Learning about Master Shinran from the basics
Continuation of yesterday's article. Read it here.
Amida Buddha’s Vow is “the Great Ship That Carries Us Across the Sea That is Difficult to Cross.”
We were born in this world without knowing why we were born and why we now live. It is like suddenly being thrown into a vast ocean where only the horizon can be seen. We must swim in the sea. But to where?
Without knowing in which direction we should move, we are going to become exhausted and drown.
Life is the same. Once we are born, we must live, but what is the purpose? If our life has no purpose, there is no meaning in living either. Many people live to seek money, prosperity, fame, or status, but those are similar to logs or planks floating on the waves.
Even if we reach one of them and cling to it, we never find heartfelt ease or contentment. When a big wave comes, the log we are clinging to will turn over. We then suffer, choking on saltwater. This happens again and again until finally, we get exhausted and drown.
As life is so painful in this way, it is referred to as the “sea that is difficult to cross (the sea of suffering).” But there is a great ship (Amida Buddha’s Vow) on which all are borne cheerfully and happily across life’s sea of suffering.
The purpose of living is to board the great ship. That is what Master Shinran has clarified.
Source: The Buddhist Village Times #63 | 2016, Amida Buddha’s Vow is “the Great Ship That Carries Us Across the Sea That is Difficult to Cross.”
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