Promise of a Sacred World: Shinran’s teaching of other power
Shinran (1173–1263) is one of the most important thinkers of Japanese Buddhist history and is regarded as the founder of its largest sect, the True Pure Land School (Jodo Shinshu). His teaching of ‘Other Power’ is a deep meditation on the place of human will and receptivity in spiritual practice and on the path towards liberation.
Nagapriya gives a contemporary audience access to Shinran’s thirteenth-century religious perspective. He offers close readings of Shinran’s writings, places him in the context of his imagined Pure Land lineage, and brings alive Shinran’s perspective on ‘Other Power’ as embodied in the myth of Amida Buddha and the Pure Land scriptures. Stimulating greater interest in Shinran and ‘Other Power’, this book gives new ways to think about contemporary Buddhism.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nagapriya was born in the UK in 1969. While studying for a philosophy degree in Leeds, he began practising with the Triratna Buddhist Community and was ordained as a Dharmachari in 1992. He later studied for a master’s in the history of religions at the University of Manchester. In 2013 he moved to Mexico and helped found the Centro Budista de Cuernavaca. He is also co-founder and director of Editorial Dharmamegha, a small publishing venture dedicated to sharing Buddhist teachings in the Spanish-speaking world. In addition, he works as part of a team training men from Latin America for ordination into the Triratna Buddhist Order. Since 2019 he has been a member of the College of Public Preceptors.
Some of Nagapriya’s other books are: Exploring Karma and Rebirth (Windhorse Publications, 2004), Visions of Mahāyāna Buddhism (Windhorse Publications, 2009), and Seeing Like a Buddha: The Four Noble Truths (Triratna Inhouse Publications, 2020).
Nagapriya lives in Cuernavaca, Mexico, where he is chair of the Cuernavaca Buddhist Centre.
PRAISE
‘Nagapriya not only accurately captures the heart of Shinran’s spirituality and teachings, but conveys it in ways that are novel and easy to understand. Such is the quality and tenor of this book, which I believe will contribute enormously to the accurate presentation of Shinran’s teaching of Other Power.’
—Kenneth K. Tanaka, Professor Emeritus, Musashino University, Tokyo; Past President, International Association of Shin Buddhist Studies; author of The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhism Doctrine
‘Nagapriya offers one of the richest appreciations of Shinran to date. The book is an astonishing, highly poetic, magical, mystical, personal, emotional, and even confessional encounter with Shinran, which strikes a brilliantly fresh note. It should become a foundational stepping stone into a new era of engagement in the English-language world with this seminal Japanese thinker.’
—Galen Amstutz, Adjunct Instructor, Institute of Buddhist Studies/Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, USA
‘In order to understand Shinran, you need a guide, and Nagapriya is an excellent one. There were many times when I was so struck by an idea, a phrase, a truth, that I stopped reading, closed my eyes, and allowed it to reverberate through me. At those times I experienced faith, gratitude, and joy.’
—Ratnaguna, author of The Art of Reflection, and Great Faith, Great Wisdom
Shinran (1173–1263) is one of the most important thinkers of Japanese Buddhist history and is regarded as the founder of its largest sect, the True Pure Land School (Jodo Shinshu). His teaching of ‘Other Power’ is a deep meditation on the place of human will and receptivity in spiritual practice and on the path towards liberation.
Nagapriya gives a contemporary audience access to Shinran’s thirteenth-century religious perspective. He offers close readings of Shinran’s writings, places him in the context of his imagined Pure Land lineage, and brings alive Shinran’s perspective on ‘Other Power’ as embodied in the myth of Amida Buddha and the Pure Land scriptures. Stimulating greater interest in Shinran and ‘Other Power’, this book gives new ways to think about contemporary Buddhism.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nagapriya was born in the UK in 1969. While studying for a philosophy degree in Leeds, he began practising with the Triratna Buddhist Community and was ordained as a Dharmachari in 1992. He later studied for a master’s in the history of religions at the University of Manchester. In 2013 he moved to Mexico and helped found the Centro Budista de Cuernavaca. He is also co-founder and director of Editorial Dharmamegha, a small publishing venture dedicated to sharing Buddhist teachings in the Spanish-speaking world. In addition, he works as part of a team training men from Latin America for ordination into the Triratna Buddhist Order. Since 2019 he has been a member of the College of Public Preceptors.
Some of Nagapriya’s other books are: Exploring Karma and Rebirth (Windhorse Publications, 2004), Visions of Mahāyāna Buddhism (Windhorse Publications, 2009), and Seeing Like a Buddha: The Four Noble Truths (Triratna Inhouse Publications, 2020).
Nagapriya lives in Cuernavaca, Mexico, where he is chair of the Cuernavaca Buddhist Centre.
PRAISE
‘Nagapriya not only accurately captures the heart of Shinran’s spirituality and teachings, but conveys it in ways that are novel and easy to understand. Such is the quality and tenor of this book, which I believe will contribute enormously to the accurate presentation of Shinran’s teaching of Other Power.’
—Kenneth K. Tanaka, Professor Emeritus, Musashino University, Tokyo; Past President, International Association of Shin Buddhist Studies; author of The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhism Doctrine
‘Nagapriya offers one of the richest appreciations of Shinran to date. The book is an astonishing, highly poetic, magical, mystical, personal, emotional, and even confessional encounter with Shinran, which strikes a brilliantly fresh note. It should become a foundational stepping stone into a new era of engagement in the English-language world with this seminal Japanese thinker.’
—Galen Amstutz, Adjunct Instructor, Institute of Buddhist Studies/Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, USA
‘In order to understand Shinran, you need a guide, and Nagapriya is an excellent one. There were many times when I was so struck by an idea, a phrase, a truth, that I stopped reading, closed my eyes, and allowed it to reverberate through me. At those times I experienced faith, gratitude, and joy.’
—Ratnaguna, author of The Art of Reflection, and Great Faith, Great Wisdom