Nembutsu

The 84,000 Dharma Gates (November 5)

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It is said that the Buddha taught 84,000 Dharma gates, presenting a vast array of teachings in order to suit the needs of all different people. In this week’s Dharma Talk, Rev. Adams will share reflections on the importance of respecting the views and religious understanding of others while being clear about one’s own path to awakening.

From The Letters of Rennyo Shonin (Gobunsho) Fascicle 5, Letter 9

We should . . . realize that all the sacred scriptures indeed are solely meant to make us entrust ourselves to the six-character Name, “Na-mo-a-mi-da-butsu.”

Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoshinge Sofu Chanting (click here for chanting text)
9:00 a.m. Radio Taiso Exercise
9:30 a.m. Dharma Service
10:30 a.m. Shotsuki Hoyo Monthly Memorial Service
10:30 a.m. Dharma Discussion

To join us for this hybrid service via Zoom, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.

The Nembutsu Heard by Shinran Shonin

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We hope to see you at the San Mateo Buddhist Temple on May 21, 2023 at 9:30 a.m. for our Gotan-e Service celebrating the 850th birthday of Shinran Shonin, the Buddhist teacher who we look to as the founder of our Jodo Shinshu tradition.  This year also marks the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Jodo Shinshu teaching. 

Shinran was born in Hino near Kyoto on May 21, 1173 during a time of great social turmoil in Japan when warlords battled for control of the country, severe famines caused widespread starvation, and epidemic disease took many lives.  As a young boy, Shinran surely encountered a great deal of suffering and sadness in the world around him.  At the age of nine, he became a Buddhist monk and sought refuge in the Dharma.  He arrived just before sunset on the day he was to be ordained at Shorenin Temple.  As night was beginning to fall, Jien, the head priest who would perform the ordination, told him to return the next day for the ceremony.  At that time, the young Shinran is said to have recited the following poem:

“For him who counts on tomorrow,
Like the fragile cherry blossom,
Tonight, unexpected winds may blow.”

Continue reading “The Nembutsu Heard by Shinran Shonin”

Ice Melts Into Water, Obstructions Melt Into Virtues

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As temperatures warm and we prepare to welcome the arrival of Spring with our Ohigan Service on March 19, I am reminded of the following verse from Shinran Shonin’s Hymns of the Pure Land Masters:

Obstructions of karmic evil turn into virtues;
It is like the relation of ice and water:
The more the ice, the more the water;
The more the obstructions, the more the virtues.

(From Shinran Shonin’s Hymns of the Pure Land Masters, Hymn 40)

In the verse above, Shinran Shonin describes how, just as the warm spring temperatures melt ice into water, the warm light of the Buddha’s wisdom melts the hard obstructions in our minds into the flowing virtues of awakening.  Greed turns into Generosity.  Indulgence turns into Self-control.  Anger turns into Patience.  Laziness turns into Dedication.  Distraction turns into Concentration.  Delusion turns into Wisdom

Growing up in Minnesota, the springtimes of my childhood were filled with joy and wonder, as I experienced the warm sunlight melting away ice and snow, making way for blades of green grass to sprout up on the lawn.  During the long winter, the cold of the snow and ice had turned the grass brown.  The water of the melted snow and the warmth of the sun brought new life to the grass.

Continue reading “Ice Melts Into Water, Obstructions Melt Into Virtues”

Ho’onko: the Annual Memorial Service for Shinran Shonin

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 In the Jodo Shinshu School of Buddhism, it is customary to hold an annual Ho’onko 報恩講 (Pronounced HOE-OWN-KOH) Memorial Service in remembrance of Shinran Shonin (1173-1263), the Japanese Buddhist priest who we look to as the founder of our tradition.  The tradition of annual Ho’onko services was initiated by Shinran’s great-grandson Kakunyo during the 33rd Year Memorial Service for Shinran.  At the Nishi Hongwanji Temple in Kyoto, Japan, the Hoonko observance is held each year from January 9th to 16th, culminating in an all-night Dharma marathon of talks by ministers from all over Japan.  This year, we will observe Ho’onko at the San Mateo Buddhist Temple on Sunday, January 22.  In temples of the Jodo Shinshu tradition, Ho’onko is considered to be the most important Buddhist service of the year.

If we conducted a survey of our Sangha members asking everyone which of our annual Buddhist services is most important, we wouldn’t be surprised to hear many responses along the lines of Hanamatsuri (Sakyamuni Buddha’s Birthday) or Obon (the grateful remembrance of departed loved ones that we hold every summer).  Of all the Buddhist services we observe throughout the year, why is Shinran’s Memorial Service traditionally given the most emphasis? 

Continue reading “Ho’onko: the Annual Memorial Service for Shinran Shonin”

Shōshinge: Hymn of True Shinjin and the Nembutsu (Session 26)

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Wednesday, March 8, 2023

In this month’s session we will further explore the teachings of the Chinese Pure Land Master Shan-tao (Shandao), who illuminates the path to attaining the threefold wisdom realized by Queen Vaidehi.

Shan-tao alone in his time clarified the Buddha’s true intent;
Sorrowing at the plight of meditative and non meditative practicers and people of grave evil,
He reveals that Amida’s light and Name are the causes of birth.
When the practicer enters the great ocean of wisdom, the Primal Vow,

He receives the diamondlike mind
And accords with the one thought-moment of joy; whereupon,
Equally with Vaidehi, he acquires the threefold wisdom
And is immediately brought to attain the eternal bliss of dharma-nature.

Continue reading “Shōshinge: Hymn of True Shinjin and the Nembutsu (Session 26)”

Shōshinge: Hymn of True Shinjin and the Nembutsu (Session 25)

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Wednesday, February 8, 2023

In this month’s session we will encounter the teachings of the Chinese Pure Land Master Shan-tao (Shandao), who clarified the meaning of the Contemplation Sutra as an expression of the Buddha’s vast compassion for all beings.

Shan-tao alone in his time clarified the Buddha’s true intent;
Sorrowing at the plight of meditative and non meditative practicers and people of grave evil,
He reveals that Amida’s light and Name are the causes of birth.
When the practicer enters the great ocean of wisdom, the Primal Vow,

He receives the diamondlike mind
And accords with the one thought-moment of joy; whereupon,
Equally with Vaidehi, he acquires the threefold wisdom
And is immediately brought to attain the eternal bliss of dharma-nature.

Continue reading “Shōshinge: Hymn of True Shinjin and the Nembutsu (Session 25)”

Shōshinge: Hymn of True Shinjin and the Nembutsu (Session 24)

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Wednesday, December 14, 2022

In this month’s session we will continue our study of the teachings of the Chinese Pure Land Master Tao-ch’o (Daochuo), whose teachings illuminate how our encounter with the Buddha’s compassionate vow brings about liberation for all of us who struggle to practice goodness in the world of conflict and delusion.

With kind concern he teaches the three characteristics of entrusting and non-entrusting,
Compassionately guiding all identically, whether they live when the dharma survives as but form, when in its last stage, or when it has become extinct.
Though a person has committed evil all his life, when he encounters the Primal Vow,
He will reach the world of peace and realize the perfect fruit of enlightenment.

Continue reading “Shōshinge: Hymn of True Shinjin and the Nembutsu (Session 24)”

Shōshinge: Hymn of True Shinjin and the Nembutsu (Session 23)

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Wednesday, November 9, 2022

In this month’s session we will encounter the teachings of the Chinese Pure Land Master Tao-ch’o (Daochuo), whose teachings encourage us to pass through the Pure Land Gate and recite the Name of Amida Buddha (Namo Amida Butsu).

Tao-ch’o determined how difficult it is to fulfill the Path of Sages,
And reveals that only passage through the Pure Land gate is possible for us.
He criticizes self-power endeavor in the myriad good practices,
And encourages us solely to say the fulfilled Name embodying true virtue.

Continue reading “Shōshinge: Hymn of True Shinjin and the Nembutsu (Session 23)”

“Namo Amida Butsu” Heard Throughout the World (February 6)

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Rev. Hogen Fujimoto

The words “Namo Amida Butsu” are the voice of the Buddha calling us to take refuge in his awakening, wherever we may be, whatever we may be doing. Through his work in prison chaplaincy, Rev. Hogen Fujimoto brought the comfort and guidance of the Nembutsu into the lives of inmates who were seeking to direct their lives toward wisdom and compassion.

This Sunday, Rev. Adams will share the inspiration he’s received Rev. Fujimoto’s memoir Out of the Mud Grows the Lotus, and how Rev. Fujimoto’s work in the prisons reflects the 17th Vow of Amida Buddha, which affirms the Buddha’s commitment that his voice of wisdom will reach all those who seek the path to awakening:

If, when I attain Buddhahood, the countless Buddhas throughout the worlds in the ten quarters should not all glorify and praise my name, may I not attain the perfect enlightenment.

Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoshinge Sofu Chanting (click here for chanting text)
9:00 a.m. Taiso Exercise with Juliet and Grace Bost
9:30 a.m. Dharma Service
10:30 a.m. Shotsuki Hoyo Monthly Memorial Service

To join us for this online Dharma Service, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.