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The story
Reports say that Choyu Otani (75), head priest (monshu) of the Otani-ha branch of Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land Buddhism), has published a book titled “Bom Amigo” chronicling his upbringing in Brazil and his path to becoming monshu, and spoke to the Kyoto Shimbun about it. It’s said to be unusual for a sitting head of the Otani-ha to publish a book of his own while still in office. On 5ch, the resulting thread’s discussion centered on just how different Jodo Shinshu’s doctrine is from other Buddhist sects — pointing to its lack of customs like memorial tablets or the welcoming/sending-off fires (mukaebi/okuribi), and its teaching that believers are reborn in the Pure Land immediately upon death. Frank reactions to the doctrine flew, including comments like “That’s basically no different from having no religion at all.”
“Bom Amigo,” a book by Choyu Otani (75), monshu of the Otani-ha branch of Jodo Shinshu (head temple: Higashi Honganji), was published this past July. It chronicles his life from childhood through the many years he spent in Brazil, as well as his journey as the 26th monshu. Otani recently spoke with the Kyoto Shimbun about what led him to write the book, his day-to-day life as monshu, and his thoughts on Shinshu teachings.
It’s rare for a sitting Otani-ha monshu to publish a book. The impetus came from a writing request by the naikyoku, the branch’s executive body.
“I took office as monshu in 2020. Since last year marked the fifth anniversary of that, and with the World Fellowship Assembly being held in Brazil this month, the naikyoku asked me, ‘Would you be able to write a book if possible?’”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
The old-school Buddhist sects aren't sketchy — Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu (the three great unifiers) thoroughly crushed and gutted them lol
The sketchy ones are the new cults. A lot of them split off from Nichiren Buddhism — their founders tend to be extremists.
That "Such-and-such Society" that hands out flyers at the station and stuffs them in mailboxes
The Ikko-ikki — a heretical sect that disturbed public order
Take it up with the rulers of the time, Nobunaga and Hideyoshi
Bandit: "So I should just chant the nembutsu while I'm robbing people, huh?"
Shinran: "…"
Kujo Kanezane: "Then go ahead and get married while you're still a monk."
Apparently that kind of thing is called "hongan-bokori" (boasting about being saved by Amida's original vow)
What does that even mean?
What is "bokori" supposed to mean anyway
If you crush all religions, you're still left with atheistic Confucianism and the religion of communism
And then those guys get to do whatever they want
If you're over 40 you'd better cherish Confucianism, which respects your elders, or Gen Z/Alpha will hunt you down and you won't get to die peacefully
You want to get euthanized or something?
Confucianism leans more toward ethics, morality, and philosophy than being a pure religion, but since it includes religious rites like ancestor worship, it's generally understood as "a teaching with religious elements"
Probably Taoism fills in whatever's missing
Both the Higashi (East) and Nishi (West) branches descend from Shinran's youngest daughter, so it's not patrilineal
What about the sects whose doctrine says women are too deeply mired in defiling karma to attain Buddhahood?!
Jodo Shinshu Takada-ha
Emperor Go-Yozei
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Konoe Nobuhiro (Emperor Go-Yozei's 4th son, 19th head of the Konoe family, Chief Advisor/Kampaku)
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Konoe Hisatsugu (Nobuhiro's son, 20th head of the Konoe family, Kampaku)
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Konoe Motohiro (Hisatsugu's eldest son, 21st head of the Konoe family, Kampaku)
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Konoe Iehiro (Motohiro's eldest son, 22nd head of the Konoe family, Kampaku)
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Konoe Iehisa (Iehiro's eldest son, 23rd head of the Konoe family, Kampaku)
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Konoe Uchisaki (Iehisa's eldest son, 24th head of the Konoe family, Kampaku)
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Konoe Tsunehiro (Uchisaki's son, 25th head of the Konoe family)
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Konoe Motosaki (Tsunehiro's son, 26th head of the Konoe family)
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Konoe Tadahiro (Motosaki's eldest son, 27th head of the Konoe family, Kampaku)
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Konoe Tadafusa (Tadahiro's eldest son, 28th head of the Konoe family)
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Tokiwai Gyoyu (Tadafusa's third son, 22nd Hoshu of Jodo Shinshu Takada-ha)
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Tokiwai Ranyu (Gyoyu's second son, 24th Hoshu of Jodo Shinshu Takada-ha)
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Tokiwai Jisho (Ranyu's eldest son, current Hoshu of Jodo Shinshu Takada-ha)
"Let's sit and think stuff through" → Rinzai sect
"Isn't just sitting enough already?" → Soto sect
"Just chant the sacred title and you're saved, right?" → Nichiren sect
"Just chant the nembutsu and you're saved, right?" → Jodo sect (Pure Land)
"Aren't we already saved?" → Jodo Shinshu
"Forget that — wanna dance with me instead?" → Ji sect
The ending got me lol ("草"/"kusa" = internet slang for LOL)
LMAOｗ
This is really well made
Got a source?
If you can't, it's a scam, isn't it
Spirits are non-physical, immaterial beings
so it's hard to prove them physically
But physics can still hint at their existence
Buddhas like Amida are human inventions, so they don't actually exist
Same as a manga or anime character
Apparently it doesn't retain a shred of the founder's original teachings
I guess you mean the founder is Shakyamuni Buddha?
The Seven Patriarchs of Pure Land Buddhism start with Nagarjuna — Buddha himself isn't really all that relevant
Since the teaching is that you go straight to the afterlife the moment you die, there's no preparing the deceased for a journey
The burial robe is wrapped right-over-left (the reverse of normal)
No wooden fish drum (mokugyo) is used
No memorial tablet (ihai) is used (there's a death register instead)
Incense sticks are laid down flat instead of stood upright
Since the teaching is that the spirit is always with the family, there are no welcoming/sending-off fires (mukaebi/okuribi)
and so on
There isn't even a concept of "resting in peace" (meifuku)
And yet they still come every single week from the 7th day all the way to the 49th day to chant sutras
Like, what are you even doing then
My grandmother handed over a huge cash donation (o-fuse) every single time
When my aunt asked the priest, "Has my father crossed the Sanzu River yet?" he said, "There's no such thing! He's already in paradise!"
Then what exactly are you doing here right now
Re: #120
Basically no different from having no religion at all
Funerals and graves are all just for making money
A lie to fool the masses and squeeze cash out of them
Monks just do ascetic training (and also live it up)
Too bad
Refusing to assert whether it exists or not is the very essence of Buddhism
It's not that there's no afterlife — he just said don't waste time pondering things you can't possibly know.
On the other hand, since Buddhism teaches you to aim for release from the cycle of reincarnation, that also implies something continues to exist in some form after death
There's absolutely a concept of reincarnation and Obon too
The Ullambana festival (Obon) is kind of a "wait, what is this?" thing too.
My guess is it started because Jodo Shinshu followers said "we want to do Obon too," and it got thrown together as a stopgap
With the excuse being, "we're not welcoming our ancestors' souls back, we're just holding a Buddhist event that happens to fall around this time of year"
And yeah, I'm a Jodo Shinshu follower myself
Yeah, it really does feel like that
General Japanese Buddhist customs and actual Jodo Shinshu doctrine don't line up at all, so it feels forced
We hold the memorial service thinking it's for honoring our ancestors, but the temple treats it as a chance to preach Shinshu doctrine
My family belongs to Honganji-ha, so technically there shouldn't even be a memorial tablet on our household altar — but there is one lol. You're actually supposed to keep a death register instead
My grandmother used to give me allowance money, so as a kid I'd recite the Heart Sutra in front of the altar — probably my grandmother had one made because she asked for it
Background and Key Points of This Story
The Otani-ha branch of Jodo Shinshu traces its founding to Shinran, with its head temple at Higashi Honganji in Kyoto. The role of monshu has historically passed down through Shinran’s descendants, but as the thread pointed out, both the Higashi and Nishi Honganji lines trace back not through Shinran’s male line but through the bloodline of his youngest daughter, Kakushinni — meaning it isn’t patrilineal succession. Under Jodo Shinshu doctrine, rebirth in the Pure Land is settled the moment one attains faith through Amida Buddha’s original vow, meaning that, strictly speaking, memorial tablets, ongoing memorial services, and death rites found in other sects and folk customs — like the mukaebi/okuribi welcoming and sending-off fires — aren’t actually necessary. The gap between this doctrine and the memorial services and donation customs actually practiced at temples was a point raised again and again in the thread, and it’s no wonder many people, unaware of the finer points of the doctrine, come away feeling it’s “basically not a religion.”
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Breaking News Plus) thread “[Kyoto] “Shinran Shonin’s Teaching Is One”: From Physics Professor in Brazil to Head of Jodo Shinshu Otani-ha — How Monshu Choyu Otani Engages with the Various Shinshu Sects“.
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