"River of Fire, River of Water – An Introduction to the Pure Land Tradition of Shin Buddhism" by Taitetsu Unno…(Doubleday, New York, 1998, 244 pages) a book review by LaVerne Senyo Sasaki, Buddhist Churches of America, Minister Emeritus

There are innumerable books in English for seekers of the Buddha Dharma, many on Zen and Tibetan Buddhism; however there have been very few devoted to Pure Land Buddhism, especially for the beginner. This book was not written for Buddhist academia but to share the depth, scope and richness of the Pure Land tradition to those who wished to discover its essence.

Dr. Unno, in the prologue, describes the beginnings of his own quest when his best friend committed suicide; this experience greatly challenged and motivated him to seek answers to such questions as: "Who and What am I? Where did I come from and where is it going?" The title comes for the parable "River of Fire, River of Water," which was authored by Chinese Pure Land master Shan-tao (613-681); the story describes a man who treads a hazardous narrow white path between leaping fire and hazardous waters.  The parable portrayed, the author felt, his own life predicament. The author using his broad knowledge and experiences, presents readers a view of his own life path. To make his points, he liberally and effectively uses descriptions of historical events, parallels with Western psychology, experiences of ordinary people, relevant quotes from poetry and novels, basic Buddhist concepts, Christian ideas, and meaningful metaphors.

This is a book for all people who are interested in the essence of Pure Land Buddhism regardless of their current knowledge or spiritual background. Each of the text’s forty-one chapters can be read as individual mini-sermons; many are just three pages long. Its chapters deal with diverse subjects ranging from arrogance, non-duality, Pure Land, Buddha Nature, Mother Teresa and Hitler,  and death. The contents point out that an individual’s source (and path) of peace or suffering is within oneself. The author presents the Pure Land (Jodo Shinshu) tradition well. Alexander Eliot declares, in the preface: "It has improved my understanding of my own faith--and even of myself."