The Pure Land Buddhist Fellowship
The Pure Land Buddhist Fellowship was founded in the early1970's by a small group friends who had for themselves similarly 'discovered' or 'been touched' by some form of Pure Land Buddhism. These people were not 'converted' to Buddhism by anyone apart from the Buddha himself, and through their own studies of the few text books available in English at that time.
The Jodo Shinshu teaching was first introduced into Europe during the mid-1950's when Harry Pieper, a German man known for his deep interest in Pure Land teachings became the first European to receive the confirmation rite (tokudo). [1]
Here In the UK the first to make contact with authentic Jodo Shinshu at its fountain head in Japan was Jack Austin (1917-1993).
Jack began an extensive series of correspondences with Hongwanji priest Reverend Zuiken Inagaki (1885-1981) in 1949. Some thirty years later and with the active involvement of Rev Zuio Hisao Inagaki, Zuiken Inagaki's son, Jack and other friends including Max Flisher and Jim Pym became the founding members of the Shin Buddhist Association of Great Britain. At that time Jack was the Development Officer for the World Congress of Faiths, and Hisao was Lecturer in Buddhism at the School of Oriental and African Studies at London University.
After Jack became ill the SBA (which was a registered charity) was dissolved. However, a small group including Max and Jim continued to meet regularly but informally at Hisao Inagaki's house. This grew later to become the PLBF.
Because members of the PLBF were geographically scattered a single sheet of news was posted to interested parties. Jack and Hisao had made links with a number of people in mainland Europe, and it seemed reasonable to send them the sheet of news. This newsletter has now grown to become Pure Land Notes, the journal of the Pure Land Buddhist Fellowship and with Gary Robinson as its editor and Jim Pym as assistant editor PLN is produced at Saha House and distributed world-wide from there.
