Vol. 4, Issue 1 (March 2024)

Jodo Shinshu International
A Buddhist Quarterly
Volume 4, Issue 1
2024
Living in the Buddha’s Light
Hasui Kawase. Matsushima, Futagojima. 1933. Woodblock print.

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 4, Issue 1, Published February 2024
Jodo Shinshu
International
A Buddhist Quarterly
IN THIS ISSUE
6 Faith Transforms Life
Dr. Alfred Bloom
8 News of the Day: Excerpt from Songs of Light
Rev. George Gatenby
12 Honen: The Spiritual Father of Shinran
Rev. Jérôme Ducor
20 Marcus Cumberlege: A Shin Buddhist Poet and Friend
Rev. Diane Jishin Dunn
22 Shin Buddhism Today and the Road Ahead (Part Two)
Rev. Dr. Takashi Miyaji & Rev. John Paraskevopoulos

Jodo Shinshu International is published quarterly by the
Jodo Shinshu International Office, a not-for-profit religious
corporation.
Volume 4, Issue 1.
Content copyright © 2024 Jodo Shinshu International Office.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including
photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval
system, without written permission.
Editors-in-Chief: Rev. Kodo Umezu, Rev. Ai Hironaka
Committee: Rev. Yuika Hasebe, Rev. Dr. Takashi Miyaji
Contributors: Dr. Alfred Bloom, Rev. Jérôme Ducor,
Rev. Diane Jishin Dunn, Rev. George Gatenby,
Rev. Dr. Takashi Miyaji, Rev. John Paraskevopoulos.
Calligraphy: Minako Kamuro
Design & Layout: Travis Suzaka
Printing: Kousaisha, Tokyo, Japan
Support: Rev. Kiyonobu Kuwahara, Madeline Kubo
Image Sources: Upsplash, Wikipedia, The British Museum,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Jodo Shinshu International Office
1710 Octavia Street, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA
www.jsinternational.org
EXPLANATION OF CALLIGRAPHY
In the Buddha’s light my conceited pride is
shattered and my slavish mind is washed away.
Hanada Masao
The following is a poem called Subete wa hikaru (lit.,“everything shines”) composed by Sakamura Shinmin.
Shine, shine, everything shines.
There is not a single thing that does not shine.
For those things that are not able to shine on their own,
They receive light from others, then shine.
Mr. Sakamura himself said that this poem is one of his favorites. Moreover, he added that this poem
expresses the basis of his religious belief. He also said that even the brilliant light of the sun, which
the moon receives then reflects, helped to remind him of the indescribable closeness he felt for the
[Buddha’s] compassion.
In one letter that Shinran Shonin composed when he was eighty-eight years old, he wrote that he
recalled hearing Master Honen say, “Persons of the Pure Land tradition attain birth in the Pure Land
by becoming their foolish selves.” Here, “persons of the Pure Land” refers to Nembutsu practicers who
follow the path that leads to the Pure Land. It is said that they, illuminated by the Buddha’s light, come
to realize their own foolish selves, and just as they are, they look up to persons who revere the Buddha’s
light as they traverse to the Pure Land.
In truly realizing why Shinran Shonin adopted the name Gutoku for himself, why he referred to
himself as a foolish being filled with blind passions, and why Honen Shonin said that persons of the
Pure Land become their foolish selves, Mr. Hanada wrote,
In the Buddha’s light my conceited pride is shattered, my slavish mind is washed away, and I can
float on the green ocean of light.
(Excerpt from the Hongwanji Shuppansha publication Daijō, March 2004.)

FEATURED ARTICLE
FAITH
TRANSFORMS
LIFE
Dr. Alfred Bloom
6

DR. ALFRED BLOOM
Sometime ago, I heard a story from Tibet which offers
insight into the nature of faith. According to the story,
there was a traveling salesman—not one of those jokes—
who lived with his devout but aged mother. Often, when
he went on business trips, she would plead with him to
bring her a relic tooth of the Buddha. Relics are highly
venerated in some forms of Buddhism and in other religions.
The son would frequently go on his trips, but because
he was busy, he forgot to bring her the relic. However,
one day as he was wending his way home, he encountered
the carcass of a dog on the road and he remembered
his mother’s request. He removed a tooth from the dog,
wrapping it in a cloth. When he returned home, he
gave the tooth to his mother, saying: “Mother, I have
finally brought you a tooth of the Buddha.” The grateful
mother immediately put her hands together in prayer and
reverence. Thereupon, the room lit up with rays of light
from the tooth.
The story is very instructive. Faith/trust is a matter of
the heart. She perceived the Buddha-nature even in the
dog’s tooth. Faith is intuitive and rooted in our human
nature. Whatever the external reality may be, a real tooth
of the Buddha or a dog’s tooth, it is faith that transforms
and gives spiritual meaning to the object. It was for her
a veritable tooth of the Buddha. We live by our faith and
are enabled to negotiate our lives in the world because we
have faith, faith in the order of things, faith in the people
around us. Faith is the foundation of life.
The mother did not ask for a demonstration or proof
that the object was in fact a relic of the Buddha. She did
not put her son or the tooth to the test. She trusted and the
reality was in her faith. Faith can be said to create reality.
It is our subjectivity in encounter with the world. It is an
experience. Our faith shapes the attitudes and actions we
carry out in life.
Faith is a response of our being to something greater
which calls for our commitment. Some call it God,
Buddha, the Tao, Mana, Kami; each person’s faith wears
its own garment. We are told that faith moves mountains;
that faith is the evidence of things unseen; It is the
assurance of things hoped for. Faith is an encounter with
the mystery of life which cannot simply be objectified and
placed outside us or in our hip pocket. We do not argue
faith, we give witness to its power in our lives.
Faith is different than belief. We try to prove beliefs
which may be right or wrong. We argue about or compare
beliefs. Beliefs are highly diverse and give rise to strenuous
debate. People unite in faith as they confront the same
mystery of life, though under various guises. Beliefs are
held but faith is shared. People can unite on the basis of
their faith experience, while beliefs divide us and conflict.
When beliefs are grounded in living faith, universal peace
can become a reality in our conflicted world.
About the Author
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.
Faith is an encounter with the mystery of life which cannot simply be objectified and placed outside us or in our
hip pocket. We do not argue faith, we give witness to its power in our lives.
7

FEATURED ARTICLE
News of the Day
Excerpt from Songs of Light
Rev. George Gatenby
8

REV. GEORGE GATENBY
JŌDO WASAN 1
Those who truly attain shinjin
As they utter Amida’s Name,
Being mindful of the Buddha always,
Wish to respond to the great benevolence.
The best news to read each day is to be discovered in
our immediate vicinity; those with whom we share our
lives, for example, or the garden—or just by going for a
rambling walk around our neighbourhood.
Needless to say, the really striking thing about the daily
news, our neighbourhood, other people, our garden,
and our own lives is that they all foreshadow the one
immutable fact of life: change. No matter how friendly
people may be one day, the next day they can become an
enemy; no matter how wondrous a few mushrooms look
when they emerge in the morning mist, by lunchtime they
have disappeared.
Such a realization surely drives most sensitive people to
an urgent quest for the infinite, and this pursuit eventually
changes our focus from the illusions of the world to the
wondrous and growing joy in discovering that which is
unconditioned. Already, a sense of indebtedness grows
within us, not just for this boundless reality but also for
those evanescent things in our daily life which, themselves,
paradoxically urge us to seek eternal truth.
It is natural for human beings to want to express this awe—
this joy—in some way and it is something of this to which
Shinran Shōnin 1 alludes when he suggests that we seek to
‘respond’ to that which provokes our wonder. Even so, he
has something much more vital and specific in mind.
The teaching of Shinran was inherited from his
predecessors, Śākyamuni Buddha and the masters of
India, China and Japan. We will encounter the latter in
the second volume of hymns, the Kōsō Wasan.
This Buddhist way is called ‘the true Pure Land teaching’
(Jōdo Shinshū), a term first used by the Chinese master
Fa-chao (766-822), who was influenced by the Chinese
Jōdo Shinshū patriarch Shan-tao (613-681). It is very
straightforward and ultimately easy to understand, even
without knowing basic Buddhist concepts.
The compassion of Amida Buddha manifests itself in the
Name (Namo Amida Butsu), 2 which is a transliteration of the
original Sanskrit phrase and means ‘take refuge in Amida
Buddha’. It is the call to us from the depths of reality, the
Primal Vow (hongan).
When we assent to the call of the Vow without any
misgivings, ‘Other-Power’ shinjin (tariki no shinjin) finds a
secure and exclusive place in our lives, and is expressed as
the nembutsu of gratitude.
1. Shōnin is an honourific term that is used with Shinran’s name. Its meaning is similar to the more familiar Indian term mahātmā or ‘great soul’.
2. Namo Amida Butsu means ‘Take refuge in Amida Buddha’. Shinran emphasized the Sanskrit term Amitābha (‘immeasurable light’) as the principal
meaning of Amida. To be more precise, Namo Amida Butsu means to ‘take refuge in the Tathāgata (Buddha) of unhindered light filling the ten
quarters’ and ‘take refuge in the Tathāgata of inconceivable light.’ Note: The Collected Works of Shinran, which is the source of the translation of
Shinran’s hymns and other writings, renders Namo Amida Butsu as Namu-amida-butsu. But, of course, there is no difference in the meaning of
the phrase and they are merely alternative pronunciations of the same Chinese characters. In practice, the phrase is pronounced in various ways,
for example in abbreviated form such as Namandabu, etc.
9

FEATURED ARTICLE - NEWS OF THE DAY
The way of Jōdo Shinshū, in a nutshell, can be found in
the opening words of the Tannishō, a famous and muchloved
text:
Saved by the inconceivable working of Amida’s Vow,
I shall realize birth in the Pure Land: the moment you
entrust yourself thus to the Vow, so that the mind set
upon saying the nembutsu arises within you, you are
immediately brought to share in the benefit of being
grasped by Amida, never to be abandoned.
These truths will be unfamiliar to people encountering the
teaching for the first time. Hence, the purpose of Shinran’s
writings is to explain and celebrate how this comes to be,
and just what it means for us. As we read his words, and
listen to his voice, our understanding will grow.
the other is to ‘accept the teaching oneself and lead others
to accept it.’ Namo Amida Butsu means to ‘take refuge (namo)
in the infinite light and life (amida) 4 Buddha (butsu)’. We
will learn to understand this better as we explore Shinran’s
hymns. More than anything, it is the joyful and natural
cry that comes from a heart set free by the dharma of
Amida Buddha.
The best way to hear and celebrate the call of the Vow is
to make use of the resource that has been bequeathed to
us by Shinran and his eminent successor Rennyo Shōnin
(1415–1499). This is the collection of Shinran’s poems or
hymns in three volumes (sanjō wasan)—the subject of these
essays. So, let us begin our quest and enjoy for ourselves
these songs of light, liberation and joy.
About the Author
Rev. George Gatenby (1943-2021) was
born in Sydney. He was ordained as a Jodo
Shinshu minister in 1994 and was the first
Australian to receive the rank of kyōshi. His
life’s work was Songs of Light, a complete
commentary on Shinran’s hymns.
The question arises as to just how we should ‘repay the
Buddha’s benevolence’: an inclination that we cannot
resist when Amida Buddha’s entrusting heart has arisen in
our hearts. In one of her letters, 3 Shinran’s wife Eshinni
reports that he had a very clear idea regarding the matter,
which can be outlined as follows:
There are two aspects to repaying the Buddha’s benevolence.
One is the nembutsu, saying the Name: Namo Amida Butsu;
GLOSSARY
Jōdo Shinshū: The true teaching (or school) of the Pure Land way into the bodhisattva vehicle.
Name: Namo Amida Butsu: ‘Take refuge in the Buddha of immeasurable light’.
Nembutsu: Saying Namo Amida Butsu.
Primal Vow: Amida Buddha’s forty-eight Vows, especially the Eighteenth, which reveal his true intention
that all who trust in him will be born in the Pure Land and become buddhas at the end of this life.
Shinjin: The entrusting heart.
3 The Life of Eshinni, Wife of Shinran Shōnin by Yoshiko Ohtani, pp. 95-6.
4. Amida is a contraction of two Sanskrit words: amitābha (‘immeasurable light’) and amitāyus, (‘immeasurable life’). Sanskrit, a classical Indian language, was often used to record ancient Buddhist
teachings and ideas for posterity.
10

NEW RELEASE!
SONGS OF LIGHT
Reflections on the Hymns of Shinran
George Gatenby
Scheduled for publication by the Jodo Shinshu
International Office in 2024, the three-volume
Songs of Light by the late Rev. George Gatenby,
is a monumental commentary on every one of
Shinran’s 353 hymns.
SONGS OF LIGHT
∼ Reflections on the Hymns of Shinran ∼
Volume One
SONGS OF LIGHT
∼ Reflections on the Hymns of Shinran ∼
Volume Two
SONGS OF LIGHT
∼ Reflections on the Hymns of Shinran ∼
Volume Three
“Songs of Light is a luminous and deeply inspiring work in
which Reverend Gatenby’s warmth, kindness and spiritual
maturity shine forth resplendently. All who read it will surely
be guided to a deeper understanding of the teachings of
Shinran Shōnin, and thus be led to live lives of gratitude,
pervaded by the joy of nembutsu.”
– Rev. Dr. Mark Healsmith
GeorGe Gatenby
GeorGe Gatenby
GeorGe Gatenby
11

FEATURED ARTICLE
Hōnen
The Spiritual Father of Shinran
Rev. Jérôme Ducor
Hōnen (a.k.a. Genkū, 1133-1212), the last of the Seven
Eminent Masters, went down in history as both the
founder of the Pure Land School and Shinran Shōnin’s
personal master. Unlike most of the founders of Buddhist
schools in Japan, he was not from the capital, having been
born in Inaoka (Okayama pref.), between Hiroshima and
Kyōto. Painted during his lifetime or very close to it, his
oldest portraits (kept at the Nison’in and Chion’in temples)
depict this provincial with an imposing build, a round
head and a short neck, while evoking in his physiognomy
the qualities of kindness, sanctity and wisdom that
everyone recognised in him.
(Above) Hōnen inscribing his portrait for his young disciple Shinran. Illustrated Biography of Hōnen (Shūikotokūden-e).
c. 1310–20. Section of handscroll mounted as hanging scroll; ink and color on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The only son of the military governor Uruma Tokikuni, Hōnen was to have taken over his
father’s hereditary position, but his father died a violent death in 1141. The child was then entrusted
to his maternal uncle Kangaku, who was abbot of a local temple. Kangaku soon discovered great
qualities of heart and mind in his nephew, and in 1145 sent him to the Enryakuji, the headquarters
of the Tendai school on Mount Hiei. Hōnen would live there for the next thirty years. In 1147, his
talents earned him a place in the community of Kōen, a master of aristocratic origins renowned for
his erudition. Having received ordination, Hōnen set about studying the Great Tendai Trilogy, in sixty
volumes, a task he completed in three years!
12
Author’s Note: Many thanks to Dr. Helen Loveday for checking my English.

REV. JÉRÔME DUCOR
It was in 1150 that he really got involved in the
practice by becoming the disciple of Eikū (?-1179), who
was living in seclusion in Kurodani, in another region
of the Hiei. Among other things, Eikū was the holder
of the lineage of the Perfect Discipline of the Greater
Vehicle (endonkai), which he passed on to the young man,
giving him the full name of “Hōnen-bō Genkū.” The
later thus became the 18th successor in this prestigious
lineage of the Tendai school, which goes back to the
Japanese Jikaku Daishi (794-864) and even up to the
Chinese Huisi (515-577). Under the guidance of Eikū,
Hōnen immersed himself in the practice of meditation,
to the point of achieving the “samādhi of the Lotus of the
Law,” which earned him an apparition of the Bodhisattva
Samantabhadra.
However, as the years went by, he was not satisfied
in his spiritual quest, despite his visits to various masters,
even in the ancient capital of Nara. He then turned to
the texts of the Scriptures, reading the entire Buddhist
Canon translated into Chinese and preserved in the
sutra repository of Kurodani, comprising no fewer than
1,076 texts. Here again, the results were disappointing.
In desperation, Hōnen set about reading Genshin’s
voluminous Summa of Birth in the Pure Land, one of the
main sources of his master Eikū tradition. But it was not
until he reached its tenth and final chapter that he came
across a brief passage quoting an extract from the Hymns
of Veneration of Birth in the Pure Land by the Chinese master
Shandao (jap. Zendō, 613-681):
If you can practise recitative nembutsu exclusively,
continuously and at every moment until the end of
your life, you will go to be born in the Pure Land ten
out of ten, and one hundred out of one hundred.
Such a categorical statement was enough to arouse the
curiosity of a religious man as disorientated as Hōnen after
so many years of research. He then undertook a direct
study of the works of Shandao and other representatives
of the current that bears his name (Zendō-ryū). But it is
not until the third reading of the Commentary on the Sūtra
of Contemplations by Shandao that Hōnen finds the key
to his approach in the definition of vocal nembutsu as
“the act of true settlement”: ordinary beings can easily
go to be born in Amida’s Pure Land through the simple
practice of pronouncing His name “because it follows
this Buddha’s Vow.”
Of this discovery, Hōnen would later write at the end
of his Senjakushū:
On calm reflection, this Commentary on the Sūtra of
Contemplations by Shandao is the compass for the Pure
Land of the West, the eyes and legs of the practitioner!
(...) When, as a poor religious man, I once opened this
canonical text and understood its general meaning, I
immediately abandoned all other practices to follow
the nembutsu.
This conversion took place in 1175 and marked Hōnen’s
transition from the “Method of the Path of the Saints,”
which advocates awakening through purification in this
world, to the “Method of the Pure Land,” which aims
to realise awakening after being born – after death– in
the Pure Land of the Buddha Amida. As if by way
of confirmation, Hōnen was eventually to receive a
manifestation of Shandao himself in a dream.
After this discovery, Hōnen left Mount Hiei and
eventually settled in Yoshimizu, where the Annyōji temple
now stands on the Higashiyama hills bordering eastern
Ordinary beings can
easily go to be born in
Amida’s Pure Land through
the simple practice of
pronouncing His name
“because it follows this
Buddha’s Vow.”
13

FEATURED ARTICLE - HŌNEN: THE SPIRITUAL FATHER OF SHINRAN
Kyōto. From then on, he devoted himself exclusively to
the transmission of Shandao’s teaching, establishing it as
a fully-fledged doctrinal school under the name of “Pure
Land School” (Jōdo-shū). It should be noted that Hōnen
was thus the first to found a Buddhist school in Japan
without having made a return trip to China, unlike his
predecessors such as Saichō or Kūkai.
In 1186, he was invited to a debate with Tendai
monks at Shōrin’in, near Ōhara. His erudition and calm
assurance made a great impression on the audience. Four
years later, he gave a series of lectures on the Trilogy of
the Pure Land Sūtras at the Tōdaiji in Nara, home of the
Kegon School, and the transcript of his commentaries has
survived. In the course of these and other talks, Hōnen
had occasion to reiterate some of the doctrinal principles
of the Pure Land tradition of the Shandao current, and
in particular the rejection of an interpretation based on
immanentism. With regard to the Sūtra of Contemplations,
for example, he states:
This sūtra teaches how to be born in the Pure Land.
It does not show the doctrine of sudden realisation in
this very body, nor a practice extending over myriads
of kalpas to reach awakening. It explains that outside
our Sahā universe is the Pure Land ‘Supreme-
Happiness’, and that outside ourselves is the Buddha
Amida. (quoted in Shinran’s Saihō-shinan-shō, I-b).
In the meantime, Hōnen’s reputation soon drew him
crowds, including from the highest aristocracy, his main
patron being the regent Kujō Kanezane (1149-1207). It
was at the latter’s request that the founding book of the
Pure Land School was composed in 1198, the Collection
(Above) Honen Shonin and the Spirit of Shandao.
18th century. Ink and colour on silk scroll.
The British Museum.
on the nembutsu selected by the Primal Vow (Senjaku hongan
nembutsu shū), this title being abbreviated to “Senjakushū”
or “Senchakushū.” The work was written under Hōnen’s
direction by a group of three disciples, with the master
contenting himself with writing the conclusion while
adding the title and this exergue: “As the act leading to
birth in the Pure Land, nembutsu is primordial.”
The book comprises sixteen chapters, the first two
of which form the basis, as they successively present the
teaching and the practice of the Pure Land, following the
classic pattern of the three constituent elements of all
Buddhist methods: the source of the teaching (kyō), on
which the practice (gyō) is based, which in turn leads to
realisation (shō). In fact, these first two chapters summarise
the teachings of Daochuo and Shandao as we have seen
them before (JSIO Magazine, Vol. 3-2 and 3-3).
The first chapter presents the four criteria that
traditionally define a school. First of all, there is the
classification of the teachings, by means of which Hōnen
will position his new school in relation to those already in
existence. To do this, he simply takes up the classification
already put forward by Daochuo, who divided all the
Buddhist teachings into the Method of the Path of the
Saints (Shōdōmon), and the Method of the Pure Land
(Jōdomon).
As a second criterion, he should justify the name
“Pure Land School” (Jōdo-shū). The question is formal,
the answer will be just as much, Hōnen contenting himself
with quoting a few Chinese masters whose works do
indeed use the word “school” in reference to the teaching
of the Pure Land. Doubtless these quotations only refer to
a school in the broadest scholastic sense of the term, but
the precedent suffices.
14

REV. JÉRÔME DUCOR
The third criterion is the canon of scripture on which
he bases himself: this is nothing other than the Trilogy of the
Pure Land Sūtras (Jōdo-Sambukyō), which includes the Sūtra on
the Buddha Immeasurable-Life, the Sūtra of Contemplations on the
Buddha Immeasurable-Life and the Sūtra of Amida—as already
defined by Shandao. To which the Senjakushū adds the
Treatise on the Pure Land by the Indian master Vasubandhu,
although Hōnen never quotes it.
The final criterion is the lineage of the masters who
transmitted the teaching. Hōnen defines three Chinese
traditions of the Pure Land—an apt distinction which he
is the first to make.
The first one is that of Huiyuan of Lushan (334-416),
which was based mainly on the Sūtra on the Samādhi for
Encountering the Buddhas of the Present, and whose teaching
was to pass into the Tendai school.
The second tradition is that of Cimin, a.k.a. Huiri
(680-748), which combines the teaching of the Pure Land
with that of Chan (Zen) meditation, as it was later to
become established in China, Vietnam and Korea.
The third tradition is that of Shandao, of whom
Hōnen said: “I rely entirely on master Shandao alone.”
As a matter of form, however, the Senjakushū provides a list
of six masters beginning with Bodhiruci, the translator
of Vasubandhu’s Treatise on the Pure Land. But afterwards,
Hōnen kept only the other five, Chinese masters: Tanluan
(476-542), Daochuo (562-645), Shandao (613-681),
Huaigan (7th c.) and Shaokang (?-805).
After these basic definitions comes chapter 2, which is
devoted to the practice. It follows Shandao’s formulations
in their entirety, coming to the conclusion that the only
necessary practice is that of vocal nembutsu, because it is
the only practice “that follows the Buddha’s Vow.”
The other fourteen chapters of the Senjakushū
expand on Hōnen’s Pure Land doctrine in the form of
commentaries on each of the three sūtras in the Trilog y
of the Pure Land. Of these, chapter 8 stands out, not only
because it is the largest in the book, but also because
three-quarters of it are devoted to quoting Shandao on
the subject of faith. It recalls the definition of nembutsu
by this Chinese master, who distinguished in it, on the
one hand, a practical dimension (kigyō), which is either the
contemplation of the marks of the Buddha Amida, or the
pronunciation of His Name—the latter being eventually
the only one adopted by Shandao; and on the other hand,
a spiritual dimension (anjin) which consists of the double
conviction of the uselessness of one’s own efforts and the
efficacy of His Vows, whatever one’s practice is.
On the relationship between practice and faith,
Hōnen states that if we say the nembutsu, thinking that
this will cause us to be born into the Pure Land, this
means that we are endowed with faith “by the very fact,”
or “naturally” ( jinen) (quoted in Shinran’s Saihō-shinan-shō,
III-A). It is here that Shinran’s own interpretation takes on
a specific nuance in comparison to his master. According
to him, true faith is necessarily accompanied by the Name
of the Buddha Amida, since this is the very object of faith
insofar as it synthesises all the Buddha’s merits. On the
other hand, Shinran points out, the pronunciation of the
Name is not always accompanied by this true faith, which is
born of the power of the Buddha’s Vow (Kyōgyōshinshō, III-50).
Because of the revolutionary originality of the
Senjakushū’s content, Hōnen insisted that it not be made
public. Apart from his sponsor, Kujō Kanezane, only
half a dozen of his closest disciples was allowed to copy
it. In fact, after Hōnen moved to Yoshimizu, the number
15

FEATURED ARTICLE - HŌNEN: THE SPIRITUAL FATHER OF SHINRAN
of his disciples grew steadily. Among them were a good
number of clerics, most of whom, like him, came from the
Tendai school and formed the first circle. This includes
Shinran, who left Mount Hiei in 1201 to follow Hōnen. The
latter became Shinran’s spiritual father, and the disciple’s
confidence was such that Shinran declared he was ready to
follow his master everywhere, even to the hells (Tannishō, ch.
II). The ties between the two were close enough that in 1205
Shinran was allowed to copy not only the Senjakushū but also
the master’s portrait, a most remarkable double privilege.
However, Hōnen was also the holder of the
transmission of the Perfect Discipline of the Greater Vehicle
received from Eikū. This privilege attracted important
members of the aristocracy and the Court, who—besides
the Pure Land teaching—asked him to receive the
precepts, a ritual that was said to have thaumaturgical
virtues. The most famous representative of this second
circle of disciples is none other than the regent Kujō
Kanezane. In addition, the new oligarchy of the Kamakura
junta was not to be outdone and formed a kind of third
circle: witness the correspondence between Hōnen and the
“shōgun nun” Hōjō Masako, the powerful widow of the
first shōgun Minamoto Yoritomo.
But there was also a fourth, more distant circle of
disciples, who formed a disparate and uncontrollable
community. These included “saints” (hijiri), who lived
on the fringes of monastic institutions, being often selfordained.
There were also “tertiaries” (nyūdō), that is lay
people who adopted the external forms of religious life
without leaving their families, and “novices” (shami), who
were former monks who returned to secular life, often by
marrying, while retaining the appearances and certain
activities of traditional monks.
It was among these spontaneous followers of nembutsu
and their own disciples that the most radical interpreters
of the new teaching were soon to be found, whose excesses
were to bring institutional opprobrium on the whole
community of the ageing master. Indeed, as Hōnen
asserted that even a single nembutsu at the moment of
death could suffice to bring about birth in the Pure Land,
certain radical followers deduced that a single nembutsu
only was necessary. The most extreme adherents of this
doctrine even came to the conclusion that all kinds of
misbehaviour, particularly in matters of morality, were
permitted.
After several twists and turns, Hōnen’s school was
eventually banned in 1207 by the retired emperor Go-
Toba, who had two disciples executed and sentenced the
old master to “remote exile,” the most serious punishment
after the death penalty; and the same kind of exile was
inflicted on seven of his disciples, including Shinran. At
the end of that year, Hōnen’s sentence was commuted to
a simple ban on staying in the capital, and he settled at
Kachiodera temple, near present-day Ōsaka.
Four years later, Go-Toba granted a general amnesty.
Having become half-deaf and blind during these last
years, Hōnen returned to the capital at the end of 1211
and settled in Ōtani, in a hermitage put at his disposal by
the prelate Jien (1155-1225), a brother of Kujō Kanezane
who had ordained Shinran thirty years before. Hōnen
then revealed to his disciples that he had been living for
more than ten years in continuous contemplation of the
Buddha Amida and his Pure Land. As a matter of fact, a
private diary describing his visions was discovered after
his death and is still preserved. Eventually, on the 23rd of
the 2nd moon of 1212, Hōnen composed his famous “One
Indeed, as Hōnen asserted
that even a single nembutsu
at the moment of death
could suffice to bring
about birth in the Pure
Land, certain radical
followers deduced that a
single nembutsu only was
necessary.
16

REV. JÉRÔME DUCOR
Page Manifesto” (Ichimai Kishōmon), which is still read aloud
in the services of the Pure Land School and which says:
Simply, in order to go and be born in the Pure Land
‘Supreme-Happiness’, I have nothing special other
than the thought of going and being born there
without any doubt saying ‘Namo Amida Butsu.’
Two day later, Hōnen put on the mantle (kesa) of Jikaku
Daishi that he had received from Eikū as the holder of the
transmission of Perfect Discipline of the Greater Vehicle,
and he died after reciting this passage from the Sūtra of
Contemplations:
His Light fully illuminates the universes of the ten
directions and embraces the beings of the nembutsu
without abandoning them.
After many tribulations, his tomb is now at Chion’in, the
mother temple of Jōdo-shū in Kyōto.
The circumstances of Hōnen’s death may be
surprising: on the one hand, he was expressing his
unshakeable faith in the sole nembutsu recitation, which
he had established as a school in its own right; but, at the
same time, he was putting on the kesa which symbolises
the difficult practice of the discipline of the Method of
the Path of the Saints, rejected by his teaching. Some
contemporary researchers have therefore wondered
whether his teaching on nembutsu concealed a subtle
return to other practices. In fact, this is not the case.
For the texts conveying his doctrine clearly show that it
consisted in rejecting all other practices once and for all
in order to establish the single nembutsu of the exclusive
(Above) Portrait of Honen. Fujiwara no
Takanobu. 12th century. Ink and colour on
silk. Wikipedia.
pronunciation of the name of the Buddha Amida. If
Hōnen, after his conversion, continued to observe the
rules of the discipline while enjoying contemplative
experiences, it was because this corresponded to his
personal nature. In other words, the intimate conviction
of the perfect effectiveness of nembutsu alone, acquired at
the level of the inner self, does not prejudge the external
conduct adopted by the practitioner according to his tastes
and abilities.
In a testament, written as early as 1198, Hōnen had
instructed his followers not to gather after his death.
However, they ignored it and, in fact, his disciples
and their successors ended up giving rise to numerous
doctrinal currents and undercurrents. A century after
Hōnen’s death, Gyōnen (1240-1321), a learned monk of
the Kegon school, drew up an overview of the different
currents in his Origins and Development of the Pure Land
Teachings, in which he listed more than 70 masters and
their doctrinal variants. However, the two main sources of
these currents of the Pure Land School (Jōdo-shū) are the
Seizan-ryū tradition of the disciple Shōkū (1177-1247), and
the Chinzei-ryū tradition of the disciple Benchō (1162-
1238). As for Shinran (1173-1263), he posed himself as the
guardian of his master’s true doctrine, and so he presented
his own teaching as “the True Doctrine of the Pure Land”
(Jōdo-Shinshū).
In the century following his death, Hōnen’s disciples
collected all possible documents concerning his life and
teaching, which they compiled into several sums. The first
was completed by Shinran in 1257 and is entitled “The
Compass for the Pure Land of the West” (Saihō-shinanshō).
Another was completed by Ryōe (1243-1330), of the
Pure Land School, in 1275, under the title “Collected
17

FEATURED ARTICLE - HŌNEN: THE SPIRITUAL FATHER OF SHINRAN
Enlightening Sayings of His Eminence of Kurodani” (Kurodani Shōnin gotōroku).
Added to this is the “Illustrated Biography of His Eminence Hōnen” (Chokushu
Goden), commissioned in 1307 by the retired emperor Go-Fushimi from Shunjō
(1255-1335), a Tendai monk who had adhered to the Pure Land School. This
extraordinary work has forty-eight scrolls and a total length of 550 metres and
was realized with the most prestigious calligraphs—including three retired
emperors—as well as the best painters. Finally, a biography, entitled “The
illustrated Life supplementing old Panegyrics” was completed in 1301 by
Kakunyo (1270-1351), the 3rd patriarch of Honganji.
It is in this kind of documents that we will find the most original formulation
of Hōnen’s teaching, far removed from the scholastic style of the Senjakushū. In
the latter, for example, the founder of the Pure Land School develops a difficult
and innovative concept. According to the classical practice of the Greater
Vehicle, the practitioner must formally “transfer the merits of his practice” (ekō),
i. e. direct them mentally towards achieving his personal awakening and the
deliverance of all beings. The Senjakushū, however, affirms that the nembutsu
ensures birth in the Pure Land naturally ( jinen) and that it is therefore a
practice “without transfer of merits” ( fu-ekō), the latter being contained in the
Buddha’s Name. Now here is how Hōnen illustrated this principle, according to
his own words:
*****
In the paintings of Jōdo-Shinshū temples, Hōnen is depicted seated on a
ceremonial dais and dressed in black with a five-stripe kesa of same colour,
holding the beads (nenju) in both hands. Next to his image, his name is shown
as “Enkō Daishi,” meaning “Grand Master with the Aureole.” This is the
posthumous title granted in 1697 to Hōnen by Emperor Higashiyama.
However, the prestige of the founder of Jōdo-Shū is such that the emperors have
subsequently given him a new name with the title of Grand Master every fifty
years since 1711, most recently in 2011 under the current Emperor Emeritus.
Hōnen concludes our overview of the Seven Eminent Masters on whom
Shinran mainly based his teaching. In his Poem on Nembutsu of True Faith, he sums
up their contributions as follows:
The Masters of treatises in the West, in India (Nāgārjuna & Vasubandhu),
And the Eminent Monks of China (Tanluan, Daochuo, Shandao) and
Japan (Genshin, Hōnen) / Have revealed the true intention of the coming
of the Great Saint (Śākyamuni) into this world: / To show that the Primal
Promise of the Tathāgata (Amida) accords with its motive (the beings to be
delivered). (Shōshinge, 12)
If someone dresses his body in a kimono impregnated with perfume, that
person is said to be perfumed, although the origin of the perfume is to be found
in the kimono, because the perfume of the costume impregnates his body.
In the same way, the perfume of the impregnating power of the Primal
Vow impregnates the costume of the Name, so that when someone puts on
this costume of the Name and says once for all ‘Namo Amida Butsu’, he
will certainly be born in the Pure Land, because he is impregnated with
the perfume of the costume of the Name.” (quoted in Shinran’s Saihōshinan-shō,
II-b).
18

FURTHER READINGS
Arai, Toshikazu: The Path to the Pure Land (Shinran’s Saihō-shinan-shō); New York, American
Buddhist Study Center, 2021.
Want to learn more about JSIO?
Atone, Jōji & Hayashi, Yōko: The Promise of Amida Buddha, Honen’s Path to Bliss; Somerville,
Wisdom Publications, 2011 (Ryōe’s Kurodani Shōnin Wago-tōroku & Shui-Wago-tōroku).
Augustine, Morris J. & Kondō, Tesshū: Hōnen’s Senchakushū, Passages on the Selection of the Nembutsu
in the Original Vow; BDK English Tripitaka: Berkeley, Numata Center, 1997 / Kuroda
Institute: Honolulu, University of Hawai’i Press; Tokyo, Taishō University, 1998.
Blum, Mark L.: The Origins and Development of Pure Land Buddhism (Gyōnen’s Jōdo hōmon genrushō);
New York, Oxford University Press, 2002.
Coates, Harper Havelock & Ishizuka Ryūgaku: Hōnen, The Buddhist Saint, His Life and Teachings
(Shunjō’s Chokushu Goden); Kyoto, Chion’in, 1925 / New York and London, Garland
Publishing, 1981.
Ducor, Jérôme : Hônen, Le gué vers la Terre Pure (Senchakushû) ; Paris, Arthème Fayard, 2005.
About the Author
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.
Visit jsinternational.org
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19

FEATURED ARTICLE
Marcus Cumberlege
A Shin Buddhist Poet and Friend
By Rev. Diane Jishin Dunn,
Myokoin Temple, Kenai Alaska
The day after receiving my Buddhist name in a Kikyoshiki
Ceremony at Eko House in Dusseldorf, Germany, I found
myself in a cafe sitting next to a poet from Bruges, Belgium.
He, too, had just received his Buddhist name. We both
had the same sounding Homyo, Ji Shin. We struck up a
conversation that would continue for the next 17 years.
It was from that starting point in 2001 that Marcus
Cumberlege and I would embark on a journey of sharing
thoughts about living a life in the Nembutsu. We exchanged
letters and emails filled with prose and poetry. The wise
words of Marcus Cumberlege, Free City Poet of Bruges, have
given me help and hope over the years.
It is rare (in my humble opinion) that one can express the
boundless Compassion that Amida gifts to each one of us
in a few lines of poetry. Marcus did that in a way that points
directly to the heart of the matter - give it all “up” to Amida
and just say the Nembutsu. Many of Marcus’ Shin poems
started out in a little red notebook that he kept tucked in
his shirt pocket. We would take walks together and often
he would be compelled to stop and jot down a poem. He
would often write poetry on 3x5 notecards. I would receive
an envelope filled with poems on note cards. I nice memory
of mine. Marcus left behind a treasure trove of poetry that
speaks to the essence of Shin Buddhism and Amida’s infinite
reach into our lives. His poetry shares with us the joy and
sorrow of a life well lived while traveling the Nembutsu Path.
I have chose a few of his poems that have helped me, in
many ways, get out of my own head and back into the heart
that I share with Amida. It would be my wish that you, too,
find a glint of gold in the words of the poet that I called my
“Dharma Buddy” and friend.
20

REV. DIANE JISHIN DUNN
Marcus Cumberlege was a poet that
shared his heart with Amida’s. He
died December 30, 2018 in Bruges,
Belgium. “Namo Amida Butsu”
appears on his grave stone for all
to see. Even in death he continues
to share the Nembustu through his
words. He will continue to encourage
and teach us as to what it means
to carry the Nembutsu deep in our
hearts. In these tumultuous times, we
need to know that we are grasped
and never abandoned by the Infinite
Compassion and Wisdom of Amida
Buddha.
“Entrusting in the Vow, Amida is
always waiting to play a helpful part
in my life today. I am convinced of
this.” ~ Marcus Cumberlege
About the Author
LINES TO AMIDA
I need to be reminded constantly
That you are with me, working in my heart,
To wander in your footsteps faithfully
With whatever friend, to whatever part.
Not only do I need your compassion
To make life simpler and to ease the pain
Which I and others feel in our fashion,
But I need to learn again and again.
To let go and surrender to your will,
To yield to a smile on a loved one’s face
Gracefully swallowing the bitter pill
Of ignorance, dropping out of the race.
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
I need self-confidence, courage to change
For the better, leaving my guilt behind.
I need you, Amida - does it sound strange?-
To help and to heal me in body and mind.
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.
FREEDOM
(The highest goal we can strive for
Is to become totally unselfish and
Other directed.)
Namu Amida Butsu
Let’s make it a sober day
Free from manic depression
And alcoholic thinking.
Name Amida Butsu
Take away my bad karma,
Not an order - a request.
Make my path simple & straight.
Namu Amida Butsu
Is the only way I know
To escape delusion’s maze,
Find meaning in existence.
Name Amida Butsu
I cannot say it enough-
Free me from self-centredness
And guide me through the day.
21

INTERVIEW
Shin Buddhism Today and
the Road Ahead
(Part Two)
Rev. Dr. Takashi Miyaji & Rev. John Paraskevopoulos
This is the second of a six-part interview with Rev. John Paraskevopoulos
from Australia, conducted by Rev. Dr. Takashi Miyaji in October 2023.
The discussion covers a host of issues facing Shin Buddhism, ranging
from doctrinal questions to the challenges that confront followers as they
attempt to live out their faith.
What are your thoughts about the future of Jōdo
Shinshū?
It is hard to imagine a more direct teaching than Jōdo
Shinshū for those living in a time of so much distress and
upheaval. People today are overwhelmed by a plethora
of troubles and distractions. Many are suffering from
acute levels of angst and depression, while trying to keep
their lives together in conditions that are uncertain and
seemingly without hope.
Some might reply that human beings, throughout
history, have always faced adversity, conflict and hardship,
so that is hardly new. This is true but, in the past, many
cultures had the benefit of living in spiritually intact
civilizations that could sustain them during periods of
great tribulation.
Our secular culture today is an aberration, as it is
the first in human history to have purged the sacred from
its very foundations—embracing, instead, ideological
solutions that are reinforced by an ethos of materialism
and an unquestioning confidence in the marvels of
technology.
One could argue that, during times when traditional
faiths had a greater hold over humanity, there were more
effective spiritual resources available to help people deal
with various calamities. Of course, many still suffered
terribly in previous ages, especially through a lack of
adequate medical care and sanitation, which we now enjoy
in the modern world.
Human nature, however, has not changed and the
problems posed by what the Buddha called the ‘three
poisons’ (anger, greed and folly) are still with us—no doubt
intensified by the very real spiritual poverty in which we
22

REV. DR. TAKASHI MIYAJI & REV. JOHN PARASKEVOPOULOS
find ourselves today. Obviously, this is not to deny the
importance of securing our basic material necessities, or
the need to preserve social harmony; such goods, though,
can never remain stable for long.
If we ignore our chief priority in life—which is
an orientation towards the ‘true and real’—then we’ll
continue to dwell in darkness, even if we feel physically
safe, have plenty to eat and enjoy perfect health.
Therefore, our response to any natural disaster or worldly
commotion is to keep the Buddha always in mind, while
being nurtured by a deeper well-being that only the
Dharma can provide.
To the extent that we take refuge in Amida’s boundless
wisdom and compassion—rather than relying for our
happiness on a false self that’s infested by ‘snakes and
scorpions’—we are given a spiritually unassailable and
meaningful existence, come what may.
Just like many religions traditions today, Jōdo
Shinshū is struggling (both in Japan and the West). We
see dwindling congregations and resources, a distorted
understanding of the teachings among not a few followers
(often as a result of poor pedagogy), and many lukewarm
ministers who often lack conviction. The ravages
of modernity have yielded a rich harvest of scepticism,
relativism, cynicism and despair. These large-scale
developments are in keeping with karmic causes and
conditions that need to exhaust themselves over time; yet the
future remains uncertain nevertheless. So, what is left to us?
Jōdo Shinshū offers itself as an invitation. It says to
us: “Consider our unsatisfactory lives, and reflect on the
impermanence of all things; listen to the exhortations
of the Buddha and taste for yourself the fruits of his
liberating message.”
If we ignore our chief priority
in life—which is an orientation
towards the ‘true and real’—
then we’ll continue to dwell
in darkness, even if we feel
physically safe, have plenty to
eat and enjoy perfect health.
The success of a religion should not be gauged by the
number of its members or the state of its bank balance,
but in the ability to bring about a joyous transformation
in ordinary people, as they seek deliverance from this
sorrowful realm of birth-and-death.
If our tradition fails in this task—the most important
it has—then I’m afraid the future is looking very bleak
indeed. Therefore, let us faithfully return to the roots of
our teaching so that we may fortify our hearts and hear
the glorious ‘Call of the Vow’, rather than the “lies and
gibberish” of a world “without truth and sincerity” of
which the Tannishō so poignantly reminds us.
What kind of journal do you think this should be?
What other direction could it take in future?
I feel that the journal currently offers a good balance
between scholarly articles, and contributions that have
more of a personal focus. I also enjoy reading about
how people have come to discover Jōdo Shinshū, and
the impact this has had on their lives. If the equilibrium
between these complementary approaches can be
maintained, I think the journal will continue to attract a
broader audience, thus having something to offer everyone
(albeit within its modest scope).
It occurs to me that it would be desirable to reflect the
range of different positions that are possible within our
tradition. The Nishi-Hongwanji, in particular, sometimes
has a reputation for being a bit staid and conservative in
its thinking, compared to its Higashi brethren who appear
inclined to be more doctrinally adventurous. Needless
to say, both have their strengths and pitfalls—being
23

INTERVIEW - SHIN BUDDHISM TODAY AND THE ROAD AHEAD: PART TWO
My view is that one can certainly be
traditional (i.e. faithful to Shinran’s
perspective) while also being open
to imaginative ways of adapting his
insights to the needs of modern
audiences.
too stuffy can lead to a resistance in embracing fresh
perspectives, whereas when you take your foot off the
brake completely, the teaching can go down a path where
it becomes no longer discernible as Jōdo Shinshū. I have
encountered both extremes and the divisive tensions this
has led to.
My view is that one can certainly be
traditional (i.e. faithful to Shinran’s perspective)
while also being open to imaginative ways of
adapting his insights to the needs of modern
audiences. It is in that spirit that I believe the
journal should offer a renewed ‘Nishi vision’
whereby readers can come to expect a solidly
orthodox outlook, along with a resolve to make
the Shōnin’s unique message engaging, inspiring
and sensitive to their deepest concerns as human beings.
We must address the sincere aspirations of those who
are looking for a path that can give transcendent meaning
to their lives. The answer is certainly not to be found
in recklessly reinventing doctrines to suit our worldly
prejudices—as if fashionable (yet transient) ideologies are
somehow the only benchmark by which we ought to judge
an authentic existence. There is, to be sure, no comfort or
solace in a false teaching.
Perhaps my views represent a minority position within
our school, but I remain convinced that, if this journal can
pursue a bold and uncompromising direction as suggested,
it is sure to remain firm in its core Jōdo Shinshū beliefs
while also being able to rejuvenate Amida’s Dharma for a
new generation of seekers.
Who was Rev. George Gatenby? How did he
influence you?
The Reverend George Gatenby, who passed away in
March 2021, is not widely known among many followers
of Jōdo Shinshū, so perhaps a few words about this
Australian priest are in order. Born in Sydney in 1943,
Rev. Gatenby led a fascinating and unconventional life,
notwithstanding its many difficulties (which were very
often considerable).
While he worked successfully in the business world,
he often struggled with the compromises and ruthless
behaviours with which he had to contend. Being the gentle
soul that he was, the cut-throat environment of commerce
was hardly his true calling in life, but this did not detract
from the consummate professionalism he always displayed.
Where he did find a true vocation, however, was in
his spiritual journey. Before entering the world of business,
Rev. Gatenby was a minister in the Anglican Church
(between 1968 and 1977). He quickly became a popular
pastor who was renowned for his captivating sermons.
However, he never felt entirely at home in the
Christian tradition and so found himself gradually drifting
towards the East for greater spiritual sustenance. The
catalyst was his providential encounter, around fifty years
ago, with Max Müller’s 19th-century translation of the
Sūtra on the Buddha of Eternal Life.
Even though his shift didn’t happen overnight, Rev.
Gatenby was already finding himself thinking in Buddhist
ways, even while serving as a clergyman. Before long,
however, this tension became too much and—feeling
the need to take decisive action—he eventually left the
priesthood after nine years of service.
24

REV. DR. TAKASHI MIYAJI & REV. JOHN PARASKEVOPOULOS
In October 1994, Rev. Gatenby and I received tokudo
ordination together at the Nishi Hongwanji in Kyoto
and, in December 2007, he became the first Australian
to receive the higher ordination rank of kyōshi. Upon his
return from Japan, he started to ramp up his teaching
activities and established a little dōjō from his home in
Adelaide which, while certainly modest in its numbers,
punched way above its weight when it came to the quality
and depth of this group’s discussions.
Around the same time, he embarked on what was
to become the great work of his life; a monumental
commentary on every one of Shinran’s hymns, which
amount to over 350—a feat that has never before been
attempted in English (or, I am told, even in Japanese). It
took Rev. Gatenby over ten years to write these exquisite
reflections, after which he spent many more years refining
them.
When I first met him in 1991, I was immediately
struck by his jovial nature and distinctive, irrepressible
laugh—a far cry from the somber attitude often
displayed by many Buddhists I had known. But what
was particularly impressive was his passion for exploring
the significance of our fragile and mysterious human
existence. It was heartening to see such enthusiasm for the
Buddha’s teachings, brought alive so vividly in the daily
example of this extraordinary man.
I was always moved by how much he cared for the
spiritual well-being of his community, and by his desire
to see them nourished by life’s deeper truths. Despite the
self-deprecating assessment of his own achievements, it has
become quite apparent that his impact on others was more
consequential than he himself could have imagined.
Rev. Gatenby had a deep understanding of
people and their troubles, and was always generous
with his time. His humour was infectious as was his
unquenchable love of the Dharma, which enriched his
life immensely and gave him great joy. If nothing else,
he taught me the supreme value of having a sacred
orientation in our all-too-brief lives on this planet.
While Rev. Gatenby was an outstanding pioneer of
Shin Buddhism in his native country, he nevertheless
exercised an understated yet enduring pastoral influence
on a number of grateful Jōdo Shinshū followers around
the world. He was ahead of his time in many ways, yet
often had to tread a lonely path, especially when faced
with the misconceptions that often plague this largely
unexplored tradition. And yet his courage in defending
Shinran’s wonderful teaching was outstanding—and
an inspiration to those who sought to have their lives
transfigured by a liberating encounter with Amida
Buddha through a life of nembutsu.
*****
Songs of Light: Reflections on the Hymns of Shinran (in three
volumes) is scheduled to be published by the Jōdo
Shinshū International Office in early 2024.
About the Interviewer
Rev. Dr. Takashi Miyaji is an assistant
professor for the Institute of Buddhist
Studies in Berkeley, California and
a Kaikyoshi minister of the Buddhist
Churches of America.
About the Interviewee
Rev. John Paraskevopoulos is a
Jodo Shinshu priest from Australia.
His publications include Call of the
Infinite, The Fragrance of Light, and
Immeasurable Life.
It was heartening to see such
enthusiasm for the Buddha’s
teachings, brought alive so
vividly in the daily example
of this extraordinary man.
25

EDITOR’S POSTSCRIPT
We are coming up on five years since Jodo Shinshu International Office
was officially incorporated in 2019. The purpose of JSIO is to share Amida
Buddha’s Wish as appreciated by Shinran Shonin with people who are seeking
spiritual guidance in Buddhism. The publication of this journal, Jodo Shinshu
International, is one of our main programs.
Words are very unique and important feature of Jodo Shinshu. While other
schools emphasize practices such as meditation, Jodo Shinshu emphasizes
receiving the meaning of words, since we receive the Teaching of Buddha
through words that are passed down to us.
It has been said that hell is the world where words cannot be understood, the
human realm is the world where words are necessary to communicate, and the
Buddha’s Realm is the world where words are not necessary. Because we live in
a world where words are necessary, the Buddha’s realm, Tatha, which is True
Reality, has expressed its heart as the most important word, “Namo Amida
Butsu”. But, “Namo Amida Butsu” is not just a word; it is a calling so that
we, who are transmigrating in the world of darkness, can all hear the Light of
Wisdom, and live a life of spiritual fulfillment.
As humans, we do not only receive words, but we can share words with each
other as well. Our journal is a way to share people’s words of appreciation of
Namo Amida Butsu in English. As we move forward, in the near future we
would like to have articles in different languages such as Spanish, French,
Italian and Portuguese. Through sharing people’s appreciation of Namo Amida
Butsu in various languages, we can work towards making Amida Buddha’s Wish
and Shinran Shonin’s words truly be heard by all beings in this human realm.
We humbly ask for your support as we work to fulfill this purpose of JSIO.
Palms Together,
Kodo Umezu, Co-editor
About the Author
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