All Oyasama
has is this old fool --
it is quite enough.
Namu Amida Butsu!
Namu Amida Butsu!
Reference:
Oyasama: http://www.buddhistinformation.com/pureland/amidas_work.htm
Nembutsu ... as a form of gratitude: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinran
2 comments:
For one thing, Shinran, the reluctant founder of Jodo Shinshu basically went against the rigidness of Japanese society in 12th century Japan.
Trained as a Tendo priest, he suffered doubt due to religious hypocrisy practised by sons of warriors assigned to the Buddhist and Shinto priesthood.
After experiencing an epiphany at the retreat founded by Honen, first by meditation at an ancient shrine dedicated to the Buddha by Shotoku, the founder of the first Japanese constitution, that old foolish one married, and ate meat.
When they were too much of a bother to the powers that be, at least two priests were executed and everyone else exiled.
During his exile Shinran referred to himself as Gotoku, the bald-headed fool.
Many Japanese get married as Shinto and have Buddhist priest of different sect vie for taking care of their afterlife.
Jodo Shinshu being the biggest denomination gets a big slice of the funeral pie.
By the time Japanese immigrated to Canada, this religion had been split in two, due to differences in how the head priest is chosen: either by blood through Shinran or by passing it from master to disciple. Eventually one sect Ohtani looked after the mausoleum of Shinran while the other became more secular.
Jodo Shinran priests are married. In America, it's much more advanced, the Buddhist Church of America being independent of the head quarters of JS, the Hongwanji.
In Canada, we're still in denial about the war experience, and more gentlemanly i.e. we don't have the history of the US Constitution that strongly protects the right to worship. Instead, we have a document that pretends Buddhism has "gods", when it doesn't. No idol worship goes on in the temple.
I'm an old JS brat. It's hard to get my childhood experiences in Sunday School out of my system, and become say, a Falun Gong member.
Why? Because I have a lot of be thankful for.
Namu Amida Butsu.
Tendo is a misspelling - it should read "Tendai"
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