For myself, I do not have even a single disciple. For if I brought people to say the Nembutsu through my own efforts, then they might be my disciples. But it is indeed preposterous to call persons “my disciples” when they say the nembutsu having received the working of Amida. Tannisho 6 This passage is… Read More: Vision of a Healthy Temple »
The body of Amida is in color like a mountain of gold The radiance of his features and marks illumines the ten quarters Only people of the nembutsu are grasped by the light Know that the Primal Vow is the decisive cause. Kyogyoshinsho 3.95 The phrase above is from Shinran Shonin’s third chapter of the… Read More: Amida’s Gold Light »
Gassho and congratulations! Thank you to everyone who made this occasion possible. This celebration has been long overdue. We were a little broken-hearted when we had to postpone our 60th anniversary celebration and then eventually canceled because of the happenings in the world. When I look to the past, I see that our temple has… Read More: Happy 65th Birthday, Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple! »
If, when I become Buddha, the sentient beings in my land do not decidedly attain the equal of perfect enlightenment, so that they realize great nirvana, may I not attain enlightenment. Kyogyoshinsho 3.3 Although there are initially nine grades among those aspiring for birth, now [in the Pure Land] there are no distinctions whatsoever. It… Read More: This is Why We Have a Temple »
All that we are really capable of doing is to consider ourselves as separate from others, and take life and death to be two distinct things. Thus, we cannot help but form attachments to our selves and become estranged from others, or cling to life while rejecting death. We are afflicted by love and hatred,… Read More: Are you going to the Bonbu Lounge? »
Hello and Happy New Year! I have sat in front of this computer writing over and over again. I think about what the next 10 years will look like for our Buddhist Sect of Jodo Shinshu. What kind of hopes do I have for our temple community? I would hope that everyone will continue to… Read More: The Year is 64! »
Hello and Greetings Everyone! Living in Southern California you know that in the fall the leaves that areable to change are. Eventually they will fall to the ground. I often forget this simple lesson of Nature. DoYou? Give up anger, abandon conceit, and overcome all fetters. Ills of life (dukkha) do not befall one who… Read More: The Fall of Leaves! »
Light Speed Ahead! Do you feel that now that we are doing more things in person that everything is going even more quickly than it did before? I do! It has been great to see so many of you in person. Then, I find that there is not enough time to actually catch up. Especially… Read More: Happy Summer to All! »
In order to clarify and to bring us to know that the light of Amida surpasses conceptual understanding, the expression “I take refuge in the Tathagata of unhindered light filling the ten quarters” is used. When we constantly hold in mind and say the Name of the Buddha of unhindered light, since it embodies the… Read More: Names »
The phrase in the Ho-onko shiki, “Always keep in mind that recitation (of ‘Namo Amida Butsu’) is an instinctively cheerful activity” refers to reciting “Namo Amida Butsu” joyously rather than reciting it from a sense of duty. That’s because “Namo Amida Butsu” recited with shinjin (with a sense of being in Amida Buddha’s embrace) is… Read More: Turning the Corner in 2023! »
