Shinran and His Work

It is my intention in these lectures to sketch, for my own benefit, as well as for that of my Readers, the history and doctrine of the Shinshū or "True Sect" of Japanese Buddhism, such as it is to be seen today in many parts of the Empire of Japan. The Shinshū is one of the Amida or Jōdo Sects, so called either from its chief, we may say, only Deity, the Original and Unoriginated Buddha, Amitābha or Amitāyus, Lord of Boundless Life and Light, whom the Japanese know as Amida Nyorai, or Mida; or else from Jōdo or Paradise, the safe Heaven of freedom from sin and evil, which Amida promises to all who, with full trust and confidence, draw near and invoke His Name, which, carved on a tablet and placed in a holy place, is the quasi-Sacramental Exposition and Pledge of His Immeasurable Compassion and Mercy.