I already
explained in detail the Primal Vow (18th) and showed that faith in
Amida’s Power is the cause of birth in the Pure Land. However, the situation is
that not all practitioners are able to give up entirely the attachment to their
personal power in reaching birth in the Pure Land. They simply cannot rely
exclusively on Amida but think there is still something they need to add to His
Power so that they will deserve to be born in the Pure Land. Thus, they remain
attached to the idea of merit accumulation even if they also put some trust in
Amida. This kind of faith mixed with
reliance on their own so called “merit” and personal power is not in accord
with the Primal Vow, but still Amida does not abandon such people.
Especially for those who are not capable to rely exclusively on Him, but still
wish to be born in His Pure Land, Amida created the 19th and 20th
Vows[1].
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
The true disciple of Amida and all Buddhas
As
I already explained, Shinran Shonin taught that the true reason for all Buddhas appearance in the world is to help sentient beings entrust to Amida and be born
after death in His Pure Land, where they can easily attain Nirvana. Thus, the
logical conclusion he draw from here, is that the person who has faith in Amida
is the true disciple of the Buddhas because he is in accord with their inermost
intent. He said:
"The
true disciple of the Buddha means this: 'true' contrasts with false and
provisional. 'Disciple' means a disciple of Shakyamuni and other Buddhas,
namely, the practitioner who has attained adamantine faith (shinjin). Because
one certainly realizes great Nirvana with this faith and practice, one is
called a true disciple of the Buddha"[1].
Monday, May 14, 2018
Information on priest ordination in Jodo Shinshu (Nishi Hongwanji branch) and my opinion on this matter
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.
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
The Three Refuges in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism
The Three Refuges[1] are:
I TAKE REFUGE IN THE BUDDHA
I TAKE REFUGE IN THE DHARMA
Dhammam saranam gacchami (Namo kye Ho)
I TAKE REFUGE IN THE SANGHA
1) The meaning of taking refuge in
the Buddha
This means to take refuge in Amida Buddha who is the
central Buddha in Jodo Shinshu. Only through Him can we attain Buddhahood
in the Pure Land as He is the only Buddha among all Buddhas who
made the Vow of saving everybody, no matter their spiritual capacities.
By
taking refuge in Amida, we automatically honor and take refuge in Shakyamuni
Buddha as the Teacher who showed us the path of Amida Dharma (His main reason for coming into this world) and in all Buddhas in the ten directions, as all encourage us, teach us
and guide us to entrust to Amida Buddha.
Saturday, May 5, 2018
The Ten Benefits of faith in Amida during this life: 10. The benefit of entering the stage of the truly settled (non-retrogression)
By
receiving faith (shinjin) and saying the Name of Amida we enter, in this life,
in the stage of the truly settled for birth in the Pure Land, where we’ll
actually go after death, and where we’ll immediately attain Buddhahood
(Nirvana). This is also called the stage of non-retrogression, the stage of
definite assurance, the group of the rightly established stage, the stage equal
to perfect Enlightenment, the stage equal with Maitreya, etc.
Here are some
passages related with this stage:
„If one
is mindful of that Buddha’s infinite power and
merit,
One will
instantly enter the stage of definite
assurance.
So I am always mindful of Amida”[1]
"When
we, ordinary people filled with evil passions, the multitudes defiled by karmic
evil and subject to birth and death, attain the faith and practice transferred
by Amida for our going forth, we will immediately join the Mahayana group of
the rightly established stage. Because we dwell in the rightly established
stage, we unfailingly reach Nirvana".[2]
Monday, April 23, 2018
The Ten Benefits of faith in Amida during this life: 8.The benefit of being aware of Amida’s benevolence and of responding in gratitude to His virtues; 9.The benefit of constantly practicing great compassion
As I explained at the chapter related with the Primal Vow, faith gives us two kinds of awareness:
1) that we are people of deep karmic
limitations, incapable to attain Buddhahood through our own power; and
2) that only Amida Buddha can save us through
His Vow Power (Other Power), without asking anything from us.
The repeated births and deaths of samsaric
existence are not a matter of mythology but a real danger for the unenlightend beings
and the most important problem to be solved while we are still enjoying the
rare karmic circumstance of being born a human being and meeting Amida Dharma.
If the follower deeply realizes that samsara is not the place where he should
build himself a destiny, but a never-ending cycle of momentary or false hapiness
and disatisfaction, and that he cannot escape from it through his own powers,
he may reach the point when he accepts
Amida Buddha’s helping hand that is extended to him.
In the next passages we see how Shinran expressed his awareness of Amida’s
benevolence after he received faith:
Saturday, April 21, 2018
The Ten Benefits of faith in Amida during this life: 7. The benefit of having great joy in our hearts
The receiving of faith (shinjin) is equivalent with escaping a great burden. We know that we’ll become Buddhas in the Pure Land of Amida, no matter our present situation. This joy is like the relief you feel when a great burden is taken from your shoulders, and indeed there is no greater burden than to be unenlightened and a slave of samsaric existence. The burden of your liberation is carried by the Buddha called Amida, who already crossed the Path for you. Anybody who carries a great burden is happy when that is taken away from him, so you can be happy or feel relief when you first entrust to Amida Buddha, if attaining Buddhahood or final liberation from birth and death is the most important matter for you. However, this doesn’t mean that hour by hour, minute to minute, second to second, you will think on Amida or feel a continuous joy as to jump in the air. Our lives are in such a way that we can always be overwhelmed by daily problems and worries. But its ok, its simply ok to be like this. We are not compelled to always jump with joy because we are saved by Amida. Despite of this, the salvation of Amida is always present, as our simple faith in Him remains with us since we first received it in our hearts. I usually explain that faith, once received, becomes like breathing, always being there although you don’t always express it consciously. We don’t always feel our breathing, but this doesn’t mean that breathing doesn’t exist. Sometimes we feel it better when, for example, we are fascinated by the clear air of the mountains or of a beautiful morning and we take long and deep breaths, while some other time we are too hurried and busy in our daily life to concentrate on it.
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