Zenshuji Temple, Los Angeles

This is a statue of Kannon Bodhisattva outside the Zenshuhi Zen temple in downtown Los Angeles. Once a week I visit Kannon here at Zenshuji.

Kannon is the Buddhist bodhisattva of compassion or goddess of mercy. Kannon is often pictured next to Amida Buddha. In the crown on Kannon can be seen an image of Amida Buddha who was Kannon's spiritual teacher before Kannon became a Bodhisattva. Amida Buddha is the principal Buddha of the Pure Land sect

Above are six Jizo statues outside Zenshuji. Jizo is also a Bodisattva and the name is translated as "Earth Treasury", "Earth Store", or "Earth Womb". Jizo is known for his vow not to achieve Buddhahood until all the various hells are emptied. In Japan, Jizo is one of the most beloved of deities and you will see Jizo statues all over Japan. Jizo is considered the guardian of children and travelers but there are actually dozens of other various Jizo's who provide protection for many different people. Since Jizo is the savior of souls, you will often find him in cemeteries in Japan. Also, since he provides protection to travelers, Jizo is a common site along the roadsides of Japan.

A large lantern outside Zenshuji temple.

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Nobunaga's war against Shin Buddhists

The structure of the Shin Buddhist sect in Japan that we see today are a direct result of the actions of Oda Nobunaga 430 years ago.

Shin Buddhism is the dominate form of Buddhism in Japan today. Did you know that Shin Buddhism in Japan is split into an East or Higashi Honganji branch and a West or Nishi Hongwanji branch? Up until the late 16th century, the Shin sect was unified into one powerful sect of Buddhism. The Shin sect was one of the major power players in Japan at that time along with the powerful warlords. After Tokugawa Ieyasu's victory at the Battle of Segigahara, Ieyasu split the Shin sect in two in order to restrict their power.

What I did not know was that the East and West split actually began to happen in 1580 after Oda Nobunaga finally defeated the Shin Buddhist armies of the Ikko Ikki. Nobunaga's battles with the Ikko Ikki lasted for ten long years. The Ikko Ikki were led by their leader Kennyo who resided in the temple fortress Honganji near present day Osaka.

In 1580, after several years of resisting from their citadel stronghold Honganji, Kennyo finally realized that peace was the only way for their survival. Kennyo agreed to surrender the citadel to Nobunaga's forces. In May of 1580, Kennyo retreated from Honganji with a small party of followers a full three months before Nobunaga's deadline for surrender. During that time, Kennyo entrusted the Honganji to his son Kyonyo.

Kennyo was convinced that his Shin sect would be completely destroyed by Nobunaga if they continued to resist, but a rival group centered around Kyonyo were strongly opposed to vacating the Honganji temple fortress and were determined to make one final stand. Kyonyo and his followers were reluctant to hand over what had been hallowed ground and they distrusted Nobunaga. However, Nobunaga's army slowly squeezed Honganji, isolating it from the outside world, and gradually increased the military pressure on Kyonyo.

Finally, Kyonyo also realized the futility in resisting and surrendered in September of 1580. According to the book, Japonius Tyrannus, Kyonyo was heavily at odds with his father after these events. Kennyo disowned his son Kyonyo and appointed a younger son as his successor instead, causing a family rift that would ultimately lead to the division of the Honganji into a western and an eastern branch under Ieyasu. The eastern branch was led by Kyonyo while the western branch was led by Kennyo's third son Junnyo.

River of Fire, River of Water - An Introduction to Shin Buddhism

I recently finished reading the book "River of Fire, River of Water" by Taitesu Unno. This book provides an introduction to the Pure Land tradition of Shin Buddhism. In Japan, more people are followers of Shin Buddhism then of any other branch of Buddhism such as Zen or Shingon.

If you are interested in learning about the Shin tradition, then this is a pretty good book. The Buddhist terminology and philosophy can get a bit confusing and tedious at times, especially near the end of the book, but overall I learned a lot from it.

Pure Land Shin Buddhism is based on the belief in the Pure Land of Amida Buddha. Those who have faith in Amida Buddha will be born in Amida Buddha's Pure Land.

Pure Land Buddhism has been around along time and came to Japan from China. But a distinct school of Shin Buddhism was originally established in Japan by the monk Honen. Honen was a Tendai monk from Mt. Hiei, a center of Buddhist monastic study northeast of Kyoto. In 1175, he broke from this established center of monastic learning and proclaimed the establishment of an independent Jodo or Pure Land school.

Pure Land practice had long been a part of the established schools including those of Mt. Hiei. But Honen made the contemplation of Amida and the Pure Land a separate and distinct path that could be followed by all people including the common people and not just for those who followed the monastic path.

One of Honen's followers, Shinran (1173-1263) continued propagating the Pure Land belief after Honen's death. It was Shinran's decedents and followers that created the dominant Jodo Shinshu school of Buddhism that is the largest school in Japan today.

In real simple terms, Honen and his Jodo Shu school believed in the Nembutsu, the invocation of Amida Buddha's name, Namu Amida Butsu, as the way for those to travel to Amida's Pure Land. Shinran's school of Jodo Shinshu emphasized strong faith in Amida and that it was not even necessary to chant Amida's name but the mere the thought of the Nembutsu with strong faith was sufficient.

Buddha of Infinite Light

I just recently completed reading the book, "Buddha of Infinite Light" by D.T Suzuki. D.T. Suzuki, who is from Japan, is a well-known expert and author of Buddhism. He comes from a Zen Buddhist background. This book however, is about Shin Buddhism or Jodo Shinshu and is based on several lectures Mr. Suzuki gave in the 1950s. Did you know that Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced form of Buddhism in Japan?



Shin Buddhism is a school of Buddhism that originated in Japan from the historic figue Shinran Shonin in the 1100s. Shin Buddhism is based on the Pure Land philosophy. Shin basically believes that those who have faith in Amida Buddha will be born in the Pure Land.

This is the second time I have read the book. I read it the first time before I knew that much about Shin Buddhism. It was a very difficult book to understand. I thought it would make more sense the second time around now that I know more about Jodo Shinshu. Well, it is was still a difficult read.

I have tried reading one or two other books by D.T. Suzuki and I have found that his explanation of Buddhism and his style are hard to follow, at least for me. Buddhism in general can be a difficult subject to really understand through only reading, and especially Zen Buddhism. Since this author comes from a Zen background, that may be part of the reason. I can see how having a Buddhist teacher is necessary for someone to more fully understand the Buddhist philosophy.

My understanding from the book is that the author has a slightly different interpretation of Shin Buddhism. While the general Shin belief is that once you have faith in Amida, you will be born in the Pure Land following your death. While Mr. Suzuki feels that the Pure Land is here with us. And once you have achieved faith, you are already in the Pure Land. At least that is the impression I got from the book.

If you are interested in Shin Buddhism, I would recommend this book as Mr. Suzuki is one of the top Buddhist authors from Japan. Just be prepared that you might have to read it a couple of times to understand it.

Jodo Shinshu - Shin Buddhism in Medieval Japan

I am reading the book, Jodo Shinshu - Shin Buddhism in Medieval Japan by James C. Dobbins

So far through the first 43 pages, the book has given me some additional and clearer understanding of what Shin Buddhism is. I have read several books on the topic and they often can be difficult to understand.

The following passage from page 34 of the book comes from Shinran's Kyogyoshinsho and it really clearifies Shinran's Jodo Shinshu Buddhism for me:

The third fascicle of the Kyogyoshinsho explores the nature and content of "true faith" (shinjitsu no shin). Faith's relation to practice is most clearly reflected in the statement: "True faith necessarily enatails Amida's name, but Amida's name does not necessarily entail faith, [which is derived] from the power of [Amida's] vow." The meaning of this statement is that true faith exists only in conjuction with the nembutsu, whether it is spoken or simply heard, but uttering Amida's name is not necessarily an indication of true faith. The nembutsu can be invoked without faith underlying it, but if it lacks true faith, the invocation of the name is not true practice but only the believer's insufficient attempt to secure salvation through personal effort. Shinran considered faith to be the pivotal term in Amida's eighteenth vow, but he associated it with two other terms appearing in the vow: sincerity (shishin) and the desire to be born in the Pure Land.

Hence, faith encompasses a threefold state of mind, but none of these components is the product of the believer's own effort. Like the nembutsu, each is bestowed on the believer by Amida Buddha.

One of the things I had trouble understanding about Shin Buddhism before reading this book was the concept of solely chanting Amida Buddha's name, Namu Amida Butsu, as the way to entrance to the Pure Land. It seemed too simple. Through Shinran, I see that a person who simply chants Amida's name with the goal of entering the Pure Land is really an insufficient attempt by that person to secure birth in the Pure Land.

The final sentence above from the book states that this faith is bestowed or comes from Amida Buddha. I do not yet completely understand how that point is reached by someone. The point when they chant the name with complete faith. But apparantly when that happens, Shinran stated that this true faith was actually delivered by Amida Buddha.