Amida Shu, Jodo Shinshu ~ Dharmavidya

Question: I was wondering if there were any major diferences in approaches or practices between Amida shu and  Jodo shinshu?

Dharmavidya: In terms of faith in Amida and the nembutsu, there is no difference. There are differences at a more superficial level.

1. In Amida Shu there is relatively more emphasis upon ethics which we see as a reflection of faith whereas Jodoshinshu often take “precepts” etc to be “self-power” practices.
2.  There are elements of Zen in our style of religious training.
3.  In Amida Shu we tend to emphasise that Pureland teachings are “original Buddhism” deriving from Shakyamuni and to emphasise our commonality with Mahayana Buddhism as a whole, whereas, for historical reasons, Jodoshinshu has had to put some effort into distinguishing itself from other branches of the religion.
4. In Japan, Jodoshinshu distinguishes itself quite strongly at times from Jodo Shu, whereas from our perspective the differences are of minimal importance.

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