Although the Seattle Betsuin community openly welcomes all and everyone to participate in our various religious programs, the new comer is sometimes lost as to how best to participate.  The task of the trying to figure out how things "work" at the temple is not made any easier by the fact that rarely, if ever, there is a guide pointing out where to go and what to do.  Unfortunately, this lack of structure is sometimes perceived as indifference towards the new comer and sometimes even leads towards the feeling of being unwelcome.  This of course is not the case.  The purpose of this pamphlet is to try to help describe some of the process that is occurring as we welcome the new comer, you, to the temple.

So what gives?

Although Jodo Shinsu (the particular school of Buddhism that the Seattle Betsuin is associated with) talks about the universal salvation of sentient beings found throughout the ten directions, Jodo Shinsu also talks in terms of:

As I deeply consider the Vows of Amida that took five kalpas of thought, I discover that it was for just one person: myself Shinran.

From this statement, taken from the Tannisho, the emphasis Jodo Shinsu, and Buddhism more generally, places on the individual nature of the path towards Buddha-hood (this path is commonly referred to as Buddhism) can clearly be seen.  Part of the aloofness that is often experienced at the temple is due to the "non-evangelical" nature of Buddhism that this and other statements suggest.  What is meant by "non-evangelical" is Buddhism's apparent lack of "outward" propagation.  Buddhism's approach towards propagation can and has been described as a gate.  A gate is something that a traveler has to go through, and not something that goes after the traveler.

Is Buddhism a lonely path?

In the Larger Sutra - the primary sutra, or discourse of the Buddha, that the Pure Land Tradition of Buddhism is centered upon - is the following expression:

People in the midst of worldly longing and thirst are born alone, die alone, go alone, and come alone.  One quickly reaches and goes to the land of the suffering or bliss depending on one's actions.  You are this person; there are none who can take your place.

Although this passage again emphasizes the personal nature of the path, each of the 48 vows made by Amida Buddha found in the Larger Sutra - these vows become a central theme in the Larger Sutra and is what is being referred to in the Tannisho passage quoted earlier - is expressed in the following way: "If after attaining Buddha-hood...if this is not the case then I (promise) not to take true awakening"  This expression of Amida Buddha's vows express the fact that despite being individuals, we are all interdependent individuals.  The interdependent nature of existence also includes the Buddhas.  In the case of Amida Buddha, this Buddha clearly reveals to us this truth by predicating one's enlightenment with the enlightenment of all beings.

Where's the welcome committee?

The Buddhist path, Buddhism, is at the same time an individual path, and a path for interdependent individuals.  People will only walk a particular path if it is accessible and if it is inviting.  Although a gate does not necessarily go out and grab people, it does, however, point out a direction.  In order for a path to be meaningful, it has to be a path that each individual has chosen for themselves.  In order for a path to be meaningful in the ultimate sense, it has to be open to all.  It becomes, therefore, the responsibility of those individuals who are already walking along the path to keep the gate open for all people to experience themselves.  The welcome committee, then, becomes all the people who support the temple, ensuring that it can keep its doors open for all to experience the path and thus allowing each individual to make their own educated choice as to which path to take for themselves.