I would like to recommend John Paraskevopoulos's new book on Shin and the Amida Dharma,
titled Immeasurable Life.
The book relates Shin to basic Buddhist teachings and demonstrates how it can lead adherents to the fulfillment of their original aspiration to Buddhism. Carefully avoiding the modern tendency to deny the sacred Transcendent and the "ontological" reality of Amida Buddha, Paraskevopoulos emphasizes both the Buddha's immanent "personhood" as well as his primordial transcendent connection to the Dharmakaya.
What I most enjoyed is the central message that Shin presents us with a real Savior - one who, unlike Jesus and other such figures - does not offer us heavenly bliss, but rather the final vivifying of our hitherto "dormant" Buddha Nature. That is, we don't go to the Pure Land to retire into a rapturous mystical union with a deity, but rather, to undergo the process of ego-loss and realization of ourselves as Buddhas.
This is truly a message of hope, especially for those - like the current writer - for whom self-power methods such as meditation and concentration simply do not work. Rather, Shin people rely solely on the Buddha's "Other Power", not on their own struggling efforts. We realize that we are living in the Age of Dharma Decline as predicted by Buddha. Of course, this does not forbid anyone who chooses not to practice Shin from using self-power methods. But it does say that in this nearly spirit-less age, our enlightenment is better left to Amida Buddha's store of merit, grace, compassion, and His Immeasurable Light.
Those interested can find the book on Amazon:
New Book by John Paraskevopoulos
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