A Fistful of Sand

Contemporary Pure Land Buddhism has come under much scholarly critique over the past two to three decades. This is especially true of the Japanese Jōdo and Jōdo Shinshū presentations. In fact, the entirety of the model of populist Buddhism in its many guises has come under question as to whether they can be accurately called “Buddhisms” at all.   While few take such criticisms of Zen to heart there is open criticism of all of the major sects in the Buddhist world.  Western forms of Buddhism have come under especially intense scrutiny even if they are direct transplants from Asia. It is even the case that some sects do not recognize the validity of those ordained in other sects.  Prior to my ordination  in Sōto Zen my Zen teacher, for example, told me the story that that beginning in 2000 the Sōto Zen headquarters in Kyōto Japan formally complaint to the American Sōto Zen lineage of the San Francisco Zen Center and others that they was not actually...

BY CHRISTOPHER ANTHONY LEIBOW This is a reposted blog article by Sensei Keisho Ananda of Hongaku Jodo . It is well worth the read. Please check him out. Does Buddhism Need A Dhamma Police ? When I took refuge years ago I took refuge in The Buddha, The Dhamma (Dharma) and The Sangha.  The Dhamma is considered to be the body of the teachings of the Buddha . . . but where are the teachings, how do we know which dhamma, which teachings, are The Dhamma?  Do we need a Dhamma Police to make sure that Buddhists follow the “true dhamma”?  I think not and I hope not, and I’ll tell you why. First let’s take a look at where the teachings or the dhamma might be found.  Buddhism, like all traditions that are really, really old, started out as an oral tradition. Three months after the Death of the Buddha 500 pre-eminent Arahants concerned with  preserving the purity of the dhamma held a convocation at  Rajagaha to rehearse the teachings. ...

The recent bombings and increased activities of religious extremists have provoked a myriad of responses, both rational and irrational. In the United States people of power tend to react instead of responding. The reaction is normally superficial and immature. They miss the point by creating their own, much like the main behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. The genuine issues are often ignored, hence the term “ignorance.” The Buddha made much of this word. With the recent bombings in Paris, at least 30 Governors, the vast majority conservative Republicans in the United Sates, who seem to hold humanity disdain anyway, found an excuse to apparently attempt an unlawful move to block the intake of Syrian Refugees. Well, the “American dream” idea never did mean all that much to them anyway. They make a weak claim that their decision would make America a safer place in which to live; but so would putting every man woman and child under house arrest, but this is not realistic, is it...

Visit the Hongaku Jodo Website Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. The experience of stress, pain, suffering is not a simple thing. The Buddha once observed, we respond to its complexity in two ways: And what is the result of stress? There are some cases in which a person overcome with pain, his mind exhausted, grieves, mourns, laments, beats his breast, & becomes bewildered. Or one overcome with pain, his mind exhausted, comes to search outside, ‘Who knows a way or two to stop this pain?’ I tell you, monks, that stress results either in bewilderment or in search.  — Anguttara Nikaya 6:63 The problem is that the bewilderment often guides the search, leading to more suffering and stress. To resolve this dilemma, the Buddha devoted his life, after his Awakening, to showing a reliable way to the end of stress. In summarizing the whole of his teaching, he said: Both formerly & now, it is only stress that I describe, and the cessa...

Hell was once defined as a place where there is a Starbuck’s on every corner.  I guess I live in a sort of a purgatory. While there’s not a Starbuck’s on every corner, they are about a half-mile apart.  Sometimes stop at a Starbuck’s for a cup of coffee. If I get there before 10 am I get to hear the local North Shore Tea Party people hold their daily meeting. They hang out on the couches in front of the fireplace after they ask anyone who has previously sat in their meeting place to leave. They are very important people these wealthy North Shore Tea Party types. They sit comfortably speaking at great length about the problems of the world and how to solve them. The first thing they need to do is impeach President Obama, then repeal the Affordable Care Act, stop anyone with a “liberal” bent to not vote, and then pass anti-abortion laws and bring back the death penalty for misdemeanors.  They say these things at the top of their lungs, causing their harden...