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Where exactly is the Pure Land?

By Rev. Ken Yamada

When temple visitors ask, “Where’s the Pure Land,” I usually say, it’s in “a state of mind.” Is that correct? Many people thought differently, and some were persecuted for their views.

Even today, some Jodo Shinshu followers think when they die, they’ll go to the Pure Land, comforted by the thought of reuniting with deceased loved ones. For hundreds of years in Japan, such beliefs were common.

Nowadays it’s absurd to think the Pure Land exists as a real place. There’s no proof and it’s never been scientifically verified. But just 150 years ago, a debate erupted over the Pure Land’s actual existence. Continue reading “Where exactly is the Pure Land?”

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Brazil Profile: Rev. Emilia Kajimoto

Born in São Paulo, Emilia Emy Urabe Kajimoto is a third-generation Japanese Brazilian. She grew up in the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist tradition at São Paulo Nambei Honganji temple, where her father worked as a missionary. From age five, she started chanting “Shoshinge” (Shinran’s Hymn of True Faith), and attended a local elementary school while living at the temple.

She found it difficult to explain who she was and where she lived to friends, who were primarily Catholic. She used Christian terms, which she felt they could understand, but felt it wasn’t quite right. She said, “I told my school friends that I lived in a church and that my father was a priest, even though I felt it was somewhat different.”

Continue reading “Brazil Profile: Rev. Emilia Kajimoto”

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Mutterings of an Old Man

Rennyo Shōnin (1415-1499)

By Bishop Kenjun Kawawata

These days, my body has become “koki koki” (stiff and jittery), especially this year at 70 years old, called “koki” (古希) in Japan. Long ago, this age was considered “old” and “rare.” Yet in my head, I’m not an “old man.” I wonder, does long-life mean happiness? Continue reading “Mutterings of an Old Man”