The Universe Is a Weird Place
Some of my past rants might suggest that I’m a militant atheist. Hitchens-esque, but without the education or rhetorical ability. And while I certainly harbor a deep loathing for the Abrahamic religions, it’s not something I’m proud of. I don’t like to hate. Someone said, “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die,” and I find that to be painfully true.
The truth is, I am a non-theist. I don’t believe in a creator god and I think the Abrahamic faiths are little more than vestigial organs in the body of humanity. Perhaps closer to a burst appendix, but still, you get the point. But notice that I didn’t say religion in general.
I think we’re wired by evolution to seek the supramundane, to find fulfillment in the mystical and connection in ritual. Whether it’s clapping and bowing at a Shinto shrine on the walk home from the office or simply sitting quietly in nature and stilling the mind, feeling the life around you.
I guess I’m just opposed to prescriptive, controlling ideologies. But I have no problem with the woo. I actually dig all the mystical shit that makes proper atheists scoff.
The universe is a weird place. Be weird with it.
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And so I look forward to the monthly otsutome at Rinkaian Temple. Japan won’t give me a decent visa (I refuse to work there and they don’t give a damn about my retirement income), so I attend via Zoom with roughly a dozen others from around the world. There’s usually a dharma talk by Rev. Kasahara, followed by the ceremony proper.
I find the otsutome spiritually refreshing. It reinvigorates my own daily practice. Every morning, as Mr. Coffee sputters to life, I stumble out to my little altar area and offer incense. I take refuge in the Triple Gem, dedicate merit to rebirth in the Pure Land for myself and all sentient beings, repent of my negative karma generated over countless eons by my greed, anger, and delusion, and finish with Jūnen (十念), or ten recitations of the nembutsu.
This might be an unorthodox take, but I find Pure Land practice to be a profound synthesis of the best aspects of Mahayana Buddhism. It’s simple, inclusive, and effective without feeling restrictive or burdensome. The practice of nembutsu, or Buddha-remembrance, contains within it all of Buddhism. To hold the Buddha sincerely in mind is, in a sense, to orient oneself toward the Way.
All sentient beings who, having heard his Name, rejoice in faith, remember him even once and sincerely transfer the merit of virtuous practices to that land, aspiring to be born there, will attain birth and dwell in the Stage of Non-retrogression.
– The Immeasurable Life Sutra, translation by Hisao Inagaki