Resources

Shinran Shonin, founder of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism.  This is one of the most accessible introductions to his life that I've come across. Paired with a companion handout, I've screened this film as a Buddhist Education offering at Vista Buddhist Temple, where it resonated with all ages—including non-traditional learners. I recommend it.

• Film: The Life of Shinran Shonin (1hr 48min)

• Companion Handout:  PDF

The Tannisho is one of the most widely read pieces of classical Japanese Buddhist writing.  It has been translated and commented on many times.

This is one of the texts I return to most often while preparing talks. Each time, it seems to reveal a little something more; I appreciate having access to multiple translations and commentaries.

My preferred primary reference and companion commentary: 

• Tannisho: A Shin Buddhist Classic -- translated by: Taitetsu Unno

• Strategies for Modern Living: A Commentary with the Text of the Tannisho -- by: Alfred Bloom

by: Takamaro Shigaraki

An exploration of Shin Buddhism through the language of lived religious experience, with particular attention to shinjin, awakening, and the transformation of how we encounter the world. This book has been on my shelf for years—and I actually like it so much that I've bought two different versions with different covers over the years. I've been pleased to encounter it with fresh eyes through my studies at IBS. 

by: Yoshifumi Ueda and Dennis Hirota

This is a book that rewards slow reading—and rereading. It is excellent and, sadly, out of print. Periodically, the BCA Bookstore finds new copies and makes them available online.

by: Nobuo Haneda

In my late thirties, I attended classes taught by Haneda-sensei throughout Southern California. He is one of the teachers who most profoundly changed my relationship with Shin Buddhism and how I understand the Nembutsu.

I remember lamenting that I hadn't encountered him years earlier--and later rejoicing when I first encountered Dharma Breeze.

As someone deeply interested in the lived experience of Buddhism, I feel Haneda-sensei has a unique ability to illuminate how the Dharma becomes something lived rather than merely understood.

by: John S. Strong

This was the textbook in my first undergraduate course on Buddhism. For years, I've had trouble remembering the title; it's always just been "that awesome John Strong book" to me--a book which I'd be hard pressed to ever part with.  

What made it memorable was the way it paired doctrinal understanding with lived experience, allowing the teachings to feel very much alive. 

Returning to it nearly three decades later, I'm struck by two things:

1.  Strong's framing "The Experience of..." may well have shaped my early thinking and contributed to my enduring interest in the lived experience of Buddhism--that is, how Dharma becomes real and resonant in contemporary life.

2. My younger self was most definitely reading the work of Vasubandhu--albeit without any inkling that one day I'd be immersed in the Jodo Shinshu tradition informed by his thought, as one of the Seven Pure Land Masters.