“The Vertical and Horizontal Threads of Jodo Shinshu: The Compassionate Vow in Society” Special Dharma Lecture by Rev. Giei Sasaki

浄土真宗の縦糸と横糸

− 本願の出会いと対社会性 –

特別講師:佐々木義英先生

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

7:00 p.m. (Pacific Time)

2022年9月6日(火曜日)午後7時(米国太平洋時間)

Rev. Giei Sasaki

Hongwanji Guiding Dharma Teacher

Director of the Research Office for Doctrine and Propagation at the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji Research Institute

Chuo Bukkyo Gakuin Buddhist Seminary Instructor

佐々木義英先生

本願寺司教、浄土真宗本願寺派総合研究所教学伝道研究室長、中央仏教学院講師。

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“The Origin of Jodo Shinshu: Roots/History” Special Dharma Lecture by Rev. Giei Sasaki

「浄土真宗の源流:roots / history」

特別講師:佐々木義英先生

Sunday, September 13, 2020

5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time)

2020年9月13日(日曜日)午後5時(米国太平洋時間)

Rev. Giei Sasaki

Hongwanji Guiding Dharma Teacher

Director of the Research Office for Doctrine and Propagation at the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji Research Institute

Chuo Bukkyo Gakuin Buddhist Seminary Instructor

佐々木義英先生

本願寺司教、浄土真宗本願寺派総合研究所教学伝道研究室長、中央仏教学院講師。

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Heading Westward

We will be observing our Spring Ohigan Service on Sunday, March 22 at 9:30 a.m.  Ohigan is observed twice a year during the spring and autumn equinoxes, when days and nights are of equal length and the sun sets directly in the West.  The Pure Land Sutras describe the Pure Land of Amida Buddha as a realm of enlightenment located in the west, so Ohigan is an ideal time to reflect on the direction of our lives and reorient ourselves on the path to liberation from suffering.

The following passage from the Amida Sutra describes how the Pure Land of Amida Buddha is located in the western quarter: “Beyond a hundred thousand kotis* of Buddha-lands westwards from here, there is a land called ‘Perfect Bliss.’ In that land there is a Buddha called Amida who is expounding the Dharma at this moment.” (Section 2)  Once, after I gave an Ohigan Dharma talk on the subject of Amida Buddha’s Pure Land in the western quarter, one of the Sangha members approached me and asked, “If the Pure Land of Amida Buddha is located in the Western Direction, can I travel there on spaceship?”  At the time, I was so caught off guard by the question that I had no idea how to respond.  While I am certain of the existence of Amida Buddha’s Pure Land, I do not believe it is the kind of physical place that one could fly to on a spaceship.

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