![Good post :good:](./images/smilies/goodpost.gif)
'Inconceivable' kinda says it all.
No point in trying, simply trust.
![Smiling :smile:](./images/smilies/smile.gif)
Sorry to focus only on these few words, but they're what really hit deep for me.duckfiasco wrote:Just rest for once and say the nembutsu.
Let that doubt and poor suffering be at ease
The Promise of Amida, pg. 305 wrote:Honen-shonin also said, "The threefold devotional heart will be cultivated as a matter of course if one without pretension continuously practices the karmic act [nembutsu] for attaining birth in the Pure Land. To illustrate, one cannot see the refelction of a full moon in a reedy pond from far away. However, if one draws close to the pond, one can see the reflection of the moon among the reeds. The moon of the threefold devotional heart reflects with certainty on the pond, even though the reeds of illusory thought grow thick."
Sorry to hear duck.duckfiasco wrote:It's been a difficult year and especially difficult month, friends.
I've always preferred the interpretation of Mappo on an individual basis and not a statement of a priori fact about the status of the Dharma teachings in the world. Mappo manifests when our capacities are particularly low, when we don't have the supporting causes and conditions to perform austere practices, and that's why this Dharma gate is appropriate for us.duckfiasco wrote:I've been thinking of something I always set aside as pointless: the teachings of the Dharma ending age. I now feel like it can happen even in one's own lifespan. Buddhism may cease to have meaning; trying to practice may be like using a sieve to drink water. Even so, no matter if we understand it or not, Amida has taken us up. What a relief.
source: http://web.mit.edu/stclair/www/OFUMI.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;Letters of Rennyo wrote:Fascicle 1, Letter 5. On Pilgrimage in the Snow
From [the beginning of] this year, an unexpectedly large number of priests and laypeople—men and women from the three provinces of Kashu, Noto, and Etchu—have flocked in pilgrimage to this mountain at Yoshizaki; I am uneasy as to what the understanding of each of these people may be.
The reason for this, first of all, is that in our tradition, assurance of birth in the Land of Utmost Bliss with this life is grounded in our having attained other-power faith. However, within this school, there is no one who has attained firm faith. How can people like this be readily born in the fulfilled land? This matter is of the greatest importance. In what frame of mind have they come here through this snow—having fortunately managed to endure the long journey of five to ten ri? I am thoroughly apprehensive about this. But whatever their thinking may have been in the past, I will state in detail what should be borne in mind from now on. Be attentive; listen very carefully.
The point is to keep the matter of other-power faith firmly in mind. Beyond that, you should just say the nenbutsu—walking, standing, sitting, and lying down—in gratitude for [Amida] Buddha’s benevolence. With this understanding, the birth that is to come [in the Pure Land] is assured. In the fullness of this joy, go to the temples of the priests who are your teachers, and offer some tangible expression of your gratitude. [One who does] this is to be declared a person of faith who has fully understood the principles of our tradition.
Respectfully. Bunmei 5 (1473), 2.8