This article is related with the first monk (priest)
ordination held
in Amidaji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism (click here
to read)
download this article in pdf here
I stumbled upon Reverend Josho Adrian Cirlea’s
books on Jodo Shinshu Buddhism around 2018. It wouldn’t be an
overstatement to say that my life was never the same after that.
This is not because Josho Sensei is some kind of great guru or
great spiritual master but simply because he expressed the Jodo
Shinshu teaching with great simplicity and clarity and every page
he writes on Jodo Shinshu doctrine is not based on his personal
ideas but on the Sutras and the teachings of Shinran, Rennyo and
the Jodo Shinshu Patriarcs.
Josho Sensei’s books contain the nectar of the
sutras and shastras, because they are full to the brim with quotes
from the words of Shakyamuni Buddha, Shinran Shonin, Honen Shonin
and Rennyo Shonin, and the great Mahayana Patriarchs. There is no
room for wrong views or half-truths in his writings. You can sense
he is just an ordinary guy doing his best to explain to himself and
others the wonderful treasure of the Buddha Dharma in general and
Jodo Shinshu in particular, and that is priceless in our day and
age in which there are thousands of self-proclaimed gurus, masters,
“venerables” and mystics of all sorts who don’t blink twice at
combining Buddhism with worldly ideologies, and samsaric religions
just to make them more appealing to the masses.
Josho Sensei simply could not care less about numbers or
pleasing people. I could sense that from the first emails we
exchanged. All his words and deeds as a Jodo Shinshu monk are just
ways to say, “entrust yourself to the real and living Amida Buddha,
say His Name with faith and gratitude and wish to be born in His
Pure Land after death so that you scape the painful cycle of birth
and death and attain Buddhahood, and then you yourself will
eternally return to Samsara so save all beings in the 10 directions
with perfect wisdom and compassion”. This clear, honest and
uncompromising way to teach the Dharma is rarely found in Jodo
Shinshu nowadays and I would say it is also scarce for Buddhism in
general. “Feel good talks”, dangerous and misleading spiritual
combinations, mundane entertainment and pop self-help teachings is
what most temples thrive on nowadays. It’s fairly easy to find
so-called Buddhist teachers and temples that never or rarely
mention basic Buddhist teachings such as karma,
samsara, Buddhahood, faith and morality. So, I am truly grateful to
have found in this life an honest teacher who puts the Dharma above
his own opinions and who tries to understand and explain the Dharma
in simple terms for ordinary people living ordinary
lives.
Translating Josho Sensei’s books into Spanish also gave me a good chance to let the teaching on Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow sink in. This good experience also allowed me to pass the demanding 71 topics of examination (see link) for those who want to be monks, nuns and lay teachers in the Amidaji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. Later I created the AmidajiYouTube Channel in Spanish and I also started sharing Amida Dharma on social media which allowed me to meet many great Dharma siblings such as Daigan Sensei (Uruguay), Jishin Camila (Argentina) Chikai Ana Galo (Uruguay) Yuishin Alondra (Mexico), Dodatsu Nerio (Argentina) and other people from Latin America who taught me I was not alone in my continent as a Jodo Shinshu follower. Knowing the value of having a good teacher and Dharma friends I recall the words of Shakyamuni Buddha who said:
“(A monk said to the Buddha): Venerable One, I
thought a great deal and reached the conclusion that spiritual
friendship is half of the spiritual life!”The Buddha
answered: “Don’t talk this way, Ananda. Spiritual friendship is
everything in the spiritual life!” (Samyutta
Nikaya)
After many difficulties and challenges to my
personal and spiritual life I finally decided to dedicate my life
to spreading the Teaching on Amida Buddha’s unconditional salvation
as a Jodo Shinshu monk. I feel that just like a great swordsman can
use an old stick to defeat 5 armed men or just like a great
musician can produce beautiful sounds with a poor musical
instrument, so to Amida Buddha can use sinners and fools like me to
spread the Dharma not because of ourselves but in spite of
ourselves. This is all due to the Other Power of Amida Buddha who
uses all sorts of seen and unseen circumstances and karmic
connections to teach the Primal Vow. After many economic challenges
and several months of planning I decided to travel to Amidaji
Temple in Romania along with Dharma friends who also want to get
ordain: Daigan Alejandro Sensei and Jishin
Camila.
As many of you know Amidaji became an independent
branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in 2020. Amidaji Sangha declared
the right to have its own ordination platform independent from
Hongwanji, Japan. Its Hongwanji’s leaders allowed many wrong views
to be spread in the Sangha contrary to the teaching of Shakyamuni
Buddha and Shinran Shonin. I have always thought that the true
richness of a Buddhist lineage lies not in riches, big temples or
numbers but in the quality of the understanding and the honesty of
its teachers and students.
Thus, Amidaji International Temple, a new and
humble leaf in the very old tree of the Mahayana and Jodo Shinshu
was born for the benefit of all beings who want to hear Amida
Dharma without it being mixed with worldly ideologies and
philosophies. A simple organization in which faith in Amida Buddha
according to The Primal Vow and a simple and comprehensive
understanding of the most basic Mahayana teachings is the center
and the end of all activities and efforts. Amidaji empowers its
monks, nuns and lay teachers to ordain people in their own
countries without relying on stiff central authorities as long as
they abide by the contents of the Amidaji Constitution and the book
Amida Dharma. I felt excited to make history by being part of a
Jodo Shinshu organization that wants to spread the Dharma in such a
direct and energetic manner all over the world by relying on the
Dharma alone. It was with great enthusiasm then that Daigan, Jishin
and I planned everything in order receive ordination from Reverend
Josho in late September 2023.
|
|
Unexpectedly Daigan Sensei (now a lay teacher) had
an accident at work a month prior to our trip and he had to undergo
an ankle surgery which prevented him from traveling along with me.
Jishin Camila (Daigan’s fiancée) stayed with him in Uruguay to take
care of him after the surgery so I had to travel alone to Amidaji.
Daigan and Jishin will travel to Amidaji in the near future and
both will receive Tokudo (Ordination) so there will be two ordained
Latin-American members of Amidaji! May it be for the benefit of all
beings!
| Train from the airport to Bucharest |
I arrived to Bucharest, Romania on September 30th
at night. Josho Sensei greeted me warmly at the airport and
we laughed like playful kids as it was the first time we were
seeing each other in person (at least in this life) after more than
four years of Dharma friendship. We ate pizza in that warm night
and we exchanged laughs, stories and expectations, both mundane and
Dharmic. As Rennyo Shonin said:
"You lose nothing when you make friends with devout
Buddhists. Even if they do strange things or crack jokes,
they have the Buddha-Dharma deep in their hearts; in befriending
them, you will gain much benefit. So it is
said."
At Amidaji Temple - Ordination Ceremony and first
couple of days of training
The following day, early in the morning we took
the train to Craiova and then a taxi to the village where Amidaji
Temple is located. That very day I was about to be ordained in the
evening. We did not want to wait a single day or hour more. Time is
precious and impermanence in samsara can always surprise us. This
sense of impermanence in Jodo Shinshu is rooted in a powerful and
beautiful story of Shinran Shonin. He had lost his parents at a
very young age and was put in the care of his uncle who, upon
seeing his potential, brought him at age 9 to Shoren-in Temple to
become a monk in the evening and the head monk at the time, Jien,
told them to wait for the next day for ordination. However, the
young boy wrote a poem about the precious moments all beings
have:
Like cherry blossoms are the minds
That think there is a tomorrow;
But who can tell, there may be
A tempest in the night.
Upon reading this, Jien the head priest understood
the grasp the youth had on life and had him ordained that night and
he took the Buddhist name Hannen.
Jodo Shinshu is not a path of patience and wishful
thinking but a path in which we recognize the impermanence of our
bodies and our so-called spiritual realizations. Everything can be
lost in a second, especially if we are ordinary sentient beings.
This human life is precious and using it to study Amida Dharma,
receive faith and helping others to receive faith is the rarest
treasure and the most important thing in our lives as Jodo Shinshu
teachers. With these kind of reflections on impermanence Josho
Sensei ordained me on that warm evening. Dressed in white to
represent the death of my past, I let Josho Sensei cut the last
hairs on my head as he energetically pronounced the vow of a Jodo
Shinshu monk to help all beings be born in Amida Buddha’s Pure Land
through the three elements of Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow, faith,
Nembutsu and the wish to be born in Amida Buddha’s Pure Land after
death.
Josho Sensei pronounced this with a determined voice:
The first cut is to have faith in Amida Buddha and
help all beings entrust to Him.
The second cut is to say the Name of Amida Buddha and
help all beings say His Name.
The third cut is to wish to be born in the Pure Land
of Amida Buddha and help all beings to be born
there.
I felt a tremendous energy that filled the room.
Josho Sensei’s strong and lively voice emanated a strong sense of
faithfulness, sincerity and determination. As he was reciting the
Three Refuges, The 8 Precepts of Faith, the rules implied in the
Ryogemon and the 18 rules for monks and nuns of the Amidaji Branch
of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, I felt truly inspired and determined to
put myself in the Hands of Amida Buddha for the benefit of all
beings. The image of a mirror came to my mind. We are not the
creators of the Primal Vow, we cannot give anyone Shinjin (Faith in
Amida Buddha) nor are we the owners of the Buddha Dharma. We are
just transmitters of the Dharma. Amida Buddha is the source of True
Faith and He is the creator of the Pure Land and The Primal Vow. He
is the creator of both our destination (the Pure Land) and the
method to get there (The Primal Vow). Just like a mirror itself
does not have any light of its own can nevertheless reflect the
light of the sun to others, we as Jodo Shinshu
followers just reflect the light of the true Amida Dharma teaching
to others without mixing it with any of our opinions or so-called
“merits”. I said to Amida Buddha “Please let my body, speech and
mind be an instrument so that you can take beings to the Pure Land
through the Primal Vow”. True and real compassion is to guide
beings to attain Buddhahood. In this Dharma Ending Age the only way
to attain liberation for ordinary and foolish beings like us is to
entrust ourselves to Amida Buddha, say His Name and wish to be born
in His Pure Land. Teaching the Primal Vow to others is in
accordance with Shinran Shonin’s teachings.
As Shinran Shonin taught:
Is truly to repay the Buddha’s
benevolence."[1]
„ 'What is 'great compassion'? Those who in their
turn encourage others to practice the Nembutsu are called those who
practice great
compassion.'[2]
How can we ignorant sentient beings teach Amida
Dharma to others if not by the influence of Amida Buddha Himself on
our ordinary lives? With this thought in mind I felt reassured by
Amida Buddha and all Buddhas that even ordinary and foolish beings
can be instruments of Amida Buddha’s wish to benefit all beings.
How wonderful is the Jodo Shinshu Path!
After the Ceremony we relaxed and enjoyed a
wonderful meal prepared by Mrs Tamira Cirlea, Josho Sensei’s mother
who was very kind to us during my stay at Amidaji. Josho Sensei
cultivates tomatoes, figs and peppers at Amidaji, so we enjoyed a
variety of vegetarian dishes during my stay. Josho Sensei is also
very fond of Turkish black tea, and we enjoyed talking after our
meals a lot while we drank this delicious hot beverage. We talked
about the Dharma and we also discussed about the present and future
of Amidaji International Temple. We also exchanged stories and
shared jokes of all kinds. This reminded me of the fact that Jodo
Shinshu is a relaxed path for ordinary beings. We don’t pretend to
have virtues or wisdom of our own, we are just our ordinary foolish
selves and we just let Amida Buddha take us to the Pure Land.
However, being a monk in this Path means to make Amida Dharma the
priority in our day to day lives. It means that we are totally
committed to teaching the Primal Vow to others 24/7. It means that
nothing is more important than teaching Amida Dharma to others.
Family obligations, relationships and hobbies can wait, but not
Amida Dharma. The life of a monk and nun ordained in the Amidaji
Branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism is a life that is lived only to
help others receive faith in Amida Buddha. We are relaxed because
we know Amida Buddha guides us.
However, we also work hard and are disciplined in all Dharma related matters. We need to study the basics of the Buddha-Dharma well and we also need to fully explain all aspects of Jodo Shinshu to others. It also means we should learn well how to bow, how to do prostrations, how to properly fold our robes, kesa (piece of precious cloth which represents the transmission of the teaching to us) and zagu (sitting matt, which represents the protection of all Buddhas and all Dharma protectors) and how to eat from your monk’s bowl (which means to eat for the Path to help others). These things need your full attention and cannot be learned overnight, so you need to practice again and again. Josho Sensei explained to me (I paraphrase him) “These rules are not just formalities but they express our commitment in the Jodo Shinshu Path. All aspects of training, from the way we eat, bow and recite a liturgy or hymn express our seriousness and determination, so they cannot be taken lightly.”
Contemplating Amidado (Amida Hall)
The next couple of days were almost solely
dedicated to learning how to wear and properly fold the ceremonial
robes. The next days were mostly dedicated to the proper recitation
of the Juseige (the hymn of Amida Buddha’s vows) and the Nembutsu
Liturgy. I practiced very hard during several hours, even without
Josho Sensei who sometimes had to go and answer questions to
students using his PC at night.
Late at night I felt very inspired contemplating
the Amidado (Amida Hall) at Amidaji. It is filled with images of
Buddhas and Great Bodhisattvas. I remembered how Josho Sensei
explained to me the story of each one of the adornments and images
in the Amidado the first day we arrived to the Temple. I fondly
remember Amidado’s main Amida Buddha statue. This a golden statue
of tremendous beauty and elegance. The more I stared at this Amida
statue the more beautiful it looked. It was like a never-ending
fountain of beauty and power. It was given as a gift by a Japanese
priest from Osaka, Japan (Rev Oku of Zuikoji
temple).
I also fondly remember a wheel of samsara thangka
at the entrance of the Amidado that was given as a gift to Josho
Sensei by a Vajrayana practitioner friend and was also blessed by
the sister of the Head of the Sakya lineage from Tibet. A beautiful
and auspicious gift that reminds us of the dangers of the six
realms of samsara and the aspiration to be born in Amida’s Pure
Land. The image also features a Tibetan representation of Amida
Buddha’s Pure Land on the top left corner and the mantra of
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.
Josho Sensei also showed me a beautiful Tibetan
treasure vase that was also given as a gift and was blessed by a
Tibetan Lama to bring protection and blessings to the Temple. Josho
Sensei also showed some images of Mahakala, the ferocious Dharma
Protector. He told me many experiences he had had in which he
sensed the protection of Mahakala in Amidaji. It is important to
mention that at Amidaji we worship and focus exclusively on Amida
Buddha, while the images of other Buddhas and Enlightened
Bodhisattvas are present as a visual representation of the
17th Vow where Amida promised that all Buddhas praise
His Name, thus encouraging us to say it in faith, and of the
protection that all Buddhas offer to the followers of the Primal
Vow of Amida.
Josho Sensei has a beautiful and colorful Thangka
of Padmasambhava. He once told me about an auspicious dream he had
had some years ago: After a Dharma talk in which he explained to a
student that saying the Name of Amida Buddha is saying and praising
the Names of All Buddhas, he dreamed of Padmasambhava and His Pure
Land, Zandokpalri. Josho Sensei told me he said to Padmasambhava
that whenever he says Nembutsu to venerate Amida, he automatically
venerates Him, and Padmasambhava agreed reassuring Josho Sensei
that this was indeed a correct understanding. I also had an
experience with Padmasambhava in the past before becoming a Jodo
Shinshu Buddhist and I also felt Him guiding me towards Amida
Buddha.
Josho Sensei also showed me a beautiful picture of
Benzaiten-sama (Sarasvati in Sanskrit), a Vajrayana
deity who in esoteric Buddhism is considered an enlightened being
related to eloquence and fine arts.
Josho Sensei told me he also had a dream in which
he felt a strong presence and heard the clear words “Benzaiten”- he
had never heard that name before. He looked it up and found out
this was an Enlightened Being of great importance in esoteric and
tantric Buddhism, so he took it as a sign this Enlightened being
wanted to protect and bless Amidaji.
Near the breathtaking Amida golden statue with open arms
welcoming all beings to the Pure Land we can also find
Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta, White Tara and Green Tara, and
each one with an Amida Buddha on their crown, signifying the
importance of the 17th Vow of Amida Buddha, in which
He promised all Buddhas would praise and support all those who say
Amida Buddha’s name with faith. We also find a beautiful image of
Shinran Shonin with a little image of Avalokitesvara and Amida
inside the same picture, signifying the belief of many Jodo Shinshu
disciples that consider him to be an emanation of Amida and
Avalokitesvara. We also find an image of Rennyo Shonin and the 7
Jodo Shinshu patriarchs.
The first day we arrived I gave to Josho Sensei a small
gift on behalf of the Latin-american Sangha of Amidaji. It was an
image of Amida Buddha in Japanese style. On the back we put the
names of all the members of Amidaji Latin America. Josho Sensei was
pleased and he told me he would find a good place to put it in one
of the Amidaji buildings.
Gift to Josho Sensei on behalf of the latin
American Sangha. An image of Amida Buddha in Japanese Style. On the
back there are the names of the members of Amidaji from Latin
America.
Visit of two Amidaji Members from Craiova
- Mushu and Gansen Catalin to Amidaji
Temple
A couple of days after my ordination Munshu and
Gansen Catalin, two members of Amidaji Temple from Romania came to
visit Josho Sensei and I. I was glad I could meet them. It was my
first time as monk in front of people besides Josho Sensei and his
mother Tamira, so naturally the day before I practiced until late
how to wear and fold my robes and kesa and I also worked on my
recitation and voice strength. Josho Sensei always stressed the
fact that my voice needs to be strong in order to lead a liturgy
with people as it is the monk’s job to encourage unity among the
followers and lead them in terms of rhythm and recitation style.
Once they arrived, we entered the Amidado and recited the Nembutsu
Liturgy together.
I also gave my very first Dharma Talk in front of
this small congregation. I felt energized and calmed and after a
brief sermon we bowed in respect and gratitude to one another and
then we exited Amidado.
That day was Josho Sensei’s birthday. A happy
coincidence. So, there was naturally lots of food and non-alcoholic
beer for us. Gansen and Mushu also drank some Colombian Coffee I
had brought to Josho Sensei and his mother as a gift. We also ate
fresh tomatoes, cheese and other delicious vegetables. We also had
3 types of cake that Mrs. Cirlea had kindly baked for us, so we ate
like Persian kings and enjoyed a conversation on a sunny afternoon
bellow the beautiful trees of Amidaji that provided
shade.
A raging storm and blackout while I was inside
Amidado
An incident happened that night. I was inside
Amidado practicing the recitation of the Juseige when suddenly a
storm was unleashed above Amidado. It was a heavy rain that caused
a blackout for about 15 minutes. The only light that remained was
the electric candle light besides the golden statue of Amida
Buddha. The rest was pitch dark. It was a surreal experience. My
voice was being silenced by the heavy rain and thunder sound above
the roof. However, I continued to chant. As I saw the little light
besides Amida Buddha I felt as though a great Dharma Lesson was
being given to me by the Buddhas. This thought came to my mind “In
the midst of the chaos and darkness of samsara, only Amida Buddha’s
light can guide the way of sentient beings. In this Dharma Age in
which evil and ignorance are praised even inside Buddhism then the
Primal Vow is the only light that remains to guide our
way.
Some meaningful conversations with Josho
Sensei on the future of Jodo Shinshu outside of
Japan
One day we were drinking black tea together as
usual after dinner. We started to talk about the importance of
having a decentralized platform to teach Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. He
told me that Kosho Othani, a former Monshu (Headpriest) of
Hongwanji, promoted the first ordinations of European Jodo Shinshu
priests in Europe. Several Jodo Shinshu priests had been ordained
in Europe by Europeans. Josho Sensei said “However, nowadays nobody
in Hongwanji likes to speak about this. They do not do it because
this undermines the power of the Japanese leadership”. He also told
me,
“I do not want to be anyone’s guru or have
monopoly over ordinations. I want to empower monks and nuns in
their own countries so that they can do many things by themselves”.
Later he explained the importance of being resourceful and skillful
when it comes to rules and regulations when it comes to spreading
Amida Dharma in different countries. He constantly emphasized “Each
kyodan (region/district) needs to take care of their own affairs
and spread the Dharma in ways that are only known to the
inhabitants of a particular country and culture”. He also
emphasized he did not want Amidaji to revolve around one person and
that he wants all monks and nuns to be proactive and
resourceful.
On having a Dharma-centric Sangha based on
meritocracy
We also reflected together on the effects of being
too obsessed with ranks and prestige and not the Dharma, and that
becoming a Jodo Shinshu monk in Japan nowadays is mostly about
smiling and kissing asses and is not related about your
seriousness, determination and knowledge of the Dharma. We at
Amidaji are different. We care about the correct understanding of
the Dharma of each member, lay teacher, monk and nun. A man or a
woman can only be measured in terms of their seriousness,
determination and knowledge of the Dharma. We rejoiced over the
fact that everything at Amidaji has the Dharma at its core. We keep
mundane issues outside of the Temple and we focus on the Dharma
alone. However we also admitted that eventually all Sanghas
deteriorate due to many reasons. This is the reason we must work
hard and be very careful with the people we let into the Temple,
especially if they have wrong views. We concluded the only way to
help the Sangha was by being proactive and always asking Amida
Buddha for guidance.
“Amidaji does not care about numbers but about the
Dharma” is something that Josho Sensei also emphasized a lot during
our conversations. We talked about the fact that many temples in
Japan and around the world (both in the east and west) had turned
into culture houses that offer all kinds of mundane entertainments:
bazars, food, alcohol and mundane skills like ikebana and martial
arts. Jodo Shinshu Temples around the world like to combine
Nembutsu with other practices in order to attract more people. We
concluded this is indeed lamentable and decadent. I remember Rennyo
Shonin who also lamented people using temples for social mundane
gatherings. He said:
For what purpose have there come to be meetings twice
each month? They are [held] for the sake of realizing one’s own
faith which leads to birth in the Land of Utmost Bliss and for
nothing else. Although there have been “meetings” everywhere each
month, from the past up until now, there has never been anything at
all that might be called a discussion of faith. In recent years
in particular, when there have been meetings (wherever they have
been), everyone has dispersed after nothing more than sake, rice,
and tea. This is indeed contrary to the fundamental intent of the
Buddha-Dharma. Although each of those lacking faith (fushin) should
by all means raise their doubts and discuss what it is to have
faith or be without it, they take their leave without coming to any
conclusions. This is not as it should be. You must carefully
reflect on this matter. In brief, it is essential that each of
those lacking faith (fushin) have discussions of faith with one
another from now
on.[3]
Amidaji is an organization that has at its core
the Amida Dharma alone. We don’t care about politically correct
teachings meant to please the ears of those who embrace views
contrary to the Dharma. We care about people receiving Shinjin and
we want to create an environment that supports and honors
that.
The reason for coming to a Jodo Shinshu temple is
to receive Shinjin. The questions people should ask in a Jodo
Shinshu temple are Dharma questions. “How can I attain Buddhahood
if I am an ordinary being?” What is Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow? What
is the meaning of faith and Nembutsu? What is the law of karma?
What is the true meaning of Enlightenment?” These are the questions
that are meant to be discussed in a temple. All entertainments,
mundane affairs and personal opinions should be left outside of the
Temple the same way you leave your shoes
outside.
The Analogy of the rats and the
building
Josho Sensei also expressed Amidaji’s
determination to protect ALL aspects of the Dharma, not only Jodo
Shinshu Buddhism. During our conversations he once gave me the
example of a building that is attacked by rats:
If you let the rats come to one floor then they
will soon manage a way to invade the other floors. The building of
the Buddha-Dharma has many rooms/teachings. It has teachings on
morality, marriage, meditation, cosmology, faith…etc. If we let
people withw rong views distort one aspect of the Buddha Dharma,
then, sooner or later, they will find a way to distort other
aspects of the Buddha Dharma. He mentioned that the attitude of
many Jodo Shinshu followers is to only worry about their own
“floor” (the teaching on Amida Buddha and His Pure Land) and they
do not care so much if people with wrong views distort the
teachings on morality which are being attacked now by modernist
teachers which promote sexual misconduct, combine different
samsaric religions with the Dharma and deny the basics of Mahayana
Buddhism. However, the reason so many false teachers deny Amida
Buddha and His Pure Land as it was taught in the sutras is because
they had also distorted other aspects of the Buddha Dharma
beforehand, the same way a rat needs to get to some parts of a
building before jumping to another area.
This analogy deeply motivated me defend all aspects of
the Buddha Dharma, because as Josho Sensei explained, the Buddha
Dharma is the perfect medicine that was given to us by the Buddha,
and there is no place for unenlightened sentient beings to accept
one aspect of the teaching while discarding other aspects they
dislike. Ordinary sentient beings should accept the Dharma as it
was taught by the Buddha and should present it to others without
adding or omitting anything. A sick person who is ignorant of the
science of medicine is not in a position to alter or mix
medications. We as sick samsaric beings should only follow the
instructions of the Doctor (the Buddha) and consume the Medicine
(The Dharma) exactly as it was prescribed.
Making history together
Another thing that Josho Sensei emphasized a lot
was the motto “let’s make history together”.
Indeed, Amidaji is only 3 years old as an
officially independent Jodo Shinshu branch outside Japan. Amidaji
declared its independence on September 4th 2020 and it
already has many members in Russia, western and Eastern Europe,
North America and Latin America.
Of course, Josho Sensei has been a monk since 2003, and
he has had a proactive career as a Dharma teacher and author ever
since, however in 2020 Amidaji International Temple, a new branch
of Jodo Shinshu, became a reality after Josho Sensei struggled for
more than 17 years with the lack of proper leadership by Hongwanji
which he often described as “being run like a business company”.
This is not to say there are not good people and priests with faith
and good understanding in many Jodo Shinshu temples in Japan. Of
course, there are. In Amidaji we do not consider that we have
the monopoly over the true Jodo Shinshu Teaching. That would be
nonsensical. However, the leadership of the most important Jodo
Shinshu institutions in Japan and North America has indeed allowed
many wrong views that are contrary to general Mahayana Buddhism and
the true Jodo Shinshu path as taught by Shinran
Shonin.
Many of the leaders of BCA (Buddhist Churches of
America) Higashi Hongwanji and Nichi Hongwanji are lovers of
atheists/materialists thinkers such as Manshi, Unno and Bloom, who
have proved time and time again that they do not have faith in the
Mahayana Sutras or in Amida Buddha as a real living
