Imagine a religion without original sin, a Judgment Day, a wrathful deity, a Creator God, an everlasting hell or heaven, Satan, a deep sense of guilt, a personality cult, an idolizing of a deity or book, a blood sacrifice, the rejection of personal experience, a mandated dress code, a conflict with science, the rejection of the human form, holy wars, forbidden foods, the murder of apostates, and a cultish mindset. You may not realize that a religion exists without all of these notions and practices, and it is called Shin Buddhism.
Shin Buddhism is a 800 year old tradition and a way of life dedicated to unfold the endowed purpose of every human being to realize supreme enlightenment. This is a encouraging path open to everyone; it is especially geared to ordinary working people involved in daily responsibilities and worldly entanglements. It is called a natural path because it is acknowledges the biophysical reality of being existence, and devoid of superstitious dogma, and is based on personal experience and the dharma -reality-as-it-is. It uses everything in life as a vehicle on the journey to enlightenment. It never forces itself onto others and maintains a gentle but persuasive demeanor. Importantly, it does not have a blind eye to what it is to be a real human being but it fully accepts the human condition with all of its limitations and promise.
Being an encouraging and natural way, it is also all-inclusive and embracing because like the open sky it accepts everybody – the lost, the outcasts, and even non-believers. No matter who you are or what you have done or what burdens you carry, you and everyone else are assured to be transformed through the power of the Great Compassion and Wisdom into an authentically complete and awakened person. This is the assurance of Shin.
Shin Buddhism can be translated as, “Buddhism of the Heart”. It does not ask for followers but seeks dedicated adherents to practice understanding, love, and gratitude, so that together we are transformed with all other beings into our highest spiritual potential – supreme enlightenment. As a wholesome vehicle to spiritual practice, it does not have any requirements to join but only to have the gracious faith and commitment to transmute the burdens of daily life into the source of received understanding and compassion.
What We Believe
In general, many Buddhist traditions, such as Zen, assert their lack of adherence to any fixed belief and reject any form of dogmatism, but instead put their focus on personal practice and value experiential understanding over beliefs. They emphasize meditation, mindfulness, and direct insight in their quest to awaken to the nature of reality. In addition, they proclaim that beliefs are conducive to attachment, which is one of the primary causes of suffering. Although they may deny any adherence to any form of fixed beliefs, in reality, they do observe a certain set of principles or beliefs such as upaya, shunyata, and karuna, and in the efficacy of practice.
At the Buddhist Faith Fellowship, we view having a tangible set of beliefs as essential on our walk to spiritual realization. Saying that, like other Buddhists, we appreciate the experiential over mere concepts. However, having a discerning core set of beliefs serve as guiding principles that provide a solid framework to understand and engage with the Shin teachings, especially for those who are new to Shin or haven’t yet experienced shinjin or Amida Consciousness. Understanding our core beliefs steers us on the right direction on topics such as ontology, faith, practice, and soteriology offering a clear spiritual map on the journey and a meaningful way to interpret our ensuing psycho-spiritual experience.
Furthermore, since Shin is also community orientated, core beliefs forge the perimeters of group identity, and likewise allow for the preservation and transmission of these teachings to others and over generations. Also, beliefs provide us with a basis for clarity and emotional support in times of darkness and uncertainty, in which they become a refuge to help us overcome and weather the adversity that life can wrought upon us. Finally, a set of beliefs provide a moral or ethical framework to help guide our thinking and actions so that we can distinguish between the skillful from the unskillful, which is so crucial in Buddhism for the creation and dissolution of positive and negative karma.
Below is a brief summary in 26 points of the core beliefs and tents of our Fellowship clarified by our teacher, Rev. D. Senpai, M.A. They are not creedal pronouncements that bind us into dogmatism but are illuminating guideposts that assist us on walking our unique vision, interpretation, and practice of the Shin path. You don’t have to believe in all them to subscribe yourself as a Shin Buddhist but at least keep an open mind, a beginner’s mind, as we Buddhists say, and perhaps in the future with greater study, practice, and deep hearing, your views may or may not change.
1. We believe…in the One Mind as the Ultimate Reality. Also known as Suchness or Dharmakaya (Dharma), it is the unborn, original, unconditional, empty, and inconceivable and infinite enlightenment, both immanent and transcendent, present in everybody, in everything, and everywhere, and transcending all finite forms. It is the intelligence, beauty and power of the cosmos. This is not a Creator God or a maha deva but is that which transcends Creator and creation, and is our true nature or ultimate source.
2. We believe…in the reality of universal compassion. Out of compassion with the suffering of sentient beings, the formless Dharmakaya reveals itself in forms. It manifests itself in the limited consciousness of sentient beings, as Amida, the Buddha of Immeasurable Life and Light, in order to draw all beings unto itself using skillful means to experience its original enlightenment. Amida identifies with our sufferings and joys, and enjoins all of us to be compassionate and loving with others.
3. We believe…in the teachings of the historical Buddha. Suchness took the form as the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni (Gautama), who was born of Maya Devi, lived as a prince, became enlightened, taught the dharma in India, and passed into Parinirvana. The sole purport of Shakyamuni’s mission was to teach about the human condition and the various means to liberation from samsara through the realization of enlightenment.
4. We believe…in the reality of the dharma. Many modernists view the Triratna, the threefold aspect of the Buddha – Dharmakaya (Suchness), Sambhogakaya (Amida Buddha & Bodhisattvas) and Nirmanakaya (Shakyamuni) – as well as the Primal Vow, the Pure Land, and the Six Realms as mere metaphors or skillful means (upaya). Quite the opposite, for us, they are living persons, and real places and things even though they also hold strong symbolic qualities to help seekers realize their spiritual purpose.
5. We believe…in the Three Jewels. The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha is the best threefold vehicle to realize human fulfillment, to discover enlightenment, to engage in the truth and beauty of life, to live a moral life, and to offer a practical way to accept impermanence and transcend suffering.
6. We believe…in the teachings of the Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life. The Larger Sutra harbors the true purport of the historical Shakyamuni Buddha’s mission and teachings, that proclaim the mythopoetic story of Amida Buddha, the origin and significance of the Primal Vow, its universal accessibility, and the depth of its liberating compassion. As an inspired scripture, it provides the best teachings to live our lives.
7. We believe…in the Primal Vow. Ten kalpas ago, the eon around the time of the Big Bang, Suchness initiated the means for all sentient beings to discover supreme enlightenment. In mythopoetic language, it did so through the culmination of Amida’s Great Practice, the fulfilment of the 48 Vows, undertaken in his causal form as Bodhisattva Dharmakara. The Larger Sutra depicts the 18th Vow – the Primal Vow – as the most inclusive and easily accessible means for ordinary people to attain enlightenment. The Primal Vow best encapsulates universal love and compassion ensuring rebirth in the Pure Land to all who deeply hear, entrust, and call upon his name with shinjin (Amida consciousness).
8. We believe…in the reality of the Pure Land. Also known as Sukhavati, it is a spiritual realm or dimension created by Amida through the fulfilment of his 48 Vows that summarizes the best conditions to realize enlightenment; In order words, Sukhavati lies outside of samsara, the realm of birth and death, and thus is free of defilements and suffering. It is there where human beings can be reborn after death to easily discover the unsurpassed supreme enlightenment and later return to this world of samsara as bodhisattvas for the benefit of all beings.
9. We believe…that human life has a purpose. Every person has a natural and endowed purpose (telos) to realize supreme enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings by the teachings and practices in accordance with either the 18th, 19th or 20th of Amida Vows.
10. We believe…in the power of faith. True faith is a transformational experience whose source comes solely from Amida Buddha; it is based on confidence, trust, and noetic (intuitive) understanding and is not founded in ego-driven wishful feelings, blind belief, creeds or fixed dogma. Through faith in our Ultimate Source (dharma), the virtues of Amida Buddha, the benefits of the teachings and Sangha, and the gracious power of the Primal Vow, we shall necessarily belong to the company of the truly assured.
11. We believe…in spiritual rebirth. Shinjin (Amida consciousness) is the heartfelt entrusting in Amida’s Primal Vow that gives assurance of rebirth in the Pure Land after death. It is characterized as a complete letting go of all self-powered (ego-driven) efforts for religious emancipation and to become completely reliant on Other Power (Buddha-centered power). In this life, shinjin consciousness provides many benefits to the bestowed such as non-retrogression, the protection of the buddhas, the practice of compassion, and inner joy. It is considered a gift conferred by Amida rather than a mind-set that can be cultivated. As Master Shinran taught us, “shinjin is none other than Buddha-nature. The Buddha-nature is dharma-nature. Dharma-nature is Dharmakaya”.
12. We believe…in the inherent limitations of being human. Our inherent boundaries and constraints are due our physical and mental capacities conferred to us by the natural processes of evolution. Due to our advanced “primate” brain, nervous system, and endowed and self-generated karmic conditions, we unfold a shadow side or foolish nature (bonpu). Our minds are most often blindly ensnared in sufferings (dukkha) because of delusions, attachments, and aversions, preventing us from discovering inner peace and enlightenment. In the words of Master Shinran, we know nothing of our karmic evil or the vastness of Amida’s benevolence. Understanding this, in seeking the religious or spiritual life, we should embrace the teachings of Other Power and entrust ourselves solely in the Primal Vow.
13. We believe…in universal salvation. Suchness through its Amida form, actively seeks to liberate all sentient beings by embodying itself as Amida’s name – Namo Amitabha or Namu-Amida-Butsu; this living name is the all-inclusive gate for any human being to eventually realize supreme enlightenment in the Pure Land. Shinjin unfolds when we are spiritually guided to deeply hear, affirm, and entrust ourselves to Amida’s Primal Vow. With this new consciousness, the promise of total liberation is assured regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, moral status, age, religion, intelligence, education or any other category.
14. We believe…in the reality of Other Power. No one human life is wasted or abandoned but all will be transformed by the natural working of the Primal Vow, that is, buddha-centered power. We acknowledge that seeking enlightenment from our own self power (ego-driven) designs is sheer folly. Because of our deep-seated and blind karmic negativity, we cannot attain salvation by our own efforts. The teachings are clear, Suchness is Other Power, Other Power is the Primal Vow, the Primal Vow is Amida’s grace, grace is faith in the Primal Vow, and we are ultimately liberated by grace alone.
15. We believe…that even an evil person can be born in the Pure Land. Amida’s 18th Vow – the Primal Vow – firmly ensures that anyone who sincerely entrusts themselves to Amida and voices his name, regardless of moral imperfections, past follies, or evil deeds, will be reborn in the Pure Land. Thus, the teaching says that through the Primal Vow, without severing blind passions, one will realize awakening in the Pure Land
16. We believe… in positive emptiness. According to Tathagata-garbha philosophy, the Perfection of Wisdom teachings, Prajnaparamita, are not a complete doctrine because Suchness cannot be described solely in negative terms. While it may lack any attributes of individual distinction, and also be devoid of defilements, Suchness is not empty of positive qualities, and is endowed with such attributes like cognition, bliss, purity, wisdom, and compassion, which radiates throughout the cosmos as Buddha-nature.
17. We believe…life is a bumpy ride, but the universe is fundamentally good. It is our ego-driven life that causes most of the suffering in the world but luckily our self-centeredness can be transformed into a source of wisdom and compassion (Buddhahood) by Other Power. This is the Buddha’s teaching of the Four Noble Truths and the triumphant activity of the Primal Vow.
18. We believe…in the interdependence of all things. Everything simultaneously co-arises with everything else in mutual creation and is liken to a vast and boundless net, in which every form is intimately part of everything else and in dynamic change.
19. We believe…in the reality of karma. Nothing just happens but all is the result of karma (cause and effect) through our thoughts, speech, and actions. On a personal level, this reality emphasizes the power of intention, individual responsibility, and the liberating karmic power of Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow. Through the light of the Primal Vow (buddha-centered power), the ice of our negative karma melts into the water of virtues and enlightenment.
20. We believe…in the reality of samsara. Our reality is the demesne of birth, illness, toil, suffering, death and rebirth, and everything within it is subject to incessant change. Samsara is akin to a multiverse, as posited by M-theory and the Many Worlds Interpretation (MWI) of Quantum Mechanics, consisting of six interconnected dimensions known as the Six Realms: Gods, titans, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell. Only through the various vehicles offered by the Buddhist teachings, and specifically, the open gate of the Primal Vow, can we may made free from being reborn within these realms of birth, suffering, and death.
21. We believe…in the reality of hell. There are two ways to interpret hell (naraka). In either case, they are considered temporary states and not as everlasting spiritual prisons. One kind of hell exist in everyday life, based our ego-driven mind-sets, which may be experienced at various levels, as suffering and misery. The other exists on a macrolevel within the Six Realms, and within naraka, there are also many levels of intensity, however, within each are gracious bodhisattvas (spiritual beings) attempting to liberate these denizens from their self-imposed torments. It is important to note that evil is not a living entity but is simply the symptom of spiritual ignorance or delusion; thus, it can be transformed into compassion and wisdom.
22. We believe…in the power of practice. We affirm the Great Practice, which is the voicing of Amida’s name – Namo Amitabha or Namu-Amida-Butsu – as the selected practice of Amida for attaining rebirth in the Pure Land. As noted by Master Shinran, engaging in sundry practices to attain rebirth will invariably strengthen self power (ego-driven) reliance and misplace one’s total trust away from the working of the Primal Vow. However, stating this fact, we recognize that Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism offer a vast toolbox of practical techniques and ethical guidance that can ameliorate suffering in our minds, daily lives, communities, and the world. We believe the Buddhist mission is not just about seeking supreme enlightenment but also to alleviate suffering in this world. Therefore, to promote happiness and human flourishing, we fully encourage and utilize the Five Precepts providing mutual ethical support, respect, and security, foster a healthy human diet and wholesome lifestyle, uphold our version of the Uposatha, and engage in mental cultivation (bhavana) through various meditation practices to cultivate honest awareness, introspection, and mindfulness.
23. We believe…in the sacred. There is a transcendence, higher reality, and living divine presence that deserves our reverence. Being uncreated, formless, empty (shunyata), unconditioned, timeless, and boundless, it is best approached and understood through mythos and poetics, and an open mind. It can never be approached or truly understood by concepts, scientific inquiry, rationality, existential or post-modern philosophies. Our central divine image is Amida Buddha who is an intermediary appearance of the living and formless Suchness. The sacred is symbolized as both the boundless life and light and as Amida’s name, and may be experienced through deeply hearing (monpo), entrusting in and voicing that name. Subsequently, shinjin is the consciousness of being wonderstruck by the awakening to the timeless sacred presence within and around us, and the conferred intuitive knowing that we are divinely grasped and never to be forsaken.
24. We believe…in focusing on the Buddha Dharma. The central purport of the Buddhist teachings is to provide skillful ways to realize supreme enlightenment, uphold and share truth, the wholesome, and beauty, and to offer a space to cultivate compassion, joy, and peace. In addition, from its inception, Shin Buddhism has been the path of supreme optimism with a clear universal narrative conjoined with the unambigious values, teachings, and practices based on the Mahayana. Sadly, in our contemporary culture, there are certain philosophies, ideologies, and methodologies that have proven to be causes of great confusion, destruction, and suffering. They have created a global crisis of meaning, identity, nihilism, and polarization. Unfortunately, instead of being a refuge from such ideologies, many Buddhist sanghas and other religious churches too, have consciously or unconsciously adopted these distracting and harmful philosophies, ideologies, and methodologies into their teachings, governance, and social activities that ultimately misrepresent, pervert, and alter their ancient teachings. Therefore, we firmly focus on the Buddhist teachings (Buddha Dharma) and diligently refrain from integrating, blending or entertaining any aspect of these ideologies into our Shin Buddhist teachings, governance, practices, and communities. These include but are not limited to the following: post-modernism, meta-modernism, political and cultural Marxism, moral relativism, and any form of critical theory.
25. We believe…in being in service to others. Our community serves people, animals, and our beautiful planet, as the historical Buddha served those in need and the Earth. Through service to others, we unfold the truth, the good, and beauty in the world. For example, this means sharing the teachings locally and globally, teaching others healthy habits and consumption. getting involved in our communities for the improvement of society and the world, and assisting other species and their habitats.
26. We believe…in growing in the dharma. Every Shin disciple should grow in the dharma – the teachings – have a honest engagement with oneself and with life, to act ethically, to learn and live out our purpose, and to embody the Amida’s name for the sake of all beings. In the words of Master Shinran, “be a prayer.”