Honji Suijaku, Kami, and Buddha-Nature

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Redfaery
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Honji Suijaku, Kami, and Buddha-Nature

Post by Redfaery »

So, I have a really weird theory that sprang out of my personal experiences both in America as an open-headed person who can sense the spirits of place, and in Japan amongst the kami. It's not...totally...weird, I guess....since I'm building on Honji Suijaku/Shinbutsu Shudo. Namely, I truly believe in the teaching that there is Buddha nature in every single thing: the trees, the rocks, the blades of grass. And since there is Buddha nature in these things, some of them have actually become enlightened. I can speak for personal experience on this last point, as in my childhood home there is a tree that is enlightened. My encounter with it about a year ago was what led me down a path to search for my spirituality. This led me to Sarasvati, and Sarasvati led me to the Dharma.

But you see, I have personal experience with the kami (in Japan) and their counterparts in America (humble locus genii, who don't expect worship, but are really happy just to be noticed). My experiences with them have taught me that everything does indeed have Buddha-nature. The soil under my feet has Buddha-nature. The stores I shop in have Buddha-nature. Above all, the land itself has Buddha-nature. It is whether or not these various entities have realized their Buddha-ness that becomes the issue. Clearly, the chestnut oak in my parents' yard has reached awakening. It pours out immense love and compassion to those who approach it. When I came to it, it gave me my first moment of awakening, and this moment cracked my head open. Before, I was able to receive the energies of spirits beyond the physical - the Catholic Saints, the Virgin, even a few interesting crystals - but had no idea what to make of them. After, it was like the aggregates that made up my senses were reshuffled into a different order in their pile, and I suddenly understood.

So....sorry for the ramble. But this is why the Honji Suijaku paradigm is really important to me. Any thoughts are welcome, even if you're just saying: :crazy:
NAMO SARASWATI DEVI
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. - GANDHI
I am a delicate feminine flower!!!!
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Seishin
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Re: Honji Suijaku, Kami, and Buddha-Nature

Post by Seishin »

Hi Redfaery,

I haven't had your experiences of kami, but wanted to say a little about Buddha-nature in Tendai.

What I have been taught is that, even in Tendai Buddhism, there isn't one definitive explanation of Buddha-Nature. The standard explanation (as I have been taught), is that all things express Buddha-Nature, due to the truth of the Middle (See Santai - The Three Truths) and Ichinen Sanzen. A better explanation than I could ever give can be found here http://www.shomon.dk/106.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There also exist the interpretations in which Honji Suijaku are accepted. I get the feeling this is more popular in Japan than it is in the west, but that is not to say that there isn't Tendai Buddhists in the west that believe this - I'm sure there are.

Here is a good article written by Paul Swanson on what he feels is Chih-i's teaching on Buddha-Nature https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/en/files/20 ... nature.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This may not be what you were looking for, but I hope it is of interest none-the-less.

In gassho,
Seishin
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Redfaery
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Re: Honji Suijaku, Kami, and Buddha-Nature

Post by Redfaery »

Thank you for the links. I actually printed out that Buddha-nature article, but never read it...so thanks again for reminding me about it.

It was actually my experiences of kami in Japan that led to the realization that the Dharma is the right path for me! Mainly because Sarasvati morphed into the goddess Benzaiten-sama during my stay... I was incapable of referring to her as Sarasvati for the duration of my time in Japan. Yet, Benzaiten-sama was just as numinous and awe-inspiring a being as Sarasvati. The two are the same entity, in my experience, even though the evolution of Benzaiten in Japan has made her rather different from the Hindu and Buddhist deity worshiped in India and Tibet and Nepal.

But it was also because when I went to the shrine every morning to pay my respects to Benzaiten-sama, the other worshipers accepted my presence and didn't treat me as an intruder or even stare at me as if I were a curiosity (and an aggressively Anglo-looking Westerner like myself gets A LOT of stares in Japan). The caretakers of the shrine came to treat me as a "regular," and we would have something like conversations, as best we could. This was difficult, because neither of the middle-aged women had any English, and while I love speaking Japanese and am a very enthusiastic communicator, I'm far from fluent! I recall the moment I won one of them over was when I referred to Benzaiten-sama as my "Sensei no Kami" - an phrase I patched together because nothing else seemed to fit the role She played in my life. Yet despite how odd it must have sounded, the caretaker immediately became very animated and warm towards me. Her eyes lit up and she started talking in Japanese very fast. I still would just love to know what she said to me, because I feel like it was something very heartfelt from her. After that, she made a point of always greeting me when she saw me arrive, and the other caretaker too began treating me not simply as a sympathetic Westerner, but more as if I were any other regular worshiper.
NAMO SARASWATI DEVI
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. - GANDHI
I am a delicate feminine flower!!!!
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