Tag Archives: doctrine
A Yogacara View of the Pure Land (Part 2)
(This is a continuation of my rough translation of the essay “On the Background to the Five Kalpas of Thought” by Soga Ryojin. Part 1 can be found here) In the latter half of the article, Soga begins to unpack the notion that, “the summoning command of the Tathagata’s root Vow must truly be the [...]
A Yogacara View of the Pure Land (Part 1)
When it comes to conceptualizations of the Pure Land, the Yogacara viewpoint has sometimes been construed as antagonistic towards Jōdo Shinshū. Yet, as Kyōshin has pointed out, this is not necessarily the case; both from a historical standpoint, and, as I’d like to examine in this post, from a doctrinal standpoint. To do so I’d [...]
Notes on ‘Naturalness’ (K5)
On my way to work this morning I saw a sparrowhawk soar over head and then stoop rapidly into the local park. I’ve seen them perform small swooping attacks before in my garden but never a full-on, straight down dive. What an exhilarating start to the day! Namuamidabutsu. Chapter II, Section 1 p.33 – The [...]
Amida as Change
Last night I read the following words of my teacher Rev. Kemmyo T. Sato: As you know, there is no eternal entity in Buddhism. Every thing is always changing, interrelated and interdependent.” This got me to thinking that Shin Buddhists, including myself, sometimes mistakenly conflate the activity of Dharmic nature, that is to say Amida, [...]
Notes: ‘Bearer of the Light’ (J2)
Jishin’s notes on pages 82 – 83 In the next few pages of chapter 3 Kakehashi examines in detail Shinran’s interpretation of the 18th Vow. The Vow is comprised of two “gates”: 1) The gate of inclusion – Sesshu Mon 2) The gate of deterrence – Okushi Mon (this is commonly translated as the “exclusion [...]
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