought that we go to hell and his nowadays disciples think the same, then what can we really talk with them? Let them think whatever they want.

Do you want to say something, Gankai? 

Gankai:

Yes. I am glad this was brought up because I learned a lot from Tendai or Tientai Buddhism from which Nichiren Buddhism kind of rose out. I agree with you that some of the things Nichiren said were not right.  But Tendai teachings are one of the things that helped me before I got to Pure Land Buddhism and even afterward. In some ways helped me make sense of Buddhist teaching.

Master Chih-I sort of codified the five periods of teaching, culminating in the Lotus Sutra. And that made a lot of sense that the Buddha sort of built on, started with kind of subtraction and addition and subtraction. Okay, now we're going to go to algebra. Now we're going to calculus, now we're going to go to quantum physics. Like it was a progression of teaching which made a lot of sense to me and that there is a kind of, you know, sort of Ultimate Teaching….. Anyway, I'm not an enlightened person so I don't really completely understand it but I always meant to kind of bring that up and discuss, how that relates to Pure Land Buddhism or Amida Dharma because at some point I think the Tendai and Tientai masters actually did Pure Land practices, used Pure Land sutras and incorporated that into their teaching. But anyway, I I'm glad this was raised. So, is it okay to think that way about Tendai Buddhism? 

Josho:

Every school has its own categorization of the Buddhist teaching. They use various categories in order to emphasize their own specific practice and teaching. So Tendai system actually divides Buddhism into various categories in order to emphasize the importance of their own practices and teachings. I think that we should better know and use Honen’s or Shinran’s categories because they are made from the point of view of the Primal Vow. So Tendai categorization is perfect for their own system of practice but it is not okay for us because for us the Primal Vow is most important. For them the Lotus Sutra is the most important sutra. But for us, it is the Larger Sutra. So if you follow the practice and teaching of the Lotus Sutra then of course that the Lotus Sutra is the most important practice for you and the most important sutra taught by Shakyamuni. But if you choose to follow the Primal Vow then the Larger Sutra (where the Primal Vow is presented) is the most important. 

I don't know the Tendai teachings like a Tendai practitioner but I think that many times the Tendai uses the word Amida or whenever they practice something related with Amida they don’t always do it for birth in the Pure land after death, but they somehow think to Amida

like to their own Buddha nature and they might use Nembutsu recitation in order to reach Samadhi and to recognize their Buddha nature here and now. 

Many people use Nembutsu. There is also some Nembutsu practice in the esoteric Buddhism (Tendai has many esoteric elements, teachings and practices), but they don't have the same interpretation like in Jodo Shinshu or the same simple faith - I just say the name of Amida and I want to go to the Pure Land and after death. No, they complicate things…. somehow they say that Amida is my mind or my true mind. It is true that the Buddha nature of Amida and your Buddha nature are the same but there are also a lot of differences between your mind as it is now and the Buddha's mind. It’s ok to read general Buddhist teachings from various schools but when we come to Nembutsu we should focus on the Jodo Shinshu perspective. 

Gankai:

Yes, of course, thank you, Sensei.

Josho:

You're welcome. I am trying to find a passage from Honen. So until then if Kosho Sensei wants to say something…. 

Gankai:

Can I ask Kosho Sensei a question while you're searching for that?

I know that Shinran or Honen refers to the One Vehicle, using the phrase from the Lotus Sutra, I think referring it to Nembutsu, shinjin and to Amida and attaining Buddhahood through Other Power.  And I’m wondering, is that a direct reference or sort of suggestion that when the Lotus Sutra refers to the One Vehicle is pointing towards Amida Dharma? Do you see what I'm asking, Kosho Sensei?

Kosho:

Jodo Shinshu is a Mahayana School. So the objective of the Primal Vow is not to take you to Arahatship or becoming a high level Bodhisattva; it takes you to Buddahood as we are born in the center of the Pure Land and attain Buddhahood at once. The Lotus sutra refers to the fact that all Buddhas want us to become like them with the same ten powers, the same wisdom and the three Buddha bodies. They are not like gods who want us to be inferior to them. What Buddhas want is for us sentient beings to be just like them. So what the Buddha taught in the Lotus sutra is that the final objective of the Buddha Dharma is Buddhahood. So about Shinran's reference to the One Vehicle or the supreme vehicle – it is related to the Primal Vow. I don't know if you have read Josho Sensei's book The Meaning of Faith and Nembutsu in Jodo Shinshu Teaching. It is a very good book. Josho Sensei talks about five turnings of the wheel of the Dharma. First it is the Four Noble Truths, the second turning is the teaching on emptiness and compassion of the Mahaprajnaparamita texts. The third turning is the teaching on Buddha nature, the Tathagatagarbha doctrine (all beings have Buddha nature), the fourth turning of the wheel is the Vajrayana which is about tantra and esoteric teachings for advanced practitioners who want to achieve Buddhahood faster through tantric methods (visualizations, rituals, initiations) and then finally there is the 5th turning of the wheel of Dharma which is the Primal Vow (The Larger Sutra). So Shinran said that the Primal Vow is the supreme vehicle for Buddhahood as it takes all beings regardless of their spiritual capacities, good or evil, wise and foolish. The Primal Vow can take a prostitute to Buddhahood and also Nagarjuna who was a wise master so the Primal Vow can be practiced by all beings and it is equally effective in all Dharma ages. You can practice it on the first, the second or our last Dharma age and the Primal Vow is equally powerful and effective in taking all beings to Buddahood. So this way is supreme. It is the supreme vehicle which takes all beings to Buddhahood

Gankai:

Thank you. Yes, Kosho Sensei, that makes a huge amount of sense. Thank you. That very much clarifies it for me. 

Josho:

Kosho Sensei is right. Shinran himself uses the words “One vehicle of the Universal Vow”.

He said: 

"Know that because the One Vehicle of the Primal Vow is the ultimate sudden teaching, the teaching of sudden and instantaneous attainment, the perfectly fulfilled teaching, and the consummate teaching, it is the absolute and incomparable teaching, the path of true reality or suchness. It is the single within the single, the sudden within the sudden, the true within the true, the consummate within the consummate.” And so on…. 

So, yes, he uses the term “One Vehicle” but in the sense of the One Vehicle of the Primal Vow. 

You can check the chapter related with the “One Vehicle” from my book, The Meaning of Faith and Nembutsu in Jodo Shinshu Teaching. It is called exactly like that: “The One Vehicle of the Primal Vow – the ultimate teaching of Shakyamuni and all Buddhas”.

Actually, Chih-I, the Master of Tendai Buddhism, advocated the idea that the Pure Land exists in one’s mind which was later transmitted to Japan. So Honen’s and Shinran’s teaching is very different. According to them the Pure Land is not in one’s mind but after death.

Many modernists in the Jodo Shinshu school can’t accept the notion of Pure Land being after death so they borrow ideas from Chih-I, Tendai and so on. But, in the last chapter of my book, The True Teaching on Amida and His Pure Land I have a collection of passages on the true meaning of birth in the Pure Land. Those passages are from the Larger Sutra, from Shinran, Rennyo, etc and you can clearly see there that Pure Land is after death and not in one’s mind. 

Gankai: Thank you, sensei.

Kosho: Could you please give me one minute to relate everything to Daigan and Chikai.

Josho: And to Shingyo. Ah, so all of them receive the text.

 Kosho: Yes.

 Josho: Good. Until then I can talk with Gankai.

Gankai:

Yeah. I have a sort of another question. I'll just give you like a little analogy. In the 12 step program they have this idea that they took actually from William James, I think, where there's two different kinds of spiritual experiences: one is a spiritual experience, a sudden, Satori type kind of spiritual experience, and the other they call spiritual experience of the educational variety. So it takes place slowly, over a long period of time. Is there a similar thing with people experiencing faith in Amida Dharma? I've heard stories where people very early on heard the teachings and very quickly came into that faith mind sort of consciousness and I've heard other people like myself, who it's taking a very, very, very long time to entrust to. Do you see what I'm saying? Is this true that some because of their karmic roots, karmic causes, they may just very quickly come into faith, whereas for others, it takes longer. And maybe that more to empty their cup.

 Josho:

This is not about shinjin (faith), it is only about becoming more open. Some easily become open than others. But when you have shinjin, that is shinjin. So, actually shinjin is not something that you can develop. You either have it or you don’t have it. 

The only difference is between how people become open. Some become more easily open than others because of difference in their karma. Perhaps you need more time and you have to ask more questions than others in order to become open towards Amida. That is all, but when you have shinjin you just have shinjin, and as I said, shinjin is just a simple faith. In the moment when you simply entrust yourself to Amida Buddha to take you to His Pure Land that is shinjin. After receiving shinjin (faith) you might also have various questions, so don't think that when you have shinjin, you will have no more questions. You can have various questions, but you simply know that you entrust to Amida - that is shinjin. So you don't need to worry about this. Just ask your questions. Take your time, listen to the Dharma. And remember to never complicate your mind. Jodo Shinshu is simple, very simple. It's exactly like, as I said before, when you decide that Mike is a good mechanic and you simply allow him to fix your car – that is shinjin.  In your case shinjin is that you know you can't attain Buddhahood through your own power and you allow Amida to take you to His Pure Land where you will naturally become a Buddha.

Gankai: Thank you, Sensei. 

Josho: You're welcome. 

Gankai: How is the translation coming, Kosho Sensei?

Kosho: Excellent. I have just translated everything. I think it's a very good question. And they seem to love the answer of Josho Sensei as well. 

Josho: Does anybody have another question?

Kosho: I have another question by Chikai.

She's asking about the plants, the flora of our planet or the trees. Are they a separate realm of samsara? And is there less suffering than in the human realm because of their composition? I mean, it's a very strange question. She doesn't know that in Buddhism we don't have a separate realm of existence for trees. The trees are not…I mean, one cannot be reborn as a tree, maybe as a tree spirit. But she thinks that maybe due to their clorofile or the composition of the leaves, and the bark of the tree it is less suffering than in our human bodies. So this is a very strange question. 

Josho:

It’s ok. Every question is a good question. As long as we are not trees we can't say anything about their suffering. We just project our way of understanding suffering as human beings. If we don't see them screaming or complaining like us then we decide that they don't suffer, but actually, the spirit or the spirits who can inhabit trees also suffer because they are part of samsara. In the sacred texts it is said that there are various spirits who inhabit trees and even small bushes and they suffer because they identify themselves with those trees. By identifying themselves with the respective tress they suffer when the trees are cut, or they feel like their house is destroyed. Some Buddhist texts say that there is a certain category of lower types of gods (bhuma devas) who live in trees. And they have like a dwelling in the foliage which is invisible to human eyes. In what seems to be a small place for us, for them is like a huge dwelling place. So they suffer because their dwelling place is destroyed but there are also examples of tree devas who suffer because they identified themselves with the tree thinking that the trees are their own bodies. Both situations appear in the sacred texts. Their suffering may be different than ours but they do suffer.

Kosho: I am translating it for Chikai. I think she understood. 

Josho:

I have one more thing to say. Every time I need to cut a tree in my courtyard I go to him two or three days before and I inform the god who inhabit the tree of my intention.  I humbly ask for forgiveness and tell him in a polite manner to please go and move to another tree. This is not something that I myself invented. It was done in ancient times in India. Soon I will cut a small tree here in my courtyard to use for firewood. And I will tell the above words to the deva tree. 

Gankai:

Can I add something? According to Shakyamuni the karma works in a certain way and comes in a certain way with sentient beings. But there's the karma of other inanimate things, or things that aren't sentience, that are life forms, but aren't necessarily sentience. How does karma operate in their case? Is it a different type of karma? Does it come from a different place?  Is there a karma of other things that are non sentience? Is this kind of an aspect of collective karma? Am I complicating things again?

Josho:

No problem. Let’s try to understand this.  So, in order for karma to exist, there must be conscience. Only conscious beings have karma. Things that don't have conscience cannot have karma. Because karma means volition, means to want to do something and to do it, to have desire to do that thing and then reach a certain effect. 

Gankai: To have an intention. 

Josho:

Yes, to have an intention. So inanimate things cannot have karma. But inanimate things might be manifestations of our collective karma, for example, every inanimate thing that we see around is the effect of our collective karma. We see various things in the same way. I mean, you see the same things that I see. This is because of our collective karma. But things can be seen differently according to various types of things. For example, we see a river. The river itself, the water, doesn't have conscience; there might be a spirit who lives in the river, and who might identify himself with it but that is a different thing. Also, the same river that we see as water, hungry ghosts or hell beings can see it as a river of fire and a god can see it as a river of nectar. So, there are different perceptions according to different karma. If you ask yourself what is the river, then I say it is a projection, a karmic manifestation. And we see it differently according to our specific karmic obscurations.

Gankai:

I see. It makes sense.  Can I add another thing, on a related note? When as a Buddhist I go out for a walk along the canal or a stream or in the woods or along a path in the countryside, I never feel like, “Oh, I'm just out here in nature alone”. I always have awareness that there are other beings out here right now that I cannot see. I get chills sometimes as I'm walking along and I realized that, “oh, yeah, there could be nagas, there could be tree spirits that it could be other water spirits, and I'm always very mindful of that. And I feel a kind of gratitude for that. But usually, I'm saying the Nembutsu as I'm going through, just in case. I'm also respectful of those beings because you know, this is their territory, it's their world, it's their home, it's their place. So, I'm always sort of mindful and respectful of that. I also think that there could be not so benevolent beings out there, too. So, it's an extraordinary thing that, as a Buddhist, we have that awareness or understanding or teachings about these things. Someone else might just be like, “Oh, it's a lovely day”, which is fine, but it's so much more to it, than that, to me, anyway.

Josho:

That is a very good Buddhist attitude. Many invisible beings that live in nature are there for thousands of years before us. So they feel that they own that place. And this is why when people throw garbage into the nature or into the rivers some of these beings, especially Nagas react because they want to defend that place. And they might react angrily. Just imagine somebody will come into your house and throw garbage. You will feel very bad and even hit that guy in the face or beat him. So this is why I think that many people have various illnesses near places that are polluted. Nagas are very territorial and if you intrude they might hit back. So it is very important to be respectful, don't throw garbage anywhere. Just mind your own business, say Nembutsu and wish everybody to be well. There was a Tibetan Buddhist Master who used to laugh when he heard some westerners saying that they are friends with the nagas. You can’t just be friends with nagas. You better stay away and be respectful.  Some beings are very tough, you know, big tough guys. It’s better that people don’t mess with them and don’t throw garbage or polute rivers and forests.

Kosho:

Shingyo has another question, Sensei. Here where I live in Russia, Tibetan Buddhism is well spread and they do offerings for the spirits. Also there is Orthodox Christianity who has its own holidays. What if you are invited to such events? 

Josho:

First we have our own types of offering ceremonies to help spirits and bardo beings make a connection with Amida Buddha.  So, if he wants to help non-human beings, he can go to the website of Amitaji and find them. Next, if he is invited by Tibetan Buddhists to attend their ceremonies of offerings, he can go, there is no problem. But in his mind he should say Namo Amida Bu, Namo Amida Bu, and wish those beings to make a connection with Amida Buddha, something like “may these beings who receive the offerings be always well in body and mind. May all their obstacles be removed. May they receive whatever is necessary and useful for them, may they make indestructible connections with Amida Buddha, entrust to Him, say His Name and wish to be born in his Pure Land”. And then he should continue to say Namo Amida Bu, Namo Amida Bu… for as long as that ceremony lasts. He should do that if he is invited by another Buddhist, but if he is invited to attend a Christian service, then it's better not to go. Why? Because it's useless. Of course, if we are invited by our friends or relatives to attend a Christian wedding for example, it's okay to go out of respect for them. But we should not make worshipping gestures towards the Christians icons. Don't bow to their altars, don't worship those beings that are present there. Just stay in your place, be respectful and say Nembutsu in your mind. We should be respectful because those beings that they worship might exist in some way although not in exactly the same way that they think they exist. Certainly there are some beings there, so we should be respectful because we enter their house. But we should stay in our place and don't engage with them.

 Shingyo: Thank you. 

Gankai: I'm very glad to hear the answer as well. It definitely is reaffirming of things that I also had questions about So, thank you. 

Josho:

You're welcome. I am now working on a book about liturgies of Amidaji and I will present there like five or six types of liturgies of Amidaji, including the Nembutsu liturgy that we are reciting at our meetings. And I will also include advices on how to help non-human beings like offering ceremonies for hungry ghosts and Bardo beings and other things that you can use.

Basically, the difference between these type of ceremonies and spiritism is that we don't ask anything for ourselves and we do them in order to help those beings make a connection with Amida. This attitude makes those ceremonies Buddhist. Also, there is no implication of self-power, as we just invoke Amida’s help for them, we give them something in the name of Amida Buddha. And if they receive it, they know they receive it in the name of Amida and so they can make a connection. Even if they don’t entrust to Amida, at least they hear that we give them something and wish them all the best in the name of Amida and that can be very helpful. You can see the details in the website. Those ceremonies are alreadyon the website, but they will be a little improved in the book.

 Josho: There are already two hours since we started our discussion, so I hope everybody's okay with the answers.

 Kosho:

Yes. Would you take another question? I have a last question from Daigan.

In Buddhism we are given the teaching of detachment from all samsaric phenomena and to be selfless.  Is it related to Amida Buddha like being detached from our self effort, like selfless or egoless because when we entrust ourselves to Amida we are not using our ego. Daigan  asks if this teaching about detachment is related to the act of entrusting to the Other Power.

So, maybe entrusting oneself to Amida would be the greatest expression of selflessness or of being detached from the ego.

Josho:

When we entrust to Amida we remain ego centered personalities, and we’ll continue to have attachments. So, we are not actually detached from our blind passions and from our objects of desire. People of shinjin have worldly attachments and it's okay to be like that. What people of shinjin are not attached to is self power. We realize that we can't attain Enlightenment as we are. We no longer have attachment to self power in the matter of attaining Enlightenment but we continue to be attached to other myriad worldly things, so don't think that we are selfless, or egoless. We are still egocentric beings and we are attached to ourselves. The Primal Vow of Amida was made especially for such beings who can’t escape their worldly attachments and desires.  Faith in Amida Buddha co-exists with our blind passions and attachments, with our ego centered personalities. But although shinjin coexist with blind passions, shinjin is not destroyed by blind passions. Our salvation too is not obstructed by our blind passions. Shinjin can't be destroyed because it comes from Amida and so it doesn't depend on our blind passions. It just co-exists with blind passions but cannot be destroyed by them. Do you understand?

 Kosho: I am translating to him. 

Josho:

Okay, it's important for him to let go of such concepts of selfless and egoless because he will not become like that in this life. He will always have an ego centered personality, so it's better to let go to such things.  Of course, this doesn't mean that we should not try in our everyday life to do good or to help others. It doesn't mean that we should not try to do what is right. But shinjin itself is not detachment. Shinjin is just a simple faith. It's important to translate this that shinjin is not detachment.