Jodo Shinshu Buddhism for everyone
Despite the many women actively involved with Jodo Shinshu temples, written expressions of their faith are rarely studied. Such works provide insight into their religious understanding and feelings on spiritual liberation, male sexism, and changing social mores. Now we can glimpse at those sentiments, thanks to a recently published work. Continue reading “Voices of Modern Shinshu Women”
By Rev. Ken Yamada
What does Jodo Shinshu say about standing up to oppression and violence? With a war in Ukraine, conflicts in our own country and turmoil worldwide, that’s an important question. Continue reading “War and Jodo Shinshu”
By Rev. Ken Yamada
Today, government mandates clash with personal rights; an unprecedented rise in wealth clashes with unrelenting poverty; political upheaval, military expansionism, and redefined social mores and identity abound. In these changing times, we must ask, “Is Jodo Shinshu Buddhism relevant?”
These challenges confront us now, but they also confronted a small group of innovative Buddhist thinkers a century ago, spurring them to redefine, modernize and find meaning in Jodo Shinshu, which for the previous two centuries had stagnated and grown moribund. For their contributions, they were persecuted, some even excommunicated by their own denomination. Their writings continue to be studied, debated, and valued in understanding Shinshu today. Continue reading “Seishinshugi: Shinshu’s Clash with the Modern World”