Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️

BuddhistPriest/JodoShinshu tradition - Amidaji branch/Orthodox JodoShinshu teachings/No modernist or progressive bullshit/Pro-life/normal marriage/Conservative

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

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 🙏

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🙏

All you need to know about Amidaji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism:
https://t.co/9d2DdSyUmM

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

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

There is a matter that troubles some people in relation with the Nembutsu. One day we say Nembutsu often, while the next day we might say it a few times. But there is no problem with this. Don’t worry. The number is not important. Faith does not increase or decrease because we say the Name often or seldom. Also, gratitude to our physical mother does not increase or decrease because we say „I love you/thank you” often or seldom. The gratitude and faith in your mother is there in your heart, no matter how often you express it verbally.

I also like to use another comparison – we don’t always feel our breathing, but this doesn’t mean that our breathing doesn’t exist. Sometimes we feel it better when, for example, we are fascinated by the clear air of the mountains or of a beautiful morning and we take long and deep breaths, while some other time we are too hurried and busy in our daily life to focus on it. However, the breath has always been there with us since we were born, being a part of ourselves, even though we don’t experience it consciously every minute. The same applies to faith and Nembutsu. The faith is there, inside you, since the first time you entrusted in Amida Buddha and you were born as a person of faith. No matter what you do in your every day life, eating, sleeping, going to toilet, spending time with your girlfriend or boyfriend, being sad or happy, sober or drunk, the faith is there and cannot be destroyed (once fully settled) by anything, not even by the worst of your blind passions. From time to time you express this faith and your gratitude to Amida Buddha by saying vocally or in your mind, Namo Amida Bu, Namo Amida Bu.

So, don’t worry about anything, relax and enjoy saying the Nembutsu of faith and gratitude whenever you like it. Amida doesn’t keep a record of how many times you say His Name and in His Primal Vow He specifically mentioned that numbers are NOT important.

Click here to read this very important article on saying the Name of Amida Buddha, https://t.co/PJB8IUpCoB

*

Click here to download all my books for free,
https://t.co/7dGKWJi5Jm

Click here to donate if you wish to support my Dharma work and Amidaji temple,
https://t.co/5yZlshy9k9

Namo Amida Bu 🙏

#buddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #amitabha #amidabuddha #nembutsu #pureland #amitayus #amidaji #amidajitemple #shinranshonin #renyoshonin #honenshonin

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

My advice is that you should stop worrying about the various thoughts and feelings that appear into your mind, and focus instead on the Call of Amida (His Primal Vow): ”Entrust yourself to me, say my Name and wish to come to my Land”. This is all you need to know and all that matters.
Answer this Call with: "Yes, Amida Buddha, I entrust myself to you and I wish to go to your Pure Land when this physical body dies. Thank you Amida Buddha."
This is Namo Amida Bu - the Nembutsu of faith and gratitude, and the Nembutsu of the Primal Vow.

(fragment from a letter to a friend)

#buddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #amitabha #amituofo #nembutsu #amidabuddha #amidaji #amidajitemple #mahayana

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

"Just as hungry ghosts
See an ocean as having dried,
So due to being obstructed by ignorance,
Sentient beings imagine that Buddhas do not exist."
(Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, as quoted by Master Dolpopa in his Mountain Doctrine)

#jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #amitabha #amitayus #amidabuddha #nagarjuna

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

Thoughts come and go.
They are like clouds.
Stick with Amida,
not with the wandering thoughts.

Question from a reader:
Josho – I need your help regarding the issue of shinjin (or lack of). I know that I do not have settled shinjin, as much as I would like to have it. I follow the Amida Dharma for a while but then I fall off the rails and think that perhaps another path is or more suited to me. So…I try to follow another path just to arrive at the place where I realize (again) that I cannot “succeed” in any type of spiritual progress by my own efforts and that I need Amida. So…. I return to Amida.
Intellectually I believe in the existence of Amida and His Pure Land, and I do want to go there, but there is obviously some kind of emotional or other block which is preventing me from having settled shinjin and from really experiencing Amida as a living presence in my life. What is your advice? Can you help?

My answer:
When the thought of leaving for another path occurs again in your mind, just do not follow it. Take the definitive decision to stick with Amida Buddha no matter what thoughts appear in your mind.

Thoughts and emotions come and go. This is what they do. They are like clouds. However, they have no power unless we empower them. If you simply let them come and go without focusing on them, they will disappear, but if you pay attention to them, they become bigger and bigger and will eventually make you take bad decisions.

So, simply decide that you will stick with Amida. There is no special solution to solve worldly problems or spiritual problems other than letting go. Simply let go and stick with Amida.

Next, about that kind of emotional block that you think is preventing you from not having settled shinjin (faith) – let go to the idea of waiting for an emotional problem or other type of block to go away. Abandon the idea that something must go and another thing must stay. Stop waiting for special experiences of Amida as a living presence in your life. Amida is indeed a living presence in our lives but we cannot see Him or feel Him because we are not Buddhas! Only Buddhas can see and feel the presence of other Buddhas! Unenlightened beings cannot recognize a Buddha even if that Buddha is sitting in front of them every day, as Amida does.

So, it is pointless to worry about any kind of emotional block that prevents you to experience Amida or have settled shinjin. Its normal for ordinary people to have all sorts of emotional problems and various types of blocks, so don’t worry about that anymore! Shinjin is just a simple faith, a decision to entrust Amida Buddha to take you to His Pure Land in the same way you trust a good mechanic to fix your car or a good plumber to repair the pipes in your house.

Just as you know and trust that the mechanic is able to fix your car, you also know and trust that Amida will take you to His Pure Land. There is no big deal in shinjin, and no special feeling. Faith (shinjin) co-exists with our blind passions, and our emotional ups and downs because shinjin is NOT satori (Enlightenment). Amida did not promise to fix our emotional problems in this life, but only to put us in the stage of non-retrogression for birth in His Pure Land.

So again, abandon the tendency of your monkey mind to go to another path and stop waiting for special things to happen in relation with shinjin. Settled shinjin is knowing and trusting that Amida will take you to His Pure Land. As long as you accept the existence of Amida Buddha and His Pure Land, and you want to go there, then simply trust that He will take you there. Allow Him to take you to His Pure Land and do not think that shinjin is something that must be accompanied by special states or feelings. As Shinran explained, the reason we do not see Amida or His Light is because we have blind passions,

“Although I, too, am in Amida’s embracing Light,
My evil passions hinder me from perceiving it,
But His Light of great compassion never ceases to shine on me untiringly”. (Kyogyoshinsho)

Settled shinjin means that you know Amida exists and will take you to His Pure Land. That is all! Nothing else! Experiencing something is optional and not important. To know that Amida Buddha exists and that He will take you to His Pure Land is all that matters.

( From my recent article STICK WITH AMIDA,
https://t.co/7DdXadaWC2 )

🙏

Click here to download all my books for free,
https://t.co/7dGKWJi5Jm

Click here to donate if you wish to support my Dharma work and Amidaji temple,
https://t.co/5yZlshy9k9

Namo Amida Bu 🙏

#buddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #amitabha #amidabuddha #nembutsu #pureland #amitayus #amidaji #amidajitemple #shinranshonin #renyoshonin #honenshonin

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

Question from a reader: Josho – I need your help regarding the issue of shinjin (or lack of). I know that I do not have settled shinjin, as much as I would like to have it. I follow the Amida Dharma for a while but then I fall off the rails and think that perhaps another path is or more suited to me. So…I try to follow another path just to arrive at the place where I realize (again) that I cannot “succeed” in any type of spiritual progress by my own efforts and that I need Amida. So…. I return to Amida.
Intellectually I believe in the existence of Amida and His Pure Land, and I do want to go there, but there is obviously some kind of emotional or other block which is preventing me from having settled shinjin and from really experiencing Amida as a living presence in my life. What is your advice? Can you help?

My answer: When the thought of leaving for another path occurs again in your mind, just do not follow it. Take the definitive decision to stick with Amida Buddha no matter what thoughts appear in your mind.

Thoughts come and go. This is what they do. They are like clouds. However, they have no power unless we empower them. If you simply let them come and go without focusing on them, they will disappear, but if you pay attention to them, they become bigger and bigger and will eventually make you take bad decisions.

So, simply decide that you will stick with Amida. There is no special solution to solve worldly problems or spiritual problems other than letting go. Simply let go and stick with Amida.

Next, about that kind of emotional block that you think is preventing you from not having settled shinjin (faith) – let go to the idea of waiting for an emotional problem or other type of block to go away. Abandon the idea that something must go and another thing must stay. Stop waiting for special experiences of Amida as a living presence in your life. Amida is indeed a living presence in our lives but we cannot see Him or feel Him because we are not Buddhas! Only Buddhas can see and feel the presence of other Buddhas! Unenlightened beings cannot recognize a Buddha even if that Buddha is sitting in front of them every day, as Amida does.

So, it is pointless to worry about any kind of emotional block that prevents you to experience Amida or have settled shinjin. Its normal for ordinary people to have all sorts of emotional problems and various types of blocks, so don’t worry about that anymore! Shinjin is just a simple faith, a decision to entrust Amida Buddha to take you to His Pure Land in the same way you trust a good mechanic to fix your car or a good plumber to repair the pipes in your house.

Just as you know and trust that the mechanic is able to fix your car, you also know and trust that Amida will take you to His Pure Land. There is no big deal in shinjin, and no special feeling. Faith (shinjin) co-exists with our blind passions, and our emotional ups and downs because shinjin is NOT satori (Enlightenment). Amida did not promise to fix our emotional problems in this life, but only to put us in the stage of non-retrogression for birth in His Pure Land.

So again, abandon the tendency of your monkey mind to go to another path and stop waiting for special things to happen in relation with shinjin. Settled shinjin is knowing and trusting that Amida will take you to His Pure Land. As long as you accept the existence of Amida Buddha and His Pure Land, and you want to go there, then simply trust that He will take you there. Allow Him to take you to His Pure Land and do not think that shinjin is something that must be accompanied by special states or feelings. As Shinran explained, the reason we do not see Amida or His Light is because we have blind passions.

Settled shinjin means that you know Amida exists and will take you to His Pure Land. That is all! Nothing else! Experiencing something is optional and not important. To know that Amida Buddha exists and that He will take you to His Pure Land is all that matters

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

Today is June 1st - Children's Day. May more people, especially our fellow Buddhist friends, understand and appreciate the value of life in human form, protect the children from conception to birth and until adulthood, give them a proper Buddhist education mainly through their own example, and help them entrust to Amida Buddha. Let us not forget that all children in the world are our children because we are karmically related with all beings since the beginingless time.
Namo Amida Bu 🙏

#Buddhism #JodoShinshu #BuddhistChildren #PureLand #Amitabha #AmidaBuddha #Amituofo #Nienfo #Nembutsu #amidaji #amidajitemple #ShinBuddhism

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

Working on many small clay statues of various Buddhas to place inside the walls of the stupa 🙏

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

Today I managed to buy another pallet of new bricks for the Stupa of All Buddhas at Amidaji temple, Romania. Each brick will contain small Buddha statues that I am creating now. Various materials are needed so any help is welcome and very much apreciated.
If you wish, you can send a donation at this link (PayPal and Bank account),
https://t.co/TWfbJUO8wR

Please mention the word STUPA if you donate, so that your donation will be used exclusively for this project.

Thank you very much to all who helped until now.
Gratefully yours in Namo Amida Bu 🙏

#buddhism #buddhiststupa #amitabha #amidabuddha #buddhastupa #mahayana #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #pureland #amidaji #amidajitemple

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

The mold I used for this statue 👆 is small, arround 4,5 cm. However, today I ordered a new mold for clay statues of Amida Buddha (Amitayus) - 9 cm. It will arrive in 2-3 weeks. Any statue I make is used for the Stupa and for offering them as presents to those who visit Amidaji temple, readers, and Dharma friends. May all beings attain Liberation. Namo Amida Bu 🙏 Please support Amidaji temple with a donation at this link (PayPal) , https://t.co/TWfbJUO8wR

Yours in Namo Amida Bu 🙏

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

Question: Do I need to receive rituals of empowerment or initiations from a Master in order to connect with Amida Buddha?

My answer: You don't need empowerment from a Master or priest to connect with Amida Buddha. The greatest of all Buddhas is always available to you and offers His salvation freely and without any intermediary.
All you need to do is accept His helping hand, say His Name in faith and wish to be born in His Pure Land after death. In His Primal Vow, Amida did not mention any empowerment, but only "entrust to me, say my Name and wish to be born in my land". If nothing else was mentioned there, then you do NOT need anything else. Through following the three requirements of His Primal Vow you enter into karmic relation with Amida Buddha and into the stage of those assured of birth in His Pure Land.

Any other practice associated with Amida Buddha which is not related to the three elements of His Primal Vow should NOT be your concern, because it does not constitute Amida's main intention. Jodo Shinshu is the school of the Primal Vow. We follow exclusively the requirements of the Primal Vow and by doing this we are always in direct connection with Amida Buddha.

Also, in the case of those who entrust to Amida Buddha and say His Name in faith, empowerment comes directly from Amida Buddha through His transference of merits.
He gives us freely, everything we need to be born in His Pure Land and escape samsara.

Please read my article,
"Merit transference from Amida Buddha to those who entrust to Him" at this link,
https://t.co/OxDFdqqBTE

Photo: small clay statue of Amida Buddha (Amitayus) made by myself to place in the Stupa of all Buddhas that I am building at Amidaji temple. I am new to this, so my statues have various imperfections but they are made with faith and devotion. For the Stupa I need to make hundreds of small statues like this of various Buddhas. Click here if you wish to support my Dharma work and the Stupa of All Buddhas with a donation (PayPal or Bank account),

https://t.co/TWfbJUO8wR

Yours in Namo Amida Bu 🙏

#buddhism #ojo #gokuraku #jodoshinshu #shimbuddhism #pureland #amitabha #amidabuddha #amituofo #nembutsu #shinranshonin #honenshonin #rennyoshonin #amidaji #amidajitemple

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

Blessings of Amida Buddha in the form of cherries at Amidaji temple. The cherries from the middle of the tree to the top are offerings to the birds in the Name of Amida Buddha and those bellow are for myself and guests.
May all beings create indestructible connections with Amida Buddha, say His Name in faith and be born in His Pure Land.
Namo Amida Bu 🙏

#buddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #pureland #amitabha #amituofo #nembutsu #amidaji #amidajitemple #nienfo #shinranshonin #honenshonin #rennyoshoninn

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

"Even the pleasures of the hundred million thousand years of life in Toriten[1] or the pleasures of the deep ecstasies of Mahabrahman’s palace are not to be regarded as pleasures in comparison with these pleasures of the Pure Land. When the karma of reward is exhausted the one living in Toriten or Mahabrahman’s palace falls at last again into the cycle of change and he cannot escape from the three evil realms[2], but this one who has been born into the Pure Land is now resting thankfully in the arms of Kannon (Avalokitesvara Bodhisttva)[3] and he is dwelling securely on the Treasure Lotus Seat[4]. Having passed a long period of time in crossing the Sea of Suffering, he has now for the first time been born into the Pure Land, and his happiness is thus beyond the power of words to describe."
(Master Genshin, Ojoyoshu)

[1] Toriten, the second of the Six Devalokas (realms of the gods).
[2] Three Evil Realms are Hell, Realm of Hungry Spirits and Realm of Beasts.
[3] Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta are the two Enlightened Bodhisattvas who accompany Amida Buddha in His Pure Land, helping all beings, in various ways, to entrust to Amida and be born there.
[4] One who was born in the Pure Land through the gate of faith is secured in his attainment of perfect Enlightenment. The "treasure lotus seat" is the throne of Enlightenment.

#buddhism #karma #buddha #mahayana #pureland #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #nembutsu #shinranshonin #rennyoshonin #honenshonin #amidabuddha #amituofo #amitayus #amitabha #amidaji #amidajitemple
#BuddhismRomania #budismromania #budism #buddhism #amitabha #amidabuddha #amidaji #templulamidaji

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

Today I managed to buy a pallet of new bricks and I need at least one more, plus other materials to build the lower part of the Stupa of All Buddhas at Amidaji temple, Romania. Each brick will contain small Buddha statues that I am creating now. Any help is welcome and very much needed. You can send a donation at this link (PayPal and Bank account),
https://t.co/TWfbJUO8wR

Please mention the word STUPA if you donate, so that your donation will be used exclusively for this project.

Gratefully yours in Namo Amida Bu 🙏

#buddhism #buddhiststupa #amitabha #amidabuddha #buddhastupa #mahayana #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #pureland #amidaji #amidajitemple

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

Say the Nembutsu without worrying about inner conditions
We should say the Name with our ordinary unenlightened minds which will never be perfect until our actual birth in the Pure Land. Thus, we should not worry about the various thoughts that appear in the mind, nor expect some kind of special feelings. We are what we are, unenlightened beings drowning in all kinds of illusions and blind passions and especially for this kind of people Amida made His Primal Vow so there is absolutely no expectations from Him that we say His Name or worship Him with a pure or clear mind. Thus, when you entrust to Amida Buddha and say His Name give up to any ideas of purity, calm or peace and do not relate your Nembutsu with anything from your illusory personality.

If bad thoughts or whatever undesired ideas or images arise in your mind when you say the Name of Amida, just don’t busy yourself with them. Your salvation has nothing to do with your mind.

It is important not to cling to various thoughts and feelings. Don't try to stop them and don't think to them as obstacles. Let them appear and dissolve naturally in the vast expanse of the mind and you focus on what is true and real - Amida Buddha and the saying of His Name in faith.

Thoughts get more powerful if you pay attention to them, but if you ignore them and change the focus, they will disappear sooner or later.

Thoughts belong to nobody; they come from empty space and go to empty space. So, leave them alone. You don’t need to insist on them or modify them. Just rely on Amida and say the Nembutsu of faith. 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 care that 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.

This is how you should say the Nembutsu in relation with your inner conditions. Please bear this in mind: there is no good or bad Nembutsu. Namo Amida Bu is to say the Name of Amida Buddha who is already perfect and Enlightened. Thus, any Nembutsu is perfect Nembutsu as long as you entrust to Amida. He is the One who makes the Nembutsu perfect, not your lips, your so-called merits or your unenlightened mind.

Also, you should say the Nembutsu naturally like breathing, eating or drinking which means that you should not put on the air of a great practitioner when you say the Name. Just as you eat or breathe or drink every day, you also say Nembutsu every day. You do not breathe in a solemn manner, you just breathe simply and naturally.

Although it is said within the dream of samsaric existence, the Name of Amida is the only element which does not belong to the dream, but to the world of awakening. It's like hearing sounds from the real world while you are still sleeping. Rather than focusing on the events of the dream, you should cling to the sound of awakening - NA MO A MI DA BU, NA MO A MI DA BU, NA MO A MI DA BU….

🙏

Click here to download all my books for free,
https://t.co/7dGKWJi5Jm

Click here to donate if you wish to support my Dharma work and Amidaji temple,
https://t.co/5yZlshy9k9

Namo Amida Bu 🙏

#buddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #amitabha #amidabuddha #nembutsu #pureland #amitayus #amidaji #amidajitemple #shinranshonin #renyoshonin #honenshonin

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

Rennyo Shonin said,
“There is no heart far from Amida,
But a covered bowl of water cannot reflect the moon.”

Once a friend asked me the following question:

“Why is it that one person is ready for the Nembutsu and others obviously are not? And assuming the Nembutsu comes only from the Buddha to us, as taught by Shinran, does the Buddha choose between those He wants to save now and those He doesn’t want to save yet?”

This was my answer: Imagine that somebody loves you unconditionally, but you do not care. The love of that person is always upon you, but because your eyes are closed, you cannot feel his or her love.

There is another image, which was also used by Master Rennyo : the moon is reflected in every bowl full of water, but some bowls are covered. So, the moon is not guilty that her image is not reflected in the covered bowl. In the same way, you can become open or closed to the message of the Primal Vow of Amida, although Amida’s Light (Compassion) is always shining on you. Amida Buddha does not choose “between those He wants to save now and those He doesn’t want to save yet”, but some people are simply not open to His call, while others are open.

Some might ask: what do we have to do in order to receive shinjin (faith in Amida)?

Master Rennyo said in Rennyo Shonin Goichidaiki Kikigaki (Thus I Have Heard from Rennyo Shonin) :

“Regardless of our doubts, if we listen intently with our entire being, we will be given shinjin (faith) because of Great Compassion. The Buddhist teaching begins and ends in hearing.”

So, in our tradition, listening to the teaching is the most important practice. You have to listen again and again, and one day, you will become open and you will receive shinjin (faith). The words “we will be given shinjin because of Great Compassion” shows that shinjin comes from Amida, but the first part “if we listen intently with our entire being” shows what we have to do if we wish to receive the gift of faith from Amida. As my Nembutsu friend, Jason Ranek said in his poem:

“Uncover your cup
To receive the Dharma rain,
Then faith, and the Nembutsu,
Will naturally arise.”

If somebody does not listen deeply to the teaching but is filled with ideas of self-power, he cannot receive shinjin (faith) and Nembutsu (which is the natural manifestation of shinjin). Shinjin and Nembutsu are not forcibly imposed in our hearts by Amida Buddha, so if somebody does not show interest in the Buddhist teaching and especially in the teaching about the Primal Vow of Amida, he cannot receive faith.

Things are very simple and yet very profound. My opinion is that we should not complicate our minds, but listen to the Dharma again and again, and faith will be given.

#buddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #pureland #amitabha #amidabuddha #amituofo #eko #merittransference #karma #amidaji #amidajitemple #shinranshonin #rennyoshonin #honenshonin

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

"Concerning the nembutsu, no working is true working". Tannisho

Explanation:
“No working” refers to the facts that not through ourselves are we born in the Pure Land and attain Buddhahood. Nothing which we think that belong to us can add something to the salvation work of Amida. The saying of the Name (nembutsu) is a genuine practice due only to Amida and not to our own recitation. This “practice” has nothing in common with some special state of calm or concentration that we think we have or develop during recitation.

Without the infinite store of merit of Amida embodied in his Name, Namo Amida Bu (nembutsu) would be empty and ineffective. Also, if the saying of the Name is not done on the basis of faith (shinjin), it has no effect. Faith is the acceptance of the Infinite Power of Amida – the only power capable of causing us become Buddhas.

When you have faith (shinjin) you are connected to this Power and to the merits of Amida, and the Name you recite is the expression of this connection. Name and faith are one, and both come from Amida; they are the manifestation in you of the salvation Power of Amida. Only Amida Buddha is the one who truly works in your salvation through the nembutsu of faith, not you. This is why it is said that “no working is true working” – that is, not through yourself are you saved.

When you recite Namo Amida Butsu with faith, you say: “I take refuge in Amida /Homage to Amida Buddha”, and not “I take refuge in myself/homage to myself”. This means we don’t think of nembutsu as being our own working.

- fragment from my book "The Path of Acceptance - Commentary on Tanisho". Click here to download the free online edition,
https://t.co/4SZNIL0K79

*
Click here to download all my books for free,
https://t.co/7dGKWJi5Jm

Click here to donate if you wish to support my Dharma work and Amidaji temple,
https://t.co/5yZlshy9k9

Namo Amida Bu 🙏

#jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #buddhism #pureland #amitabha #amidabuddha #amidaji #amidajitemple #nembutsu #shinranshonin #tannisho #honenshonin #rennyoshonin

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

(EN/RO)
All beings have Buddha nature. All have been our brothers, sisters, parents and friends in countless existences since the beginningless past. After attaining Buddhahood in the Pure Land of Amida we'll be able to save everyone of them, especially those we are karmically related with (those we are attached to in this life) .
Namo Amida Bu 🙏

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Toate ființele au natura de Buddha. Toate au fost frații, surorile, părinții și prietenii noștri în nenumărate vieți, din trecutul fără de început. După ce vom atinge Buddheitatea în Tărâmul Pur al lui Amida le vom salva pe toate, mai ales pe cele cu care suntem înrudite din punct de vedere karmic (cei fata de care suntem atașați in aceasta viata) .
Namo Amida Bu 🙏

#buddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #amitabha #amituofo #nembutsu #amidabuddha #amidaji #amidajitemple #mahayana

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

Any little donation is appreciated and very much needed. It helps me focus on my Dharma activities and brings support to Amidaji temple. At this link there is a PayPal donation box and a Bank account,
https://t.co/5yZlshy9k9

All my Dharma activities are free of charge. My books can also be downloaded for free at this link, https://t.co/7dGKWJi5Jm which is why donations are the most important source of support for my Dharma activities.

Yours in Namo Amida Bu 🙏

#buddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #pureland #amitabha #amidabuddha #amidaji #amidajitemple #buddhisttemple

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

@frank_kusmierz I am glad to hear you find it useful. Namo Amida Bu 🙏

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

A reader asked me to comment on the Golden Chain document which is sometimes recited like a creed at the start of religious services in many of the temples in United States:

“I am a link in Amida Buddha’s Golden Chain of Love that stretches around the world. I must keep my link bright and strong.
I will try to be kind and gentle to every living thing and protect all who are weaker than myself.
I will try to think pure and beautiful thoughts, to say pure and beautiful words, and to do pure and beautiful deeds, knowing that on what I do now depends not only my happiness or unhappiness, but also that of others.
May every link in Amida’s Golden Chain of Love be bright and strong, and may we all attain Perfect Peace.”

The “Golden Chain of Love” was written by Dorothy Hunt in Hawaii about 90 years ago and it became a traditional recitation in the temples belonging to the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) as well as in the youth services for Dharma School, Young Buddhist groups, scouting and basketball programs.

In my opinion the first sentence in the golden chain is OK but the rest of the text contains no reference to faith (shinjin) which is not good. Here is how I would modify it so as to make it more in agreement with the Jodo Shinshu teaching:

--- I am a link in Amida Buddha’s Golden Chain of Love that stretches around the world.
My link is kept bright and strong by Amida's Infinite Power and Compassion.

I will think to Amida every day, say His Name and help others entrust to Him.

I will try to be kind and gentle to every living being, protect all who are weaker than myself and be an example of faith.

May every link in Amida's Golden Chain of Love shine with the Light of Namo Amida Butsu and inspire others to say it so that we may all be born in the Land of Peace and Bliss. ---

Please do not get me wrong. There is no problem in TRYING to be kind and gentle and protect those who are weaker than oneself! On the contrary, we find enough encouragements to do good in the Larger Sutra and Shinran’s writings but this text seems to forget completely about faith. This is why I propose the above more balanced version.

Also, I think it is more doctrinally correct to say “my link is kept bright and strong by Amida's Infinite Power and Compassion” rather than “I must keep my link bright and strong”. We are what we are as persons of faith because of Amida’s influence on us.

A text that is recited daily and enters the subconscious mind of many followers must contain elements that guides one’s mind and heart to Amida Buddha and speaks about faith.

We also have at Amidaji some simple texts for daily optional recitations and they all make reference to faith and Other Power. I would like that my American friends who recite the Golden Chain to think about modifying it by using my suggestions. English is not my native tongue so feel free to improve or modify my version.

(photo: Cover image from The Golden Chain of Love picture book, published by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii)

#buddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #pureland #amitabha #amidabuddha #amituofo #amidaji #amidajitemple #nembutsu #goldenchain #buddhistchurchesofamerica