Thread by @EngagedPureLand

"Going Phase and Returning Phase" by Rev. Kenryu Tsuji, the former bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America. This excerpted essay (published in various forms, including in "Turning Wheel") is from "The Wheel of Dharma" Dec 1996 #engagedbuddhism #Ecology #Buddhism #jodoshinshu

Tsuji describes the key Jodo Shinshu Buddhist doctrine of oso eko/genso eko. These indicate the going phase (moving toward buddhahood through the Pure Land way) and returning phase (moving toward suffering beings to share the liberation from suffering one has received).

"Death is neither the end of life nor the termination of life's activity. Waters of the river flow onward to reach the wide expanse of the sea. In time, the water evaporates and becomes clouds.

When moisture saturates cumulus clouds it is released, returning to the surface of the earth as rain. From the skies the rain sustains the life of all living things, from the tallest redwoods to the tiniest crawling insects.

Water flowing in the sea may be called oso eko, the going phase of movement. Raindrops falling to the earth may be seen as genso eko, that is, water returning to its place of origin.

Shinran, just before he died, said "When my life has run its course, I shall go to the Pure Land and return again, like waves of the Wako-no-Ura bay breaking upon the shore...When two of you rejoice, remember there are three, as Shinran will be there too."

All human life is a source of energy, of compassion stored in the depth of its innate buddhahood. It may be only a microscopic part of the cosmic compassion of the universe, which we religiously call Amida Buddha.

But once immersed in the cosmic compassion, this energy is a mighty current flowing hamoniously. Human beings are so attached to the body that it is thought that death of the body is the end of everything. In reality, it is the beginning of interaction with the entire universe.

When the body is buried in the ground, it becomes soil in which all living things grow. Shinran Shonin said, "When I die, throw my body in the Kamo river to feed the fish." He was realizing oneness with all forms of life.

As the body is cremated, smoke rises heavenward and gas molecules enter the atmosphere that we breathe. This is the influence of physical energy. Human life is more than just physical energy. It is also moral and spiritual energy released upon the whole world.

Intangible influence is often difficult to perceive. Nonetheless, it continues to function throughout the universe. How many times have we read the words of Buddha and other masters for inspiration, comfort, strength, and a practical guide to living?

How many times have you picked up an old letter written by your long-departed mother or father, wife or husband, and quietly contemplated its contents?

Just as waters of the river return from the ocean to quench a thirsty planet, human energy now purified in buddhahood-the Pure Land-returns to the world, continuing its perpetual work of compassion. This is genso eko [the returning phase]."

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