Tag Archives: tariki
On ‘Encountering the Buddha’
In May I wrote a post entitled ‘Tender Indifference’ in which I quoted Soga Ryojin to the effect that, “we are helped naturally and without any outward interference. The Buddha fulfills the Dharma whereby one is helped naturally and without anyone’s calculation, and in this way He helps, and helps all sentient beings equally. Thus the Buddha does not [...]
“where our small, foolish self remains unsatisfied”
“it is precisely at the point where our small, foolish self remains unsatisfied, or completely bewildered, that immeasurable natural life beyond the thoughts of that self takes place. Life functions and the power of the Buddha is actualized, precisely at the point where we become completely lost.” (Uchiyama, Kosho, Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations [...]
Discussion about ‘Jiriki’
I’ve been having an interesting discussion about Jiriki (Self-power) with a couple of Dharma friends over at Blathering Nonsense. Like Jon I’ve met a lot of people, especially newcomers to Jōdo Shinshū who are badly confused by the self-power / other-power paradigm and in the past I have admitted to a feeling that the terminology [...]
Grace and Gratitude
Inspired by re-reading Mysticism Buddhist and Christian by Paul Mommaers and Jan Van Bragt I have been dipping into Thomas a Kempis’ Imitation of Christ and came across this passage which in some ways echoes my experience of the power-beyond-self (jp. tariki): False freedom of mind and too great self-confidence are great obstacles to heavenly visitation. God doth [...]
Link: Dosho Port – ‘Verification Monologues’
A provocative post by Dosho Port that, though aimed at “the just (dead) sitting crowd”, I think contains challenging questions for those like me who lean towards so-called ‘other-power’ (tariki) framings of the path: What I’m saying here is that although practice and enlightenment are not separate as people commonly believe, neither are they one [...]
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