Youths Learn Buddhism Through the Classical Text, Tannisho
The student body of Shinran Followers hosted a Buddhist lecture at the 2,000-Tatami-Mat Hall on March 8. The topic of the lecture was "The benefit of being held fast, never to be forsaken" from Tannisho Section 1.
Unlocking Tannisho (written by Takamori-sensei) corrected serious misunderstandings found in conventional commentaries of Tannisho. Since its release seven years ago, not one book refuting Unlocking Tannisho has emerged.
The whole audience, which consisted of people from all over the world, listened to the lecture on “The benefit of being held fast, never to be forsaken” and fully absorbed the essence of Tannisho.
We saw a lot of students listening to Buddhism together with their parents at this Students' Convention held in the 2,000-Tatami-Mat Hall.
Presenting quotes that show how so many intellectuals have been fascinated by Tannisho, Takamori-sensei focused on the first half of Section 1, which describes the essence of Amida Buddha’s salvation.
The purpose of life taught in Buddhism refers to the absolute happiness that never forsakes us. This is what is meant by “the benefit of being held fast, never to be forsaken” described in Tannisho.
Before the lecture, representing the whole student body of Shinran Followers, Yuki Hashimoto and Fumihiro Tanaka of Toyama Prefecture presented their experiences of listening to Buddhism.
Fumihiro peppered his heartbreak story with jokes. He put a lot of effort into studying mathematics, which is something he is good at, in order to attract a girl. He actually ranked first among all his peers in the field. But one day, after school, in an empty classroom illumined by the red of the setting sun, the girl he liked approached him and said, “You’re always studying mathematics. You are so weird!”
“Everything within me collapsed,” he said. “All the effort I had made until that time came to nothing. The ship of my youth sank deep into the pitch black sea bottom.”
While his speech caused waves of laughter among the audience, he explained that the happiness we know is ephemeral. Therefore, all of us need to pursue “the benefit of being held fast, never to be forsaken”, or absolute happiness.
The MCs for this lecture event were Kazushi Kiyonishi and Emi Miyazaki, who graduated and entered the work force in the spring of this year. They created a pleasant atmosphere for the audience at the 2,000-Tatami- Mat Hall.
Source: The Buddhist Village Times #52 | 2015, Youths Learn Buddhism Through the Classical Text, Tannisho
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