As a teacher, I am lucky enough to have access to interlibrary loan and was able to secure a copy of Rennyo and the Roots of Modern Japanese Buddhism (still in print but very expensive!). One of the first articles I read in it was "Rennyo and Luther: Similarities in Their Faith and Community Buiding" by Kato Chiken. In a discussion of Rennyo’s down-to-earth style, he cites this story from Rennyo:
"[In a dream] Amida caught hold of his [Yuirenbo's] sleeve and held on to it firmly, not letting go even when he tried to get away. Thereby we should understand that ‘embracing’ [sesshu] means catching and holding on to one who may want to escape." (p. 203)
This story really struck me as quite moving. Sometimes it is tempting to feel worry and doubt about the quality or solidity of one’s "true entrusting" (shinjin). This is certainly true of me (as you can tell from some previous posts). But perhaps this is to slide into a kind of "self-power" mentality, as if everything is dependent on my faith and my state of mind. But really all depends on Amida and he is by no means passive but active, catching hold of our sleeves and not letting go (even if we are trying to get away).
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[...] Catching up on Shinshu blog posts from the period I was away; I was very interested to read Dave F’s reference to a story attributed to Rennyo of a devotee dreaming that “Amida caught hold of his sleeve [...]