Vol. 2, Issue 4 (December 2022)

Jodo Shinshu International
A Buddhist Quarterly
Volume 2, Issue 4
2022
Truly Love and
Respect Each Other

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 4, Published November 2022
Jodo Shinshu
International
A Buddhist Quarterly
IN THIS ISSUE
6 Journey Towards Jodo Shinshu
Interview with Rev. Sonam Wangdi Bhutia
8 Finding the Dharma: The Flotation Device I Never Thought
I Would Need
Teresa Shimogawa
12 Reflections Along a Path
Rev. Diane Jishin Dunn
14 Understanding Nembutsu
Dr. Alfred Bloom
18 Vasubandhu: How is the Pure Land pure?
Rev. Jérôme Ducor

Jodo Shinshu International is published quarterly by the
Jodo Shinshu International Office, a not-for-profit religious
corporation.
Volume 2 , Issue 4.
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: Rev. Sonam Wangdi Bhutia, Dr. Alfred Bloom,
Rev. Jérôme Ducor, Rev. Diane Jishin Dunn, Rev. Ai Hironaka,
Minako Kamuro, Teresa Shimogawa
Design & Illustrations: 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 calligraphic title of this issue is “ 當 相 敬 愛 ”, which means “to truly respect and love each other.” It
is cited from the Larger Sutra (Sukhāvatī-vyūha).
I remember in one Buddhism class a scholar taught us as follows: “Love is the most fundamental
human desire. Its original meaning is “thirst,” like the urge that compels a person to drink water
when he or she is thirsty.” In a wider sense, it means “blind passion.” In a narrower sense, it is the
same as greed, the cause of suffering. My name contains the word “Ai” or “love.” When I was young, I
didn’t like my name, but it was a good opportunity to think about what love means in Buddhism.
In the Larger Sutra, the word “love” is not used directly but is applied to the character “respect.”
To respect is to be thoughtful and mindful of the other person. In Buddhism, love is not the same
as the love that we might use in the colloquial sense of the word, but rather, it is closer to the idea of
compassion. In other words, we should be considerate of the other person by replacing his or her mind
with our own, and we should look back at our own actions by replacing our thoughts with the mind of
the other person. Śākyamuni Buddha teaches us that a life that only satisfies one’s own desires is not a
true way of life.
People in the world—parents and children, brothers and sisters, husband and wives,
other family members, or paternal and maternal relatives should truly respect and
love each other, refraining from hatred and envy. They should share things with
others, refraining from greed and miserliness. They should always be friendly in
speech and expression, refraining from quarrel and dispute.
(Larger Sutra)
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.

Please tell us about your country and your
Buddhist background.
Journey Towards Jodo Shinshu
Interview with Rev. Sonam Wangdi Bhutia
PART ONE OF THREE
Rev. Sonam attended the Buddhist Churches of America’s Shinran Shonin 750th Memorial Observances
in February 2010. We are pleased to present the first of three parts of his roundtable discussion with BCA
ministers from that occasion as originally printed in BCA’s monthly newsletter, Wheel of Dharma.
In part one, Rev. Sonam talks about his life as a monk of Tibetan Buddhism. In part two he discusses
his encounter with Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. In part three he describes his Jodo Shinshu Sangha and his
dream for the future.
I was born in the Northern part of India, the Himalayas.
Between Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal, there is a small Indian
state called Sikkim. Sikkim became an Indian state 30
years ago. Before that we used to have our own country, a
small, Buddhist kingdom.
In Sikkim, we practice Mahayana Buddhism, and we
are called Nyingmapa Buddhists. The Nyingmapa sect is
very similar to Jodo Shinshu. There are precepts and those
who want to can follow the precepts, but those who don’t
want to can get married, they can eat meat, and they can
drink alcohol, something similar to Jodo Shinshu. Fifty
percent of the monks don’t do these things. They are strict
in their rules.
My father was a high-ranking Nyingmapa monk. I
was ordained through his guidance in a monastery. ...
I started studying at three years old. I had to get
up at 3 o’clock and listen to the sutras. While my father
[chanted], I had to sit by him in gassho. After one or two
months, I memorized that prayer. So he started teaching
me the alphabet and things like that. When I grew up I
went to a Buddhist school, a Buddhist monastery. Then I
started going on retreats. We had to do lots of practices.
Once you become monk, it’s very difficult. You have to be
a perfect monk. If somebody questions you, any question,
you have to be ready to give an answer.
Once we become a young monk, we are put inside a
retreat, in the jungle, up in the hills. The most difficult
retreat lasts three years and three months. Not everyone
can do that retreat, because for three years and three
months you have to hide in one room. You won’t see
6

INTERVIEW WITH REV. SONAM WANGDI BHUTIA
anybody. You are alone there. You only see your teacher
twice a week. I had to cook for myself and eat by myself.
Everything was inside that room. You are not allowed to
go outside. If you see others, we believe that your power is
lost. If somebody sees you, that is also not good. You won’t
gain what you are trying to achieve. I did that retreat
when I was 16 years old.
What is it like to do a retreat for three years
and three months?
In the beginning it was difficult to do. How can you sit in
one room even one day? I felt like I wanted to get out. I
wanted to meet my friends, to talk with my mother and
my father. But I wasn’t allowed. I was locked in from
outside. It was very difficult to control my mind. But
slowly, slowly I got used to it. When you start forgetting
your friends and your parents, you will be inside the
Dharma then, the teachings. And you start concentrating
on many Buddhas, not only Amida Buddha. We have lots
and lots of Buddhas. You had to concentrate and visualize
[that] sometime you yourself would become Buddha. You
were always visualizing. You had to get a lot of practice to
control your mind, control your desires, [and] delete your
blind passions.
I finished at the age of 19. Very few people finish that
retreat. Some come out after one year. Some die inside
the retreat. Some get sick and they have to come out.
So luckily, I finished without any obstacles, without any
sickness. Once you finish, then you are a very respected
monk. You are a great master. You can’t sit like this
with normal people. Lay people didn’t [always] get the
chance to meet with me. I was restricted now. I couldn’t
go wherever I liked every day. I had to sit in the temple.
Inside the monastery, many monks, even older monks,
were also sitting. When I went in- side, because of what I
had done, everybody got up and bowed and took lessons
from me. But at that time, what I felt was, “Ah, I can’t
bless these people. They respect me [but] I don’t have that
power in my mind, in me—I don’t have the power. I can’t
bless anybody.”
How did it feel to have doubts after such a
long and difficult training?
I could not express this to the people or the other monks,
because they believed that I could do everything. They
believed that if somebody dies I could send him to the
Pure Land. Everyone believed in me. But in my mind, I
had questions and I was confused. I didn’t have that power
to send somebody to Pure Land, but I still had to do it. If
some- body died, the moment they came to call me, I had
to go, and in front of the dead person I would chant and
visualize his soul and my soul, connect [with] the soul and
then send him to the Pure Land. It was very difficult. You
may not understand these things. You have to practice for
three years!
So, every time the question arose. Did she/he really
go to the Pure Land? I wasn’t sure. Then I had to say to
the families, “Don’t worry, now your son or your dad or
your mom is in the Pure Land.” I had to lie every time.
Then this question was always in my mind, so I started
doing lots of retreats again. I hid myself somewhere else and
started concentrating. I wanted to see the Buddha inside me.
I wanted to be enlightened. I wanted to purify my mind. I
wanted to be a person who could save a dead person.
When I [went on] retreats, when
I meditated, at that time I [could]
forget everything. It’s true; you can
forget your angriness, you can forget
your desire. But once you come
to the city, you see a lot of things.
And then again, it grows up. Oh,
I like that. I want that. When you
see a beautiful girl—oh, she’s very
beautiful—that desire again grows
up. That was the point. How could I
control my mind?
About the Interviewee
Rev. Sonam Wangdi Bhutia is the head
minister of the Hongwanji Buddhist
Society, Nepal, Kathmandu-Hongwanji,
the first Jodo Shinshu Temple in the land of
Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth.
7

FEATURED ARTICLE
Finding the Dharma
The Flotation Device
I Never Thought I Would Need
Teresa Shimogawa
8

TERESA SHIMOGAWA
After a year of distance learning during the global
pandemic, we returned to regular, in-person school. On
the first day, I posed with my three children in front of
the mascot for our traditional back-to-school photo. The
previous school year had been a tedious, soul-draining
year full of unknowns and stress. But, we were healthy.
We were still here. We were eager and ready for this next
chapter, albeit nervous. I posted the picture on social media.
Somebody commented, “You always look happy.”
What a compliment. It felt better than “you look like
you lost weight” or “you look so pretty,” all of the usual
compliments that would stroke my ego. But how could I
look happy? I felt like I had aged a hundred years during
quarantine.
There was a time in my life when a simple back-toschool
photo would have had me ugly crying in the shower
at night from the shame of not having my children’s father
there to share in the moment. For days, weeks, months, and
even years after my husband unexpectedly passed away,
whenever I would show up to places with intact families
and the kind of normalcy I would never have again, I felt
irreparably broken. I hated that I had been such a planner
throughout my life-- planning each child down to the day--
only to find myself raising a family alone. I struggled to
understand why the universe had dealt me these cards.
Weeks after my husband passed, I happened to read
“You are Here” by Thich Nhat Hanh. I actually started the
book the summer before, back when my life was “normal”
and there was no urgency for life’s greatest answers, but
now I was drowning in my agony and looking for a flotation
device. I drew a star next to the line: “If there are things
that are causing you to suffer, you have to know how to
let go of them. Happiness can be attained by letting go,
including letting go of your ideas about happiness.” It
seemed easier said than done.
I think about that previous version of myself,
desperate to find the antidote to her suffering. She would
have never in a million years believed that she could be
happy again.
But here I am. Possibly even happier than before. I feel
eternally grateful to Buddhism for giving me the dharma
to light my path moving forward. It is what keeps me
focused through the good and the bad and the ups and
downs, helping me make the most out of my life.
I am a half-Palestinian, half-German woman who was
baptized Melkite Catholic. My grandmother was born in
Nazareth—a very religious, holy city that I have visited
numerous times. I tried to be a Catholic. Somebody even
made me their child’s godmother. I just could never shake
the feeling that it was trying to control me rather than lead
me to my liberation. Consequently, I became suspicious of
all organized religion.
Years later, I was hired as a teacher at a new school. I
befriended the teacher in the classroom next door to mine,
who happened to be Japanese and Shin Buddhist. First I
fell in love with him, and after he died, I fell in love with
his Buddhism.
It was easy to agree with the ideas of Buddhism on
paper. You could say I was even an armchair Buddhist
before my husband passed away. I read a lot of books. We
sent our children to dharma school. But, I often let him
take the children on Sundays while I stayed home with
the baby. I didn’t think I needed anything formal. I was so
jaded that I refused to chant or bow whenever I attended
service. I liked Buddhism, but I wasn’t going to call myself
a Buddhist.
9

FEATURED ARTICLE - FINDING THE DHARMA
When I found myself a 34-year-old widow with a
13-month-old, 3-year-old, and a 6-year-old, I became
gutted by my despair. I didn’t have the tools to deal with
the magnitude of that kind of suffering. For the first time, I
realized I needed something, but I didn’t know what.
Once my husband was gone, I was tasked with taking
the children to dharma school on Sundays, fulfilling an
obligation to him and the agreement we made about how
to raise our kids. That is when I began to attend service
on a regular basis—as the children’s chauffeur. Week after
week, a baby strapped to my back, squeezing across pews
while the sangha chanted, because it was such a struggle
to get everyone out the door on time and we were late
again. My heart pounding, beads of sweat on my brow,
wrangling squirrelly children, feeling like a failure at
everything. But we showed up. And I did a lot of listening.
Accidental listening at first.
Turns out, even though I had no intention of
partaking in Buddhism, it is extremely appealing to
someone emotionally bleeding to death. The words
resonated deeply. It was like they were written just for me.
I didn’t understand everything. There were many
questions at first. But I knew how it made me feel. Going
to service on Sundays, being surrounded by the sangha,
smelling the incense, hearing the chanting and listening
to the dharma talks—it all gave me a profound sense of
comfort. It felt centering. A refuge, if even from myself and
the chaos in my head for that one hour a week.
That’s when it clicked. I figured out my “why.” I
needed Buddhism because it taught me tools to refocus
how I saw my life. It gave me the perspective I needed to
live in a meaningful way. I had been stuck at a crossroad:
wallow in my pain and begrudge reality, or embrace
change and opportunity to heal and grow as a person--
arguably becoming a better version than who I used to be.
Buddhism became a roadmap I didn’t know I needed until
I was completely lost.
I learned to embrace impermanence and let go of my
expectations. Nothing is guaranteed. Life is fragile, each
moment fleeting. All we know for certain is what we have
right now.
I am reminded of Rennyo’s “White Ashes.” 1 He wrote,
“By so understanding the meaning of death, we shall
come to fully appreciate the meaning of this life which is
unrepeatable and thus to be treasured above all else.”
That’s why I find myself happier than I was before
my husband’s death. It’s not that my life is all sunshine
and rainbows. There are still storms and many days with
questionable forecasts. But I have a new appreciation for
each day, and that has made all of the difference.
As I took a deep dive into Buddhism and began to
consider myself a practitioner, I learned those photos of
me alone with my children were not reminders of what
I didn’t have. Rather, they are the evidence that I have
continued to live fully in each moment, witnessing many
milestones with my family, experiencing the highs and
lows of human existence. Not everyone is so lucky. I don’t
have to be a sad, widowed single mother. I am happy,
because I learned to see the moment differently. Happiness
is being present and grateful, and being able to find the
By so understanding the
meaning of death, we shall
come to fully appreciate the
meaning of this life which is
unrepeatable and thus to be
treasured above all else.
1. One of the letters of Rennyo Shonin, a historical head priest of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism and descendant of Shinran Shonin.
10

silver lining in all that we do. It’s an ongoing excavation
project. Something we work on each day. I’m not happy
every single moment, but if my happiness is measured by
anything like how we track the stock market, I would say
I trend consistently high. I’ve been able to use Buddhism
to redirect my negative thoughts, which prevents me from
getting stuck.
I am so grateful to my husband for giving me both my
children and Buddhism. It’s like he somehow knew exactly
what I needed to live my life without him.
In the back-to-school photo, I was wearing a lotus
necklace. I love the symbolism of the lotus: something
beautiful growing out of the mud. On any given day, hope
and new beginnings can spring from the depth of our
despair.
Shinran Shonin said, “What a joy it is that I place my
mind in the soil of the Primal Vow and I let my thoughts
flow into the sea of the inconceivable Dharma.”
I appreciate the imagery of putting my perseverating
mind and thoughts into this sea, letting the Dharma
remind me how to let go.
CROSSING OVER
TO JODO SHINSHU
Crossing
Over
To
Jodo
Shinshu
Discovering the Buddhist Path
Jodo Shinshu International Office
About the Author
Teresa Shimogawa
Teresa Shimogawa is a minister’s
assistant at Orange County Buddhist
Church. She is a high school civics
teacher and a writer.
This publication is a collection of essays, including the one
you have just read, of those who have found Jodo Shinshu
and are sharing in their joy of discovering the Nembutsu. If
you are interested in reading more essays, please contact us
at office@jsinternational.org
11

Reflections
Along
a Path
Born
into a
life characterized by
suffering, where is the
end?
I
wander alone
and feel abandoned.
My mind brings no
comfort.
Rev. Diane Jishin Dunn
Myoko-in
Kenai, Alaska
October 2022
How
could I
have found my
way to Amida alone?
Impossible.
The
life of
a bombu is
filled with fear and
worry.
I
walked without
direction. Gratitude was
far from my heart/
mind.
Looking
for relief,
my heart seeks
a path that is
true.
How
will I
know the path
that is right for
me?
Shinran,
a monk,
conquered many practices.
Entrusting conquered his heart.
Shinjin.
Foolish
beings are
embraced by Amida’s
12

infinite wisdom and compassion
always.
Know
the path
to the truth
through the calling of
Amida.
Longing
for a
place, my heart
calls “Namo Amida Butsu”
home.
Gratitude
brings light
into the dark
hallways of my mind.
Tariki.
Shinran
opened a
door through which
I walk through today.
Grateful
True
entrusting is
the call of
Amida Buddha. Listen up!
Wake!
Once
you know, you know.
Namo Amida Butsu is
now!
Foolish
me. Foolish
you. Foolish are
we together. Amida saves
all.
Shinran’s
words remain
with me, even
in the darkest of
times.
Amida’s
Wisdom and
Compassion were deeply
rooted in Shinran’s heart.
Shinjin
Home.
I have
found my way.
I was never lost.
Entrust
Courage.
He knew
that he was
foolish, yet saved by
Amida.
Joy.
I feel
joy once again.
Saved by Amida I
weep.
I
am grateful
for the embrace
of Amida’s Compassion and
Wisdom.
Shinran,
thank you
for the clear
path you have given
me.
I
gave up
once in life.
Amida never left my
side.
Shinran
and I
The teacher the
student. Amida embraces us
both.
About the Poet
Rev. Diane Jishin Dunn
Rev Diane Jishin Dunn lives in Kenai,
Alaska and is currently the resident
minister of the Myoko-in Sangha. She
received Tokudo ordination at Hongwanji
in 2003. She and her temple are directly
affiliated with the European Shin Buddhist
Community via Jikoji Temple in Antwerp,
Belgium. She often refers to herself as
the “wandering priest” as she has moved
with her temple many times. Myoko-in
originated in Anchorage, Alaska in 1999
and has found its way home to Alaska.
She is an artist, poet and author. She gives
talks on her personal journeys as a Shin
Buddhist both locally and internationally.
In the summer you can find her fishing on
the Kenai river with her Dad and baking
bread with her Mother. “I am a dig-in-thedirt
Shin Buddhist.” She is often quoted. A
reflection of her willingness to share with
others the everyday difficulties and joy of
daily life as a Shin Buddhist.
13

FEATURED ARTICLE
Understanding
Nembutsu
Dr. Alfred Bloom
The Pure Land path in Buddhism is frequently described as the way or life of
Nembutsu. But what is the meaning of Nembutsu?
Nembutsu as meditation is the Japanese term which means to think on
or contemplate the Buddha. It has a long history in Buddhism and has been
considered the central core of practice to gain enlightenment Sakyamuni
Buddha used this practice in order to gain enlightenment.
Over its now 2600 year history various forms of meditation evolved
in Buddhism. Essentially they are the Vipassana-Samatha practice of the
Theravada tradition; Ch’an or Zen (Son in Korea) developed in China and East
Asia; and Tantric meditation in Tibet.
Meditation may aim at visualization, thereby creating an image of a
spiritual object in one’s mind with which you identify and absorb the qualities of
the object. The purpose of meditation is to transform your mind and transcend
all discriminations and attachment or bondage to our egos and desires.
In the Zen form of meditation, the process is to bring the mind to the
limits of our attachment to words and concepts which constitute our grasp
of reality. Meditation, with the guidance of a teacher and sometimes the use
14
(Left) Kawase Hasui. Phoenix Hall, Byodo Temple, Uji. 1933. Woodblock print.

DR. ALFRED BLOOM
of a riddle-like story called Ko-an, confronts the mind
with a dilemma in order to highlight the limits of our
rational, conceptual categories and understandings in the
realization of truth. Breaking through the boundaries of
thought and word, our spirits open to experience our true
nature and reality as it is. The world is not abolished, but
experienced in a deeper way, essentially re-ordering the
values governing our attitudes and relationships. This
approach has been influential in China and Japan in the
arts and even in martial arts such as swordsmanship.
As Buddhism developed over centuries, it took
shape in monastic institutions where people could devote
themselves to meditation and pursue enlightenment.
Ordinary people, the lay community and general
society, supported these institutions for the spiritual and
magical benefits they augured for the country. In Japan
monasteries such as the Tendai establishment on Mount
Hiei was placed at a danger point in northeast Kyoto
to prevent the entry of evil spiritual forces into the city.
Monasteries were often in mountains because they believed
divine power was concentrated there as abodes of gods.
In the context of shifting social and political
conditions in China and later in Japan, together with
natural disasters, plagues, famines and fires, sensitive,
compassionate monks responded to the yearnings of the
people for assurance and a way of salvation from the
world of suffering. They interpreted scriptures in a way
to discover a fast, easy and secure way for the ordinary
person to gain enlightenment.
The traditional path in Buddhism required many
transmigrations and lives until one cultivated sufficient
merit to be able to enter the monastery and focus on the
way to enlightenment. In those days people were generally
The practice of reciting the
Name eventually became
known as Nembutsu, and
the way of Nembutsu
became the central practice
of the developing Pure Land
tradition.
locked into their social roles without the mobility we have
in modern times. They might support monasteries but
not be able to enter them for practice. Therefore, it would
take aeons of time for an ordinary person to acquire the
spiritual capacity to practice the rigorous disciplines for
enlightenment.
The yearning for a surer way came to be expressed in
a theory of the decline and disappearance of the Buddhist
teaching and practice. As the influence of the Buddha’s
presence waned in the world, people’s spiritual capacity
diminished. Where there was practice and full realization
during the Buddha’s life and in the years following,
as history unfolded, there was only the semblance of
Buddhist teaching and practice. In the last age there
is only the teaching but no one practices it or attains
realization. This was the teaching of Mappo, the last age
of the Dharma.
Though the sacred texts depicted Buddhism in
decline, ironically, they believed the Buddha also taught
that a new path would arise in the last age with a universal
teaching, enabling all people, including ordinary people,
high or low, to ultimately attain enlightenment through
birth into the Pure Land of Amida Buddha. This became
known as the Pure Land gate or teaching. The gate is
the entryway into the supernal world where the saving
Buddha resides. Initially the teaching advocated various
methods of meditation, particularly visualization of the
Pure Land, while also proclaiming that ordinary people
could use the recitation of the Name of Amida Buddha—
Namu-amida-butsu—to acquire merit for birth into
the land. The practice of reciting the Name eventually
became known as Nembutsu, and the way of Nembutsu
became the central practice of the developing Pure Land
15

FEATURED ARTICLE - UNDERSTANDING NEMBUTSU
The non-sectarian
Nembutsu could be recited
anywhere and under any
condition by anyone. It
became a means of hope
and perhaps the most
widely employed Buddhist
practice in the world at the
time.
tradition. Its contrasting path was called the Saintly
or Sage path involving all the monastic disciplines and
practices current in traditional Buddhism.
The practice of chanting the Name of Amida Buddha
spread widely through the various Buddhist schools as
a secondary means for salvation. The non-sectarian
Nembutsu could be recited anywhere and under any
condition by anyone. It became a means of hope and
perhaps the most widely employed Buddhist practice in
the world at the time. The monks used it to attract the
masses to Buddhism.
Pure Land Buddhism arrived in Japan in the earliest
transmission (6th cent). Interest and devotion to Amida
grew from the noble class down to the peasant. It reached
its peak when the monk Genshin (9th-10th cent.) painted
images of Amida descending to welcome devotees as
they approached the Pure Land. He also organized
special services for the nobility on Mount Hiei. Genshin
is famous for his writing the Treatise on the Essentials of
Rebirth (into the Pure Land). He scoured the scriptures
for passages portraying the Pure Land and also hells,
compiling a manual for preachers about the afterlife.
Artists illustrated Its depictions in graphic scrolls. Kuya
Shonin, famed as the ‘monk of the market place”, carried
the recitation of the Name into Kyoto and spread it among
the general public. Perhaps the acme of development in
the Heian Period (794-1285) came with the construction of
the Byodoin temple in Kyoto by Fujiwara Michinaga and
Fujiwara Yorimichi (1052-1053) with Amida as the central
Buddha. They hoped to secure birth in the Pure Land
through donations to the Buddhist Order and construction
of temples paralleling the beauty of the Pure Land. A
replica stands at the Valley of the temples in Kaneohe.
With the overthrow of the Taira clan by the Minamoto
a new period in Japanese political development took
place called the Kamakura Era (1185-1332). Feudalism
became the pattern for political relations and a more
dynamic society focused on the warrior class resulted. In
this context there was a religious upsurge which expressed
itself in various movements. There was the renewal of
precepts and discipline by the monk Myoe (Koben) Shonin
(1173-1232). Zen Buddhism flourished , led by Eisai (1141-
1215) in the Rinzai tradition and later Dogen (1200-1253)
in the Soto tradition. Honen led a popular movement
of Pure Land teaching which established the teaching
as an independent sect in Japan. He had several leading
disciples, most notably Shinran (1173-1263), the founder of
the Jodo Shin sect. Later Ippen (1234-1289) appeared as
a grand-disciple of Honen, founding the Ji-shu sect. The
Pure Land teachers all focused on the Nembutsu as the
path to enlightenment. Nichiren (1222-1289) exalted the
Lotus Sutra as the final teaching of the Buddha for the last
age. Each of these teachers selected one aspect of Buddhist
teaching and practice as most appropriate or the truth for
that age. They simplified teaching and practice to enable
the ordinary person to receive the benefits of Buddhism
in the context of daily life. In their appeal to the masses,
the various movements represent the last stage in the
Japanization of Buddhism.
Honen is the pioneer in the establishment of Pure
Land teaching and practice as an independent movement.
According to Honen, Amida Buddha had designated the
vocal Nembutsu as the practice of the eighteenth Vow
for all people in the last age. In an eloquent statement in
his major work: Treatise on the Nembutsu of the Select
Primal Vow he makes it clear that Amida Buddha’s Vow
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DR. ALFRED BLOOM
did not require building temples or carving images, as well
as any moral or intellectual achievements as the basis of
salvation and birth in the Pure Land. Only the recitation
of the Name with simple faith was required.
His perspective was not altogether different from
the popular teaching of Pure Land that pervaded all the
sects at the time. The difference was Honen’s declaration
that the Nembutsu was the only way among all the forms
of practice that could bring the people, monks and lay
people, to sure enlightenment in this last age. In effect,
Honen implied that the grand ceremonies and rigorous
monastic disciplines were not necessary for salvation. This
view challenged the traditional establishment which was
deeply connected to the aristocratic class and political
leadership. The result was the prohibition and persecution
of Honen and his followers. Honen was banished to Tosa in
Shikoku. Shinran was sent to Echigo in the area of Niigata.
The Nembutsu advocated by Honen was a
combination of Other-Power and Self-Power. That is,
the Name, which is the core and essence of the recitation
practice, was invested with Amida Buddha’s aeons of
practice and acquired virtue. This Name was given to
sentient beings as the basis for their birth in the Pure
Land through recitation. It is like throwing someone a life
preserver. The life preserver represents Other-Power, but
the drowning person must grab hold of it to be lifted to
safety. Essentially based on the Scripture, the recitation
of the Name accumulates virtue and purifies one of aeons
of defilement, enabling the foolish being as he is to attain
birth in the Pure Land.
Honen had several major disciples who also
carried on his legacy. In Hawaii we focus on Shinran
the founder of the Jodo Shin sect. Shinran’s teaching
carried forward Honen’s spirit and ideal, while developing a
distinctive approach of his own. His interpretation became
a major religious and social force with the appearance of
Rennyo (1415-1499), the 8th successor. His eloquence and
determination revitalized the movement to become the largest
and most powerful Buddhist sect in Japan and the West.
Shinran’s central principle makes clear that sentient
beings cannot, because of their deep defilement and egoism,
contribute to their own salvation in any way. It is the working
of Amida Buddha. Other-Power is the only reality. Self-Power
is an illusion. Trust in Amida’s Vow is not self-generated
but comes about through the working of the Buddha in
each person’s mind-heart. Salvation is by faith alone. The
recitation of the Name expresses gratitude for what the
Buddha has given us and not to achieve merit for ourselves.
Trust in the Vow is a transforming personal experience and
the Nembutsu a lens for understanding life.
Source: http://bschawaii.org/shindharmanet/wp-content/uploads/
sites/3/2012/03/Bloom-Nembutsu.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.
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Vasubandhu
How is the Pure Land pure?
Rev. Jérôme Ducor
Author’s Note: My sincere thanks to Dr. Helen Loveday for checking my English.
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REV. JÉRÔME DUCOR
Shinran selected Vasubandhu as one of the Seven Eminent
Masters because of the Treatise on Birth in the Pure Land (Ōjōron),
also known simply as the Treatise on the Pure Land (Jōdoron).
This rather short text follows the classic form of treatises
by Indian masters. It begins with a poem and this is followed
by a self-commentary by the author. The poem is divided into
twenty-four stanzas of two distichs, i.e. forty-eight distichs
in total, and it can be seen that these numbers correspond
exactly to the number of vows of the Buddha Amida in the
Sūtra of Immensurable-Life.
The title of the poem itself indicates the full meaning
of the text: Poem of the Vow of Birth in the Pure Land (Ganshōge).
Both the first and the final stanza make this clear:
World-honoured One! I, with a single heart,
Rely on the Tathāgata
Unobstructed-Light filling the ten directions
And vow to be born in his realm Peaceful-Happiness! (1)
I, who composed this treatise expounding this poem,
Vow to see the Buddha Amida
And, together with all beings everywhere,
To be born in his realm Peaceful-Happiness! (24)
Here “Tathāgata” is another title similar to that of “Buddha”,
while “Peaceful-Happiness” (Anraku) is one of the various
Chinese translations for the Sanskrit “Sukhāvatī” (The Happy
Realm). Other translations of the name Sukhāvatī in Chinese
include “Felicity” (Annyō) and Supreme-Happiness (Gokuraku).
From the first stanza, Shinran will retain two elements
in particular.
The first is the expression “single heart” (isshin), that
can also be variously translated as “single mind” or “one
mind”. According to Shinran, it is nothing else than the
essential disposition to be born in the Pure Land, i.e. faith.
This expression from the Pure Land Treatise summarizes the
various mental dispositions mentioned in each of the sutras
that make up the Trilogy of the Pure Land Sutras. The 18th vow
of Amida in the Sūtra of Immensurable-Life thus mentions “the
sincere heart, the serene faith and the desire for birth”. The
Sūtra of Contemplations on Immensurable-Life lists “the sincere
heart, the profound heart and the heart of producing the
vow for birth and the transfer of merits.” Finally, the Sūtra
of Amida uses the expression “single heart.” According to
Shinran, these various names can all be reduced to that of
“single heart,” because faith is the mind that is not dual,
the mind that has no ulterior motive but that entrusts itself
entirely to the Buddha’s vow without questions. In other
words, faith is this state of mind where one does not try even
to calculate whether Amida’s vow is effective or not. To use
Shinran’s own word, faith is the mind “which is not covered
by the lid of doubt.”
The second element retained by Shinran in the first
stanza is the name given to the Buddha Amida, that is
“Unobstructed-Light.”
The name “Amida” is a Chinese abbreviation for the
double Sanskrit name of this Buddha: Amitābha (“Infinite-
Light”) and Amitāyus (“Infinite-Life”). The former name
is usually translated into Chinese as “Immeasurable-Light’
(Muryōkō) as a reference to Amida’s 12th vow, where he
promised not to become a Buddha if his light was “susceptible
to measurement.”
Vasubandhu’s Poem provides yet another name:
“Unobstructed-Light” (Mugekō). Shinran is particularly fond
of this one. The Senjūji, the mother temple of the Takada
branch of Shinshū, even preserves three vertical scrolls in
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FEATURED ARTICLE - VASUBANDHU: HOW IS THE PURE LAND PURE?
Shinran’s hand that reproduce the Refuge sentence of the
Poem: “I rely on the Tathāgata Unobstructed-Light filling
the ten directions”.
What is then the difference between “Immeasurable-
Light” and “Unobstructed-Light”? The limitlessness is
particularly applicable to the wisdom of a Buddha. This
can be seen from the lines in the Poem in Praise of the Buddha
in the Sūtra of Immeasurable-Life:
Of the World-Honored Ones in the Ten Directions
The wisdom is Unobstructed.
The meaning of Shinran’s interpretation is that through his
Light of wisdom, the Buddha Amida is not limited to the
sole realm of the perfect awakening he has achieved: his
wisdom enables him as well to communicate with the cycle
of births and deaths in order to find the appropriate means
for the deliverance of all beings so that he can accomplish his
work of compassion. This is evident from these particularly
significant lines from Shinran:
From the unique suchness (true reality) a form manifested
itself (…), took the name of ‘monk Dharmākara’ and
produced the inconceivable great Vow with its promise.
To this form which had manifested, the Bodhisattva
Vasubhandu gave the name “Tathāgata Unobstructed-
Light filling the Ten Directions” (…). Because he spreads
his Unobstructed Light of wisdom throughout the many
dusty universes, he is called “Buddha Unobstructed-
Light”, which has neither colour nor form. As it tears
through the darkness of ignorance without being
obstructed by evil actions [of beings], it is called
“Unobstructed-Light”. (Yuishinshō mon’i)
If we now turn to the self-commentary of Vasubandhu’s
Treatise on the Pure Land, what strikes the reader’s attention
is the five-point method it provides for being born into the
Pure Land:
1° the gate of worship of the Buddha Amida with the
intention of being born in his kingdom,
2° the gate of praise of the Buddha Amida by
pronouncing his name,
3° the gate of production of the vow to be born in his
Pure Land,
4° the gate of contemplation of the ornaments of the
Pure Land with its inhabitants,
5° the gate of transfer of acquired merits to all beings.
From a general point of view, the first four gates allow one
to be born in the Pure Land, and the fifth to emerge from
it to return freely to the cycle of births and deaths (saṃsāra)
acting as an Awakened One there.
In more detail, the first three doors constitute the
conditioning of the practitioner on the three planes of his
acts (karma), respectively of the body (worship), speech (praise)
and mind (vow).
The fourth gate (contemplation) aims to show to
the practitioner the ornaments of the Pure Land and its
inhabitants in order to induce the production of the vow to be
born there. Finally, the fifth door enables one to work for the
deliverance of beings according to the altruistic perspective
of the Greater Vehicle (Mahāyāna).
We can see how these gates combine on a spiritual level:
in the 1st gate, one has the intention to be born in the Pure
Land; while in the 3rd gate, one actually forms the vow to go
and be born there, and this vow is itself rooted in the vision
20

REV. JÉRÔME DUCOR
The Pure Land, on the
whole, “surpasses in
excellence” the cycle of
births and deaths.
one acquires of the Pure Land through the contemplation
provided by the 4th gate.
Vasubandhu explicitly links the 3rd and 4th gates by
identifying them with the classical pairing of śamatha and
vipaśyanā practice, which is generally constitutive of the last of
the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism: the path to deliverance.
Indeed, śamatha designates the calmness of the mind which
has focused on an object after having rid itself of the agitation
of multiple thoughts, and the Treatise makes it clear that the
production of the vow according to the 3rd gate is done
“from a single heart,” “a mind that is single.” This focus then
allows the exercise of vipaśyanā, the detailed examination of
the object, not in terms of a dichotomous knowledge but in
terms of a synthetic perception.
The current fashion for “mindfulness” in the West is
inspired by the practice of śamatha and vipaśyanā, but stripped
of its Buddhist substance. In contrast, the contemplation
presented by the Treatise on the Pure Land is about eminently
Buddhist objects.
The importance of the 4th gate of contemplation for
Vasubandhu is all the more obvious since the description of
the ornaments of the Pure Land to be examined represents
no less than twenty-one of the twenty-four stanzas of his
Poem. It should be emphasised, moreover, that this practice
is not simply about the examining of a Buddha accompanied
incidentally by his pure land, but about the Pure Land
conceived as a global domain of spirituality, including both
the realm proper and its inhabitants: the Buddha Amida and
the Bodhisattvas surrounding him.
In a non-exhaustive list, the Treatise enumerates twentynine
of these ornaments: the first seventeen on the list concern
the framework of the Pure Land itself; and the others apply
to its inhabitants, respectively eight ornaments for the
Buddha Amida who reigns there, and four ornaments for
the Bodhisattvas.
Beyond the “detailed aspect” represented by these twentynine
of ornaments, Vasubandhu also specifies that all of them,
under a “synthetic aspect”, can be reduced to the very first on
the list: purity. In the words of the Treatise, the purity of the
Pure Land is its “primary quality” (ippō), in the two senses of
this adjective: on the one hand, this quality is the first to be
enumerated in the list of the twenty-nine ornaments; and on
the other hand, it is the principal one in that it synthesises
in itself all the other ornaments of the Pure Land, including
those of its inhabitants.
This essential and primordial quality of the Pure Land
is defined by these lines from the Poem:
Let us contemplate the characteristic of that universe:
It surpasses in excellence the destinies of the Triple
World. (3)
“Triple World” is another expression for the cycle of births
and deaths, alluding to the three planes in which the destinies
of beings are distributed: the World of desire, with the hells, the
hungry spirits, the animals, the titans, the men and the gods
of the six lower paradises; the World of form, with the seventeen
paradises of the intermediary gods, and the World of no-form,
with the four paradises of the higher gods.
Whatever the details of this classical Buddhist cosmology,
the important thing to note here is that the Pure Land, on the
whole, “surpasses in excellence” the cycle of births and deaths.
The conclusion of this reasoning is crucial. If the Pure
Land transcends the cycle of births and deaths (saṃsāra), then
it can be nothing other than nirvāṇa itself. In the very words
of the Treatise by Vasubandhu, all the ornaments of the Pure
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FEATURED ARTICLE - VASUBANDHU: HOW IS THE PURE LAND PURE?
In other words, the Pure
Land is pure because it is
born out of the compassion
of this perfectly Awakened
One (Buddha) who is the
Buddha Amida.
Land thus constitute “the characteristics of the wondrous
realm of Absolute Truth”.
As a matter of fact, the driving force par excellence behind
this cycle in which we live is defilement, which is that of the
three fundamental passions: desire, hatred and aberration.
The fact that the “Pure” Land ( jōdo) transcends this defilement is
precisely why it is said to be “pure.” Conversely, the universe of
ours, within births-and-deaths, is called an “impure land” (edo).
This is a fundamental teaching of the Greater Vehicle
about Pure Lands in general, as seen in the Treatise on the Great
Sūtra of the Perfection of Wisdom by Nāgārjuna:
All great bodhisattvas, through the causality of the pure
karma of their merits, specifically obtain a pure universe
that transcends the Triple World. (Daichidoron, vol. 38)
This purity requires some comment, for it is not some moral
quality, but the ultimate aspect of true reality. Understood
as the absence of any defilement of the passions, it constitutes
the essential nature of the Pure Land as a whole (both the
framework and the inhabitants), which therefore transcends
our world of births and deaths as a true objectification of the
Buddhist awakening.
The origin of this essential purity is explained by the
stanza of the Poem that follows the previous one:
It is born of the root of good that transcends the world:
The great benevolent compassion of perfect awakening.
(4)
In other words, the Pure Land is pure because it is born out
of the compassion of this perfectly Awakened One (Buddha)
who is the Buddha Amida. That is, it results first of all from
his vow and practice, produced out of compassion when he
was the Bodhisattva Dharmākara, to build a Buddha field
purified of any defilement, where all beings engulfed in
suffering can be easily welcomed.
The Buddha’s compassion itself is said to be pure because
it is not just wishful thinking. For the compassion of a Buddha
is inextricably linked to the wisdom (prajñā) that enables him
to perceive exactly the need of beings and the appropriate
means (upāya) to offer them deliverance. We are here at the
heart of the practice of the Greater Vehicle, where wisdom
and appropriate means are traditionally considered no more
and no less than “the mother and father of the bodhisattvas.”
What then of that appropriate means by which beings
can be born in the Pure Land of Amida? This is evoked by
this stanza of the Poem:
Let us contemplate the power of this Buddha’s primal vow!
Those who meet it do not meet it in vain:
It makes them fill up quickly
With the sea of the great Jewel of his merits. (19)
The meaning of this stanza is that through Amida’s vow
all his merits that make him a Buddha are transferred to
those who meet him, that is, those who rely on him and
his fulfilled vow. So it all comes down to this “meeting”. For
Shinran this would amount to nothing else than faith (shin),
which is known to have the essential place in his teaching.
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REV. JÉRÔME DUCOR
The data on the life of Vasubandhu (4th c.) are not much
more certain than those on the life of Nāgārjuna. Like his
predecessor, Vasubandhu is considered a great bodhisattva.
As such, he is depicted in Jodo-Shinshu temples in the same
way as Nāgārjuna, except that he holds not a lotus but the
sceptre of doctrinal authority.
Vasubandhu was born in the Gandhāra region (present
Pakistan), which is well known as the birthplace of the first
iconographic representations of the Buddha. Like Nāgārjuna,
he came from a Brahmin family and studied the Sarvāstivāda
tradition of Buddhism. In this lineage, he wrote an important
Treasury of Exegesis (Abhidharmakośa), which is preserved in
Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan. Composed of six hundred
and thirteen verses and a self-commentary, this text plays
the role of an encyclopaedia of the Smaller Vehicle in Asia.
But in a second stage, Vasubandhu was belatedly
converted to the Greater Vehicle by his elder Asaṅga, who
was his half-brother. With him he devoted himself to Idealism
(Yogācāra or Vijñānavāda), which constitutes the second
philosophical school of Mahāyāna after the Mādhyamika.
Many Yogācāra works are attributed to Vasubandhu, whether
they are original works, such as Thirty Verses on Consciousness
Only (Triṃśikā), or exegeses such as his Commentary to the Summa
of the Greater Vehicle of Asaṅga (Mahāyānasaṃgraha bhāṣya).
However, the sheer volume and diversity of his work has
led to the suspicion that several characters may be hiding
under the name Vasubandhu, but the matter has not been
definitively settled.
Whatever the case may be, Vasubandhu is a major author
of Mahayana Idealism. Accordingly, the Treatise on the Pure
Land itself is often presented as a Yogācāra synthesis of the
Pure Land tradition, but it is not. It shows no trace of either
the vocabulary or the doctrine of Idealism. In fact, this work
shows an originality that does not allow it to be classified in
a particular doctrinal school.
Furthermore, it is preserved only in the Chinese
translation produced by the Indian translator Bodhiruci in
529 or 532 AD, no Sanskrit version or Tibetan translation
being known. There are various indications that Bodhiruci
was in fact the recipient of an oral tradition of the Pure Land
calling on Vasubandhu, although it was not written down
before the Chinese translation of this treatise.
Whatever the particular status of this work, the fact is
that it was hardly ever studied for its own sake but almost
always through the important Commentary on it by the Chinese
monk Tanluan, who had met Bodhiruci. This will be the
subject of our next article.
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 Treatise on the Pure Land.
Matsumoto, David: Jōdoron, Discourse on the Pure Land; The Pure
Land, New Series 3 (December 1986), p. 98-120.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
In the previous installment of this series, Nāgārjuna and the Easy Path to
Awakening, Genshin was erroneously listed as the fifth patriarch. He is
the sixth patriarch.
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.
23

EDITOR’S POSTSCRIPT
This issue of Jodo Shinshu International marks the last for the year 2022.
When the editorial staff was trying to determine how it refers to each
quarterly issue of this journal, the idea came up that we could refer to each issue
by season. However, we realized that seasons are not the same for all regions of
the world at any given time. We are all living in the same world, yet we do not
all experience the same seasons at the same time. The world we each experience
is different depending on our own karmic conditions. If all of our experiences
are different, is there any experience that can be considered a common
denominator to us all?
Śākyamuni Buddha says that, in fact, there is a common denominator to
all human life, and that is that we each experience dukkha. Buddha taught that
dukkha is the experience of constantly cycling through unhappiness and pain.
The cause of our dukkha is our tanha. Tanha is our greed, anger, and delusion.
Rather than accepting and understanding that our dukkha is ultimately due to
our self-centered expectations of life not being aligned with true reality, we try
to find ways to blame anything outside of ourselves for our suffering. Because we
do this, we continue this vicious cycle and continue the follies that we see and
experience today in our daily life.
Buddha also says that we have been like this since the beginning-less
beginning. Because of this, Śākyamuni Buddha left us the teaching of Namo
Amidabutsu, the compassionate voice coming from the realm of Nirvana.
This compassionate voice is constantly calling to us, trying to get our
attention. However, our tanha is so deep and strong that we do not easily hear
it calling to us. This is why Shinran Shonin urges us to deeply listen to this
Buddha-Dharma. Shinran Shonin clarifies that the Wisdom and Compassion of
Amida Tathagata is the only way for us to be liberated from this existence full of
dukkha and tanha.
Although we are all living in different parts of world and experiencing
different seasons, we at Jodo Shinshu International wish for all beings to come
together as a true community of listeners to this teaching. I hope that we can all
continue to deeply listen to this teaching and truly reflect on it for ourselves. It is
only through listening to and reflecting on the true essence of this Calling Voice
that this teaching can truly penetrate our lives and transform each of us from
the inside, ultimately liberating us from our dukkha and tanha.
On behalf of the editorial team of this journal, I would like to express
our appreciation to all the people who have contributed articles, to all of
our readers, and to all our Dharma-friends who have offered us support and
guidance throughout the year.
We wish you all to have a very safe and happy new year under the guiding
light of Amida Tathagata.
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.
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Jodo Shinshu International Office