I
think it’s necessary to continue the previous article We should not make
publicity to nonBuddhist holidays or the gods and spirits they represent
with a new one in which to explain even more why I think that promoting
nonBuddhist holidays, symbols and so-called “divine figures” associated with
them is creating a subtle obstacle for other people’s encounter with the true
teaching of Buddhism. Many nowadays Buddhists and especially teachers or
aspiring teachers suffer from the illness of political correctness, combined
with an incapacity to use what they already have in Buddhism to promote its
teachings. They are blind for subtle dangers and are unable to raise themselves
above the ideologies or habits of their time and so they support some things
just because the majority do it and it’s nice (and “compassionate”) to do them,
or it pleases people, etc, without being aware that they actually build more
obstacles for people’s encountering the Dharma and receive faith in Amida.
I
usually do not read other people’s reactions to my posts, but sometimes their
stupidity helps me to explain things better, which is why I think this article
will be very beneficial to many.
Somebody
wrote a reply to my previous article,
“The
point I am making is that neither Amida Buddha, nor Shakyamuni Buddha, nor any
other buddha (awakened being) cares whether you celebrate Christmas or not.
Being an American raised in a Protestant Christian family, I personally
celebrate Christmas, and treasure its spirit of forgiveness, charity, and
compassion.”
Here
is my answer,
The
true spirit of Compassion is to be found in the Buddha Dharma because true
Compassion is always related with true Wisdom which belongs only to Buddhas.
From Infinite Wisdom arises Infinite Compassion, that is, from a real
understanding of ultimate Buddha nature, the emptiness of samsaric phenomena
and of the suffering of all beings drowned in delusion, Infinite Compassion
arises.
“The
Buddha is the father of the world; all living beings are my sons, ALL is my
domain, and I alone am able to save and protect them.”
Lotus
Sutra
“Rare
is the World-Honored One, hard is it to meet Him, Perfect in infinite merit, able
to save all. Great teacher of gods and men, He has Compassion for the
world. All the living in the universe everywhere receive His aid, the Lord
Buddha is the Holy Lord, king among gods. Now the Buddha has become the eye of
all living beings, the resort of all the world, Savior of all, Father of all
the living, who has Compassion for and does good [to all]”.
Lotus
Sutra, chapter 7 parable of the magic city)
A
religion who teaches about a so-called creator god and judge of the world
cannot have true compassion. Such a religion, being based on the whims and schizophrenic mind of a hungry spirit (hungry for attention) does not teach
wisdom or compassion. Jesus was a deluded samsaric being who suffered from
megalomania and deluded others into thinking that he was the son of a supreme
creator and jealous god who said that he punishes the lack of faith in fathers
upon third and fourth generations, and shows mercy only to those who love him.
Certainly, such a limited love and limited wisdom should have NO place of
celebration in the minds of Buddhists and in the Buddhist centers.
There
can be no compassion in those who teach wrong views, which is why there is no
true compassion in Jesus who taught the poisonous wrong view of a creator god
and judge of the world. I do not deny that nonBuddhist teachers can develop
some kind of limited compassion related with helping beings in a limited
physical way, but true Compassion can come only from Buddhas and is manifested
only through teaching the Buddha Dharma to others, helping them receive faith
in Amida Buddha and say the Nembutsu of faith.
"To
spread great Compassion everywhere and guide others
Is truly
to repay the Buddha’s benevolence."
„ 'What
is 'great Compassion'? Those who in their turn encourage others to practice the
Nembutsu are called those who practice great Compassion.'"
"Let
those who realize shinjin (faith) that is Other Power,
In order to repay the Buddha's benevolence,
Spread the two aspects of Amida's directing of virtue
Throughout all the ten quarters".
As
you see above, Buddhists should aim at transmitting the unlimited, infinite
Compassion of the Buddhas manifested in the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha and not
in the deluded samsaric gods and spirits.
Dharmakara
Bodhisattva is the One who showed great Compassion by making the 48 Vows and
becoming Amida Buddha (words in brackets are my own),
“I
resolve to become a Buddha, [...]
To
save living beings from birth and death,
And
to lead them all to liberation.”
“I have made vows, unrivalled in
all the world (there is no Compassion greater than His);
I shall certainly reach the
unsurpassed Way.
If these vows should not be
fulfilled,
May I not attain perfect
Enlightenment.
If I should not become a great
benefactor
In lives to come for immeasurable
kalpas
To save the poor and the
afflicted everywhere,
May I not attain perfect
Enlightenment.”
In the section 4 – 10 from the Larger Sutra (click here) you can see the practices
and supernatural efforts Dharmakara Bodhisattva made in order to become Amida
Buddha and transform His vows into effective ways of Liberation for all
sentient beings. How can a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist think that a deluded samsaric person like Jesus (or Muhhamad and various monotheistic prophets and teachers,including those of Judaism and Old Testament) who taught wrong views can ever
be associated with the word compassion after studying the deeds and vows
of Shakyamuni, Dharmakara/Amida as well as the various Buddhist Masters from
India, China and Japan who transmitted to us the teaching about the Primal Vow
of Amida Buddha!
All Buddhas showed great compassion by helping
us receive true faith (shinjin) in Amida,
"Sakyamuni
and all the other Buddhas
Are truly our compassionate father and mother.
With various compassionate means they lead us to awaken
Supreme shinjin (faith) that is true and real.”
and instead of celebrating them through
specific holidays, some „Buddhists” are amazed at the so-called ”compassionate
spirit” of the birthday of a deluded samsaric being (Jesus)!
Wake
up, dear brothers and sisters in the Dharma! Only the Buddhas and Buddhist
Masters deserve our celebration because
only they own the spirit of forgiveness, Dharma charity (the gift of Dharma is
the highest as it brings beings to Liberation) and Compassion. Buddhists should
aim at helping people escape the false teachings of monotheistic religions that
keep beings prisoners of samsara, and not make them look better and nicer than
they actually are.
I
am a Romanian raised in an Orthodox Christian environment and I have lots of
fun with my Christian relatives and friends, some of them even visiting me at
my temple, but I NEVER celebrate Christian holidays, just as they do not
celebrate Buddhist holidays. They don’t do that because they do not want to
promote Buddhism just as I don’t do that because I refuse to promote
Christianity. To see some Buddhists celebrating nonBuddhist holidays, use
nonBuddhist symbols and images or taking photos on the knees in front of
Christian icons as Dalai Lama in a famous photo, is for many nonBuddhists a
sign of lack of faith and dedication towards Buddhism on our part, so if
Buddhists don’t take themselves too seriously, why should nonBuddhists take us
seriously! This is exactly why many nonBuddhists in the West come with the
wrong idea that Buddhism is not a religion to be taken seriously but some kind
of a philosophy, or a way of life, without any creed or faith, or why others think that Buddhists believe in Jesus themselves as some kind of bodhisattva (I counteracted this stupidity in a video teaching)!
It's
not about Amida Buddha being upset or caring that you as a Buddhist celebrate
Christmas or not. It’s about promoting a nonBuddhist holiday and the so-called
god it represents, because no matter how some might view Christmas, it cannot
be denied that this celebration is actually about Christ/Jesus, and is filled
with Christian symbols, Christian related songs, etc. Also, MANY do take it as
a celebration of Christ as not all who celebrate it are atheists or secularists. This is why, I
repeat, that in this deluded world filled with the mixing of various religious
elements and even some famous (fake) “Buddhist teachers” like TNH who promote ideas that all religions are the same or that you can be a Buddhist and a Christian, those deluded Buddhists who celebrate Christmas or Easter and
promote Christmas/Easter songs with Jesus or images with him as well as
Christian symbols, are adding more fuel to the fire of confusion.
Here
is another reply to my previous article,
“The
Buddha’s only care is how all beings, no matter their religion, nationality,
sexual orientation,
gender, etc. etc. might attain everlasting peace and happiness. To this end he
made his great Vow, the fulfillment of which is expressed in the LARGER SUTRA
OF IMMEASURABLE LIFE as follows:
“All
sentient beings, as they hear the Name, realize even one thought-moment of
shinjin and joy, which is directed to them from Amida’s sincere mind, and
aspiring to be born in that land, they then attain birth and dwell in the stage
of nonretrogression.”
That
is all.”
My
answer,
There
are a few subtle dangers here so I need to explain some things carefully.
Everlasting
peace and happiness cannot be attained outside the Buddha Dharma. Yes, the Buddhas
want all people, no matter who they are, to attain everlasting peace and
happiness, that is Nirvana or perfect Enlightenment, but without abandoning
their false nonBuddhist religions and fully embracing the Primal Vow of Amida
Buddha, saying His Name in faith, they will never be able to do that, as
Shinran himself clearly stated,
“Without
entrusting themselves to the Tathagata’s compassionate Vow,
No
sentient beings of these times - the last Dharma-age, and
The
fifth five-hundred-year period since Sakyamuni’s passing –
Will
have a chance of parting from birth-and-death.”
Our
goal as Pure Land followers should be to guide people to the teaching about
Amida, to help them make indestructible connections with Him, not with other
gods, so it’s a great skillful mean to be an example of a dedicated Amida
devotee who is promoting only the Buddha Dharma, especially in our days when
confusion and mixing of various paths is rampant. Shinran Shonin never put the teaching of the
Buddha on the same level with nonbuddhist teachings,
"The
ninety-five nonbuddhist teachings
defile the world;
The Buddha's path alone is pure.
Only by going forth and reaching Enlightenment can we benefit others
in this burning house; this is the natural working of the Vow".
"Based
on the true intent of the Buddha’s teaching and the expositions made and
transmitted by the masters of the past, I will clarify that the path of
sages is provisional and the Pure Land path is true, and caution people
against non-Buddhist teachings, which are perverted, false, and wrong".
Also,
Shakyamuni Buddha said,
"The
emancipation of non Buddhist ways is called impermanent; the emancipation of
Buddhist ways is called eternal".
The passage
from the Larger
Sutra the guy above
mentioned shows exactly the Path to Liberation which is faith (shinjin) and the
Nembutsu of faith. Once people entrust themselves to Amida Buddha, they enter
the stage of nonretrogression. Wonderful! Let’s celebrate that and help
people through various skilful means, like teaching the Dharma as it was taught
by Shakyamuni, do Buddhist celebrations, use Buddhist symbols and Buddhist
iconography as much as possible, etc
Don’t use
your energy with celebrations who have zero Buddhist meaning or zero meaning
related with Amida Buddha or that are closely related with nonBuddhist
religions. Don’t celebrate holidays related with nonBuddhist religions about
which Shakyamuni Buddha himself as well as Shinran Shonin said that they
defile the world and are perverted, false and wrong! How could you do that
if you are a true Buddhist disciple! What genuine Buddhist disciple would ever
celebrate or show even the smallest painting or image of a monotheistic
so-called „divine” figure after hearing the warnings of the Buddha and the
Masters!
Namo Amida
Bu
PS: This is
my last take on this topic as I think I said enough for those with little dust
in their eyes that are called to be teachers and examples of faith in Amida
Buddha. People endowed by Amida with a deep understanding of skilful means in
promoting His Dharma will have no problem in understand my words and use them
in their missionary activities. As a teacher who constantly contemplates on how
to be useful for others awaken to faith (shinjin), I consider even the smallest
action and wether that is good and useful or not good and not useful. For many my
insistence to stop the celebration of nonBuddhist holidays among Buddhists and to
focus exclusively on Buddhist celebrations, images and symbols, may seem ridiculous,
but for those who are able to see the whole picture, understand subtle causal
relations as well as the long term effects of such things, my article will
prove very beneficial.
It is
important to mention, and I will develop that in a future article, that I do
not write to convince the non-teachable, closed minds of the modernists, but to
offer a doctrinal basis, arguments and teaching material for devotional people
of true faith to help others receive
faith. We all have our target audience and my target audience is not the target
audience of the modernists and vice-versa.
„For I, the Lord
your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing
mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments.” Bible.com
https://www.bible.com 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 Kyogyoshinsho – On
Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, chapter III, translated by Hisao
Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.
129 As you know,
to „spread the two aspects of Amida's directing of virtue” means
to convince people of the truth that Amida can save them by bringing them to
His Pure Land where they attain Buddhahood/perfect Enlightenment (the first
aspect of Amida’s directing of virtue) and that once they become Buddhas in the
Pure Land they are able to return in various samsaric realms to guide others to
the Pure Land (the second aspect of Amida’s directing of virtue). Shinran
Shonin, Hymns of the Dharma Ages, The Collected Works of
Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha,
Kyoto, 1997, p.419 The
Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study and Translation
from Chinese by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, Bukkyo
Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto,
2003, p.11The
Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study and Translation
from Chinese by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, Bukkyo
Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto,
2003, p.20-21 Shinran
Shonin, Hymn of the Two Gateways of Entrance and Emergence, The
Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu
Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.629 Here the author is doing a well-known kiss in
the ass to the LGBTQ fake members who come to Jodo Shinshu temples not as
sinners looking for salvation (in which case they are saved by Amida) but for
justification, denying the Buddhist morality to feel good with their
degenerated sexuality and using the temples for promoting their sexual agenda.
I explained this in my articles
Can LGGTQ members be born in the Pure Land?
And
A Response to fake Buddhist Followers Blinded by Worldly Ideologies.
You can find these articles on Amidaji website.
Shinran explained that by „ninety-five
nonbuddhist teachings” he meant not a fixed number but that the nonbuddhist
paths are divided into numerous kinds.
Shinran Shonin, Hymns of the Dharma Ages, The Collected Works of Shinran,
Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.401 Shinran
Shonin, Kyogyoshinsho, VI, Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching,
Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata Center
for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 274 Nirvana Sutra quoted by Shinran, Kyogyoshinsho, chapter V, Kyogyoshinsho - The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation
Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.182
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