Additional information
by Kemmyo Taira Sato (Editor)
The Shōshinge is a gātha of particular importance from The Kyōgyōshinsō by Shinran (1173-1262). Living in Nenbutsu is a translation of, and commentary on the Shōshinge, which means Hymn on the Right Faith in Nenbutsu. In the teaching of Pure Land Buddhism, the term is usually understood as a particular 'practice' by virtue of which we attain birth in the Pure Land and ultimately the 'realisation' of Supreme Enlightenment. The Shin Buddhist notion of Nenbutsu, however, is something entirely different. In Shin Buddhism the Nenbutsu is actually seen as the working of Amida Buddha's great love and compassion, his call to all of us sentient beings to come to him just as we are without any reservation. This new translation and commentary will explore the Shōshinge in all its depth and meaning.
Author Biography
Professor Kemmyo Taira Sato is Director of the Three Wheels Shin Buddhist
temple in London, and Visiting Professor at the University of London's School of
Oriental and African Studies. He is the author of Living with Thanks: The Five
Fascicle Version of Rennyo Shonin's Letters (Buddhist Society, 2019), and with
Professor John White, the editor and translator of The Haiku of Basho (Buddhist
Society, 2019), The Haiku of Issa (Buddhist Society, 2020) and The Haiku of Buson
(Buddhist Society, 2020)
