SuttaCentral
In Eastern Orthodox mysticism, one is able to become one with the energies of God, though not the essence of God.
According to Shinran’s understanding of the Nembutsu, it’s not for the purpose of attaining anything, but is merely a spontaneous expression of gratitude for what one has already received.
Of course it is not this way. One does not become one with anything in the Hesychams, one experiences somethings (there is a way out for you, wink-wink), which is brought about by being grateful to God and remorseful about one’s own imperfection and sin. The results of the practices are pretty similar, the metaphysical assumptions behind them are vastly different. Besides, where is that Buddho practice in that equation?
In the Orthodox Church, this concept is neither new nor startling. It even has a name: theosis. Theosis is the understanding that human beings can have real union with God, and so become like God to such a degree that we participate in the divine nature.
Theosis: Partaking of the Divine Nature | Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese
Theosis, or deification, is a transformative process whose aim is likeness to or union with God, as taught by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches…
Theosis (Eastern Christian theology) - Wikipedia
I’m not sure if you know what you are talking about when it comes to Eastern Orthodox theology and mysticism. I’m also unsure what it has to do with Pure Land practice as understood and taught by Shinran Shonin.
You are wrong, I think that my reading of Orthodox Christian theologians is a better source of understanding the concept of theosis than Wikipedia. Even in the quotes you have provided it is clear that a practitioner who has achieved theosis doesn’t ‘become one’ with God but rather attains a God-like state while retaining his or her individuality. The Orthodox theologians love emphasizing time and time again how different this is compared to the concept of Nibbana in Buddhism or Brahman in Hinduism. The theosis-ized Christian does not leave behind his or her identity.
Still, the goal of the Hesychast practice is not only theosis, their goal is to be able to ‘see’ the uncreated light of God, which is suspiciously similar to jhanas and nimittas. In order to reach this goal, the Hesychast practitioners use breathing and concentration techniques combined with constant chanting of a sacred formula, something quite similar to the Buddho practice and Pure Land chanting. It turns out that certain practices bring similar results independently of the metaphysical reasoning behind them. This means that you cannot say: ‘Theravada and Pure Land Buddhism have similar practices because they are both Buddhism, they are two ways of describing the same thing.’ Following that logic, we should admit that the Hesychasts are Buddhists, too.
Thanks for this (I found those links very interesting). I wasn’t previously aware of the Eastern Orthodox practice of hesychasm (coming from a Roman Catholic background and not having read much into Orthodox practices). Many of these practices are quite similar. Up to a point, IMO you’d expect similar practices to produce similar results. Nepsis, watchful attention, has many resemblances to mindfulness or guarding the senses in Buddhism. An assumed emphasis on morality (sila) is a given. There’s a degree of asceticism (fasting etc.) too, monasticism as on Mount Athos, plus a similar wariness regarding unusual states and not having ecstasy itself as the goal. It’d be surprising if the five hindrances weren’t greatly weakened (there are even explicit mentions of countering sloth). Though how “doubt” is understood will differ. Combined with a meditative practice that should lead to forms of jhana.
However, I suppose what’s done with such a state may be quite different. That’s where the approaches branch off and head down different roads I guess. The underlying metaphysics is quite different. I suppose from a Buddhist perspective such jhana would be wrong jhana given its lack of underpinning by a “right view”. The amount of similarity in such practices is very interesting even if the end goals differ!
Insisting that I’m wrong about Eastern Orthodox theology and mysticism, when I can cite numerous other sources to show the contrary, while attempting to draw similarities between Pure Land practice and Eastern Orthodoxy, doesn’t really peak my interest.
If you’d like to know the reasons why I prefer Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, after years of being an Eastern Orthodox Christian, that might be more interesting.
We should be so fortunate to hear even more about you and your opinions 
I insist that you are wrong about theosis as ‘becoming one with God’ since it does not imply any absorption by the Deity, so the use of this phrase is misleading; even the quotes you yourself provided show that, and yes, I myself looked it up in the sources as well. Besides I insist that you are wrong when you consider my knowledge of Eastern Orthodox mysticism and theology as not good. Otherwise, I have no idea how good you know these things, you may be very competent and knowledgeable in these matters, but the level of your competence was not the subject of our discussion.
Other than that, reasons for why someone may prefer Jodo Shinshu Buddhism to Orthodox Christianity don’t interest me, thank you very much.
In a more general sense, why would someone prefer Amida Buddha over a theistic god?
Amida Buddha differs radically from the traditional Judaeo-christian concept of
God, because of the following characteristics.
- Amida Buddha is not a creator, but he is a saviour who performs his
compassionate work without any condition whatsoever.- Amida Buddha does not judge or punish man, for man is responsible for his
own acts and invites the consequences, good or bad, of his acts.- Amida Buddha does not perform miracles, but he manifests his saving
compassion through the rhythem of natural laws.- Amida Buddha is not transcendent, standing outside this world; but he is
immanent, for his very being is rooted in the limitations of this world which
will be transformed by the power of Amida’s love.- Amdia Buddha is not a wrathful or jealous God; rather, the power of
compassion fulfilled in his Original Vow completes tlhe promise that he will
not rest until all beings attain the same enlightenment, Buddhahood, as
himself.- Amida Buddha does not discriminate in any form, whether of belief or creed,
moral good or moral evil, human life or animal life, but he embraces all in
Oneness with equal warmth.- Amida Buddha does not show his love by the blood of crucifixion,
sacrificing his own being, but by making his compassion accessible to mankind
through the Nembutsu, his sacred name, which resounds throughout the universe.
Wherever his sacred name, Namu Amida Butsu, is pronounced, there he is.
http://www.skepticfiles.org/mys1/amida-go.htm
All beings will ultimately be embraced by Amida’s compassion and thus be reborn into the Pure Land, no matter how many lifetimes it takes, rather than suffering eternal conscious torment in hell.
Rather than an all-powerful creator god who somehow allows for so much suffering and evil in his creation, Amida is Dharma-body or the Buddha-nature in all things.
Rather than a heaven where one will serve a theistic god for eternity, the Pure Land is the realm of Nirvana, where one will attain Buddhahood and return to this world to serve all other beings.
Hullo,
For those suffering a bit of a memory lapse since the last reminder that it is generally speaking courteous to abide by the guidelines of the community you participate within (4 days is a long time after all), please do keep posts within the parameters set out by the guidelines which state:
The Watercooler Category
If posting to the Watercooler category please take particular care to make sure your post belongs there. As noted above, this forum is about Early Buddhist Texts. We do, nevertheless, have a Watercooler category for more informal, relaxed, light-hearted exchange. We still encourage that posts to this category are related to the Dhamma, but this is not a fixed rule and an amount of leeway is allowed for other topics. However, there is no leeway with regards to the guideline that all posts to the Watercooler must be of a friendly, light-hearted and harmony-promoting nature. The Watercooler is a place to support each other and make connections, not to prove a point or for heated debate. Threads that stray from this category’s purpose will be moved, closed or deleted.
Having trouble constructing a post that is of a friendly, light-hearted and harmony-promoting nature that isn’t about proving a point? Fear not, posting isn’t mandetory and it’s probably time for tea anyway.
The following description of the Eternal Buddha is from The Teaching of Buddha by The Society for the Promotion of Buddhism, Japan’s equivalent to The Gideon’s Bible, which can be found in many hospitals and hotel rooms:
Do not think that the compassion of the Buddha is only for the present life; it is a manifestation of the timeless compassion of the eternal Buddha that has been operative since unknown time, when mankind went astray due to ignorance…
Do not seek to know Buddha by His form or attributes; for neither the form nor the attributes are the real Buddha. The true Buddha is Enlightenment itself…
If someone sees some excellent features of Buddha and then thinks he knows Buddha, his is the mistake of an ignorant eye, for the true Buddha can not be embodied in a form or seen by human eyes. Neither can one know Buddha by a faultless description of his attributes. It is not possible to describe His attributes in human words.
Though we speak of His form, the Eternal Buddha has no set form, but can manifest Himself in any form. Though we describe His attributes, yet the Eternal Buddha has no set of attributes, but can manifest Himself in any and all excellent attributes.
Buddha’s body is Enlightenment itself. Being formless and without substance, it always has been and always will be. It is not a physical body that must be nourished by food. It is an eternal body whose substance is Wisdom. Buddha, therefore, has neither fear nor disease; He is eternally changeless.
Therefore, Buddha will never disappear as long as Enlightenment exists. Enlightenment appears as the light of Wisdom that awakens people into a newness of life and causes them to be born into the world of Buddha (the Pure Land)…
Dharmakaya is the substance of the Dharma; that is, it is the substance of Truth itself. In the aspect of Essence, Buddha has no shape or color, and since Buddha has no shape or color, He comes from nowhere and there is nowhere for Him to go. Like the blue sky, He arches over everything, and since He is all things, He lacks nothing…
The work of Buddha is to manifest in all affairs and on all occasions the pure essence of Dharmakaya (the absolute nature of Buddha); so Buddha’s mercy and compassion flow out from this Dharmakaya in endless life and boundless light, bringing salvation to mankind.
http://www.e4thai.com/e4e/images/pdf/theteachingofbuddha.pdf
Please compare the above description of the Eternal Buddha to Bhikkhu Bodhi’s description of the Dhamma:
Dhamma. The cosmic principle of truth, lawfulness, and virtue discovered, fathomed, and taught by the Buddha; the Buddha’s teaching as an expression of that principle; the teaching that leads to enlightenment and liberation.
In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon - Bodhi - Google Books
The name Amida means “eternal life” and “infinite light.” Amida is such an important part of traditional Japanese culture that death row inmates visit a shrine to Amida and say their final Nembutsu before undergoing execution:
It is not necessary to hear about deathbed experiences of the Pure Land in order to believe the Pure Land is real, because the Pure Land is the formless realm of Nirvana. This is why Shinran referred to rebirth into the Pure Land as “the birth that is non-birth,” just as the historical Buddha referred to Nirvana as “the unborn.”
Thanks so much, Anāgārikā Pasanna. This lifted my basement-dwelling spirits so much this morning that I felt duty bound to let you know the degree of happiness you’d provoked. 
Now then, we I think we have some Congou, Lapsang souchong, Assam, Darjeeling, Ceylon, Gunpowder, Sencha, Longjing, Alishan oolong, Smelly Sock, all sorts really.
Before converting to Buddhism, I was into new age UFO religion like the Urantia Book. This is why, as a Buddhist, I have a hard time accepting that Amida is a literal flesh and blood Buddha from a distant planet, eons before the Big Bang, as it says in the Pure Land sutras.
But in the writings of Shinran, Amida is the ultimate Buddha, Dharma-body itself, beyond time and form, rather than a literal Buddha from a distant planet. This is because Shinran, like the historical Buddha, distinguished between relative truth and ultimate truth in his writings:
http://dharmafarer.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2.6b_Neyyattha_Nitattha_S_a2.3.5-6_piya.pdf
Wow! You make it hard to choose, but I can’t go past a good oolong. Teddy will have a gunpowder tea please 
Dharmakaya is the central Truth of Mahayana Buddhism, the Ultimate Reality one awakens to in attaining Nirvana.
Amida Buddha is the symbolic personification of Dharmakaya, and the Pure Land is the realm of Nirvana.
Even in the Pali scriptures, which are believed to be the oldest teachings of the Buddha, he teaches with various parables and symbolic expressions:
