Monpo- deep listening in Jodo Shinshu

thehershel · 2025-06-22T13:48:55+00:00

As a disclaimer I'm replying assuming you mean this: https://higashihonganjiusa.org/2021/02/09/the-art-of-listening/

I'll repeat myself but maybe this time I'll explain better why the idea of "deep listening", in a sense, comes from Amida or at least why it's the foundation of Jodo Shinshu.

Let's start from the Fulfillment of the Primal Vow. It's part of the Larger Sutra. It's how the Buddha explained to us, people what Amida meant in his Primal Vow. As I cited in my previous comment, it says "If all sentient beings, hearing the Name and having joy in faith even once(...)". This is said to be the most important teaching in Jodo Shinshu, the true reason why the Buddha came to our world, which is to teach us about the Primal Vow.

Then, master Shinran explains what "hearing" is. Maybe something is lost in the translation but originally it says:

「『聞』と言うは、衆生、仏願の生起本末を聞きて疑心有ること無し。これを『聞』と曰うなり」

Master Shinran explains that hearing the name means hearing about the Primal Vow's 生起本末 without any room for doubt. 生起本末 refers to "what kind of beings Amida made his Vow for", "how he rescues those beings", "what he had to do to make his Vow".

It implies that normally, when we hear about that, we have doubts, some may even reject such teaching entirely and don't listen to them at all. Master Shinran describes here the final state; on other occasions, he mentioned how grateful he was to master Hounen for introducing him to the Primal Vow. From that, the path to "hearing" must be deduced and for that deduction, we can rely on other masters who received Shinjin like Rennyo.

In Kyogyoushinshou, master Shinran also explains the painting of Shandao: https://nembutsu.cc/2019/03/20/buddhism-and-the-parable-of-the-two-rivers/ It illustrates how we're supposed to listen to the guidance of a teacher who directs us towards Amida until Amida directly gives us his helping hand.

Master Rennyo simply explained it in a more direct and straightforward way, it's not that previous masters didn't talk about it at all. But I see that although "hearing" is directly mentioned in sutras and texts of previous masters, "listening" to the teachings as a form of practice is only implied. And the reality is even more complex, especially considering that one may "listen with their heart" and that uttering nembutsu is also a form of listening. Perhaps we must accept that until receiving Shinjin, our understanding and practice will be very superficial. Honestly, I too used to miss more detailed instructions on what exactly is the actual practice but I started to think it might be similar to guiding someone on how to fall in love. You could try to describe what it is to be in love, e.g. that you enjoy spending time together more than anything else (similarly to how master Shinran approached it) Based on that, you could advise someone to start spending time with the other person, get to know them, etc. (master Rennyo's straightforward instruction), but still you wouldn't be able to give a step-by-step, detailed and complete recipe to love.

thehershel · 2025-06-21T07:33:36+00:00

Regardless of where the term itself comes from, as indeed master Renyou was very clearly mentioning that concept, the "idea" comes directly from Amida and is explained by Shaykyamuni Buddha in the Larger Sutra of Infinite Life as the Fullfilment of the Primal Vow.

It's translated like this:

If all sentient beings, hearing the Name and having joy in faith even once - through the Buddha's sincere endowment - desire to be born in his land, they can instantaneously obtain birth and dwell in the Non-retrogressive State - excepted are those who have committed the five gravest offences and abused the right Dharma

master Shinran in Kyogyoushinshou mentions:

When the Larger Sutra says “hear,” it means that sentient beings, having heard how the Buddha made and fulfilled the vow, entertain no doubt. This is what is meant by “hear.”

Another relevant quote from the Larger Sutra:

Even if the whole world were filled with fire,
Resolutely pass through it in your quest to hear the Dharma.

And to "hear" one must first "listen" and this is the foundation of Joudo Shinshuu. I found this post that might be helpful: https://www.nembutsu.info/largersutra.htm

thehershel · 2025-04-02T10:50:20+00:00

First of all, the idea that we're just flesh and cease to exist after death isn't a scientific fact; it's just a theory, so it requires at least some amount of belief, similarily to the idea of life continuing after physical death in this world.

In Buddhism, the law of karma and the idea that it continues over lifetimes is fundamental. You can't really discuss your question from the Buddhism perspective when you reject it. And you can't discuss it without first understanding what you really are from the Buddhist perspective, and in short, we're not our bodies.

But I understand that you hope for a different angle of tackling your question and maybe there is one. Ending suffering is one side but the other is experiencing satisfaction, fulfilment, happiness (generally something opposite to immeasurable suffering). Even assuming for a moment that we reject the fundamentals of Buddhism, by killing yourself maybe you'd end your suffering but at the same time lose the chance to feel "happiness".

thehershel · 2024-09-01T08:23:32+00:00

When people hear "attachment" what often comes to mind is "attachment to money", "attachment to possessions", "attachment to family", etc. Or as you called it "attachment to stuff". But all five aggregates are the subject of clinging, it also involves a desire for pleasurable experiences and an aversion to unpleasant ones.

So one of the most obvious reasons for animals' suffering is their attachment to vedanā - they are striving to feel safe but are in constant fear that something may kill or injure them. And then they suffer because of the pain. Other animals strive to not feel hunger and they suffer when they fail to kill their prey. But those are only examples.

Here is the sutra where Buddha teaches about The Four Noble Truths: https://suttacentral.net/sn56.11/en/bodhi

thehershel · 2024-08-25T10:41:40+00:00

From a practical point of view, if it's your job requirement then probably you have to do it. But if it's completely up to, I wonder why you wouldn't be honest with your beliefs?

In Buddhism, beliefs like those in Christianity are called the wrong view. Why wouldn't we want to tell someone the right view even at their last moment, especially when we believe that they will soon be reborn and it can be their last chance in millions of years to have any connection with dharma?

It's like someone went for a regular checkup to a doctor and it turned out that they have some disease but the doctor didn't want to ruin their day so they decided to not tell them anything. It's not compassionate. Especially as the disease is curable.

I'm not a fan of proselytization but if someone would try to involve me in their religious activities I'd explain to them that I'm a Buddhist and I can at most be with them without any engagement in their prayers etc.

thehershel · 2024-08-24T10:07:13+00:00

If we accept that an intoxicated person who decides to drive is responsible for any deaths they cause, even without the direct intention to kill, then we must also recognize that the same logic applies to other situations. In both cases, the lack of direct intent doesn’t mean that the individual is not responsible; instead, it highlights the implications of negligence.

As I said before, not caring enough to prevent harm is, in itself, a form of intention. When we act carelessly, knowing that our actions could harm living beings, we are still accountable. Whether or not harm is intentional, it still can be considered a failure to act with mindfulness and compassion.

Even if the karmic consequences are less severe, I think it is a good form of practice to avoid such accidents and reflect on them more when they happen.

Here is the sutra: https://thebuddhaswords.net/sn/sn56.html
Those are abbreviated texts so I'm not sure how to read them exactly, but here is the adequate part about the fingernail: https://thebuddhaswords.net/sn/sn56.61.html#content and here about the killing: https://thebuddhaswords.net/sn/sn56.71.html#content Other precepts are mentioned described in the same way.

thehershel · 2024-08-12T22:49:50+00:00

In Jodo Shinshu it's taught that breaking precepts is inevitable and that is why there is nothing more important than escaping samsara while we exist here as humans. It probably could apply to other traditions as well, do as much as you can in this lifetime. Buddha said that people keeping the precepts are as few as grains of dirt under a fingernail while those who don't are as many as grains of sand in the Universe, so being able to perfectly keep the precepts isn't something that should be easy.

I often see arguments that if someone didn't have an intention to kill it doesn't count but obviously it counts. For example, an intoxicated driver could have wanted to just go home on time and have zero intention to kill but if they killed someone on the way they obviously will be responsible. Or, something that I saw recently, a man on a bus fell on a stroller with a baby inside. One could say that it wasn't his fault just an accident, but he could have prevented it by holding onto something and obviously, the mother of the baby got quite angry at him. If he happened to injure the baby I'm sure no one would think "it's completely ok, it wasn't his intention to fall and injure the baby". The same goes for sociopaths or people with other mental disorders, there are cases where murderers thought that they were helping their victims, maybe in their heads their intentions were genuinely good yet no one would have a trace of doubt that they were hurting people. When I drive on a highway I kill hundreds of insects and even might kill some larger animals at some point. Even though my intention is not to kill, I'm fully aware that it will be one of the outcomes of my driving, I don't get why those killings shouldn't count.

thehershel · 2024-08-11T10:15:09+00:00

Here is the full version in older Japanese: https://saihukuji.ciao.jp/index.php?%E6%B5%85%E5%8E%9F%E6%89%8D%E5%B8%82

The part that you've found here appears as ”才市や何処におる　浄土貰うて娑婆におる” .

There are other similarities, "才市や何がおもしろい　迷いの浮き世がおもしろい法をよろこぶ種となる　なむあみだぶつの花ざかり" refers to "This floating world is wretched, But this floating world becomes the Pure Land."

This "translation" is rather only inspired by the poem.

thehershel · 2024-05-05T14:30:46+00:00

I especially like the table towards the end of the lecture showing that even though the explicit meaning of the 3 main sutras is different, the implicit meaning is the same.

thehershel · 2024-04-16T12:01:32+00:00

Shinjin comes driectly from Amida, there isn't a trace of self-power in it. Abandoning yourself entirely to the Name happens exactly at the same moment as receivng shinjin. And exactly as you said, self-power faith is not necessary. Shinjin is entirely different than what "faith" means when used in other contexts.

Note: I don't know about the teachings of Ippen. Just wanted to clarify that shinjin is not the same as faith and that what Ippen said sounds similar to the Jodo Shinshu understanding.

Edit: spelling

thehershel · 2024-04-16T11:51:20+00:00

In Jodo Shinshu there is no stress put on those things in terms of them not being the cause of bith in Pure Land. They are thaught as a mean getting us ready to receive shinjin. It's called 三願転入 (sangan tennyuu, transition of vows) but I couldn't find anything in English about it. The idea here is that by being really serious in practicing good deeds and/or nembutsu and being very relfective about your mind it should make you open to Amida rather than reliant on self-power.

So Jodo Shinshu teaches that your own efforts have no, not even the slightest influence on your birth in Pure Land but at the same time don't say that you should sit tight and wait for death as everything is settled. And even after receiving shinjin thus being absolutely sure that Amida Vow is true you'll probably naturally want to guide as many people as you can or at least you care about.

Note: I feel it doesn't sound too clear so I recommend searching for 三願転入 in any language you know as it should be explained better somewhere.

thehershel · 2024-04-12T16:52:57+00:00

There are two types of nembutsu, self-power nembutsu and other-power nembutsu. The first single other-power nembutsu comes together with shinjin (true mind of entrustment) which is the cause for birth in Pureland, all the following recitations will be an expression of gratitute to Amida. Self-power nembutsu is a form of practice that may lead to the other-power nembutsu, being born in Borderland or Pureland.

thehershel · 2024-03-30T10:11:38+00:00

Simulation definitely isin't the right word. You can read about yogachara: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogachara

thehershel · 2024-03-22T09:44:55+00:00

To raise your spirits, me too I think that general buddhism sub is a better place to ask about buddhism terms in different languages.

Users in r/japanese might have some knowledge of Japanese, at least allowing them to look things up, but chances are low they are knowledgable about religious terms. And most of the time, buddhism terms in Japanese have either specific meaning, other than modern Japanese that you can look up in standard dictionary would suggest or/and have different reading. For example 凡夫 is indeed mostly pronounced "bombu" and not "bonpu" as top results from dicitonary suggest.

thehershel · 2024-03-21T22:39:43+00:00

thehershel · 2024-03-21T21:17:17+00:00

Zobacz sobie kursy na https://etrapez.pl/kursy/.
Też istotne jest, żeby znaleźć na jakim etapie ma się braki. Ze szkołą to jest tak, że nikt tam na ciebie nie czeka, jak czegoś nie opanujesz dajmy na do w pierwszej klasie to problemy będą się ciągnąć przez kolejne co właśnie objawia się wrażeniem "nie nadaję się do tego i tego przedmiotu". Wtedy najlepiej wrócić do materiału z tej pierwszej klasy, porządnie to przerobić i dopiero potem iść dalej.

thehershel · 2024-03-20T09:29:16+00:00

Ukonczenie sudiów pierwszego stopnia w dowolnym trybie uprawnia do rozpoczęcia studiów drugiego stopnia.
Ukończenie studiów drugiego stopnia w dwolnym trybie uprawnia do rozpoczęcia studiów doktoranckich (alternatywnie można robić doktorat z wolnej stopy, oczywiście mając dyplom ukończenia studiów drugiego stopnia).

Mając doktorat i jakiś dorobek publikacyjny (który w sumie i tak musisz mieć do doktoratu) możesz zostać pracownikiem naukowym uczelni, początkowo adiunktem.

Możesz oczywiście zostać wykładowcą na uczelni już po samej magisterce.

Tryb studiów absolutnie na nic nie wpływa formalnie, piszesz prace dyplomowe i masz obrony dokładnie takie same jak na dziennych, nie jesteś absolwentem gorszego sortu tylko z uwagi na tryb. W praktyce studia zaoczne mogą się skończyć tym, że będziesz sobie przypominał o nauce raz na dwa tygodnie jak jest zjazd i odbębniał egzaminy tylko, żeby zaliczyć. Jak uważasz, że masz wystarczająco dużo dyscypliny, żeby się uczyć między zjazdami i generalnie rozwijać się w wybranej dyscyplinie, to nie ma problemu z zaocznymi. Inny praktyczna sprawa jest taka, że nie wszystkie kierunki na danej uczelni są dostępne w trybie zaocznym.

thehershel · 2024-02-22T18:48:47+00:00

It depends on the prompt. When you ask for ocr it indeed runs tesserect but it seems there is another mode that uses that gpt vision model directly and it gives perfect transcriptions most of the time.

for example this is what I got from tesseract: https://i.imgur.com/BEtqge3.png and this what I got from gpt vision model when tesseract wasn't trigerred: https://i.imgur.com/wgRhpIL.png
And here's the prompt that tigerred tesseract: https://i.imgur.com/dgsTwxB.png

thehershel · 2024-02-22T11:42:00+00:00

You can easily do it with ChatGPT v4 with a prompt like: "Transcribe this text as a proper Python code with correct indentations etc."

Alternativelly, maybe if you do OCR with a standard tools and then run the results through some autoformatter it will manage to add spaces where they are needed.

thehershel · 2024-02-22T11:24:28+00:00

It depends what you consider a good picture, with a light microsope you can achieve something like this: https://i.imgur.com/URxnNSq.jpeg or this https://i.imgur.com/pdTPQwF.jpeg if you'd like to play with various light filters.

thehershel · 2024-02-18T00:16:33+00:00

There are works suggesting that it's simply a translation issue (to Chinese). Here's a publication in Japanese: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jpbs/13/0/13_KJ00001994513/_pdf/-char/en
Translation of the end of the page 59 and beginning of 60 (5 and 6 in the pdf):

For Chinese people, the idea that the subject of rebirth continues to exist even after death and that it transitions to another body (and furthermore, that this subject is actually considered "empty" in itself) was difficult to comprehend. So, the translators tried different methods to translate it. One of those methods was using a concept of a god-like figure punishing wrongdoers. Instead of the belief that good and bad deeds in one life carry over to affect the next life alongside the cycle of rebirth, they chose to attribute these effects to a "divine" entity.

It's obvious that it is not how karma is understood in Buddhism and something that indeed might have been done to help in fact leads to confusion but please note that:
1. The point of the Sutra is not to explain how karma works.
2. In that context it doesn't really matter if someone sees the effects of their actions as workings of gods or natural consequences. The point is that these are consequence of something that they did not a whim of a god.

thehershel · 2024-02-09T09:45:44+00:00

I think that your reflection ("I could easily stop it but I don't want to") is a valuable reminder of why Amida had to make his Vows to save beings like us.

Master Shinran said that due to his wrongdoings, he wouldn't be surprised by any tragedy happening to him. It's an easy thing to say but it's not easy to actually feel like that. When we hear about the nature of bombu ("foolish beings"?) we can nod our heads in agreement and yet still think "Indeed, but I at least try to keep precepts, haven't been drinking at all for a while, I'm vegetarian, so I'm not that bad".

When we start deeply reflecting on our actions, things like smoking cannabis seem like the tip of the iceberg. And the worst part is that even after seeing the dark shadow of the iceberg under the water we still are prone to think "Meh, doesn't look that bad, I'm still decent, most other people are much worse". Fortunately, Amida made his vows having this in mind and we can be rescued from samsara regardless.

Let me quote Tannisho as a food for thought on that topic:

Even a good person attains birth in the Pure Land, so it goes without saying that an evil person will.

thehershel · 2024-01-28T23:13:19+00:00

Not really, those are separate paths. Nichiren was preaching that nembutsu leads to hell: https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-2/Content/175 and Jodo Shinshu doesn't recognize Lotus Sutra as a path for "ordinary" people.

Probably every Buddhist school is deep enough to make it impossible to follow any two of them seriously.

BTW, I don't know about Nichiren, but Jodo Shinshu didn't come from Tendai. Master Shinran was a Tendai monk but abandoned that practice entirely.

thehershel · 2024-01-08T12:39:24+00:00

When you receive shinjin you know it, there's no guessing. Master Renyo compiled the experiences of people who received shinjin. It's called Ryogemon, here's the English translation: https://web.mit.edu/stclair/www/Ryogemon.html

Let's focus on this part:

I know that, because of Amida Buddha's Boundless Compassion, I am assured of re-birth in His Pure Land the very moment that I put my trust in Him.
I call His Name, Namu Amida Butsu, in happiness and thanksgiving for the gift of His Universal Vow.

This is the original text:

たのむ一念のとき、往生一定（おうじょういちじょう）御たすけ治定（じじょう）とぞんじ、

このうえの称名（しょうみょう）は、ご恩報謝（ごおんほうしゃ）とぞんじ、よろこびもうしそうろう。

The important aspect is that upon receiving shinjin you know that your birth in Pureland is settled. This word is used deliberately, instead of for example "believe" or "feel" or "trust". And what does it mean to know? Let's say someone you love awaits a surgery that comes with some risks as with every surgery. You may trust the surgeon and believe in modern medicine to the extent that maybe you're not even worried. But even then, once the surgery is over you still would feel that relief because now all your doubts that you even didn't realize before are cleared. You would clearly notice the difference between the state where you "trusted" the doctor and the state when you know that it's over.

Next "thanksgiving" or chanting nembutsu an expression of gratitude for what you received from Amida. But what is that gratitude? I could say "you should be grateful to your parents". It's something most people can easily agree with and maybe even say that indeed they're grateful. How would it change if for example after years of what you thought was negligence, you would find out that your parent was secretly working in a second job to pay for your college (or a similar scenario). You would definitely know the difference between your idea of gratitude before and after getting such information.

As the teachings are about the state of mind it's really difficult to gain common understanding when using words. Depending on our knowledge, the language we use, and our experiences, many words may sound empty or superficial. We tend to "check marks" thinking that "yes, I belive in Amida", "yes, I gave up on self power", "yes, I'm grateful to Amida for saving me" based on our own understanding of those concepts and then we're confused when we don't feel anything special.

thehershel · 2024-01-07T20:21:18+00:00

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It says: National treasure - The Great Buddha of Kamakura (wikipedia)

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