Brief Introduction to Shin Buddhism A Personal View By Esben Andreasen Contents: Preface: Why Shin Buddhism?.....................................p.

. Origins Historical Background. Founders: Honen and Shinran. History of Shin Buddhism Teachings.. Religious texts.. Nembutsu ("Namu Amida Butsu"). Religious Objects, Pilgrimage Places and Special Days. Temple Practices.. Priests and Laity Lay Practices and Worship, incl. Funerals. Ethical Concerns and Education. Preface: Why Shin Buddhism? Buddhism, ranking third in size among world religions, owes its name to Siddhartha Gautama (560 - 480 BCE) who became the Buddha ("the Enlightened One"), when he discovered the universal laws of existence. He did not seek a god, but, according to legend, he became enlightened to the truth of life during meditation. This truth is called the Dharma (the teachings) and is timeless. However, Buddhism has many faces among world religions. One of the most important schisms concerns the question: Who can be enlightened like Siddhartha Gautama ? What kind of practice or self-discipline is needed? Does one have to be a monk or are laymen also capable of becoming enlightened? In the West, Buddhism was for many years seen to be monastic, which can be called Southern Buddhism, i.e., Theravada ("the Way of the Elders"), which roused the attention of scholars in the wake of colonialism and exploitation when Great Britain and other Western powers began to set up trading stations and later colonies in India and its neighbouring countries. Theravada was then thought to be the closest to "genuine" Buddhism. About a hundred years ago, Eastern Buddhism, or Mahayana ("the Great Vehicle"), caught the interest of many, especially in the USA, because of the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. In this kind of Buddhism, the lay follower is part of the religious community (the sangha), not outside as in Southern Buddhism. Among the schools of Eastern Buddhism, it was Zen Buddhism that struck westerners the most for its enigmatic and almost atheist qualities. Later, in the 1960s and 1970s, Northern Buddhism, called Vajrayana
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("the Diamond Vehicle"), which is Tibetan Buddhism, came into the foreground because of the journeys of the hippies and other seekers of new horizons, to Nepal and Tibet. However, to a large extent, the West has ignored the most populous branch of Eastern Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, whose foremost expression today is to be found in Shin Buddhism in Japan and among Japanese immigrants in South and North America. According to the Japanese Ministry of Education, the number of Pure Land Buddhists in Japan is about 20 million (1995 Yearbook of Religions). In the two Americas, Hawaii included, the figure is much more doubtful, but the majority of Japanese immigrants were Pure Land Buddhists. In statistics from the USA (1990) about 850,000 immigrants came from Japan, while another 190,000 went to Brazil and 30,000 each settled in Peru and Argentina. The name, Shin Buddhism, comes from the Japanese Buddhist denomination called Jodoshinshu, "The True (shin) Pure Land School", which was founded by the Japanese Buddhist reformer, Shinran (1173-1262), in the Kamakura Period (1185-1333). From the time of the great propagator of Shinran's teachings, Rennyo (1415-1499), Shin Buddhism has continued to make a major impact on the cultural and political history of Japan - and on the understanding of Buddhism as a whole. Asking modern Shin Buddhists in Japan today what their religion means to them, the constant answer is: "It is our way of life - it is as natural as the air we breathe." It forms the core of understanding of a vast number of Japanese Buddhists and, along with traditional Shinto observances (relating, in particular, to respect for nature and the rites of passage), it forms all aspects of Japanese life:- religious, philosophical, artistic and ethical. Of course, among scholars, it has not been possible to overlook this largest branch of Buddhism. In influential collections of texts, such as Conze's Buddhist Texts through the Ages (first published in 1954), it is placed under "The Buddhism of Faith", and this designation has probably contributed to the lesser interest of the West. Taught to see that Buddhism is rather a philosophical psychology, in which man alone is responsible for his own enlightenment, many students of Buddhism have found that Pure Land Buddhism is too close to religions like Christianity, Judaism and Islam to be strikingly otherwise. Shin Buddhism, in particular, has been designated "Protestant Buddhism" because it relies on "faith alone". Paradoxically, preconceived notions, an important ingredient in what is called "Orientalism", of what Buddhism should look like, has also hampered the study of this kind of Buddhism. To state briefly what is the distinguishing trait of this denomination, it makes good sense to mention the ideal Shin follower, the so-called myokonin, 'wondrous, happy people', who are usually uneducated, simple people who almost ecstatically devote themselves to their religion. What can be seen as intellectual belongs to Zen, whereas Shin cultivates the heart, Shin Buddhists
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claim. In spite of this, Shin Buddhist thought is demanding, and there is also a modern tradition of philosophical thinkers in this denomination, which influenced the famous Kyoto School of Philosophers. Another trait is the erasing of all distinctions among people. Since Shin Buddhism sees no separation between religion and ordinary life, the principle of celibacy among the clergy is rejected. Like their founder, Shinran, Shin priests are allowed to marry. In this matter, Shin Buddhism has set a precedence for all other Buddhist denominations in Japan. A brief definition of Shin Buddhism is to say that it is a form of Buddhism, in which the utterance of the name of Amida Buddha and the entrusting in Amida Buddha's power to lead all sentient beings towards true realization is taught. However, of course, first of all it is necessary to introduce Amida Buddha. Origins To understand the diversity in Buddhism, it is necessary to delve into its history and to some scholars, this was a quest for the "original teachings" of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. However modern Buddhology is very hesitant about the merits of such an endeavour. Even in the first community of Buddhists, Siddhartha Gautama was a figure of reverence, and his relics were worshipped in many stupas (temples, containing bones of Siddhartha Gautama). When Buddhism spread to the laity, it was obvious that some of the existing gods were incorporated into the pantheon of Buddhas. Among the statuettes of these, there is one identified as Amitabha Buddha from the beginning of the Common Era, in such early Buddhist strongholds as Mathura in India and in Gandhara, in what is today Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pure Land Buddhism is said to have appeared first among early lay orders, and it focuses on a Buddha with two names: Amitayus ("limitless life") and Amitabha ("limitless light"). The latter name is associated in sutras (Buddhist scriptures) with a monk called Dharmakara who made a series of vows to save human beings from suffering and his wish to establish a "Buddha World", a Pure Land, where all could hear the teachings and hence reach enlightenment. The Pure Land sutras relate that eons later Amitabha Buddha started residing in a wonderful land in the western part of our universe known as the "Land of Bliss" (Sukhavati). Beings who have entrusted themselves in Amitabha, and who focus their minds upon him for up to ten successive moments, will be reborn into this Pure Land and can attain final enlightenment from there. (The name Amitabha was translated into Japanese as Amida, which is why Pure Land Buddhism is often called Amidism in the study of religions). Historical Background To Shin Buddhists, Dharmakara was a king who renounced his power and became a monk. (His life story greatly resembles that of Siddhartha Gautama.)
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He gained such a great insight that he was on the point of becoming a Buddha. Instead, he chose to work for the enlightenment of all sentient beings, by vowing not to become a Buddha before his wish to save all was granted. Such an attitude and such vows are the hallmarks of a bodhisattva ("one whose innermost being is enlightened"). Dharmakara set up 48 such vows, or conditions to be fulfilled, before he would become a Buddha - which he eventually did under the name of Amitabha or Amitayus, (Amida). His most important vow is the 18th : "May I not gain possession of perfect awakening if, once I have attained buddhahood, any among the throng of living beings in the ten regions of the universe should single-mindedly desire to be reborn in my land with joy, with confidence, and gladness, and if they should bring to mind this aspiration for even ten moments of thought and yet not gain rebirth there. This excludes only those who have committed the five heinous sins and those who have reviled the True Dharma."1 (In this sutra, commonly known as The Larger Sutra, the speaker is Siddhartha Gautama who quotes Dharmakara who, in his turn, addresses the Blessed One, in this case, an earlier Buddha called Lokeshvararaja.) (The "five heinous sins" are killing one's father, mother, or a monk, causing disagreement in the sangha or making a buddha's body bleed). After setting up these vows, Dharmakara became Amida Buddha and inhabited the Pure Land (Sukhavati), which, according to Buddhism, lies in the west. This founding myth, in one of the three revered scriptures of Shin Buddhism is, of course, outside ordinary history, and it is not shared by other denominations. Turning to secular history, Pure Land Buddhism probably arose among lay people in Gandhara, the Buddhist kingdom located on the trade routes in present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan in the upper reaches of the Indus River, around the beginning of the Common Era. From Gandhara, it spread along the Silk Road, the great trade route that connected South-East Asia and Europe at the time of ancient Greece and Rome and perhaps even earlier. It came to Japan in the 6th century CE and there are pictures of Amida Buddha among the earliest Buddhist paintings, for instance at Horyuji in Nara. From the 7th century, Pure Land Buddhism
1

Land of Bliss: The Paradise of the Buddha of Measureless Light: Sanskrit and Chinese Versions of the Sukhavativyuha Sutras, Introductions and English Translations by Luis O.Gomez. Kyoto: University of HawaiI Press, Honolulu and Higashi Honganji Shinshu Otani-ha, Kyoto 1996. Page 167. 4

flourished in China, but met with disaster in 843-45 during the period of the Tang Dynasty, when all Buddhist schools were persecuted, after which, it never fully recovered, though it did become an important element in Chan Buddhism and in lay movements such as the White Lotus peasant revolts. In Japan, the history of Pure Land Buddhism made it a distinctive school of Buddhism. In that country, there was a great surge of this popular form of Buddhism from the 12th century, though until then, it had been integrated with the comprehensive type of Tendai Buddhism. Only with Honen and Shinran, who are introduced later, did Pure Land Buddhism establish its independence. In Shin Buddhisms own religious history, as in other Eastern Buddhist schools, there is a list of patriarchs who continued the purity of the teachings over the centuries. Shinran named seven, often depicted in Shin Buddhist temples in Japan today, two of whom are Indian, three Chinese and two Japanese. ILLUSTRATION The first is the monk and philosopher Nagarjuna (about 150-250 CE), the ideological father of much of Mahayana Buddhism as such, and the second is Vasubandhu (about 320-400 CE), also from India who wrote the important Treatise on the Pure Land. Tanluan (476-542 CE) and Daocho (562-645 CE) are Chinese patriarchs and writers of Pure Land commentaries, but Shandao (613-681 CE) had probably the most influence on Japanese Shin Buddhism. The first Japanese patriarch, however, is Genshin (942-1017), a Tendai monk, whose jyshu laid the foundation for popular Pure Land understanding, with vivid descriptions of the sufferings of this world and the beatitudes of the Pure Land. Honen, the 7th patriarch, according to Shinran, deserves a section for himself. Founders: Honen and Shinran Honen - the Founder of Jodoshu ("The Pure Land School") The age of Honen was a time of war and general unrest. Courtly clans were fighting for power and a new class of warriors, the samurai, for the first time became a significant force in Japan. Honen's father was a local samurai who was killed by the manager of the nearby imperial estate when Honen was 9. Honen stayed in a temple for three years before being sent to Mt. Hiei, the headquarters of the most powerful school of Buddhism, Tendai. Mt. Hiei, northeast of Kyoto, was the breeding ground of all the Buddhist reformers of the age, due to its broad teachings, but apparently Honen became dissatisfied with the worldly attitude there, and he retired to a section of the mountain where wandering monks practised Pure Land meditation, including the chanting of "Namu Amida Butsu" (Nembutsu) ("I entrust myself to Amida Buddha") and the visualization of Amida and the Pure
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Land. Here, in 1175, he came across a passage in Shandao's commentary on one of the Pure Land sutras: "Think solely upon Amida's name. Whether walking or standing, sitting or lying down, do not be concerned with what is long and what is short. Do not cease thinking upon his name even for a moment. This is an act that ensures rebirth in the Pure Land, for it is in accordance with the vow of that Buddha." Honen then left Mt. Hiei and settled in eastern Kyoto where he began to draw followers for the next forty years, among them Shinran. Honens new single-practice nembutsu was the easy path as opposed to the Path of the Sages, and when he wrote his principal theological work, Senjaku Hongan Nembutsushu ("Treatise on the Selection of the Nembutsu of the Original Vow"), in 1197, he added a postscript explaining that the work was not to be openly revealed as it contained views that could be improperly used. The danger he anticipated was the difficulty in controlling adherents, who used reliance upon the nembutsu as an excuse for disorderly behaviour and Honen, together with his most loyal disciples, signed a pledge, in which they promised not to slander other branches of Buddhism; not to encourage sexual indulgence; drink alcohol or eat meat; and not to claim the superiority of the Nembutsu Path ("Seven-Article Pledge" of 1204). The Tendai monks of Mt. Hiei were apparently satisfied, but a powerful temple in Nara, Kofuku-ji, asked the retired emperor, Go-Toba, to prohibit the new movement in a petition of nine points. Perhaps, they would not have succeeded as Honen had many sympathizers at court, but when, in 1207, Go-Toba was informed of misconduct between some court ladies and two of Honen's closest disciples at an overnight service in his palace, Go-Toba sentenced the two to death and ordered Honen into exile. The exile of the 74-year-old Honen on the island of Shikoku lasted less than a year, but he was not allowed to enter Kyoto for another 5 years. He was then old and lived only one more year in Kyoto until he died, where the present Jodoshu main temple, Chion-in, stands today, in 1212. A few weeks before his death Honen wrote the "One-Page Testament": "The method of final salvation that I have propounded is neither a sort of meditation, such as has been practised by many scholars in China and Japan, nor is it repetition of the Buddha's name by those who have studied and understood the deep meaning of it. It is nothing but the mere repetition of the "Namu Amida Butsu", without a doubt of His mercy, whereby one may be born into the Pure Land."2 The reason why Honen is so important in an introduction to Shin
2

Sources of Japanese Tradition, compiled by Ryusaku Tsunoda, Wm Theodore de Bary and Donald Keene. Columbia University Press 1964. Vol. 1, page 202.

Buddhism is that he was Shinran's revered teacher; that he, like Shinran, had problems controlling his followers and lived in the same turbulent period. Honen also may have been reluctant to set up a new school of Buddhism, but the age he lived in and his followers demanded it. ILLUSTRATION Shinran - the Founder of Jodoshinshu ("The True Pure Land School") Born in the vicinity of Kyoto in 1173, the son of a minor civil servant at the imperial court, Shinran was sent to Mt Hiei at the age of 9, where he spent the next 20 years as a Tendai monk, before, at the age of 29, he left the mountain, eventually to join Honen. Before meeting him however, Shinran had isolated himself at Rokkakud in Kyoto, for a hundredday retreat, where, according to letters and other writings, he had had a revelation in the form of a vision, in which the Bodhisattva of Mercy, Kannon, had spoken to him in the form of Prince Shotoku, the great imperial figure who had lived at the time of the introduction of Buddhism to Japan in the beginning of the 7th century. To Buddhists, a spiritual retreat was similar to that of Siddhartha Gautama beneath the bodhi tree, and the outcome also similar in that it was a spiritual breakthrough. Kannon is said to have promised Shinran that if he should marry, the former would appear as a beautiful maiden, become his wife, and lead him to the Pure Land after death. The direct result of this permission to marry is not totally clear as most scholars do not think he married until later. From then on, however, he felt that he was "neither monk nor layman". In 1201, he joined Honen's followers and, at the time of the Nembutsu ban in 1207, was exiled to Echigo, present-day Niigata Prefecture. The reason for this was probably due to the fact that, among a few trusted followers, he had been allowed to copy Honen's Senjakushu. In exile, he married Eshin-ni, the daughter of a local civil servant, to whom children were later born, and when he was pardoned in 1211, did not go back to Kyoto, but went to the northern part of the Kanto area (in which Tokyo is now located) instead, where he stayed for the next 20 years. His second major religious experience occurred when he made a vow to chant a particular sutra a 1000 times to save others from starvation. After some days, however, he discovered that it was presumptuous of him to believe that he could help others. His thoughts became clarified and it is in this period that he wrote the first draft of Kygyshinsh ("The True Teaching, Practice and Realization of the Pure Land Way"), his major theological work. ILLUSTRATION From this period also stems the important method of spreading the teachings, the so-called nembutsu dojo, meetings in private homes where the congregation (monto) could discuss ethical and religious matters. At first the
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monthly meetings were held on the 25th, marking Honen's death on that day in the first month in 1212. Later, such meetings between priests and lay followers in private homes, which still exist in many Shin temples today, were moved to the 28th of each month, to commemorate the death of Shinran. In the established government-supported temple system, this new practice was considered a threat to their temples. Around 1234-35, Shinran returned to Kyoto and his control over his followers in the Kanto area lessened. However, to keep up the connection he sent letters and messengers, among them his son, Zenran, whom eventually he had to disown at the age of 80, because his son claimed to have received secret teachings from his father and hence, began to create his own following, but in reality confused the congregations even further. In the last 25 years of Shinran's life, he wrote hymns in Japanese (wasan), which was unusual at a time in which Chinese was the language of religion and scholars. His letters (the collection called Mattosho, -Lamp for the Latter Ages), especially, the hymns, and the Tannisho ("A Record in Lament of Divergences (from True Shinjin)"), a collection of quotations by Shinran put down and commented on by a close follower, Yuien. (In the chapter called "Religious Texts" in this book, these works will be further introduced). Shinran died in 1262 at the age of 90 and his funeral was taken care of by his daughter, Kakushin-ni. For reasons unknown, his wife, Eshin-ni, and some of his children had already returned to Echigo years before. History of Shin Buddhism During his lifetime Shinran is said to have stated: "For myself, I do not have even a single disciple. For if I brought people to say the nembutsu through my own efforts, then they might be my disciples. But it is indeed preposterous to call persons my disciples when they say the nembutsu having received the working of Amida."3 At the time of his death, Shinran perhaps had only about a few hundred followers, and Shin Buddhism could scarcely be called a movement different from other groups which had listened to Honen's teachings. It is certainly very doubtful whether Shinran would have ever considered himself a founder of a new school of Buddhism. In the beginning, there was no official temple, not only because of the few followers and Shinran's attitude, but also because the Nembutsu dojo, which he set up, were established in protest to conventional temples. Shinran was opposed to wooden images or pictures of Amida, and in their place he used
3

The Collected Works of Shinran. Translated with introductions, glossariums, and reading aids, by Dennis Hirota (Head Translator), Hisao Inagaki, Michio Tokunaga, and Ryuhsin Uryuzu. Kyoto, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, 1997. Vol. 1, p. 664.

the name of Amida in Chinese characters as the principal object of reverence. ILLUSRTATION Instead Shinran's grave became the centre of the new denomination, established by his daughter Kakushin-ni, who in 1277 donated it to his followers. She was the first custodian of the mausoleum, who was succeeded by her son, Kakue, and later her grandson, Kakunyo. These two were not proper hereditary successors of Shinran, as their blood line was only established through his daughter. Another grandson, called Nyoshin, the son of Zenran, was actually Shinran's proper blood successor. The threatening conflict, so symptomatic of religions all over the world, was solved when Nyoshin died childless. Kakunyo, then, combined the position of blood succession with custodian of the mausoleum and wrote treatises, in which he set forth the theory of legitimate succession, not only through blood, but also as to teachings. It was also Kakunyo who began to refer to the mausoleum in eastern Kyoto by the title of Honganji ("Temple of the Original Vow") in 1321. It was officially recognized as a temple eleven years later, but still legally considered as an affiliate temple of the mighty Tendai temple, Shren-in. The next generations also saw conflicts between successors, and it was not until Rennyo (1415-99), the eighth successor, that a strong leader emerged in 1458. So strong, in fact, that Honganji was destroyed by Tendai warrior-priests, and Rennyo and other central figures had to flee, first to Miidera at Otsu at the foot of Mt. Hiei, and then later to Yoshizaki in Echizen, (presentday Fukui Prefecture), in 1471. ILLUSTRATION The whole country was, at that time, at the beginning of a century of civil war between warlords (daimyo) competing for power, and the new Shin Buddhist denomination offered the suffering peasant population a rallying point. No longer dependent on the local Shinto gods, whom the daimyo and the samurai claimed as their protectors, the peasants found that Amida alone was necessary for salvation. The peasant uprisings are called "Single-minded riots" (ikko ikki), a name which refers to the "single-minded" faith of Shin Buddhists. In the province of Kaga, now Ishikawa Prefecture, Shin Buddhist priests and peasants ruled autonomously for nearly one hundred years in the "province without a master", as Kaga became known as. Rennyo trod a narrow path between sympathy with the just rebellions and dissociation as head of a now established Buddhist school. In 1478, he moved to Yamashina, east of Kyoto, to build a new headquarters there, and later an important temple in Osaka. By the time of his death in 1499, the new organisation had reached the expanse it nearly enjoys today, covering all Japan, except for Hokkaido However, the civil war continued and so did religious unrest. In 1532, the tenth successor, Shnyo, had to flee Yamashina Honganji with the
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statue of Shinran to escape an attack by Nichiren Buddhists, and settled at the new headquarters in Osaka, Ishiyama Honganji, which lasted until 1580 when the new political leader, Oda Nobunaga, waged war against all the peasant uprisings and forced it into surrender after 10 years of siege. However, after Nobunaga's death in 1582, Toyotomi Hideyoshi showed Shin Buddhism more flexibility and in 1591, granted land in Kyoto on the present Horikawa-dori, the location of Nishi (West) Honganji today. Therefore, after 120 years, Shin Buddhism once more had its headquarters in Kyoto. The reason why today there are two headquarters, Nishi and Higashi Honganji, was due to another conflict of succession. The next ruler of Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu, gave land on nearby Karasuma-dori to one of the contending successors, where Higashi (East) Honganji stands today and in 1603, Shinran's statue was enshrined there. Ieyasu's move was a political success as the split diverted the aggression from rebellion against the state to inner conflict between the two groups. In all, there are now 10 branches of Shin Buddhism stemming from the late Middle Ages: two (Nishi and Higashi Honganji) are based on blood succession and eight, founded by disciples. In the history of Shin Buddhism, the Tokugawa Period (1603-1868) was one of non-activity, as in the eyes of a present-day professor of Shin Buddhism: "The strong spirits of Shinran and Rennyo became very weak in the Tokugawa period. The religion turned very pious, quiet and obedient to the authorities. It was the period of Japan closing its doors to the rest of the world. In the original form of Shin Buddhism, we are born into the Pure Land. However, in the Edo Period (Tokugawa Era), the Pure Land was relegated to another world, to after death. And Amida was thought of as a transcendental saviour."4 (Terakawa Shunsho, former president of Otani University) Paradoxically, in this period, all established Buddhist temples, Shin Buddhist included, became very important to the Japanese rulers to combat Christianity. The government required all Japanese citizens to register their families in Buddhist temples and organized them under head temples responsible to the government and, for this reason, the clergy became complacent. However, when the Meiji government abolished this system in 1868, Buddhism had a rude awakening with the loss of government support, and popular reaction against it, which led to the destruction of temples and many historical treasures. In addition, there was the reappearance of active Christian missions with the opening of Japan to the West. These new conditions generated a reaction in the shape of Buddhist reform. The central figure in Shin Buddhism at that time was Kiyozawa Manshi
4

Popular Buddhism in Japan. Shin Buddhist Religion and Culture. By Esben Andreasen. London, Japan Library, 1998. Page 144.

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(1863-1903), who became one of the great Meiji educators, but whose main concern was to cultivate a deeper spiritual life in this denomination. ILLUSTRATION The main temples sent out young scholars to the West to catch up on Buddhist learning and modern philosophy, and indirectly Kiyozawa played a part in the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago (1893). Nanjo Bunyo (1848-1927) is another important person. He studied Sanskrit under Max Mller in Oxford, and introduced modern Sanskrit studies to Japan. He is the compiler of the so-called "Nanjo Catalogue", the authorized register of Chinese Buddhist texts. Also, Daisetz T. Suzuki (1870-1966) should be added. He is mainly known as a Zen scholar, but also wrote a number of books and articles on Shin Buddhism. The founding of The Eastern Buddhist, the prestigious English journal, which focuses on Zen and Shin Buddhism, in 1921 by Suzuki and his American wife, was another way of opening up to these new challenges. The 1930s were indeed a "dark valley", as it has been called by Japanese historians, also for Buddhism as a whole. Not only State Shinto, but also Buddhist denominations, Christianity and the majority of New Religions had supported the nationalists. So after the defeat in World War 2 in 1945, many people in Japan turned away from religions or turned towards those few new ones which did not have such a past or who had been persecuted by the state. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was especially Soka Gakkai, the lay movement of Nichiren Buddhism, which made great strides. In books and journals of religion, the established Buddhist schools, Shin Buddhism included, were prophesied rapid decline. This led to a new reaction in the 1960s in which the two main temples, Nishi and Higashi Honganji, set up reform movements to educate lay followers and to do away with the aristocratic and bureaucratic tendencies, especially in the families of Shinran's successors and at the administrative headquarters. By and large, the initiatives were a success and these two branches were able to keep up their numbers of members. Today, there is little strife between the two. In matters concerning religious teaching, there is hardly any difference, but there is, of course, a history of past conflict between them. As a sign of cooperation it can be mentioned that at Rennyo's 500th memorial anniversary in 1998, the two head temples, for the first time ever, set up a joint exhibition at the National Museum, Kyoto. Teachings The distinctive feature of Shin Buddhism is the concept of faith (shinjin), which is to be understood, not as a result of one's own power (jiriki), but given as it were, from the other power (tariki), i.e. Amida Buddha, achieved through his works of supererogation or merits. As long as people say 'I think' or 'I meditate', 'I pray' or 'I believe' they will continue to be stuck with a false ego11

consciousness, one of the cardinal errors of Buddhism as such. Shinjin, then, is not a matter of conscious striving or good works. It is in this light that Shinran's paradoxical statement should be understood: "Even the good person is born in the Pure Land, so without question is the person who is evil" (Tannish). To Shinran, self-complacency and recognition as a spiritual person are hindrances in the quest for enlightenment, because even faith is given. Saying the nembutsu in the right way is not the effort of man, but Amida's workings in man. In saying Namu, one expresses ones own limitations and shortcomings coupled with reliance upon Amida's compassion. In saying Amida Butsu, Amida's wisdom and light is joined to the subjective mind, so that the subjective self-awareness becomes one with the 'Absolute'. The more the individual becomes aware of the hopeless nature of their human condition, the greater the reliance upon the 'Absolute'. This kind of teaching resembles the Christian doctrine of grace, but with the important difference that tariki (other power) is not bestowed by a personal god and cannot be rejected. Man's self-awareness must be replaced with the awareness of Amida working as tariki in man, and because of this, man should not strive to do good, but act naturally and spontaneously. Naturalness (jinen) is a keyword in Shin Buddhist ethics. "Thus, there is no room for the practicer to be concerned about being good or bad. This is the meaning of jinen as I have been taught"5 (Letter by Shinran, Mattosho 5). Another important point in Shinran's teachings is that the moment of shinjin is not confined to that of death. In traditional Pure Land teachings, there was much focus on the dead person being taken to the Pure Land. "The idea of Amida's coming at the moment of death is for those who seek to gain birth in the Pure Land by doing various practices, for they are practicers of self-power. The moment of death is of central concern to such people, for they have not yet attained true shinjin. The practicer of true shinjin, however, abides in the stage of the truly settled, for he or she has already been grasped, never to be abandoned"6 (Letter by Shinran, Mattosho 1). Among his followers, Shinran is revered as an ideal person who dared to break with the existing schools of Buddhism, entrusting himself to Amida Buddha's tariki. Religious texts
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The Collected Works of Shinran. Translated with introductions, glossariums, and reading aids, by Dennis Hirota (Head Translator), Hisao Inagaki, Michio Tokunaga, and Ryuhsin Uryuzu. Kyoto, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, 1997. Vol. 1, p. 530. 6 The Collected Works of Shinran. Translated with introductions, glossariums, and reading aids, by Dennis Hirota (Head Translator), Hisao Inagaki, Michio Tokunaga, and Ryuhsin Uryuzu. Kyoto, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, 1997. Vol. 1, p. 523.

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In Buddhism, as such, there is no agreed-upon scripture which covers all the religious schools. Each has its own particular text, which, in the case of a school with a founder, usually consists of 2 parts: sutras, supposed to be by Siddhartha Gautama himself, together with commentaries by the patriarchs in the chronological transmission of the teachings, and the writings of the founder, in this case Shinran, himself, together with his followers. The first body of scriptures, then, were written before the founder, and the second by and after the founder of the particular school. In the case of Shin Buddhism, the sutras are three: Longer Sukhvativyuha sutra, from the first century of the Common Era, which has survived in Chinese translations from the Sanskrit, of which 5 are extant today. It is regarded as the principal text as it contains the story of Dharmkara (see p. ??) and his 48 Vows, half of which relate to the formation and attributes of the Pure Land, while the other half to how human beings can attain that realm. Of these 48, the 18th is considered the most important (see p. ??). Amitbha Sutra, translated into Chinese from the Sanskrit by the famous Chinese translator Kumrajiva about 400 CE. It has descriptions of the the Pure Land and contains the idea of the eternal presence of Amida, which is explained here as the Buddha preaching at the present moment, i.e., whenever the sutra is recited. Meditation Sutra, of which there seems to be no Sanskrit version, but the Chinese versions are from about 400 CE. It has the story of King Bimbisra and Queen Vaidehi, whose evil son, Prince Ajtasatru, imprisons them, until Siddhartha Buddha appears to Queen Vaidehi, teaching her the different kinds of meditation to calm the mind and visualize the Pure Land. Queen Vaidehi then attains enlightenment and is promised birth in the Pure Land. Among the commentaries the one by Shandao on the Meditation Sutra, which solved Honens religious problems (see p. ??), is very meaningful. Many of the important commentaries of the patriarchs are quoted and explicated by Shinran in his doctrinal magnum opus, Kygyshinsh ("The True Teaching, Practice and Realization of the Pure Land Way"), as well as the Japanese patriarchs, Genshin and Honen. ILLUSTRATION With the Kygyshinsh, we reach the second group of texts, the one compiled by Shinran and his followers. In the middle of this learned study of ancient masters of Pure Land Buddhism, the Shshinge ("Hymn of True Shinjin and Nembutsu") can be found, the most popular of all Shin Buddhist writings. It is chanted at almost all occasions at temples and in homes, and it takes the followers through the religious history of Pure Land Buddhism. Other popular writings by Shinran are the hymns and the letters, but by far the work most studied nowadays is the Tannisho ("A Record in Lament of
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Divergencies"), which is a book of sayings by Shinran, collected by one of his most trusted followers, Yuien, in the 13th century. It contains many of Shinran's most trenchant teachings, and was apparently considered a possible weapon in the hands of the authorities as it could be construed as giving licence to lax morals. That is the usual explanation of why it was held back from ordinary Shin Buddhist followers, and Rennyo, who shall be considered next, wrote in his copy: "This writing is an important one in our tradition. It should not be indiscriminately shown to anyone who lacks the past karmic good." (Karmic stems from the Sanskrit word karma, which means both past deeds, good or evil, and the results of these in the present life). In all Shin Buddhist temples and in many Shin Buddhist homes, the scriptures can be found in a book called Shinshu Seiten ("Scriptures of Shin Buddhism"), also translated into English for second generation Japanese immigrants. On examining it, one is struck by the many letters by Rennyo (1415-99), the great organizer and champion of this denomination. These Ofumi ("Letters") to the congregations are held in great esteem and are central in many of the rituals in Shin Buddhist temples. Especially one is known by heart by many Shin Buddhists, because it is used at all funerals and memorial services, viz. The White Ashes. Among highly revered texts after Shinrans, his biography by his great-grandson Kakunyo, called Godensho, deserves mentioning. It is recited especially at Ho-onko (see p. ??), at which Shinran's death is commemorated. Considering the exalted status of Shinran, it is not surprising that his biography plays an important role, which is underlined by the fact that the recitation is supported by illustrations on hanging scrolls, see p. ??. ILLUSTRATION-GODENSHO Nembutsu ("Namu Amida Butsu") Nembutsu, short for Namu Amida Butsu, has been introduced (see p. ??) but not yet fully explained. It is the central expression in Shin Buddhism, and even more so than the triratna, "the Three Jewels", the so-called creed of all Buddhism: "I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma (the Buddhist teachings) and the Sangha (the Buddhist community)". The latter is understood by Shin Buddhists as the simple volitional acceptance of Buddhism, and is merely a spontaneous declaration of commitment. Other Japanese Buddhist schools have similar words to "Namu Amida Butsu", like "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo" of Nichiren Buddhism, but to Shin Buddhists these are mantras, (magical, incantational formulas). At the time of Honen and Shinran, numerous rites and magical incantations, combined with popular beliefs in geomancy and astrology, existed, but the two reformers wanted to purify and simplify Buddhism. They advocated the single-minded chanting of the nembutsu and spiritual reliance on tariki ("other power"), and Shinran, especially, was one of the first to observe this practice. Not even the visualization of Amida or meditation on the Pure Land was necessary. As a
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result, Shin Buddhism is frequently referred to as an "exclusive" school of Buddhism, but there is an on-going debate among Shin Buddhists whether Shinran prohibited other gods (e.g., Shinto kami), other Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. In a hymn, the Genzeriyaku Wasan, he actually includes Indian and other gods, as they are embraced within the nembutsu. All this makes it even more important to understand the workings of the nembutsu, which is also contained in the words of the 18th Vow (p. ??): reciting Amida's name up to ten times. To use an illustration of nembutsu practice, it is useful to turn to the myokonin, Asahara Saichi, who died in 1933, and who wrote poems like the following in which oya-sama is Amida: (Oyasama is an emotionally - charged Japanese word for both father and mother) What are you saying to oya-sama, O Saichi ? I am saying "Amida-bu, Amida-bu". What is oya-sama saying ? He is saying "O Namu, O Namu." Thus you to me and I to you: This is the oneness of ki and h. Namu Amida Butsu. (Translated by D.T. Suzuki)7 The "oneness of ki and h" means the union of the relative, conceptual self and the absolute self, respectively, or the subjective mind and the Dharma mind. The most important thing in this connection, according to D.T. Suzuki, is that "the oneness of h and ki does not interfere with their duality; they are one and yet two, they are two and yet one." This way of non-Aristotelian reasoning is central to Buddhism, and the double truth is fundamental in Buddhism, which is built on the non-dual identification of human beings and the Buddha state, as all share Buddha-nature. This understanding of nembutsu also makes it clear that the unio mystica, the fundamental mystical experience, which many scholars have seen as a surprising common element in, for instance, Christianity and Buddhism, especially Zen Buddhism, can be extended easily to Shin Buddhism, too. Though the nembutsu should not be confused with the mystical or ecstasy, these two aspects can be clearly found in the phenomenon called Odori nembutsu ("nembutsu dance"), a religious folk dance established several hundred years ago, expressing joy and spiritual gratitude through the rythmical chanting of the nembutsu. Ritual Objects, Pilgrimage Places and Special Days Religious Objects
7

Collected Writings on Shin Buddhism. Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki. Edited by The Eastern Buddhist Society. Kyoto, Shinshu Otaniha, 1973. Page 157.

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Visual objects, in the sense of art work, are not as important in Shin Buddhism as in, for instance, other branches of Japanese Buddhism, such as Shingon with its many-coloured mandalas (stylized representations of the spiritual universe). There are Pure Land mandalas, such as the Taima mandala, but these are emphasised more in Jodo-shu, Honen's school of Pure Land Buddhism. Mandalas are for visualization and meditation, and these are not Shin Buddhist practices. A memoir attributes the following statement to Rennyo, the second founder of Shin Buddhism: "In other traditions, preference is given to painted images of the Buddha over [a scroll bearing] the Name, to wooden imgages over painted images; in our tradition, preference is given to painted images over wooden images, to the Name over painted images."8 Also Shinran is said to have rejected traditional paintings of the descent of Amida Buddha to bring believers to the Pure Land (raigo) and representations in sculpture and paintings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. ILLUSTRATION Still, representations of Amida Buddha are of importance. Before Pure Land Buddhism became independent schools in Japan, we find paintings and sculptures of Amida Buddha at such places as Hryuji, the venerated temple, founded by Prince Shotoku at the beginning of the 7th century CE; the 11.5-metre bronze statue at Kamakura from the 13th century, the so-called Kamakura Daibutsu; and, most beautiful of all, the Amida Buddha from 1053 CE at Byodoin, south of Kyoto. Today, the pictures and statues of Amida Buddha show him standing upright, because, as Shin Buddhists maintain, he is actively working for the enlightenment of all mankind. The traditional hand gestures (mudra) show Amida's right hand in a gesture of welcoming to the Pure Land (raigo-in) while his left hand symbolizes charity (vara-mudra), which is the same as the traditional left-hand mudra of Siddhartha Gautama. There are, of course, variations, as in the interesting double-statue of Amida and Gautama at Nison-in, Kyoto, from which can be seen that the two Buddhas play equal parts in Shin Buddhism. In Shin Buddhism, as an independent school, the main devotional images from the earliest times were the calligraphy by Shinran, later Rennyo, with six- and nine-characters of Namu Amida Butsu. Shinran wrote such komyo honzon ("ray-emitting devotional objects") at the request of his followers, not so that they implied any merit to them as in the general Buddhist traditional sense, but as a reflection of the bond between Shinran and his followers. ILLUSTRATION
8

Rennyo the Second Founder of Shin Buddhism. By Minor L. Rogers and Ann T. Rogers. Asian Humanities Press, Berkeley, California, 1991. Page 95.

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Next, we find portraits of Shinran to comply with the needs of Shin followers. Also the illustrations to Shinran's biography, Godensho, which are used especially at Ho-onko (see p. ??), serve that purpose, as do the statues of Shinran at the main temples. We know from the troubled times of Rennyo in the 15th century that the safety of the statues, pictures, and calligraphy was of utmost importance, when Shin Buddhists had to move around the country. Religious Places Such places in Shin Buddhism must be seen in connection with the history of the denomination. Unlike some of the other reformers of Buddhism, Shinran never travelled to China, and hence there is no temple or mountain there connected to Shin Buddhism. To go on pilgrimage abroad means, for those who can afford it, to go to India and Nepal, where some go on organized tours with modern facilities. Such places are Lumbini, where the Buddha was born; Uruvela (or Bodhgaya), where he attained enlightenment; the deer park at Isipatana (modern Sarnath, near Benares), where he preached his first sermon; and Kusinara (modern Kushinagar), where the Buddha passed away and entered final Nirvana. These and some other places, connected with his life, are common to all Buddhists, and as Japanese people are eager to travel, they make up a considerable percentage of modern Buddhist pilgrims. Because of Shinran's own life story, with more than one place of abode at a time of national unrest, it is possible to follow in his footsteps, so to speak, from Hino, his birthplace, southeast of Kyoto; to Mount Hiei, northeast of Kyoto; to the Higashiyama district of Kyoto, where he studied under Honen; to Echigo, present-day Niigata Prefecture, where he was sent into exile; to the Kanto area, centred on present-day Tokyo, where he spent his voluntary exile; ending at the Higashiyama district in Kyoto again, where he lived the latter part of his life and died. The tradition of pilgrimage, however, is not strong, and it is to places in Kyoto that one must resort to find religious sites connected to Shin Buddhism. As the denomination was split up by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu into Nishi (West) Honganji and Higashi (East) Honganji (see p. ??), there are actually double sets of revered places: the two main temples on Horikawa-dori and Karasuma-dori, respectively, and the two burial sites in the Higashiyama district, around which large cemeteries have developed. Especially at Ho-onko, the most important time in the Shin Buddhist calendar (see p. ??), the followers come by the thousands to the two Honganjis, some travelling over long distances from outlying districts in Japan by bus at night to be at the early morning service in Kyoto. The most desirable places to have their ashes kept after death are either behind the Shinran statues in the two main temples or near his two
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mausoleums. The Shin Buddhist tradition of dividing the ashes (bunkotsu) (see also p. ??) - some meant for the local cemetery, the other part for such places , as mentioned above- is a way of serving both the strong family tradition in Japan and the denomination to which one belongs. Likewise, Rennyo also moved around Japan, and the temples he built are more revered than ordinary Shin Buddhist ones. Especially in the so-called Toyama area, north of Kyoto, on the Sea of Japan, temples, like the one at Johana, are fortress-like temples where, even today, the congregations are considered more "original" or "genuine" Shin Buddhist than elsewhere. At Yamashina, east of Kyoto, the temple that Rennyo built, is today combined with a theological seminary for future Shin Buddhists priests, called Senshu Gakuin. At Osaka Castle, erected on the spot of the powerful Ishiyama Honganji, where Shin Buddhists fought against Oda Nobunaga's soldiers, there is also a monument to Rennyo. Special Days Turning to important days in Shin Buddhism, it is useful to look into the calendars issued by the main temples and sent to Shin Buddhists so that they can observe such days of the year. In Shin Buddhism, with Nishi and Higashi Honganji, and eight minor independent branches, there is no exact agreement as to when memorial days should be held, and so for convenience sake, the following is taken from the calendar of Higashi Honganji.
JANUARY 1-7 Shusho-e (New Year Service) FEBRUARY 22 Shotoku Taishi gosho tsuki (Shotoku Taishi's death) MARCH 25 Rennyo Shonin gosho tsuki (Rennyo's death) APRIL 1-4 Haru no hoyo (Spring Service) NOVEMBER 21-28 Goshoki ho-onko (Shinran's death)

New Year is a traditional, major holiday in Japan, and not specifically Shin Buddhist in nature. However, other very popular holidays, like O-higan (ancestor worship at spring and fall equinox) and O-bon (marking the yearly return of dead spirits in August), are not mentioned, most likely because of the "anti-superstitious" trend in Shin Buddhism, in spite of the fact that most ordinary Shin Buddhists respect them. The annual spectacular cleaning of the main temple (Susu-harai) is not mentioned either, although it is very popular.
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Instead, memorial services are listed for the deaths of Shinran, Rennyo, and Prince Shotoku, who, as mentioned before (p. ??), has a special place in Shin Buddhism. The contents of memorial services like Ho-onko will be dealt with later (see p. ??). To the annual memorial services should be added the commemorations of the centennial anniversaries of Rennyo and Shinran which are on a grand national scale and prepared years in advance. Rennyos 500th memorial anniversary was held in March 1998 with a special exhibition at Kyoto National Museum and back in 1962, the 700th anniversary for Shinran was also the year in which the modern lay movement (Dobokai-undo) (see p. ??) was set up. The birth of the Buddha in December and his enlightenment in May are not occasions for activities at the main temple, but are so at the local level. Temple Practices Shin Buddhist temples form a hierarchical network. For example, the 9,000 or so temples in the Higashi Honganji denomination are grouped under 52 socalled betsuin ("district temples"), whose functions are mainly administrative. The head temple of Higashi Honganji, in Kyoto, is a large complex of buildings which also cover administration, a publishing house and a training hall for lay members, besides the two great halls for Shinran and Amida. The local temples vary greatly in size and activities and about 75 % of them carry out only rituals, i.e., mainly funeral ceremonies, according to the administration at Higashi Honganji. In the following, a broad spectrum of temple practices are covered, first the ones taking place at the head temple. Ho-onko at the Head temples The head temples of Nishi and Higashi Honganji are impressive in size. On a normal day, the grounds are very large and half-empty, although there is a steady number of tourists and followers who visit there. When the annual Ho-onko takes place, the buildings are full to the limit. Ho-onko means "a gathering to repay favours." On and Ho-on (meaning favour and repaid favour) are usually thought of as Confucian concepts, but they are very much used in Shin Buddhism, too. The debt to pay back is that to Shinran, and the keynote of the ceremony is gratitude. The date for Ho-onko varies in the two head temples, but the memorial day for Shinran's death and the ceremonies last a whole week. Mornings start at 6.30 am with sutra-chanting and, after about three quarters of an hour, letters written by Rennyo, (Ofumi), are recited and followed by a sermon, given by a different person each morning. On Saturdays and Sundays during that week, gagaku ("ancient court music") is played. The music is antiphonal, a chorus of priests is supported by instruments; at times the music is in unison and very loud. The ceremony does not really invite participation,
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and it is the aristocratic element in Shin Buddhism that has pride of place. The afternoons are different. Sutra-chanting occurs again, but with more people in the huge halls and here, religious behaviour is allowed a great deal of latitude. People come and go, grandparents are babysitting at the same time as participating, pacifying their grandchildren and listening at the same time, while the young parents are at work. ILLUSTRATION-CONGREGATION By the middle of the week, the ceremonies reach their first culmination, when the Godensho, (the biography of Shinran), is recited in the evening. The halls are almost full, and now the atmosphere is one of sorrow and darkness. In the beginning, the chandeliers are turned off and the officiating priests enter, carrying candles and a small chest, in which the scrolls of the Godensho are kept. A single voice, incredibly penetrating, trained and adept, interprets the text in a stylized manner for one hour. Then the first reciter is relieved by another who continues for one more hour. When the ceremony is over, it is pitch-dark outside. The real climax, however, is more boisterous. Pilgrims from all over Japan have arrived throughout the week in bigger and bigger numbers, and on the day of Shinran's death, the main temple is so crowded that the priests have to remove the sliding doors to make room for all. On such a day, it is understandable why the head temples are as colossal as they are. Sutra-chanting, sermons, recitations of Ofumi, and the performance of gagaku - all have been done before in the week, but of course the preachers have a higher standing on this the final day. A single priest in reddish robes, descendant from Shinran's family, takes up a position in front of the statue of Shinran and starts burning incense. Then, suddenly, the chorus of priests begin to move violently. Sitting, they throw their bodies from side to side, and back and forth. The congregation is delighted. Everybody wants to see, many stand up and hinder the view for others. The movements are a repetition of an episode in Shinran's life in which he crossed a lake in an open boat. A gale blew up, and the disciples and Shinran rocked the boat through it against the waves, by moving their bodies, rythmically. ILLUSTRATION BANDO BUSHI The so-called bando-bushi, as the ceremony is called, is always televised, and towards the end of the ceremony also amateur photographers get a chance of taking pictures, as the sequences are repeated. (It should be added that Ho-onko is also the most prominent ceremony at local temples; that the date for the memorial service varies; and the time is reduced to 1-3 days). Kikyoshiki In Japan, the ceremonies regulating the life of the individual, like birth, name20

giving, stages in childhood and marriage, are usually taken care of by Shinto or, in the case of weddings, by Christianity. In Shin Buddhism, two such rites of passage exist. One takes place in the head temples, namely kikyoshiki, and the second, funerals take place in temples, at funeral homes or at homes. Kikyo means "to take refuge and pay respects" and shiki means "ceremony". In Shin Buddhism, followers have the possibility of getting their names for their life after death at such ceremonies, and these hmy ("Dharma names") or kaimyo ("precept names") are given to them by the highest members of the family of Shinran's successors. They do not have to be obtained at Hoonko, but many get their religious names there, not in Shinran's main hall but in Amida Hall. The new names are given by the head temple and consist of two words, after either shaku ("male disciple of Buddha") or shakuni ("female disciple of Buddha"). In dictionaries, Shin Buddhist priests find appropriate names, such as Shaku Chi Shin, in which chi means "wisdom" and shin means "faith". At the beginning of the ceremony, those, who have applied for this, are called up and given an envelope with their new name in it. Then, the ceremony itself begins with the sambo ("Three Treasures: I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha") and then the new members go through a ceremonial removing of their hair, a symbolic tonsure. Two priests walk through the rows, one recites a short prayer for each person, and the other moves a comb-like instrument through the hair, symbolizing a haircut ILLUSTRATION Not until then are the participants allowed to open their envelopes which are read on the spot. With serious faces, they ponder their new names briefly, and get up and leave. To get one's hmy is a serious matter, but there is no air of mystery about it. Those who have not been given a hmy while living, will be given one after death. The age of people at kikyoshiki varies, but most are middle-aged in their forties and fifties. Among lay followers of Shin Buddhism, to get one's name for life after death in the middle of one's life is a sign of religious maturity. Shumidan At Shin Buddhist temples, as at other Buddhist denominations, most of the practices are conducted when applied for by the members of that particular school. So in the case of establishing a second grave for a deceased family member. The practice of bunkotsu ("parting of the bones") means to open the family grave, to take some pieces of small bones and ashes, and then have the bunkotsu sent to the head temple to have them installed at the back of the statue of Shinran in the main hall. It is a sign of respect and gratitude for the dead person (and highly costly, too), and the family are then summoned by the head temple to be present at the ceremony, called shumidan ("shelf of Mount
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Sumeru"). Mt. Sumeru (shumi) is the mythological holy mountain of the gods in Buddhism, the centre of the world, and a small room full of cupboards (dan meaning shelf) behind Shinran's statue is popularly referred to as shumidan. First the small family group go to the main office where they get brief information from a temple priest. While talking, another priest comes with a small box (only 10 by 10 by 10 centimetres) of untreated wood, furnished with the hmy ("Dharma name" for life after death). In a small procession, the group walk behind the statue of Shinran, and while the box is installed the relatives are told to keep their hands in gassho, the Buddhist position of respect. The ceremony is simple and brief. Next, the group go out in front of the statue where more priests also come. These chant and, one by one, the relatives move forward to the incense burner and with two fingers, they sprinkle powdered incense into the censer. Ten minutes later it is over, and the priest in charge explains matters of religion to the relatives in a normal but subdued voice. The participants are seriously commemorating the deceased, but do not exhibit great emotion as most probably, as it has been probably years since he or she died. Susu-harai An advertisement in Shinshu, the monthly journal from the head temple, announces that members are invited to participate in Susu-harai ("housecleaning") at the main temple. They are encouraged to sign up for the annual cleaning on a specific day in December. Susu-harai serves as a good example of a general element in Japanese denominations. There is nothing in Shin Buddhism that makes dust an abomination, and fear of what is not clean is normally a Shinto concept. But it is also a common phenomenon, as in many new religions, to purify from dust and dirt, especially at New Year. Similarly, in Zen temples, floors are washed ritually without being dirty. So, on the Sunday specified, the volunteers come to the head temple in groups, several hundred, in buses that have started early to be there at 8.30 am. The day begins when a priest welcomes the members, recites a short prayer, and the participants sing a Buddhist hymn. One participant presents a large fan to the priest in charge, and another priest gives information of a practical nature concerning the cleaning. Then, the group splits up, and the one in the main hall for Shinran forms a long line as far back in the hall as possible. The statue of Shinran is covered with cloth to prevent the dust from landing there. Now it all begins. With a loud noise from the bamboo sticks - one in each hand! - the line of participants beat the tatami mats while others with fans blow away the whirling dust. All sliding doors have been taken out beforehand so there is only one way for the rising dust to go -- out ! The energy is high and
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the many photographers from the local press must wipe the lenses of their cameras. There is a sense of community and straightforward activity, far from cloistered piety. With pauses every 10 minutes, the participants beat the whole main hall and reach the porch. In about an hour and a half, the cleaning is done. ILLUSTRATION Monthly gatherings: Dharma-classes at local temples As mentioned at the beginning, activities vary enormously among local temples. If the head priest, the jushoku and his wife, the equally important bomori, have the energy and local support, monthly meetings are held on fixed dates, a tradition that goes back to Shinran's Nembutsu dojo (see p. ??). Today, they are held at temples or in the private rooms of the temple family. Some have only 1520 participants, some more than 200 participants coming from faraway places in Japan. It also happens that there are such monthly gatherings for the females of the congregation especially, probably because quite a few elderly women do not open their mouths if there are men present. In the following, a very popular Dharma class, as it is often called, for both sexes, will be described: Sunday is the preferred day, as the meeting demands many hours. It begins with a session of chanting, at which Buddhist hymns with organ accompaniment, the ever-popular Shoshinge (see p. ??) and excerpts from Rennyo's letters (Ofumi) are recited. The chanting is fine, as the temple has a women's choir of 28 preparing for Rennyo's 500th memorial service. The temple head priest, in this case not a full-time priest, as he is quite a well-known professor at a nearby university, then gives a sermon on a specific Shin Buddhist topic. About noon, his wife and a dozen of other women among the congregation, arrange lunch for all who have paid in advance, and the participants are seated at long, low tables. After lunch, the jushoku has arranged that one of the lay members give a speech, in this case a well-known pediatrician, in which he tells the audience about his connection with Shin Buddhism. The jushoku takes over again, comments on the speech and delivers another sermon, again on Shin Buddhist matters, for instance tariki and jiriki (see p. ??). The afternoon also contains pauses in which groups of participants, who may have met many times before, talk about ordinary matters. Some are more revered than others, and some have brought portable tape recorders or they videotape the sermons. The day ends with another meal, dinner, but this time only for the members who are closest to the priest's family. ILLUSTRATION It should be added that the local members are only 20-40, but that such gatherings attract about 250 participants each month, some of whom come from other Buddhist denominations. The temple pays the administration in Kyoto for its own members only, and popular meetings, such as the one just
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described, is a way of spreading the Shin Buddhist teachings without taking members from other temples, something which is not favourably looked upon by other temples, neither Shin Buddhist, nor other denominations. Daily temple life at active temples Many of the local temples are big compared to other households in Japan, and temple and private quarters are not distinctly separated. They were built big to offer shelter to visitors who lived far away and who walked to get to the important annual ceremonies such as Ho-onko. Today, some of the temples have small groups of young people interested in Shin Buddhism living in the temple buildings, doing small chores for the household. And a few have taken in young men and women who have had problems, growing up in a society where all are expected to fend for themselves. Such small communities are also used by the local police instead of special homes, and the temple priest and his family try to rehabilitate the young persons. In return, they work in the vegetable garden that belongs to the temple, or help doing repairs, and, in general, they take part in daily household chores and eat together with the temple family. Modern temples also use up-to-date means of communication and print newsletters, brochures, and small magazines on the premises, using desktop publishing. This is also a possibility for these young "sufferers", as they are called in Shin Buddhist language, to find a worthwhile occupation for a period. Or the temple decides to set up a play, often religious, as for example a dramatized version of the Buddha legend, to which they invite people in general. Teamwork is considered a good cure for young people who, for some reason or another, have become enclosed within themselves. One daily task, in which all must participate, is the early morning sutra chanting at 7 am before which, the temple must be cleaned, every inch of wood ! First the floors are swept, then cleaned with a damp piece of cloth. The jushoku starts the chanting and the priests who have not yet finished their training, sit in the first row, then the young "sufferers" and lastly, the women who join one by one as their chores in the kitchen allow them. They chant Shoshinge and very long repetitions of Na-mu-A-mi-da-But-su. Then the young priests recite passages from Rennyo's Ofumi, and also the young men take their turns. In between, a bell is struck to indicate the change of roles. The chanting is over at 8 am and not until then, do the inhabitants of the temple have breakfast. Priests and Laity "Neither monk nor layman" - so Shinran saw himself, and the distinctions in Shin Buddhism are sometimes subtle. What Shinran probably meant was that he dissociated himself from the monastic kind of Buddhism which he had met on Mt. Hiei (see p. ??). In setting out on a path between that of a monk and of a layman and by marrying, he had started off the new and trailblazing function of
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a Buddhist priest, working from a family temple and tending the followers in the neighbourhood. So in Shin Buddhism, there are no monks, as opposed to Zen, where one spends a couple of years at a monastery as a monk before becoming a priest. To become a priest in Shin Buddhism, it is recommended that you have a university education before applying for a certificate from the head temples. Of less prestige is an education at the theological seminary, in Higashi Honganji at Senshu Gakuin, Yamashina, which lasts only a year. The future priests get up at 6.30 am, clean the dormitory they stay in, go to school where they have morning chanting, then breakfast and classes until 3.00 pm, from 3.00 to 5.00 they are free, and then at 5.00, evening chanting and the evening meal. Students and teachers share the cooking jobs and twice a week, they have evening lectures. Some have both an education from a university, usually in Shin Buddhist studies, and additional education at a theological seminary, because the latter has the old spirit of learning together in ascetic surroundings. Many Shin Buddhist priests are not full-time, but have jobs in other sectors of society alongside, often in the field of education. A case story might illustrate this: The father to the present temple priest started his adult life in Ishikawa Prefecture as a woodcutter, and when he had saved a small amount of money and heard of a mountain with full-grown trees in Mie Prefecture to the south, he staked his fortune on it and went there with his wife and children. He prospered and started a small transport firm with horse-drawn carriages to take the timber to the expanding cities. He was born into a Shin Buddhist family and became the leading figure in the village congregation. When his son wanted to become a Shin Buddhist priest, the father was able to build a temple, but it was difficult getting members as it is not favourably looked upon to "steal" members from other temples. When the son, the present jushoku, started giving sermons at various temples in the neighbourhood, at the same time as he finished his university education, the pattern was clear. He earns his income from his job as a professor in Shin Buddhist studies at the nearby university, is the parish priest at the same time, and organizes popular "Dharma classes" once a month, at which he, himself, lectures. Of his sons, the eldest teaches courses at Higashi Honganji and will become the future jushoku; at present he assists his father. The second son is a graduate student in Shin Buddhist studies at a Buddhist university in Kyoto, and has started giving lectures at small temples like his father. He has no family temple waiting for him, but may become employed as a priest at another temple; at the moment he also assists his father. There are two sisters and two more sons in the family, but they have not chosen the Shin Buddhist priesthood. However, the priest's wife, has taken up courses to be able to help her husband in various capacities. She is allowed to go to private homes to perform monthly memorial services (tsukimairi) in front of the Buddhist altar (butsudan), which she often does two or three times a day, thus keeping in close contact with the congregation.
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ILLUSTRATION Of course, reality is often not so rosy. In case of the death of a jushoku, the bomori may step into his position, usually by taking the short education at the theological seminary, or she may hire a person from outside the family, until one of her sons or grandsons can take over. Also, there is a great deal of pressure on young Shin Buddhist priests to marry when they take up the position of jushoku, as the social aspects of temple life in Japan demand much in the form of treats and meals. Among the laity, devotion comes in many shapes. Although it is constantly said among Shin Buddhists that they like being such because there are no distinctions, it is evident that there are categories, not given by class or at birth, but regarding religious standing in the congregation. To some Shin Buddhists, Japan is not really a Buddhist country; they feel that Buddhism is different from the Japanese mentality. As in the USA and Europe, there are many Japanese who do not know or care about their religious roots, and in such ordinary families may be heard the following: I do not know to which Buddhist denomination we belong, because no one has died in my family so far. However, quite often, the older generation will know and the family actually are members of a local temple. A devout follower (in Shin Buddhism monto), implies that you support your temple both by going to Dharma classes, and financially, as religious institutions in Japan do not get any money from the state (apart from some highly debatable Shinto ceremonies, like the crowning of a new emperor). In Shin Buddhism, like other Buddhist schools, there are no fixed amounts of money for the ceremonies conducted by the temples, but custom is a very strong factor. Most highly esteemed among the monto are the myokonin (see p. ??), but no one will claim to be one, as this is close to hubris. These people are looked up to and become centres of attention at gatherings. They may also be interviewed on television about their religious feelings, and thus lend lustre to the congregation or the denomination as such. Writers and artists, especially craftsmen, are also esteemed, and both priests and laity are eager to publish books with poems, essays, stories and social criticism, though not often in any large amounts. Now and then, it happens that the line between laity and priesthood is crossed late in life, as in the following story: A retired businessman married into a Shin Buddhist temple family many years ago. He was accepted by his father-in-law, but he also felt that somehow he disappointed the old priest. His father-in-law died and his temple was taken over by his eldest son, as is the ideal, but when this businessman retired, he felt that now was the time for him to make up for his lack of religious learning. So he started as a university student and now assists his brother-in-law and would like to get qualified as a priest to get his own temple or be employed at one. Therefore, there is a broad continuum in Shin Buddhism: Priests
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may be priests only for the sake of family tradition and only perform the most necessary rites while, at the other end of the scale, lay people, for their attitude to life and other human beings, may rank much higher than a high priest at the head temple. Lay Practices and Worship, including Funerals and Memorial Services. As well as the late secularization in Japan, compared to Europe and the USA, the established religions there suffered a decline after the Second World War, because they had almost all - to a greater or lesser extent - supported the state in the militaristic period. To stop this decline and to prevent Shin Buddhists from leaving to join New Religions, Higashi Honganji began its Dobokai Movement ("Dobo" means people following the same path, "kai" means community) in 1962 on the occasion of Shinrans 700th memorial anniversary. (A similar organization was set up in Nishi Honganji at the same time). The main idea was to invite and urge followers from the local temples to attend training courses in Shin Buddhism in Kyoto on the grounds of the head temple in Kyoto, in Dobo Kaikan. The movement was a success in the beginning, but seemed to reach an impasse in the latter half of the 1980s, though it was given new impetus and education for instructors and propagators. To some observers, this central initiative runs the risk of estranging the followers from the local temples. Instead, they want to rely on the old institution called k from the Middle Ages in Japan, which were religious or social associations that developed from lecture meetings on Buddhist sutras and later spread to Shinto. Especially in the Kamakura Period, the k became strong, also because they came to function as mutual assistance associations. In such groups, according to Shin Buddhists, the people struggled, prayed, lived and worked together. In such circles, there is a wish that Shin Buddhism would take a more active part in the general debate about the future of Japanese society, an issue that will be dealt with in the next chapter. In the more limited field of religion, the lay practitioners are urged by the head temples to follow the traditional rituals at the butsudan, the household Buddhist altar. Manuals and demo videos are produced by the publishing section, so that, especially young people, will know what is the importance and symbolic meaning of the many items that go into a household butsudan. Many Shin Buddhists still chant in front of this, morning and evening and to some, the long recitations are strong experiential moments when they, as they put it, "Talk with Amida". Most frequently, however, it is at the weekly or monthly visits by the jushoku that the butsudan is in use. The occasions are the tsukimairi, the memorial days for the deceased in the family. Often doors stand open for the priest, and if the people of the house are not quite ready, he will start on his own, arranging the shelf, lighting the candle and burning incense. Then small booklets
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are taken out from a drawer under the butsudan and together they, priest and household members, chant from Shin Buddhis texts. When this is over, there is time for a small talk - sometimes hardly any talk but rather a much more personal and intimate conversation - over a cup of green tea for the priest and the inhabitants. A normal visit lasts about 20 minutes and for the priest, the morning round may consist of 4-5 visits. In the case of a funeral, the ceremonies are, of course, much more elaborate, but they also start out in front of the household butsudan. The dead body has been cremated and brought in small urns to the house. Often, there are three urns: the biggest one for the body, a smaller one for the cremated skull and an equally small one for the cervical vertebrae and the larynx. This way it is easier to make a separated bunkotsu grave (see p. ??) later, if so desired. The ceremony starts when the jushoku is shown the urns, and they are then wrapped in white or lilac cloth. The participants are the children of the deceased, his or her brothers and sisters, and close relatives. Also small children are present, and the rituals seem less of a taboo than in Christianity. After a period of chanting, the members place themselves on their knees with hands in gassho in front of the butsudan, say a short prayer of respect and burn incense in the censer. At the cemetery, to where the family and the priest take the ashes, the small group is met by a person from the funeral company in case the grave is new. In such a case, the grave stone is wrapped in white cloth and has the family name carved into it. Or it may have an inscription like "Meeting at one place", a reference to Amida's Pure Land. If a new family grave is to be used for the first time, there are special ceremonies and chanting before the ashes of the deceased are installed. All the family members in turn, step forward, the eldest son first, to show respects with a juzu ("Buddhist rosary") round their hands in gassho, and when it comes to placing the urns in the hollow in the middle of the stone tomb, it is also the eldest son who performs the act. The jushoku and the person from the funeral company assist and when the ashes have been installed, there is more chanting, in between, interrupted by tinklings of a small bell, after which the family, one by one, and in the same order as before, step forward to take formal leave of the grave. For devout Shin Buddhists, only flowers are used to put on a table next to the grave, but often there are also vegetables and rice cakes (o-mochi). These items are usually connected with Shinto, and so is the sprinkling of salt at the four corners of the tomb to purify the place, but among more tolerant Shin Buddhist priests such folk belief does not matter. Back in the family household, there is more chanting and the jushoku gives a sermon in which he comforts the bereaved, often pointing out that death is part of life, and that the causal laws of condition and result (in Japanese innen) are inexorable and must be lived with.
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All that remains to be mentioned is the ihai ("a Buddhist mortuary tablet") of wood, with engraved names, both ordinary names and hmy (see p. ??). Usually the dates of birth and death are also engraved, using the traditional Japanese calendar. The ihai has its place on the butsudan, and is the symbolical presence of the deceased. Ethical concerns and Education Medical techniques and research have developed so rapidly that human life is now treated as an object. Thus, the dignity of human life becomes impaired. Modern medicine is now tied up with economics and has essentially developed into big business. As a result, we have ethical problems related to medicine. We can see these problems, for example, in the manipulation of human genes and the buying and selling of human organs in the name of medical therapy. We also see these problems in the manipulation of human existence by means of human growth hormones, surrogate motherhood, sperm banks, human egg donations, the preservation of human eggs in ice storage, and the cloning of human sperm. How much can man invade the sanctity of human life ?9 (Prof. Shunk Tashiro, Dh University) This is a quotation from a book on "Death Education & Death Counseling" by a Shin Buddhist professor, who also appears on Japanese television, which is a fairly new phenomenon in the public debate. To some priests, it is a belated effort to influence public opinion and politics, and it was not until the beginning of the 1990s that Shin Buddhism took up the challenge. Since then, official Shin Buddhist representatives have participated in brain death conferences with other denominations and, with the help of the publishing section at the main temple, booklets on Aids, leprosy, transplantation, brain death, environmental problems and other subjects have been issued. The Professor above goes on to write: Most countries in the world allow organ transplants from a donor who is considered brain dead. However, in Japan, brain death is not considered the final death. Only when the heart stops beating is death officially pronounced. The reason he finds is the Japanese attitude to life which is influenced by Buddhism. "The concept of naturally accepting life as it comes" is based on such Buddhist values as "naturalness" (jinen, see p. ??). "To live without mental stress is to live and die naturally. This kind of lifestyle does not expect another person to die in order to procure the organs to prolong one's own life." To this kind of Buddhist thinking, the basic task of Buddhism is to
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[Death Education and Death Counseling.] By Shunko Tashiro. Translated into English by Akinori Imai. Page 1.

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accept and transcend life, old age, sickness and death, the traditional four kinds of suffering in Buddhism (sh-r-by-shi), which is not accomplished by seeking miracles, Shin Buddhists think. There are, however, Buddhist denominations and New Religions in Japan which seek magical ways in which to overcome suffering, such as abortion or early child death and old age. Abortions, for instance, have a special dimension because Japanese folk religiosity considers the such a baby's spirit dangerous, so that it must be pacified by religious ceremonies (mizoko kuyo). When asked, Shin Buddhist priests admit that some of their members come for the purpose of having this performed, but they are told that Shin Buddhism is not superstitious. If they persevere, the members are told that they can get sutra recitation instead, so that they may get a chance of hearing the Buddhist teachings themselves. From the attitude to life, found in the above-mentioned moral issues, it should not be felt that Shin Buddhists are anti-modern. Among them, there are more people concerned with the environment than in the average Japanese population. They are also more interested in education than is normally the case. As to personal habits, they eat meat, but often prefer fish, like many other Japanese, and they say itadakimasu ("I humbly receive this food") the same as anybody else. Some, however, use a more elaborate form, saying before the meal: "Under protection from the Honourable Light, we are happy to commence this pure meal. Itadakimasu." The Honourable Light is a reference to Amida Buddha, whose name means "limitless life" and "limitless light." After the meal, they say, "We now finish this pure meal; the body is satisfied and strengthened. Gochissama." The last word being the normal way of saying "Thank you for a delightful meal". When it comes to politics, Shin Buddhists belong to all parties, except the ultra-right wing. Whenever militaristic nationalism raises its ugly head, when, for instance, there are suggestions to nationalize Shinto shrines, the two head temples are sure to be among the first to protest. Concerning education, as is the case of other religions in Japan, Shin Buddhists run a number of schools and colleges. To start with, it sometimes happens that a local temple has a private kindergarten next to the temple premises, as in the following case that stems from such a visit. It does not mean that Shin Buddhism is inculcated into the children, but there is a butsudan with a child Buddha in one of the rooms there. Also, some of the festivities at the kindergarten take place in the temple such as the "Summer Vacation Ceremony": The children are taken in age-groups into the temple by their teachers, who control them by singing songs or by having them repeat nursery rhymes. At the entrance, they are given plastic juzu. Two children are invited by the temple priest to be with him on the dais in front of the temple altar where
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they light incense. He has all the children say a prayer after him, and they do so in very loud voices. Their songs, which follow after to the accompaniment of a piano, are better known to them, who are boisterous and excited at the prospects of the approaching vacation. The teachers stand up in line to wish the children a good vacation, and the priest does the same. One last song, with clapping and other gestures, rounds off the ceremony, and the children walk out in lines in age-groups again and hand back the juzu. Kindergartens, of course, are fairly new phenomena in Japan, but the country has a very long history of education in which the Buddhist elementary temple schools, so-called terakoya, taught ordinary Japanese children how to read and write. Many of the schools in Japan today are private and a great number of them belong to various religions, but schools are often chosen for their academic reputation. Many Japanese, for instance, prefer Christian schools because of their high esteem, but that does not mean that the pupils are or will become Christian. All schools have to comply with the rules of the Ministry of Education, and ordinary school textbooks must be approved by it. In recent history, schools were, as is well known, used by the militaristic state in the 1930s to inculcate State Shinto. Therefore, with the new Constitution after the Second World War, it was decided that there should be no religious teaching in state schools. Not quite so in private ones, run by religious communities, but there, religion has to be extracurricular and not interfere with the religious freedom of the pupils and must not be a serious burden on them. In the case of Shin Buddhist middle and high schools, such activities take place concurrently with the obligatory one-hour lessons in ethics (dotoku). In high schools, twice a week, there are classes in Buddhism after normal school hours: first year about Buddhist ethics, next about Indian Buddhism, and the third year about Shin Buddhism. In all three years, the textbooks are from the head temples and do not have to be approved by the Ministry of Education. Besides, there are sometimes religious speeches arranged for the whole school. Over the years, private religious schools in Japan have been given better conditions to provide Religious Education. Owing to the many problems that the ordinary and very crowded schools in Japan have, there is a growing free school movement. It is possible, with the permission from the school authorities, to teach your children yourself. They must be taught, of course, but how, is not stipulated. There are no exams to pass after a required number of years, but the children, who have been taught at home, must pass the same entry exams to higher places of education as the pupils in the established system, if they want to pursue such studies. Sometimes, groups of families cooperate to teach their children, especially in villages with a strong community feeling. It is very likely that there is a higher proportion of Shin Buddhist families involved in this free school movement in Japan than in other religions, but there are no statistics so far.
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