Taking Refuge in Pure Land Buddhism

After my wife and daughter go to sleep, I usually stay up to clean up the house, and do things like studying Japanese and writing in this blog. I also often do a late night Buddhist ritual, but that ritual has changed and evolved over time. For example, I used to spend a lot of time chanting sutras in Japanese or Pali, but over time I stopped doing that and recite in English instead. Actually, I usually just read from a book, like a poetry reading. I’ve lost the fascination with chanting in foreign languages and just prefer reading the sutra over and over again in my language, so I can absorb the meaning better.

Also, I used to do a more elaborate where I would take refuge in the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha),* recite the Precepts, confess faults, read aloud multiple sutras, chant mantras, and so on. It was pretty complicated and over time I’ve found this difficult to keep up, since parenting is such an unpredictable life. After reading Rev. Ogui’s book Zen Shin Talks, I was struck by this parting words of advice:

Choose One Small Practice

People struggle to build up spiritual securities and happiness. They put energy into learning from different religious traditions. Sometimes people attend workshops and seminars. They spend time and money in this way. They keep attending and learning. Actually they don’t have to keep doing this.

Instead, choose one small practice and keep reflecting on it and doing it. Then you will understand everything. For example, in Christianity you are told to “love your neighbor”. Sincerely practice this and observe yourself when you see how difficult it is. From there, a spiritual gate will open up for you.

Gradually, I’ve pared down my practice more and more, except for taking refuge in the Three Treasures. But then I realized that reciting this every time is kind of formulaic to me, and becomes rote. Do I really mean it? Am I just doing this because people have been doing it for a long time, and that it’s an expression used in some of the sutras?

With this in mind I started wondering if I even need to keep reciting it every time. Here’s why.

For taking refuge in the Buddha, this is easy. As a Pure Land Buddhist, I take refuge in Amida Buddha every time I recite the Buddha’s name, or nembutsu. The textbook definition for this is we Pure Land Buddhists are essentially lazy and just want to be reborn in the Pure Land so we can enjoy life without problems. That’s kind of a joke, but I see that’s how people interpret Pure Land Buddhism. However, in Pure Land, Amida Buddha’s Pure Land becomes a lot more. The Pure Land becomes a focal point for us, especially those who don’t benefit from a good sangha, or great teachers from some other lineage. I don’t mean focal point as in meditation, I mean simply that aspiring to be born in the Pure Land and to meet Amida Buddha motivates us to live a wholesome life, rather than aimless, self-centered one. Also, as the Buddha of Infinite Life, one can always meet him, rather than lamenting that they were not born in the time of a Buddha. But also, in this life, Amida through the light of wisdom and compassion, guides me away from the self-centered life as well.

For taking refuge in the Dharma, this is also simple. Each night, I read aloud the Heart Sutra. It’s not a standard Pure Land text, but Rev. Ogui above printed it in the back of his book, and spoke about it a lot. The Heart Sutra isn’t even a genuine sutra of the Buddha, as recent scholarship shows that it was a hymn to condense the much larger 25,000-line Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. Nevertheless, the reason why the Heart Sutra is so popular is becomes it nicely condenses so many other teachings in Buddhism, hence it’s name. So, when I read it aloud in my native language, I am not just repeating words, I am trying to absorb the teachings and to grow from them. But also, when I read this or other sutras** aloud, these are traditionally treated as the words of the Buddha. Whether they are his real words or not is not important in the way historiography is in Western religions, because the message still reflects the Dharma, which the Buddha set in motion. So, in this sense, every time we read a sutra aloud, we’re taking refuge in the Buddha’s teachings, in other words, the Dharma. Also, on a daily basis, by reflecting on my own behavior, and also striving to follow the precepts, I take refuge in the Dharma this way as well (as well as taking refuge in Shakyamuni Buddha as the teacher).

For taking refuge in the Sangha this varies I think. For me, I get inspiration from Pure Land Buddhists like Honen and Shinran, not just in their words, but how they acted and treated others. So, by following the Pure Land tradition as they instructed it, I am taking refuge in the Buddhist community of which Shinran and Honen are a part. But also, when I read aloud the Heart Sutra from Rev. Ogui’s book, the fact that I use his book means I take refuge in him as a mentor and guide as well, hence I take refuge in the Sangha and draw inspiration from him as well. If you belong to a different tradition, obviously you would draw inspiration from different teachers, but the meaning is the same.

So, my ritual now consists of ringing the little bell at our altar, reading aloud from the Heart Sutra, or other sutras, reciting the nembutsu, and then wishing all beings well. It’s simple, but I find I get more out of this now, than the more elaborate stuff I did in the past. Thanks Rev. Ogui!

Namu Amida Butsu

* – In Japanese Buddhism, by the way, this is usually expressed as the formula:

• 南無帰依仏, namu kie butsu, I go to the Buddha for refuge
• 南無帰依法, namu kie hō, I go to the Dharma for refuge
• 南無帰依層, namu kie sō, I go to the Sangha for refuge

We do recite these at the Jodo Shinshu temple I knew back in Seattle, but I’ve also seen it recited at Shingon temple near there as well. Thanks to “Stephen” for the corrections on the kanji above.

** – Sometimes I read aloud the Amitabha Sutra instead because it’s also compact and summarizes the Pure Land path nicely, plus has some intriguing sections in it. I also sometimes read aloud excerpts from the Lotus Sutra because I love it’s message of full-buddhahood for all beings, and the Buddha as an eternal teacher (kind of like Amida, hm…)