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Jodo Buddhism was founded
by Saint Honen in 1175. The founder was forty-two
years old at the time. The word Jodo,
from which the name of the sect was derived, means
"Pure Land," is the name given to the
Western Paradise or the realm of Amida Buddha,
the Buddha of Infinite Life and Light. Saint Honens
teaching was based upon salvation by Amida Buddha,
gaining merit and compassion by calling his name.
Rather than staying among the learned, Saint Honen
spread this teaching to people of all classes,
attaching little importance to complicated rituals
and ceremonies. This was revolutionary since Buddhism
in Japan was primarily taught to and practiced
among the social and political elite in his time.
Saint Honen emphasized the practice of calling
Amida Buddhas name, Namu Amida Butsu,
wholeheartedly, concentrating on a single-minded
focus, and said that by so doing, salvation was
secured. Thus, the interests of both this and
the other worlds were to be served. His teaching
soon spread all over Japan, and in the course
of over eight hundred years, his teaching has
found its way into Japanese culture and tradition.
Today, the teaching of Nembutsu has spread to
all corners of the world. It was introduced to
Hawaii in 1894 and continues to grow here.
The key point of Pure Land Buddhism is transcending
the human intellect. This is what Saint Honen
taught by saying: "Return to the foolish
self." However nothing is more difficult
in the present age than to throw away or transcend
the human intellect and return to a state of ignorance
for science progresses daily and admits no limits
to knowledge. To be intelligent is considered
the privilege of modern people. However wide the
realm of intellect becomes, it will always be
impossible to enter the realm of spiritual composure
only by means of intellect. The latter stands
on a plane different from that of the former.
Saint Honens admonition, "Return to the foolish
self," teaches us this.
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