I think it’s necessary to continue the previous article We should not make publicity to nonBuddhist holidays or the gods and spirits they represent with a new one in which to explain even more why I think that promoting nonBuddhist holidays, symbols and so-called “divine figures” associated with them is creating a subtle obstacle for other people’s encounter with the true teaching of Buddhism. Many nowadays Buddhists and especially teachers or aspiring teachers suffer from the illness of political correctness, combined with an incapacity to use what they already have in Buddhism to promote its teachings. They are blind for subtle dangers and are unable to raise themselves above the ideologies or habits of their time and so they support some things just because the majority do it and it’s nice (and “compassionate”) to do them, or it pleases people, etc, without being aware that they actually build more obstacles for people’s encountering the Dharma and receive faith in Amida.

I usually do not read other people’s reactions to my posts, but sometimes their stupidity helps me to explain things better, which is why I think this article will be very beneficial to many.

Somebody wrote a reply to my previous article,
“The point I am making is that neither Amida Buddha, nor Shakyamuni Buddha, nor any other buddha (awakened being) cares whether you celebrate Christmas or not. Being an American raised in a Protestant Christian family, I personally celebrate Christmas, and treasure its spirit of forgiveness, charity, and compassion.”

Here is my answer,
The true spirit of Compassion is to be found in the Buddha Dharma because true Compassion is always related with true Wisdom which belongs only to Buddhas. From Infinite Wisdom arises Infinite Compassion, that is, from a real understanding of ultimate Buddha nature, the emptiness of samsaric phenomena and of the suffering of all beings drowned in delusion, Infinite Compassion arises.
“The Buddha is the father of the world; all living beings are my sons, ALL is my domain, and I alone am able to save and protect them.”
Lotus Sutra

“Rare is the World-Honored One, hard is it to meet Him, Perfect in infinite merit, able to save all. Great teacher of gods and men, He has Compassion for the world. All the living in the universe everywhere receive His aid, the Lord Buddha is the Holy Lord, king among gods. Now the Buddha has become the eye of all living beings, the resort of all the world, Savior of all, Father of all the living, who has Compassion for and does good [to all]”.
Lotus Sutra, chapter 7 parable of the magic city)

A religion who teaches about a so-called creator god and judge of the world cannot have true compassion. Such a religion, being based on the whims and schizophrenic mind of a hungry spirit (hungry for attention) does not teach wisdom or compassion. Jesus was a deluded samsaric being who suffered from megalomania and deluded others into thinking that he was the son of a supreme creator and jealous god who said that he punishes the lack of faith in fathers upon third and fourth generations, and shows mercy only to those who love him[1]. Certainly, such a limited love and limited wisdom should have NO place of celebration in the minds of Buddhists and in the Buddhist centers.
There can be no compassion in those who teach wrong views, which is why there is no true compassion in Jesus who taught the poisonous wrong view of a creator god and judge of the world. I do not deny that nonBuddhist teachers can develop some kind of limited compassion related with helping beings in a limited physical way, but true Compassion can come only from Buddhas and is manifested only through teaching the Buddha Dharma to others, helping them receive faith in Amida Buddha and say the Nembutsu of faith.

"To spread great Compassion everywhere and guide others
Is truly to repay the Buddha’s benevolence."[2]

„ 'What is 'great Compassion'? Those who in their turn encourage others to practice the Nembutsu are called those who practice great Compassion.'"[3]

"Let those who realize shinjin (faith) that is Other Power,
In order to repay the Buddha's benevolence,
Spread the two aspects of Amida's directing of virtue[4]
Throughout all the ten quarters".[5]

As you see above, Buddhists should aim at transmitting the unlimited, infinite Compassion of the Buddhas manifested in the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha and not in the deluded samsaric gods and spirits.

Dharmakara Bodhisattva is the One who showed great Compassion by making the 48 Vows and becoming Amida Buddha (words in brackets are my own),

“I resolve to become a Buddha, [...]
To save living beings from birth and death,
And to lead them all to liberation.”[6]

“I have made vows, unrivalled in all the world (there is no Compassion greater than His);
I shall certainly reach the unsurpassed Way.
If these vows should not be fulfilled,
May I not attain perfect Enlightenment.

If I should not become a great benefactor
In lives to come for immeasurable kalpas
To save the poor and the afflicted everywhere,
May I not attain perfect Enlightenment.”[7]

In the section 4 – 10 from the Larger Sutra (click here) you can see the practices and supernatural efforts Dharmakara Bodhisattva made in order to become Amida Buddha and transform His vows into effective ways of Liberation for all sentient beings. How can a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist think that a deluded samsaric person like Jesus (or Muhhamad and various monotheistic prophets and teachers,including those of Judaism and Old Testament) who taught wrong views can ever be associated with the word compassion after studying the deeds and vows of Shakyamuni, Dharmakara/Amida as well as the various Buddhist Masters from India, China and Japan who transmitted to us the teaching about the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha!
All Buddhas showed great compassion by helping us receive true faith (shinjin) in Amida,

"Sakyamuni and all the other Buddhas
Are truly our compassionate father and mother.
With various compassionate means they lead us to awaken
Supreme shinjin (faith) that is true and real.”[8]

and instead of celebrating them through specific holidays, some „Buddhists” are amazed at the so-called ”compassionate spirit” of the birthday of a deluded samsaric being (Jesus)!

Wake up, dear brothers and sisters in the Dharma! Only the Buddhas and Buddhist Mastersdeserve our celebration because only they own the spirit of forgiveness, Dharma charity (the gift of Dharma is the highest as it brings beings to Liberation) and Compassion. Buddhists should aim at helping people escape the false teachings of monotheistic religions that keep beings prisoners of samsara, and not make them look better and nicer than they actually are.

I am a Romanian raised in an Orthodox Christian environment and I have lots of fun with my Christian relatives and friends, some of them even visiting me at my temple, but I NEVER celebrate Christian holidays, just as they do not celebrate Buddhist holidays. They don’t do that because they do not want to promote Buddhism just as I don’t do that because I refuse to promote Christianity. To see some Buddhists celebrating nonBuddhist holidays, use nonBuddhist symbols and images or taking photos on the knees in front of Christian icons as Dalai Lama in a famous photo, is for many nonBuddhists a sign of lack of faith and dedication towards Buddhism on our part, so if Buddhists don’t take themselves too seriously, why should nonBuddhists take us seriously! This is exactly why many nonBuddhists in the West come with the wrong idea that Buddhism is not a religion to be taken seriously but some kind of a philosophy, or a way of life, without any creed or faith, or why others think that Buddhists believe in Jesus themselves as some kind of bodhisattva (I counteracted this stupidity in a video teaching)!

It's not about Amida Buddha being upset or caring that you as a Buddhist celebrate Christmas or not. It’s about promoting a nonBuddhist holiday and the so-called god it represents, because no matter how some might view Christmas, it cannot be denied that this celebration is actually about Christ/Jesus, and is filled with Christian symbols, Christian related songs, etc. Also, MANY do take it as a celebration of Christ as not all who celebrate it are atheists or secularists. This is why, I repeat, that in this deluded world filled with the mixing of various religious elements and even some famous (fake) “Buddhist teachers” like TNH who promote ideas that all religions are the same or that you can be a Buddhist and a Christian, those deluded Buddhists who celebrate Christmas or Easter and promote Christmas/Easter songs with Jesus or images with him as well as Christian symbols, are adding more fuel to the fire of confusion.

Here is another reply to my previous article,
“The Buddha’s only care is how all beings, no matter their religion, nationality, sexual orientation[9], gender, etc. etc. might attain everlasting peace and happiness. To this end he made his great Vow, the fulfillment of which is expressed in the LARGER SUTRA OF IMMEASURABLE LIFE as follows:
“All sentient beings, as they hear the Name, realize even one thought-moment of shinjin and joy, which is directed to them from Amida’s sincere mind, and aspiring to be born in that land, they then attain birth and dwell in the stage of nonretrogression.”
That is all.”

My answer,
There are a few subtle dangers here so I need to explain some things carefully.
Everlasting peace and happiness cannot be attained outside the Buddha Dharma. Yes, the Buddhas want all people, no matter who they are, to attain everlasting peace and happiness, that is Nirvana or perfect Enlightenment, but without abandoning their false nonBuddhist religions and fully embracing the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha, saying His Name in faith, they will never be able to do that, as Shinran himself clearly stated,

“Without entrusting themselves to the Tathagata’s compassionate Vow,
No sentient beings of these times - the last Dharma-age, and
The fifth five-hundred-year period since Sakyamuni’s passing –
Will have a chance of parting from birth-and-death.”

Our goal as Pure Land followers should be to guide people to the teaching about Amida, to help them make indestructible connections with Him, not with other gods, so it’s a great skillful mean to be an example of a dedicated Amida devotee who is promoting only the Buddha Dharma, especially in our days when confusion and mixing of various paths is rampant. Shinran Shonin never put the teaching of the Buddha on the same level with nonbuddhist teachings,

"The ninety-five nonbuddhist teachings[10] defile the world;
The Buddha's path alone is pure.
Only by going forth and reaching Enlightenment can we benefit others
in this burning house; this is the natural working of the Vow".[11]

"Based on the true intent of the Buddha’s teaching and the expositions made and transmitted by the masters of the past, I will clarify that the path of sages is provisional and the Pure Land path is true, and caution people against non-Buddhist teachings, which are perverted, false, and wrong".[12]

Also, Shakyamuni Buddha said,
"The emancipation of non Buddhist ways is called impermanent; the emancipation of Buddhist ways is called eternal".[13]

The passage from the Larger Sutra the guy above mentioned shows exactly the Path to Liberation which is faith (shinjin) and the Nembutsu of faith. Once people entrust themselves to Amida Buddha, they enter the stage of nonretrogression. Wonderful! Let’s celebrate that and help people through various skilful means, like teaching the Dharma as it was taught by Shakyamuni, do Buddhist celebrations, use Buddhist symbols and Buddhist iconography as much as possible, etc

Don’t use your energy with celebrations who have zero Buddhist meaning or zero meaning related with Amida Buddha or that are closely related with nonBuddhist religions. Don’t celebrate holidays related with nonBuddhist religions about which Shakyamuni Buddha himself as well as Shinran Shonin said that they defile the world and are perverted, false and wrong! How could you do that if you are a true Buddhist disciple! What genuine Buddhist disciple would ever celebrate or show even the smallest painting or image of a monotheistic so-called „divine” figure after hearing the warnings of the Buddha and the Masters!

Namo Amida Bu

PS: This is my last take on this topic as I think I said enough for those with little dust in their eyes that are called to be teachers and examples of faith in Amida Buddha. People endowed by Amida with a deep understanding of skilful means in promoting His Dharma will have no problem in understand my words and use them in their missionary activities. As a teacher who constantly contemplates on how to be useful for others awaken to faith (shinjin), I consider even the smallest action and wether that is good and useful or not good and not useful. For many my insistence to stop the celebration of nonBuddhist holidays among Buddhists and to focus exclusively on Buddhist celebrations, images and symbols, may seem ridiculous, but for those who are able to see the whole picture, understand subtle causal relations as well as the long term effects of such things, my article will prove very beneficial.

It is important to mention, and I will develop that in a future article, that I do not write to convince the non-teachable, closed minds of the modernists, but to offer a doctrinal basis, arguments and teaching material for devotional people of true faith to help others receive faith. We all have our target audience and my target audience is not the target audience of the modernists and vice-versa.

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[1] „For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments.” Bible.com https://www.bible.com
[2] Master Shan-tao quoted by Shinran in Kyogyoshinsho, chapter III, Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 130
[3] Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, chapter III, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 129
[4] As you know, to „spread the two aspects of Amida's directing of virtue” means to convince people of the truth that Amida can save them by bringing them to His Pure Land where they attain Buddhahood/perfect Enlightenment (the first aspect of Amida’s directing of virtue) and that once they become Buddhas in the Pure Land they are able to return in various samsaric realms to guide others to the Pure Land (the second aspect of Amida’s directing of virtue).
[5] Shinran Shonin, Hymns of the Dharma Ages, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.419
[6]The Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study and Translation from Chinese by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.11
[7]The Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study and Translation from Chinese by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.20-21
[8] Shinran Shonin, Hymn of the Two Gateways of Entrance and Emergence, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.629
[9]Here the author is doing a well-known kiss in the ass to the LGBTQ fake members who come to Jodo Shinshu temples not as sinners looking for salvation (in which case they are saved by Amida) but for justification, denying the Buddhist morality to feel good with their degenerated sexuality and using the temples for promoting their sexual agenda. I explained this in my articles Can LGGTQ members be born in the Pure Land? And A Response to fake Buddhist Followers Blinded by Worldly Ideologies. You can find these articles on Amidaji website.
[10] Shinran explained that by „ninety-five nonbuddhist teachings” he meant not a fixed number but that the nonbuddhist paths are divided into numerous kinds.
[11] Shinran Shonin, Hymns of the Dharma Ages, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.401
[12] Shinran Shonin, Kyogyoshinsho, VI, Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 274
[13] Nirvana Sutra quoted by Shinran, Kyogyoshinsho, chapter V, Kyogyoshinsho - The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.182