About paradise
Shimada Shinsuke previously stated the following on TV. (Excerpt from the blog)
“Buddhism is for those who worship for themselves.
The moment I put my hands together, the inside of my heart calms down.
That's where paradise comes from. For example, I'm so upset, no one thinks about visiting graves because they lost in horse racing and gambling. My mind is disturbed, so I don't think I'll go visit graves. One day, suddenly, I haven't been there in a long time. Shall we go visit graves? I think. When I think about visiting graves, my mind calms down. At that moment, paradise is born in the heart. So, rather than the act of visiting the grave itself, it is more important to have a calm heart when you think about going. Even a Buddhist altar has a Buddha inside, but that was a craftsman or someone who carved a tree or something. After all. If that really is a Buddha, then the flower offered must also be offered to the Buddha. But that's not actually the case, is it? From the other side, you can only see the back of the flower and the back of the leaf. This is because it is offered to the worshiper and to the heart of the worshiper. So Buddhism teaches that there is paradise in the heart and in the hearts of worshipers, and there is Buddha.”
I was impressed by this kind of thought. Actually, is this what paradise is? I want to hear the monks' opinions.
