Kill ‘em with kindness
Posted: February 29, 2008 | Author: Doug | Filed under: Buddhism, Jodo Shinshu, Religion | 5 Comments »Today’s comic from Sinfest is pretty cool:
It’s so easy to forget this lesson at times. We as individuals and as Buddhists are barraged with criticism all the time. People insult our faith, insult our view of the world and so on, but in the grand scheme of the Universe, does it really matter? Life is so wonderful and so fleeting that there’s no real point in getting upset. The only thing that gets bruised is the ego, and who needs the ego anyways?
I was listening to the Shin Buddhist hymn, the Shōshinge, while taking the bus to work, and I always enjoy the hymn that traditionally comes after, the Jōdo Wasan. In the Wasan hymn, Shinran wrote:
The light of wisdom exceeds all measure,
And every finite living being
Receives this illumination that is like the dawn,
So take refuge in Amida, the true and real light.
In light of these words, why get mad at others? Amida Buddha embraces all beings as they are with the Light of Wisdom and of Compassion, so there’s nothing to do but just be glad and say thank you.
Namuamidabu
Hello, this blog is about my life as a father, Buddhist and Japanophile. Any useful information I can pass along will hopefully make the 
Sorry to be a nit-picker but the Jodo Wasan verse isn’t part of the Shoshinge it just happens to follow it in the liturgy
At our temple a different group of 6 wasan (or 3 in the evening) are chanted after the Shoshinge on a consecutive basis but I think a lot of temples just use the first six all the time these days:
See: http://www.threewheels.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=3&id=6&Itemid=33
Shoshinge: http://www.shinranworks.com/majorexpositions/kgssII-101_102.htm
Jodo Wasan:
http://www.shinranworks.com/hymns/jodowasan1.htm
(You quoted verse 4, or 2 depending on whether your temple includes the two prefatory hymns).
Why so it is! Thanks for the correction. I fixed that part of the post.
Great cartoon!
The L8B is back and better than ever!
Nice one!
And thank you!
That comic is absolutely adorable. And I love the message—-people of all faiths need to take religious criticism more lightly.
Marcus: Thank you.
Baekho: Jesus’s injunction to turn the other cheek is about as true as it gets, if you ask me. The Buddha actually did say many times the need to endure abuse no matter what, so that too is true. But even more than this, is to simply see the ignorance and suffering in those who abuse you; that leads to a much more genuine compassion, not just restraint.