dharmakaya (dharma nature, the true nature of all manifest phenomena)

Buddhist Thought 8Chinese Buddhism, Thought and History

Buddhist Thought 8: Anxiety and Joyousness in the Pure Land of China" - A recommended reference book that also provides information on the thought and life of Cloudyran, Dogen, and Zenko, as well as the historical background of their lives!

In this book, you can learn not only about the thought of Shinran, Dogen, and Zhenguang, but also their lives and historical backgrounds. It is clear that Buddhism was a result of the political situation in China at that time. It was very interesting to see how Chinese Pure Land Buddhism developed in the midst of repeated warfare and suppression of Buddhism, and how, during Zendo's time, Zendo's Pure Land Buddhism gained support in the prosperous downtown area of the international city of Chang'an. It is interesting to see the connection between great historical figures and their historical backgrounds. As a Jodo Shinshu monk, I tend to spend a lot of time with Shinran and Honen, but I feel that tracing back to their origins is also very significant. It is only by tracing back to the source that we can see Shinran's characteristics and uniqueness.

In this sense, this book is a very valuable work for studying Shinran.
Buddhist Thought 5Japanese Buddhism and its History

Buddhist Thought 5: Absolute Truth - A recommended commentary to learn about the thought of the Lotus Sutra and the Tendai currents in China and Japan!

When we Japanese think of Tendai, we usually think of the Tendai Sect founded by Saicho of Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei. The teachings of the Lotus Sutra were transmitted from India to Japan via China.

This book is a recommended work to learn about the history and thought content of the "Lotus Sutra".

In addition, this book also discusses the historical background of the period, so it is fascinating to look at Tendai Buddhism from a larger perspective. I also believe that it is very important to study Tendai Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra in order to understand the foundation of Japanese Buddhism. This book is an excellent introduction to the Tendai sect and the Lotus Sutra. It is very interesting.
Marx Engels Writings and Related Works

Plato's "Socrates' Dialectic Kriton" Synopsis and Impressions - Surprised at the similarities between Master and Disciple Socrates Plato and Master and Disciple Honen and Shinran...

Plato wrote "The State" in reaction to the unjust execution of his respected teacher Socrates.

The work "Socrates' Defense" is about why Socrates had to be executed.

Shinran himself, like Plato, experienced firsthand how his respected teacher had to be unreasonably punished.

In part, Shinran wrote his main work "Kyogyoshinsho" in order to refute such irrationality.

The similarity of the "regret" experienced by Plato and Shinran was a thrill for me.