Josho Sensei’s books contain the nectar of the sutras
and shastras, because they are full to the brim with quotes from the words of
Shakyamuni Buddha, Shinran Shonin, Honen Shonin and Rennyo Shonin, and the
great Mahayana Patriarchs. There is no room for wrong views or half-truths in
his writings. You can sense he is just an ordinary guy doing his best to
explain to himself and others the wonderful treasure of the Buddha Dharma in
general and Jodo Shinshu in particular, and that is priceless in our day and
age in which there are thousands of self-proclaimed gurus, masters,
“venerables” and mystics of all sorts who don’t blink twice at combining Buddhism
with worldly ideologies, and samsaric religions just to make them more
appealing to the masses.
Josho Sensei simply could not care less about numbers
or pleasing people. I could sense that from the first emails we exchanged. All
his words and deeds as a Jodo Shinshu monk are just ways to say, “entrust
yourself to the real and living Amida Buddha, say His Name with faith and
gratitude and wish to be born in His Pure Land after death so that you scape
the painful cycle of birth and death and attain Buddhahood, and then you
yourself will eternally return to Samsara so save all beings in the 10
directions with perfect wisdom and compassion”. This clear, honest and
uncompromising way to teach the Dharma is rarely found in Jodo Shinshu nowadays
and I would say it is also scarce for Buddhism in general. “Feel good talks”,
dangerous and misleading spiritual combinations, mundane entertainment and pop
self-help teachings is what most temples thrive on nowadays. It’s fairly easy
to find so-called Buddhist teachers and temples that never or rarely mention
basic Buddhist teachings such as karma, samsara, Buddhahood, faith and
morality. So, I am truly grateful to have found in this life an honest teacher
who puts the Dharma above his own opinions and who tries to understand and
explain the Dharma in simple terms for ordinary people living ordinary lives.
Translating Josho Sensei’s books into Spanish also gave me a good chance to let the teaching on Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow sink in. This good experience also allowed me to pass the demanding 71 topics of examination (see link) for those who want to be monks, nuns and lay teachers in the Amidaji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. Later I created the AmidajiYouTube Channel in Spanish and I also started sharing Amida Dharma on social media which allowed me to meet many great Dharma siblings such as Daigan Sensei (Uruguay), Jishin Camila (Argentina) Chikai Ana Galo (Uruguay) Yuishin Alondra (Mexico), Dodatsu Nerio (Argentina) and other people from Latin America who taught me I was not alone in my continent as a Jodo Shinshu follower. Knowing the value of having a good teacher and Dharma friends I recall the words of Shakyamuni Buddha who said:
“(A monk said to the Buddha): Venerable One, I thought a great deal and
reached the conclusion that spiritual friendship is half of the spiritual
life!”The Buddha answered: “Don’t talk this way, Ananda. Spiritual friendship is everything in the spiritual life!”
(Samyutta Nikaya)
After many difficulties and challenges to my personal
and spiritual life I finally decided to dedicate my life to spreading the
Teaching on Amida Buddha’s unconditional salvation as a Jodo Shinshu monk. I
feel that just like a great swordsman can use an old stick to defeat 5 armed men
or just like a great musician can produce beautiful sounds with a poor musical
instrument, so to Amida Buddha can use sinners and fools like me to spread the
Dharma not because of ourselves but in spite of ourselves. This is all due to
the Other Power of Amida Buddha who uses all sorts of seen and unseen
circumstances and karmic connections to teach the Primal Vow. After many
economic challenges and several months of planning I decided to travel to
Amidaji Temple in Romania along with Dharma friends who also want to get ordain:
Daigan Alejandro Sensei and Jishin Camila.
As many of you know Amidaji became an independent branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in 2020. Amidaji Sangha declared
the right to have its own ordination platform independent from Hongwanji, Japan.
Its Hongwanji’s leaders allowed many wrong views to be spread in the Sangha
contrary to the teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha and Shinran Shonin. I have always
thought that the true richness of a Buddhist lineage lies not in riches, big
temples or numbers but in the quality of the understanding and the honesty of its
teachers and students.
Thus, Amidaji International Temple, a new and humble
leaf in the very old tree of the Mahayana and Jodo Shinshu was born for the
benefit of all beings who want to hear Amida Dharma without it being mixed with
worldly ideologies and philosophies. A simple organization in which faith in
Amida Buddha according to The Primal Vow and a simple and comprehensive
understanding of the most basic Mahayana teachings is the center and the end of
all activities and efforts. Amidaji empowers its monks, nuns and lay teachers
to ordain people in their own countries without relying on stiff central
authorities as long as they abide by the contents of the Amidaji Constitution
and the book Amida Dharma. I felt excited to make history by being part of a
Jodo Shinshu organization that wants to spread the Dharma in such a direct and
energetic manner all over the world by relying on the Dharma alone. It was with
great enthusiasm then that Daigan, Jishin and I planned everything in order
receive ordination from Reverend Josho in late September 2023.
|
|
Unexpectedly Daigan Sensei (now a lay teacher) had an
accident at work a month prior to our trip and he had to undergo an ankle
surgery which prevented him from traveling along with me. Jishin Camila
(Daigan’s fiancée) stayed with him in Uruguay to take care of him after the
surgery so I had to travel alone to Amidaji. Daigan and Jishin will travel to
Amidaji in the near future and both will receive Tokudo (Ordination) so there
will be two ordained Latin-American members of Amidaji! May it be for the
benefit of all beings!
 |
| Train from the airport to Bucharest |
I arrived to Bucharest, Romania on September 30th at night. Josho Sensei greeted me warmly at the airport and we laughed like
playful kids as it was the first time we were seeing each other in person (at least in this life) after more than four years of Dharma friendship. We ate pizza in that warm night and we exchanged laughs, stories and expectations, both mundane and Dharmic. As Rennyo Shonin said:
"You lose nothing when you make friends with devout Buddhists. Even if they do strange things or crack
jokes, they have the Buddha-Dharma
deep in their hearts; in befriending them, you will gain much benefit. So
it is said."
At Amidaji Temple - Ordination Ceremony and first couple of days of
training
The following day, early in the morning we took the
train to Craiova and then a taxi to the village where Amidaji Temple is located. That very day I was about to be ordained in
the evening. We did not want to wait a single day or hour more. Time is
precious and impermanence in samsara can always surprise us. This sense of
impermanence in Jodo Shinshu is rooted in a powerful and beautiful story of
Shinran Shonin. He had lost his parents at a very young age and was put in the
care of his uncle who, upon seeing his potential, brought him at age 9 to
Shoren-in Temple to become a monk in the evening and the head monk at the time,
Jien, told them to wait for the next day for ordination. However, the young boy
wrote a poem about the precious moments all beings have:
That think there is a tomorrow;
But who can tell, there may be
A tempest in the night.
Upon reading this, Jien the head priest understood the
grasp the youth had on life and had him ordained that night and he took the Buddhist
name Hannen.
Jodo Shinshu is not a path of patience and wishful
thinking but a path in which we recognize the impermanence of our bodies and
our so-called spiritual realizations. Everything can be lost in a second,
especially if we are ordinary sentient beings. This human life is precious and
using it to study Amida Dharma, receive faith and helping others to receive
faith is the rarest treasure and the most important thing in our lives as Jodo
Shinshu teachers. With these kind of reflections on impermanence Josho Sensei
ordained me on that warm evening. Dressed in white to represent the death of my
past, I let Josho Sensei cut the last hairs on my head as he energetically
pronounced the vow of a Jodo Shinshu monk to help all beings be born in Amida
Buddha’s Pure Land through the three elements of Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow,
faith, Nembutsu and the wish to be born in Amida Buddha’s Pure Land after
death.
Josho Sensei pronounced this with a determined voice:
The first cut is to have faith in Amida Buddha and help all beings
entrust to Him.
The second cut is to say the Name of Amida Buddha and help all beings
say His Name.
The third cut is to wish to be born in the Pure Land of Amida Buddha and
help all beings to be born there.
I felt a tremendous energy
that filled the room. Josho Sensei’s strong and lively voice emanated a strong
sense of faithfulness, sincerity and determination. As he was reciting the
Three Refuges, The 8 Precepts of Faith, the rules implied in the Ryogemon and
the 18 rules for monks and nuns of the Amidaji Branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism,
I felt truly inspired and determined to put myself in the Hands of Amida Buddha
for the benefit of all beings. The image of a mirror came to my mind. We are
not the creators of the Primal Vow, we cannot give anyone Shinjin (Faith in
Amida Buddha) nor are we the owners of the Buddha Dharma. We are just
transmitters of the Dharma. Amida Buddha is the source of True Faith and He is
the creator of the Pure Land and The Primal Vow. He is the creator of both our
destination (the Pure Land) and the method to get there (The Primal Vow). Just
like a mirror itself does not have any light of its own can nevertheless
reflect the light of the sun to others, we as Jodo Shinshu followers just reflect the
light of the true Amida Dharma teaching to others without mixing it with any of
our opinions or so-called “merits”. I said to Amida Buddha “Please let my body,
speech and mind be an instrument so that you can take beings to the Pure Land
through the Primal Vow”. True and real compassion is to guide beings to attain
Buddhahood. In this Dharma Ending Age the only way to attain liberation for
ordinary and foolish beings like us is to entrust ourselves to Amida Buddha,
say His Name and wish to be born in His Pure Land. Teaching the Primal Vow to
others is in accordance with Shinran Shonin’s teachings.
As Shinran Shonin taught:
Is truly to repay the Buddha’s benevolence."[1]
„ 'What is 'great compassion'?
Those who in their turn encourage others to practice the Nembutsu are called
those who practice great compassion.'[2]
How can we ignorant sentient
beings teach Amida Dharma to others if not by the influence of Amida Buddha
Himself on our ordinary lives? With this thought in mind I felt reassured by
Amida Buddha and all Buddhas that even ordinary and foolish beings can be
instruments of Amida Buddha’s wish to benefit all beings. How wonderful is the
Jodo Shinshu Path!
After the Ceremony we relaxed
and enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared by Mrs Tamira Cirlea, Josho Sensei’s
mother who was very kind to us during my stay at Amidaji. Josho Sensei cultivates
tomatoes, figs and peppers at Amidaji, so we enjoyed a variety of vegetarian
dishes during my stay. Josho Sensei is also very fond of Turkish black tea, and
we enjoyed talking after our meals a lot while we drank this delicious hot
beverage. We talked about the Dharma and we also discussed about the present
and future of Amidaji International Temple. We also exchanged stories and
shared jokes of all kinds. This reminded me of the fact that Jodo Shinshu is a
relaxed path for ordinary beings. We don’t pretend to have virtues or wisdom of
our own, we are just our ordinary foolish selves and we just let Amida Buddha
take us to the Pure Land. However, being a monk in this Path means to make
Amida Dharma the priority in our day to day lives. It means that we are totally
committed to teaching the Primal Vow to others 24/7. It means that nothing is
more important than teaching Amida Dharma to others. Family obligations,
relationships and hobbies can wait, but not Amida Dharma. The life of a monk
and nun ordained in the Amidaji Branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism is a life that
is lived only to help others receive faith in Amida Buddha. We are relaxed
because we know Amida Buddha guides us.
However, we also work hard and are disciplined in all Dharma related matters. We need to study the basics of the Buddha-Dharma well and we also need to fully explain all aspects of Jodo Shinshu to others. It also means we should learn well how to bow, how to do prostrations, how to properly fold our robes, kesa (piece of precious cloth which represents the transmission of the teaching to us) and zagu (sitting matt, which represents the protection of all Buddhas and all Dharma protectors) and how to eat from your monk’s bowl (which means to eat for the Path to help others). These things need your full attention and cannot be learned overnight, so you need to practice again and again. Josho Sensei explained to me (I paraphrase him) “These rules are not just formalities but they express our commitment in the Jodo Shinshu Path. All aspects of training, from the way we eat, bow and recite a liturgy or hymn express our seriousness and determination, so they cannot be taken lightly.”
Contemplating Amidado (Amida Hall)
Late at night I felt very inspired contemplating the
Amidado (Amida Hall) at Amidaji. It is filled with images of Buddhas and Great
Bodhisattvas. I remembered how Josho Sensei explained to me the story of each
one of the adornments and images in the Amidado the first day we arrived to the
Temple. I fondly remember Amidado’s main Amida Buddha statue. This a golden
statue of tremendous beauty and elegance. The more I stared at this Amida statue
the more beautiful it looked. It was like a never-ending fountain of beauty and
power. It was given as a gift by a Japanese priest from Osaka, Japan (Rev Oku
of Zuikoji temple).
Josho Sensei also showed me a beautiful
Tibetan treasure vase that was also given as a gift and was blessed by a
Tibetan Lama to bring protection and blessings to the Temple. Josho Sensei also
showed some images of Mahakala, the ferocious Dharma Protector. He told me many
experiences he had had in which he sensed the protection of Mahakala in
Amidaji. It is important to mention that at Amidaji we worship and focus
exclusively on Amida Buddha, while the images of other Buddhas and Enlightened
Bodhisattvas are present as a visual representation of the 17th Vow
where Amida promised that all Buddhas praise His Name, thus encouraging us to
say it in faith, and of the protection that all Buddhas offer to the followers
of the Primal Vow of Amida.
Josho Sensei also showed me a beautiful
picture of Benzaiten-sama (Sarasvati in Sanskrit), a Vajrayana deity who in esoteric Buddhism is considered
an enlightened being related to eloquence and fine arts.
Josho Sensei told me he also
had a dream in which he felt a strong presence and heard the clear words
“Benzaiten”- he had never heard that name before. He looked it up and found out
this was an Enlightened Being of great importance in esoteric and tantric
Buddhism, so he took it as a sign this Enlightened being wanted to protect and
bless Amidaji.
The first day we arrived I gave to Josho
Sensei a small gift on behalf of the Latin-american Sangha of Amidaji. It was
an image of Amida Buddha in Japanese style. On the back we put the names of all
the members of Amidaji Latin America. Josho Sensei was pleased and he told me
he would find a good place to put it in one of the Amidaji buildings.
Gift to Josho Sensei on behalf
of the latin American Sangha. An image of Amida Buddha in Japanese Style. On
the back there are the names of the members of Amidaji from Latin America.
Visit of two Amidaji Members from Craiova - Mushu and Gansen Catalin to
Amidaji Temple
That day was Josho Sensei’s
birthday. A happy coincidence. So, there was naturally lots of food and
non-alcoholic beer for us. Gansen and Mushu also drank some Colombian Coffee I
had brought to Josho Sensei and his mother as a gift. We also ate fresh tomatoes,
cheese and other delicious vegetables. We also had 3 types of cake that Mrs.
Cirlea had kindly baked for us, so we ate like Persian kings and enjoyed a
conversation on a sunny afternoon bellow the beautiful trees of Amidaji that
provided shade.
A raging storm and blackout while I was inside Amidado
Some meaningful conversations with Josho Sensei on the future of Jodo Shinshu outside of Japan
“I do not want to be anyone’s guru or have monopoly
over ordinations. I want to empower monks and nuns in their own countries so
that they can do many things by themselves”. Later he explained the importance
of being resourceful and skillful when it comes to rules and regulations when
it comes to spreading Amida Dharma in different countries. He constantly
emphasized “Each kyodan (region/district) needs to take care of their own affairs and
spread the Dharma in ways that are only known to the inhabitants of a
particular country and culture”. He also emphasized he did not want Amidaji to
revolve around one person and that he wants all monks and nuns to be proactive
and resourceful.
We also reflected together on
the effects of being too obsessed with ranks and prestige and not the Dharma,
and that becoming a Jodo Shinshu monk in Japan nowadays is mostly about smiling
and kissing asses and is not related about your seriousness, determination and
knowledge of the Dharma. We at Amidaji are different. We care about the correct
understanding of the Dharma of each member, lay teacher, monk and nun. A man or
a woman can only be measured in terms of their seriousness, determination and
knowledge of the Dharma. We rejoiced over the fact that everything at Amidaji
has the Dharma at its core. We keep mundane issues outside of the Temple and we
focus on the Dharma alone. However we also admitted that eventually all Sanghas
deteriorate due to many reasons. This is the reason we must work hard and be
very careful with the people we let into the Temple, especially if they have
wrong views. We concluded the only way to help the Sangha was by being
proactive and always asking Amida Buddha for guidance.
For what purpose have there come to be meetings twice
each month? They are [held] for the sake of realizing one’s own faith which
leads to birth in the Land of Utmost Bliss and for nothing else. Although there
have been “meetings” everywhere each month, from the past up until now, there
has never been anything at all that might be called a discussion of faith. In recent years in particular, when there
have been meetings (wherever they have been), everyone has dispersed after
nothing more than sake, rice, and tea. This is indeed contrary to the
fundamental intent of the Buddha-Dharma. Although each of those lacking faith
(fushin) should by all means raise their doubts and discuss what it is to have
faith or be without it, they take their leave without coming to any
conclusions. This is not as it should be. You must carefully reflect on this
matter. In brief, it is essential that each of those lacking faith (fushin)
have discussions of faith with one another from now on.[3]
The reason for coming to a Jodo Shinshu temple is to
receive Shinjin. The questions people should ask in a Jodo Shinshu temple are
Dharma questions. “How can I attain Buddhahood if I am an ordinary being?” What
is Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow? What is the meaning of faith and Nembutsu? What
is the law of karma? What is the true meaning of Enlightenment?” These are the
questions that are meant to be discussed in a temple. All entertainments,
mundane affairs and personal opinions should be left outside of the Temple the
same way you leave your shoes outside.
Josho Sensei also expressed
Amidaji’s determination to protect ALL aspects of the Dharma, not only Jodo
Shinshu Buddhism. During our conversations he once gave me the example of a
building that is attacked by rats:
If you let the rats come to
one floor then they will soon manage a way to invade the other floors. The
building of the Buddha-Dharma has many rooms/teachings. It has teachings on
morality, marriage, meditation, cosmology, faith…etc. If we let people withw rong views distort one aspect of the Buddha Dharma, then, sooner or later, they will find a way to distort other aspects of the Buddha Dharma. He mentioned
that the attitude of many Jodo Shinshu followers is to only worry about their
own “floor” (the teaching on Amida Buddha and His Pure Land) and they do not
care so much if people with wrong views distort the teachings on morality which
are being attacked now by modernist teachers which promote sexual misconduct,
combine different samsaric religions with the Dharma and deny the basics of
Mahayana Buddhism. However, the reason so many false teachers deny Amida Buddha
and His Pure Land as it was taught in the sutras is because they had also
distorted other aspects of the Buddha Dharma beforehand, the same way a rat
needs to get to some parts of a building before jumping to another area.
This
analogy deeply motivated me defend all aspects of the Buddha Dharma, because as
Josho Sensei explained, the Buddha Dharma is the perfect medicine that was
given to us by the Buddha, and there is no place for unenlightened sentient
beings to accept one aspect of the teaching while discarding other aspects they
dislike. Ordinary sentient beings should accept the Dharma as it was taught by
the Buddha and should present it to others without adding or omitting anything.
A sick person who is ignorant of the science of medicine is not in a position
to alter or mix medications. We as sick samsaric beings should only follow the
instructions of the Doctor (the Buddha) and consume the Medicine (The Dharma)
exactly as it was prescribed.
Another thing that Josho
Sensei emphasized a lot was the motto “let’s make history together”.
Indeed, Amidaji is only 3
years old as an officially independent Jodo Shinshu branch outside Japan.
Amidaji declared its independence on September 4th 2020 and it
already has many members in Russia, western and Eastern Europe, North America
and Latin America.
Of course, Josho Sensei has been a monk since 2003, and he has had a proactive career as a Dharma teacher and author ever since, however
in 2020 Amidaji International Temple, a new branch of Jodo Shinshu, became a
reality after Josho Sensei struggled for more than 17 years with the lack of
proper leadership by Hongwanji which he often described as “being run like a
business company”. This is not to say there are not good people and priests
with faith and good understanding in many Jodo Shinshu temples in Japan. Of
course, there are. In Amidaji we do not consider that we have the monopoly over
the true Jodo Shinshu Teaching. That would be nonsensical. However, the
leadership of the most important Jodo Shinshu institutions in Japan and North
America has indeed allowed many wrong views that are contrary to general
Mahayana Buddhism and the true Jodo Shinshu path as taught by Shinran Shonin.
Many of the leaders of BCA (Buddhist Churches of America) Higashi Hongwanji and
Nichi Hongwanji are lovers of atheists/materialists thinkers such as Manshi,
Unno and Bloom, who have proved time and time again that they do not have faith
in the Mahayana Sutras or in Amida Buddha as a real living Enlightened Being.
They call Amida a symbol/metaphor/fictional character and the Pure Land a state of mind, ignoring the compassionate warnings of Shakyamuni Buddha, Honen,
Shinran and Rennyo. This is indeed a sorrowful situation, in which a leadership
that is supposed to encourage its priests and members to have faith in Amida
Buddha in accordance with the sutras and the teachings of Shinran is doing the
exact opposite of what it is supposed to be doing. This is like an incompetent
parent who lets his house with his wife and children unprotected and open to
bandits, rats and all sorts of dangers. This is the kind of perverse and
careless attitude that allowed Jodo Shinshu temples in North America and Brazil
to support mundane ideologies such as BLM and the LGTBQ movement, even to the
point of using the symbols of such movements with the image of Amida Buddha or
in their kesas!
In this Dharma
Ending Age, as Josho Sensei pointed out, many demonic and inverted points of
view are present in society and have even found their way inside many temples!
How sad indeed! How pitiful! I am so glad that I could quickly see these
organizations for what they were, and found Amidaji instead. Being ordained in
such organizations with that kind of careless leadership would have been difficult for me. Josho Sensei told about how much he
had to struggle to study the sacred texts himself. He was constantly reading,
comparing and investigating on his own and being always firm in the true faith
even though he was surrounded by many false teachers. Thankfully, early in his
journey in Jodo Shinshu he had found the book of Ryosetsu Fujiwara “A Standard
of Shinshu Faith” which was a manual that guided him to the correct
understanding of the teachings of Shinran Shonin. Fujiwara Sensei had passed
away before Josho Sensei became a monk. After he told me that I thought to
myself “How fortunate I am to have found not only books, but a living teacher
to ask questions to and discuss the Dharma!”
May Amida
Buddha guide their Path for the benefit of all beings!
Namo Amida Bu
The final days of training at Amidaji
.jpeg)
Time was precious as I could only stay for a week at
Amidaji so Josho Sensei often told me “It is better you properly learn just a
couple of things in a good way instead of knowing many things and making lots
of mistakes”- I agreed with him since this was my very first time in a Buddhist
temple and I had no experience whatsoever in recitation and bowing, not to
mention that folding and wearing the robes and kesa proofed to be particularly
difficult for me, so I had to focus on it A LOT. We also managed to record
together the Nembutsu Liturgy, the Juseige and the Sambutsuge for the our YouTube
channels. Even though it was not perfect I was glad we could chant together.
Josho Sensei’s voice is like a roaring lion, mine was not so strong. However, Josho
Sensei told me that my voice had become stronger during my training. I was
pleased to hear that.
I was really eager to practice
the Aroma Offering Ceremony and the Smoke Offering. These two ceremonies are
done to help sentient beings create connections with Amida Buddha. The Aroma
Offering is done at night and it is especially dedicated to pretas (hungry ghosts)
and bardo beings who are said to be more active after nightfall. The Smoke
offering is meant to be held early in the morning or at least before noon, as
this is a smoke offering for all sentient beings.
We did the Aroma Offering
Ceremony using honey and milk cookies turned into powder and some charcoals.
Josho Sensei had explained to me that after he founded Amidaji Temple back in
2014 he had told all the unseen spirits and Bhuma Devas (Gods of Nature) that
this temple was also for them and that they could come anytime they wanted to
receive teachings and recite Nembutsu. Josho Sensei has a great enthusiasm tohelp pretas, bardo beings and bhuma devas as he often does this ceremonies of
aroma and smoke offering for their benefit. It is said that many beings in the
unseen realms feed on different kinds of aromas, so naturally making aroma and
smoke offerings is a skillful means to attract many of these beings and give
them Dharma Teachings and allow them to hear and recite Amida’s Name. Josho
Sensei and his dear friend Mokugan (himself a veteran Zen priest) often travel
the country side in order to help sentient beings create connections with the
Buddha Dharma. Mokugan often recites Avalokitesvara Dharanis and the Heart
Sutra and Josho Sensei recites Nembutsu and our Amidaji ceremonies to help
sentient beings.
When we did the Aroma Offering
it was a windy and lovely night. We recited all the words in English with a
solemn and strong voice, inviting all beings and specially Bardo beings and
pretas to come and receive the aroma offering and hopefully create a connection
with Amida Buddha. However, as I was seated in a chair besides a small tree I
suddenly fell from the chair and completely fell to the ground along with my
robes. Josho Sensei did not notice me for some seconds as he continued to
recite in a solemn manner. When he saw me down there he burst into laughter. He
even cried with tears because he was laughing so hard. I also laughed and felt
a little embarrassed and hoped that the spirits did not think I was trying to
sabotage the ceremony. We somehow managed to compose ourselves and finish the
ceremony without laughing (we failed several times, lol) but we finally finished.
See you later!
There are many more things that happened, however for
the sake of my dear Dharma friends I wrote these words trying to express the
most important teachings and events as they were imprinted on my mind. Now I
look ahead and I hope that Amidaji grows like a strong a graceful tree with its
roots in the True Teaching of Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow and its branches
pointing always to Amida Buddha’s Pure Land.
Namo Amida Bu
[1] Master Shan-tao quoted by Shinran
in Kyogyoshinsho, chapter III, Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching, Practice, Faith,
and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist
Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 130
[2] Kyogyoshinsho
– On Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, chapter III, translated by
Hisao Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto,
2003, p. 129
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