Comments on: Still going

By: Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 20:39:15 +0000

Al: Thanks much. Congrats on the Firefox 3.0 release by the way.

By: Al Billings

Al Billings — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 01:22:52 +0000

I had missed that you were affiliated with anyone anymore. I wish you the best of luck in Eire.

By: tornadoes28

tornadoes28 — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:53:30 +0000

I also like Transient’s comment. It was very helpful.

By: Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:38:18 +0000

Wow, that was a killer analysis Transient. Thank you. That was seriously the thought process I was trying to figure out.

Whenever you’ve blogged about Jodo Shu resources, such as the website or books on Honen, there’s a noticeable “pep” to your writing, like it’s hitting chords that really resonate somewhere inside you.

Come to think of it, I’ve noticed this too. I wasn’t aware that it reflected in my writing (poor as it is). Thanks!

Thank you. Though you’ve been with us for a while, let me say welcome to the L8B!

By: transientandpermanent

transientandpermanent — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:13:08 +0000

I’ve been reading this blog for quite a while. I don’t know you personally, Gerald, but I get the definite feeling that the Jodo Shu path would really work out for you if you pursued it. It is more structured than Shin, more individual than Shingon, more family-oriented than Zen. It gives you things to do, yet doesn’t induce guilt if you fail to do them sometimes (or most times). You can still use Shin resources, yet aren’t tied to institutional or traditional demands, and the very lack of Jodo Shu organization in the West means a level of freedom and freshness that you might not experience elsewhere. And it’s the sort of thing that works perfectly well on your own in Ireland or in a tight-knit community in Japan. It’s similar to your family’s practice but just different enough that you could do your own thing and not be “going against the group.” And while it was Honen who created Japanese single-practice Buddhism, the way Jodo Shu embraces “auxiliary” practices (in a certain framework) and recommends numeric chanting connects it more readily to other forms of Buddhism, especially Chinese Pure Land and Tendai. Whenever you’ve blogged about Jodo Shu resources, such as the website or books on Honen, there’s a noticeable “pep” to your writing, like it’s hitting chords that really resonate somewhere inside you.

By: Jeannie

Jeannie — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:44:58 +0000

“I am not too concerned though as I am kind of working on becoming more confident in independent practice, as less concerned with dogma these days.”

If alone on a desert island, I would still follow Zen. What would you follow? It’s a rhetorical question, but it sounds like you’ve already asked and answered that one. Good for you!

If you seek out support of the Tibetan and Zen Buddhists in Ireland, you may naturally be drawn to some of their practices. But the opposite may also prove to be true- Tibetan and Zen Buddhists may recite the nembutsu with you. Wouldn’t that be cool?

By: Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:18:31 +0000

Hi Al,

Actually I’ll be living in Ireland very shortly (less than 4 weeks from now), and my last check showed that beyond Zen or Tibetan Buddhism, there weren’t a lot of Buddhist temples in Dublin. I am not too concerned though as I am kind of working on becoming more confident in independent practice, as less concerned with dogma these days.

Also, you might have missed an earlier post, but I do not follow Jodo Shinshu anymore. I am kind of following an independent temporarily until I settle down in something else. The nembutsu practice above is something new.

By: Al Billings

Al Billings — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:37:02 +0000

It’s pretty hard to do anything Shingon (or Tendai) without going either to Hawaii or Japan. There are Shingon temples in Seattle, Sacramento, and Los Angeles but that is it for the continental United States. There is a Tendai mission in upstate New York, a hermitage in Northern California, and a small temple in Los Angeles that is no longer officially affiliated. That’s it for Tendai.

For Shin Buddhists, there is a BCA branch in many places where there is a large ethnic Japanese population in America. That makes it a bit more approachable.

By: Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:48:50 +0000

Have you decided not to pursue the Shingon path?

For now, yes. It wasn’t going anywhere fast.

At what point in your life did you consider yourself a buddhist? Was it after joining a temple or was there some sort of innitiation?

Quite a while ago, particularly after I went to Japan in 2005. I was “into” Buddhism since I was a teenager (now in my 30′s), but after that trip to Japan, I really was more serious about it. The problem since then has been settling down on a path, which is still ongoing since 2005. I think bit by bit, things are falling into place, but it’s not obvious day by day. It’s something that I’ve been working through for a few years.

In any case, to become a Buddhist, you simply have to take refuge in the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha). Either you can do that officially at a temple, at the home shrine, or just a mental decision. Once you’ve done that, the rest is just details (which school I follow, what practice suits me, etc).

Hope that helps.

By: tornadoes28

tornadoes28 — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:27:32 +0000

Have you decided not to pursue the Shingon path?

At what point in your life did you consider yourself a buddhist? Was it after joining a temple or was there some sort of innitiation?