Gomonshu Offers Congratulations On BCA Milestone

Congratulations on the observance of the Buddhist Churches of America’s Joint Celebration marking its 125th Anniversary, Shinran Shonin’s 850th Birthday and the 800th Anniversary of the Founding of the Jodo Shinshu Teaching. 

Shinran Shonin was born in 1173 and through his main writing, “Ken Jodo Shinjitsu Kyogyosho Monrui” (“The True Teaching, Practice, and Realization of the Pure Land Way”) also known as “Kyogyoshinsho,” which is believed to have been completed in 1224, he systematically clarified the Jodo Shinshu teaching. 

Since then, the Jodo Shinshu teaching has been transmitted to us today,  overcoming obstacles and has been shared by people not only in Japan but around the world. This is  because regardless of time and place, the teaching always serves as a spiritual foundation and enables  people to move forward in their lives. 

The founder of Buddhism, Sakyamuni Buddha, discovered the universal truth, such as the principle of original dependency as well as the theory of impermanence. However, we ordinary beings are not able to accept the truth as it is because we see things only through our self-centered  and biased viewpoints. As a result, we suffer and fight each other when things do not go as we wish. Sakyamuni Buddha clarified that our own ignorance, in other words, our human desires or a feeling of obstinate attachment to something is the very cause of our sufferings. Receiving this basic Buddhist teaching, Shinran Shonin taught us that for the sake of such foolish beings like us, Amida Tathagata is always working as the Nembutsu, or recitation of the Name, that is nothing but Amida’s calling voice.  

Those who have fully recognized the benevolent working of Amida Tathagata cannot help but to lament and feel regret for their own bonno or persistent human desires, and it is natural that they feel ashamed of and try to minimize them. Such people would never indulge themselves in their egoistic cravings. 

Even though we had not been able to recognize our own selfishness, the encounter with  Amida’s working enables us to become aware of our true self, and through that recognition, we are naturally guided to make efforts to minimize such selfishness, and consequently we are enabled to change our way of living. Keeping this in mind, let us strive to live each day with a feeling of gratitude for Amida’s great wisdom and compassion that always embraces us as we are.  

September 1, 2024 

OHTANI Kojun 

Monshu 

Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha