I am very excited for this premiere! Carving the Divine TH-cam Channel has really become a primary resource for many English and Spanish speaking people who want to learn about Japanese Buddhism. This particular episode rounds out the introduction of the many different expressions of Buddhist Dharma in Japan. Thank you for this video. Namu Amida Butsu 🙏
Thank you so much again for your continuing support. You have been really kind and supportive of our show. I truly appreciate it! www.carvingthedivine.com
That was an excellent and informative video. Thank you very much for taking the time to include Jodo Shu in the Carving the Divine TV repertoire Namu Amida Butsu 🙏
Thank you so much for all your support. Thank you so much for your kind words. We are extremely excited to present this episode! www.carvingthedivine.com
The Reverend explains the Nembutsu at about 17:20 I wrote my explanation below before I heard the Reverends words. "Chanted Nembutsu" means chant "Namu Amida Buddha" "Namu" comes from the the same root as the Indian greeting "Namaste" that accompanies a bow with hands together meaning, I bow to you / I respect the divine in you. Sometimes elsewhere I have seen it translated as "I put my faith in." Amida Buddha is the "Buddha of (immeasurable) light." Sometime said to be gender neuter, Amida a sort of friend or helper, who some say is inside us or we are inside him (c.f. the last stanza of "Lord of the Dance") who will come to us when we die and take us to the pure land. Amida is very large. Pure Land Buddhism has a commonality with Christianity in that one puts ones faith in a sort of transitional or intermediate helper. Important differences are the ultimate is a place rather than the personal God. That said, Ekhart said that God is his Kingdom are one: a living kingdom. The last "tsu" is often omitted or chanted in full only on the 10th recitation. The "mokugyo" (literally wooden fish, since it is fish shape) is a wooden drum. I chant the nembutsu. I also pray at Shinto temples and like Christianity. I think that Jesus and Amida are pretty much the same.
There are numerous philosophical differences between Pure Land Buddhism and Christianity. Pure Land Buddhism is still Mahayana Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism involves the focus on the Pure Land Sutras, and the preference and specialization in the nembutsu (nianfo in Chinese) and focus on rebirth in the Pure Land with the ultimate objective of attaining enlightenment and Buddhahood. Nonetheless, Pure Land Buddhism does not deny the truth of other sutras preached by the Buddha including the Flower Garland Sutra, Lotus Sutra, Prajnaparamita Sutras, Agamas (Mahayana equivalent of the Pali Canon), etc. Nor do all Pure Land Buddhist schools reject all non-Pure Land paths as without value. Honen Shonin did not. Amida Buddha is not a God. He is a being who has attained Buddhahood but previously, before achieving nirvana or Buddhahood, incarnated in the lower realms. In Pure Land Buddhism the universe has no beginning and no end. There is no creator and no omnipotent God, hence no problem of evil. Amida Buddha is not omnipotent. Read the Heart Sutra. That is still valid scripture in Pure Land Buddhism. Though it is not seen as an important focus, it is seen as valid. That will make more clear that (non-mystical forms of) Christianity and Pure Land Buddhism are actually quite far from one another.
@@michigandersea3485 I have read the heart sutra. It does not seem likely to me that they'd be talking about different things, one wrong and the other right. Amida is somehow in us, or we are in him. For me this means that he is special and therefore could be called a god, or at least a superhuman. Being in us or we in him is shared with Christianity. We must become one in the body of Christ. Christ is a garment. Jesus is god, and the kingdom of god is within us. The biggest difference is that while the Kingdom of God might be considered to be a different take, or words for, the Pure Land, God is in the Kingdom of God whereas the pure land is, pure, empty. But then again, the Pure Land may also be considered to be Buddha nature, which is also superhuman - or God-like. If Amida is in us, he knows all that goes on in us and is in that sense omnipotent. (I am a fan of Islam too. He is closer to you than the veins in your neck.) In Christianity God created the universe and its existence depends upon his word. When we meet God we both may have no need of words. I think that the 108 desires that Japanese Buddhists attempt to ring out at the new year are evil enough but, while I have not seen the Pure Land but I have seen the evil that prevents me from seeing it. I like Christianity for its emphasis on evil, which in me is very great. There is not much in the way of chanting (indeed, Peter I think says we should not) but Jesus approves of the publican who prayed, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I chant that too. I like the Gospel of Thomas. Jesus told Thomas something so horrific that he said he'd be stoned by the other disciples if he were to repeat it. Hot. One other thing, Kitarou Nishida, a Zen Buddhist philosopher who studied phenomenalism, and married a Christian in later life, claims that to have a self (illusion) you need to make and hide a devil in your vision (the Japanese self is visual, imho). Godspeed
I truly appreciate your continuing support! Thank you so much for taking your precious time to watch our episodes. We are committed to provide the interesting exciting and useful content 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 www.carvingthedivine.com
Thanks for the explanation. It was very informative. I just have a question. In Jodo Shu, are the precepts still being practiced? Or is it solely just the chanting of the Name?
So it's different from Shinshu in the way that Jodo Shu takes the Amida Sutra and Amida more literally, while Jodo Shinshu sees Amida as a symbol and the Pure Land as Enlightenment itself. Am I correct?
Nowadays that's up for debate. Jodo Shu follows almost completely the traditional explanation, that is, the Pure Land as a real place where we can attain Buddhahood faster. The noumenical aspect, the Pure Land as a manifestation (Not just a symbol) of Enlightenment itself, is also accepted but is not given emphasis. The reason why it is up to debate it's because today there is a considerable disagreement within Shinshu scholarship and priests about what the Pure Land really is. Some say that the traditional interpretation is outdated and thus no longer useful, so they talk about the Pure Land like a symbol in order to appeal to more people and not sound so otherwordly or even similar to Crhistians. Others say that the teachings of Shinran and Rennyo are useful for people in all ages and shouldn't be twisted. Adapted to nowadays yes, but talking about Amida and the Pure Land as a symbol and nothing else (Which neither Shinran nor Rennyo did) is not beneficial. The main difference (taking into account that the ¨literal vs. traditional interpretation¨ difference is something relatively modern) is in their idea of how to reach the Pure Land. In Jodo Shu, you need Faith and Practice. Faith is having the threefold heart and Practice is to recite Nembutsu regularly. Jodo Shu even encourages to fix a daily number, even if it's just 10, to encourage us to more Nembutsu. This way, Faith is always nourished and can stay alive and grow, and this Faith will in turn encourage more Nembutsu. In Jodo Shinshu, the path is pure Faith. They believe that reciting too much Nembutsu to nourish Faith is a self-power practice. According to their teachings, Shinjin (faith) is given from Amida to us, and therefore no practice can ¨keep it alive¨ since it wasn't born from us in the first place. So Nembutsu is no longer a ¨practice¨ from us to be born into the Pure Land. It's just a natural outflow of our gratitude to Amida. Due to this, Jodo Shinshu discourages the counting of Nembutsu. So, the aim is the same, but the method is different. Honen Shonin once said, ¨If just one recitation of Nembutsu can grant birth in the Pure Land, then how much more many recitations?.¨ He also said, ¨As your Faith, realize that even one recitation of Nembutsu grants Birth in the Pure Land. As your practice, recite Nembutsu for your whole life since the moment you started to have Faith, wether standing, walking, sitting, or lying down.¨
Is it necessary to take the formal refuge vows before we can be called true Buddhists or is just having belief and faith in Amida Buddha all that is needed? Thank you
It only seems similar to our minds familiarized with christianism, but in essence is very different. The Pure Land is not a land to live for eternity in peace, its a field of practice which people attain enlightenment faster without obstructions on the path. After attaining enlightenment there, people return to Samsara as bodhisattvas to benefit all the other living beings
It's worth noting that the Pure Land isn't equivalent to Christian heaven. You still eventually die there, the only difference is that it's very easy to attain enlightenment there. Unlike Christian heaven, the Pure Land is neither the final destination of practice, nor the goal.
It’s a free show on TH-cam. Please stop watching if you don’t like our style 🙏🏻 because the host is not going to change it. There are other videos out there about Buddhism. If you don’t like this please find those. You will be happier. Thank you so much again 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 www.carvingthedivine.com
Subscribed! Rev Kasahara seems like such a pleasant person! What a wonderful spokesperson for the Dharma! Namo Amidabutsu! 🙏
Thank you so much for watching! www.carvingthedivine.com
Rev. Kasahara is a wonderful teacher and a kind person. Thank you for interviewing him. Namo Amida Butsu🙏
Thank you so much for watching! www.carvingthedivine.com
Namu Amida Butsu Namu 🥰 Buddha's love, love for Every Life, for a vegetarian world!!!
please, make more videos with Kasahara sensei about Jodo Shu
I am very excited for this premiere! Carving the Divine TH-cam Channel has really become a primary resource for many English and Spanish speaking people who want to learn about Japanese Buddhism. This particular episode rounds out the introduction of the many different expressions of Buddhist Dharma in Japan. Thank you for this video. Namu Amida Butsu 🙏
Thank you so much again for your continuing support. You have been really kind and supportive of our show. I truly appreciate it! www.carvingthedivine.com
Thank you very much to Rev. Taijun Kasahara for the excellent explanation with the various types of important information about Pure Land Buddhism.
Thank you so much for watching! www.carvingthedivine.com
Namo Amitabha Buddha🙏🙏🙏
🙏🙏🙏
Hallelujah!
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 thank you! www.carvingthedivine.com
That was an excellent and informative video. Thank you very much for taking the time to include Jodo Shu in the Carving the Divine TV repertoire Namu Amida Butsu 🙏
Thank you so much for all your support. Thank you so much for your kind words. We are extremely excited to present this episode! www.carvingthedivine.com
The Reverend explains the Nembutsu at about 17:20 I wrote my explanation below before I heard the Reverends words.
"Chanted Nembutsu" means chant "Namu Amida Buddha"
"Namu" comes from the the same root as the Indian greeting "Namaste" that accompanies a bow with hands together meaning, I bow to you / I respect the divine in you. Sometimes elsewhere I have seen it translated as "I put my faith in."
Amida Buddha is the "Buddha of (immeasurable) light." Sometime said to be gender neuter, Amida a sort of friend or helper, who some say is inside us or we are inside him (c.f. the last stanza of "Lord of the Dance") who will come to us when we die and take us to the pure land.
Amida is very large.
Pure Land Buddhism has a commonality with Christianity in that one puts ones faith in a sort of transitional or intermediate helper. Important differences are the ultimate is a place rather than the personal God. That said, Ekhart said that God is his Kingdom are one: a living kingdom.
The last "tsu" is often omitted or chanted in full only on the 10th recitation. The "mokugyo" (literally wooden fish, since it is fish shape) is a wooden drum.
I chant the nembutsu. I also pray at Shinto temples and like Christianity. I think that Jesus and Amida are pretty much the same.
There are numerous philosophical differences between Pure Land Buddhism and Christianity. Pure Land Buddhism is still Mahayana Buddhism.
Pure Land Buddhism involves the focus on the Pure Land Sutras, and the preference and specialization in the nembutsu (nianfo in Chinese) and focus on rebirth in the Pure Land with the ultimate objective of attaining enlightenment and Buddhahood. Nonetheless, Pure Land Buddhism does not deny the truth of other sutras preached by the Buddha including the Flower Garland Sutra, Lotus Sutra, Prajnaparamita Sutras, Agamas (Mahayana equivalent of the Pali Canon), etc. Nor do all Pure Land Buddhist schools reject all non-Pure Land paths as without value. Honen Shonin did not.
Amida Buddha is not a God. He is a being who has attained Buddhahood but previously, before achieving nirvana or Buddhahood, incarnated in the lower realms.
In Pure Land Buddhism the universe has no beginning and no end. There is no creator and no omnipotent God, hence no problem of evil. Amida Buddha is not omnipotent.
Read the Heart Sutra. That is still valid scripture in Pure Land Buddhism. Though it is not seen as an important focus, it is seen as valid. That will make more clear that (non-mystical forms of) Christianity and Pure Land Buddhism are actually quite far from one another.
@@michigandersea3485 I have read the heart sutra.
It does not seem likely to me that they'd be talking about different things, one wrong and the other right.
Amida is somehow in us, or we are in him. For me this means that he is special and therefore could be called a god, or at least a superhuman.
Being in us or we in him is shared with Christianity. We must become one in the body of Christ. Christ is a garment. Jesus is god, and the kingdom of god is within us.
The biggest difference is that while the Kingdom of God might be considered to be a different take, or words for, the Pure Land, God is in the Kingdom of God whereas the pure land is, pure, empty. But then again, the Pure Land may also be considered to be Buddha nature, which is also superhuman - or God-like.
If Amida is in us, he knows all that goes on in us and is in that sense omnipotent. (I am a fan of Islam too. He is closer to you than the veins in your neck.)
In Christianity God created the universe and its existence depends upon his word. When we meet God we both may have no need of words.
I think that the 108 desires that Japanese Buddhists attempt to ring out at the new year are evil enough but, while I have not seen the Pure Land but I have seen the evil that prevents me from seeing it. I like Christianity for its emphasis on evil, which in me is very great. There is not much in the way of chanting (indeed, Peter I think says we should not) but Jesus approves of the publican who prayed, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I chant that too.
I like the Gospel of Thomas. Jesus told Thomas something so horrific that he said he'd be stoned by the other disciples if he were to repeat it. Hot.
One other thing, Kitarou Nishida, a Zen Buddhist philosopher who studied phenomenalism, and married a Christian in later life, claims that to have a self (illusion) you need to make and hide a devil in your vision (the Japanese self is visual, imho).
Godspeed
@@TimothyTakemoto thank you for the very thoughtful response. I will think about it. May God bless you-Namu Amida Butsu.
Another great episode! Such a great value you bring to the broader conversation about Buddhism and understanding. Maximum Value indeed! Thank you!
I truly appreciate your continuing support! Thank you so much for taking your precious time to watch our episodes. We are committed to provide the interesting exciting and useful content 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 www.carvingthedivine.com
Enjoyed this video very much! Thank you for including Jodo Shu in this very intersting series!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment! www.carvingthedivine.com
Thanks for the explanation. It was very informative. I just have a question. In Jodo Shu, are the precepts still being practiced? Or is it solely just the chanting of the Name?
Will you have Nichiren Shoshu or will they not give a interview ?
Pleaseee, as you say we dont know anything 🥺. By the way congratulations for your show is awesome.
So it's different from Shinshu in the way that Jodo Shu takes the Amida Sutra and Amida more literally, while Jodo Shinshu sees Amida as a symbol and the Pure Land as Enlightenment itself.
Am I correct?
Nowadays that's up for debate. Jodo Shu follows almost completely the traditional explanation, that is, the Pure Land as a real place where we can attain Buddhahood faster. The noumenical aspect, the Pure Land as a manifestation (Not just a symbol) of Enlightenment itself, is also accepted but is not given emphasis. The reason why it is up to debate it's because today there is a considerable disagreement within Shinshu scholarship and priests about what the Pure Land really is. Some say that the traditional interpretation is outdated and thus no longer useful, so they talk about the Pure Land like a symbol in order to appeal to more people and not sound so otherwordly or even similar to Crhistians. Others say that the teachings of Shinran and Rennyo are useful for people in all ages and shouldn't be twisted. Adapted to nowadays yes, but talking about Amida and the Pure Land as a symbol and nothing else (Which neither Shinran nor Rennyo did) is not beneficial.
The main difference (taking into account that the ¨literal vs. traditional interpretation¨ difference is something relatively modern) is in their idea of how to reach the Pure Land. In Jodo Shu, you need Faith and Practice. Faith is having the threefold heart and Practice is to recite Nembutsu regularly. Jodo Shu even encourages to fix a daily number, even if it's just 10, to encourage us to more Nembutsu. This way, Faith is always nourished and can stay alive and grow, and this Faith will in turn encourage more Nembutsu.
In Jodo Shinshu, the path is pure Faith. They believe that reciting too much Nembutsu to nourish Faith is a self-power practice. According to their teachings, Shinjin (faith) is given from Amida to us, and therefore no practice can ¨keep it alive¨ since it wasn't born from us in the first place. So Nembutsu is no longer a ¨practice¨ from us to be born into the Pure Land. It's just a natural outflow of our gratitude to Amida. Due to this, Jodo Shinshu discourages the counting of Nembutsu.
So, the aim is the same, but the method is different. Honen Shonin once said, ¨If just one recitation of Nembutsu can grant birth in the Pure Land, then how much more many recitations?.¨ He also said, ¨As your Faith, realize that even one recitation of Nembutsu grants Birth in the Pure Land. As your practice, recite Nembutsu for your whole life since the moment you started to have Faith, wether standing, walking, sitting, or lying down.¨
Is it necessary to take the formal refuge vows before we can be called true Buddhists or is just having belief and faith in Amida Buddha all that is needed? Thank you
Jodo shu seems similar to Christianity. But instead of heaven you go to Pure Land, and instead of salvation by Jesus you got Amida Buddha.
It only seems similar to our minds familiarized with christianism, but in essence is very different. The Pure Land is not a land to live for eternity in peace, its a field of practice which people attain enlightenment faster without obstructions on the path. After attaining enlightenment there, people return to Samsara as bodhisattvas to benefit all the other living beings
I agree.
It's worth noting that the Pure Land isn't equivalent to Christian heaven. You still eventually die there, the only difference is that it's very easy to attain enlightenment there.
Unlike Christian heaven, the Pure Land is neither the final destination of practice, nor the goal.
Stop yelling. You sound like you're selling used cars.
It’s a free show on TH-cam. Please stop watching if you don’t like our style 🙏🏻 because the host is not going to change it. There are other videos out there about Buddhism. If you don’t like this please find those. You will be happier. Thank you so much again 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 www.carvingthedivine.com
@Matt Stewart thank you so much for your support 🙏🏻 www.carvingthedivine.com