How do you actually practice your faith?

There are many ways to practice, but the basic spirit underlying all efforts should be to apply, in daily life, an altruistic spirit. This means you are able to place yourself in the shoes of others. The founder of Shinnyo-en and his wife put this into practice, and taught their disciples to do the same. In form, this means reaching out to others in body, mind and spirit: being caring and mindful of others, and always taking what happens around us as food for self-reflection. Through this practice, we not only learn about ourselves, but also cultivate a loving and compassionate heart by taking care of others. Generosity of spirit lies at the heart of Buddhism, and its fulfillment is embodied in the form of a bodhisattva, an advanced practitioner who has dedicated his or her life to helping others find happiness. In order to cultivate this altruistic spirit at Shinnyo-en, we have something called the “Three Practices”: sharing the teaching with others (otasuke); giving of oneself in service to others (gohoshi) such as cleaning the temple grounds, or welcoming returning followers; and giving heartfelt, joyous offerings (kangi) that support the order and its charitable activities. At the same time, the order strongly encourages followers to engage in volunteer work in the communities where they reside. These Three Practices are an abbreviated form of the six paramitas, the traditional means by which a bodhisattva walks the path to enlightenment. In addition to these, there are opportunities for followers to offer spiritual consolation for the deceased, and other altruistic prayers, attend services where one can participate in sutra chanting, listen to testimonies of followers, receive teachings and sermons, and participate in sesshin meditative training.