the Temple of Rokkaku by the Bodhisattwa of Pity was indeed made
manifest."

It is that revelation which speaks in these Psalms--the love,
aspiration, passion for righteousness and humility which are the
heart of all the great religious utterances of the world.

"Alas for me, Shinran, the ignorant exile who sinks into the deeps
of the great ocean of human affections, who toils to climb the high
mountains of worldly prosperity, and is neither glad to be with them
who return no more to illusion, nor takes delight in approaching
more nearly to true enlightenment. O the pity of it! O the shame of
it!"

This cry alternates with the joy of perfect aspiration, and it is
that which keeps these psalms in warm human touch with the
spirituality that is neither of race nor time, but for eternity.

He was sixty-two years of age when he returned from exile to
City-Royal, and though he made it his centre, it was his home no
more. He wandered from place to place, teaching as he went, after
the manner of the Buddhas. At the age of ninety his strength
suddenly failed, and the next day he passed away in perfect peace.

Such were the outward events of his life; his own writings must give
the history of his soul. His teachings to-day are spread far and
wide in the land of his birth, and are an inspiration to millions
within and without its shores. In him was the harmonised spirit of
Buddhism at its highest. Those who can enter into the heart of
Shinran Shonin will have gained understanding of the heart of a