what are the basic teachings of amida-shu buddhism?

Dharmavidya writes:

Amida-shu is a form of Buddhism that affirms (together with all Mahayana Buddhsim) the threefold nature of Buddha (ultimate Buddha, spiritual Buddha, Buddha in the world), adheres to the Pureland Buddhist emphasis upon the ‘bombu’ nature of the practitioner (that we do not have the power to become enlightened unaided), and adopts as its core practice the ‘nembutsu’ (calling upon Amida Tathagata).

These three constitute the core teachings of Amida-shu. Different members of Amida-shu may interpret these teaching in different ways. Amida-shu is in favour of personal spirituality and regards these three teachings as a framework within which individuals pursue their spiritual quest. The nature of faith, the real meaning of a ‘spiritual Buddha’, the value of particular practices, and so on are things for the practitioner to find out through experiential immersion, experiment, and reflection. Amida-shu is thus a school of Buddhism with much scope for enquiry and is not a ‘hand-me-down’ set of dogmas, even though it does provide a simple frame within which enquiry can proceed.

Broadly, Amida-shu differs from many other schools of Buddhism in seeing many of the elements of Buddhist teaching as ‘outcomes’ rather than as ‘means’. Thus, it is common for Buddhism to be presented as a means to attain enlightenment and the ‘eightfold path’, for instance, will then be presented as the method by which one can practice so as to arrive at the spiritual goal, whereas in Amida-shu the eightfold path will tend rather to be seen as the outcome of a spiritual life. This gives a particular 'flavour' to this kind of spirituality making it celebratory rather than goal oriented. The emphasis on 'bombu nature' similarly eliminates any kudos in being 'spiritually advanced' and facilitates a spiritual relaxation into a sense of assured grace.

The Amida-shu understanding of ‘faith’ is ‘other power’ but not passive. We believe that by associating ourselves with a Buddha we become part of that Buddha’s work.

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Dharmavidya writes:

Amida-shu is a form of Buddhism that affirms (together with all Mahayana Buddhsim) the threefold nature of Buddha (ultimate Buddha, spiritual Buddha, Buddha in the world), adheres to the Pureland Buddhist emphasis upon the ‘bombu’ nature of the practitioner (that we do not have the power to become enlightened unaided), and adopts as its core practice the ‘nembutsu’ (calling upon Amida Tathagata).

These three constitute the core teachings of Amida-shu. Different members of Amida-shu may interpret these teaching in different ways. Amida-shu is in favour of personal spirituality and regards these three teachings as a framework within which individuals pursue their spiritual quest. The nature of faith, the real meaning of a ‘spiritual Buddha’, the value of particular practices, and so on are things for the practitioner to find out through experiential immersion, experiment, and reflection. Amida-shu is thus a school of Buddhism with much scope for enquiry and is not a ‘hand-me-down’ set of dogmas, even though it does provide a simple frame within which enquiry can proceed.

Broadly, Amida-shu differs from many other schools of Buddhism in seeing many of the elements of Buddhist teaching as ‘outcomes’ rather than as ‘means’. Thus, it is common for Buddhism to be presented as a means to attain enlightenment and the ‘eightfold path’, for instance, will then be presented as the method by which one can practice so as to arrive at the spiritual goal, whereas in Amida-shu the eightfold path will tend rather to be seen as the outcome of a spiritual life. This gives a particular 'flavour' to this kind of spirituality making it celebratory rather than goal oriented. The emphasis on 'bombu nature' similarly eliminates any kudos in being 'spiritually advanced' and facilitates a spiritual relaxation into a sense of assured grace.

The Amida-shu understanding of ‘faith’ is ‘other power’ but not passive. We believe that by associating ourselves with a Buddha we become part of that Buddha’s work.

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