question on chinese or japanese writing

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • kfrance0
    Member
    • Jul 2009
    • 44

    question on chinese or japanese writing

    Can anyone read this? I'm afraid I can't even identify what language it is.

    http://www.dharma.net/monstore/images/p ... kur-pb.jpg
    Kevin France
    ---
    Breathe fully and effortlessly, like a child
    See who you are, without distortion
    (Tao Te Ching, ch 10)
  • Jundo
    Treeleaf Founder and Priest
    • Apr 2006
    • 40325

    #2
    Re: question on chinese or japanese writing

    Originally posted by kfrance0
    Can anyone read this? I'm afraid I can't even identify what language it is.

    http://www.dharma.net/monstore/images/p ... kur-pb.jpg
    Hi Kevin ... it says "Amida Nyorai" ... "Amida Buddha" ... the Buddha depicted in the carving.

    http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/amida.shtml

    Amida Buddha is the central Buddha of "Pure Land" Buddhism, and is a figure with amazing similarities to Jesus in his role as a kind of "Buddhist savior". For example, that flavor of Buddhism tends to emphasize that those who have faith in Amida Buddha will be reborn in the "Pure Land" when they die, a Buddhist heaven. In China and Vietnam, Zen and Pure Land pretty much merged hundreds of years ago (I don't want to get into the various philosophical perspectives that allowed for that but, in a nutshell ... since we drop all thought of "inside" and "outside" in Zazen, finding Wisdom and Compassion within us ... or outside us ... is not really different perhaps). In Japan, "Pure Land" Buddhism has not had a major influence on the Soto and Rinzai schools (except for one small branch of Rinzai ... originally its own sect which came to Japan from China after the merger of Pure Land and Zen/Chan there ... called "Obaku Zen").

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Cbaku

    Gassho, J
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

    Comment

    • kfrance0
      Member
      • Jul 2009
      • 44

      #3
      Re: question on chinese or japanese writing

      Thanks for the clarification, Jundo!
      Kevin France
      ---
      Breathe fully and effortlessly, like a child
      See who you are, without distortion
      (Tao Te Ching, ch 10)

      Comment

      Working...