Honen's One-Sheet Document

Post Reply
Admin_PC
Former staff member
Posts: 4860
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 11:17 pm

Honen's One-Sheet Document

Post by Admin_PC »

Thought I'd take this opportunity to share Rev Kosen Ishikawa's videos on Honen's One-Sheet Document...

Part 1:
phpBB [video]


Part 2:
phpBB [video]


Part 3:
phpBB [video]


Part 4:
phpBB [video]


Part 5:
phpBB [video]


Part 6:
phpBB [video]


Part 7:
phpBB [video]


Part 8:
phpBB [video]
Gary
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2012 7:09 pm

Re: Honen's One-Sheet Document

Post by Gary »

Porkchop,

A job well done. I hope others in the Pureland Forum came come to know Honen's teachings from a great teacher (Ishikawa Sensei). Namu Amida Butsu.

-Gary
Admin_PC
Former staff member
Posts: 4860
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 11:17 pm

Re: Honen's One-Sheet Document

Post by Admin_PC »

Gary wrote:Porkchop,

A job well done. I hope others in the Pureland Forum came come to know Honen's teachings from a great teacher (Ishikawa Sensei). Namu Amida Butsu.

-Gary
Posting these was long over-due, but then I've got a bit of a backlog. I still owe him some cleaned up English for the subtitles of that video (like I promised on the Google Group), but every time I sit down to do it something comes up. I'll try to be a bit more proactive.
User avatar
Luke
Posts: 1999
Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:04 pm
Location: Europe

Re: Honen's One-Sheet Document

Post by Luke »

I have watched the first five videos just out of curiosity. They don't make me want to practice Jodo Shu, but they have given me a better understanding of this tradition and of Japanese language and culture. Rev. Ishikawa seems like a very kind and joyful person. If anybody thinks that Buddhism is only about misery and suffering, they should take a look at Rev. Ishikawa! :D
Malcolm
Posts: 42974
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:19 am

Re: Honen's One-Sheet Document

Post by Malcolm »

Luke wrote:I have watched the first five videos just out of curiosity. They don't make me want to practice Jodo Shu, but they have given me a better understanding of this tradition and of Japanese language and culture. Rev. Ishikawa seems like a very kind and joyful person. If anybody thinks that Buddhism is only about misery and suffering, they should take a look at Rev. Ishikawa! :D

Buddhism is only about escaping misery suffering; but if someone thinks there is even a microgram of happiness in samsara, they are pretty deluded. However, people on the path have good reason to be happy.
User avatar
Luke
Posts: 1999
Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:04 pm
Location: Europe

Re: Honen's One-Sheet Document

Post by Luke »

Malcolm wrote:Buddhism is only about escaping misery suffering; but if someone thinks there is even a microgram of happiness in samsara, they are pretty deluded. However, people on the path have good reason to be happy.
Your comment was very timely because in Part 6, Rev. Ishikawa speaks a bit about the suffering of samsara at the beginning of the video. I guess it's a topic which any authentic Buddhist teacher gets around to sooner or later.
User avatar
Luke
Posts: 1999
Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:04 pm
Location: Europe

Re: Honen's One-Sheet Document

Post by Luke »

In Part 7, Rev. Ishikawa talks a bit about the views of some of Honen's main students, such as Bencho. He also mentions that he feels that there is very little information about Pure Land Buddhism available in English (this is part of his motivation for making these videos). Perhaps more Pure Land texts will be translated into English in the future...

One thing these videos have given me is just the opportunity to see how a Pure Land Buddhist priest thinks and acts. Rev. Ishikawa is very knowledgeable and rational, so this is what impresses me the most. He doesn't have any overdone "Praise Amitabha! Hallelujah, brothers and sisters!" type of attitude that I had always expected Pure Land priests to have.
Malcolm
Posts: 42974
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:19 am

Re: Honen's One-Sheet Document

Post by Malcolm »

Luke wrote:In Part 7, Rev. Ishikawa talks a bit about the views of some of Honen's main students, such as Bencho. He also mentions that he feels that there is very little information about Pure Land Buddhism available in English (this is part of his motivation for making these videos). Perhaps more Pure Land texts will be translated into English in the future...

One thing these videos have given me is just the opportunity to see how a Pure Land Buddhist priest thinks and acts. Rev. Ishikawa is very knowledgeable and rational, so this is what impresses me the most. He doesn't have any overdone "Praise Amitabha! Hallelujah, brothers and sisters!" type of attitude that I had always expected Pure Land priests to have.
Ippen is an interesting character.
Admin_PC
Former staff member
Posts: 4860
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 11:17 pm

Re: Honen's One-Sheet Document

Post by Admin_PC »

Luke wrote:In Part 7, Rev. Ishikawa talks a bit about the views of some of Honen's main students, such as Bencho. He also mentions that he feels that there is very little information about Pure Land Buddhism available in English (this is part of his motivation for making these videos). Perhaps more Pure Land texts will be translated into English in the future...
Yes, Honen maintained that it was important to have a healthy level of disgust for the world of suffering.
Luke wrote:One thing these videos have given me is just the opportunity to see how a Pure Land Buddhist priest thinks and acts. Rev. Ishikawa is very knowledgeable and rational, so this is what impresses me the most. He doesn't have any overdone "Praise Amitabha! Hallelujah, brothers and sisters!" type of attitude that I had always expected Pure Land priests to have.
I would just like to take a moment and say "thank you" for that observation. That initial assumption seems to show up a lot in people who criticize the Pure Land schools.
Malcolm wrote:Ippen is an interesting character.
Yeah I've found a lot of value in his writings. If most of his disciples hadn't committed suicide (by boat) I think he'd be much more influential these days. That being said, a lot of his teachings on non-dualism show up in his predecessor Shinran. His example as a nembutsu hijiri (wandering nembutsu ascetic) is also apparent in predecessors such as Kuya. Ippen's explanation of the Buddha names at the end of the Amitabha Sutra that appears in Thomas Cleary's "Zen in the Pure Land" is perhaps the best commentary on the topic that I've ever seen.
User avatar
Luke
Posts: 1999
Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:04 pm
Location: Europe

Re: Honen's One-Sheet Document

Post by Luke »

I just watched the last video. In video 8, Rev. Ishikawa compares both Jodo and Shin Buddhism in a general way and then talks about the 5 right methods of Pure Land practice (starting at around 30:40).

Anyway, at least now I have some idea what Jodoshu Buddhism is all about. And beyond any religious doctrines, Rev. Ishikawa just seems like a really nice guy. :)
Post Reply

Return to “Pure Land”