Vol. 3, Issue 3 (September 2023)

Jodo Shinshu International 

Beyond Our World Views 

A Buddhist Quarterly 

Volume 3, Issue 3 

2023

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 3, Issue 3, Published August 2023 

Jodo Shinshu 

International 

A Buddhist Quarterly 

IN THIS ISSUE 

6 Nembutsu Landscapes 

Yotin Tiewtrakul 

8 Japan, A Few of My Favorite Things 

Amanda Goodwin 

10 Shandao: The Advocate of the Verbal Nembutsu 

Rev. Jérôme Ducor 

18 Reflections on the 800th and 850th Joint Celebration Service 

Rev. Yuika Hasebe

Jodo Shinshu International is published quarterly by the 

Jodo Shinshu International Office, a not-for-profit religious 

corporation. 

Volume 3, Issue 3. 

Content copyright © 2023 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. Jérôme Ducor, Amanda Goodwin, 

Rev. Yuika Hasebe, Yotin Tiewtrakul 

Design & Layout: Travis Suzaka 

Printing: Kousaisha, Tokyo, Japan 

Support: Rev. Kiyonobu Kuwahara, Madeline Kubo 

Image Sources: Upsplash, The British Museum, The 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wikipedia 

Jodo Shinshu International Office 

1710 Octavia Street, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA 

www.jsinternational.org 

EXPLANATION OF CALLIGRAPHY 

Concern one holds for worldly affairs surely arises from selfcentered 

concepts of good and evil. 

Nobukuni Atsushi 

Yomogi (mugwort, a type of aromatic herb of the composite family) is something that we happily use in 

the spring season to make yomogi mochi (rice cakes), but by summer, it grows so quickly that it gets out of 

hand. Although we may try to keep it under control by pulling it out wherever it sprouts, it seems that 

as soon as we pull out one seedling, another appears somewhere else. So it was that one day, I felt as if 

I heard the yomogi mocking me by saying, 

Ha, ha, ha. All that you can see is what is above the ground. We, however, are spread out and 

connected together like a net below the surface of the ground where you cannot see. And flowers, 

you know, do not bloom because they are seeking someone’s praise. They just bloom. Living their 

lives to the fullest, taking it to the utmost. You humans, however, live by the principle of “one’s 

own convenience.” To plants that produce flowers, you tell them how pretty they are, choose 

names for them, acknowledge them, and take good care of them. On the other hand, for those 

[plants] which you feel are a nuisance, you do not bother to give them names, but instead lump 

them together and call them “weeds” and forcibly yank them out. Even the same plant, you make 

the decision of whether they are good or bad according to your own convenience, and rob them 

of their life. In view of that, it is not just to flowering plants, but you are doing it here and there as 

well, are you not? Do you not think that you humans are petty, selfish creatures? 

Rev. Nobukuni, through nature and flowers, helped to make us aware of how Amida’s aspiration 

reaches us. 

I, through Amida Buddha’s light of wisdom that shines upon me, am made aware that I cannot 

help but view even people and all things according to my own convenience and moreover, that I 

make judgements based on only those areas that I can see, deciding whether things are good or bad 

according to my own convenience. 

(Excerpt from the Hongwanji Shuppansha publication Daijō, May 2003.)

FEATURED ARTICLE 


Nembutsu 

Landscapes 


A personal reflection after the JSIO tour in May 2023 

6

YOTIN TIEWTRAKUL 

Interconnectedness is not limited to physical space. The 

pandemic has made us aware of that. Although we were 

confined to our homes, some had the opportunity to visit 

“everywhere” because many communities were setting up 

shop in the online world. 

The JSIO tour in May 2023 to Shinran’s life stations 

in Japan gave me the opportunity to meet people I had 

only seen on my computer screen. A friend back home 

said: Isn’t meeting in person way better? Isn’t that the 

“real deal”? Indeed, there are some experiences that 

cannot be had online. Especially singing requires the 

resonance of other breathing bodies and the echo of the 

space where the community sings. However, the online 

world and physical space are interconnected. Learning 

the Shoshinge in Rev. Enrique’s online chanting practice, 

meeting people online, studying, reading and sharing 

in the correspondence course, prepared us to meet each 

other in the actual landscapes of Shinran’s nembutsu 

teaching. 

It was an honour that people welcomed us in those 

places. The landscapes of Shinran’s years since the exile 

are particularly rich with stories and lore about his 

presence. At Koto Beach, where Shinran landed with a 

boat for his exile, we were shown a certain kind of reed 

which have their leaves only on one side. According to 

legend, even the reeds were grateful for Shinran’s stay in 

that area, so when it was time for him to leave, they did 

gassho towards him. (Having the leaves on only one side 

looks like the reed is putting its “hands” together in gassho.) 

I also had the pleasure of meeting Bettina Langner 

Teramoto in person for dinner. We are members of the 

German speaking Skype group that meets every other 

Sunday morning. Bettina is a Jodoshinshu priest, and she 

gifted me with a small statue depicting Amida-Sama. (It’s 

one of those home altar items that are donated to Bettina’s 

and her husband’s temple when the former owners die and 

their children don’t know what to do with it.) So from then 

on Amida-Sama travelled with me in my hand luggage. 

After the tour ended and we said our good-byes and 

“see you agains,” I had two more nights in Tokyo. During 

my last day, before my flight late in the evening, Amida- 

Sama walked with me to Shinjuku Chuo Park and Yoyogi 

Park, through crowded Harajuku and Shibuya. When 

I couldn’t cope with the crowds, we rested on a rooftop 

park. Obviously, the statue was carefully packaged in a 

box and the box was wrapped in a furoshiki. Still, the 

materiality took up a certain amount of room in my 

backpack, and I would always be conscious of the extra 

weight I was carrying. 

I think it’s good that we learn not to cling to material 

“tools” of our inner paths. However, the materiality of 

a statue, nenju beads, or incense smoke remind us that 

Great Compassion and Great Wisdom want to take up 

physical space in this world. In fact, the One Mind, made 

up of Amida’s wish shared with our ordinary mind filled 

with futile dreams, occupies space in this world (and 

everywhere in the ten directions) in the sound of Namo- 

Amida-Butsu. The wonderful thing about the materiality 

of sound is that it is a fleeting event. We won’t have to 

worry about it cluttering up our shelves or collecting dust. 

Therefore, when nembutsu appears, it always emerges as 

something fresh and new. Because it is connected to breath 

and voices, it will always be a living event. 

Everyone can imagine the worry of travelling with a 

small statue in their hand baggage on international flights. 

I wish we knew how much more “weighty” it would be 

to “carry” Namo-Amida-Butsu 

into the landscapes of our ordinary 

everyday lives. It is not a heavy gift 

we’re carrying around. Whenever 

it appears, through our breath and 

voice, we receive it and share it with 

others at the same time, since it comes 

not from us, but from One Mind. 

The places where we are in our daily 

everyday lives can become nembutsu 

landscapes as well. 

About the Author 


Yotin Tiewtrakul was born in Thailand 

and grew up in Hamburg, Germany, 

where he works as a musician in the 

prison chaplaincy. He is connected to 

the Nembutsu path via the Jodo Shinshu 

Correspondence Course and networks in 

Europe. 

7

POETRY 

Japan, 

A Few Of 

My Favorite Things 


I recently had the opportunity to visit the breath-taking Japan, along with a Jodo Shinshu Tour Group, to celebrate 850th 

anniversary of Shinran Shonin’s birth and the 800th anniversary of the Jodo Shinshu tradition. We visited places such as 

Kyoto, Kanazawa and Tokyo stopping by places where Shinran Shonin himself did. I have attempted a poem, entitled: 

Japan, A Few of My Favorite Things. 

8

AMANDA GOODWIN 

Itadakimasu. 

I think of Shinran. 

To Tokyo skyscrapers. 


Arigato Gozaimasu. 

An invitation to learn. 

Every inch being used. 

What I heard the most. 

Inspired, thankful. 

Smart! I’ll try at home. 

Namo Amida Butsu 

Namo Amida Butsu. 

I bow deeply to 

too, of course. Embraced. 

And, the people! So friendly! 

the causes and conditions; 

Following in his footsteps, 

An O-nenju breaks, 

those who spent their time. 

The Shinran Shonin. 

People spring from seats 



Deeper understanding, and 

some new dharma friends. 

to collect the now loose beads. 

Impermanence, right? 

I could go on and on, but 

I shall wrap it up. 

Amanda Goodwin was born and raised 

in Spokane, WA. Never knowing about a 

Buddhist Temple in her hometown, she 

discovered the Spokane Buddhist Temple in 


Temples, awe-inspiring; 

giving connection. 

Dharma friends replace… 

gratitude and compassion. 

In the moment, joy. 

The meals! Exquisite! 

Yes, every detail thought of. 

Japan, meal for souls. 

her late 20s. Learning about Jodo Shinshu 

and being welcomed by the Sangha, 

immediately awakened a desire within her 

to learn more. She was supported through 

school by her local temple/sangha and was 

A rich history. 

I long for my family, 

feeling far away. 

Lush green mountain tops 

Peaceful hot springs in nature. 

It’s in stark contrast, 


Na man da bu. Na man dats. 


installed as a Ministers Assistant at the 

Spokane Buddhist Temple in January of 

this year. She looks forward to continuing 

on the journey of the Jodo Shinshu path 

and is working towards attaining Tokudo 

ordination. 

9


Shandao 

The Advocate of the 

Verbal Nembutsu 


Author’s Note: Many thanks to Dr. Helen Loveday for checking my English. 

Shandao. Edo period. Wood sculpture with traces of color and gilt and inset glass eyes. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

10

REV. JÉRÔME DUCOR 

Shandao (613-681), Jap. Zendō, occupies a very special 

place among the Seven Eminent Masters, since he 

has left his name to the Chinese tradition of the Pure 

Land initiated by Tanluan and Daochuo, which Hōnen 

rediscovered in Japan and which his disciple Shinran 

inherited. As a matter of fact, Hōnen asserted: “I rely 

entirely on Master Shandao alone” (Senjakushū), while 

Shinran declared: “If Shandao’s comments are true, how 

could Hōnen’s teachings be in vain? If Hōnen’s teachings 

are true, what I, Shinran, say cannot be meaningless 

either, can it?” (Tannishō). 

Shinran would go even further, stating: “Shandao 

alone clarified the true intention of the Buddha” (Shōshinge). 

This needs some explanation! 

Shandao left five works, both doctrinal and liturgical, 

the most important of which is his Commentary on the Sūtra 

of Contemplations on the Buddha Immeasurable-Life (Kangyō-sho). 

His contribution focuses in particular on his definition 

of the arrangement of this text, i.e. the way in which its 

various parts are divided up, and their respective values. 

The first part is the Prologue, which recounts the 

tragedy of Queen Vaidehī, imprisoned by her own 

son, Ajātaśatru, who had just deposed his father, king 

Bimbisāra, to usurp the throne. In despair, the queen, 

while in jail, asked the Buddha Śākyamuni to show her 

a place free of affliction where she could be reborn. The 

Buddha then showed her in detail all the Buddha realms 

of the present in the ten directions. Immediately, the queen 

unhesitatingly chose the realm “Supreme Happiness” of 

the Buddha Amida and asked Śākyamuni to teach her the 

manner in which to contemplate it. 

This is where the Main Part of the sūtra begins. It 

starts with what Shandao calls “meditative good deeds” 

Shandao alone clarified the 

true intention of the Buddha. 

( jōzen), i.e. a series of thirteen contemplations set out by 

Śākyamuni to visualise the Pure Land of Amida not only 

with its scenery but also its inhabitants, including the 

Buddha Amida and his two assistants, the Bodhisattvas 

Kannon and Seishi. 

In the second half of the Main Part, Śākyamuni 

teaches Vaidehī various methods for being born after 

death in the Pure Land. These are non-meditative good 

deeds (sanzen) that adapt to the faculties of ordinary 

beings, who are divided into nine categories. In the first 

five categories, beings, whether of the Greater or Smaller 

Vehicle, transfer the merits they acquire in their practice 

by dedicating them to their birth in the Pure Land. In the 

last four categories, beings who are not even Buddhists 

meet a Buddhist good friend at the moment of death, and 

this friend exhorts them towards the Pure Land of Amida. 

The last category is that of “the lower beings of the 

lower class” who have committed the worst perversions, 

including matricide and parricide, but with the exception 

of slandering the Buddhist Law. They are not even able to 

think of the Buddha Amida, but their good friend makes 

them pronounce His Name ten times, and they are born 

in the Pure Land. This last passage thus embodies the 

height of Buddhist compassion and the ease of the Pure 

Land method, which had already so fascinated Tanluan 

(JSIO Magazine 3-1). 

After the Prologue and the Main Part, it is customary 

for a sūtra to include a section known as the Diffusion, in 

which the Buddha entrusts to a prominent member of the 

audience the teaching he has just preached so that he can 

pass it on to future generations. 

That said, all the masters who commented on this 

sūtra before Shandao considered that the heart of this text 

11

FEATURED ARTICLE - SHANDAO: THE ADVOCATE OF THE VERBAL NEMBUTSU 

Honen Shonin and Shandao. 19th century. 

Hanging scroll; Ink and colour on silk. The 

British Museum. 

was indeed its Main Part with the methods of visualising 

the Pure Land and Amida, as the title of the sūtra itself 

indicates: Sūtra of Contemplations on the Buddha Immeasurable-Life. 

And it is precisely here that Shandao’s genius comes 

to the fore. For him, it is not the long Main Part that 

constitutes the essential part of the Sūtra of Contemplations, 

but rather the short Diffusion! More specifically, here is the 

passage retained by Shandao: 

“The Buddha declared to Ānanda: ‘You, keep these 

words well! To keep these words is to keep the name of 

the Buddha Immeasurable-Life’.” 

Shandao’s comment deserves to be quoted in full: 

“This passage clearly shows the transmission of the 

name of Amida [to Ānanda] and its transmission 

to distant generations. Until then, [the Buddha 

Śākyamuni] had expounded the benefits of the dual 

method of meditative good deeds and non-meditative 

good deeds; but from the point of view of the Buddha 

[Amida]s’ primal vow, the intention [of the Sūtra of 

Contemplations] is that beings should unilaterally and 

exclusively pronounce (shō) the name of the Buddha 

Amida.” (Kangyō-sho, IV, § 34). 

It is in this sense that Shinran could state that “Shandao 

alone clarified the true intention of the Buddha”, or 

… “the Buddhas”. In other words, and this is Shandao’s 

originality, the latter interprets the Sūtra of Contemplations in the 

light of the Larger Sūtra on the Buddha Immeasurable-Life with the 

vows. But there is more. For the keeping of Amida’s name 

is also at the heart of the method of the Sūtra of Amida, so 

that Shandao would identify a doctrine common to all 

three sūtras, which prompted him to bring them together 

under the overall title “Sūtras of Birth in the Pure Land” 

(Ōjōkyō). These are the sūtras that Hōnen later entitled 

“Sūtras of the Pure Land Trilogy” (Jōdo Sambukyō). 

According to Shandao, their common doctrine lies in the 

fact that birth in the Pure Land is achieved through “the 

exclusive commemoration of the name of the Buddha 

Amida” (Kangyō-sho, III, § 12). 

The term commemoration (nen), found also in the 

expression “commemorating the Buddha” (nembutsu), is 

ambiguous, as it can be contemplative or recitative in 

nature. However, as is clear from Shandao’s quote above, 

for him, in the final count, the nembutsu was clearly of 

a recitative nature. In fact, he had taken up his master 

Daochuo’s interpretation of the 18th vow of Amida, which 

Shandao reformulated as follows: “If I should attain 

Buddhahood, and beings of the Ten Directions wishing 

to be born in my realm pronounce my name down to ten 

nembutsu, and should they not be born there, I would not 

take the perfect Awakening.” 

It should be pointed out that some Western authors 

have taken the view that, in spite of evidence, Shandao’s 

teaching was in fact a contemplative nembutsu (kannen) 

and not a recitative nembutsu (shōnen). The definitive 

answer is provided by Shandao himself: 

“Contemplation is difficult to accomplish because of 

the gravity of the obstacles of beings, the fineness of 

the object to be contemplated, the coarseness of their 

minds, the restlessness of their consciousness and the 

flights of their spirits. This is why the compassion 

of the Great Saint [Śākyamuni] directly exhorts us 

12


to pronounce the name exclusively. For this good 

reason that the pronunciation of the name is easy, by 

pursuing it, we shall be born in the Pure Land.” 

This brings us to another important contribution by 

Shandao. He did not feel the need for a new classification 

of the Buddha’s teachings, after the one defined by 

Daochuo: all the teachings of Śākyamuni belongs either to 

the Method of the path of the saints or to the Method of 

the Pure Land. Instead, Shandao was keen to classify the 

various practices of Pure Land. 

He first divides all practices into “proper practices”, 

i.e. practices specific to the Pure Land (shōgyō), and all 

other practices, which he describes as sundry practices 

(zōgyō). There are five practices specific to the Pure Land, 

which are to be cultivated exclusively and from a single 

heart: 1° to recite the Three Pure Land Sūtras, 2° to perceive 

the ornaments of the Pure Land’s scenery as well as of the 

Buddha Amida and his Bodhisattvas, 3° to worship this 

Buddha, 4° to name Him vocally (ku shō), 5° to praise Him 

by making offerings. 

Of these five proper practices, Shandao explains the 

fourth as consisting of “commemorating the name of 

Amida” and he calls it the “act of true settlement” (shōjōgō), 

while the other four proper practices are qualified as 

“auxiliary acts” ( jogō). “True settlement” is understood 

in two ways. First of all, this act has been settled by the 

Vow of the Buddha Amida itself. Secondly, this act settles 

definitively the birth of the follower in the Pure Land. 

For Shandao, however, this practical dimension 

(kigyō) is only one of the two dimensions of the nembutsu, 

its second dimension being faith or, in his own words, 

tranquil confidence (anjin). It has two inseparable facets. 

The first one is the deep conviction that we are ourselves 

ordinary beings with the evil of our faults, always 

transmigrated in the cycle of births and deaths for long 

cosmic periods. 

The second facet is the deep conviction with which 

we entrust to the forty-eight vows, expounded in the Larger 

Sūtra, whose power will ensure that we shall be born in the 

Pure Land. According to Shandao, this second facet is also 

the deep conviction that in the Sūtra of Contemplations, the 

Buddha Śākyamuni attests to and praises the ornaments of 

the Buddha Amida and His Pure Land, so that beings may 

aspire to be born there. Finally, this second facet is also 

the deep conviction that in the Sūtra of Amida, the Buddhas 

of the ten directions are presently exhorting all ordinary 

beings by attesting that they will necessarily be born in the 

Pure Land of Amida. Here we find a combination bringing 

together the Buddha Amida, the Buddha Śākyamuni 

and the Buddhas of the ten directions that is typical of 

Shandao, while paralleling them with each of the Three Pure 

Land Sūtras. This combination is also found in the “Triple 

Invitation” (Sanbujō) still used today in some services of 

Jōdo-Shinshū and which can be traced back to Shandao’s 

Hymns of Liturgy (Hōjisan). 

When Shinran asserts that “Shandao alone clarified 

the true intention of the Buddha”, it was obviously in 

opposition to the interpretations of the Pure Land provided 

by masters of traditions other than the one linking 

Tanluan, Daochuo and Shandao. In this respect, Shandao 

reformulated Daochuo’s positions with great clarity, 

affirming, on the one hand, that the Buddha Amida and 

his Pure Land are of retribution and not of transformation; 

and on the other hand, that the Pure Land is not to be 

sought within the practitioner’s own heart. 

We are ourselves ordinary 

beings with the evil of our 

faults, always transmigrated in 

the cycle of births and deaths 

for long cosmic periods. 

13


When beings remember the 

Buddha, the Buddha also 

remembers beings. 

Shandao also had to respond to a very specific attack 

from the Idealist schools. Their masters did not accept 

that ordinary people could be born on a level as high as 

Amida’s Pure Land by means of a practice as easy as verbal 

nembutsu. According to them, such a nembutsu is nothing 

more than a pious vow, not a meritorious practice. So when 

the sūtras do say that these beings “are born in the Pure 

Land”, it would be only a figure of speech, referring to a 

different and indefinite time in the future (betsuji) and not 

to simultaneity with the time of death. This attack was 

all the more serious because it was based on a prestigious 

commentary of the Yogācāra idealist school, the Summary of 

the Greater Vehicle (Mahāyāna-saṃgraha) by the Indian master 

Asaṅga (4th C.E.). 

Shandao answered with an exegesis of the nembutsu 

for which he is famous. According to him, the formula of 

the nembutsu “Namo Amida Butsu”, as it appears in the 

Sūtra of Contemplations, includes not only the vow of birth in 

the Pure Land but also the practice necessary for this vow 

to be fulfilled. For him, Namo (“Reverence to”) is the vow 

to be born in the Pure Land, while Amida Butsu (“Buddha 

Amida”) is the practice needed to fulfil this vow. In other 

words, the fact that the Bodhisattva Dharmākara received 

the title “Buddha” with the proper name “Amida” testifies to 

the fact that His two vows concerning His own person–vows 

on incommensurability of His light and longevity–have been 

fulfilled to perfection by His practice; so that those of His 

other vows concerning the birth of beings in the Pure Land 

have also been fulfilled and His merits are summarised 

within the nembutsu to be shared by those who use it. 

All these explanations may seem somewhat dry, but 

Shandao indicates also in a lively way for us: 

“When beings remember the Buddha, the Buddha 

also remembers beings. The three acts [by mind, 

mouth and body] of beings and those of the Buddha 

are no longer separate. This is why nembutsu is called 

‘affinity of intimacy’.” 

* 

Shandao lived during the brilliant Tang dynasty, at a 

time that can be considered the golden age of Buddhism 

in China. Information on the first part of his life is 

scarce and sometimes contradictory. During his youth, 

various events occurred without it being possible to 

verify their exact order. On the one hand, he discovered 

the method of the Pure Land when he saw one of the 

painted representations of it that were widespread at the 

time. Secondly, having received full monastic ordination 

(not before his twentieth year), he studied the Sūtra of the 

Contemplations with master Miaokai 妙開 in order to put 

into practice the various meditations set out in this text. 

His search also led him to Mount Lushan (Jiangxi prov.). 

It was here, in 402, that the famous Huiyuan (334-416) 

had founded a community whose members, monks and 

laypeople alike, followed the path of the Pure Land based 

on the Sūtra of Samādhi of face-to-face contact with the Buddhas 

of the present. In this respect, the works composed by 

Shandao show that his first practice was precisely this type 

of meditation (samādhi) enabling contact to be made from 

our universe with a Buddha presently preaching in his 

own Buddha field, such as the Buddha Amida. His efforts 

were eventually crowned with success as he managed to 

visualize the setting of the Pure Land and attain samādhi. 

14


Portrait of Shandao Dashi (Zendo 

Daishi). Nanbokucho period, 14th century. 

Hanging scroll; ink, color and gold on silk. 

Wikipedia. 

But his quest was not to end there. Having heard of 

Daochuo, he went to seek him out at the Xuanzhongsi 

temple and became his disciple. Various cross-checks 

place this event around 633-636, the master being in his 

seventies at the time, while the disciple was only a little 

over twenty years old. 

Because he has realized samādhi, Shandao did not 

feel the need for a human lineage from master to disciple, 

and his works do not even mention the name of Daochuo. 

Instead, Shandao concludes his famous Commentary with 

these words: “Whoever wishes to copy it should do so 

entirely as if it were a sūtra!” 

After the death of Daochuo, he began an intense 

period of preaching in the capital Chang’an itself. To 

achieve his goal, he used all kinds of original means, 

including artistic ones. He copied, or had copied, countless 

reproductions of the Sūtra of Amida, commissioned 

numerous painted representations of the Pure Land and 

created original liturgies, all the while working to restore 

Buddhist temples and monuments. According to the 

chronicles, his work was such that “three years after his 

arrival, nembutsu filled the city of Chang’an”. 

Shandao went down in history as an austere monk, 

begging for food, avoiding looking up at women and 

accepting no marks of respect. During his last thirty years, 

he did not even have a fixed residence and moved alone 

from one temple to another, the most famous being the 

Guangmingsi 光明寺 (Kōmyōji). Such was his reputation 

that emperor Gaozong honoured Shandao by choosing 

him as one of the two superintendents for the construction 

of the monumental statue of the Buddha Vairocana in 

Longmen, which was unveiled in 672. 

15


Shandao died on the 14th day of the 3rd moon of the 2nd year of Yonglong 

(681). He left few personal disciples. Among them, Huaiyun 懷惲 (640-701) 

erected a funerary monument to him, the origin of today’s Xiangjisi 香積寺 

temple in Chang’an, with its impressive “Shandao Pagoda” reaching a height of 

one hundred and eight feet. 

Japanese iconography most often depicts Shandao reciting the nembutsu: 

standing, hands clasped in gasshō, with small buddhas sometimes protruding 

from his mouth. Occasionally he is depicted with the lower half of his costume 

gold-coloured, like a Buddha, and the upper half black, like a monk. This is the 

form in which Shandao appeared in a dream to Hōnen, the last of the Seven 

Eminent Masters, to confirm the correctness of his teaching. 

In Jōdo-Shinshū, Shandao is depicted in a very similar way to Tanluan: 

sitting on a temple chair, dressed in Chinese monastic costume, and holding a 

fly swatter in his right hand. 

* 

In addition to the Commentary on the Sūtra of Contemplations, Shandao’s works 

include the Hymns in Praise of Birth in the Pure Land (Ōjō raisange), which are still 

recited in some services at Hongwanji; the Hymns of Liturgy (Hōjisan), which 

includes a commentary on the Sūtra of Amida; the Method of Contemplation on 

the Buddha Amida (Kannen bōmon), which provides not only visualization of the 

Buddha Amida but also advices on preparing and encouraging the dying; the 

Hymns on the Pratyutpanna-Samādhi (Hanjusan). 

FURTHER READINGS 

Chappell, David Wellington: “The Formation of the Pure Land Movement in China: Tao-ch’o 

and Shan-tao”; in The Pure Land Tradition: History and Development (ed. by James Foard, 

Michael Solomon and Richard K. Payne; Berkeley Buddhist Study Series, 3; 1996), p. 

139-171. 

Fujiwara, Ryōsetsu: The Way to Nirvana, The Concept of the Nembutsu in Shan-tao’s Pure Land Buddhism; 

Tôkyô, Kyōiku Shinchō Sha, 1974. 

- Shandao’s works translated by Hisao (Zuio) Inagaki: 

Shan-tao’s Kannenbōmon, The Method of Contemplation on Amida (Pure Land Bilingual Series, 1); 

Kyoto, Nagata Bunshodo, 2005. 

“Liturgy for Birth (Ojoraisan), Compiled by Monk Shan-tao”; The Pure Land, Journal of Pure Land 

Buddhism, New Series, No. 17 (IASBS, Dec. 2000), p. 122-195. 

“Hanjusan: Hymns Praising Pure Land Birth by Explaining the Method of Practice of the 

Pratyutpanna Samâdhi based on the Contemplation Sutra and Others, by Bhiksu Shantao”; 

Ryūkoku Daigaku Ronshū, no. 434-435 (Nov. 1989), p. 73-144. 



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. 

16

17


Reflections on the 

800th and 850th 

Joint Celebration Service 

Rev. Yuika Hasebe 

18

REV. YUIKA HASEBE 

The huge Founder’s Hall of Nishi Hongwanji in Kyoto was 

filled with people who didn’t hide their great excitement 

and joy. As we finally started to see the dissipation of the 

worldwide pandemic COVID-19, people were finally 

able to meet their longtime friends and enjoy the reunion 

by shaking each other’s hands, hugging one another and 

taking selfies. The fellow travelers of Nembutsu from all 

over the world, including the US mainland and Hawaii, 

Canada, Brazil, and from small villages to big cities of 

Japan, many gathered at the hall waiting for the once in a 

lifetime precious joint celebration. 

The clear ringing sound of kansho (calling bell) 

resounded throughout the hall and in the hearts of the 

excited attendees. The atmosphere immediately changed 

to a quiet and solemn deep appreciation. People of all 

different ages, gender identities, ethnicities and cultural 

backgrounds, all together bowed their heads in gassho 

(placing palms together) with a gesture of humble 

gratitude toward Amida Buddha. The special ceremony 

opened with a serene beauty. 

Shin Buddhism was developed in Japan, and the 

tradition traveled to many different countries and regions. 

In many cases, the teaching traveled with the immigrants 

who had a Japanese ancestral background. Like a flower 

that entrusts its precious seeds to the winds to find a new 

land to spread its beauty, the immigrants transmitted this 

precious teaching, treasuring and planting it in various 

lands. The seed of the teaching has now sprouted, grown, 

and has becomes the beautiful blooming flower. The 

beautiful flower of Nembutsu touches the people of the 

new land. Those people who are touched by its beauty 

have now gathered where this beautiful flower originated, 

which is Kyoto, Japan. 

The seed of the teaching has 

now sprouted, grown, and 

has becomes the beautiful 

blooming flower. 

In the year of 2023, the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanjiha 

Buddhist organization, Ryukokuzan Hongwanji 

(also known as Nishi Hongwanji) commemorates its 

founder, Shinran Shonin’s 850th birthday and the 800th 

anniversary of the establishment of the Jodo Shinshu 

tradition. The members from various countries and from 

different regions of Japan made a great effort to plan 

for this pilgrimage to join the ceremony, and the Nishi 

Hongwanji took even greater measures to ensure the 

welcoming of the devoted fellow travelers. The celebration 

was held for 30 days, from March until May of 2023. 

The founder, Shinran Shonin, was born in Japan 

in 1173 and is considered one of the most innovative 

religious leaders of the Kamakura period. His religious 

and personal endeavors created a great social reformation 

by re-examining the hierarchical system of Japan at the 

time and bucked the status quo by revealing a path of 

salvation for all people regardless of their social standing, 

but Shinran Shonin himself had never proclaimed the 

establishment of a new religious order. However, after 

the completion of the first draft of his main work, one of 

the most important scriptures of all Jodo Shin Buddhists, 

entitled, “Ken jodo shinjitsu kyogyosho monrui” or The 

True Teaching, Practice, and Realization of the Pure Land Way, 

his followers considered this as the establishment of a new 

tradition. These two separate celebrations of 850 years 

since the birth of Shinran Shonin and 800 years since the 

establishment of this religious institution, is a momentous 

opportunity for Shin Buddhists to reconfirm our faith 

and reflect on the meaning of a life that is embraced by 

the Great Compassion of Amida Buddha. From the time 

of Shinran Shonin, numerous people risked their lives to 

protect the teaching and passed this down from generation 

19

FEATURED ARTICLE - REFLECTIONS ON THE 800TH AND 850TH JOINT CELEBRATION SERVICE 

to generation with the hope that their successors would 

also be able to live in deep gratitude with a profound 

level of happiness in Amida Buddha’s embrace. Through 

those countless predecessors, the string of the Dharma 

penetrates 850 years of time and reached us who live in 

the world today. 

On the completion of the celebration on May 21, 

which was the day of Shinran Shonin’s birthday, the 

24th Monshu Kojun Ohtani shared his message. In his 

message, Monshu Kojun Ohtani wrote the following: 

Being embraced and illuminated by Amida Buddha’s 

light of Wisdom, we are now made to realize our 

true nature of possessing heavy karmic evil and 

blind passions, which we were not aware of before. 

However, at the same time, we come to awaken to 

Amida Buddha’s Great virtue. 

We come to see that we are embraced by Amida 

Buddha, where our sorrow is accepted as Amida 

Buddha’s sorrow. This makes us realize that we should 

recompense our evil actions and blind passions, by 

trying to leave the mind of attachment, even just a little. 

It is a transformation from a self-centered life, which 

only focuses on one’s personal peace and tranquility, 

to a life of living together with others by sharing each 

other’s pain. From that transformation, we reflect 

upon Amida Buddha’s Great Wisdom and Great 

Compassion as the true guidance, and it opens us to 

the path in accord with the true guidance to the life of 

the Nembutsu follower. 

(Hasebe translation) 

The world is spinning faster more than ever, and we 

are riding the fastest roller coaster running through the 

darkness, not knowing where our goal is or where we are 

headed. Is this not the reality of our world now? When 

such reality is considered, this Joint celebration gives us 

another perspective. This ceremony was not intended 

only for us to reflect on the past and appreciate our 

predecessors, but also to serve us as a milestone in our own 

journeys. We acknowledge that as we move forward we 

will keep planting the seed of Nembutsu for generations to 

come. 

20

We are still living in a world where we hold many weapons and hurt others 

often under the banner of protecting “our people.” We are still living in a 

world where people die due to hunger and sickness, where only certain people 

can have access to certain treatments while others cannot. We are living in a 

human societies based upon materialism and unfairness. As Monshu Kojun 

Ohtani wrote, there needs to be a shift from a self-centered way of life which 

only focuses on personal peace and tranquility. While we focus on inner-peace 

at the same time, we need to open our eyes to the community and world as well. 

The world needs to hear the message of Amida Buddha’s Great Compassion 

more than ever. The efforts toward internal cultivation and the approach to 

the external world should not be considered an “either-or” or “now or later” 

situation, where we prioritize one over the other. Rather, both internal and 

external effort be pursued simultaneously. This ceremony can be considered as 

the opening or start of this new endeavor. 

For Shin Buddhists who live in this modern society we have to face a world 

that Shinran Shonin probably never imagined. Nevertheless, the teaching he 

reveals to us will never fade and is still shining ever more brightly, and it will 

be a strong foundation and support for our contemporary life. Guided by Amida 

Buddha’s Great Compassion, let’s make this new endeavor a fruitful one. 

Want to learn more about JSIO? 


Rev. Yuika Hasebe 

Rev. Yuika Hasebe is the Head minister of Honpa Hongwanji 

Hawaii Betsuin. She graduated from Ryukoku University and 

started her career as a minister in 2007. She has also served 

at Hilo Betsuin and Hawaii Betsuin as an associate and head 

minister respectively. 

Visit jsinternational.org 

Free Publications 

Correspondance Course Info 

View Past Journal Issues 

21

EDITOR’S POSTSCRIPT 

Thank you very much for reading this issue of the JSIO quarterly journal. 

I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the contributing authors. 

In June, I visited Hongwanji Temple in Kyoto for the Joint Celebration 

of Shinran Shonin’s 850th birthday and the 800th Anniversary of the 

Establishment of the Jodo Shinshu Tradition. The day after arriving in Kyoto, 

I attended the Morning Service at 6 a.m. with members from Hawaii. To 

my surprise, the Amida Hall was filled with so many people that there was 

hardly any space to move. What I found truly remarkable was the sound of the 

participants’ recitation of Nembutsu amid the crowd. Each person’s utterance 

had its own unique tone, and as I listened to the various tunes, I was reminded 

of the utterance of my late grandfather and my uncle, who have already 

returned to Amida’s Pure Land. 

Amida Buddha is the Buddha of Voice. Amida became the Buddha of Voice 

which physically reaches my ears. The voice of the recitation manifests itself 

according to each individual’s tone. Before the start of the Joint Celebration 

Service, there was complete silence, with everyone on edge. Amidst it all, there 

was an individual who chanted the Nembutsu with a clear and distinctive voice. 

It was a powerful voice, yet never unrefined. It resonated with beauty, grace, 

and humility, as this person confidently and respectfully recited the Nembutsu 

with his unique tone, “Nan Man Da-bu, Naman Da-bu”. Some of the overseas 

participants may have been surprised, as it was their first experience. However, 

no matter how quiet and solemn the occasion may be, it is the Sangha of Jodo 

Shinshu that praises the voice of Nembutsu, person of Nembutsu. It felt strange 

that I was invited by that person’s unique Nembutsu to join in recitation myself. 

Beyond my own thoughts and Everyday Perceptions, I was opened my closed 

mouth, and Amida Buddha’s calling voice emerged from it. 

This journal has been able to provide high-quality articles thanks to the 

cooperation of many teachers, overcoming the challenges of the COVID-19 

pandemic. This endeavor is imbued with the wish for the journal to resonate 

with the Nembutsu of those who are reading it. If you were to take hold of this 

JSIO quarterly journal and derive pleasure from its exquisite articles, and if 

you were to kindly bestow even a single word of praise of Amida Buddha, there 

would be no greater joy for our editorial staff. 

Namo Amida Butsu 

“Beyond Our World Views.” 

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. 

22

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23

Jodo Shinshu International Office

Vol. 3, Issue 3 (September 2023)

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