The Shin Buddhist Classical Tradition: A Reader in Pure Land Teaching

by Alfred Bloom (Editor), Kenneth K. Tanaka (Foreword by)

Overview

This second volume of passages gathered from the leading monks and teachers of the Pure Land, or Shin, school of Buddhist teaching focuses on religious practice. Extending from the foundational texts and first interpreters in the 4th century, to Rennyo in the 15th century, Professor Bloom’s selections trace the development of Shin Buddhist teaching from monastic visualization practices to the widely popular path to salvation through faith in, and recitation of, the name of Amida Buddha. Volume 2 features a foreword by Kenneth K. Tanaka and an introduction by renowned scholar and editor, Alfred Bloom, whose selected passages have been arranged topically for easy reference on issues of Pure Land teaching. The key interpreters featured are the Seven Great Teachers from India, China, and Japan (Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu; T’an-luan, Tao-ch’o, Shan-tao; Genshin, Honen), selected as doctrinal authorities by Shinran (1173-1263), the founder of the Japanese Pure Land sect.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781936597383
Publisher:	World Wisdom
Publication date:	09/01/2014
Edition description:	Volume 2
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 5.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Alfred Bloom is one of the foremost authorities on Shin Buddhism. He received his PhD. from Harvard, and he is former professor at the University of Hawaii and Dean of the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, California. He is the editor of The Essential Shinran and The Shin Buddhist Classical Tradition: A Reader in Pure Land Teaching, Vol. 1. He lives in Kailua, HI.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Foreword Kenneth K. Tanaka ix

Introduction Alfred Bloom xi

Conventions xv

II Teachings of the Pure Land Tradition (Cont.)

H Pure Land Practice 1

1 General Approach to Practice 1

2 Devotion to Amida and All Buddhas 9

3 Aspiration for Birth in the Pure Land 21

4 Contemplation/Meditation on the Buddha and Visualization of the Pure Land 28

5 Name-Nembutsu 34

6 Benefits 69

7 Repentance 72

8 Gratitude 76

9 Merit Transference 77

10 Self-Power and Other-Power 80

11 Learning: The Good Teacher 88

12 Sharing Dharma 90

a Bodhisattva in Return 92

I The Human Condition 93

1 Foolish Being 93

a Impermanence 112

b Equality: Non-discrimination 116

c Daily Life 117

d Licensed Evil 118

e Practice of Compassion 119

f On the Death of Loved Ones 120

2 Personal Confessions 120

3 Karma 125

4 Violation of Dharma and Retribution 137

5 Doubt 141

6 Doctrinal Disputes/Deviations and Regulations 144

J Philosophical Aspects 146

K Pure Land Tradition 152

L Society and Ethics 156

Selected Glossary 165

Bibliography 175

Index of Quoted Sources 178

Biographical Notes 181

Editorial Reviews

The Shin Buddhist Classical Tradition symbolizes Dr. Bloom’s deep personal wish for this branch of Buddhism to be made known to as wide an audience as possible. The vital passages of the tradition are categorized along topics that make the teachings more accessible to a contemporary audience regardless of their previous knowledge of Pure Land Buddhism

Kenneth K. Tanaka

Professor Alfred Bloom has spent a full and productive career making the ideas and values of Shin Buddhism accessible to English readers. In this momentous undertaking, he brings together his lifetime of insights into the tradition by gathering and organizing passages from the complete range of Pure Land teachings. Like Shinran’s Kyogyoshinsho, Bloom’s selections serve as a handbook for personal study and engagement with the tradition. Keeping his own commentary to a minimum, Bloom leaves it to his readers to discover the spiritual riches for themselves.

Thomas P. Kasulis

Alfred Bloom’s new anthology brings together a wide range of excerpts from sutras, commentaries, sermons, essays, letters, poetry, and other sources. Many of these materials have hitherto not been readily available in English translation. The volume’s thematic arrangement recommends it to both scholars and general readers. It will be welcomed by those interested in Shinran’s intellectual antecedents as well as the broader East Asian tradition of Pure Land Buddhism.

Jacqueline Stone