"In your mind, put Buddhism in the position of host,
And society in the position of guest.
Standing upon Buddhism,
Your acts in society should be done as occasion demands."

-Rennyo, "Goichidai-kikigaki"
Rennyo, the "second founder" of Jodo Shinshu, provides us perspective on Pure Land Buddhist social engagement. First, we must clarify our understanding and commitment to the Dharma, taking cues from the example of Amida Buddha, the Great Compassion.
Then, acting from our grounding in Amida Buddha's Primal Vow, we respond to the needs of people in our society as they seek relief from suffering.
In this way, Rennyo's formulation mirrors the process of birth in the Pure Land. As Shinran clarifies, we complete the awakening process upon entering the Pure Land, and then immediately return to the suffering world to liberate others.
Thus there is a parallel: with trusting hearts we live our lives based on Dharma, and work to respond to our neighbors' and society's needs; we become the Dharma through entering the Pure Land, and our endless activity becomes others' liberation from suffering

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More from @EngagedPureLand

15 Aug
Rev. Gregory Gibbs: "There are two things that anyone must do to be at home in the world. The one thing we must do to have peace in our lives is to change our attitudes toward the world. We must soften our tone, deflate pretentions, set more realistic goals for ourselves."
"The other thing that we must do, in order to be at home in the world, is to act to change the world. We must act to change the world so that it comes to accord more closely with the most positive values and aspirations we have developed as Buddhists."
"At a minimum, we must speak out in defense of the
bullied, oppressed and marginalized. We must oppose
tyrants, tyrannical ideas, and garden variety bullies. We must decry blocks to freedom of all sorts."
Read 8 tweets
28 Jul
An example of Pure Land Deficiency Syndrome: Natalie Goldberg's @tricyclemag essay on Chiyo-ni never mentions that she was a Pure Land nun. It generically calls her Buddhist while naming Goldberg's Zen in the third line. This makes Chiyo-ni seem Zen too tricycle.org/magazine/chiyo…
It's part of a decades-long pattern of anything Japanese being subsumed under an umbrella of Zen, such that all good Japanese things are revealed to be Zen at heart, and all Zen things are good. This has been good PR for Zen but caused massive misundertanding and erasure.
The origin lies with D.T. Suzuki, whose romanticized Zen writings laid the foundation for what English readers took to be Zen, Japanese culture, Buddhism, etc. Without competition from other writers, he was able to shape (and warp) the conversation permanently at an early stage.
Read 9 tweets
25 Jul
Let's celebrate Jodo Shinshu Buddhist musicians! Here's a collage of Pure Land Buddhists rocking out.

Rev. Joseph Jarman: Jazz legend and Jodo Shinsh...
Bodhi Tree Band: The Bodhi Tree Band plays o...
New Dharma Band: The New Dharma Band plays a...
Read 10 tweets
21 Jun
Been saying this for some time. Very unpopular opinion but it's 100% true: Pema Chodron is a conscious enabler of a sexual predator (Chogyam Trungpa) and a whole organization full of predators (Shambhala).
Here's the money quote: "a woman reported to Chödrön that she had been raped by a Shambhala Center director and subsequently miscarried. She says that Chödrön told her that “I don’t believe you” and “If it’s true I suspect that you were into it.” lionsroar.com/pema-chodron-a…
Apologies are great, but they came after 4+ decades of pushing the myth of enlightened Trungpa (and enabling his abusive ways and those of his successors).
Read 5 tweets
12 Jun
In honour of #Pride, here is a thread of resources and discussion for trans+ folx and their sanghas. (The first tweet references another thread, found here, for reference: ).
This thread references the Kangaku expressing inclusion of transfolx. The specific Jodo Shinshu member whose situation provoked the query and affirmation was American Michelle Kammerer, a pioneer in multiple ways: andrejkoymasky.com/liv/fam/biok1/…
That was over 20 years ago. Back then Ms. Kammerer's same-sex marriage was already common in Jodo Shinshu temples. But this was the first time one of the partners was known to be transgender. This too proved to be no big deal, but there wasn't a track record establishing that yet
Read 12 tweets
10 Jun
"Women Awkwardly Pretending to Meditate in Unlikely Situations in Order to Promote Drug-Based Products:" a visual portfolio for your edification. See @djbuddha “The Tranquil Meditator: Representing Buddhism and Buddhists in US popular media," Religion Compass (2014) for context. Like most meditators, the w...
Well-prepared for the photo...
A white woman with long hai...
Read 5 tweets

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