Sometimes it seems
hard for Shin Buddhists to dialogue with other traditions because their
practices and doctrines seem so far away from Shinran’s teachings. At the 2015
Buddhist Catholic dialogue in Rome, the three Shin ministers and I agreed that
we seemed to have more in common with the Catholics than the mostly monastic
representatives of the various Buddhist sects.
Yet I feel the need to keep in contact with Buddhists of other traditions, especially in working together for liberatory causes, such a the freeing of Palestine from the current genocidal attacks. It helps to remember that Shinran drew on a wide variety of Buddhist traditions in his clarification of the Pure Land teachings in Kyogyoshinsho. He and his teacher Honen would not feel out of place in discussions of Buddhism with followers of other traditions. The problem was too many elitists in the other traditions felt threatened by the Pure Land teachings’ embrace of the poor, working class and women, so they advocated for the persecution of the nembutsu followers.
What led to the suppression of the nembutsu groups in medieval Japan is not a factor in the West where almost all Buddhist groups try to uphold the principles of racial and gender equality. The main difference between Jodo Shinshu and other lineages practiced in the West is what they consider the agent that brings awakening. For most western Buddhists, the individual is the agent, while for Shin Buddhists, it is Amida because we believe each of us is incapable of attaining awakening by individual effort. But I think we can bridge that gap even if the other Buddhists find it hard to understand our centering of Amida.
I would like to give examples of how we can bridge that gap. I participated in some of the sessions of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship’s recent series of Refuge Circles, the online gathering for contemplation and action during this time of genocides in Palestine and other locations.
In one session, Rev. Mushim Ikeda, a Japanese American ordained in Korean Zen, read a series of Bodhisattva vows. I don’t feel I can make any promises to do the Bodhisattva tasks of eliminating suffering, providing comfort, conquering delusions etc. But as I wrote to Mushim-sensei in the chat, I can hear these vows coming from Amida, the ultimate bodhisattva working in this world. As someone who’s worked with Jodo Shinshu ministers in the Bay Area, she replied, “Namu Amida Butsu.”
At the final session of this year’s Refuge Circles, the leader was BPF co-director Kate Johnson, filling in because the scheduled speaker couldn’t make it. This was the Thursday after the elections, so she spoke of seeing the good in people, even though the political scene seems full of people saying and doing things harmful to other beings and our environment.
As a Jodo Shinshu minister, I avoid talking about the “basic goodness” of all people. As Shinran sees so clearly in himself, our beings are filled with the poisons of greed, anger and delusion so I really can’t talk of my or anyone else’s “inherent good.” In Tannisho, Shinran is quoted saying, “I know nothing of good and evil. For if I could know thoroughly, as Amida Tathagata knows, that an act was good, then I would know good…” (CWS 679)
With that in mind, I listened to Kate’s words as describing the goodness (thought/word/deed karma to nurture lives) of Amida which is manifested through the people in our lives. Even though I have no stock of pure goodness in me, I can appreciate how Amida’s compassion is conveyed through the kind thoughts, words and actions of people. And through the nurturing and support I receive from others, such as my Dharma friends in BPF, I may be able to participate in bringing Amida’s healing compassion to those in suffering.
I say “participate” because the work ahead of us will require group effort, not the illusion of a heroic individual swooping in as a savior. Although there are thousands of people who identify as Jodo Shinshu followers in the West (North and South America, Europe etc.), it seems only a handful here and there are activists and organizers against the destructive forces of genocides, prisons and poverty. So I believe we need to be able to join with other Buddhists, as well as those of other religions, particularly the followers of Islam who’ve been so vilified in the media. We are not out to convert the “spiritual not religious” crowd to Jodo Shinshu, but we open our hearts to the spiritual oneness their activism is expressing.
Keeping in mind how easily I can fall into ego-enhancing delusions, I look to “only the nembutsu is true” as I navigate how to contribute to organizing, mutual aid and resistance in the days ahead.
