Awaken to Your True Self: The Shin Buddhist Way of Life

Hideo Yonezawa (1909-1991) was a physician who lectured and wrote extensively on Shin Buddhism from a layperson’s perspective. His thoughts are made available to English speakers for the first time in Marvin Harada’s translation of Awaken to Your True Self. Along with essays on topics such as “What is Religious Faith?” and “The Spiritual Home,” Yonezawa shares the life examples of Buddhist followers—friends and patients—that he was fortunate enough to meet. Each of these stories shines like a polished gem. The Buddhist path is most clearly embodied not in doctrines and institutions, but in the self-awareness and resilience of people who have awakened to the true self. The book is certain to deepen one’s appreciation of Shin Buddhism.

“How should we express what shinjin is in this day and age? I have said that there is a relation between the eternal and the now, and there is a relation between the limited and the infinite. The relation between these is religion. Shinjin is an expression of the realization that your life, which is limited and finite, has a place within the infinite. As I strive to express what shinjin is, I have tried to make it my own, which is a most difficult thing.” —Hideo Yonezawa

“Yonezawa conveys the deep flavor of the Dharma and extends the hand of Great Compassion. Through stories, poetry, and real-life examples, he brings difficult Buddhist notions to life in a manner that is at once accessible to the layperson and provides rich insights to those who have been studying Buddhism for many years.” —Dr. Mark Unno, University of Oregon