Showing posts with label AMIDA-JI TEMPLE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AMIDA-JI TEMPLE. Show all posts

Monday, February 26, 2024

Plans for Amidaji in the year 2024 - water and sewage system


Until now in the village where Amidaji temple is located there has been no water and sewerage system, so the inhabitants (including Amidaji) need to use the public or private wells, and to build their own peasant style toilets in the backyard which mainly consists of a hole in the ground with a wooden cabin on top. Some wells had problems and dried up or became difficult to use, so the county and local officials finally decided to make a contract with a company and recently brought the main water pipes in the village and placed secondary ones in front of each property. However, from this main and secondary water pipes each owner has to pay for installing its own pipes and build its own water system through which to bring the water inside his property and house.

Amidaji has a few buildings on its property so I need lots of pipes and a few professional workers to bring the water in. The total costs for the first phase of work (pipes and other materials as well as the workers) are around 1000 euros. From this, around 600 euros is only to pay the workers and the rest is for various materials. If I successfully raise the amount needed, I will do the first phase and make a report with photos after which I will continue with the second step.
 
Any little help is welcomed and very much needed so, if you wish to DONATE, you can use the PayPal box and/or the Bank accounts mentioned at this link,
https://amida-ji-retreat-temple-romania.blogspot.com/p/donation.html
 
The names of donors as well as those in whose name a donation was made will be mentioned in a dedication list of my next book and at the end of the video teachings posted on my YouTube channel.
 
Amidaji temple courtyard. The water pipes must come from the 
house in the distance to the one in the top right (kitchen).
A bathroom with shower and toilet will be built between the 
house in the top left (library and guest room) and the house
in the distance. In the foreground is Amidado (Hall of Amida)

Thursday, February 22, 2024

A big nenju has been gifted to Amidaji temple

My Dharma friend Cheusa Wend (77) from USA donated this beautiful big nenju (mala/Buddhist rosary) of around one meter and a half to Amidaji temple Romania in the name of her late husband Koun Eb Whipple, and her parents Phyllis Latham Stoner and William Richard Stoner. May all their obstacles be removed and may they create indestructible connections with Amida Buddha, entrust to Him, say His Name and wish to be born in His Pure Land! 

The nenju now adorns the hands of the statue of Amida Buddha in the Amidado (Amida Hall) of Amidaji temple Romania until we decide where to keep it. We intend to use it in some ceremonies, perhaps in chanting the Nembutsu in a circle, and other liturgies to express faith in Amida Buddha and our gratitude for being saved as we are. 

As you might know, in our Amidaji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, the nenju represents faith in Amida Buddha and the Nembutsu of faith. It shows our devotion and connection with Him. 

Namo Amida Bu

 

Sunday, December 31, 2023

A great year for Amidaji

It has been a great spiritual pleasure for me that this year when we had the 850th anniversary of Shinran Shonin’s birth in this world, and 20 years have passed since my ordination, our Amidaji international sangha has grown in quality with people of faith who are active in both learning and teaching. We are indeed a genuine Sangha where faith in Amida Buddha can be received and those who don’t have faith yet, can be guided and helped to receive it.
 
Also, this year has been very auspicious in the sense that I successfully examined and ordained Rev Kosho Arana of Colombia as a Buddhist monk (priest). He and our lay teachers, together with various lay members, are doing their best in their respective parts of the world to promote the orthodox teaching of Amidaji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. I also try my best to do my duty, inspired as I am by Amida Buddha and my fellow travelers on the Nembutsu Path. After so many years of struggle, which I explained in my autobiography, The Path Between the Thorns, I am finally at home in a Sangha which is a reflection of Amida’s Light in the world.
 
I often say that NOBODY has the monopoly on the Jodo Shinshu teaching (and ordinations), as there are people of genuine faith in all branches of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism or without any official affiliation at all. They are themselves reflections of Amida’s Light in the world and future Buddhas who will, sooner or later, be able to manifest an infinite number of Nirmanakaya (accommodated) bodies all over the samsaric universes to guide all beings, while in the same time dwell forever in Sambhogakaya form in the Pure Land of Peace and Bliss.   
 
To Amida Budha, to Amida Dharma, and to all people of faith from inside or outside of Amidaji,
I bow in gratitude with my head touching the ground and worship them as the Three Treasures.

Namo Amida Bu 
 
Josho Adrian Cirlea – Daisojo of Amidaji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism 
(Amidaji International Temple)
 
Links of Amidaji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism
( except this website)






Sunday, September 24, 2023

The first monk ordination in Amidaji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism (Rev Kosho Arana from Columbia)



On the evening of September 21st 2023, I ordained our brother Kosho Arana from Colombia as a Buddhist monk (priest).  This is a historical day for Amidaji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism.

As you may know, Amidaji follows the wise and compassionate instructions of the late 23rd Monshu of Nishi Hongwanji temple, Shōnyo Shōnin (Kosho Ohtani)[1], who encouraged non-Japanese Nembutsu followers to organize themselves independently from Japan, and who agreed with the first non-Japanese ordinations done in Europe by Rev Harry Pieper (Shaku Shōgon Hōshi)[2] and Rev Jean Earacle (Shaku Jôan)[3]. In the same spirit initiated by Shōnyo Shōnin of sincere aspiration to spread the authentic Jodo Shinshu Buddhist teachings in a non-Japanese environment, Amidaji affirms the right to have its own ordination platform. Thus, a candidate for monkhood (priesthood) can receive his or her ordination from any of the monks or nuns affiliated with Amidaji after a serious examination and going through the ceremony of ordination that we can held at any of our temples or dojos.

Saturday, September 2, 2023

Things I did and improved at Amidaji in 2022 and 2023 - your help is very much needed and appreciated


the new kitchen of Amidaji
in the former accomodation place
 My last post (December, 2021) in the category Amidaji temple - work
 Amidado (Hall of Amida), so now I am going to tell you what I did since that time. The following information are already present on various social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc

 In 2022, I arranged a new kitchen in the former accommodation place and transformed the former little Hondo (Dharma Hall) into a library and accommodation place. There I installed a cooking stove on gas and many useful things. 

in Amidaji kitchen with a guest from Taiwan
In the new accommodation place I also added a good stove made of tiles which is very useful during winter. This stove is even better than that from Amidado Hall which can warm the place for the duration of a service, while the heat in the library and accommodation place lasts for many hours. 

Electricity was also added to both the new kitchen and library.

In 2023 I printed and framed ten images of various Buddhas and Enlightened Bodhisattvas, like Avalokitesvara, Mahasthamaprapta, White Tara, Green Tara, Mahakala, etc, some of them wearing Amida on the crown of their head, as well as images of Shinran Shonin, Rennyo Shonin, the seven Patriarchs (Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, T’an Luan, Tao’ch’o, Shantao, Genshin, Honen), Shotoku Taishi, and I placed them inside the Amidado Hall.

Friday, March 17, 2023

Amidaji temple is open to visitors

last update March 17, 2023

Amidado (Hall of Amida) where we held 
religious services and Dharma talks
 Amidaji temple is opened to visitors if they do not   mind the simple conditions.

 Accommodation can be offered for a period of one   to  seven days per visitor. One can sleep in the new library, or bring one's own   tent,  and attend services and Dharma talks in the Amidado (Amida Hall). A solar shower and a new winter bathroom, are available, too. I also try my best to provide vegetarian meals from the vegetables raised in the garden of Amidaji.  In time, I will be able to offer better 
conditions and more accommodation facilities, but if people are determined to listen to the Dharma and there is the possibility for them to travel, why not pay a visit to me now? 

We can spend some meaningful time together, discuss any doubt or misunderstanding you might have, say Nembutsu, learn the simple Amidaji liturgy, and even help me with some physical work in the courtyard. Lay people or teachers of other Buddhist traditions who are passing through Romania and don't have a place to stay can also receive accommodation for a few days at Amidaji. This temple has a friendly attitude towards all authentic lineages of transmission.

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Master Honen’s reason for the founding of a separate Pure Land school and my reason for founding Amidaji

Amida Buddha is my strength.
Amida Buddha is my refuge.
Amida Buddha is my salvation.
Amida Buddha is all I transmit to others.

 "Honen once said: ‘The reasons I founded the Jodo (Pure Land)   school was that I might show the ordinary man how to be born into     the Buddha’s real land of compensation (hōdo). According to the   Tendai sect, the ordinary man may be born into the so-called Pure   Land, but that land is conceived of as a very inferior place.   Although  the Hossō school conceived of it as indeed a very   superior  place, they do not allow that the common man can be born   there at all. And all the schools, though differing in many points, all   agree in not allowing that the common man can be born into the   Buddha’s land of real compensation; while according to Zendo’s   (Shan-tao) commentary, which laid the foundation of the Jodo (Pure   Land) school, it was made clear that birth into that land is possible   even for the common man. But many said to me: ‘You surely can   promote the Nembutsu way of attaining Ojo (birth into the Pure  Land) without establishing a new school. You are doing this merely out of ambition, to appear superior to others. If we ordinary people can only attain this birth, it ought to be enough to be born into the land in which the Buddha appears in His temporary body. Why do you need to talk of their reaching that land of real compensation that is occupied by the Buddhas and the highest Bodhisattvas alone?’
At first sight this seems quite plausible, but on further reflection it really misses the point. Unless I start a separate school, the truth that the common man may be born into the Buddha’s land of compensation will be obscured, and it will be hard to realize the deep meaning of Amida’s Primal Vow. I, therefore, in accordance with the interpretation given by Zendo (Shan-tao), unhesitatingly proclaim the doctrine of the land of real compensation. This is by no means a question of personal ambition.”[1]

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Monks and nuns of the Last Dharma Age




Both Honen Shonin and Shinran Shonin were ordained Tendai monks. Although they left that school, they continued to wear their monk robes, and while Honen remained celibate, Shinran got married and had six children. Before him and after him, many monks had secret wives and children, but Shinran went public about his marriage and continued to wear the monk’s robes. Also, after he and his Master Honen were banished by the Emperor, striped of their ordination status[1] and given secular names, they also kept their robes. At that time Shinran said about himself that he was neither monk nor lay, but he continued to wear the robes of a monk. Later, they were both pardoned, so their former status was restored. 

Why did Shinran marry? Because he wanted to show that the salvation offered by Amida Buddha does not make any discrimination between those who keep the precept of celibacy and those who are attached to their wives and children or have various other blind passions.

Why did he say that he was neither a monk nor lay? There are two reasons for this. First, although the Emperor stripped him of his monkhood and was given a secular name, he did not consider himself a lay person living a worldly life without any religious aspirations. Second, although he was pardoned and his status restored, he was still not able to live the life of a monk belonging to the Right Dharma Age, while in the same time, he had more aspirations than an ordinary lay person. Later, all his ordained disciples followed his example and got married. Even now the clergy of Jodo Shinshu, both men and women, get marry and have children like the rest of Japanese Buddhist monks of other schools[2]. 

So, it is important to realize that Shinran did not deny his monk ordination by saying that he is “neither monk, nor lay”, but only his spiritual capacities to be like the monks of the Right Dharma Age when Shakyamuni and His direct disciples were in the world. By saying, “neither monk, nor lay”, he actually meant, “neither a virtuous monk of the Right Dharma Age, nor a lay”. Thus, there is no problem if we, his disciples of modern times, call ourselves monks and nuns as long as we keep in mind that we are not the virtuous monks of that long gone era, but the decadent monks of this Last Dharma Age.

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Keep worldly affairs out of the temple

 As you may probably know, in many Buddhist temples around the world, Jodo Shinshu or not, members organize parties with music, alcohol, and dancing. Some say it relaxes people and brings them together. I say it is a smart trick of internal maras (one's own blind passions and ignorance) and/or external maras or various evil spirits to make people forget the Dharma in the exact place where they have the chance to deepen its meaning, a subtle way of distracting them from the teaching and keeping them focused on their worldly passions and preoccupations.

Thursday, December 23, 2021

New stove inside Amidado (Amida Hall)



Last month I installed a stove on wood in Amidado Hall of Amidaji temple. This makes services and teaching activities easier during the cold season. Thank you very much to all who donated to make this possible. 

Please continue to support Amidaji temple!

Click here if you wish to make a donation or become a patron (constant monthly supporter) as there are still many things to be done:

 Here you can also find other methods to donate if you don't have PayPal.


 

Monday, August 30, 2021

The exterior walls of Amidado (Hall of Amida) are finished

this is how Amidado looks now
 CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE NEW UPGRADES AT THE TEMPLE 

After I finished the outside thermal insulation (click here to read) I painted the walls and  added some tiles on the concrete platform which help against water infiltration. You can see in the photos bellow all the phases of the work process, including the materials I bought.

Also, I must continue with the plan for this year that I presented to you in my first post of 2021 (click here toread): add a stove inside Amidado and library, buy new doors and windows for the library and accommodation place, build a gate, add water in the whole courtyard of Amidaji, buy firewood for winter, pay some taxes and many other things that are too many to mention.

Amidado and the other buildings of Amidaji

If you wish to help me please donate using this PayPal box:

 
 or use other methods (Bank accounts, Revolut, etc) from this link (click here). Any small help is appreciated and very much needed.
The names of donors and/or people in whose name a donation is given will be mentioned in the dedication list of my books and video teachings (new videos in the playlist at the bottom, have a dedication list)

Monday, August 2, 2021

Topics of examination for those who want to become lay teachers or monks and nuns in Amidaji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism

Here are some topics for study and examination in our Amidaji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, especially useful for those who want to become lay teachers or monks and nuns. The candidate is required to use passages from the sacred texts in support of his or her explanations. You can start with any topic as the order is not important.

1) What is samsara? The illusory nature of samsara.

2) There is no creator god, ruler and judge of the world. The incompatibility of belief in a monotheistic god and Buddhism. Why those who believe in a creator god cannot have true faith in Amida Buddha? Difference between the so-called gods of monotheistic religions and Amida Buddha.

3) Buddhist explanations on the origin and existence of the universe.

4) The Buddhist teaching on rebirth.

Monday, July 19, 2021

I added the outside insulation on the walls of Amidado (Hall of Amida) but there is still more to be done

This is how Amidado (Amida Hall) looks now.
 CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE NEW UPGRADES AT THE TEMPLE 

I’ve made some important steps forward in the construction of Amidaji since my last post on this topic, by adding the thermal insulation on the outside walls of Amidado (Amida Hall). You can see how this hall looks now in the left photo. Bellow I am presenting you all the phases of the process.  I had to pay a professional worker to do all these things because I have no technical skills.

Now I need to add a few layers of pre-paint materials and then paint it. I also need to add some tiles that will help against water infiltration. There are some other technical things to do but I don't know how to explain it because I am not a professional. The worker knows what to do and I need to buy new materials indicated by him and pay him more for the next phase. Also, I must continue with the plan for this year that I presented to you in my last post (click here to read), add a stove inside Amidado and library, buy new doors and windows for the library and accommodation place, build a gate, pay some taxes and many other things that are too many to mention.

If you wish to help me please donate using this PayPal box:

 

 

or use other methods (Bank accounts, Revolut, etc) from this link (click here). Any small help is appreciated and very much needed.

The names of donors and/or people in whose name a donation is given will be mentioned in the dedication list of my books and video teachings (new videos in the playlist at the bottom, have a dedication list).

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Plans for the continuation of the construction work at Amidaji temple (please help if you can)

Amidado Hall (left) and the Library (right)


CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE NEW UPGRADES AT THE TEMPLE 

update: video added at the bottom of the article

 As you may remember, last year I built the roof (click  here to read), the walls (click here to read) and   added the inside insulation (click here to read) to Amidado (Hall of Amida).  I also added the doors and windows (click here to read) to the same building in Amidaji complex.

This year I had very few funds so I haven’t been able to do anything until now, but I hope that with your help I will resume the work at the temple. Here is what I need to do next:

          1) Add thermal insulation on the outside walls of Amidado (Hall of Amida). This is my main priority because otherwise the walls will be damaged from rain and snow. Basically, I need to make it look the same as the other two wooden houses in Amidaji complex (the library and accommodation place – see the photos). The estimative cost for the thermal insulation is around 600-700 euro

-        2) Build a gate for the temple courtyard. Presently if anybody visits Amidaji with a car or by foot I open a section of fence so that he can enter the yard. The estimative cost is around 500 euro

Amidado (left), library (far left) and accommodation place (right)
3) Add better doors and windows to the library and accommodation place – the same type of door and window I added to the Amidado last year. That type of door and window is expansive but is a better insulation for the cold season and keeps the warm inside. The estimative cost for the two doors and windows is around 600 – 800 euro

A   4) Add a stove on wood in the Amidado so that I can make religious services during the cold season. The estimative cost for installing a stove in Amidado is around 400 euro

-        5) Add a stove on wood in the library so that people can also study during winter. The estimative cost for installing a stove in the library is around 300 euro.

I also have many other things to do like paying some taxes for the buildings and land which are also urgent, repair and extend the fence (perhaps even making a better fence), a better bathroom, repair the living house near Amidado courtyard, etc

The list is long and I struggle every year to do something and advance a little. However, the situation is very difficult and my funds are limited.

If anybody wishes to help me, he or she can donate by using this PayPal box: 

 

 

Other methods of donation (Bank transfer, Revolut, etc) can be found here (click here).

The names of donors and/or people in whose name they donate will be mentioned in the dedication list of my books and video teachings (new videos in the playlist at the bottom, have a dedication list)

 

Here you can see a video with the same plan as described above. Sorry for  the poor quality. I recorded it with my bad phone:


  

Inside Amidado Hall

 

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Daily schedule of a Nembutsu retreat at Amidaji

I was asked about the daily schedule of a Nembutsu retreat at Amidaji. 

A Nembutsu retreat starts at 5.45 p.m. in the first day and ends at 12.00 in the last day.

The schedule of a normal day in a Nembutsu retreat at Amidaji temple is as follows:

5.45 a.m. Wake up 

6.30 a.m. Nembutsu liturgy and teaching 

8.00 a.m. Breakfast 

9.00 a.m. Silent work 

11.00 a.m. Nembutsu liturgy and teaching 

13.00 Lunch 

14.00 Rest/free time 

15.30 Nembutsu liturgy and teaching 

17.00 Silent work 

18.00 Supper

19.30 Nembutsu liturgy and teaching 

21.00 Free time 

22.00 Lights out

The program may be modified according to specific situations.

I often receive guests without organizing a retreat, but the retreat option is always available for those who wish to try it.

Click here to read about your visit at Amidaji. 

 

On the home altar (obutsudan) and making offerings to Amida Buddha

altar arrangements type 1
fragment from my book 

 The image or statue you put in the center of the altar must be Amida Buddha   because in our tradition we rely exclusively on Amida for our birth in the Pure   Land. Chose the image you like most and you feel comfortable with. We prefer   a standing Amida as you see in the photos bellow, because this better signifies   that He is an active Buddha coming to save you. The position of the hands in   the classic Amida images of Jodo Shinshu school mean “don’t be afraid, come   as you are”. The 48 rays of lights coming from Amida’s head represent His 48   vows. Those are also oriented from Amida to you. Everything in Amida   iconography of Jodo Shinshu suggests His active and unconditional salvation. 
If you wish you can also use a scroll with Nembutsu written in Chinese characters or in your own language. 

Monday, October 12, 2020

Conditions for marriage ceremonies at Amidaji temple

Marriage ceremonies can be held at Amidaji temples on the following conditions[1]:

     a)    Only between biologically born men and women (see the important note bellow). Amidaji temple recognizes the natural differences between biologically born men and biologically born women, as Shakyamuni Buddha himself addressed to His disciples as (biologically born) men and (biologically born) women when He gave advice to couplesHe never gave advices to couples who were not (biologically born) men and (biologically born) women, which means that we too cannot recognize such people as couples to be married. This is also why any sexual or gender ideology which tends to disregard such natural and biological differences between men and women, like for example, the ideas that sexual identity is something that can be chosen without regard to one's biology (without regard to the fact that one was born a man or a woman), will not be promoted by Amidaji temple and its representatives, priests and teachers. 

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

I added the inside insulation to Amidado (Hall of Amida) and arranged the new library

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE NEW UPGRADES AT THE TEMPLE 

This was a work which required a lot of money and efforts. Thermal insulation was added on the walls built in July which were next covered with wooden plaques, so now Amidado has a double sandwich like wall filled with insulation. Here is a panoramic photo of how the Amidado looks on the inside after all the work was done:

Inside Amidado (Hall of Amida)

and here you can see the various stages of work which lead to the result above:

Friday, September 18, 2020

Amidaji is open to international membership



Do you want a Sangha which focuses on solving “the greatest matter of afterlife” through simple faith in Amida Buddha?
Do you want a Sangha which is not ashamed to be religious, devotional and faith oriented?
Do you want a Sangha which is not affiliated to the ideological agenda of political groups?
Do you want a healthy Dharmic environment focused on listening deeply to the Jodo Shinshu teaching as it was taught by Shakyamuni Buddha, Shinran Shonin and Rennyo Shonin?
Do you want a place without modernists and false teachers who are not capable to accept the existence of Amida Buddha and His Pure Land?

If your answer to the above is YES, then Amidaji International Temple might be the right place for you! We accept members from any country and we intend to develop a genuine Sangha of orthodox Jodo Shinshu Buddhists all over the world.


Click here to download our Constitution, find everything you need to know about the purpose of Amidaji, activities, membership, priesthood, organization, etc.

Click here to read the conditions to be accepted as a member of Amidaji


Please read carefully the information from the above links and think deeply before joining us.  Do not hurry. Life and death is serious business and we are looking for dedicated people.
Namo Amida Bu 


Dharma talks on my youtube channel