About the Author
Hello, this blog is about my life as a father, Buddhist and Japanophile / Koreaphile. Any useful information I can pass along will hopefully make the Internets a better place. Thanks for reading!
Category Archives: Nichiren
Nirvana Day 2010
Today, February 15th, marks the day in the Japanese Buddhist calendar of Nirvana Day or nehan-e (涅槃会):1 The picture above depicts the Buddha’s final passing, or parinirvana, in the Mahayana context as he is surrounded by disciples, bodhisattvas, demons, gods … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Nichiren, Tendai
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Who’s who in Buddhism, part 4: Kannon Bodhisattva
Arguably one of the most important figures in Japanese Buddhism, if not Mahayana Buddhism overall, is that of Kannon Bodhisattva. If you are visiting temples in Japan, or have an interest in Japanese religion, it really helps to know who … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Hosso, Jodo Shinshu, Jodo Shu, Nichiren, Religion, Shingon, Tendai, Zen
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The Living Message of the Lotus Sutra
Recently, while walking to work, I was thinking about the Buddhist text, the Lotus Sutra or hokkekyō (法華経) in Japanese.1 I was thinking of what the entire sutra means, since it is so long, and how this applies to life … Continue reading
Nichiren and Hell
I have to admit lately I have been developing an increasing intrigue toward Nichiren, his writings and thought. The interested started after I did more study of the Lotus Sutra lately, as well as learned to appreciate its message of … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Nichiren, Religion
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Exploring Kamakura
Of all the places in Japan to visit, Kamakura is by far one of my most favorite. This post was inspired recently after I found an excellent and comprehensive website about Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines in Kamakura to visit. … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Japan, Jodo Shinshu, Jodo Shu, Nichiren, Religion, Shinto, Travel, Zen
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Kenji Miyazawa’s “The Many-Order Restaurant”
One of Japan’s most famous poets and authors is Kenji Miyazawa (1876-1933). I know of him because his poem “Unbeaten by Rain” is one of my favorite Buddhist poetry. Miyazawa was a devout Nichiren Buddhist, and in his journals, you … Continue reading
List of Japanese Buddhist Holidays
Sometimes I just like to write reference posts for people searching for information on the Internet. This is one of them. There’s not a lot of consistent or comprehensive information about Japanese Buddhist holidays, even in the popular Zen Buddhist … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Jodo Shinshu, Jodo Shu, Nichiren, Religion, Shingon, Tendai, Zen
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So cool, so true
Another great comic from Xkcd: The edge of known space is 46 billion light-years away, which is equivalent to 460,000,000,000,000,000 kilometers, or 287,500,000,000,000,000 miles.* That and if we follow the current theory then it follows that the Universe is approximately … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Jodo Shinshu, Nichiren, Religion, Science, Tendai, Zen
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It’s that time again: Ohigan
Both the Spring and Autumnal Equinoxes mark the Japanese Buddhist holiday of Ohigan (お彼岸), which literally means “The Other Shore”, or rather the crossing of the other shore. The notion of the “other shore” is a very common metaphor in … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Jodo Shinshu, Nichiren, Religion, Shingon, Tendai, Zen
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The Pure Land and the Magic City
I am continuing with my read of Thich Nhat Hanh’s book, Finding Our True Home this weekend, and TNH brought up an interesting parallel worth passing along. In the book, he talks about as a young Dharma teacher, he was … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Jodo Shinshu, Jodo Shu, Nichiren, Religion, Tendai
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