When compared to other Buddhist schools, Jodo Shinshu, or Shin Buddhism, takes us aback as it seems to completely twist on its head the common expectations of Buddhist practice. Without monastic order, no strong emphasis on respecting the five precepts, or meditation, Jodo Shinshu from the outset, doesn’t look like Buddhism at all. But at a closer look, under the surface, these very things make Jodo Shinshu a very Buddhist, Buddhist school.
As practitioners approaching Buddhism for the first time, we have the expectation to be guided and trained on different practices with the aim of helping us reach awakening. Depending on the school of choice, we will be introduced to a myriad of different practices. Zen will train us in meditation. Theravada will introduce us to the importance of the precepts and moral conduct. Tibetan schools will have us observe ritual offerings, and retreats.
All of the above is incredibly varied, interesting and exciting. These disciplines not only are supposed to lead us awakening, but also transform us in a better person too. On the flip side, all of those disciplines and routines require us time, effort and labour if we want be successful. Awakening is something to work towards by holding on discipline, teachings and masters.
Shin Buddhism takes a different route. Awakening in Jodo Shinshu is thought to come naturally through the acceptance of one’s own nature, just as it is. No observance of precepts, nor meditation sessions or retreats. The ask is to accept ourselves, just as we are, with all the facets of our personalities, and in the mist of our ordinary lives meet the dharma.
This is the transformative process of ‘shinjin’, or true entrusting, of the Jodo Shinshu practitioner to the dharma through active listening and spontaneous recitation of the nembutsu, the name of Amida Buddha, that calls reminding her of the Buddha nature within herself.
Shinran Shonin famously said ‘no practice is true practice’. This is because, according to his experience, no matter the spiritual practice we follow, we will never be able to achieve awakening if we are unable to accept our own nature with all its lights and shadows. Moreover, the very acceptance of our own nature is the engine for awakening itself.
This is because we are ultimately of ‘bonno’ nature, foolish. This foolishness manifests itself also when we strive to overcome it through spiritual practice, making the spiritual practice itself a tool for us to express our own foolishness.
For example: if we are practicing meditation, and making progress, we might think to ourselves that after all our efforts, we are now accomplished meditators. This thought, not only triggers our ego, but its effects cascade on all other parts of our spiritual discipline, triggering competition, and a desire to show off our skills, for example, anything but humility that is the goal of meditation.
For Shinran, in today’s world, there’s no way to achieve complete awakening through our own efforts. The only way to achieve success is to relinquish the instinct to rely on our own power, and to embrace the power of others.
It’s just like being caught in seaweed while swimming. The more I try to pull out to escape the seaweed grasp, the more I entangle myself. The only way out is to let go and let the seaweed untangle itself until I am free to swim again. In the same way, no harder we try to get rid of our egos, the harder it entangles us. Only by practicing the dharma, just as we are, through the practice of the nembustu, we will be finally free.
This way of thinking is a reflection on his own experience. In his life Shinran Shonin was trained as a Tendai monk on Mount Hiei in Japan, the Harvard of Buddhism in the Japanese Empire. There, for twenty years he studied the sutras and practiced various types of Buddhist disciplines. After all this time, he realised that his practices did not led him to awakening at all. Instead, he felt quite the opposite: his skill in meditation and chanting made him feel proud. All around him, his fellow monks were focussed in showing off their abilities to win the favour of richer patrons. The dissonance between the message of the sutras and his experience was evident.
Lost and disappointed he decided to leave the monastery for Kyoto. In the Imperial capital, he would meet Honen Shonin: a fellow monk that renounced Mount Hiei and Tendai practice to focus on the single practice of the nembutsu: the repetition of the name of Amida. This message is incredibly liberating.
For the first time in history, everyone was welcome. Social, or physical conditions, education and skill do not matter. The Buddha message of awakening, meant for everyone’s benefit, through the nembutsu and Shinran’s teachings, is open to all once again.
If you are interested to the teachings of Shinran Shonin and the Jodo Shinshu tradition, or you're simply looking for a friendly Pure Land sangha to practice with, get in touch