When I first encountered Shinran’s teachings in the late 1990s I immediately felt a kind of existential resonance. Something about them seemed deeply true, even though I couldn’t say exactly what it was. On the one hand, what I encountered seemed to contradict some of the most basic tenets of Buddhism that I had imbibed and yet, on the other hand, these teachings seemed to be speaking to something that was beyond my known self; they addressed my ultimate concern.
Something that is unusual about Shinran as an ancient writer on Buddhism is that he is subjectively present in his works; his joys, struggles, and gratitude are revealed through the existential outbursts that interrupt what otherwise is often a careful arranging of scriptural quotations. This existential presence is one of the things that calls to me. His message, however, may at times seem a little disconcerting. We are enmeshed in greed, hatred, and delusion, which causes us to suffer. So far we are on firm ground with basic Buddhism. But, Shinran says, we do not have the resources to overcome our predicament because all of our efforts to relieve our suffering, since they are expressions of greed, hatred, and delusion, serve only to confirm it. We are, it would seem, stuck. What is required then is some factor that goes beyond the known self and this factor is symbolised in Amida Buddha.
Who or what Amida Buddha is, and means, within Shinran’s religious imagination is no simple matter and not something that may be explained once and for all, but rather must be deciphered over and again. My book, 'The Promise of a Sacred World', is an attempt to engage with that process of deciphering and, in doing so, to invoke the sacred possibilities that it promises.
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