Vol. 2, Issue 3

Jodo Shinshu International
Take Refuge in the
True and Real Light
A Buddhist Quarterly
Volume 2, Issue 3
2022

MISSION STATEMENT
Sharing with the world the deep and humbling joy of awakening to
Amida Buddha’s Universal Aspiration that enables each and every
person to live a spiritually fulfilled life.
ABOUT THE MISSION STATEMENT
This mission statement was articulated to convey a number of overarching
themes and goals that this founding committee wanted to share with its readers
through this quarterly journal. By introducing first-hand accounts of people
who have experienced the warmth of Amida Buddha’s embracing Compassion,
readers can be inspired by the message of Shinran Shonin, the founder of Jodo
Shinshu Buddhism.
Through these religious experiences and accounts from people around the
world, it is our hope to spread the message of Amida Buddha’s Great Aspiration
for all beings—despite race, color, creed, or any other divisions among us—to
awaken to a life of spiritual fulfillment. When we awaken to this message of
Amida’s universal embracement, each person can live in the here and now,
with a sense of profound self-reflection, joy, and hope that will lead one to live
in deepest gratitude for the Buddha’s benevolence.
We are excited to be a part of a movement that will spread a message of
unity and hope through Amida Buddha’s universal solidarity.
Namo Amida Butsu.

Volume 2, Issue 3, Published September 2022
Jodo Shinshu
International
A Buddhist Quarterly
IN THIS ISSUE
6 Nāgārjuna and the Easy Path to Awakening
Rev. Jérôme Ducor
Dr. Alfred Bloom
12 Various Religious Groups in Nepal
Rev. Uma Lama (Ghising)
14 Commentary on Deaf and Dumb’s Nembutsu
By Shogyo Gustavo Pinto
18 Encountering Shinran Shonin Through a Coffeeshop Window
Rev. Enrique Galvan-Alvarez (Shaku Kekai)
22 The Central Concept of Buddhism: The Teaching of Interdependent
Co-arising
Dr. Alfred Bloom
26 First Steps
Rev. Melissa Opel

Jodo Shinshu International is published quarterly by the
Jodo Shinshu International Office, a not-for-profit religious
corporation.
Volume 2 , Issue 3.
Content copyright © 2022 Jodo Shinshu International Office.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including
photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval
system, without written permission.
Editors-in-Chief: Rev. Kodo Umezu, Rev. Ai Hironaka
Committee: Rev. Yuika Hasebe, Rev. Dr. Takashi Miyaji
Contributors: Dr. Alfred Bloom, Rev. Jérôme Ducor, Rev.
Enrique Galvan-Alvarez, Rev. Ai Hironaka, Rev. Uma Lama
(Ghising), Minako Kamuro, Rev. Melissa Opel, Shogyo Gustavo
Pinto
Design & Layout: Travis Suzaka
Printing: Kousaisha, Tokyo, Japan
Support: Rev. Kiyonobu Kuwahara, Madeline Kubo
Image Sources: Upsplash and Wikipedia
Jodo Shinshu International Office
1710 Octavia Street, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA
www.jsinternational.org
EXPLANATION OF CALLIGRAPHY
“The true and real light”, this month’s phrase, appears in the second hymn of Shinran Shonin’s Hymns
Based on Gathas in Praise of Amida Buddha:
The Light of Wisdom exceeds all measures,
And every finite living being
Receives this illumination that like the dawn,
So take refuge in Amida, the true and real light.
As Shinran Shonin clarified in the gatha above, “the true and real light” refers to Amida Buddha.
Shinran Shonin was very, very careful when he used words relating to the essence of the Pure Land
teaching so he wrote footnotes on this phrase. He wrote that the Chinese character for “true” ( 眞 )
means “free of falsehood and flattery” and the Chinese character for “real” ( 實 ) means “things will
unfailingly reach fruition.”
He lived his life with this light shining from the world of Thusness or Suchness in which all beings
are privileged to exist. However, we are living our lives without realizing this light. Consequently, we
live our lives with fear and doubt.
Shinran Shonin tells us that this light shines on the blind and ignorant of the world. We cannot
see our true conditions unless we encounter this light. This light is expressed as Namo Amida Buddha.
The heart of Thusness had to appear in our realm as this calling of Amida Buddha.
We often ask what we need to do to follow the Buddhist Path. Shinran Shonin’s response is that
we must listen to the words of reliable teachers and masters who have gone before us.
We are very fortunate that Shinran Shonin is one of our Buddhist masters whom we can visit and
listen to. In this finite world, let us not waste the precious moment of life and without hesitation let us
encounter the true and real light that is already being cast upon us.
Namo Amida Butsu – Take Refuge in the True and Real Light.
Rev. Kodo Umezu
Rev. Kodo Umezu is a retired minister and former Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of
America who currently serves as the President of the Jodo Shinshu International Office.

FEATURED ARTICLE
Nāgārjuna and the Easy
Path to Awakening
Rev. Jérôme Ducor
Author’s Note: My sincere thanks to Dr. Heleven Loveday for checking my English.
6

REV. JÉRÔME DUCOR
Nāgārjuna (243 - ?) is the first of the Seven Eminent
Masters retained by Shinran but he is also more generally
recognised as the primordial master of the Greater Vehicle
(Mahāyāna). The latter is the form of Buddhism that
spread from India throughout the Far East, up to China,
Korea and Japan, not forgetting Tibet and Mongolia.
“Vehicle” designates the teachings of the Buddha that
carry beings along the path from the world of suffering to
the other shore, that of deliverance.
The “Greater” Vehicle is so called because it considers
itself as the maximalist path within Buddhism. That is to
say, it does not offer beings individual deliverance from
suffering alone. It claims to offer everyone the possibility
of becoming a perfectly accomplished Buddha who will
then be able to help all other beings to obtain deliverance
in their turn.
However, this path to awakening is particularly
difficult. Indeed, beings are riddled with passions, those
uncontrolled feelings such as the desire for what one does
not have, or the hatred of what one has, which make
them produce all sorts of mental constructions by which
they chain themselves to the cycle of births and deaths.
Passions are closely combined with ignorance of the true
nature of things. That is, beings generally see the world
not as it is but as they would like it to be.
This explains why Buddhism, of all schools, advocates
removing these obstacles on the path by accumulating
merits to erase the passions on the one hand, and by
acquiring wisdom to tear apart ignorance on the other.
In the Greater Vehicle this self-conquest is presented
as the quest of a young heroic prince building his kingdom.
His journey begins with the production of the vow to
become a fully accomplished Buddha in order to deliver
all beings. This is called “the thought of awakening”
(bodhicitta), and the one who has produced it is a
“Bodhisattva”. In addition to this general vow, common
to all Bodhisattvas, the candidate for awakening also
formulates specific vows of his own, in order to adapt more
particularly to the needs and aptitudes of the beings he
wants to deliver.
The rest of his cursus consists of developing a
number of qualities, which are summarised in the six
perfections: gift, morality, patience, energy, meditation
and wisdom. This is a particularly demanding programme
and is defined by precise steps. Buddhist masters have
endeavoured to illuminate this complicated path.
Nāgārjuna himself dealt with it in several texts, including
one with the evocative title: Treatise on the analysis of the Ten
Stages (Jūju bibasha ron).
These “Ten Stages” appear, however, only towards
the end of this path: they are preceded by forty steps and
followed by two final steps before arriving at the perfect
awakening itself, for a total of no less than fifty-two steps.
Of the Ten Stages, the most important is the eighth
stage, because from this point onwards the bodhisattva
has no more effort to make, the rest of his journey being
carried out by itself. This is why this stage is called “the
Irreversible.”
A final but impressive detail is that the entire career of
the bodhisattva takes place over the staggering duration of
three “incalculable” cosmic periods plus three “ordinary”
cosmic periods! Access to the Irreversible Stage is itself
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FEATURED ARTICLE - NĀGĀRJUNA AND THE EASY PATH TO AWAKENING
only reached after the first two incalculable cosmic
periods. These figures are truly astronomical, since one
definition of the duration of an ordinary cosmic period
(kalpa) says that it is longer than the time it takes an old
man to level a mountain twenty-four thousand metres high
by brushing it with the bottom of his silk robe once every
three years!
One can easily admit that the length of the bodhisattva’s
journey is enough to discourage the best intentioned
practitioners.
Nāgārjuna himself mentions this in his Treatise on the
analysis of the Ten Stages, when asked the following question:
would there not be a suitable means offering an easier way
to access the Irreversible Stage promptly? Nāgārjuna’s
response, at first, is really not encouraging:
Such talk as yours is worthy of a wimp and a coward!
These are not the words of a resolute hero! And why is this
so? If someone produces the vow and aspiration of perfect
unsurpassable enlightenment then he must, without
sparing his own life, strive energetically day and night as if
he were removing fire from his head!
In a second phase, however, Nāgārjuna is more
conciliatory and does offer an alternative:
In the Law of the Buddha there are innumerable
methods. It is like the ways of this world. There are
difficult ones, and there are easy ones: walking painfully
by land, which is painful; or being carried by water on a
ship, which is delightful.
This is also true of the way of the bodhisattvas. There
are some who strive to practise energetically, and there are
some who, by the easy practice of the suitable means of
faith, promptly attain the Irreversible Stage.
Then Nāgārjuna presents this easy practice as
commemorating the Buddhas of the Ten Directions by
saying their names. Indeed, the Greater Vehicle asserts
that there are Buddhas preaching the Law in some of
the universes around us today. This is one of the most
significant features of Mahāyāna compared to the
Theravāda tradition. One of the earliest of the Buddha’s
sermons (sūtra) to be translated into Chinese, in the 2nd
century CE, the Pratyutpanna Sūtra, for example, teaches
a meditative method of seeing and hearing any of these
Enlightened Ones from our own world in order to receive
their teaching in the absence of the Buddha Śākyamuni. It
should be noted that the only Buddha mentioned by name
in this sūtra is the Buddha Amida.
Nāgārjuna’s treatise enumerates the names of no
less than one hundred and seven of these Buddhas of the
Present, the first in the list being none other than the
Buddha Amitāyus (“Immeasurable-Life”), one of the two
Sanskrit names of the Buddha Amida, the other one being
Amitābha (“Immeasurable-Light”).
Indeed, Nāgārjuna gives a prominent place to Amida,
whose specific vow he even relates as follows:
If anyone commemorates me by uttering my name
and relies on me, he at once enters into the stage of
the definitively settled and will obtain the unsurpassed
perfect enlightenment.
The treatise continues with a poem in thirty-two
stanzas in which Nāgārjuna praises the Buddha Amida.
8

REV. JÉRÔME DUCOR
Since all of Buddhism
admits that there were
Buddhas in the past, before
Śākyamuni, and in the
future after him, there must
necessarily also be Buddhas
in the present.
All of the above passages are found in the ninth chapter
of the Treatise on the analysis of the Ten Stages, entitled “On
the Easy Practice” (Igyōbon). Though this is but one of the
thirty-five chapters of this treatise, it will however play
a special role in the Pure Land tradition, especially for
Tanluan and Genshin, the third and fifth of the Seven
Eminent Masters. Of course, Shinran himself quotes
from this chapter in his major work, the Kyōgyōshinshō
(“Teaching, practice, faith and realisation”).
Nāgārjuna is also credited with another poem of praise
to the Buddha Amida, the hymn of the Twelve Worships
(Jūnirai), which is well known because it is frequently
chanted in Jōdo-Shinshū services. Shinran quotes from it
in one of his last, unfinished books, The Virtues of the Name of
the Tathāgata Amida (‘Mida Nyorai myōgō toku).
Another work of Nāgārjuna cited by Shinran in the
Kyōgyōshinshō, is the Treatise on the Great Sūtra of the Perfection
of Wisdom (Daichidoron). This voluminous sum of knowledge
comprising ninety chapters filling one hundred Chinese
scrolls is one of the most famous works of Nāgārjuna in the
Far East. Contrary to what its title suggests, it is not just a
commentary on a sūtra but a veritable encyclopaedia of
the Greater Vehicle.
It is here, for example, that we find one of the
most complete justifications for the actual existence of
Buddhas present in the ten directions, as opposed to
certain Buddhist schools outside the Greater Vehicle.
The arguments put forward by Nāgārjuna are primarily
logical. First of all, the existence of these Buddhas meets
a necessity based on compassion: if there is suffering
in the universes of the Ten Directions, how could a
Buddha not manifest himself there? In addition, since all
of Buddhism admits that there were Buddhas in the past,
before Śākyamuni, and in the future after him, there must
necessarily also be Buddhas in the present. Nāgārjuna
continues his justification with arguments of a different
kind, based on faith:
If the Buddhas of the Ten Directions exist and you say
they do not exist, you commit an immeasurable fault.
If the Buddhas of the Ten Directions do not exist and
I say they do exist, I conceive of infinite Buddhas and
I receive the merit for worshipping them. For, it is my
good intention that causes the greatness of the merit. (...)
With the physical eye, a human being cannot know
them at all. But if, just through the faith of his heart,
he says they do exist, his merit is infinite. (...) Common
sense already makes it clear that man must, of himself,
have faith in their existence. And all the more, how
can there be no faith when the Buddha himself has
proclaimed in the Mahāyāna that the Buddhas of the
Ten Directions really exist?
Neither Shinran nor any of the Chinese or Japanese
masters before him ever used this kind of justification, since
the existence of the Buddhas of the present is so self-evident
to the followers of the Greater Vehicle. However, Shinran
does quote a short extract from the Treatise on the Great Sūtra
of the Perfection of Wisdom in his Kyōgyōshinshō (ch. 6, § 71). It is
important because it helps to define Buddhist hermeneutics,
the method of interpreting sacred texts of Buddhism.
In fact, Nāgārjuna is merely recapitulating there four
9

FEATURED ARTICLE - NĀGĀRJUNA AND THE EASY PATH TO AWAKENING
The analysis of the reality
of things and beings
around us, as well as of our
own person, leads to the
realisation that nothing and
no one exists by itself.
major rules for determining textual authority, which had
already been developed before him. The first says that one
should refer to the texts of the scriptures rather than to
the authority of an individual, even the Buddha himself.
The second is to rely on meaning rather than on the letter.
The third enjoins reliance on wisdom, born from practice,
rather than mere intellectual and discursive knowledge.
Finally, the fourth advocates relying on the sūtras of
definitive meaning rather than the others. It was these
rules that enabled Buddhism to develop an extremely
diverse literature of commentaries. Shinran will certainly
make use of them.
Finally, there is one aspect of Nāgārjuna that cannot
be ignored: his philosophical dimension, which goes far
beyond the framework of Buddhism and makes him one
of the great thinkers of Humanity. In this respect, he is
considered the founder of Mādhyamika (“Medialism”),
one of the two main philosophical currents of the Greater
Vehicle, the second being that of Idealism (Yogācāra). In
this field, Nāgārjuna’s major work is certainly his famous
Fundamental Stanzas of the Middle (Mūla madhyamaka kārikā).
The whole of Buddhism can indeed be considered
as a “middle way”, following the example of Śākyamuni
himself, who, after having experienced the extreme of
pleasures during his youth as a prince, embarked on the
extreme of asceticism before finally renouncing it in order
to follow a balanced path between these two and become
a Buddha. However, Nāgārjuna’s Middle Way is more
philosophical. It consists in keeping an equal distance
between the real existence of things and beings, and their
fundamental non-existence. The analysis of the reality of
things and beings around us, as well as of our own person,
leads to the realisation that nothing and no one exists
by itself. Everything that exists is in fact a provisional
assembly of multiple elements joined together by various
causes and conditions, which disintegrate when the causes
that brought them together are exhausted. Thus, at the
moment of death, we see the decomposition of the physical
body by the disintegration of the physical elements that
constitute a person. The same is true of the mental
elements that make up the spirit, none of which can be
isolated in what would be called “a soul”. So that if beings
exist, it is only to a certain extent, that which constitutes
“relative truth”. But since they do not exist at all by
themselves, they do not exist in “absolute truth”. In short,
everything is devoid or empty of any self-substance, stable
and permanent. This is universal emptiness (śūnyatā),
which is at the heart of the Mādhyamika and which will
be one of the favourite topics of the Chinese Chan or
Japanese Zen traditions.
Shinran’s teaching is intended to be practical, so
that it does not offer long philosophical developments.
Nevertheless, all his thought is radically marked by
Mādhyamika, which deeply imbues the doctrine of the
Tendai school in which he was trained for twenty years. In
his Poem of the nembutsu of True Faith (Shōshinge), which is the
heart of his work, Shinran relates a prediction made by
the Buddha:
The Tathāgata Śākyamuni, on the Mount of Laṅkā,
Announced to the community: “In southern India,
The great hero Nāgārjuna will appear in this world
10

REV. JÉRÔME DUCOR
To crush entirely the view of existence and inexistence.
He will proclaim the unsurpassable Dharma of the
Greater Vehicle,
Realise the stage of Joy and be born in the Pure Land
Sukhāvatī.”
Here Shinran quotes almost literally from a famous
scripture, the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. By so doing he justifies the
legitimacy of his own lineage, since he establishes a direct
link between the Buddha Śākyamuni and Nāgārjuna, and
also, through the latter, with the other six of the Seven
Eminent Masters.
This prediction mentions that Nāgārjuna will achieve
“the stage of Joy”, that is, he will reach the first of the Ten
Stages of the final part of the bodhisattva path. In Jodo-
Shinshu temples, he is accordingly painted in the guise of
a bodhisattva, i.e. in the garb of a young prince enthroned
on a lotus, dressed in a celestial robe, adorned with various
jewels, his forehead encircled by a diadem and his hands
holding a long-stemmed lotus.
Nāgārjuna’s life is not well known. As is often the
case in India, his chronology is confused, and we are not
even sure of his dates to within a century. At least it can
be established that he was born into a Brahmin family in
South India, converted to the Buddhism of the Greater
Vehicle, and became famous enough during his lifetime to
exchange letters with certain sovereigns.
In addition to those already mentioned, many
works are attributed to Nāgārjuna. It is not impossible
that several masters with the same name succeeded one
another, according to Indian custom. In China, his works
were translated by Kumārajīva and his team between 404
and 408 CE. These are the versions that are also used in
Japan and Korea. A number of them are even preserved
in Chinese only with no surviving Sanskrit version or
later Tibetan translation. This is notably the case with
the above-mentioned Treatise on the analysis of the Ten Stages,
Treatise on the Great Sūtra of the Perfection of Wisdom and Twelve
Worships. From a religious point of view, however, the
question of the historicity of their author is not of interest,
because of the hermeneutical criteria already mentioned.
FURTHER READINGS
The Pure Land Writings, Vol. I: The Indian Masters (The
Shin Buddhist Translation Series); Kyoto, Jodo Shinshu
Hongwanji-ha, 2012: translation of the “Chapter on Easy
Practice” and the Twelve Worships.
Inagaki, Hisao: Nāgārjuna’s Discourse on the Ten Stages;
Kyoto, Ryukoku Gakkai, 1998.
About the Author
Rev. Jérôme Ducor
Rev. Jérôme Ducor is the minister in
charge of the Shingyôji temple (Geneva).
He has been teaching Buddhism at
McGill (Montreal) and at the universities
of Geneva and Lausanne, besides being
the curator of the Asia Department at
the Geneva Museum. He is the author of
various Buddhist publications, including
a translation of Tanluan’s Commentary
and his own book, Shinran and Pure Land
Buddhism.
11

FEATURED ARTICLE
Various Religious
Groups in Nepal
Rev. Uma Lama (Ghising)
The constitution establishes the country as a “secular state” but defines
secularism as “protection of the age-old religion and culture and religious and
cultural freedom.” The constitution prohibits converting persons from one
religion to another and prohibits religious behavior disturbing public order
or contrary to public health, decency, and morality. The law does not provide
for registration or official recognition of religious organizations as religious
institutions, except for Buddhist monasteries. All other religious groups must
register as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or nonprofit organizations to
own property or operate legally. Likewise, Hongwanji Nepal is also registered as
NGO which is a non-profit organization.
In Nepal, Jodo Shinshu is not only one religious organization that it derived
from Japan. There are some more other religious groups which came from
Japan and adapted the name as it is. Except Hongwanji Nepal, the groups that
came from Japan are Nepal Eurasia Reiyukai, Soga Gakkai International,
Tenrikyo, Nepal Izunome Johrei ( 浄 霊 )Center, Reiki Healing center. The two
groups Nepal Izunome Johore Center and Reiki Healing Center are known as
12

REV. UMA LAMA (GHISING)
therapy centers and are more inclined towards healing
through sound and hand energy. However, these groups
are known as having a buddhist teaching background.
Among these groups, Nepal Eurasia Reiyukai is a very
well-known organization. It was established around April
1977 and was called the Friendship Club. Reciting the
“Saddharmapundariksutra,” which is also called the title
“Namo Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo” of The Blue Sutra (a collection
text from Three Fold Lotus Sutra). The basic teaching
is appreciation with the slogan “Heart of Gratitude -
world of Gratitude.” They emphasize that to receive the
teachings of Buddha you don’t have to become a priest.
So they claim the teaching is purely focused on lay people.
Now more than 1.3 million members are enrolled and
about 3,000 people become new members annually. Most
enrolled members are from the Hindu tradition and few
people are from Buddhist tradition.
Furthermore, there is one more group called Nepal
Soka Gakkai International (NSGI) which was officially
registered as a Buddhist organization on January 1, 1993.
The philosophical base of the organization’s practice
is Nichiren Buddhism, which is considered a school of
the Mahayana tradition. Practitioners are encouraged
to practice the daily chanting of Namo-myoho-renge-kyo.
They don’t charge membership dues, and no donations
are accepted from non-SGI members. If anyone want
to donate they ask to buy books or prayer books. There
are about 1,100 members. Most of the members come
from a Newari Buddhist background known as Shakya
Bajracharyas. Hindus are the second largest group
of members, and members with Tibetan Buddhist
background are very few.
The two religious groups mentioned above have
similarities in social activities as Hongwanji Nepal.
The social activates include constructing water tanks,
organizing free health camps, ambulance service, giving
computer training, organizing rickshaw project, cleaning
cities program, a free service of Japanese language classes,
teaching free handicraft training. They also established
Eye Hospital service and Lumbini International
Research Center.
These are the religious groups who have been working
in Nepal and propagating their own Agenda diligently.
Nepal Eurasia Reiyukai and Soka Gakkai International
are both Mahayana Buddhism. Both groups claim their
teachings are highly geared towards lay people. The
common factor in these two groups is how their both
emphadize saying the name of sutra. This is an important
part of their practice.
When it comes to Hongwanji, most of the enrolled
members are from a Tibetan Buddhist background. There
are very few members who come from Hindu tradition. In
Nepali society, especially in Tibetan buddhism, reciting
the name of Buddha, Bodhisattva’, or Gurus is very
common. Because it is the name of Amitabha buddha,
saying the name (Nenbutsu) has been easy to grasp. For
Jodo Shinshu still there are lot more challenges and
misunderstanding because both group Nepal Eurasia
Reiyukai and Soka Gakkai International have longer
histories than Hongwanji Nepal. We found that most
of the people assumed that Jodo Shinshu is similar to
them and recite “Namo-myoho-renge-kyo.” The common
misconception is that the teaching of Buddhism in Japan
is Nichirenshu.
About the Author
Rev. Uma Lama (Ghising)
Rev. Uma Lama (Ghising) is the President
of the Hongwanji Buddhist Society of
Nepal. She attended seminary school at
Chuō Bukkyō Gakuin and earned her MA
in Shin Buddhism from Ryukoku University.
She is the first woman from Nepal to be
ordained as a Jodo Shinshu priest.
13

FEATURED ESSAY
Commentary on
Deaf and Dumb’s
Nembutsu 1
By Shogyo Gustavo Pinto
14

SHOGYO GUSTAVO PINTO
“Do I contradict myself?
Very well, then I contradict myself.
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)”
“Songs of Myself,” Walt Whitman (1819 -1892)
The title above is elusive. It means what it says, but not what it usually suggests.
You, the reader, are being invited for a ride in the wilderness, not only in content
but also in form. Let’s start at the beginning.
Reverend Kodo Umezu’s kind invitation mentioned I was free to choose the
theme of this essay.
The Author asked himself, “Which theme? Noisy Sao Paulo. Traffic jams.
Distant neighing. Autry and Whitley whistling. Insisting three times.”
OK. “I’m on my way. Back in the saddle again.” Poor horse waited eleven
years —and his name? “Commentary.”
The text? “Deaf and Dumb’s Nembutsu” - A paper presented by me in 2011 at
Otani University. That was the last IASBS Conference in which I participated.
Paper remains unpublished until today.
The text contained a clue to another narrative accessible only in a second reading.
Time to unveil it.
Never read the paper “Deaf and Dumb’s Nembutsu”? Don’t worry, dear Reader.
The paragraphs that follow will provide what you need to know.
The paper featured two protagonists - Lecturer and Fool. Lecturer introduces
Fool to the audience. He says Fool is an incurable Fool. His only sign of
intelligence is curiosity. Fool keeps annoying Lecturer for years with meaningless
and naïve questions about Pure Land Buddhism.
Seems all too weird? Not until you see what comes ahead. Trains are for welltravelled
roads. Horses are for un-trodden paths. Let’s ride, old pal.
Let’s jump straight to a phrase in the last few paragraphs of the paper:
“I now regard the Fool as a kind of Master, in front of whom I bow as a humble and
grateful disciple.”
Lecturer’s view of the Fool is now inverted. The pestering voice that asked the
annoying questions was once that of the Fool, and is now that of the master.
That’s the clue. A new narrative emerges once the text is re-read through the eyes
of the inverted first persona. For my Master (previously called “Fool”), upside
down or upright makes no difference. For him, all the Sahāloka (illusory world) is
Upaya (a skillful way to transcend illusion). In the end I was shown that I was the
1. This was the title of the author’s paper written in 2011. Out of respect for the author’s editorial choices at the time the paper was written, we are referring to the original title of the paper. However, the
editors of the JSIO recognize that language changes over time and that different word choices would be made had the original paper been written today.
15

FEATURED ESSAY - COMMENTARY ON DEAF AND DUMB’S NEMBUTSU
fool all along. Nothing less than the “deaf and mute’s Nembutsu” was given to
me by the Master through the questions he asked me.
First Lesson
Through the following questions, Master was provoking me to realize I kept
repeating the Nembutsu the same way a parrot repeats words: perfectly
pronounced and perfectly meaningless.
“There are people who are born unable to hear. How does Amida’s calling come to
them?”
I kept silent for a moment, when a second question came:
“There are people who are born unable to learn how to speak. How do they recite the
Nembutsu?”
Astonished, I heard the third question:
“There are people both unable to hear and unable to speak. How do they hear the calling,
and how are they saved by the Vow that states one should recite Amida´s name in order to
be saved?”
I had no answer. He turned me mute - I became speechless.
Second Lesson
Master perceived my small egocentric Nembutsu. Recite here; To be saved
beyond. But Master knew better: Salvation beyond; Confident Mind (Shinjin) here.
To show how childish my perspective was, Master took me to his private Cape
Canaveral, put me on board a rocket called Nembutsu VI, and launched it
propelled by six interrogation marks.
“You said that Tariki Nembutsu is the Nembutsu recited by Amida Buddha. Do you
mean that Infinite Light and Life emit the same phoneme used by us? Namo Amida
Butsu? Infinite Light and Life utter human language? If this is so, why did Infinite
Light and Life choose to call people all over the world, including Brazilians, in a mix
of a dead language and the sounds of an idiom spoken only by the inhabitants of a tiny
archipelago? And even more, you said that according to the Larger Sutra the Name is
praised by innumerable Buddhas in the worlds of the ten quarters. Do you mean that
in the Andromeda constellation and beyond, in all known and unknown galaxies, and
in uncountable invisible realms, all Buddhas repeat a Sanskrit word and a Japanese
transliteration? Do you really mean it? I thought anthropomorphic projections were a
specialty among some western theologians.”
Master offered a glimpse of the cosmic dimension to help a fool encapsulated in
the dwarfism of a mere cultural representation of the Nembutsu.
Third Lesson
Master’s next strategic step seemed to contradict the two preceding interventions.
He urged me to choose one of the forms of Nembutsu: the six-syllable-Nembutsu
or one of the longer forms. In reality he used this bait to attract me closer to a
hidden jewel. To prepare me for the shorter, he took me to the longer.
“Aside from the six syllables, which I already know, you mentioned a nine syllable
Nembutsu, Na Mo Fu Ka Shi Gui Kou Nyo Rai, and a ten syllable Nembutsu, Ki Myou
Jin Ji Pou Mu Gue Kou Nyo Rai. Sorry, but if reciting the Nembutsu with a thrusting
mind is the only necessary condition for my liberation from the Saha world at the end of
this life, it is your duty as a Shinshu minister to tell me in how many syllables I should
recite the Nembutsu.”
16

SHOGYO GUSTAVO PINTO
Master’s questioning kept me under pressure. I remained speechless. I then
shared with Master the deep, transforming experience I was going through:
“In 1996 my daughter was born, and later came my son. As children do, at a certain age
they started trying to communicate in sounds. “Na, na, na”, they repeated. “Ma, ma,
ma”, they stuttered. “Da, da, da”, they stammered.”
Master responded:
“Aren’t children born capable of saying a three syllable Nembutsu? Look, Sofia did this,
and now Alexandre is doing the same! Namanda! Isn´t this the very first and innate
Nembutsu? Come on, you useless biped with a shaved head and dressed in robes. Can´t
you hear your own children reciting the Nembutsu? Your children are not different from
children all over the world. All of them when trying to speak stammer these same sounds
“Na, na, na!” “Ma, ma, ma!” “Da, da, da!” Hey, Shogyo, wake up! Are not these -
the first phonemes that human beings pronounce - the Nembutsu? You never answer my
questions and I am tired of waiting in vain. You know what? Neither six nor nine, and
much less ten. I don´t know about you, I will follow these kids. I will keep on repeating
the simplest, the three syllable Nembutsu. Children came from close to the Buddha, and
theirs is the freshest Nembutsu. And you, bigheaded robe-enveloped mister intelligent,
when death comes, how are you going to greet her? In six, nine, or ten syllables?
Sorry, I suddenly realized that maybe I am misunderstanding you. Maybe you answer in
silence the silent Nembutsu you hear. The [deaf and mute´s] Nembutsu resounds in the
eloquence of silence. But I can´t do the same. I am a talkative guy. Gratitude arouses in
me and explodes in Namanda! The Namanda appears in me just like fireworks in the sky
on New Year´s Eve. Suddenly, unexpectedly, I hear the Namanda painting the night of my
life with light and colors. If it is in silence that you answer the silent calling, then please
forgive me, dear Shogyo. I can´t stand that tall. I belong to the proximity of childhood.
Like a child I am. Namanda is all I can say.”
The Master had taught me that the Nembutsu permeates life, and the calling of
the Buddha-Dharma is present everywhere, in everything.
In order to respect the limit of one thousand five-hundred-word, this article
must be concluded. An unexpected intervention. His gentle voice whispers in
my ears. “This commentary is a good introduction to the central purport of the
original paper, as you indicated above.”
Last, but not least, the title of the paper when read upright is “Deaf and Mute’s
Namanda.”
Master now sits on a surfboard, floating above the sea, which is where he
lives. A wave starts forming. A wave rises. He rises with it. Smiling Master
now surfs the wave to the destined beach.
Fourth Lesson
Master taught me that I was actually deaf to the Nembutsu until he showed my
children reciting the same Nembutsu I recited when I knew not how to speak.
About the Author
Shogyo Gustavo Pinto
Shogyo Gustavo Pinto was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, attended
Catholic University in Rio, majoring in Philosophy. He received
Ordenation at Nishiyama Betsuin, and now, together with Rev.
Jinmyo Roberto Berta, is ahead of the Monshinji Temple in Rio.
17

FEATURED ESSAY
Encountering Shinran Shonin
Through a Coffeeshop Window
Rev. Enrique Galvan-Alvarez (Shaku Kekai)
18

REV. ENRIQUE GALVAN-ALVAREZ (SHAKU KEKAI)
In the early summer of 2011, I visited Japan for the first
time. It coincided with the rainy season ( 梅 雨 ) and I recall
walking for hours from temple to temple under the warm
rain. On my first visit Kyoto ( 京 都 ) I was to meet Shinran
Shonin, though I would only learn about who he really
was six months later. At the time, I had just finished my
PhD and I was attending an academic conference in
Osaka ( 大 阪 ). I used some of the time in Japan to do some
sightseeing and visit Buddhist temples. I was completely
ignorant about the different Japanese Buddhist traditions
but since I had been a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner
since 2004, I was curious about discovering other forms of
Buddhism.
On a slightly drier day I found the time to jump on
the train and visit the city of Kyoto, where I planned to
visit many temples and beautiful gardens. Walking out
of Kyoto station I set on a straight line north towards the
Imperial Palace, along Karasuma dori ( 烏 丸 通 り). Very
soon I passed Higashi Honganji ( 東 本 願 寺 ) on the left and
the slogan inscribed on their banner caught my eye: ‘Now,
Life is Living you’. I sensed there was a deeper truth to
the phrase but I mostly just found it funny, so I took a
picture and continued walking. Little did I know than not
so long after I will find my spiritual home just a few blocks
to the west, at the mother temple of our tradition, Nishi
Hongwanji ( 西 本 願 寺 ).
The walk to the old Imperial Palace was long so I
stopped for a coffee at a small coffeeshop on Karasuma
dori. While I sat sipping my drink and looking through the
café’s interior-facing window, I noticed a small Buddhist
temple that had been boxed in between huge buildings,
so I decided to leave the coffeeshop and visit it. This was
the Rokkakudo ( 六 角 堂 ), where Shinran Shonin ( 親 鸞 聖 人 )
received, in a dream, the inspiration to go and meet his
teacher Honen Shonin, but I didn’t know any of this at the
time. The temple had a very intimate feeling, like a little
oasis of calm in the middle of the big city with its imposing
and functional architecture. I identified the gohonzon as
Avalokitesvara ( 観 音 , Kannon) so I offered incense, paid
my respects (in the Tibetan way) and lingered by the
hexagonal hall for a few minutes. I was really taken in by
the place and promised to myself that I will come back to
visit it again. I remember feeling a sense of deep peace and
a warmth that felt at once homely and foreign.
A few months later, I found myself at a crossroads.
I had been practising Tibetan Buddhism for almost
a decade but I had a distinct sense that the intensive
practices and retreats I had been doing were not making
me any more enlightened, or helping me in my life
for that matter. These doubts kept growing until they
became unbearable. I had been spending a lot of time on
the cushion as I completed my studies. Once I finished
the PhD, I was faced with having to start building an
academic career. At a more personal level, I also felt that
I wanted to form relationships and travel the world, which
I hadn’t had the chance to do, since most of my time was
taken by my studies and Buddhist practice. Although in
the Tibetan tradition I belonged to monastic ordination
wasn’t really the goal, our lifestyle and commitment was
similar to that of monks, involving lengthy daily practices
and extended retreats a few times a year. I enjoyed the
practices and learned a lot from them, but I felt strongly
that my priorities were shifting as I started sensing that my
commitment was becoming some sort of burden.
I felt deeply conflicted. Even if I had doubts about the
efficacy of practice and my ability to do it, I also felt guilty
Little did I know than not
so long after I will find
my spiritual home just a
few blocks to the west, at
the mother temple of our
tradition, Nishi Hongwanji.
19

FEATURED ARTICLE - ENCOUNTERING SHINRAN SHONIN THROUGH A COFFEESHOP WINDOW
(Above) Front gate of the Rokkakudo in Kyoto, Japan.
for my desire to pursue more mundane goals, which were
becoming more and more important to me. At some point
in the autumn of 2011 I formally left my Tibetan Sangha.
At first, I thought I would leave Buddhism altogether, since
I assumed that being a real Buddhist necessarily meant
to devote countless hours to arduous practices. Soon I
realized that it wasn’t possible for me to abandon the path.
I had been involved with the Dharma since my late teens
and it had become an integral part of my life. So, I was
caught between a rock and a hard place. It was obvious
that I couldn’t carry on practising and living like I had
and yet I couldn’t entirely put Buddhism aside and focus
on my career and other aspects of my life.
Then I remembered my trip to Japan, where I
witnessed many lay people expressing a deep sense of
devotion at the temples I visited. These were presumably
lay people who had jobs and families. They didn’t sit at the
temple for many hours, they just came in, offered incense
and spent a few quiet minutes before going back to their
daily lives. However, I did sense a few times, especially in
older women, a strong feeling of faith and commitment,
which touched me very deeply. Perhaps this was way the
way forward?
By the end of the year 2011, I became immersed in
looking for a suitable tradition where I could explore my
worldly desires and continue developing my connection
with Buddhism in a freer, gentler way. Around that time,
I stumbled upon Al Bloom sensei’s website and decided to
take his self-study course. It was at that point that I heard
about Shinran Shonin for the first time. Learning about
his experiences and his predicament, somewhat resolved
at Rokkakudo, brought me great joy: the joy of feeling
understood, the joy of not feeling alone.
20

REV. ENRIQUE GALVAN-ALVAREZ (SHAKU KEKAI)
Even if I didn’t undergo the same strict disciplines as
Shinran Shonin and his awareness of himself went much
deeper than mine, I had the strong sense that if we had
met, he would have understood my predicament. Shinran
Shonin seems to have been navigating his inability to
follow the demanding regime of practice of the Tendai
tradition, his deepfelt commitment to the Dharma and
his desire to marry. I imagine he went to Rokkakudo,
a place where people visited in order to reflect and find
answers to their dilemmas, to figure out which was the
way forward for him. He, too, was once at a crossroads,
trying to find a way to reconcile his conflicted feelings and
desires. His stay at Rokkakudo seems to have borne fruit,
as the dream he had towards the end of the 100 day period
signalled towards a Dharma gate that he could easily
follow (i.e. the teaching of Honen Shonin, 法 然 聖 人 ) and
hinted that he could still walk the path to enlightenment
as a married man (i.e. through the vow of the Bodhisattva
Avalokiteshvara to manifest as a woman he will be
intimate with and who will guide him to the Pure Land).
When I realized that that first temple I visited in
Japan, which had left a lasting impression on me, was
the Rokkakudo, the place where Shinran Shonin had his
dream, I had an intuitive sense, however superficial, that
‘Life was Living Me’. Touched by Shinran Shonin’s story
and under the initial guidance of Al Bloom sensei I started
studying his teaching and saying the Nenbutsu ( 念 仏 ) in
early 2012. Although my initial aspiration was to remain a
lay Buddhist, seven years later, through various causes and
conditions, I had the opportunity to receive tokudo ( 得 度 )
ordination at Nishi Hongwanji.
Although preparing for tokudo, sharing Shinran
Shonin’s teaching in the U.K. and translating his writings
into both English and Spanish often keeps me busy and
it is by no means easy, in the last ten years I have never
felt the oppressive sense of doubt and burden of my last
days as a Tibetan practitioner. I believe this has nothing
to do with the Tibetan tradition as such, which contains
a plethora of wonderful skilful means, but with my
attitude towards the practice. Even if I spend many hours
engaging with the Jodo Shinshu teaching, and studying
and practising it can be challenging at times, I feel no
sense of guilt, obligation or failure. There is nothing I can
fail to attain, because I have already failed and my failure
is fully embraced and accepted by the compassion of
Amida Buddha. For this reason, my efforts are not aimed
at achieving a goal, but are an expression of gratitude for
having my life enriched by Shinran Shonin’s example.
Shinran Shonin’s self-understanding as neither monk
nor lay ( 非 僧 非 俗 , hisou hizoku) contains a profoundly
practical teaching for many of us, offering a middle way
that is extremely relevant to our contemporary times.
In an increasingly polarised world, the ever changing,
complex and deeply honest formulation of hisou hizoku
remains my source of refuge and innermost aspiration.
About the Author
Rev. Enrique Galvan-Alvarez (Shaku Kekai)
(Above) Chohoji Temple which houses the
Rokkakudo landmark in Kyoto, Japan.
Rev. Enrique Galvan-Alvarez (Shaku Kekai) was ordained in 2019 at Nishi Hongwanji (Kyoto,
Japan). He is originally from the Canary Islands but has lived in the United Kingdom for the last
20 years, where he helps to spread the Dharma as part of the Shin Buddhist Fellowship U.K.
21

FEATURED ARTICLE
THE CENTRAL CONCEPT OF BUDDHISM
THE TEACHING OF INTERDEPENDENT CO-ARISING
Dr. Alfred Bloom
With Buddha’s Enlightenment day and the New Year approaching, our
thought is drawn to the central conception of Buddhism and the contribution
of Buddhism to world thought. The central concept of Buddhism is generally
termed Interdependent Co-arising or Dependent Co-origination. Most people
consider Buddhism as a religion. However, it also has a highly developed
tradition of philosophical thought based on the principle of cause and effect (inga)
and expressed in the principle of Interdependent Co-arising.
This teaching came to mind when I read a dialogue between the Dalai
Lama and the Abbot of the Nishi Hongwanji, Koshin Ohtani, in a recent
issue of the Bungei Shunju (1-2008). In the dialogue, the issue of Emptiness,
22

DR. ALFRED BLOOM
also a very important concept in Mahayana Buddhism,
came up. The Dalai Lama explained that Emptiness is
based in the principle of Interdependent Co-arising. The
Abbot presented the East Asian view of Emptiness as an
experiential awareness, achieved through the practice of
meditation in Zen or other tradition. It is essentially the
experience of non-duality. Perhaps we may distinguish
the views as logical in contrast to mystical. While many
people may not easily experience non- duality, they can
understand the logical basis of Emptiness and through
reflection become aware of its contemporary meaning and
importance for our lives.
The Emptiness of things referred to by the Dalai
Lama refers to the understanding that everything in our
world is composite. All things can be analyzed into the
components that make it up. The automobile is made
of the various parts, wheels, engine etc. The engine, for
example, can be further analyzed to its parts and the
metals that make it up. The metals can be broken down
to the elements, atoms, then neutrons and protons or
particles that underlay our observed world. Finally the
mind comes to a mystery as we are unable to penetrate the
cosmic sources of the world of experience.
However, the conclusion of Buddhism is that nothing
possesses its own irreducible self-nature but everything
depends on something else for its existence. Therefore, all
things are empty, empty of intrinsic reality and intrinsic
value; all existence is relational. Whatever the ultimate
reality of things, it is inexpressible and inconceivable;
therefore Empty. All things arise through the co-working
of many causes and conditions.
The understanding of the principle of Interdependent
Co-arising has both religious and philosophical
significance. Whether one views the process from the
logical or experiential perspective they both, however, aim
at the transformation of a person’s view of the world and life.
The religious significance of the teaching of
Interdependent Co-arising highlights the doctrine of
karma which explains the basis of suffering in human
existence and the world. On the positive side of Mahayana
Buddhism, Interdependent Co-arising underlies the
teaching of transfer of merit whereby each person shares
the benefit of good deeds with others. The doctrine of
karma means deed or act and explains our situation in the
world, while Interdependent Co-arising motivates people
to do good deeds in order to acquire merit to achieve
better lives for themselves and others in the future in the
process of transmigration. This teaching is reflected in
the story of Dharmakara (Hozo) Bodhisattva in the Pure
Land tradition. His Vows to construct a Pure Land where
all beings can attain Enlightenment express the principle
of interdependence. Each Vow indicates the relation of
the Bodhisattava’s Enlightenment to the attainment of
Enlightenment by all beings. He cannot gain it unless they
all gain it together with him. We are all interconnected.
The philosophical approach to the teaching of
Interdependent Co-arising is also called the 12 link
chain of causation. This chain analyses the existence of
human or sentient beings as the result of a process of 12
aspects which describe the formation of a life or can view
a life through three births. This perspective is important
because it provides an understanding of the process of life
and rebirth or transmigration, providing a basis for values
and decision- making through understanding the various
conditions involved a life stream.
23

FEATURED ARTICLE - THE CENTRAL CONCEPT OF BUDDHISM: THE TEACHING OF INTERDEPENDENT CO-ARISING
The links are:
1) Ignorance is a fundamental blindness to one’s true self
and life condition. It is a lack of understanding which we
call today “denial.”
2) Volitional action includes our impulses and motivations
which arise from our Ignorance in the form of hatred,
greed, prejudice etc.
3) Consciousness which includes also the unconscious or
the totality of the awareness of things. Through the many
influences or seeds stored there we develop good or bad
tendencies.
4) Name and Form are the mental and physical aspects of
our being. That is, the physical body and personality or
identity
5)The six sense faculties: the five physical senses and the mind.
6) Contact by the senses with objects.
7) Feeling or the awareness and experience of things.
8) Craving is the desire, rooted in our feelings, for repeated
experience just as we cannot eat just one potato chip.
9) Clinging or grasping and attachment. We cannot let go.
10) Becoming is the deep desire for life, reflected in our
efforts at self-preservation.
Ignorance is a fundamental
blindness to one’s true self
and life condition. It is a lack
of understanding which we
call today “denial.”
11) Birth or rebirth.
12) Old Age (Decay) and Death, the process begins at
birth and becomes more evident as time –impermanenceproceeds.
According to this process, we are influenced by the
fundamental Ignorance and Delusions that blind us to
true reality. It is our inability to see things as they truly
are. We know that our senses can be deceived as in
optical illusions. As a result, we develop deep feelings of
hatred, greed and prejudice, essentially our basic egoism.
Through our underlying consciousness and the activities
of our minds and the senses, we carry out actions in
the world, creating suffering or good. We cling to those
things which we think benefit our egos or preserve them.
Consequently we give rise to a deep desire to continue
our lives (Becoming). The karma generated through this
process leads to successive rebirths and cycles of birth-old
age and death. All sentient beings experience this process
until they find their way out of the wheel or river of births
and deaths known as Samsara in Buddhist teaching.
The teaching of the twelve links of Interdependent
Co-arising motivates the quest for Enlightenment to
realize emancipation from this process. The division into
three lives: past, present and future, indicates that our
spiritual bondage continues life after life in the Buddhist
view of transmigration. In traditional teaching the cycles
do not end with three cycles. Rather, as long as our
passions and ignorance govern the character of our lives
the process of suffering continues. The variety of Buddhist
traditions offer paths to transcend this process and become
Enlightened, attaining nirvana or Buddhahood.
24

DR. ALFRED BLOOM
It also gives a sense of urgency to our individual lives.
Buddhism teaches that it is a rare event to be born as a
human being with the capacity to make decisions and to
practice the teaching and reach liberation.
The philosophical dimension of the teaching
focuses attention that nothing has value in and of itself.
Everything is composite and is impermanent. Everything
undergoes a process of change, most evident in our own
lives. Because things have no essential value, our desires
and attachments cause us great pain when we encounter
something we dislike or lose something we treasure. The
understanding of the reality of change aids in establishing
the spiritual life.
More philosophically, the teaching indicates the
emptiness or voidness of all things. This teaching applied
to history or nature indicates that we are all conditioned,
historical beings, as are our cultures and civilizations.
They are not absolutes to be uncritically valued and
maintained. In connect with Nature, Buddhism is
compatible with science, because it understands the
principle of cause and effect and the evolving nature
of things. All reality is a flow whose essential quality is
energy down to the smallest particle or wave in microscientific
analysis or the evolution of life and the expansion
of the universe in the macro- world.
In social life, this principle emphasizes the
interdependent nature of social relations as well as the
complementarity of all life and reality. In China, the
Taoist Yin-Yang symbol also expressed this principle.
With the complementarity of Yin and Yang, the Yang is
also in the Yin and the Yin in the Yang, shown by a small
dot in respective areas. The circular form shows each
dimension flowing into the other, giving rise to the many
transformations of reality.
Interdependence also points to the mutuality of
necessary for fruitful and positive human relations. We
are all interconnected. Buddhist teaching provides a
foundation for social living and community, connecting
the past, present and future. This process undergirds the
reverence for ancestors and concern for future generations.
The imagery and understanding of dependent Coarising
would go far to reduce the distortions of our
rampant individualism and overbearing, competitive
perspective in Western society. It would also overcome the
conflict image that has shaped western society. We must
have an enemy and always have victory. The dualism of
Western culture, good and evil, flesh and spirit are selfdefeating
in the end.
In conclusion, the importance of the principle
of Interdependent Co-arising can be seen in various
areas of application, religious, or philosophic. It is the
basis of Buddhist thought. Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh
has written: “All teachings of Buddhism are based on
Interdependent Co-arising. If a teaching is not in accord
with Interdependent Co-arising, it is not a teaching of the
Buddha.” (Thich Nhat Hanh: “The Heart of the Buddha’s
Teaching-The Two Truths.”)
[Source: http://bschawaii.org/shindharmanet/wp-content/
uploads/sites/3/2012/03/Bloom-Concept.pdf]
About the Author
Dr. Alfred Bloom
Dr. Alfred Bloom (1926-2017) was one
of the world’s foremost authorities on
the study of Shin Buddhism and left a
rich legacy for Buddhist seekers in the
West. He completed his doctoral studies
at Harvard in 1963 with a dissertation
on Shinran’s life and thought. Especially
remembered among his many books and
articles are his commentaries on Tannisho
and Shoshinge, as well as The Promise of
Boundless Compassion.
25

FEATURED ESSAY
Rev. Melissa Opel
26

REV. MELISSA OPEL
The smell of incense is my first memory of stepping into
the temple. It was a warm feeling on an already warm
day—somehow different but comforting nonetheless. My
wife and I had been to an Open House the week before
and would later learn it was the Temple’s Obon festival
held annually in July. We both had felt too uncertain
to stick around for the evening’s events but agreed to
come back for service the next week after speaking to a
wonderfully nice volunteer and a Minister’s Assistant.
Simply exploring and coming to the Temple was
frightening. I had left organized religion some 10 years
prior after devoting time, energy, and spirit to leading
Bible studies, worship services, and even a church plant. 1
During the number of years that I was involved deeply
in Christianity, it became less and less of a fit for me. After
coming out as lesbian with my now wife, we were asked
to step down from leadership, end our relationship, and
enter therapy; I was even offered a room at my Pastor’s
house. Instead, we left. My wife struggled to hold on to
her Christian faith, and I began addressing the questions
that had been mounting and going unanswered over the
years. As we attempted to find an open and affirming
Christian church, I found myself more and more removed
from the faith. Finally, a disagreement over dinosaurs with
my father-in-law left me done. I stepped into a church
once after that disagreement, and it also had painful
consequences. It marked the official end of my time in that
particular faith.
Stepping into the Hondo for the first time, I felt
nauseous, scared, and uncertain, but I didn’t have much
time to understand the thoughts I was having as we were
greeted immediately. 2 Once we found our seats, in the
back like any good newcomer, we were greeted by several
other people, and then a gay couple came over and
said hello as well. I watched the men skeptically- not
because they needed to be addressed with skepticism
but to see how they were being treated by the rest of
the people. The two guys hugged other people, were
being greeted with smiles, and seemed at ease in their
environment. When service started, I glanced over
from time to time only to see that they sat closely and
occasionally an arm would drape over a set of shoulders
like many other couples. My wife, Becca, and I had never
had that privilege to sit close or even to touch in front of
other people in a church setting. There was a lot to take
in during that first visit. The only thing familiar about the
building were the cushioned pews lined neatly in front of
us, and it was the one detail I could probably have done
without!
Trying to take it all in when coming to a new religion
is difficult. You don’t mean to compare it to everything
you have experienced before but you can’t really help
The smell of incense is my
first memory of stepping
into the temple. It was a
warm feeling on an already
warm day—somehow
different but comforting
nonetheless.
1. A church plant is a name given to describe what a large church would do when they grew too big to accommodate the amount of people
attending or when they wished to serve an area where an evangelical denomination wasn’t present. The church would send a portion of the ]
congregation’s leaders and a few members together, supported, to “plant” a new congregation and bring in unchurched followers.
2. Hondo - The main hall of a Buddhist temple.
27

FEATURED ARTICLE - FIRST STEPS
yourself— you haven’t developed new perceptions and
understandings yet. When the Dharma talk was given,
my mind immediately thought of the sermons I grew up
hearing from our Priest and then later the Pastor. The
message, however, was very different. The person giving
the talk spoke about impermanence and the constant
changes we experience in life. It was a word I had recently
heard in a counseling session and had come to over and
over again reading “Living Buddha, Living Christ” as
assigned to me by said therapist. But for me, what really
stood out was what had occurred before the talk ever
began. From the moment of entering the temple and
meeting the people to the moment we began chanting,
everything was a blur. I’m not sure those memories
could ever be retrieved—there were just too many new
things happening. When the chanting started however,
something inside me stirred, and I became emotional—
so much so that several tears seemed to appear out of
nowhere and trickle down my face. I remember trying to
When the chanting started however,
something inside me stirred, and I became
emotional—so much so that several tears
seemed to appear out of nowhere and trickle
down my face.
wipe them away, hoping my wife had not seen but instead
she leaned over and asked me if I was okay.
When service ended, we declined heading to the
basement for a snack. It was too much to take in at once,
but it was promising that several people extended the
invitation. This added to the feeling of being welcomed
while also being able to easily leave without feeling
pressured. Instead, we headed across the street to our local
coffee shop and digested our experience. My wife again
inquired about my tearful response, and I still couldn’t
put into words what had happened. But, I was able to
understand enough about myself that I knew I wanted
to return and see what Buddhism was all about. At this
point in our life and marriage, I think my wife would have
encouraged me to join just about anything because she
was worried about the way things were heading not just in
my life but our marriage as well. As incentive, she offered
to attend service with me three more times to continue
checking it out and get comfortable going alone. Eight
years later, she is the Temple’s Board President and has
her own Buddhist path that she walks.
In hindsight, looking back at my emotional encounter
with chanting, I can finally register what I feel happened
for me in that moment. In Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, we
discuss the embrace of Amida Buddha, the Buddha of
infinite Wisdom and Compassion. In Japanese there is a
term, Nyorai no chokumei, which means, “Amida Buddha
is summoning us with the Name.” It is a command. But
when we say “I take refuge” we might be tempted to think
of ourselves doing something- and how could we not, the
first word we encounter in English is I. Where this can
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REV. MELISSA OPEL
be deceptive and lead us astray is this idea that “I” the
object of this calling, this command, is doing something to
help ourselves. When we hear Namo Amida Butsu, what
we’re hearing is the calling of the Buddha, who resides
in true reality, pointing the way and letting us know that
true reality exists—that there is more than suffering and
Buddhahood is available to us. We begin to awaken. The
truth of reality that is manifested in the name of Amida
Buddha, recognizes our limitations as human beings and
calls out to us, commanding us to hear, to awaken. If we
were to breakdown the two step process in this command,
the Nyorai no chokumei, it would sound like “Call on me,
Amida Buddha” and our response would follow “I hear
you - Namo Amida Butsu.” This is true reality calling to
us and taking the form of language, so we have something
to hold onto and try to understand and make sense of. It’s
like a rope that we hold onto in the dark sea of suffering.
In that moment, that first encounter, there would
be no way for me to connect and understand the calling
voice—the voice of infinite wisdom and compassion
guiding me to a path of awakening, free from suffering.
Instead, we need to listen deeply, to feel the gentle
coaxing. As I was beginning a Buddhist path, I was
tempted to give up many times because it felt too hard
to understand or seemed a little woo-woo. Other times, I
wanted it to be harder, to be asked to do more and have a
stringent list of do’s and don’ts to be guided by. But in the
end, many wonderful teachers and mentors came at just
the right time and in just the right way to guide me and
encourage me on my path, to answer my questions with
patience and honesty. This too is the call of the Buddha.
About the Author
Rev. Melissa Opel
Rev. Melissa Opel was ordained in 2019 at
Nishi Hongwanji (Kyoto, Japan). She holds
an MFA in Creative Writing from Eastern
Washington University and is finishing
her MDiv in Buddhism at the Institute of
Buddhist Studies. She currently resides
in Spokane, Wa where she serves the
Spokane Buddhist Temple as well as works
full-time in finance as a Portfolio Manager.
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EDITOR’S POSTSCRIPT
Thank you very much for reading this issue. I hope that you are enjoying our
sharing of the Joy of Jodo Shinshu teachings. I extend my appreciation to all
contributors and editing committee members.
The other day, at Lahaina Hongwanji Mission, a rummage sale and food
sale was held for the first time since the pandemic started. One difficulty that
comes with a rummage sale is cleaning up under the LAHAINA sun because
the sale is held outside on the temple’s lawn. Basically, the heaviest things to
carry are books and plates. Plates are lighter than books, but if we don’t repack
them carefully, they may break. So, usually we insert newspapers between
plates or glasses. It is quite a common thing in Japan too. It makes me recall
the famous scholar Sensei, Reverend Kojun Shichiri’s (1835-1900) sharing of
his thoughts; they are collected in some books. One of many essays of Shichiri
Sensei is “Paper of Nembutsu.”
“To keep 5 or 10 plates in place without breaking them, you
must put a piece of paper between each plate. Even if you
do things in this secular world, if you put a piece of paper
of Nembutsu between them, you will not fail to do so. No
matter how fragile the plate may be, as long as you have this
Nembutsu paper, you will be fine. Insert the paper of Nembutsu
in between.”
So, he encouraged us to put the Nembutsu Paper in between challenging
events in our secular or dualistic world, me and world, me and you. You may
compare one plate to yourself and many other plates to the phenomena and
people around you. Without the inserted paper, you break yourself and the other
person by directly hitting each other. If you have a conflict, not only with others,
but also with yourself, body and heart may be hurt. When I see terrible news, I
get angry and try to get more information about it. But that only serves as fuel
for my anger and flares up even more.
But when that time does come, the paper of Nembutsu, uttering of
Nembutsu, compassionate calling voice of Amida Buddha will shower our
burning hearts; it will try to avoid breaking both sides in between. As we are all
fragile like a plate, I hope that this Paper of Nembutsu–your reading this journal
of Jodo Shinshu teachings–will help to protect you and others you may meet.
Namo Amida Butsu.
Rev. Ai Hironaka
Rev. Ai Hironaka is the resident minister of Lahaina
Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii. He was born in Hiroshima,
Japan and attended Ryukoku University, majoring in Shin
Buddhism. He was previously assigned to the Hilo Betsuin,
Aiea Hongwanji Mission, and the Hawaii Betsuin.
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Jodo Shinshu International Office