Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️

For however long I remain in this delusory body, I will be devoted to Amida Dharma from the very core of my mind, And whatever I do, say or think, Will be directed to help all beings receive faith in Amida Buddha. I will travel on the path to liberation, And riding the horse of faith and true teaching, I will lead all beings to birth in the Pure Land. Namo Amida Bu 🙏 Click here if you wish to download my books for free: English: amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Spanish: amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Russian: amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Romanian (romana): josho-adrian.blogspot.com/p/… Portughuese: amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… French: amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Click here if you wish to support my Dharma activities and Amidaji temple (any small help is useful and very much needed) amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Click here if you wish to buy the printed editions of my books in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French: amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… 🙏 All you need to know about Amidaji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism: amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Namo Amida Bu 🙏 (photo: the statue of Amida Buddha I use in my Dharma activities, travels and pilgrimages. It was kindly offered by Drolkar Veronica Anghelescu ) #buddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #pureland #amitabha #amidabuddha #amidaji #amidajitemple #mahayana #mahayanabuddhism #buddhistbooks #amituofo #amitayus #sukhavati #karma #shinranshonin #honenshonin #rennyoshonin

Merit transference from Amida Buddha to the practitioner and the Bodhi Mind in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism Master Rennyo said in one of his Letters: “Attaining the entrusting heart (shinjin) lies in understanding the Eighteenth Vow. To understand this Vow means to understand what ‘Namo Amida Butsu’ is. And so, when one takes refuge, that is, “namo”, in Amida in one thought-moment, ‘making aspiration and directing virtue’ is implied. This means that Amida Tathagata directs virtue to us, foolish beings. This is taught in the Larger Sutra as ‘bringing all sentient beings to the attainment of virtues’. So it follows that all the karmic evil and blind passions which we have given rise to since the beginningless past are completely extinguished by the inconceivable Vow-Power. Hence, we dwell in the stage of non-retrogression, or the stage of the truly settled.” Master Rennyo emphasizes here another important aspect of the Jodo Shinshu teaching – Amida Buddha’s transference of merit towards us. In the practices based on personal power the practitioner “earns” virtues which he transfers to his own Enlightenment. But in the case of the Other Power way, the transference of merits takes place from Amida Buddha to the person of faith (shinjin). This transference of merit is what makes the follower capable of attaining Nirvana. There is a hymn by Shinran Shonin which says: “When sentient beings of this evil world of the five defilements [1] Entrust themselves to the selected Primal Vow, Virtues indescribable, inexplicable, and inconceivable Fill those practicers.” The merit transference from Amida to the practitioner has two aspects: 1) the merit transference of going forth (Oso-Eko) and 2) the merit transference of going back to this world (Genso-Eko) . The first refers to the fact that Amida transfers His entire store of karmic merit to us, making us capable of attaining Buddhahood in the Pure Land; and the second one means that the person who has thus become a Buddha by sharing the same Enlightenment as Amida, is made capable of returning to this world in order to save all beings. The Awakening of the Bodhi Mind – the aspiration to attain Budhahood for saving oneself and all beings – is fulfilled in the Awakening of Faith in the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha. Master Shan-tao said: “Awake your Bodhi Mind to Amida’s Compassion”, that is, aspire to your and other beings’ Liberation by relying on the Power and Compassion of Amida (His Primal Vow). So, the Awakening of the Bodhi Mind, the obligatory condition in Mahayana for attaining the supreme Enlightenment, appears in Jodo Shinshu in the form of the entrusting heart (shinjin). Shinran Shonin said in the “Hymns on Patriarchs”: “Faith is One Mind One Mind is the Diamond-like Mind; The Diamond-like Mind is the Bodhi-Mind; This mind is given us by the Other-Power.” The One Mind represents the cause of Enlightenment. Since this is the Bodhi-Mind, it has two aspects [2]: “To take refuge with One Mind in the Buddha Of Unhindered Light Shining throughout the Ten Directions Is the mind aspiring to become Buddha; So says Vasubandhu, the Master of Discourse .” “The mind aspiring to become Buddha Is the mind seeking to save sentient beings; The mind that seeks to save sentient beings Is True Faith endowed by Amida’s Compassion.” ___________________ [1] The five defilements are the five marks of decay of the world we live in: 1) the defilement of views, when incorrect, perverse thoughts and ideas are predominant, 2) the defilement of passions, when all kinds of transgressions are exalted, 3) the defilement of human condition, when people are usually dissatisfied and unhappy, 4) the defilement of life-span, when the human life-span as a whole decreases – according to the sutras, when it is less or close to one hundred years, 5) the defilement of the world-age, when war and natural disasters are rife. [2] The two aspects of the Bodhi-Mind are to aspire to the attainment of Buddhahood for himself and others. *** Click here to download all my books for free, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… If you find my articles and books useful, you might consider a donation to support my Dharma work and Amidaji temple, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Namo Amida Bu 🙏 #buddha #jodoshinshu #buddhism #amidabuddha #amituofo #amitayus #nembutsu #pureland #sukhavati #amidaji #amidajitemple #buddha #mahayana #japanesebuddhism #nembutsu #mahayanabuddhism #shinjin

Many Buddhist practitioners are like a man staring at the sun, but with his body in a hole full of excrement. Here the sun represents the ideal – Buddhahood to be attained through his own power. This ideal is of course very beautiful and the practitioner always likes to stare at it and to take delight in many beautiful words about Enlightenment, emptiness, Buddha-nature, that we are all Buddhas-to-be, etc. The hole with excrement is his true reality in the here and now, his deep karmic evil, his limitations, attachments and blind passions that cover all his body and mind. However, he likes to dream about Enlightenment: he even thinks that this is something that can be attained in this very life. After all, we all have Buddha-nature, don’t we? … And this dream continues as he practices in self-power for 20, 30, 40 years or more, until he finally dies like an ordinary unenlightened person, going to the next life with all his karma, attachments and his so-called “merits” accumulated in this life. I often meet with people who talk a lot about the fact that we all have Buddha-nature and because of this there is nothing that we have left to do but just realize this truth in our minds. They are always full of wise quotes by Buddhist masters and sages of the past from various schools, about Buddha-nature, emptiness, etc. Usually, such people try many types of practices, always going here and there, never being totally satisfied with any school or teacher. “I’m still searching”, they say, always feeling comfortable with this searching, behaving as though they have all the time in the world. They enjoy good books and good meditation until they suddenly die. I said that they “suddenly die” because when death comes to them it is like a surprise for them. In fact, they never seriously think about death: this is why they enjoy their “searching” for truth and the right practice. If they were really aware of the inevitability of their own death and impermanence, the next step would be to ask themselves in what state of mind death will find them if it comes not tomorrow, but today, at this very hour and second. If they were to ask themselves this question, then they could smell the odour of the excrement they are in and awaken from the self-satisfying dream of beautiful words about Enlightenment. I myself was a “good” Buddhist, staring at the sun until the awareness of my own death and impermanence hit me so powerfully and awoke me from my dream of self-satisfaction. I suddenly became aware not only of the fragility of my life, but also of the fragility and impermanence of my practice based on personal power. In that moment I abandoned myself and took refuge in Amida. Since then, I cannot deceive myself with my spiritual “realizations”. I imagine myself as a man lying helplessly in a deep and dark ravine with walls so steep and slippery that they cannot be climbed given my weak body. A good man sees me and throws a strong rope to me. But being so weak, I cannot climb up it by myself, so he tells me just to tie myself to this strong rope and let myself to be lifted by him. He tells me not to be afraid and to have full trust in him. I do this immediately and I am finally released from the dark ravine. This dark ravine in which I was lying helplessly is samsara (the world of birth and death), the good man is Amida Buddha and the rope is His Primal Vow through which He tries to help me. His intention is not to have a good chat with me about emptiness or Buddha-nature, or encourage me to climb by myself up the steep and slippery walls, because He realizes that I definitely cannot do this. His only intention is to save me immediately, without delay and in this very moment. He even says to me: “I beg you, take this rope, take it immediately, there is no time!” This is what we mean when we talk about Amida Buddha’s call. The rope is so well secured that I only need to let my body be raised by it – I do not need to climb up it by myself. You probably know the kind of ropes that are launched from helicopters when injured people are saved from various dangerous situations – these kinds of ropes are made so that injured persons can be lifted up to safety, they do not need to climb up these ropes by themselves. To hear Amida’s call is to listen to the teaching, that is, to the intention of His Primal Vow. To let myself be lifted by the rope dropped to me by Him is shinjin (entrusting to His Primal Vow) and also Nembutsu – “yes, I rely on you and I am grateful that you have saved me.” Entrusting myself to Amida Buddha and being grateful to Him is Namo Amida Bu. This is how I understand the Jodo Shinshu teaching. ** Click here to download all my books for free, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… If you find my articles and books useful, please consider a donation to support my Dharma work and Amidaji temple, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Your help is very much needed especially now when I build the Stupa at Amidaji and when I prepare the temple for the winter season. Namo Amida Bu 🙏 #karma #jodoshinshu #buddhism #amidabuddha #amituofo #amitayus #nembutsu #pureland #sukhavati #amidaji #amidajitemple #buddha #mahayana #japanesebuddhism #nembutsu #mahayanabuddhism #shinjin

How to help friends and family create a connection with Amida Buddha Question: “Sometimes, one may be concerned about friends and family, because they have chosen different religious ways, or decided to believe in nothing at all. Of course, they also think that their path is the correct one and even if this can change during a lifetime, they might never have access to Buddhism. If we try to bring them on the path, they might block this from the beginning. It is just too early for them from the karmic point of view. How can we work discreetly on them, so that they develop interest in Buddhism, if not in this life, at least in one of the coming lives? What is your advice?” My answer: Master Rennyo often spoke about having or not having good from the past and that people without this good from the past cannot entrust to Amida Buddha. The "good from the past" represents our good karma from past lives and this life which manifests itself as an opening or receptive state of mind towards the message of the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha. A lot of people hear the teaching about the Primal Vow but few are opened to it. This openness is very important in our tradition and is the manifestation of the good stored from the past. Rennyo said: "When we consider presenting our tradition's Other-Power faith, we must first distinguish between the people who have good from the past and those who lack good from the past. For, however long ago a person may have listed his name as a participant in this tradition, it will be difficult for one who lacks good from the past to attain faith. Indeed, faith will of itself be decisively settled in the person for whom past good has unfolded. And so, when we discuss the two [kinds of] practices - right and sundry - in the presence of people who lack good from the past, this may lay the foundation for slander, contrary to what one would expect. To teach extensively in the presence of ordinary people without understanding this principle of the presence or absence of good from the past is in total opposition to our tradition's rules of conduct. Hence the Larger Sutra says, 'If a person lacks roots of good, he will not be able to hear this sutra' and 'to hear this sutra and to sustain faith (shingyō) are the most difficult of all difficulties; nothing surpasses these difficulties". So, we should clearly not behave like Jehovah’s witnesses with people, but be very smart when approaching them, trying to see if they have that openness or good from the past Master Rennyo was talking about. I think the best attitude is to be ourselves an example of faith. Those around us should see us as constant and devoted followers of Amida Buddha. Usually, when one converts to a new religion the others around him are curious on how long it will last. If they know you as a person who constantly changes religions and faiths they will never take you seriously, but if you prove that you are constant in your faith, that one year, two years, five years, ten years already passed since your conversion they might start to respect that. In time they might get curious and ask questions. People’s curiosity cannot be stopped, so sooner or later they will ask you questions and you have to be there for them to answer. Even if they do not entrust to Amida Buddha nor join you in the Nembutsu of faith they will still make a karmic connection with Amida. Only by seeing an image of Amida, by hearing the sound of Nembutsu or by listening to a short Dharma explanation they are actually introduced for the first time to Amida Buddha. That is their first initiation, the first seeds of encountering Amida which will remain in their mind-streams and one day, perhaps in this life or the next, it will make them more receptive. So, be an example of faith and be available. Also, remember that due to Amida’s Power you are a future Buddha yourself and so every connection a person makes with you is a connection with a future Buddha. It is beneficial for people to create friendship with you so be open to people. ** Click here to download all my books for free, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… If you find my articles and books useful, please consider a donation to support my Dharma work and Amidaji temple, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Your help is very much needed especially now when I build the Stupa at Amidaji and when I prepare the temple for the winter season. Namo Amida Bu 🙏 #karma #jodoshinshu #buddhism #amidabuddha #amituofo #amitayus #nembutsu #pureland #sukhavati #amidaji #amidajitemple #buddha #mahayana #japanesebuddhism #nembutsu #mahayanabuddhism #shinjin

Any little donation is appreciated and very much needed. It brings support to Amidaji temple and helps me build the Stupa of All Buddhas. At this link there is a PayPal donation box and a Bank account, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… At this link you can read about my project to build the Stupa of All Buddhas at Amidaji temple and the progres I've made until now, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… All my Dharma activities are free of charge. My books can also be downloaded for free at this link, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… which is why donations are the most important source of support for my Dharma activities. Gratefully yours in Namo Amida Bu 🙏 #buddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #pureland #amitabha #amidabuddha #amidaji #amidajitemple #buddhisttemple

These are the words that I say every morning after waking up and during the night when going to bed. It is how I begin and end my day. They are not poetic, but simple and direct. My mental capacities being very limited I especially composed these simple sayings so that I can easily remember them. I also say them during the day when I am too busy to do anything else: Amida Buddha, I take refuge in you and say your Name in faith. Namo Amida Bu, Namo Amida Bu, Namo Amida Bu May all beings join me in taking refuge in you and saying your Name in faith. Namo Amida Bu, Namo Amida Bu, Namo Amida Bu Amida Buddha, I wish to be born in your Land of Peace and Bliss. Namo Amida Bu, Namo Amida Bu, Namo Amida Bu May all beings join me and wish to be born in your Land of Peace and Bliss. Namo Amida Bu, Namo Amida Bu, Namo Amida Bu. 🙏 These words are in accord with the three requirements of the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha: „entrust to me, say my Name and wish to be born in my land”. By aspiring that all beings join me in taking refuge in Amida, saying His Name in faith and wishing to be born in His Pure Land I invite them to be in accord with the Primal Vow. Its good to say these words as you never know who else, beside Amida Buddha, is hearing you. #buddhism #jodoshinshu #nembutsu #amitabha #amituofo #mahayana #pureland #amidaji #amidajiremple #shinranshonin

While saying Nembutsu in the mud and circumambulating the unfinished Stupa of all Buddhas that I am trying to build at Amidaji, the image of the lotus on the top of it arised in my mind from the blessing of Amida and all Buddhas. Then I decided that the Stupa will look like this when its finished (now I'm still working on the third level). Click here to read about the meaning of the various elements of the Stupa, including the lotus with jewel on the top and the latest updates from the construction site, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Also, click here if you wish to support the construction of this Stupa (PayPal and Bank account included), amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Your help is very much needed and appreciated. Please don't ignore this opportunity to benefit sentient beings and support the spreading of the Buddha Dharma through a stupa that will last many generations. Yours in Namo Amida Bu 🙏 #JodoShinshu #ShinBuddhism #PureLand #Amitabha #Amitayus #Amituofo #AmidaBuddha #Nembutsu #Sukhavati #Mahayana #Buddhism #Buddha #Amidaji #Amidajitemple #Buddhism #BuddhistStupa #stupabudista #stupabuddhista #budismromania #buddhismromania #shinbudismromania #jodoshinshuromania #amidaji #templulamidaji

(EN/RU) Every day life is a realization that I am indeed incapable to save myself from samsara and that only Amida Buddha can do that for me. Nothing truly reliable, nothing stable can be found within myself. I have never been capable to obtain what the Buddhist magazines or people usually describe as "the Buddhist calmness" or "Buddhist serenity". As for virtues or wisdom? I know about them only from the books! The best way to describe myself on the Buddhist path is that of a demon or evil spirit subjugated by Amida. You probably know the stories of evil spirits and demons subjugated by the Power of various Buddhas, like those related with Padmasambhava of Tibet. I realize that I am indeed like this - an evil spirit who submitted himself to Amida Buddha and has been subjugated by His Power. How grateful I am for the undiscriminating Compassion of Amida! If I was to be abandoned to the power of my stupidity, savage impulses and blind passions, I could never escape the karmic fate of falling into the lower realms of samsaric existence. Everyday I see my limitations and evil tendencies, and every day I give thanks to Amida Buddha for saving me just as I am. Namo Amida Bu 🙏 * Каждый день я осознаю, что на самом деле я не в состоянии спастись от сансары и что только Будда Амида может сделать это за меня. Ничто по-настоящему надёжное, ничто стабильное не может быть найдено внутри меня. Я никогда не был способен обрести то, что Буддийские книги или люди обычно описывают как «Буддийское спокойствие» или «Буддийская невозмутимость». Что уж говорить о добродетелях или мудрости? Я знаю о них только из книг! Лучший способ описать себя на Буддийском пути — это демон или злой дух, покорённый Амидой. Вам наверняка известны истории о злых духах и демонах, покорённых Силой различных Будд, например, истории, связанные с тибетским Падмасамбхавой. Я понимаю, что я действительно такой — злой дух, который был подчинён Амида Буддой и был покорён Его Силой. Как я благодарен за неизбирательное сострадание Амиды! Если бы я оказался во власти своей глупости, диких импульсов и слепых страстей, я никогда не смог бы избежать кармической участи падения в низшие сферы сансарного существования. Каждый день я вижу свои ограничения и дурные наклонности, и каждый день я благодарю Амиду Будду за то, что он спас меня таким, какой я есть. Намо Амида Бу 🙏 #амидадзи #амидадзихрам #амидадзисангха #амида #амидабудда #амитабха #амитаюс #амитофо #азидафат #буддизм #дзёдосинсю #махаяна #нэмбуцу #синбуддизм #синран #синдзин #сукхавати #чистаяземля #buddha #jodoshinshu #buddhism #amidabuddha #amituofo #amitayus #nembutsu #pureland #sukhavati #amidaji #amidajitemple #buddha #mahayana #japanesebuddhism #nembutsu #mahayanabuddhism #shinjin

A QUESTION ON SPIRITS Question: "If I see or feel the presence of negative spirits around me, how do I send them away? And what if they refuse to leave?" Answer: Why send them away? Just leave them alone. Let them stay and listen to your Nembutsu, let them hear your thoughts and words of faith. One day, they will become bored with a guy like you who minds his own business and constantly says Nembutsu, or even better, they might be influenced by your devotion and entrust to Amida themselves. In Jodo Shinshu we do not exorcize, nor fight with spirits, rather we convert them by our example. The urge of Shinran, "receive yourself faith and help others receive faith" applies to them, too. It is good to be friendly towards the spirit world. Realize that spirits, ghosts and various types of nonhuman beings inhabit the same space with us. Your land is their land, too. Some are in the same place for hundreds or thousands of years, so they have the same right as you to be here. Who are you to tell them to go away? Let them be and focus on living a life of gratitude with as little damage as possible to other beings, and focus on Nembutsu. All beings suffer, no matter they are humans or non-humans. Some spirits may like you, feel neutral towards you or may be inclined to hate you due to karma from the past. No problem! Let them hate you, while you just focus on Nembutsu. How much can somebody hate another person if that one does not respond to the hate and minds his own business? Offer incense to Amida Buddha in the name of all beings, including the spirits of the place you live, and make aspirations for them - may they be healthy in body and mind, always receive whatever is necessary and beneficial for them. May all their obstacles be removed and may they create indestructible connections with Amida Buddha, entrust to Him, say His Name (Namo Amida Bu) and wish to be born in His Pure Land[1]. Also pray to Amida to help them, although He already tries His best to help. However, if you pray for them, they will feel your good intentions. If you think this way, if you say Nembutsu and have devotion and faith, the invisible beings who happen to live there or just pass through will know your thoughts and might be inspired to entrust to Amida and say Nembutsu themselves, and if not, they will finally leave you alone as they see that you are no threat to them. In fact, they cannot harm you even if they try, because if you have faith (shinjin) you automatically benefit from the protection of Amida and all Buddhas. So again, no matter what you see, hear, or feel around you, just focus on Nembutsu and mind your own business. ______________________________________ [1] You can also use the specific ceremony to help the hungry ghosts and bardo beings fom my book Worshipping Amida Buddha – Liturgies and Ceremonies of Amidaji Temple amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… *** Click here to download all my books for free, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… If you find my articles and books useful, please consider a donation to support my Dharma work and Amidaji temple, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Your help is very much needed especially now when I build the Stupa at Amidaji and when I prepare the temple for the winter season. Namo Amida Bu 🙏 #karma #jodoshinshu #buddhism #amidabuddha #amituofo #amitayus #nembutsu #pureland #sukhavati #amidaji #amidajitemple #buddha #mahayana #japanesebuddhism #nembutsu #mahayanabuddhism #shinjin #DiaDeMuertos #halloween

Question: I saw many Buddhist calendars on various Buddhist websites who mention “auspicious” or “inauspicious days” for doing various activities from cutting one’s hair, to Dharma activities. What is the view of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism on this matter? My answer: I am glad to say that in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, and based on the words of Shakyamuni Buddha himself, we do NOT believe in propitious/auspicious or unpropitious/inauspicious times. The Power of Amida and all Buddhas surpass any influence caused by spirits, gods, bad energies, elements, etc that might create unpropitious times. Propitious/auspicious or unpropitious have a meaning only for superstitious samsaric beings who don't experience the Power and guidance of Buddhas in their lives. However, for those who take refuge in the Buddhas, in the Dharma and Sangha, who say the Name of Amida or any Buddhas or their mantras, such things have no influence and must be treated as mere illusions in an illusory world composed of illusory phenomena. Here are just two quotations from the sutras used by Shinran Shonin in his works: "Chapter Eight, 'Evil Spirits' Attainment of Reverent Trust', part one, of the Great Collection 'Moon-Matrix' Sutra, fascicle five, states: The Buddha said, 'venerating the Three Treasures, you will not trust in gods. Adopting right views, you will not decide propitious or unpropitious times according to the season, day or month. [...] parting from views of annihilation and eternality, you will believe in the law of causation". (Shinran Shonin, Kyogyoshinsho, chapter VI, Kyogyoshinsho - The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.259-260) “Those who take refuge truly and wholeheartedly, freeing themselves from all delusional attachments and all concern with the propitious or unpropitious, must never take refuge in false spirits or non-Buddhist teachings.” (Sutra of the Ten Wheels of Ksitigarbha, quoted by Shinran in Kyogyoshinsho, chapter VI. Kyogyoshinsho - The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.273) Shinran Shonin lamented over the attachment to the idea of favourable/auspicious that was present even during his time in medieval Japan just like in other parts of the Buddhist world (Tibet, China, etc): "As a mark of increase in the five defilements, All monks and laypeople of this age Behave outwardly like followers of the Buddhist teaching, But in their inner thoughts, believe in nonbuddhist paths. How lamentable it is that monks and laypeople Select ‚fortunate times’ and ‚auspicious days’, And paying homage to gods of the heavens and earth, Engage in divination and rituals of worship. Monks are no different, in their hearts, from nonbuddhists, Brahmans, or followers of Nirgrantha; Always wearing the Dharma-robes of the Tathagata, They pay homage to all gods and spirits." (Shinran Shonin, Hymns of the Dharma Ages, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.422-423) May the above words enter the hearts and minds of all Buddhists, help them abandon magical superstitions and entrust to the Power of the Buddhas. Please ask yourself - what faith is stronger in your heart? Faith in the Buddhas or faith in magic, superstition, auspicious and inauspicious? Please don't waste your life in vain! ** Click here to download all my books for free, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… If you find my articles and books useful, please consider a donation to support my Dharma work and Amidaji temple, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Your help is very much needed especially now when I build the Stupa at Amidaji and when I prepare the temple for the winter season. Namo Amida Bu 🙏 #karma #jodoshinshu #buddhism #amidabuddha #amituofo #amitayus #nembutsu #pureland #sukhavati #amidaji #amidajitemple #buddha #mahayana #japanesebuddhism #nembutsu #mahayanabuddhism #shinjin

Any little donation is appreciated and very much needed. It brings support to Amidaji temple and helps me build the Stupa of All Buddhas. At this link there is a PayPal donation box and a Bank account, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… At this link you can read about my project to build the Stupa of All Buddhas at Amidaji temple and the progres made until now, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… All my Dharma activities are free of charge. My books can also be downloaded for free at this link, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… which is why donations are the most important source of support for my Dharma activities. Gratefully yours in Namo Amida Bu 🙏 #buddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #pureland #amitabha #amidabuddha #amidaji #amidajitemple #buddhisttemple

On doubts and fears Question: “How does the person of Nembutsu, who has received shinjin, deal with the ‘demon’ of doubt that resurfaces after the believer has received and experienced the blessings of true entrusting from Amida Buddha? As foolish beings, our Saha world minds are prone to delusion and ‘doubt’. That is part of our hopeless condition as bonbu. Perhaps those who have doubt after receiving shinjin are loved all the more by Amida Nyorai, because Amida recognizes the great need to embrace these hopeless, helpless beings in their delusional state of doubt. A Chinese Pure Land Master once said, “You may not ever doubt Buddha Amitabha (Amida), but you will doubt yourself.” (I realize that those who have shinjin have Amida’s own faith through His merit transference to us, and that Amida Buddha cannot doubt himself). At some level, most Westerners, who are converts from some form of Christianity, know they are ‘risking their very eternal lives’ (souls?) to receive, and possibly transmit, the Dharma of our school of Buddhism. Could it be that ‘all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas praise the person of Nembutsu,’ because of that person’s stubborn reliance on the Great Vow and belief in the sutras preached by Shakyamuni at a ‘fundamental’ level? Are people of shinjin heroes to all the beings of all the worlds? Are these children of Amida Buddha recipients of the ‘Present Benefits’ because they recognize their stupidity and know, beyond any doubt, that the one thing they cannot do is save themselves from birth and death?” Answer: A person who has received shinjin (faith) cannot doubt Amida’s salvation. To have shinjin means, in the words of Shinran, to hear the Primal Vow of Amida without any doubt. So, doubt and shinjin cannot coexist with one another. Of course, in terms of his personal daily life, the follower can have doubts related to many things, like his family, his friends, even his own self, but he never doubts his own birth in the Pure Land and subsequent attainment of Buddhahood. Generally speaking, the follower who has faith in Amida should not expect to feel special things, acquire qualities that he hasn’t had until then, or to overcome his ordinary problems and fears. I do not deny that various changes may occur in a person of faith, but he should not think that shinjin is a means to change his personality or purify himself of illusions and blind passions. Simply stated, he can remain an ordinary person filled with delusions and attachments even after receiving shinjin. However, there is one big difference – he knows that from now on (from the moment of his first thought of entrusting) a great burden has indeed been taken off his shoulders, which is the burden of becoming a Buddha. He certainly knows, without any doubt, that he has become assured of birth and Buddhahood in Amida’s Pure Land at the end of this life. He knows all this, but at the same time, fears of various kinds, delusions and difficulties might continue to coexist with this faith, just like in any ordinary person. Shinjin or faith is an “outside element” in the heart of the believer because it is not his creation but rather what Amida has planted inside him. Shinjin is also like the big and warm arms of the mother who carries the frightened child across the turbulent waters of a flooded river. The child continues to cry, being afraid of various things he sees and hears around him, but he is safely kept in his mother’s embrace. Fears of many types are present but there is also entrusting in the mother. For example, he might be scared when he sees a big wave coming toward him or hears a thunderbolt in the sky or the rain pouring over his face, but he knows he is safely carried away by his mother to the other shore. Fear is an instinctual habit which cannot completely disappear from our hearts and minds until we have become Enlightened. For example, even when we are in a big and solid house we might fear for a moment when we hear powerful thunder. In the same way, we continue to fear death even if we know that when we die, we go to the Pure Land and become Buddhas. Fear of death is the manifestation of our powerful attachment and identification with our bodies. It is the same with fear from being injured, but I would not call these fears the same as doubting Amida’s salvation. If we were asked to have no fear in our daily lives in order to be saved by Amida, then who would be saved? Who can say that he is completely free of fear? We even fear a tooth extraction because we don’t like to feel pain, even though we know we are safe! So, Amida Buddha does not require us to be without fear (without attachment to our bodies) as there is no mention in His Primal Vow of anything like this. If we read the Primal Vow, we see that He only asks us to entrust in Him (saying of the Name and aspiring to be born being the same as entrusting). In the ultimate sense, faith in Amida is not the product of our unenlightened minds. It is said that in a forest filled with poisonous trees, there cannot appear any tree with good fruits. So, in the hearts filled with illusions and attachments, faith in Amida cannot appear unless Amida causes it to appear. It is the same as the love of the mother who makes the child entrust to her. Without the love of the mother, the child can do nothing. The calling of the mother echoes in the child’s heart and makes him respond with faith, just as it is with Namo Amida Bu which is the expression of faith. It is the mother’s love that works inside the child and makes him entrust to her. This is how I explain in limited verbal terms the impossible to understand concept that shinjin comes from Amida and is not our creation. Because shinjin (faith) comes from Amida, it is called the diamond-like shinjin, which means it cannot be destroyed by anybody, be it a demon or a person from a different religion. Even if we hear other people telling us that because we left a monotheistic religion we’ll go to hell, it is like hearing thunderbolts and heavy rain from inside a big, strong and safe house. The thunderbolts and heavy rain might sound frightful for a moment, because we are used to hearing many threats all our life since childhood, but we remember that we are safe in the house, which is a metaphor for Amida’s embrace. It is the same when watching a horror movie. We can become scared, but in the end we know we are safe and that it is only a movie. After all, the reality is that we are safe with Amida Buddha and carried to His Pure Land where we’ll too become Buddhas. I repeat, in matters related to the salvation offered by Amida Buddha there can be no doubts for one who has shinjin. No matter what happens or how he feels, sometimes good and sometimes bad or scared by various things, he knows deep inside him, due to his faith, that he is saved by Amida and destined to become a Buddha in the Pure Land. There is nothing that we, ordinary people, can do with our fears, attachments and problems, so there is no need to worry that they may remain with us for the rest of our lives. The most important thing is that we rely on Amida and that we have a simple faith in Him, being sure that this is our last life as non-Buddhas. Please do not forget that fear, suffering and attachments are different and separated from shinjin. The former are the products of your own illusions and attachments, while the latter originates from Amida and is the assurance that He saves you and accepts you as you are. People of Nembutsu are praised by all Buddhas and Enlightened Bodhisattvas not because they made something special through their own power, but because they follow the most important teaching of all Buddhas by entrusting themselves to Amida. All Buddhas know that the Amida Dharma is the supreme Dharma because it can save everybody, no matter how great or small their spiritual capacities are. The goal of all Buddhas’ appearance in the world is to save all beings, and what method is indeed capable of saving everybody and corresponds to this goal, if not the Nembutsu of faith in Amida? So, to be open to this Dharma, to accept it, to venerate it and to say the Nembutsu of faith is what all Buddhas praise even if the follower does not have anything special inside him. It is due to Amida that persons of shinjin are praised by all Buddhas. We are not heroes, because without Amida we can do nothing but end up in hell or other lower realms. We can rather say that we are the children with the most important father or mother in the universe. If you have Amida as your Parent you can be certain that all Buddhas will praise you, even though you are nothing special by yourself. Also it is one thing to know yourself by using the light of your own wisdom and another to realize your limitations while being illuminated by the infinite Light of Amida which enters your being through faith (shinjin). It is the difference between sitting in a dark room with a small candle and illuminating it with lots of modern electrical devices. Shinjin, or connecting to Amida’s Light, is what causes you to receive the ten benefits in this life and the praise of all Buddhas. All one needs to do is listen deeply again and again to the teaching about the Primal Vow. Even if he doubts many times, he should continue to listen, ask questions, meditate on himself and on what he has heard, and one day he might become open to Amida and entrust to Him. Then he will be sure of his birth in the Pure Land no matter if his mind remains as ordinary as before. *** Click here to download all my books for free, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… If you find my articles and books useful, please consider a donation to support my Dharma work and Amidaji temple, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Your help is very much needed especially now when I build the Stupa at Amidaji and when I prepare the temple for the winter season. Namo Amida Bu 🙏 #karma #jodoshinshu #buddhism #amidabuddha #amituofo #amitayus #nembutsu #pureland #sukhavati #amidaji #amidajitemple #buddha #mahayana #japanesebuddhism #nembutsu #mahayanabuddhism #shinjin

When you say the Name of Amida Buddha, do not think this saying (nembutsu) works because of you, like the often you do it or the more concentrated you are when you say it, the better it is. The Name has nothing to do with you and so it is not a tool for your unenlightened mind to manipulate and generate birth in the Pure Land. The Name is the manifestation of Amida and it works because of Amida. While other Pure Land schools focus on the person saying the Name and are busy with teaching their followers to have a good state of mind when saying it, our Jodo Shinshu school focuses on Amida and His Power to save. Here we just let Amida save us. When we, Jodo Shinshu followers, say the Name (Namo Amida Bu), we simply express this faith and we say, „thank you Amida Buddha for saving us as we are." *** Click here to download all my books for free, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… If you find my articles and books useful, please consider a donation to support my Dharma work and Amidaji temple, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Namo Amida Bu 🙏 #buddha #jodoshinshu #buddhism #amidabuddha #amituofo #amitayus #nembutsu #pureland #sukhavati #amidaji #amidajitemple #buddha #mahayana #japanesebuddhism #nembutsu #mahayanabuddhism #shinjin

About your thoughts and bad tendencies that don’t stop even after receiving shinjin Don’t busy yourself with them as Amida doesn’t take them into consideration. Your salvation has nothing to do with them. This is why Master Rennyo said that for the person of shinjin our negative karma is as if non-existent, in the sense that it will not become an obstacle to our attainment of Buddhahood in the Pure Land. This is also the meaning of “we attain Buddhahood without destroying blind passions”. If bad thoughts arise in your mind, let them pass. It is not in your power to stop them and is not even recommended that you stop your thoughts, as this can bring mental problems. Just notice them and let them pass. They are your karma, your karmic tendencies, conscious or unconscious. I say they are “yours” because you are attached to them, identify yourself with them and you try to fulfill them, but in reality they are like clouds in the sky, impermanent and transitory. Thoughts belong to nobody, so just leave them alone: you don’t need to insist on acting on them or modifying them. Just rely on Amida Buddha and say the Nembutsu. The object of your attention should be Amida’s promise from His Primal Vow, not the various thoughts that wander in your mind. If you experience good moments, say the Nembutsu. If you experience bad moments, say the Nembutsu. There will always be something to happen to you or appear into your mind. Don’t expect not to experience bad thoughts after receiving shinjin (faith). Take refuge in Amida Buddha and say His Name no matter the state of mind you are in. Amida doesn’t take into consideration if you are in a good, special, or bad state of mind. He knows who you are and that you need Him, so don’t worry. He is your best friend, asking nothing from you. Here is a wonderful poem by Senmyo Wajo: “When you are alone and hurt, recite Namo Amida Butsu. When you feel the loneliest man in the world and you are depressed, again recite Namo Amida Butsu. Namo Amida Butsu is for this ignorant person full of blind passions. When things are as they should, not good or bad, Namo Amida Butsu. Namo Amida Butsu is not recited for other people’s ears, but it’s a Call between parent and child. I hear Namo Amida Butsu with my ears, Namo Amida Butsu I answer with my voice and my heart, Namo Amida Butsu, recite even for ten times and sleep in peace! If you suddenly die, whenever and wherever you are, you are home in the Pure Land of Enlightenment .” *** Click here to download all my books for free, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… If you find my articles and books useful, please consider a donation to support my Dharma work and Amidaji temple, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Your help is very much needed especially now when I build the Stupa at Amidaji and when I prepare the temple for the winter season. Namo Amida Bu 🙏 #karma #jodoshinshu #buddhism #amidabuddha #amituofo #amitayus #nembutsu #pureland #sukhavati #amidaji #amidajitemple #buddha #mahayana #japanesebuddhism #nembutsu #mahayanabuddhism #shinjin

Shakyamuni Buddha said about karma, "Even if good or evil acts do not immediately bring about reward or retribution they will certainly result in them sooner or later”. (Larger Sutra) People often ask themselves why some persons who live an immoral life or without caring about others, have no problem and nothing bad occurs to them. Visakha, one of the disciples of Buddha, speaks about such people in the following story: “When a certain monk was standing at the door for alms, my father-in-law was eating sweet milk rice-porridge, ignoring him. Thinking to myself that my father-in-law, without performing any good deed in this life, is only consuming the merits of past deeds, I told the monk: ‘Pass on Venerable Sir, my father-in-law is eating stale fare.” (Thus Have I Heard – Buddhist Parables and Stories) We often meet with people who indulge in consuming “stale fare”; they are those persons whose karma have manifested in a positive way since childhood – rich parents, material advantages, health, etc. – but who are doing nothing else than consuming these fruits which comes from the merits accumulated in other life. However, when the influence of past merits will come to an end, if they are not supplemented with other good and compassionate deeds but with egoism and wickedness, their fall will become inevitable. In the Dhammapada it is also said: ”The evil deed does not give fruits immediately, like the milk which does not curdles as soon as it is milked; it follows the foolish man like the fire which smoulder under the ashes.” The consequences of evil karma will surely manifest even if not immediately and even if for the moment, we still experience some good conditions, themselves the result of good karma from the past. Thus, we should not mistakenly think that the law of cause and effect does not exist just because an evil deed does not have immediate retribution. In our tradition, we are taught that the only way to sterilize our karmic seeds so that they do not bear fruit into another life is through faith in Amida Buddha. However, just like a cut flower still has perfume for a few days until it withers, we too experience the effect of our past karma and/or the deeds we do in this life until our bodies die and we go to the Pure Land. *** Click here to download all my books for free, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… If you find my articles and books useful, please consider a donation to support my Dharma work and Amidaji temple, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Any help is very much needed and appreciated. Namo Amida Bu 🙏 #karma #jodoshinshu #buddhism #amidabuddha #amituofo #amitayus #nembutsu #pureland #sukhavati #amidaji #amidajitemple #buddha #mahayana #japanesebuddhism #nembutsu #mahayanabuddhism #shinjin

The lotus grows in the mud.... The days are dark and rainy, but inside my heart the sun of faith shines unobstructed and inspires me to keep going despite the difficulties, limited funds, and the low level of interest for this project. Here I work on another concrete ring beam arround the base of the Stupa of all Buddhas. There are now two concrete ring beams arround it to prevent infiltration. The top of the Stupa is covered now because it has rained a lot lately. There are so many things to do until the Stupa is finished! However, I'll keep you updated of any progress I make. Your help is gratefully received and very much needed, so please consider a donation at this link (PayPal donation box on Amidaji website) if you wish to support the building of this Stupa, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Click here to read about the details of the project to build the Stupa of All Buddhas at Amidaji temple, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Yours in Namo Amida Bu 🙏 #JodoShinshu #ShinBuddhism #PureLand #Amitabha #Amitayus #Amituofo #AmidaBuddha #Nembutsu #Sukhavati #Mahayana #Buddhism #Buddha #Amidaji #Amidajitemple #Buddhism #BuddhistStupa #stupabudista #stupabuddhista #budismromania #buddhismromania #shinbudismromania #jodoshinshuromania #amidaji #templulamidaji

Question: It is said that in Jodo Shinshu the number of recitation is not important. So we do not need to say nembutsu many times in order to be born in the Pure Land. My answer: Yes, it is true. Question: Then why do you recite nembutsu for many times? My answer: Because I like it. Nembutsu is so delicious that I wish to enjoy it as many times as possible. It is exactly because the number is not important, that one may recite nembutsu as many times he likes. Don't count, juts recite and enjoy. Nembutsu has a good taste. Once you eat a little, you may become addicted 🙂. If you like cakes, you would like to eat a lot of them, and if others ask you why, you will say they taste so good that it is hard for you to abstain. In the same way, I blame nembutsu and Amida Buddha for my many times recitation. (photo: statue of Amida Buddha at the main altar of Amidaji temple) #buddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #pureland #amitabha #amidabuddha #amituofo #shinranshonin #rennyoshonin #honenshonin #amidaji #amidajitemple

The work on the Stupa of All Buddhas continues. This time I am building the third level. Then I will plaster it and finish the concrete ring beam around the base of the Stupa. Your help is very much needed now, dear friends, so please consider a donation at this link (PayPal donation box on Amidjai website), amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… After the third level is finished, I proceed with buying and making all the necesary sacred items that will be placed inside the Stupa like for example, hundreds of small statues of Amida and various Buddhas. After I gather everything, I fill the Stupa, seal it with a roof and make a consecration ceremony. When the funds allow it, I will also add various decorations and improvements. * Click here to read about the details of the project to build the Stupa of All Buddhas at Amidaji temple, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Updates will be added there soon! There is a long way to go until the Stupa is finished, so please help! Gratefully yours in Namo Amida Bu 🙏 #JodoShinshu #ShinBuddhism #PureLand #Amitabha #Amitayus #Amituofo #AmidaBuddha #Nembutsu #Sukhavati #Mahayana #Buddhism #Buddha #Amidaji #Amidajitemple #Buddhism #BuddhistStupa #stupabudista #stupabuddhista #budismromania #buddhismromania #shinbudismromania #jodoshinshuromania #amidaji #templulamidaji

The miracle of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism “Hokyo-bo said to Rennyo Shonin, ‘The Myogo (six characters NA MO A MI DA BUTSU) you have painted has been destroyed by fire but it has become six Buddhas. How extraordinary!’ The Shonin remarked, ‘It is nothing extraordinary. Since the Buddha (that the Name represents) has become a Buddha, it is nothing extraordinary. What is extraordinary is that an evil bombu [1] becomes a Buddha through a single thought of entrusting to Amida Buddha [2]’.” If you hear that a Buddha or a saint performed miracles, you might become happy and want to see that miracle for yourself, but you will always feel it is quite natural for such superior beings to perform miracles. However, to hear that YOU, an ordinary person with strong attachments and blind passions, some of them known only to yourself and kept hidden with shame in the depths of your heart where no one can see them.... YOU the reader of these lines and internet addict who likes to read a lot about Buddhism, Nirvana, Buddha-nature, ultimate reality, and virtuous Masters of the past, but always finding yourself incapable to be like them….. imagine that YOU will become a Buddha! You are sitting in front of your computer for many hours, surfing the internet, reading a lot of good teachings and wise Buddhist quotes, but never really being able to put them into practice for even 24 hours a day. From time to time, you practice a little bit of this, a little bit of that, some zazen , some vipassana , etc., and then you come back to the internet or books to read about the spiritual realizations of others. You read all those pages and try to practice this or that, but in the end you return to your true reality – the everyday misery of living with your own ego and fighting with the ego of others. YOU, who recognize yourself in my description, imagine that YOU will become a Buddha! And to become a Buddha at the end of your life, you need nothing else than to entrust yourself completely to Amida! When I heard for the first time about the promise of Amida, that ordinary people will become Buddhas through simple faith in Him, I was struck with wonder and couldn’t believe my eyes and ears, as if I had seen or heard someone from another planet. Soon, after realizing this is true and not just a parable with esoteric and hidden meaning, I found myself saying: “What am I waiting for?” For the first time I felt that Buddhism was speaking to me, and not only to supermen. Since then, every time I recall to my mind the promise of Amida’s Primal Vow that anybody who entrusts in Him and recites His Name will become Buddha, and realize that I myself will become a Buddha, I feel there is no greater miracle. _________________ Footnotes: [1] A bombu is a being full of illusions and blind passions and who cannot attain Nirvana by his own power. [2] According to the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist teaching of Shinran and Rennyo, a person who entrusts in Amida Buddha enters in the same moment in the stage of non-retrogression or the stage of being assured of Nirvana, and becomes a Buddha in the moment of death, when he is born in the Pure Land. *** Click here to download my books for free, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… If you find my articles and books useful, please consider a donation to support my Dharma work and Amidaji temple, amida-ji-retreat-temple-roma… Any help is very much needed and appreciated. Namo Amida Bu 🙏 #sukhavati #dharma #buddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #shinranshonin #honenshonin #rennyoshonin #amidabuddha #amituofo #amitabha #amidaji #amidajitemple #pureland #nembutsu #mahayana #mahayanabuddhism #japanesebuddhism

When you say the Name in accordance with its real nature, that is with faith in the Power of Amida Buddha - which is the real power that makes the Name effective - then you are embraced by this Power just as you are, without the necessity that you dwell in the right mindedness in every second of your life. Your personal 'peace of mind' doesn't matter, your so-called “virtues” or “purity” don’t count, you just need to entrust yourself to Amida Buddha, letting yourself be carried to the Pure Land by His saving Power. #sukhavati #dharma #buddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #shinranshonin #honenshonin #rennyoshonin #amidabuddha #amituofo #amitabha #amidaji #amidajitemple #pureland #nembutsu