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Kaneko: Can we “study” Shin Buddhism?

Kaneko Daiei

By Rev. Ken Yamada

Serious seekers “study”  Buddhism, but can we really “learn” Jōdo Shinshū? What, how, and why do we study?

Buddhist thinker and Ōtani University professor Kaneko Daiei (1881-1976) pondered such questions in a 1966 essay, “Prolegomena to Shin Buddhist Studies,” reckoning on academia’s purpose ( Robert F. Rhodes translation in Cultivating Spirituality, A Modern Shin Buddhist Anthology). He begins by stating:

Shin Buddhism teaches us to go to the Pure Land by saying the nenbutsu. That’s all. Since that’s all there is to the teaching of Shin Buddhism, is there any need to study it academically? Continue reading “Kaneko: Can we “study” Shin Buddhism?”

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Tokudo ordination: Not going up, but down

By Victor Ogundipe

Aspiring for the Other Shore of awakening, I made a commitment to learn, share,  and live the Buddhadharma with our sangha. That’s why I received tokudo ordination from Higashi Honganji, which took me to Japan for the first time last year.

I’ve come to realize being ordained isn’t about the ceremony or achieving something. It’s about reflecting on my so-called “self.” It’s not about “going up,” but rather “going down”—seeing my delusions, becoming humble, and understanding myself more clearly. Continue reading “Tokudo ordination: Not going up, but down”

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Higashi Honganji in France

By Rev. Ken Yamada

In a French village near the Swiss border, a small group met to discuss Buddhism and Shinran Shonin. This month, Rev. Ryoko Osa from Berkeley Higashi Honganji in California, and I travelled there to help and support them.

The gathering represented a budding French-speaking sangha, led by Greg Thomas, who has “tokudo” ordination from Higashi Honganji. He actively writes and talks about Jōdo Shinshū and Buddhism on the Internet, Youtube, and on a live Twitch.tv forum.

Consequently, people all around France are becoming interested in Jōdo Shinshū. A few have travelled great distances to participate in retreats with Greg and Higashi Honganji ministers from Shinshu Center of America, which helps since English serves as a common language for everyone. Continue reading “Higashi Honganji in France”

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Changing Image of Shinran Shonin

Founder’s Hall, Higashi Honganji, Kyoto

By Rev. Ken Yamada

Visitors to Higashi Honganji’s mother temple in Kyoto must be surprised to find on its main altar—not the Buddha—but rather, a statue of Shinran Shonin. Even I was surprised when I first saw it.

The largest hall at the denomination’s headquarters is dedicated to Jōdo Shinshū’s founder, which makes sense. Nonetheless, over the centuries the image of Shinran (1173-1263) played an outsized role in the transmission and understanding of Shinshū teachings. In turn, the way people viewed him changed over time. Continue reading “Changing Image of Shinran Shonin”

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Myōkōnin Dōshū

Rev. Nakura (right) and Rev. Gary Link (left) visiting Dōshū’s temple Gyotoku-ji in Akao.

By Rev. Miki Nakura

Although a commoner from Japan’s countryside, Dōshū’s remarkable faith caught the attention of Rennyo Shōnin, Jodo Shinshu’s “second founder.”

Most men wish always to have something new and novel; but a person of faith feels everything is fresh and new, even if constantly repeated. Regardless of how many times, each is heard anew with open ears,” Rennyo said. “Although Dōshū listened to the teachings constantly, he listened as if hearing them for the first time and he was grateful.

Dōshū (道宗)—a myōkōnin (simple person of deep faith in Jōdo Shinshū)—was born with the name Yashichi in Gokayama’s Akao village, deep in mountainous Toyama Prefecture, near the Japan Sea. He passed away in 1516. Today, Gokayama is designated as a World Heritage Site, known for its “gassho (prayer hands) style” thatched roof homes. The region is covered in snow during winter. Continue reading “Myōkōnin Dōshū”