FreeVol. 22015
AutumnGoeidō 御影堂

Looking Beyond Beauty
Traditional Japanese clothing can beseen in Kyoto all year long, but it is
only in the autumn that the city itself
looks as if it were dressed in a beautiful
kimono. The ancient poets of Japan
often likened the autumn foliage to aluxurious brocade, and when you walkaround the ancient capital amid the redand yellow leaves, you can certainly
see the truth in this favorite old metaphor.
However, this time of the year is only
special for the colorful trees, while thegreen, conventional ones are left out of
the celebration. No one thinks of taking
pictures of them; they seem lost in theeruption of brilliant, attractive colors
that surround them.
But when it becomes colder, a few
short weeks later, something interest-ing happens. The streets are gradually
covered with fallen leaves; one day, thetrees that used to be red and yellow
suddenly stand naked, almost invisible.
And now the evergreen trees, which had
been so casually overlooked up to thatmoment, stand out once again andeasily attract everyone's attention. Quite
an impressive transformation—exceptthat those trees never actually change.
Only the seasons and people’s hearts
do.
Beautiful and attractive things have a
way of eclipsing everything else aroundthem. But this does not mean that otherthings cease to exist, or that they
become less important. The most powerful and enduring things in life are often
the least conspicuous—but like evergreen trees, they are also the ones most

likely to stick around when conditions
become harsh.
This also seems to be an apt summary of what Buddhism has to teachus: the importance of seeing pastshort-lived or superficial attraction inorder to find the permanent, reliablecore that sustains our souls. Such retraining of our mental eyes does not
happen by itself, but in response toimportant questions that we ask ourselves.
Indeed, when everything goes well
we have no incentive, and perhaps
no reason, to scratch the surface andlook deeper. As in the case of trees,
sometimes it takes a cold winter tobe able to notice what you could notsee during the pleasant autumn.
(Dan Bornstein)Leaves of Scripture

Seeing old age, sickness, and death;awakening to the world’s impermanence.
- From the Sutra of the Buddha of Infinite Life *About 2,500 years ago, the Indian
prince Siddhārtha Gautama—whowould later be known as Śākyamunior simply the Buddha—witnessed a
few incidents that brought to hisattention the basic causes of uncertainty in human life: old age, sickness, and death. Gautama felt anurge to get to the bottom of thisproblem, and left his home tobecome a wandering ascetic. Uncertainty, and the spiritual curiositythat arises from it, are indeed anatural impulse that any person may

experience at some point of his orher life.
Human beings are born into theworld with the tendency to feel anxiety about uncertain things. This is theway we are made. But at the sametime, uncertainty is also what makes
people want to listen to the Buddha’s
teachings and realize that thoseteachings are necessary. Feeling uncertain calls into question the way wehave been living until now, and thisenables us to keep walking and findthe right path for us.

The most immediate reaction touncertainty and anxiety is to wantto run away from them. But actually, uncertainty and anxiety are
the driving force behind our ability
to make progress. We may thinkthat eliminating them is the thingthat will save us; but in fact, there
is nothing that can make them goaway. It is rather the process oflooking very closely into thesource of these unpleasant feelings that can give us the realpower to live.

(Dōbō, July 2014. Kyoto: Higashi Honganji Shuppanbu, p. 33.)

* What is the Sutra of the Buddha of Infinite Life?
This sutra is the basic canonical scripture of Pure Land Buddhism. It explains how Amida Buddha attained Buddhahood and how he saves all sentient beings; it also gives a detailed description of him and his land.
(Based on the definition in: Inagaki, Hisao. 1984. A Dictionary of Japanese Buddhist Terms. Kyoto: Nagata
Bunshōdō, p. 215.)

MON Vol. 2 2015 Autumn

Bandō-bushi（坂東曲）

Things Worth Knowing about Shin Buddhism

Hōonkō
The Hōonkō (報恩講) observanceis an important ceremony that is
conducted every year at Higashi
Honganji. But what kind of event isit, and when does it take place?
Shinran, the founder of Jōdo
Shinshū (one of the major schoolsof Japanese Pure Land Buddhism),passed away on the 28th of November 1262, at the age of 90.
At Higashi Honganji, the head
temple of the Shinshū Ōtani branchof this school, Hōonkō is conducted
every year from the 21st to the 28thof November in observance ofShinran’s memorial day. Hōonkō isabout commemorating him, whoclarified the teaching of the nenbutsu for the rest of us. The ceremony is a way of repaying our debtof gratitude to him: Hōonkō could
be translated as “Gathering toRepay the Debt of Gratitude.”
On the occasion of Hōonkō,followers come to the mothertemple of Higashi Honganji andassemble in the largest hall of thetemple, the Founder’s Hall (Goeidō 御 t h e o r y s a y s i t s y m b o l i z e s
影堂 . On page 4 you can read more Shinran’s experience when he wasabout this hall).
Hōonkō includes two famousparts: the reading of Shinran’s biography (Godenshō 御伝鈔 ), and theperformance of a special style ofchant, unique to Higashi Honganji,
which is called bandō-bushi (坂東曲).
At Hōonkō, Shinran’s life is presented in two ways. One is the hanging scrolls called Goeden ( 御絵伝 ),which is displayed in the inner sanctuary of the Founder’s Hall, and contains pictorial descriptions ofShinran’s life. The other is a manuscript, called Godenshō, in which thestory of his life is told. At Hōonkō it isread aloud on November 25th, starting from 5 pm. The bandō-bushi
chanting is held on the last day ofHōonkō at 10 am. Around 50 priests
forcefully sway their bodies back andforth and from left to right, whilechanting Amida’s name and hymns
written by Shinran. The origin of theBandō-bushi is still unclear, but one

sentenced to exile because of hisunorthodox teachings and sent on
a boat to the Echigo province(present-day Niigata prefecture).
The movements emulate his unsteadiness while the boat wasbeing rocked by large waves, andshow how he remained steadfast
in his faith even in the middle ofthat difficult episode of his life.
Hōonkō is celebrated not only at
the mother temple, but also in thelocal temples and households offollowers all over Japan and in theoverseas districts. People gather,have a traditional meal, socialize,
and listen to the teachings
together. This custom has continued to this day. It is often said byfollowers of Jōdo Shinshū that theyear starts and ends with Hōonkō;
this shows just how important thisceremony is in the followers' livesand minds.

MON Vol. 2 2015 Autumn

At the Heartof the Temple Precincts:
the Founder's HallThe Founder’s Hall (Goeidō) is the mostimportant place in the temple compound ofHigashi Honganji. An image of the school’s
founder, Shinran, is enshrined here and it isalso the focus of reverence for the ShinshūŌtani branch of Shin Buddhism. On either sideof Shinran’s image there are portraits of theschool’s former abbots (monshu 門首) and two
scrolls extolling the virtues of taking refuge inAmida Buddha.
In its long history the temple has been
repeatedly destroyed by fire, and the Founder’sHall, too, burned down and underwent complete reconstruction several times. The mostrecent reconstruction of this hall began in 1879
and was completed in 1895. Another majorrenovation project was undertaken between
2004 and 2009 as part of the commemorative
projects of the 750th Memorial for Shinran
Shōnin, when the tiles of the massive roof werecompletely removed and replaced with newones, and the damaged building frames wererestored and reinforced.
The Founder’s Hall is one of the largest
wooden structures in the world: 76 meters (250feet) long, 58 meters (190 feet) wide, and 38meters (125 feet) tall. It surpasses in its height
the Amida Hall next to it. This is because itserves as the gathering place for the activity ofmonpō—that is, “Hearing (mon) the Dharma(hō).” The size difference between the two halls
expresses the importance of passing down
Shinran’s teachings to the next generations.
There, the followers listen to the Buddhist
teachings and reflect on their own everyday
lives.

Published by: Shinshū Ōtani-ha (Higashi Honganji), Kyoto
Kindly supported by: Dan Bornstein, Markus Rüsch
Website: www.higashihonganji.or.jp/english