Buddhist Psalms: By Shinran Shonin - Illustrated

by Shinran Shonin

Don't buy cheap paperbacks just to save a few dollars. Most of them use low-quality papers & binding. Their pages fall off easily. Some of them even use very small font size of 6 or less to increase their profit margin. It makes their books completely unreadable. A collection of Buddhist writings from the founder of the Jodo Shinshu (Shin) branch of Pure Land Buddhism. Their teachings focus on devotional practices, especially centering on Amitabha Buddha. This book will assist the reader in understanding the numerous Buddhist terms and references. Discover the Beauty of Japanese Buddhist Poetry, “Take refuge in the ultimate Strength, for His pure radiance is above all things. He who perceiveth this Light is set free from the fetters of Karma.” - Shinran Shonin, Buddhist Psalms. Written by a Japanese Buddhist monk almost 800 years ago, Buddhist Psalms are basically the wisdom of the Buddha in lyric form. Witness how the Buddhism transcended entire cultures and language differences to become a universal religion, philosophy and state of mind.

102 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Malum · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too Christian for Buddhists, too Buddhist for Christians, I'm not sure who this book is for. In the attempt to bridge a gap between east and west, it seems like a lot of questionable translations were used. Christian buzzwords like "kingdom" and "father" abound, and the style is reminiscent of the King James Bible (the use of the word "sinneth" comes to mind). I know that Jodo Shinshu and Christianity share a few superficial similarities, but this is a bit much.

If you don't know anything about Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, look elsewhere. I can't imagine a worse introduction to the religion than this book. If you do know about Jodo Shinshu, then this book is still only a curiosity rather than an essential text.

[MKF · Rating 2 out of 5]

These Buddhist Psalms I felt were pretty generic. Change a few words here and there and replace them with others and this book would work with any religion. It is as if the author took a few Psalms added Buddhist words to it to make it for Buddhism.