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    Principal Teachings Of The True Sect Of Pure Land
    Principal Teachings Of The True Sect Of Pure Land
    Principal Teachings Of The True Sect Of Pure Land
    Ebook102 pages55 minutes

    Principal Teachings Of The True Sect Of Pure Land

    By Yejitsu Okusa

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    The doctrine of Amida represents the practical phase of Buddhism, and in the True Sect of Pure Land we see the deep meaning of salvation by faith most thoroughly revealed; and it is in this that the essence of Buddhism as religion, apart from its philosophical and ethical aspects, consists.

    Thus, the ultimate aim of the appearance of Sākyamuni on earth was to teach us this doctrine of Amida. Most of the Buddhist priests or savants in all the Eastern Buddhist countries, who studied their religion from scholarly points of view, practically professed their faith in the doctrine of Amida. Among the various forms of this doctrine, we recognise in the True Sect of Pure Land as taught and established by our Shinran Shōnin about seven hundred years ago, the most pure, perfect, and incomparable one. The True Sect is, indeed, the efflorescence of Japanese Buddhism. Everywhere we perceive such signs as to justify our belief that his teaching is being better appreciated not only by his own countrymen but by foreigners, and that the number of those foreigners who express their sincere desire to know more deeply the signification of the True Sect is steadily increasing.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherYoucanprint
    Release dateApr 3, 2017
    ISBN9788892657618
    Principal Teachings Of The True Sect Of Pure Land

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      Book preview

      Principal Teachings Of The True Sect Of Pure Land - Yejitsu Okusa

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      PREFACE

      HISTORY

      I. SHINRAN SHŌNIN.

      II. THE HONGWAN-JI.

      III. THE EASTERN HONGWANJI.

      TEACHINGS OF THE TRUE SECT OF PURE LAND

      I. THE CANONICAL BOOKS.

      II. SYSTEMATISATION.

      III. WHY CALLED THE TRUE SECT OF PURE LAND?

      IV. SALVATION.

      V. FAITH

      VI. LIFE.

      Principal Teachings of the True Sect of Pure Land

      BY

      YEJITSU OKUSA

      1915

      Principal Teachings Of The True Sect Of Pure Land By Yejitsu Okusa.

      © David De Angelis 2017 [all rights reserved]

      PREFACE

      The doctrine of Amida represents the practical phase of Buddhism, and in the True Sect of Pure Land we see the deep meaning of salvation by faith most thoroughly revealed; and it is in this that the essence of Buddhism as religion, apart from its philosophical and ethical aspects, consists.

      Thus, the ultimate aim of the appearance of Sākyamuni on earth was to teach us this doctrine of Amida. Most of the Buddhist priests or savants in all the Eastern Buddhist countries, who studied their religion from scholarly points of view, practically professed their faith in the doctrine of Amida. Among the various forms of this doctrine, we recognise in the True Sect of Pure Land as taught and established by our Shinran Shōnin about seven hundred years ago, the most pure, perfect, and incomparable one. The True Sect is, indeed, the efflorescence of Japanese Buddhism. Everywhere we perceive such signs as to justify our belief that his teaching is being better appreciated not only by his own countrymen but by foreigners, and that the number of those foreigners who express their sincere desire to know more deeply the signification of the True Sect is steadily increasing.

      In the present year, our Illustrious Emperor is to perform His coronation in the old palace of this City. We have therefore revised this pamphlet to commemorate the great event, while we desire to elucidate herein briefly the teaching of our Shōnin for the benefit of our general readers. No happiness will be greater than ours if this excites our readers’ interest in Buddhism better than ever, be it sympathetic or antagonistic.

      The original of this pamphlet was compiled by late Yejitsu Okusa, to commemorate the six hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the death of our founder, Shinran Shōnin. It was just five years ago, so that a revision was necessarily made in the narration.

      Ōtaniha Hongwanji.

      Kyōto, October 13, 1915.

      HISTORY

      I. SHINRAN SHŌNIN.

      During the past thirty centuries that have elapsed since the death of Shākyamuni, his Good Law has grown into a huge tree with many outstretching branches; and each of these is now everywhere endeavoring to propound the Law according to its own way of interpretation, and also to perpetuate its own religious practice. Among these branches, the one that most clearly indicates the Blessed One's way of salvation and that most thoroughly teaches his life of faith is the True Sect of Pure Land; for surely it is the doctrine of this Sect that the ultimate signification of the Buddha's will to save is faithfully preserved. While it goes without saying that this True Sect of Pure Land is the doctrine preached by the World-honored Shākyamuni Buddha himself, it was not until some seven hundred years ago, that is, until the founder of the True Sect, Shinran Shōnin, stayed in the Province of Hidachi to promulgate a new Buddhist teaching, that this Sect came to be recognised as such, forming an independent organisation among the Buddhists.

      Shinran Shōnin was born on April 1 in the third year of Jōan, 1173 A.D., in the village of Hino near Kyōto. His family was of the Fujiwara clan that occupied at the time the most important position in the empire, and his noble father, Arinori Hino, held an honorable office at the imperial court. The

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