Amida Sheffield is a local Buddhist group belonging to the Amida Pureland School (Amida-shu). Amongst our activities we hold a weekly pureland service on monday evenings which is usually followed by a shared meal. We meet at 5.45 p.m. If you are interested in coming along, please contact Mike (Bhaktika) or Gina (Sundari) on 0114 2724290 or email amidasheffield@blueyonder.co.uk for further details.
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.
Amida-shu has temples in UK, France, India and Hawaii and also members in Canada, Zambia, and Israel as well as students in many parts of the world. The home base is at -
The Buddhist House,
12 Coventry Road,
Narborough LE19 2GR,
UK
Telpehone: +44(0)116.2867476
E-mail: amida@amidatrust.com
Within the Amida-shu is the Amida Order. The head of the Amida Order is Dharmavidya David Brazier. You can read his Pastoral Letters. He also has a personal weblog. Amida-shu and the Amida Order have a constitution called Provisions for Structure, Continuity and Governance which includes criteria and procedures for admissions, policy making, consultation, complaints, amendment, succession and all matters to do with the formal affairs of the Order and School.
The style of Amida-shu is a mixture of formal and informal. If you want to discover a warm and welcoming sangha you will certainly find one here. Amida-shu is deeply involved in the engaged social action work of the Amida Trust and Amida centres are hubs of both spiritual and practical activity. First and foremost, however, we are a religious communion, supporting one another in the spiritual life in a multitude of settings ranging from the fully contemplative to the completely engaged. Welcome.
