Wassup With Wasan??!!
Shinran Shonin was an amazingly prolific writer with an astounding body of work. Begun when he was 52, Shinran completed his magnum opus, Ken Jodo Shinjitsu Kyogyosho Monrui (The True Teaching, Practice and Realization of the Pure Land Way), more familiarly known as the Kyogyoshinsho, when he was 75. Written in classical Chinese and meant for Buddhist scholars, Shinran spent over twenty years meticulously refining his interpretation of the Pure Land path of awakening as a way to authenticate the teachings of his teacher, Honen. He continued to revisit and revise this work, but it was essentially done by this time.
Thereafter he turned his tireless energy and attention to another form of writing, for the benefit of a completely different audience. They were his wasan hymns, a uniquely Japanese form of poetry, written in everyday language for the common folk. Wasan are succinct four-line poems written in Japanese. Astonishingly, Shinran wrote over 500 of these easily remembered and sung verses. Through his wasan Shinran was able to transmit the essence of his thoughts in the Kyogyoshinsho, in simple, easy to understand language, accessible to all.
Everyday Buddhist Course Pathway Course Living | Wassup with Wasan explores Shinran’s wasan to help us appreciate the magnitude of his effort and the depth of his understanding. His wasan are an integral part of the liturgical rituals performed daily at Honzan, the mother temple in Kyoto, and throughout Japan. The Nembutsu Wasan are always chanted with the Shoshinge, also written by Shinran, and chanted three times a day at Honzan. Learn why wasan are not as prominent in the BCA temples in America and why they perhaps should be. Come discover the beauty, the anguish, and the intensity of Shinran’s profound insight through this deceptively simple verse form.
This topic will be explored in more detail along the EVERYDAY BUDDHIST Course Pathway with our latest course offering titled Living | Wassup with Wasan ??!!. For this and our entire course offering you can subscribe for $10/month or save $25 with an annual subscription of just $95/year for unlimited access to all new courses and content.
