Essays in Idleness

[...] like that. In the Lotus Sutra, the Shakyamuni Buddha in there is not the historical Buddha, but the personification of the [...]

[...] aside just for the sake of rebirth in the Pure Land. Chronoligically, the Buddha taught Lotus Sutra after the Pure Land sutras, and thus it supersedes them. If you’re interested in the debate, it’ [...]

[...] Ritsu Sects criticize me, who is the messenger of Shakyamuni Buddha and the practicer of the Lotus Sutra. Anyhow, the letters of Nichiren to his female followers has been a fascinating read. It shows [...]

[...] tends to only read and chant the 2nd and 16th chapters of the Lotus Sutra. Over time, these two lineages became dozens of schools and lineages in Japan, similar to how [...]

[...] Buddhist sects to only recite “essential” sections of an important sutra. I see it in Nichiren Buddhism, Jodo Shu Buddhism, and Zen will recite only the Heart Sutra which is just an “ [...]

[...] a good conversation as two Buddhist-nerds. ;) But the encounter also made me realize that Nichiren Buddhism is more complex than I thought. The priest frequently explained that what a certain [...]

[...] . So, it wasn’t a normal service, but they did things that you typically see in Nichiren Buddhism: Recite the odaimoku (お題目) which is Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. This chant was devised [...]

[...] I don’t consider myself a Nichiren Buddhist, I do feel that awareness and studies of Nichiren Buddhism have been somewhat behind in the West, so I hope to get more information out. :) [...]

[...] at the same time, I felt a really, nice familiar feeling that I hadn’t felt in a long time. Jodo Shinshu temples have a very consistent setup you can see anywhere in the world. The temple here in [...]

[...] Hi Everyone, In the past month or so, I’ve been participating in two Buddhist groups: one Jodo Shinshu (the temple in Seattle) and an online Zen sangha that’s pretty well-known. I talked about [...]

[...] to past Pure Land Buddhist masters. It’s a good thing to study for those interested in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. Anyhow, I’ll post more updates about ordination or chanting in general. But [...]

[...] on limited personal experience. You seldom find them in certain other Buddhist sects such as Jodo Shinshu. Ofuda are much larger than omamori typically. Also, unlike omamori, they are often used as a [...]

[...] to Western culture, ohakamairi is more formal, more ritualized so if you married into Japanese culture, or just want to pay respects to someone, it’s good to know how to do this properly. I am [...]

[...] now in college (she was in high-school when we first moved in), and very interested in Japanese culture. Recently, we came home and the neighbor’s daughter asked if my wife could help her [...]

[...] is a famous one called Rokuro-kubi. Rokuro-kubi are well-known monsters, or yōkai, in Japanese culture. Sometimes, my daughter’s books have cute and funny versions of yokai and I often see [...]

[...] ’s two extra lines of 7 syllables. Waka poetry was very popular in the “golden age” of Japanese culture, the Heian Period. Noble men and woman, and their attendants, wrote poetry to one [...]

[...] Most people who learn Japanese kanji, or Chinese characters, tend to learn them in isolation: one character at a time. But in reality. They are often [...]

[...] it. As readers might recall, I’ve been using the Heisig Method to learn Japanese kanji (chinese characters), and have learned about 1,250 in 2 years. Since I have 2 kids and work full-time, I guess [...]

[...] poem is really intersting to me because it shows both Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, and Chinese characters mixed in. This kind of writing was popular in Korea in the past, so I assumed it was an old, [...]

[...] . You often see Korean actors playing Japanese characters, Japanese actors playing Chinese characters, etc. Most Americans wouldn’t know the difference. :P 2 Japan still had good [...]

[...] They don’t care about other people, and do things like that. But then I told her that Shakyamuni Buddha teaches that eventually all people can become Buddhas too. I didn’t just make this up [...]

[...] this system because we now know that the Mahayana Sutras were written 400+ years after Shakyamuni Buddha.2 In some cases, such as the Heart Sutra and the Meditation of Amitabha Sutra, they were [...]

[...] ) or “Original Buddha from the Eternal Past” or something like that. In the Lotus Sutra, the Shakyamuni Buddha in there is not the historical Buddha, but the personification of the Dharma itself, [...]

[...] of groups and lineages all devoted to the 13th century monk Nichiren, the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha and reciting the Odaimoku: namu myoho renge kyo. Most modern Nichiren groups are ecumenical, [...]

[...] Nichiren group who has a reputation for being aggressive. Like that other group, Rissho Kosei Kai is a lay-Buddhist organization that started in the 1930’s, and came from a parent [...]

[...] outside that community. There are a couple of Japanese Buddhist temples here (including Rissho Kosei Kai, which I visited recently), so if training from Japan doesn’t work, I still have that option. [...]

[...] people a false-impression of what Nichiren Buddhism is. I visited another Nichiren group, Rissho Kosei Kai, a few times in July, and had a good impression, but meeting a Nichiren-shu priest also [...]

[...] touch Little Guy’s head three times gently with a sutra. I think it was the Amitabha Sutra (阿弥陀経). Little Guy didn’t like this and pushed the sutra way, so I had to hold [...]

[...] after Shakyamuni Buddha.2 In some cases, such as the Heart Sutra and the Meditation of Amitabha Sutra, they were composed in China, not India. Also, in the case of the Lotus Sutra, the [...]

[...] diligent. In addition, I still recite the nembutsu and some sutra (often the Lotus Sutra or Amitabha Sutra) too. So, as they say in English, I am burning the candle at both ends.1;) So, I might post [...]

[...] “canon”), I have always felt uneasy about chanting it instead of something like Amitabha Sutra. Chanting sutras in Mahayana Buddhism is a very common and virtuous practice. That’s [...]