The rat race, poem by Gansen John Welch Sensei

Introduction by Gansen John Welch,

I wrote this new poem to thank and honour my teachers Reverend Josho Adrian Cirlea and Paul Roberts as well as our Amida Dharma Masters, Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Tan-Luan, Daochuo, Shandao, Genshin, Honen,Shinran and Rennyo without whom I could not have found and understood (in my case, to some small extent) Amida Dharma and my utter helplessness, trapped in the endless suffering of samsara.

Never forget these wise words from Tannisho by Yuienbo:

“As I humbly reflect on the past [when the late master Shinran was alive] and the present in my foolish mind, I can not but lament the divergences from the true shinjin that he conveyed by speaking to us directly, and I fear there are doubts and confusions in the way followers receive and transmit the teaching. For how is entrance into the single gate of easy practice possible unless we happily come to rely on a true teacher whom conditions bring us to encounter? Let there be not the slightest distortion of the teaching of Other Power with words of an understanding based on personal views.”

My hope is that readers and listeners will find that certain words, phrases, ideas and concepts in this poem resonate with their past and present experience and prove to be helpful and meaningful in increasing their understanding of this profound and precious Amida Dharma.

As Master Rennyo wrote:

“There will also be those who are lacking in faith (fushinjin). This is an extremely serious matter. For unless there is a decisive settling of faith, the birth that is to come in the fulfilled
land is uncertain. Therefore, those whose faith is lacking (fushin)should in all haste attain the decisive mind.The human realm is a place of uncertainty. The Land of utmost bliss is one of eternity. Hence we should not make our abode in the uncertain human realm, but rather aspire to [birth in] the eternal Land of Utmost Bliss. In our tradition, therefore, the matter of faith is placed before all else; unless we are fully aware of the reason for this, everything is meaningless. We must promptly undergo a decisive settling of faith (anjin) and aspire to birth in the Pure Land.”
(The Letters of Master Rennyo, Fascicle Five, 11: On the Anniversary of Master Shinran’s Death)

“There is, then, no anxiety over becoming a Buddha. How incomparable is the all-surpassing Primal Vow! And how gracious Amida Tathagata’s light! Without encountering the [receptive]
condition of this light, there can be no cure at all for the fearful sickness of ignorance and karma-hindrance, which has been ours from the beginningless past. Prompted by the condition of this light, and with the ripening of good from the past, we assuredly attain other-power faith now. It is immediately clear, however, that this is faith granted by Amida Tathagata. Hence we know now, beyond question, that this is not faith generated by the practitioner, but that it is Amida Tathagata's great other-power faith. Accordingly, all those who have once attained other-power faith should reflect gratefully on Amida Tathagata’s benevolence and repeat the nembutsu, saying
the Name of the Buddha always, in gratitude for the Buddha’sbenevolence.”
(The Letters of Master Rennyo, Fascicle Five, 12: On the Sleeve of Amida)

I would encourage readers and listeners to share these PDFs and recordings with family and friends(especially the audio recordings for those who may have difficulties with reading) so that as many people as possible may benefit.

I also hope that these verses help others and motivate them to find a good teacher like Reverend Josho Adrian Cirlea, listen deeply to Amida Dharma and think and say:

Namo Amida Butsu
Namo Amida Butsu
NamoAmidaButsu
Thank you Amida Buddha
Homage to Amida Buddha
I take refuge in Amida Buddha

Click here to download the poem in pdf,
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hu-eWnlTqyeZqaqiqlo7XuO4ucAPUJKL/view?usp=sharing

Gansen John Welch is a member and lay teacher of Amidaji temple and narrator of Josho Adrian Cirleas's books.

You can listen to the audio versions of Rev Josho's books at these links:

Amida Dharma (the essential doctrine of Amidaji temple),
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1TmuLHxJGTN50AWSV9KK_y1VYZZ4Kh0G

The Meaning of Faith and Nembutsu in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism,
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1TmuLHxJGTNten2hOrWQTGXhcMfpZ_3Z

The Four Profound Thoughts Which Turn The Mind Towards Amida Dharma
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1TmuLHxJGTNun5JJtVnqXvAx3JxYq_NZ

The True Teaching on Amida Buddha and His Pure Land
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1TmuLHxJGTN8Vk7gD2wh0LmfV4hu-0fc

The Path of Acceptance - Commentary on Tannisho
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1TmuLHxJGTOFtQBVGL7vx3ouFnn_K5li

More will follow soon!

Contact details and information about Rev Josho and Amidaji temple:
http://amida-ji-retreat-temple-romania.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html