This Month’s Shoshinge – Okagesamade November, 2026
Nō hotsu ichi nen ki ai shin
Fu dan bon nō toku ne han
【English Translation】
When the one thought-moment of joy arises,
Nirvana is attained without severing blind passions;
On October 3, an unveiling ceremony was held in Victoria, British Columbia, for a memorial honouring the history of Japanese Canadians. The memorial bears the names of approximately 22,000 Japanese Canadians who were forcibly displaced in 1942 during the Second World War, as well as approximately 3,000 children who were born afterward. I also had an opportunity to watch part of the livestream at Momiji that day.
This memorial reflects a desire to remember the hardships experienced by earlier generations and to pass their history on to future generations. On the memorial grounds, there is also a stone engraved with the words “Okagesamade” (for all you have done). As I watched the livestream, I felt that these words expressed deep gratitude toward those who endured many hardships and laid the foundation for the Japanese Canadian community we know today. When we reflect more deeply on the meaning of Okagesamade, we begin to recognize something important. We often tend to think that we have built our lives through our own efforts. In reality, however, long before we were born, many people had already paved the way for us.
The realization that we have been supported by others even before we could accomplish anything ourselves is also an important perspective in understanding the teachings of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. With the words Okagesamade in mind, I would like to reflect once again on a passage from the Shoshinge this month. Last month, we learned about the true purpose of Shakyamuni Buddha’s appearance in this world, known as Shusse Hongai. Beginning with this month’s passage, the next sixteen lines of the Shoshinge explain the benefits of Shinjin.
The joyful heart described this month’s part is, in essence, Shinjin. What is important, however, is that we should not understand Shinjin as something we create through our own efforts or determination. In Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, Shinjin is not a feeling that arises because we try very hard to believe in something. Rather, it arises within us through the working of Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow.
In the past, the Japanese word Shinjin was often translated into English as “faith.” However, the word “faith” alone can sometimes give the impression that it is something we produce through our own will or determination to believe strongly in something. For this reason, in more recent years, Shinjin has also been translated as “Entrusting Heart,” while some translators prefer to leave it untranslated and simply use the Japanese word “Shinjin.”
This shows how difficult it is to express the meaning of Shinjin in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism through the simple idea of believing in something. Just as the words Okagesamade arise from the realization that we have not lived entirely through our own strength, but have already received support from countless others, Shinjin also has its foundation in something that comes before us. Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow has already been working for our sake, and through listening to the teaching of that Vow, Shinjin arises within us.
Have you ever heard the Buddhist term “blind passions”? Blind passions refer to those things within our minds that lead us into confusion and suffering. Among the many blind passions described in Buddhism, three are considered especially fundamental. They are known as the Three Poisons: greed, anger, and ignorance. They are called poisons because they affect and disturb our minds in ways that cause suffering.
For example, even when we obtain something we have wanted for a long time, before long we begin wanting something else. We compare ourselves with others and become jealous of what they have, or we become angry when things do not go the way we want. Our minds are constantly influenced by these various blind passions.
The New Year’s Eve bell-ringing ceremony, which we also hold at our temple in Toronto, has some connection to the teaching of blind passions. At many temples in Japan, the bell is traditionally rung 108 times. This number is associated with the 108 blind passions, and in some Buddhist traditions, each ringing of the bell is understood to symbolize the elimination of a blind passion.
Since ancient times, Buddhism has taught that these blind passions are the causes of our suffering. By eliminating them, we can become free from suffering and attain Nirvana, the state of enlightenment. For this reason, from the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, countless Buddhists have devoted themselves to various forms of religious practice, including observing precepts, practicing meditation, and cultivating wisdom. In other words, eliminating blind passions to attain enlightenment is one of the fundamental
teachings of Buddhism.
However, this month’s passage from the Shoshinge tells us that Nirvana is attained without severing blind passions. From the perspective of the fundamental Buddhist teachings, this may sound rather surprising. If eliminating blind passions is the path to enlightenment, how can Shinran Shonin teach that we can attain enlightenment without eliminating them?
Of course, this does not mean that we are free to do whatever we want simply because we have blind passions. What Shinran Shonin revealed is that Amida Buddha established the Primal Vow precisely for people like us, who are unable to eliminate our blind passions, no matter how hard we may try. Shinran Shonin himself devoted twenty years to religious practice on Mount Hiei. However, despite all those years of practice, he could not completely eliminate the blind passions within himself. It was during this period of spiritual struggle that he encountered Honen Shonin. Through this encounter, Shinran Shonin came to rely upon the working of Amida Buddha, as taught in the Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life. Amida Buddha’s compassionate Vow is directed toward people like us, who continue to live with blind passions, and seeks to bring us to enlightenment just as we are.
When I was studying in graduate school, one of my professors shared an illustration of Amida Buddha’s compassion that has remained in my memory. It was a story about a baby suffering from a cold and the baby’s mother. The baby was still too young to blow its own nose. Because its nose was blocked with mucus, the baby was having difficulty breathing and was crying in discomfort. Seeing her baby suffering, the mother used her own mouth to draw the mucus out of the baby’s nose. The baby could not clear its nose by itself. However, the mother did not wait until her child had grown old enough to blow its own nose. She simply could not bear to leave her suffering child without help, and so she took action herself. Through this image of a mother’s care for her child, my professor explained the compassionate working of Amida Buddha.
We, too, are beings who cannot eliminate our blind passions through our own efforts. Amida Buddha does not wait for us to eliminate our blind passions or become morally perfect human beings. It is precisely because Amida Buddha cannot abandon us, who continue to live with blind passions and suffer in confusion, that the Primal Vow was established. Of course, this does not mean that we are free to do anything we wish simply because we have blind passions. Nor does the working of Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow mean that our blind passions disappear while we are living in this world. Rather, as we listen to the Buddha Dharma, we gradually come to recognize how deeply our lives are influenced by blind passions.
Although we remain ordinary beings filled with blind passions, through the working of Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow, we are given Shinjin. At that very moment, our birth in the Pure Land and attainment of Buddhahood become settled. Then, when this life comes to an end, we are born in the Pure Land and attain enlightenment. The words Okagesamade, which I introduced at the beginning of this article, remind us that our lives today are by no means the result of our own efforts alone. In Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, we listen to the teaching of Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow, which has already been directed toward each of us and has been working for our sake long before we became aware of it.
Amida Buddha never abandons us, even though we are unable to eliminate our blind passions, but continues to guide us toward enlightenment.
This month, I hope we can once again reflect upon Amida Buddha’s compassion through the words Okagesamade. With only two months remaining in 2026, we are approaching another Canadian winter. We do not yet know whether this winter will bring heavy snowfall or colder temperatures than usual, but I hope you will all stay warm and take good care of yourselves. As the weather grows colder, may we continue to appreciate the warmth of our relationships and the support we receive from those around us. And in our daily lives, as we reflect upon our gratitude for Amida Buddha’s compassion, may we continue to recite the Nembutsu together and live each day in gratitude for the Buddha’s benevolence.
Namo Amida Butsu
Rev. Kensho Hashimoto
Resident Minister
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