A Year in the Life of a Shin Buddhist

Hello dear friends...

Thank you for reading my posts. I have received many positive notes of encouragement to continue sharing my thoughts. I have also been asked if I would compile all of my blog posts into a book. Thank you for that!

Forgive my periods of silence as I struggle with boughts of depression...a lifelong struggle to stay afloat on Amida's great ocean of compassion.

I don't claim to know much.
I am not a very good student.
I am not a very good teacher.
My mind is always whirling with deep thoughts and foolishness and sometimes it's hard to separate the two.

My ability to study and retain has been a lifelong difficulty. So I will never be a scholar or have a degree of any stature. I will just be the quirky lady with the red wooden clogs feeding her chickens and whispering "namandabu" to whoever will listen.


Na man da bu........



Thank you,
Jishin


- Namu Amida Butsu

Your heart is filled with the Nembutsu

For Rev. Greg Gibbs and his family
January 29, 2014


Your heart is filled with the Nembutsu.
Let your fear, sadness and anger swim in Amida's ocean of compassion.
Let it go and float...float, let go, and be free.
You are surrounded by those that care about you.
You are surrounded by those that are grateful to you.
You are surrounded by your family and friends.
You are surrounded by love.
You are grasped by Amida, never to be abandoned...never to be abandoned.

This is your mantra.
This is your time.....
This is your heart filled with the Nembutsu!

Namo Amida Butsu....














Thank you,
Diane J.

No good answers

Today has been a stressful day and I have no good answers to stop the emotional roller coaster I am on.

Amida is not magically going to "make it all better", no one is coming to "save" me...it is what it is.

The root of my suffering is planted deep in my own mind. I react to bad news, I cower when others are angry, and I choose to shut down emotionally when the going gets too rough...self preservation isn't always a pretty or healthy response.

So, you might ask, "where is your faith? Where is your Buddha?"

And I will respond by saying, "I have faith in the process that is beyond my control. I trust that compassion will make it's way into my heart and mind and help me to work through my thoughts, which in turn will help me to make better choices..Therein lies the wisdom that will find it's way through the muddy-ness of "me" and bloom right under my nose".

I trust in this process...I entrust to the working of Compassion and Wisdom...I'm embraced by Amida Buddha...

That's what I've got...that is what has got me...

Namo Amida Butsu!


Thank you,
Jishin


- Namu Amida Butsu

There is always...

There is always a smile buried beneath my darkness...
It is Amida's smile that rests upon my heart
There is always a light shining deep within my despair...
It is Amida's unwavering light of compassion burning deep within my heart
There is always hope within me, even when I am filled with great sadness...
It is Amida's wisdom that breaks through my ignorance and guides me back to the light that is always shining

There is always Amida
There is always Namo Amida Butsu




Namo Amida Butsu

Jishin



- Namu Amida Butsu

Look don't see, listen don't hear

Look don't see, listen don't hear...

I read these words tonight by author Lee Childs.

Look
Don't just see

Look deeply, engage, examine, explore your life in relationship to the world around you...
Look deeply and see how compassion and wisdom are a part of your life in each moment..
Don't "just see"...look, engage, question, embrace your life in the Nembutsu

Listen deeply, listen to the sound of compassion and wisdom in your life...what does that truly sound like? Listen to the sound of your own voice as you speak to others...as you speak to yourself...do you hear words of care and concern? Do you hear words of hatred and negativity? Do you hear Amida's voice speaking to your heart? Listen listen listen..don't "just hear"...listen, learn, respond with gratefulness!

Namo Amida Butsu!





Thank you,
Jishin


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone while sitting on a lotus blossom and dipping my toes in the mud.

What have I got to lose?

What have I got to lose?

Namu Amida Butsu!

What can I say?

Namu Amida Bustu!

What good am I?

Namu Amida Butsu!

What can I do?

Namu Amida Butsu!

What makes me worthy?

Namu Amida Butsu!



Namu Amida Butsu is not the answer.


Namu Amida Butsu is the question!


Namu Amida Butsu is my answer!

Gassho
Gassho
Gassho

Grateful
Grateful
Grateful

Namu Amida Butsu!



thank you,
Jishin

Namu Amida Butsu