Introduction to Buddhism

In India, over 2,500 years ago, a man named Siddhartha Gautama was suffering. He was afraid of sickness, aging and dying. This vague sense of unease colored his entire life. It seemed that he suffered merely by being alive. As he grew older and married and had a son these feelings became even more pronounced. At 29, he began to question these feelings, their validity and their source. This was the beginning of Buddhism.

Over the next six years Siddhartha discovered that the cause of his suffering was not the world but how he viewed the world. It was not a problem of being but a problem of seeing. He was awakened to the reality that all things are dynamic and in flux. Now instead of seeing uncertainty he saw opportunity. If it wasn’t for change he wouldn’t have been born, married and have had a son. He now saw meaning in all things in his life.

From this point on Siddhartha was known as the Buddha which means "one who has been awakened." He had been living in a dream world of delusions but he awoke and now he saw things as they are. He saw that he too was part of this wonderful and dynamic world of change. He no longer viewed change negatively as sickness, aging and dying but positively as a creative force in his life.

Siddhartha was not a man unique in human history. There were many Buddhas before Siddhartha and there have been many after. What was unique was the causes and conditions that enabled him to share what he had discovered with all of mankind. We call this the Dharma or the Teachings. It is through listening to these teachings that we too can be awakened by reality itself and live in a world that is bright and full of freedom and promise.

Introduction to Shin Buddhism

In India, over 2,500 years ago, there lived a man named Siddhartha Gautama. At 29 years of age he began a quest into the causes of suffering. He spent the following six years practicing self discipline and asceticism in order to quiet his mind and cleanse his body. These practices had left him emaciated and near death. He knew that ultimately death was not the answer so he began to take nourishment and sat under a bodhi tree in meditation. After 40 days of meditation he saw into the impermanent nature of reality. That all things are interrelated through causes and conditions. At that moment he realized that there is no permanent self to quiet or cleanse. His sense of a finite self began to dissolve into the infinite reality that surrounded him.

Siddhartha arose from underneath the bodhi tree and began to teach what he had discovered throughout India. Siddhartha was now known as the Buddha which means "one who has been awakened." He taught for 45 years which lead to volumes and volumes of Buddhist texts called sutras. These teachings describe Buddhism as a way of life, as a philosophy and as a religion. All of these teachings are very meaningful but it is important to remember that they are the result of the Buddha’s awakening experience and not the cause.

After the Buddha’s death at the age of 80, his students began to focus on what lead to his awakening experience and how we too can experience this in our life. They began to study those six years he spent searching for the cause of suffering. Different people focused on different aspects. Over time Buddhism became differentiating into various schools. The Theravada School focused on the practices of self discipline. The Zen School focused on the 40 days of sitting meditation under the bodhi tree. The Pure Land School focused on the final realization that there is no permanent finite self that one can rely on. There is no self to quiet or cleanse.

The Pure Land School of Buddhism did not become an independent school in its own right until Honen Shonin (1133-1212) of Japan began to teach the idea of inclusion and exclusion. Honen believed that it was better to focus on the teachings that best captured the Buddha’s final realization experience. So Honen included the three Pure Land Sutras and excluded the vast amount of sutras that remained. Honen was trying to find the most effective way for common people to practice Buddhism which lead to a non monastic form of Buddhism. This school is called Jodo Shu.

During this same period Shinran Shonin (1173-1263) was becoming more and more frustrated with monastic Buddhism. He had spent 20 years performing good works but felt that he was still the same person he had always been. At his lowest point he met Honen who told him that it is not through the self that we are awakened but it is through the infinite reality that is all around us. All one has to do is listen to this reality through the Buddha’s teachings and our teachers. It is this infinite reality that is trying to break through the dream world that we have constructed with our minds.

This infinite reality is personified by the Amida Buddha statue on the altar. And what we hear when we listen is given the name Namuamidabutsu. Both the statue and the Name represent the same essence. Shinran realized now that all good works are the result of this infinite reality resonating within us through no effort of our own. Prior to Shinran there was an ongoing debate of practice vs. faith. This is similar to the good works vs. grace debate. Shinran taught that neither is the cause of the other but instead both are the result of this resonance that takes place within us. This resonance is called the Pure Land. It is a state of mind where we live naturally without calculation, without consideration of effort and reward.

After Shinran’s death another school of Buddhism developed following his teachings. It was called Jodo Shinshu. In America it is also known as Shin Buddhism. This is what is practiced at the Orange County Buddhist Church. In the early 1900’s, the immigrants from Japan brought this school to the shores of California. Many newcomers to Buddhism look to far away lands and exotic teachers for guidance but surprisingly Shin Buddhism has been practiced by our neighbors and friends for over 100 years.

Amazing.

Jodo Shinshu (The True Pure Land Teaching)

Jodo Shinshu is the teaching of Sakyamuni Buddha as it was handed down through the religious understanding of Shinran Shonin (1173-1262).

In Jodo Shinshu, the object of worship is Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Light and Life. The Primal Vow of Amida Buddha promises Universal Enlightenment for all beings. There is no other vow that has such sweeping power, promising hope and life's fulfillment to all. Amida's eternal activity  of Wisdom and Compassion will never cease so long as beings are lost, suffering or wandering in a meaningless existence.

The recitation of the Nembutsu - Namu Amida Butsu - the sacred Name of Amida Buddha is vitally important in Jodo Shinshu, for it is the core of Amida's Vow. Amida Buddha communicates with us through his Name. Its form is twofold: it is Amida's voice calling to us and at the same time is our vocal response to his call.

Jodo Shinshu regards Faith (Shinjin) as the only and sufficient cause for birth in the Pure Land and attainment of Nirvana. Shinran explained this Faith as the Faith of the Other Power, the Other Power being the Power of Amida's Vow. From this, the Faith of the Other Power can be understood to mean the Faith bestowed by the Benevolence of Amida's Vow. This interpretation of faith is the unique characteristic of Shinshu teaching.

Nembutsu, like Faith, is also bestowed by the Other Power or Amida's Vow. Faith and Nembutsu given by the Other Power keep the followers from being attached to their own merits or power and help them enjoy the life of "Egolessness" and "Naturalness" which are fundamental ideas of Buddhism.

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