Latest News

• [Pinned] Note) Our emails may be sometimes sorted into your spam/junk folder. If you don't receive any response from us within a couple of days, please check such a folder as well.
• [8-Sep-2024] Another questions via the Q & A textbox is added (The answer is incorporated in the previous one.): Please see Q & A section.
• [27-Aug-2024] To two other readers who sent us questions via the Q & A textbox: Please jump to the Q & A page from the Q & A section below.
• [17-Aug-2024] To a reader who sent us a question via the Q & A textbox: We have prepared an answer. Please jump to the Q & A page from the Q & A section below.
• [25-Jul-2024] To the donor who sent us Bitcoin on July 22nd: Thank you very much for your valuable donation. We are truly grateful, and will use it carefully. If you don't mind, please let us know your name and/or contact information. In gassho, -Kasahara.
• [2-Mar-2024] For those who live in Japan and are interested in Jodo Shu -- At Rinkaian Temple, we welcome people who live in or around Tokyo and are interested in the teachings of Jodo Shu and Honen Shonin. If you understand Japanese, please join in the Nembutsu gathering (4th Sat.) and Sutra Copying Session (2nd Wed.) held every month at the temple. (Participation fee is 500 yen. For further information, please see our Japanese page or Rinkaian's Google calendar.) Moreover, another monthly event called "Live OTSUTOME" is held online in English. You can participate for free. (See above.)
  Besides, if you want to talk with Jodo Shu priests or come to the temple, please contact us by email.
• [13-Feb-2024] A new YouTube video has been uploaded. (https://youtu.be/qj4jGkL_y8k  ) The full version of OTSUTOME.
• [5-Jan-2024] Another new YouTube video is uploaded. (https://youtu.be/2MN0lD6ckNs  )
  Rev. Kasahara answers a question: How do you view the relationship between Amida Buddha and the Historical Buddha?
• [3-Jan-2024] We are happy to announce that our OTSUTOME book has now been published!
  The book is a paperback available from Amazon. For those in US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Japan, Canada, and Australia, you can get it directly from amazon in your country. Please search for a product code "B0CR8ZF419." (The right image is linked to the Japanese Amazon website.)
  We know that for other contries, there is a prohibitive shipping cost. We are asking you for any idea to circumvent this problem! Anyway if anyone in such a country wants to get the book, please contact us.
• ... and more

Essays

• Chapter 23 - "Suiji Junen" (Summary of a talk in Live OTSUTOME) (6-Jul-2024)

Q & A

• English (One added: 27-Aug-2024)
  • No. 131: Master Honen taught that the way to enter the Pure Land begins, not with knowledge or wisdom, but...
  • No. 132: What attitude should we have towards illness?
  • No. 133: How should we interpret Kannon's chapter of the Lotus Sutra? ... (A question from the Q & A textbox.)
  • No. 134: (Two Three Qs together)
    1) on the bodhisattva precepts in the Brahma Net Sutra;
    2) on Shinbutsu Shugo and Honji Suijaku; and
    3) on visualization meditation based on the Meditation Sutra. (Via the Q & A textbox.)
• Spanish/Español (18-Ago-2024)
  While our Spanish translations have been originally made by courtesy of Sebastian “Kodo” López, in addition, we now happily introduce a new translator Felipe “Shinpo” Rodriguez. (12-Jul-2024)
  • No. 62: En su libro, Japanese Spirituality, Daisetz Suzuki escribió que Hōnen y Shinran eran una misma personalidad espiritual. ...
  • No. 63: ... ¿esto se refiere al Nembutsu del Poder Propio?

• ♢ To You Who is Bereaved of a Loved One  (Apr 2019)
• ┗ A Letter from a Reader  (May 2019)
• ♢ On-line Kikyoshiki (Buddhist Initiation Ceremony) - Introduction  (Nov 2018)
  We are sorry that the ceremony has been closed. (About) (5-Feb-2024)
• ♢ OTSUTOME Book From Hawaii Council of Jodo Missions  (9.3 MB-PDF file; including 81 pages) (Jun 2020)
  
  • Spanish version
• ♢ Pure Land Life (Journal) (in the Jodo Shu Official Site)  (Dec 2021)
  You can also view a new leaflet Honen there.
• ♢ English version of Senchaku Hongan Nembutsu Shu [選択本願念仏集] (sometimes abbreviated as Senchaku Shu [選択集]) provided by BDK America: Downloaded PDF  (Feb 2023)

References by Jodo Shu Research Institute

While we introduced some JSRI articles here before, they are not available any more. Fortunately, I found them in 'Wayback Machine' (web.archive.org) although some included images are lost and formatting is incomplete. The following anchors are directly linked to web.archive.org. (By admin_yumiko; As of 20-Nov-2020)

If you want to develop a better knowledge about Jodo-shu, these references will be of much help to you. They are excellently solid and diligent works! ...in spite of their poor page layout :-(

(Some of them may include advanced or specialized research topics.)

•  From web.archive.org - The Life of Honen Shonin
  
•  From web.archive.org - The Teachings of Honen Shonin
•  From web.archive.org - About Ichimai-kishomon
•  From web.archive.org - About Isshi-koshosoku
•  From web.archive.org - About Senchaku Hongan Nembutsushu
•  From web.archive.org - About Bencho
•  From web.archive.org - About Shinran

Rin-Kai-An (literally 'forest-ocean-hermitage' in Chinese characters; pronounced "link-eye-an") is a temple devoted to "Jodo-shu" or Pure Land Buddhism, also called Honen Buddhism, a branch of Buddhism founded in the 12th century. Rinkaian itself was established in 2002 for missions of Jodo-shu, and is now located in Tama City, which is in the west area of Tokyo.

Although our web site currently does not provide much English content, you can download Daily service texts or the like from the downloads page, some of which are linked to YouTube videos.

Moreover, Jodo-shu's official site may help you learn about Honen Buddhism, the founder "Honen" himself, or Buddhism in general.

If you have any questions, you can contact us via any one of several means (including social media and e-mail).

From 'Hōjō' Kasahara

Hi. My name is Taijun Kasahara. Please call me "Hojo-san" (pronounced like "haw-jaw-san") or just "Kasahara-san," my family name.

I hope this site will show you the way of "easy practice" of Buddhism, o-Nembutsu ("o" is a prefix expressing respectfulness toward Nembutsu) and help you learn Honen/Pure land Buddhism in an authentic way.

Your requests and questions are welcome, and I hope to expand this site by conversing and communicating with everyone. Please don't hesitate to contact us. I'd be happ to hear from you any time.

Note: Sometimes Japanese people friendlily call such an elderly priest as "Hojo-san," in which hojo literally means a room or a hut with an area of about nine square meters, and in turn, mainly refers to a buddhist priest living in such a simple house.