Looking Back on the "New Ryōge-mon" Controversy out of Sheer Writer’s Block

I hit a wall. Couldn’t think of what to write… then suddenly remembered the fuss some time ago about the “New Ryōge-mon.”

The Honganji branch published this “New Ryōge-mon.” It was paraphrased into modern Japanese, but it lost the rhythm and became hard to memorize. On top of that, they tried to push “everyone chanting in unison,” which drew a lot of backlash and was eventually withdrawn.
As reading material, it may not be bad, though…

But you can’t just make everything overly digestible.
Words and rhythm have their own power.

Take for example that one phrase in the traditional Ryōge-mon:

Casting aside (振り捨てて) the mind of self-powered practices and assorted practices

For a long time, I thought it was “throwing away” (投げ捨てて), but the correct phrase is “casting off” (振り捨てて).
“Throwing away” sounds like you can just toss it out easily. But in reality, it’s not so simple.
The mind of self-power clings and won’t let go, so you have to desperately shake it off. That sense of urgency is in the phrase “振り捨てて.”

That’s why the simplicity of the New Ryōge-mon feels a bit too light.
To chant “Namu Amida Butsu” while carrying our unresolvable struggles—that single-minded focus might be called the “secret” of Jōdo Shinshū.

And once again, even though I set out to write a “Foolish Being’s Diary,” it turned into something like a Dharma talk.
Maybe continuing this habit, while “casting it off,” is just my style as a foolish being.

Reference

Summary on the "New Ryōge-mon" (compiled by “The Society for Considering the New Ryōge-mon”)
https://note.com/ryouge/n/n7660e3f0166f

日本語版note：
ネタ切れから新領解文騒動を振り返る。むりやり凡夫日記