Talking with Suki
Suki: The best I can do for u is let u know what we in this part of the world do to get over such grief! U might find some kind of peace and be able to move on.
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Thanks for your kind words, Suki. They deserve my best efforts to respond.
The good news is, I have gotten over my grief - and so has Jessie’s younger sister. Why? Because Jessie checked in, leaving her sister and me fully assured that she is alive and well - and a Buddha at last.
Of course, we both miss her so. That is simply because we are regular people - and not buddhas - and she was such a precious part of our lives.
But I am awaiting the day when I leave this body, and take birth as a buddha at last, according the the promise of Shin Buddhist teaching. After endless lifetime of birth in ignorance - I will see Jessie – now a Buddha - as a buddha too.
That was Buddha’s teaching in the Larger Pure Land Sutra: that anyone who simply entrusted him or herself to the Primal Vow of Amida (which I will explain in another post) would indeed become a Buddha at last.
This terrible cauldron of sorrow which we experienced, followed by Jessie’s TWO manifestations to Jamie (one on the anniversary of her death, privately and the other in Sorrento), also opened her up to the dharma as well.
So now she is actually reading Jessie’s own copy of the book that led Jessie to “shinjin” - true entrusting – which resulted in her final transformation into Buddhahood.
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Suki: If there is a Buddist temple close by speak to the chief monk and ask if U can offer some food on behalf of Jessie’s memory. Fix a date with the monk and prepare a vegetarian meal for all those in the Temple for that day for that meal and take it to the Temple yourself and offer it to the Monks there.
This will make Jessie’s journey to her next life even easy, it will be your efforts to see Jessie being born in a good place. U can be a blessing on her rather than lamenting over her death and loosing u r head over the inevitable. Remember even the Budda didn’t win over Death.
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I appreciate the good heart that motivates your suggestion.
But the good news, once again, is this:
There’s no need, either for temple, or monk, or offerings of food or anything else on behalf of her, or in her memory.
There’s no need to be concerned about Jessie’s transition to her next life being easy, or hard.
There’s no need to worry about her being born in a good place – or having an chance in the future to even encounter the dharma.
For Jessie, it’s all DONE. Her endless journey has finished at last – as all our endless journey’s eventually will end. She is now a full Buddha – as each and all of us one day will be.
The Buddha – my go-to guy for metaphysical perspective - taught that we go through endless rounds of birth and death in ignorance, until at last we attain to the stage of being true buddhas - or at least non-retrogressing bodhisattvas (buddhas-in-training who do not fall back into ignorance any more).
You and I and Jessie and most everyone else are in, and have been in, that terrible karmic cycle of rebirth in ignorance for endless ages. We can’t even remember our earlier lives - as the Buddha finally did when he arose from his last breakthrough - a Buddha at last.
Jessie, an ordinary person (though a wonderful one) is now FINISHED with all that cycling through ignorance. She has reached the goal - true Buddhahood. Not by her own efforts to awaken and cast off her ignornance and delusions - but by one thought-moment of true entrusting in the vow of Amida Buddha to save all beings entirely…if only they will listen deeply to the teaching and entrust themselves to him.
That, Suki, is the reason for the SHIN UGLY blog - because this final teaching of Buddha for an age where no one attains enlightenment by efforts, by mediation, by offerings – needs wide dissemination, in plain language, for plain people. It is infinitely valuable, and infinitely powerful, for any who really do seek to awaken at last.
Shinran teaches, as a student of Shakyamuni – the one we call Buddha - the last FULLY awakened one to appear in this world - that such a possibility is open for ALL - the ignorant, the unlettered, the sinner and the saint - for the best of us and the worst of us - and all of us in between.
So I invite you to stay tuned to this blog: At the top right, where it says “monitor this blog” put in your email address and you will receive notice when it is updated with my writings, or others’ comments.
For my part, I will do my very best to explain Shinran’s teaching in the clearest language I can. Feel free to listen, to ask questions, and even to challenge what I say, based on what you have been taught in your journey thus far.
And please bear with me, because the audience for this blog includes those with NO background in Buddhism at all. Some non-buddhists have engaged me in private dialogue, and have come to the blessed state of SHINJIN – true entrusting – and now know that at the end of this life they will become buddhas as well.
For people like them, I choose to use the simplest plain language, which is entirely suited to SHIN UGLY – Shinran’s plain teaching for plain people - rather than more technical Buddhist language which might be good for learned Buddhists, but confusing for others.
My best to you -
Paul R