Just as you are
The Amida School (Amida-shu) is a Buddhist sangha following the Pureland tradition. This tradition derives from the insights, practice, dedication and faith of such great masters as Nagarjuna (1st century) and Vasubandhu (4th century) in India, Hui Yuan (334-416) and Shan Tao (613-681) in China, and Honen Shonin (1133-1212) and his many disciples in Japan.
The practice of this school is primarily focussed on chanting and the principle form of chanting is nembutsu. Nembutsu is the invocation of the Buddha of eternal life. The cental belief of this form of spirituality is in the unconditional acceptance of Amida Buddha. Amida Buddha accepts us all exactly as we are without judgement. Amida Pureland is, therefore, a religion of absolute (i.e. unconditional) grace.
Amidism thus differs from some forms of Buddhism in believing that there is nothing that one has to do in order to become acceptable to Buddha. There are no spiritual or moral states that have to be achieved or mastered and there is no punishment or penalty for failure. There are, of course, the natural consequences that we see in the world, but, in the eyes of Buddha, we are already completely accepted. That is what it means for Buddha to be Buddha.
Our spiritual practice, therefore, is full of awe, gratitude, humility, appreciation of the bitter-sweetness of life and all the other thousand and one sentiments that rise up in us when we are touched to our core by a truly spiritual vision of life. In our tradition we express these feelings through reciting the nembutsu, “Namo Amida Bu” which is the Buddha Prayer. Amida-shu is a Buddha Prayer denomination of Buddhism.
Out of these feelings, naturally, for many people, springs a desire to be of service to others. Amida-shu members are, therefore, well known for their socially engaged attitudes and activities.
There is a thriving social networking site, Friends of Amida, where one can find details of the various activities of Amida-shu members across the world, as well as learn a little more about the faith and practice that underpins this spiritual community.
