Why doesn’t Jodo Shinshu require solitary meditation? Is there a place for individual meditation in Jodo Shinshu?
Jodo Shinshu was a tradition for the ordinary person. It was for those who were not able to dedicate their lives to become a monk or nun. These were people who did not have the time or ability to meditate in the traditional sense of the word. These ordinary people had jobs and families to take care of. They were not able to renounce the world to dedicate their lives to meditate for spiritual enlightenment.
The Shin tradition was a single practice tradition of the recitation of the Nembutsu which was accessible to anyone. It was a tradition not for the privileged few but for everyone. That is why it became the most popular form of Buddhist in Japan.
Shinran Shonin, the founder of Jodo Shinshu, knew he was also an ordinary person and the inclusion of everyone really meant him.
He realized that he was incapable of overcoming his passions through difficult practices and needed help. You didn’t have to spend hours upon hours in meditation, which was a significant barrier for the common person who had everyday concerns. It was a path that became accessible to everyone.
Shin teaches us that we are all part of a universal family that needs each other to sustain life. As a community of followers we learn to see ourselves not as an isolated string but a part of a larger interconnected cloth.
Shinran questioned that if Buddhism could not help women, children, people with families, fisherman and farmers, then what is Buddhism for? He was looking out for the common person.
This made it accessible to absolutely everyone. The poor, rich, marginalized— those who have no ability to overcome their worldly desires and that is all of us.
It does not require us to be perfect, to follow doctrines, beliefs or creeds, but to deeply listen to the teachings. And if we find them to be true through our own life experiences, then apply them in our life.
Shinran taught that conditions in the human world had become so corrupt that it was no longer possible for ordinary people to achieve enlightenment through their own efforts. Monks and sages might be able to carry out sufficient religious practices to attain Enlightenment in the Age of Decline or Mappo, but most of us, including Shinran himself, could not. From Shinran’s point of view, the goal of meditation was impossible for ordinary people because it required the ego to overcome itself by its own power or effort.
Jodo Shinshu is grounded on the principle that all beings have the potential of attaining Buddhahood, not just a privileged few. As a Bodhisattva path, this means one won’t attain Buddhahood unless and until everyone does. Jodo Shinshu is not a solitary endeavor.
Many Shin temples in the BCA begin their services with a moment of quiet sitting. This form of meditation can be thought of as a means to calm and clear the mind in the turmoil of the world around us. It is a practice to prepare the mind to deeply listen to the Dharma. By doing this, we can become more understanding of the present moment and grateful for the life we have been given.
Gassho, Rev. Todd