Eight guidelines to protect and transmit the true faith in Amida Buddha

Many people asked me for a detailed and strict guideline on how to think and act in matters related with faith (shinjin), so that they do not fall into wrong views, nor be a cause of wrong views in others. As you probably know if you read my book The Meaning of Faith and Nembutsu in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, I always teach that genuine faith in Amida Buddha has eight elements:

1) To accept the actual, literal existence of Amida Buddha and His Pure Land

2) To accept the story of Amida  Buddha as told by Shakyamuni Buddha in the Larger Sutra

Los 48 votos del Buda Amida (edición gratuita)

Portada de la versión inglesa

Traducido del inglés por Diego Daleffe y 

Jaime Salvador Guzmán Valladares

Revisado por Juan Sebastián Hincapié Arana

En el momento en que Dharmakara se convirtió en el Buda Amida, Sus 48 votos y Su Tierra Pura se transformaron en métodos reales y eficaces para la salvación de los seres sintientes. Este libro es mi intento personal de proporcionar explicaciones fáciles de entender sobre los votos, para que la gente pueda vivir de acuerdo con ellos y adquirir la verdadera y real salvación del nacimiento y la muerte.

Para una mejor comprensión dividí los 48 votos del Buda Amida de la siguiente manera:

1. Votos sobre el Buda Amida y su Tierra Pura.

Estos votos se explicarán en el primer capítulo.

2. Los votos relacionados con la salvación de todos los seres sintientes – Se explican en el segundo capítulo.

El significado de la fe y el nembutsu en el Budismo Jodo Shinshu (edición gratuita)

Portada de la versión inglesa

Traducido del inglés por:

Juan Sebastián Hincapié Arana

Este libro es, como muestra el título, un intento de explicar el significado de la fe y el Nembutsu de acuerdo con la enseñanza de nuestra escuela Jodo Shinshu.

Comienzo mis explicaciones con el Voto Primordial del Buda Amida porque sin él no habría Jodo Shinshu. Como dijo Shinran:

"Si el Voto Primal de Amida es verdadero, la enseñanza de Shakyamuni no puede ser falsa. Si las enseñanzas del Buda son verdaderas, los comentarios de Shan-tao no pueden ser falsos. Si los comentarios de Shan-tao son ciertos, ¿pueden las palabras de Honen  ser mentiras? Si las palabras de Honen son ciertas, entonces seguramente lo que digo no puede ser vacío”. [1]

Virtues and activities of the Enlightened Bodhisattvas of the Pure Land – commentary on sections 28 and 30 of the Larger Sutra

Amida Buddha and His two attendand Bodhisattvas,
Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta

fragment from my commentary on the Larger Sutra

 this is a work in progress and under constant revision   

click here to return to the table of contents

“The Buddha said to Ananda, ‘All the Bodhisattvas in the land of Amitayus will ultimately attain the stage of becoming a Buddha after one more life. Excepted are those who have made original vows for the sake of sentient beings, resolving to cultivate the merit of realizing their great vows to save all sentient beings.’”[1]

This fragment is clearly related with the 22^nd Vow which I already explained in the chapter dedicated to the 48th Vows. Basically, it means, as I explained there, and at chapter 1 of this book (click here to read), that once we attain Buddhahood in the Pure Land, we act as Buddhas who manifest as Bodhisattvas.  The “stage of becoming a Buddha after one more life”, represents the capacity of those who attain Buddhahood in the Pure Land to endlessly manifest themselves in various places in the universe and become active Buddhas there for the sake of sentient beings. When we are born in the Pure Land we automatically gain the capacity to always playing the role of becoming Buddhas and teaching the Dharma like Shakyamuni himself [1b]. Shinran Shonin explained this in his Hymns of the Pure Land:

Again on the idea that faith in Amida comes from Amida - very simple explanations

There are many who get stuck at the idea of shinjin (faith) coming from Amida, or being Amida's gift. However, this is a very simple thing, and you should understand it in a simple way, so that it may not become an obstacle.

First of all, shinjin or simple faith in Amida is like when you do not know how to fix your car and you trust John who is a mechanic to fix it for you. In our case, you cannot attain Buddhahood by yourself and you trust Amida Buddha to help you attain it by taking you to His Pure Land.Your trust in John arises because you heard he is a very skilled mechanic and you saw him doing other repairs. So, in truth, John is the one who makes you trust him.

Also, let’s say you have a best friend. To have faith in your best friend is, in fact, answering to his love and to the fact that he is constantly there for you, so in fact, your trust in him is his gift. You trust him because of him.

Visit of two friends from Brasil at Amidaji temple

Fernando Campos, Josho and Thais Campos

These days at Amidaji I received the visit of Thais Campos and Fernando Campos (81 years old) from Brasil. We had a meaningful retreat filled with Nembutsu services and Dharma talks. As you know, Amidaji temple is always happy to receive visitors who are in a learning mood for hearing the Amida Dharma. Conditions for visitation are explained here (click here).

LOS CUATRO PENSAMIENTOS PROFUNDOS QUE ORIENTAN LA MENTE HACIA EL DHARMA DE AMIDA (edición gratuita)

Portada de la versión inglesa

Traducido del inglés por:

Juan Sebastián Hincapié Arana

Los Cuatro Pensamientos Profundos son enseñanzas básicas, algo como una etapa preliminar a cualquier camino o práctica budista. Tienen el efecto de orientar la mente hacia el Dharma del Buda y deben ser un compañero constante no importa si uno es un principiante o un seguidor veterano. A veces se  denominan como las Cuatro contemplaciones, los cuatro Entendimientos o los cuatro Recordatorios. Dado que en este libro los explico en el contexto de la Puerta del Dharma de la Tierra Pura de la escuela Jodo Shinshu (El Dharma de Amida), decidí llamarlos los Cuatro Pensamientos profundos que orientan la mente hacia el Dharma de Amida. Estos pensamientos profundos son: