Understanding Amida Buddha’s wisdom and compassion, first from a fundamental Buddhist perspective, then from Shinran’s interpretation, provides an invaluable foundation for reflecting on how the Buddha’s teachings resonate with contemporary society.

Understanding Amida Buddha’s wisdom and compassion, first from a fundamental Buddhist perspective, then from Shinran’s interpretation, provides an invaluable foundation for reflecting on how the Buddha’s teachings resonate with contemporary society. In today’s world, where people struggle with feelings of inadequacy, isolation, and despair, the message of Amida’s wisdom and compassion offers profound hope and a call to transformative change.

After four years of listening to the teachings, I began to realize that I was no longer translating Buddhist ideas in and out of a Christian context. I was finally listening, thinking and speaking within a Buddhist context. I had finally become fluent in Buddhism. This is much like the way one learns Spanish or Japanese. I was learning Buddhism through immersion. I was being perfumed by the Dharma though I did not know that.