Musings on the Pure Land

On Concessions to Modern Mentality

2012-02-06T23:44:00.000-08:00

A commonplace complaint about the contemporary world is that is secular and materialist. Like all clichés this affirmation cannot even claim to be a half-truth, especially if we disregard the exception of Western Europe. Nonetheless it is true that many if not most Westerners who come to Buddhism are anti-religious or at least have a strong resentment aginst their religious upbringing, which is usually Christian in the case of Europeans and Northern Americans. This fact constitutes a considerable challenge to the transmission of a genuinely religious tradition such as Shin Buddhism, which is quite explicitly devotional. It is a particularly grave problem for Jodo Shinshu since many of its clergy and clerics are influenced by Liberal Theology, which would be unthinkable in Tibetan Buddhism which seems to resist such deviations much better due to its stronger reliance on religious or doctrinal authority.

The perfusion of Shin Buddhism by theological approaches that are quite alien to Buddhism has become so overwhelming that it is difficult to find English presentations of Jodo Shinshu that are not affected to some degree by a tendency to reduce religion in general and (Shin) Buddhism in particular to a set of guidelines for the fulfillment of this-worldly existence. Often not even the slightest attempt is made to outline and explain the basic tenets of Mahayana Buddhism and how Jodo Shinshu is firmly rooted in it, and if elements of traditional Buddhist doctrine are mentioned, they are interpreted as metaphors for the unwholesomeness of our present existence and its healing.

This take goes down well with the general public, as is evidenced for example by the popularity of the writings of Rev. Unno, which certainly have their literary merits, but have to be complemented by the more traditional writings of Rev. Inagaki and Rev. Kobai that provide rigorous assays of Jodo Shinshu doctrine. Rev. Unno has a great skill to pick up his readers where they are with every-day examples of human suffering and its transcendence. However, one gets the impression that Rev. Unno makes undue concessions to a certain modern mentality that is resilient to anything that is other-worldly or transcendent by implying that the account of Dharmakara's career and enlightenment is a metaphor for our own transformation in our present existence.

Now, intellectual honesty and fairness demands that one concedes that religion is also about healing the fractures of this-worldly human existence. Indeed, the first step in the Buddhist path is to realise the inevitability and generality of human (and non-human) suffering. Furthermore, Mahayana Buddhism has an intrinsic aversion against literalism and does use metaphors to represent spiritual realities. For instance, the embellishments of the Pure Land in the Smaller Sukhavati Vyuha Sutra (Amida Kyo) are meant to represent the qualities of the Perfectly Enlightened Mind. Finally, and most importantly, a basic tenet of Madhyamika is the non-distinctness of Nirvana and Samsara, of the World of Enlightenment and the World of Birth-and-Death, according to the viewpoint of Ultimate Truth, which however is the viewpoint of a Perfectly Enlightened Being, not that of a bombu or ordinary unenlightened person. The realisation of the non-distinctness of Nirvana and Samsara is not only the content of Prajna as Perfect Wisdom, but is also the lever of Perfect Compassion since it enables a Buddha to come to the rescue of the suffering beings on This Shore while firmly standing on the Other Shore.

All this being granted, nevertheless one has to insist that Jodo Shinshu adopts the viewpoint of the ordinary unenlightened person for which the Buddha is on the Other Shore while she is on This Shore. Only in this perspective does the doctrine of Other Power Faith make sense, i.e. salvation by transfer of Amida's Merits through the channel opened by the coincidence of the Buddha's saving intention and the bombu's intention to be saved solely in virtue of the Merits of the Buddha, the latter being a reflection or echo of the former. In the light of this fact two caveats have to be made with respect to revisionary accounts of Jodo Shinshu doctrine.

Certainly a person of Shinjin is transformed by being grasped by the Light of Amida's Wisdom and Compassion. Indeed, the Buddha's Light operates a con-version in the bombu's heart that consists in turning away from self-centredness to Other-centredness, which is the Jodo Shinshu way of Anatta. The con-version of Other Power Faith constitutes the potentiality of Buddhahood, but it does not yet amount to Perfect Enlightenment which comprises Perfect Wisdom as the realisation of Suchness and Perfect Compassion as the realisation of the Means of Universal Salvation. It does not yet constitute the Going into Nirvana and the Returning into Samsara. Assimilating the transcendent state of Buddhahood to the other-centred and all-accepting attitude of the myokonin can only give rise to a cruel deception, since we remain unenlightened beings ridden with passions, hatreds and delusions in spite of being grasped by Amida's Vow and we have to live out our karma until our final demise. It is important to be aware of this, since this "simul justus et peccator", this being both a Buddha-to-be and a karmically shackled being is the liberating message of Jodo Shinshu: you simply do not need to be a Buddha or even specially holy in this life and your passions and delusions do not count against your ultimately realising Buddhahood in the Pure Land.

The second caveat with respect to modernist teachings is that you cannot consider the account of Dharmakara's bodhisattva career as being wholly mythical, since otherwise you are sawing the branch on which you are sitting. Jodo Shinshu as a school of Mahayana Buddhism is rooted in the doctrine of Karma, of Cause-and-Effect. Salvation by Faith is not a miracle of Pure Grace, but involves the strictly orthodox Transfer of Merits. The bombu's ultimate enlightenement is the consequence of her karma being drowned in the Unfathomable Sea of Amida's Merits, which are the karmic result of His kalpa-long Practice as Dharmakara. This does not mean that we have to imagine Dharmakara walking with creatures of the Precambrium. Indeed, conventional Mahayana wisdom is that this world of Saha is not the only universe in the present, past, or future, which leaves enough time and space for Dharmakara's career having taken place many kalpas ago, or many Big Crunches and Big Bangs ago in the terminology of modern cosmology.

But aside from these rarified considerations, the simple fact remains that for a person of Shinjin, Amida/Dharmakara is a Thou to which she turns to in devotion and gratitude, which are due to a Real Person and not to a mere fiction. So the simplest is still saying:

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

On Sharing the Dharma

2012-02-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

A zenchishiki or dharma-friend has expressed some worries about a certain skepticism or pessimism that seems to pervade my previous post. Perhaps I should point out that I do believe that people of Shinjin and especially priests have the duty to share the Dharma. Also, I do not want to denigrate the precious work of persons that dutifully and painstakingly explain the Dharma.

Where would I be now myself if I had not come to know the exhilarating and liberating doctrine of Other Power Faith through the works of Reverend Jean Éracle, the founder of the Swiss Buddhist Society ? My karma is such that though I had lived in Geneva for two years before he died, I had never actually met him personally. It is during a seminar at the local branch of the Theosophical Society (one of my least avowable past associations) that I happened to read one of his minor works, a small collection of Buddhist sutras in a popular series of spiritual texts. This collection contains an early version of Dharmakara's/Amida's Vows which was slowly growing upon me until I decided to read Rev. Éracle's works related to Pure Land Buddhism in general and Shinbuddhism in particular.

I am truly grateful to Rev. Jean Éracle, as I am to his successor as priest of the Shinbuddhist temple in Geneva, Rev. Jérôme Ducor, who taught me a lot not only about Jodo Shinshu, but also about Mahayana Buddhism. Since I am not living in Geneva anymore for professional reasons, even live at a great distance from Switzerland, I miss the regular breath of oxygen of a Shinbuddhist community that is faithful to the Dharma taught by Master Shinran and Master Rennyo.

So no, I am not objecting to duly informed persons of Shinjin preaching the Dharma. But I do believe that everyone should be aware of the limitations that the present Age of Declining Dharma, the spiritual decadence of the human race, as well as the ego attachment that is our universal condition, impose on our abilities of sharing the Dharma. It is mandatory to scrupulously respect the benchmarks of the works and deeds of Shinran Shonin and Rennyo Shonin.

In particular, I perceive two diametrically opposed dangers.

One danger is literalist proselytism and sectarism. A person, say X, may have encountered the Shinbuddhist Dharma in a situation of extreme spiritual distress and have felt its enormous liberating power. It is natural that she may want to scream this message from the rooftops, which in the Age of Internet is tantamount to spamming. X may be horrified that numberless beings are headed for hellish afterlives, condemned by their own behavior to continuously erring for ages in Samsara before acquiring again the infinitely rare and preciously unique opportunity of being a human being that lives in an age when the Dharma-words of a Buddha can (still) be heard. X may feel that it is her duty as a person of Shinjin to drag people if necessary by their hairs to listening to the Dharma. And for the same reasons X may justifiably be appalled by the glib intellectualism of Postmodern scholars, which she must consider to be minions of Mara.

The worst thing about X is that in a certain respect she is absolutely right. But she forgets that, first, nobody, not even Amida Buddha himself, can change the karma of someone else. Second, since Samsara has an end, but no beginning, each one of us has wandered for countless ages in all sorts of existences, ranging from hellish to divine, such that the very worst has already happened to us before. Third, though we persons of Shinjin consider the Shinbuddhist Dharma as the Ultimate Dharma of the Age, we should keep in mind that there proverbially are 84000 ways of attaining Nirvana: neither do we claim to be enlightened, nor should we require others to exhibit their Buddha marks. Fourth, the Buddha Dharma is incompatible with literalism, especially in the Mahayana tradition: we should be aware that there is a certain leeway in interpreting not only the Three Sutra Canon, but also the Writings of our Masters. To provide an example and name names: the writings of D. T. Suzuki strike me as odd and heterodox, but I do perceive the person of Shinjin behind the occasional idiosyncrasies. There are undoubtedly worse writings than those of Suzuki (which I personally like precisely because of their quaintness), but I would like to point out that even what appears to be the most superficial and glibbest postmodern account of Shinbuddhism may sow a seed that will eventually grow into a lotus flower.

This brings me to the other horn of the dilemma: the attempt to adapt Shinbuddhism to a profane and secular world. A person, say Y, is a priest that encounters all sorts people from all walks of life during his pastoral duties, the needs of which he has to respond to. Now, ordinary people are by necessity or by affinity utterly unspiritual. Ordinary people, including the most refined academics, only think of Nirvana when confronted with impermanence and death, and only inasmuch as these affect them materially as biological, not as spiritual beings. Otherwise, religion is considered by most people to be nothing more than a set of instructions for psychological or social well-being: forget about the Buddha, let us tackle life now, where there is so much to reform, right ? And is social and political activism not the best way to honor the Buddha ? Is Shinjin not tantamount to feeling in harmony with oneself and with others ? Confronted with this mentality, and affected by it, our priest Y will try to conform the Dharma to the really existing Sangha instead of vice-versa.

But is Y not right in picking people up from where they are ? Should one not start with those aspects of the Dharma that people can relate to their own every-day experience and which may enable them to get on with it ? Of course it is right to pick people up from where they are, depending on where you want to drop them. If eventually we do not encourage them to reflect on the Nature of Suffering, its Origin, its Cessation and the Way to its Cessation, if we do not point out to them that the easiest way to realize Nirvana is Birth into Amida's Pure Land, and the way to ensure Birth is Other Power Faith, why should we bother telling them about Shinbuddhism at all ? Of course, as I said earlier on, even the most superficially liberal reading of Shinran Shonin's Writings may prepare the ground for hearing the Dharma that was preached by Shakyamuni Buddha on the Vulture Peak. However, to alter the famous metaphor of the Tannisho, that there is the antidote of the Abiding Dharma is no reason to administer the poison of Fashionable Opinion.

The Middle May between Literalism and Liberalism is not some compromise but quite simply the Dharma. That we are unable to fathom It and that we inevitably deform It to some degree by expounding It, does not annul the fact that the Dharma is what It is. The Dharma is the yardstick of truth and error, and It is, according the Buddha's Final Words, our only Lamp.

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

On Waiting for Sukhavati

2012-01-29T14:16:00.000-08:00

What is the most exhilarating about the True Doctrine of the Pure Land is also what is the most frustrating about it, namely that strictly nothing remains to be done once you have been grasped by Amida's Vow, that is, once you have gained Confidence in the efficiency of His Primal Vow as to your Liberation and that of all living beings.

A person who has not yet been granted Shinjin still must intently listen to the Essence of the Buddha Dharma as it is contained in the Canon of the Three Sutras, until her karmic dispositions and the Other Power of the Vow interlock and Faith as the Seed of Deliverance is sown in her heart.

As a natural reaction, we rejoice and humbly give thanks to the Buddha. And since His Merits are boundless, so our gratitude should be abiding. This gratitude is expressed by reciting the Name and/or the Sutras, in solitary reclusion or by participating in faith gatherings at the local or virtual dojo during which the Joy of Faith may be shared. However, after a while, the Saying of the Nembutsu as a token of gratitude may become silent and wordless in the coincidence of the heart of the devotee and the Heart of the Buddha.

Now, especially Western people or those influenced by the rather ambivalent Western mentality, in which narrow rationality and shallow sentimentality are joined together, are uneasy as to such a "quietist" attitude. Though our heart resides in Sukhavati, the karmic defilements and attachments as well as the resulting ego-affirmation are still taking their toll until our final demise. It is therefore not entirely surprising that some people feel that the devotion/thanksgiving to the Buddha should be complemented by social, political or cultural activities. Nothing is wrong about such commitments, though by their very nature they tend to be partial and they may constitute a diversion from what is essential: being granted the Confidence that is the Key to Ultimate Deliverance. Also we should never forget that until we have become Buddhas as soon as we are born to No-Birth in Amida's Pure Land, we are strictly unable to do anything really useful for our fellow-beings, and very often only increase harm by trying to diminish it. Of course this should not prevent us to exercise Metta or Dana as a token of gratitude for Amida's free Gift. Nonetheless the necessary and sufficient condition for Liberation is gaining Faith.

Nothing remains to be done, not even teaching the Dharma. This is not to denigrate or even criticize those that try to spread the Buddha Dharma in this Age of the Declining Dharma. But precisely because of the Age of Relativism and Materialism we are living in, and because of our unenlightened nature, we should be aware that even as far as teaching the Dharma is concerned, our abilities to communicate Truth are seriously impaired. The only Teacher is the Buddha, as well as the Masters that have been inspired by His Faith, being Shinran Shonin and Rennyo Shonin. Thus we should painstakingly and strictly refer to their Writings, and humbly abandon any attempt to add anything of our own.

Finally, since the only True Teacher is the Buddha, we should refrain from evangelizing our fellow-beings. While it is mandatory to point out errors in a matter-of-fact way, our innate tendency towards ego-affirmation inevitably leads to a proselytic and self-righteous behaviour, which harms the exposition of the Dharma. In particular, we should bear in mind that all 84000 teachings grounded on the Sutras have One Flavour, that of Deliverance. We followers of the True Doctrine of the Pure Land simply believe that at least as beings like us are concerned, the only promising way out of Samsara is totally confiding in the realization of Dharmakara's Vows, which is the Enlightenment of Amida Buddha in the Past and our Enlightenment in the Future.

Nothing remains to be done, except giving thanks.

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

On Being a "Bombu"

2011-03-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

There is a tendency to misunderstand the term "bombu" as referring to an un-learned and stupid person, with the implication that if one does not become such a person, one will not gain shinjin.

However, "bombu" just means an ordinary person having not reached Buddhahood yet, and therefore, in the Age of Mappo, a person incapable of realising Buddhohood by herself. Such a person is indeed blind and ridden with passions and karmic defilements. But this is a statement of fact rather than a moral judgement: even if you have reached one of the Boddhisattva Stages, as long as you are not a Buddha, you are subject to the characteristics of Samsara.

Now, in this respect even a technically omniscient person who would know everything that there is to know about the world would still remain on this side of the Shore. Total ignorance is an obstacle to enlightenment, but total knowledge alone does not amount to enlightenment, which is beyond conceptual understanding.

Even a person that has reached some kind of kensho, a brief glimpse of non-duality or a short experience of the Deathless (especially in situations of extreme emotional stress, e.g. when confronted with death) has still her karmic defilements - i.e. the good or bad effects of actions in her past - to deal with. Such experiences may lead us unto the Buddhist path, but they actually only stress the infinite distance that separate us from a Really Liberated Being.

Thus, one the one hand, knowledge and non-dual experiences do not suffice to ensure enlightenment - they only emphasise the distance to the Ultimate Goal. On the other hand, there is no need either to abandon knowledge, intelligence or insight and to become a callous and unsophisticated moron instead. Truth is, as far as enlightenment is concerned, moron and genius, criminal and saint are on the same par: without Shinjin, they are both destined to hell and with Shinjin they both will become Buddhas on the Moment of Birth.

The Message of the Buddha is: "Remaining as you are, just trust Me". There is no need of change except the Change of Heart effectuated by Amida's Light, resulting in True Entrusting immediately ensuring the Tenth Boddhisattva-Stage now and Perfect Enlightenment in the future.

Neither exalting nor humiliating yourself, just leave everything to the Buddha. Hence also, an obsession with karmic guilt is equally unnecessary. It is sufficient to know oneself as powerless as far as liberation from Samsara is concerned. This consciousness of utter powerlessness, a reflection of the Light of Amida, is the necessary condition for being able to entrust oneself to Amida alone, totally and without any equivocation. This is Shinjin, and Shinjin is Buddha Nature granted by Amida, the Diamondlike Heart conferred by the Tathagata, our Entry Ticket to the Pure Land and Nirvana.

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

On Speaking From Amida's Heart

2011-03-07T23:29:00.000-08:00

This is how Amida's Shinjin speaks directly from the heart of a true myokonin today:

Now, as a person who has realized the settled mind and relies entirely on Amida, being a Buddhist is EASY. Instead of trying, I am TRUSTING. Instead of looking at my feet of clay, I am looking at the Buddha of Infinite Light. Instead of fretting over the poor job I do as a Buddhist, I am simply grateful for Amida's saving me - and so I say THANK YOU AMIDA BUDDHA, or NAMU AMIDA BUTSU.

Paul Roberts, in a recent message to "True Shin Buddhism Yahoo Group".

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

On Engaged Buddhism

2011-02-27T05:40:00.000-08:00

There is a tendency to present traditional Shin Buddhism as escapist, and to stress the need for some sort of "engaged Buddhism". This phenomenon is not new, nor limited to our school.

A person of shinjin may express her gratitude to Amida Buddha not only by saying the Name, but also by trying to alleviate suffering around her. However, as a Buddhist she knows that the fundamental causes of political, social or ecological disasters are the three roots of Ignorance (Blindness), Desire and Anger (Hatred), which are so many aspects of the same error: Egotism.

These causes cannot be eliminated by social or political reforms. Indeed, every attempt to realise utopia in this corner of Saha (our universe of Suffering) has created a hell instead, and the profound reason for this is that the basic problem remains unsolved.

Buddhism offers 84000 ways of tackling this problem. They have all One Savour, namely that of Nirvana. But in this last Age of the Dharma, it has become practically impossible for us ordinary beings to realise Buddhahood on our own. It is to such beings dispersed everywhere in Saha that Amida comes to the
rescue.

So if you want to alleviate suffering around you, do so. But we will only be able to efficiently and definitively help our fellow sufferers after having become Buddhas in virtue of our Birth into the Pure Land. As Shinran Shonin said:

The compassion in the Path of Pure Land is to quickly attain Buddhahood, saying the nembutsu, and with the true heart of compassion and love save all beings completely as we desire.

In this life no matter how much pity and sympathy we may feel for others, it is impossible to help another as we truly wish; thus our compassion is inconsistent and limited. Only the saying of nembutsu manifests the complete and never ending compassion which is true, real, and sincere.

(Tannisho IV)

That is, we will be only able to end suffering, not only our own, but also that of our fellow beings, when we have become Perfectly Enlightened Beings, returning into Samsara in order to proclaim Amida's Name and to invite all beings to take refuge in Him, as all Buddhas in the Ten Directions do:

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

On Listening to a Requiem by Schütz

2011-02-20T11:51:00.000-08:00

This evening I have listened again to the "Musikalische Exequien", a requiem composed by the 17-th century German composer Heinrich Schütz. This extraordinary piece, like all of Schütz' compositions, is filled by a profound Christian devotion typical of the early Reformation.

Though as a Buddhist, I do not share Schütz' theistic belief in a Creator, I can relate to the acute sense of the misery and transience of human existence as well as to the hope for forgiveness, salvation and everlasting bliss that shine through each note and word of this remarkable and moving mass.

Indeed, the Buddha's teaching about Impermanence is echoed by the pithy statement of the Psalmist:

The days of our years [are] threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength [they be] fourscore years, yet [is] their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

Psalm 90:10

Despite the fact that the concept of sin and guilt is unknown in the Buddha Dharma, as a follower of Honen and Shinran I can sympathize with the sense of karmic defilements and the feeling of being destined to hell (though for a disciple of the Buddha, both heaven and hell are transient). The idea of redemption as a vicarious sacrifice may seem strange to non-Christian, but again I do recognize the same gesture of putting one's destiny into the hands of an Other who has already done all the work of accumulating merits, the fruits of which are freely offered to all believers, independently of their vices and virtues, benefactions or crimes.

Of course, the restored paradise which a Christian hopes to resurrect into, is a state of existence that is as impermanent as any other destiny, whether hellish, ghostly, animal, human, or divine. A Buddhist, by contrast, strives to attain the permanent abode of Nirvana (if there is striver or something to be attained at all).

Many Western converts to Buddhism have a strong dislike for their Christian roots and may even tend to be opposed to any form of religious devotion. Now, one may wonder whether somebody can fruitfully enter a fresh spiritual path while not having made peace with the one (s)he has left. The much criticized pragmatism of Japanese followers of Buddhist schools, in particular of the Pure Land tradition, who easily accommodate Buddhist practice and Shinto or Confucian piety, should be an example to the contrary.

Of course, if we put our trust in Amida's Vow, we need not and cannot rely on other Buddhas and divinities as regards our salvation. Our Birth having been settled through the transfer of Amida's Diamondlike Shinjin, we should accept things as they come and go in this our last run through Samsara without recurring to the aid of anyone else than Amida Buddha. Like Master Rennyo said:

Abandoning your inclination toward all sundry practices and discarding your tendency to avoid certain things, entrust yourselves singleheartedly and steadfastly to Amida and, without concerning yourselves with other buddhas, bodhisattvas, and the various kami, take refuge exclusively in Amida, with the assurance that this coming birth is a certainty.

Rennyo, Ofumi, Fascicle 1, Letter 10

Nonetheless we should be able to recognize the relative value of other religions with respect to ensuring a rebirth in a better condition, whether human or paradisiac, and see the unlimited Compassion of Amida (personified by Kannon Bosatsu) at work in different religious forms that are like saving ropes thrown at those beings that are not yet ready to accept the Buddha Dharma and enter the Way of True Entrusting. Again, this is nothing other than what Master Rennyo taught:

By kami manifestations, we mean that [buddhas and bodhisattvas] appear provisionally as kami to save sentient beings in whatever way possible; they lament that those who lack faith (shin) in the Buddha-Dharma fall helplessly into hell. Relying on even the slightest of [related past] conditions, they appear provisionally as kami through compassionate means to lead [sentient beings] at last into the Buddha-Dharma.

Therefore sentient beings of the present time [should realize that] if they rely on Amida and, undergoing a decisive settling of faith, repeat the nenbutsu and are to be born in the Land of Utmost Bliss, then all the kami [in their various] manifestations, recognizing this as [the fulfillment of] their own fundamental purpose, will rejoice and protect nenbutsu practitioners. Consequently, even if we do not worship the kami in particular, since all are encompassed when we rely solely on one buddha, Amida, we give credence [to them] even though we do not rely on them in particular.

Rennyo, Ofumi, Fascicle 2, Letter 3

Therefore, listening to the religious music of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries representing the best of the European Christian tradition which we should not be ashamed of as Western followers of Shinran Shonin and Rennyo Shonin, we should feel deepest gratitude for Amida's infinite ways of coming to the rescue of all beings lost in Samsara, even of those who fanatically oppose and attack the Dharma.

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

On Calculation

2011-02-14T01:47:00.000-08:00

The essence of Shin Buddhism is simple - just leave everything to the Buddha. But the very simplicity of this teaching is also the reason why it is so difficult to grasp. Take the concept of calculation (hakarai) for instance. How often does one not hear that absence of calculation means the letting go of reasoning and learning, the ideal of a simple soul abandoning itself to pure feeling.

This view is both superficial and misleading. It is superficial because it just considers the very secondary and contingent aspects of shinjin or true entrusting. And it is misleading because the Buddha-Dharma in which the True Pureland School is rooted is totally ignored, resulting in a cheap and arbitrary form of spiritual wellness which is Buddhist in name only.

True, more often than not a merely intellectual approach is an obstacle to spiritual progress (whatever that may be). Nonetheless Right Thinking is part of the Eightfold Way, and thus a precondition of entering any Buddhist path. Moreover, emotions are just as elements of the mind as intellections, and are likewise "calculating" in a merely psychological sense. Finally, if our thoughts are irrelevant for being embraced by Amida's Light, then so are our feelings, too.

Strictly speaking, calculation is the commitment to various religious practices and moral actions with the goal of attaining Ultimate Enlightenment. As such it is perfectly appropriate for the exercise of jiriki or self-power in the sense of self-reliance with respect to spiritual realisation. With the advent of Mappo, the Age of Dharma Decline, however, realising Buddhahood through self-powered practice is not anymore an option, at least not for ordinary people like us.

Thus, the only calculation that remains efficient with regard to our liberation is go-hakarai, the hakarai of Amida Buddha, more precisely: the kalpa-long reflection of Dharmakara on the optimal means of compassion, as well as His aeon-long Practice resulting in immeasurable Merits, the fruition of which is Dharmakara's Realisation of Buddhahood, the establishment of His Pure Land and the Means by which Birth into Sukhavati, being tantamount to Realisation, can be achieved by ordinary beings.

Ultimately, the Buddha's hakarai is the absence of hakarai of ordinary beings, in other words, Amida's Intent is that ordinary people completely rely on the efficiency of His Vows in view of attaining Nirvana. This is the true sense of the famous phrase: "working is non-working" respectively "sense is non-sense". The Buddha has done all the work, accumulated all the merits necessary and sufficient for us to abstain from any attempt at accumulating questionable merits of our own. Calculation, in our case, would mean to presume that we are capable of fathoming the Ocean of Amida's Merits, and thus to doubt the efficiency of His Vows. Calculation, in short, is absence of true entrusting, since we still feel that we cannot wholly rely on the Buddha.

Indeed, we are guaranteed to become Buddhas ourselves just as we are, on the point of Birth into Amida's Pure Land. Hence we do not need to do or to become something other than we presently do or are to be grasped by the Other Power of Amida's realised Vows and Merits. We do not need to become learned, nor do we need to un-learn what we know (besides the fact that our learning may be one of the Buddha's compassionate means to lead others onto the Shin way). We do not need to become morally or intellectually sophisticated, but neither do we need to become callous simpletons. We just need to rely on the fact that Dharmakara has indeed become Amida Buddha.

Shinjin does go together with simplicity of the heart - the Heart of Amida Buddha, not ours. Even faith is effectuated by the Other Power of Amida's Vows, since it reflects, like a mirror, the Great Faith of the Buddha, the Shradda that made Him enter the Path of a Boddhisattva many, many kalpas ago. The Diamondlike Heart of Shinjin is that of the Tathagata: this is the Essence of Other-Power Faith.

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

On Taking refuge in Amida Buddha

2011-02-10T03:55:00.000-08:00

For some time now I have not added anything to this blog and have even thought about discontinuing it completely, not only due to professional commitments, but also because I have felt that there really is nothing more to say.

Shin Buddhism just consists in this: leave it to the Buddha to take care of your karma. Or better: don't worry, the Buddha has already made sure that you will end up in Nirvana when this last life comes to an end. As such this message is simple to the degree of being outrageous. Judging from my previous experience and from the people I have encountered, nothing seems to be more contrary to human nature (if there is anything like that). It is one thing to endorse the statement that we have to become like children, but it is quite another to realise that there is no way we can ACHIEVE this state.

True entrusting is light-years away from mere flippancy. It is not carefreeness, nor is it a secular postmodern attitude towards the issue of salvation. It is the deep belief that Birth into the Pure land and Enlightenment is ensured by the fact that the monk Dharmakara became the Buddha Amida, thus bringing about the realisation of his Primal Vow.

One can only repeat and repeat again: just leave everything to the Buddha. Put all your karma - all your transgressions, your evil thoughts, your vices and your crimes - on His shoulders. As Master Rennyo used to put it:

As for faith, then, what should our attitude be, and how should we entrust ourselves to Amida?

In realizing faith, we simply cast off the sundry practices and disciplines and the evil mind of self-power and, without any doubts, singleheartedly and deeply take refuge in Amida. This we call true and real faith. Amida Tathagata, fully knowing the sentient beings who singleheartedly and steadfastly entrust themselves in this way, graciously sends forth rays of light, receives these beings within the light, and enables them to be born in the Land of Utmost Bliss.

Rennyo Shonin Ofumi, Fascicle 5, Letter 15

Simple trust is the essence of liberation from Samsara. Nothing else is required. But is exactly this simple trust that we cannot produce. It can only be brought about through the Working of Amida's Primal Vow; it is the echo of His Call.

So, really, there is nothing we can do and nothing we have to do, except to carefully listen to the Shin Buddhist Dharma - everything else really is Amida's business, as Master Rennyo said:

If even those without shinjin listen to the teaching of Buddha-dharma from the bottom of their minds/hearts, they will absolutely receive shinjin because of the power of the Buddha’s Great Compassion that is added. All we need do is expend our efforts in listening to the honorable teaching.

Rennyo, Kikigaki (Heard and Recorded), 193

Accordingly, in a recent article, Professor Eiken Kobai has emphasised the all-importance of listening as a necessary, if not sufficient, step to attaining Shinjin:

The way to receive shinjin in the Jodo-Shinshu teaching is by “hearing” (chomon). Today, that would include studying the doctrines of Jodo-Shinshu.

Indeed, "listening" does not mean some squishy contemplative attitude, but has the precise sense of studying the real significance and import of Amida's Primal Vow, as mediated by good friends in the Dharma whose faith (shinjin) is already settled:

“Hearing the Name” is not hearing the six-character Name “na-mu-a-mi-da-butsu” unreflectively; it means that when we meet a good teacher, receive his teaching, and entrust ourselves (“namu”) to the Name (“namu-amida-butsu”), Amida Buddha unfailingly saves us.

Rennyo Shonin Ofumi, Fascicle 1, Letter 15

The question is, then, where and by whom the true Shin Buddhist Dharma is expounded in a plain and authentic manner. Personally I would recommend the reader to explore the resources linked to from this blog, in particular the works of Professor Eiken Kobai, one of the rare Shin Buddhist priests and scholars whose words seem to be in agreement with the teachings of Shinran Shonin and Rennyo Shonin. Of course, reading and re-reading the original writings of the Masters of our Tradition, especially Yuien-bo's Tannisho and Rennyo Shonin's Letters, are the best way to prepare the ground for attaining faith into one's future Liberation from Samsara through the saving Power of Amida's Primal Vow. Finally, seeking the fellowship of good friends in the Dharma, namely people whose Birth has been settled, is helpful, if not mandatory: in particular, the "True Shinbuddhism" discussion group is a good place to start, and useful advice can be obtained from my dharma friends Rev. Josho Adrian Cirlea and Rev. Jérôme Kensho Ducor.

The seeker should not force himself or herself to believe anything; all that is required is to listen with an open mind and heart. Indeed, if the karmic conditions are right, i.e. if the seeker is attuned to receive the Dharma by his previous karma, he or she will inevitably take refuge in Amida Buddha and be embraced by His Light, never to be abandoned. Then, all that remains is to express our gratitude for the Tathagata's free Gift of Buddhahood:

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

On personal doubts and Amida's Faith

2010-11-07T12:31:00.000-08:00

My dharma friend Rev. Josho Andrea Cirlea has just posted a text on the recurring question of doubts. He rightly insists that after having been grasped by Amida's Vow, we may doubt about ourselves, but never about Amida's Faithfulness. The essence of Shinjin according to Shinran is not a subjective faith reached by self-effort, i.e. the will to believe, but Amida's Faithfulness, His standing by His Own Word, which is tantamount to His having achieved Enlightenment. Rev. Jérôme Ducor, my good friend in the Dharma, often points out that the question is not whether Amida exists (the whole Mahayana, both Dharma and Sangha, affirms it), but whether He has achieved Buddhahood. Since the latter is settled, what room can there be for any doubt whatsoever ?

The distinction between personal belief and Shinjin as the reflection of Amida's Faithfulness can be illustrated by a personal anecdote. When I first encountered the Shinbuddhist Dharma, I struggled with doubts not only about myself ("am I worth of Amida's Salvation ?") but also about the tenets of the Pureland doctrine ("too good to be true", etc.). This struggle went on until it dawned upon me that it is exactly the person of weak personal faith that is the special focus of Amida's Compassion. Once I realised this, Amida instantly conferred His Gift of Shinjin to me - or better, since He had offered me this Gift all along, I was ready to receive it, not because of any personal effort, but due to the fruition of karmic affinities that allowed my karma to be drowned in the Infinite Sea of Amida's Merits.

My Birth into Sukhavati being thus settled, I can read the Pureland Sutras without my intellect constantly bickering about the description of the Ornements of Amida and His Pure Land. I do not need a sophisticated exegesis in terms of a reduction to mere mythologies. Of course, the Sutras have to be read at different levels, but when you have been granted Shinjin, what is so difficult in accepting the account or cause-and-effect ("innen") of Dharmakara's kalpa-long progression from Bodhisattva to fully realised Buddha ? The Mahayana accepts the notion of an infinite multitude of time-periods and universes, very much like some contemporary physicists, and thus there is really enough time and space for all this to have happened and still going on. All these are minor details that fall into place once you have realised the most difficult and the most basic thing: the State of Non-retrogression in virtue of the transfer of Amida's merits through the Nembutsu of Faith.

What should one say more ? Once Faith has been granted, there really is nothing left but to utter, over and over again:

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

On the Moment of Birth

2010-09-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

Modern assays of Shinbuddhist doctrine often conflate the moment when Birth into Amida's Pure land is settled with the moment when Birth happens. This conflation goes together with the (traditionally) heterodox view that Amida exists in the mind only ("yuishin no Mida") or that or the Pure Land exists in our heart ("koshin no jōdo"). Now, the Tannisho is extremely clear on distinguishing the moment when we enter into the State of Non-Retrogression, being grasped by the Power of Amida's Vow through the Faith he grants us, and the moment we are actually born into the Pure Land and consequently attain Enlightenment, namely at the point of death.

[T]he moment you entrust yourself thus to the Vow, so that the mind set upon saying the nembutsu arises within you, you are immediately brought to share in the benefit of being grasped by Amida, never to be abandoned.

Tannisho, Section 1

Attaining enlightenment in the coming life is the essence of the Pure Land teaching of Other Power; it is the principle actualized through the settlement of shinjin. (...) [A]t the moment shinjin becomes settled, we are grasped, never to be abandoned, and therefore we will not transmigrate further in the six courses. Only then do we part forever from birth-and-death. Should such awareness be confusedly termed "attaining enlightenment"? It is regrettable that such misunderstanding should arise.

Tannisho, Section 15

Considering these clear statements, it would be astonishing that one could ever have devised an interpretation according to which shinjin is not only potential, but actual Enlightenment, if it were not for a very modern prejudice against any idea of after-life, even though this prejudice does not apply to Ojo, since Birth into the Pure Land is strictly speaking No-Birth, i.e. "parting forever from birth-and-death". Hence, there is no after-life for a person of shinjin, since for her, Death is tantamount to Liberation from the Wheel of Life.

The issue of the moment of Birth is given an interesting twist by the following passage from the Sutra of the Forty-Two Sections, also called "The Sayings of the Buddha in Forty-Two Sections", a collection of Buddhist teachings compiled by the monks Kashyapa Matanga and Gobharana during the reign of Emperor Ming of the Later Han Dynasty:

The Buddha asked another monk, "How do you measure the length of a man's life?" He answered, "By days." The Buddha said, "You do not understand the Way." The Buddha asked another monk, "How do you measure the length of a man's life?" The monk answered, "By the time that passes during a meal." The Buddha said, "You do not understand the Way." The Buddha asked the third monk, "How do you measure the length of a man's life?" The monk answered, "By the breath." The Buddha said, "Very well, you know the Way."

The Sayings of the Buddha in Forty-Two Sections, Section 38

The late Rev. Jean Eracle, founder of the Swiss Shinbuddhist Society, commented this passage as follows:

The duration of a breath is that of a single thought. The meaning of this section is that at each thought we die for a given state and are born into another one. Chinese Buddhism will develop this theme: (...) [a]n angry thought means being born into Hell, a thought of passionate desire means being born into the state of hungry ghosts, a stupid thought means being born as an animal, a violent thought means being born amid the revolting spirits (asuras), a joyful thought means being born amid the gods and an egocentric thought means a return to human existence. Study makes you equal to a Disciple (Çravaka), concentration (meditation) assimilates you to a Buddha-on-his-own (Pratyeka-Buddha) and compassion turns you into a Boddhisattva. Finally, a single thought without attachments suffices to turn you into a Perfectly Enlightened One (Sammasambuddha).

Les Enseignements du Bouddha, p. 85, note 54 (my translation)

To deeply know the Dharma is to gauge impermanence to its full extent, namely that, strictly speaking, at each instant/thought a life ends and another begins. Thus, it is possible to perform a transmigration through all states of being in a single "life", conventionally speaking. This perfectly orthodox view has the surprising consequence that the expressions "Enlightenment in the Coming Life" and "Enlightenment in This Life" are not contradictory, if the word "life" means "thought/instant" in the first phrase and "life" in the conventional sense in the second. Hence it would seem perfectly consistent with Buddhist doctrine to maintain that a single thought of true entrusting actually means to be immediately born into the Pure Land and, thus transformed, to return into Saha as a Perfectly Enlightened Being coming to the rescue of all suffering beings.

This is certainly an attractive idea, which to some degree reflects actual experiences of transformation as manifested in the lives of the myokonin. Also, did Shinran not wrote:

What you inquire about in your letter is a passage from a sutra that states: "Those who attain shinjin and joy are equal to Tathagatas." This is from the Garland Sutra and means that the person who rejoices in shinjin is the equal of all the Tathagatas. This is also indicated in Sakyamuni's statement about those who realize shinjin and greatly rejoice: "The one who sees, reveres, and attains [the dharma] and greatly rejoices - that person is my excellent, close companion."

Mattosho, 4

[T]he person of true shinjin is said to be equal to Buddhas. He is also regarded as being the same as Maitreya, who is in [the rank of] succession to Buddhahood.

Mattosho, 7

However, the Tannisho, as quoted above, unmistakingly states that the equality of a person of shinjin with a Buddha remains a virtual one until the demise of the present name-and-body (nama-rupa) or personality:

Do those who speak of realizing enlightenment while in this bodily existence manifest various accommodated bodies, possess the Buddha's thirty-two features and eighty marks, and preach the dharma to benefit beings like Shakyamuni? It is this that is meant by realizing enlightenment in this life.

Tannisho, Section 15

A Buddha's thirty-two physical features include a white curl of hair (urnakesha) on his mid-brow and a crown-protrusion (ushnisha) on his head. Shinran's request that "those who speak of realizing enlightenment while in this bodily existence" exhibit, as a proof of their Buddhahood, those physical signs, is clearly ironical, and the all-important criterion that a Perfectly Enlightened Being is able to teach beings in such a way that they are able to attain enlightenment constitutes a serious challenge, to put it mildly.

Inspite of having been granted the Gift of Faith, are we really able to save other beings, to help them to become Buddhas themselves ? If we are honest to ourselves, this is far from being the case. Even worse: we are not even able to severe our attachments to all sorts of objects of desire, hatred and fear. As Yuien-bo asked Shinran:

Although I say the nembutsu, the feeling of dancing with joy is faint with me, and I have no thought of wanting to go to the Pure Land quickly. How should it be [for a person of the nembutsu]?

Tannisho, 9

One senses the despair of Yuien-bo and recognizes it in oneself. Is it not a bitter irony, that we should be "equal to Buddhas" while we are still fettered by all sorts of anxieties and urges ? The greater Yuien-bo's (and our) relief at Master Shinran's famous answer:

When I reflect deeply on it, by the very fact that I do not rejoice at what should fill me with such joy that I dance in the air and dance on the earth, I realize all the more that my birth is completely settled. What suppresses the heart that that should rejoice and keeps one from rejoicing is the action of blind passions. Nevertheless, the Buddha, knowing this beforehand, called us 'foolish beings possessed of blind passions'; thus, becoming aware that the compassionate Vow of Other Power is indeed for the sake of ourselves, who are such beings, we find it all the more trustworthy.

Tannisho, 9

The Good News is that we do not need to become Buddhist saints, let alone Sammasambuddhas, in this our body. We do not need to pass any litmus tests to deserve Birth into the Pure land, since Amida Buddha has already taken care of it by bringing about our trust as a reflection of His Trust in the Efficiency of His Vows. A deep, overwhelming gratitude springs forth of our heart, and we cannot help but respond to Amida's Gift by uttering:

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

Postscript: It goes without saying that Birth into the Pure Land is settled at the moment of being grasped by Amida's Vow, and thus before the time of death. The heart of a person of shinjin already dwells in the Pure Land in the sense that she is presently assured of Birth, Realisation and Return into Samsara to the Rescue of all beings fettered to the Wheel of Sufferance.

On Returning into the House in Flames

2010-09-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

Sukhavati, the Pure Land of Amida Buddha, could be mistaken for a lasting post-mortal abode, while it really is only the stepping-stone for the Return ("eko") to Saha, this World of Pain. Far from being an escapist deviation from Mahayana Buddhism, the Pure Land School in general and Jodo Shinshu in particular are firmly rooted in the Bodhisattva ideal, not only as far as the account ("innen") of Dharmakara/Amida is concerned, but also pertaining to the destiny of each individual person of shinjin.

As soon as we have been grasped by the Other Power of Amida's Vow, we are not only determined to become Perfectly Enlightened Beings in Amida's Buddha Realm, but also to start our own activity of coming to the rescue of all beings chained to the wheel of birth-and-death. Indeed, Perfect Realisation means to SEE that Nirvana and Samsara are not distinct and to be able to dwell in both realms indifferently. A Buddha is traditionally referred to as a "biped", firmly standing on Both Shores, in Nirvana through Wisdom (Prajna) and in Samsara through Compassion (Karuna).

So strictly speaking, the return of a Perfectly Enlightened Being is not the same as the return of a being still bound to the Wheel of Karma. It is a Return and a No-Return at the same time, since through His Realisation, the Buddha dwells in Nirvana and through his Compassion He is turned towards the Sea of Suffering. His Compassion partakes of the non-dual nature of His Realisation, since it is a Compassion that both transcends and embraces the divide between the Rescuer and the Rescued.

One may concur with Prof. Tokunaga's view that the debate around the existence and nature of Sukhavati may overshadow the issue that is really at stake, namely the Return into the House in Flames and the Coming to the Rescue of all beings we have acquired affinities with during our errance through birth-and-death. Nonetheless, it would not do to bracket Sukhavati as a truly transcendent reality altogether and assume, as seems to suggest Rev. Unno in his widely popular books, that the Return takes already place in this our present life. Attractive as this stance may be and inspite of the transforming power which Amida's Vow may have already on us now, to which stories of past and present myokonin may bear testimony, our limitations as to providing efficient support and help to other people is only all to obvious. Not only does the idea of Return in this life possibly lead to a blindness, not to say arrogance, with respect to our weaknesses - which would be wholly contradictory to acknowledging our weaknesses in the Light of Amida's Wisdom - but also would the expectation of this-worldy eko only result in dispair given that in the end we are not able to attain the Perfect Compassion of a Buddha while still dwelling on this shore.

Therefore, we are well advised to accept our total lack of power as regards to our own salvation and that of others and accept, in meek gratitude, the Buddha's Gift of Going into Sukhavati at the end of our ultimate round through birth-and-death, and of Swiftly Returning into Saha, embracing all suffering beings in Unlimited Compassion. Until then, our gratitude for the the Tathagata's uncomprehensible generosity expresses itself spontaneously in the recitation of the Virtuous Name:

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

Postscript: Rev. John Parasvekopoulos has brought to my attention an early article of his, which provides a different, but complementary perspective on the difficult, but paramount issue of genso-eko.

Rev. George Gatenby on the Horai Approach to Jodo Shinshu

2010-08-29T16:38:00.000-07:00

"People often ask what it is that distinguishes the Horai approach to
Jodo Shinshu from other schools. Over many years, I have noted three
principal features:

1) 'Horai, literally "Dharma Thunder", seeks to reveal the essence of
Shinran's teaching from the standpoint of the spontaneous working of
the Power of Amida's Vow.'

This statement appears in several Horai publications and on the Horai
Association International web site. I think this means that the Horai
School is quite certain that Amida Buddha is a living, autonomous,
reality, who acts on his own behalf in much the way that Shakyamuni
Buddha did. As something 'knowable', of course, Amida Buddha is a
fulfilled body: the dharma body as compassionate means. He has a form
and takes a Name that we can relate to.

It seems to me that, from the perspective of the Horai School, Amida
Buddha's Primal Vow is something which has a perceptible impact upon
people of shinjin, spontaneously, by itself; and it is not a mere
construct of our own minds, and certainly not just a symbolic notion.
I am of t he view that this is how Shinran Shonin also understood the
Primal Vow of Amida Buddha.

2) The appropriate basis for the interpretation of Jodo Shinshu is the
Mahayana.

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many people who expounded
Jodo Shinshu used alien resources, like Protestantism, as the basis
for interpretation. It is one thing to refer to other paths by way of
elucidation of Jodo Shinshu, quite another to interpret Jodo Shinshu
in their terms.

It is also quite common for proponents of Jodo Shinshu to leave out
the aspect of 'return to this world (of samsara)', when they explain
realisation in Jodo Shinshu - which is the liberation of all beings by
the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha.

Very often to be born in the Pure Land is seen as the final objective
of the awakening of shinjin.

However, Jodo Shinshu, like all Mahayana teachings, leads one to
Buddhahood and then to continue in the active role of saving others.
In Jodo Shinshu this is all due to the 'spontaneous working of the
primal Vow. 'This is a significant principle of the Mahayana.

New trends in Shin Buddhist interpretation include the use of the
theory and practice of psychotherapy, and secular humanism as the
bases for interpretation. These tendencies are not necessarily
sympathetic to Mahayana teaching, practice or theory.

3) Horai does not seek to derive social theory or a basis for
political activism from the Buddha Dharma or the teachings of Shinran
Shonin.

I think these are three principal features of the Horai school, which
I have noted in the years of my association with it. In other words,
the Horai school does have a raison d'etre and that, it seems to me,
is to uphold principles that it believes to be important in the
interpretation and dissemination of the Dharma of Amida Buddha."

-- posted on Horai Association of Australia Google Group on Aug 18, 2010. Reproduced with kind permission of the author.

On the palliative function of practice

2010-06-20T19:48:00.000-07:00

Since a person of shinjin wholly relies on the efficiency of Amida's Primal Vow, it may seem that any self-powered practice is not only unnecessary, but even to be abandoned mandatorily. Now, on the one hand, given the 19th and 20th Vow, even persisting self-effort is no hindrance to eventually obtaining Birth and Realisation, even though the 18th Vow represents the True Intention of Amida Buddha according to Shinran Shonin. On the other hand, though self-power practice is said to have no curative value anymore in the Age of Mappo, it still retains a palliative function.

Indeed, though we leave it to the Great Arhat to carry us to the Realm of the Unconditioned at the point of death, and accept to live out our karma until then, there is no reason why we should do nothing to allay our day-to-day suffering as well as that of our fellow living beings. Certainly, we cannot cure ourselves, but we may reduce the pain of daily existence.

In this sense, the careful application of the Four Noble Truths, and primarily the recognition of the Three Seals of Conditioned Existence, namely Impermanence, Selflessness and Suffering, should be maintained in our daily life. Especially acknowledging Anatta, the absence of self in all phenomena, helps us to get on with this last run through the Wheel of Samsara by literally not taking anything personally and thus weakening attachments.

In point of fact, the realisation of the truth of no-self is not only compatible with, but even implicitly contained in the embracement by the Light of Amida's non-discriminative Wisdom and Compassion. The heart of a person of shinjin, being one with the Heart of the Tathagata, already resides in the Pure Land, i.e. in Nirvana. The myokonin, though still burdened by all sorts of passions, sees herself and this world of Saha through the Eye of the Enlightened One. Having been conferred Amida's Insight, she recognises the wretchedness of her existence, which precisely consists in the three marks of selflessness, impermanence and suffering. By accepting Amida's Gift of Salvation, namely to be carried to the Pure Land which actually is Nirvana as the Realm of the Unconditioned, the person of shinjin also wills - through the Will of Amida - the End of Suffering.

In Saichi's words:

The sea is just full of water;
there is the seabed that sustains it.
Saichi is just full of evil karma;
there is Amida that sustains it.
How happy I am!

NAMU-AMIDA-BUTSU, NAMU-AMIDA-BUTSU

Between quotations

2010-06-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

"Mere suffering exists, no sufferer is found;
The deeds are, but no doer of the deeds is there;
Nibbāna is, but not the man that enters it;
The path is, but no traveler on it is seen."
(Buddhaghosa, Visuddhimagga XVI)

Boundless is the Light-wheel of Deliverance,
All those illuminated by the Light
Are freed from being and non-being, says the Buddha.
Take refuge in the Equal Bodhi.
(Shinran Shonin, Jodo Wasan 5)

You say, "I have heard," "I believe,"
and "I think";
"I" spoils everything.
Attainment of birth
is beyond your comprehension.
(Zuiken Inagaki, Anjin)

(W)ith a foolish being full of blind passions,
in this fleeting world- this burning house-
all matters without exception are empty and false,
totally without truth and sincerity.
The nembutsu alone is true and real.
(Shinran Shonin, Tannisho)

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

Faith and Dharma

2010-04-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

Without Faith, no realisation - this holds not only for Jodo Shinshu, but for Buddhism in general. Faith or trust ("shraddha") into the Three Jewels is the condition for entering into the current, i.e. for setting out on the Path to Liberation. In a sense, shinjin is the culmination of shraddha, since it is the immediate Cause for Realisation, with the decisive twist that to Shinran's mind and experience, Shinjin is not ours, but is entirely Amida's, namely His Trust in the Efficiency of His Vows.

Ultimately, neither shraddha nor shinjin are separable from the Dharma, be it the Buddha Dharma in general or the particular teaching of the Pure Land Canon. Both shraddha and shinjin presuppose listening to and accepting the Dharma, which is not only intellectual assent to something understood, but also whole-hearted reliance.

The superficially simple shinjin in particular comprises the whole of Buddha Dharma, as Rev. John Parasvekopoulos rightly insists:

We urge readers to examine the following essentials because, when viewed in isolation from them, a skewed view of Shin Buddhism will result: the Four Noble Truths; the Three Signata, namely, anatman or 'non-self', anitya or 'impermanence' and dukkha or 'suffering'; and, finally, Nirvana, which - as we have seen earlier - in Shin Buddhism is synonymous with Amida Buddha and the Pure Land. These are the teachings upon which Buddhism is grounded. (From A Primer of Shin Buddhism)

In the same vein, Zuiken Inagaki (the father of the equally known scholar Hisao Inagaki), writes:

In order to ‘truly hear (believe in) the Name’, one should fulfil the following conditions:

One should believe in the law of causation.

One should believe in the Three Treasures - the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

(From The Essence of the Larger Sutra)

The Law of Causality is of prime importance for Buddhism in general and Jodo Shinshu in particular, since it underlies the doctrine of merit transference which is essential for the Shinshu way of salvation, as D. T. Suzuki emphasises:

The miracle of Shin faith is that when ordinary-minded people are confirmed in their faith ... all the merits Amida has accumulated during his infinite lives of self-training are given freely to the devotee, This is technically known as the doctrine of transference (parinamana).(From Mysticism: Christian and Buddhist, Chapter 9: Rennyo's Letters)

Indeed, the person of shinjin will attain Birth in Amida's Pure Land and subsequently Buddhahood in virtue of the transfer of Amida's merits through the Nembutsu of Faith. Everyone who knows the basic tenets of the Buddha Dharma will understand and accept this. For this reason, one will not fall in the error of bracketing the existence of Amida and His Pure Land (except on the level of Ultimate Reality according to Nagarjuna's Doctrine of the Middle Way), since this would mean to deny merit transference and the law of causation (karma). Actually, belief in the existence of the Buddhas of the Present is part and parcel of Mahayana Buddhism.

Shinjin, then, is not some mushy pious feeling, but the spontaneous, uncalculating trust into a precise Promise and the One who gave it; this entrusting is spontaneous, since it is only the reflection, as it were, of Amida's Good Faith and Faithfulness. Shinjin as the Nembutsu of Faith is thus truly the union or adequation between ki, the bombu or ordinary-minded person, and ho, Amida Buddha.

Given this very clear and precise doctrinal context, it is astonishing that some Shinshu scholars, priests and communities tend to separate shinjin from the Buddha Dharma under the pretext of "updating" or "modernising" Jodo Shinshu. That salvation through the Other Power of Amida's Vows and Merits is beyond calculation on behalf of the devotee, and that we cannot measure the Ocean of Amida's Merits does not mean that salvation in Shinshu is a miracle happening outside or even inspite of the law of karma. That the intellectual sphere is polluted in this Age of Mappo does not mean that we should discard the Dharma - quite to the contrary, the Dharma is left to us as the sole Lamp in this age of spiritual darkness, the Standard by which to separate Truth from Error.

Even in the Age of the Declining Dharma in which neither Realisation nor Practice based on self-power are possible, the Dharma remains fully valid: Honen Shonin and Shinran Shonin have testified for this by writing substantial doctrinal works which remain a guide and a reference for us Shinbuddhists. Of course, Buddhism has always adapted to the historical, geographical and cultural circumstances, but only by adopting re-interpretations that confirmed the Dharma, never by rejecting or even slandering it. The 84000 ways of salvation have One Taste, namely the Nirvana.

Certainly there are deviations of various degrees of gravity. For example, the denial of Amida's existence or of the principle of causality would amount to a slander of the (Mahayana) Dharma. However, identifying Amida with one's Buddha potential and the Pure Land with this world Saha as seen through the Eye of an Awakened Mind, while being incompatible with the Other Power Faith of Jodo Shinshu, would be a perfectly legitimate doctrine in a different school of Buddhism. Furthermore, such an heterodoxy would not prevent one from being born in the Pure Land, if only in the Borderland.

Furthermore, though the Dharma is our Lamp and Refuge, it is only so for us ordinary beings, just as a medicine or remedy is only for those who are sick. Indeed, Shakyamuni Buddha himself has advised us:

[T]he Dhamma is similar to a raft, being for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of grasping. (Majjhima Nikaya, Alagadduupama Sutta M22, 13)

This is not to encourage us to discard the Dharma, but to warn us against any form of clinging which turns a truth to be experienced into a blindly adopted dogma. That is the true meaning of the most shocking (non-)affirmation of the Madhyamika, namely that on the level of Ultimate Truth, even the Four Noble Truths are bracketed.

Finally, when having been granted shinjin, but of course not before, we can relax and let go, leave all the certainties to Amida Buddha. Just as you have to forget everything you've learned about music in order to be able to play or to enjoy a piece of music, thus you may put into perspective what you have "learned" about Buddhism and Jodo Shinshu when you have been embraced by Amida's Light. In the words of Zuiken Inagaki, both a great scholar and a myokonin:

What is shinjin
I don't know.
Oyasama does everything;
Oyasama does everything.
(From Anjin: Zuiken's Sayings)

Or in those of Saichi Asahara:

Saichi has nothing - which is joy.
Outside this there's nothing.
Both good and evil - all's taken away,
Nothing's left.
To have nothing - this is the release, this is the peace.
All's taken away by the

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

On Encountering Amida

2010-04-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

The life of a person of shinjin is underpinned by gratitude for Amida's free gift of boddhisattvahood. This gratitude is purely spontaneous and may express itself more or less intensely through feelings and acts of worship. Though one may consider such an expresion of gratitude as a lackmus test for shinjin, it is by no means meritorous nor a condition for attaining Birth in the Pure Land and thus Perfect Enlightenment.

Nonetheless, true gratitude pragmatically implies the belief in the reality of the gift and that of the giver. Even allowing for the fact that the Western notion of "reality" has to be qualified in the light of Dependent Co-origination, it should be obvious that one cannot sincerely be grateful to, nor truly worship something one considers a mere fiction like Santa Claus. This is not even a matter of doctrine, but of psychological plausibility.

Besides the general psychology of religion, it is basic Buddhist doctrine shared by all schools that should tell us that the account of the career and realization of Dharmakara cannot be merely fictional. Indeed, if we accept the Law of Karma, the Pure Land as well as Birth within it must have a Cause. Without cause, no effect; without karma, no realisation. This means that without the (transfer of) accumulated merits, there can be no Pure Land nor Birth whatsoever. Hence, by denying the truth of the story about Dharmakara/Amida, Shinbuddhists would cut off the branch on which they are sitting.

Of course, there are aspects of the Pure Land Scriptures that are clearly allegorical; even traditional exegesis recognizes that some attributes of the Pure Land as described in the Shorter Sukhavati Sutra are intended to evoke the spiritual qualities of the Perfectly Enlightened Mind. But some contemporary Shinbuddhist scholars would go as far as to regard the account about Dharmakara/Amida as an allegory of our own Buddha potential and its fruition. Personally, I find this interpretation wholly implausible, since it clashes with the doctrine and experience of Other Power: if Dharmakara/Amida were only be an idealized version of myself, Salvation would be a simple matter of Self Power. This is a perfectly legitimate Buddhist doctrine, but why bring Shinbuddhism into it in the first place ?

But no doctrinal argument can replace the truth of experience. By taking refuge in Amida Buddha and His Vow, we simply encounter Him as the Other, a Thou who is even more real than all the denizens of scientifically objectivized reality. Indeed, the Buddha encountered through shinjin is the Acme of Reality in virtue of the (karmically) transforming power of His Vow.

There is nothing we can do to earn the Encounter with the transforming Power of Amida's Vow, but we can strive for simplicity of the heart and mind. It is with this simplicity and modesty that we have to approach the Pure Land Scriptures and the Writings of Shinran Shonin and Rennyo Shonin. Maybe this is the hardest thing to achieve since we always want to dispute and to interpret before listening to what is actually said. If we silence our cerebral intellect and rely on the intelligence of the Heart, we may be able to accept the Pure land Scriptures just as they are intended, namely as true accounts of the Origin and Realization of Dharmakara's Vows and of Birth in Amida's Pure Land as the sole way of salvation in this Age of Mappo.

And it is with the simplicity of the Heart that we acknowledge the Encounter with Amida and His Vow by saying:

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

Duality and non-duality in Jodo Shinshu

2010-01-20T06:28:00.000-08:00

There is much ado about duality and non-duality in Jodo Shinshu and whether Rennyo Shonin emphasised the duality between bombu and Amida more than Shinran Shonin would have done. I have no stake in exegesis, which I leave to more learned persons. But it seems to me that Chapter 15 of the Tannisho quite clearly rejects the idea of enlightenment in the present life, though in Letter 3 of the Mattosho it is conceded that the heart of of person of shinjin already dwells in Amida's Pure Land.

This question is not merely exegetical, as it is decisive for what it means to be saved by Amida's Vow. Indeed, if one could not be said to have received Shinjin without having thereby attained Buddhahood, Shinbuddhism would be absolutely worthless to me and many ordinary folks. Indeed, Shinran Shonin's experience of salvation just consisted in the fact that no practice or realization in this life is necessary to being embraced by Amida's Light. If Shinjin meant enlightenment in this life, Buddhahood would become an lackmus test nobody could pass instead of a promise. The truly wonderful message of Jodo Shinhsu is that we are grasped just like we are and that nothing is requested by Amida from us in order to deserve Birth in the Pure Land.

Salvation in the present just means to be assured of enlightenment in the next life, to be equal to a 10th-stage boddhisattva like Maitreya, a Buddha-to-be, while being still ridden with defilements (bonno). Frankly, what more do you want ? Is this not enough to rejoice and be grateful to Amida Buddha ?

It is true that in the present life, we remain stuck in duality. But let's envisage it positively: does the provisional and relative divide between bombu and Buddha not allow for an I-Thou relationship to obtain, which is rightly perceived by the religious philosopher Martin Buber to be the essence of religion ? According to Buber, the "I-Thou" relation is initiated by the eternal Thou and indeed Shinjin can be viewed as an I-Thou relation between bombu and Amida initiated by the Other Power of Amida's Vow.

There is of course a certain nonduality which consists in the co-intentionality of bombu and Buddha, the fact that the bombu's heart is attuned to Amida's Heart. Though not tantamount to Perfect Enlightenment, this co-intentionality or solidarity anticipates the latter. However, this is something for each person of shinjin to experience individually. Where words fail, the silence is filled by

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

Mappo

2010-01-15T07:59:00.000-08:00

Buddhism is the only religious doctrine which predicts its own disappearance. Currently, we are said to live in the Age of the Declining Dharma, the "Mappo", which began 2000 years after the physical demise of Shakyamuni Buddha and which is supposed to last for about 20000 years. This means that according to Buddhist doctrine, these days ordinary beings are unable to attain enlightenment through their own efforts and this world Saha as well as its denizens are subject to irreversible moral and physical decadence. But Mappo is still a relatively luminous era, compared to the utter darkness of the Age of the Absent Dharma, in which there is no hope of escaping Samsara at all. In fact, even in the Mappo, we still may be saved by completely relying on Amida's Promise of Salvation.

However, this is only possible if the Dharma is presented in its pristine form, without any additions or distortions. But exactly this is happening nowadays. Religion, not only Jodo Shinshu, is presented in almost all modern writings not anymore as a way of spiritual realisation and liberation, but as a form of psychological wellness and/or social hygiene. In an uncredible distortion of the doctrine of Supreme Identity, the No-distinction of Samsara and Nirvana, which is only accessible to the Buddhas, ordinary people filled with hatred and greed and blighted with spiritual blindness are told that they are already dwelling in the Pure Land. It is true that for a Buddha, all beings are enlightened by anticipation, but this does not relieve us from the misery we are presently living in. Furthermore, the Doctrine of Other Power has been distorted into the delusion that one does not even need to listen to the Dharma.

All these delusive teachings are the result of an ever increasing secularism and materialism that has become the fundamental dogma of our time. Not only Buddhism, but other major spiritual traditions as well contain the prediction that such a time of spiritual darkness in which any transcendental truth is negated would come. In such an epoch, the mind has to be cleansed from its materialistic and scientistic dross before it can approach any religious teaching whatsoever. This is particularly true for Pure Land Buddhism, which in its original form is particularly revolting for modern mentality.

A good way to put the contemporary materialistic mindset into perspective would be to read the works of René Guénon or Frithjof Schuon, but they may not be to everone's taste or understanding. A much more accessible and particularly luminous book is "A Guide for the Perplexed" by E. F. Schumacher, which I can only recommend to those seekers troubled by the cocksure rantings of modern rationalists. It will no doubt open their eyes and hearts to ancient wisdom traditions. Only a traditional outlook with its humility before spiritual truths inaccessible to the ordinary rationalistic mind is appropriate for studying the Pure Land Scriptures such as to be captured by their message of salvation which is:

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

Faith and Intellect

2010-01-07T12:48:00.001-08:00

In the Shinbuddhist sangha, there is a misguided tendency to dismiss the intellect altogether as a form of "hakarai" (calculation) which precludes us from attaining Shinjin.

Now, the effort to lay aside the intellect in order to deserve shinjin would itself fall under self-power practice and hence qualify as hakarai that runs against the Greater Wisdom of Amida Buddha. If we are grasped just as we are, then we strictly speaking do not need to let go of anything at all. Paradoxically, True Entrusting means even letting go of letting go - which is an impossibility for the bombu, and can only be brought about by the Other Power of Amida's Fulfilled Vow.

But there is a precise sense in which Shinjin and Intellect are unseparable. Clearly, it is not the limited and limiting reason of a bombu that is meant here, but the "Intellectus Agens" that transcends the distinction between subject and object, since it is in complete adequation with Being as-it-is. It is the Buddha's Prajna (or Transcendental Wisdom) which fully realises Emptiness and thus does not distinguish between Nirvana and Samsara.

Indeed, we are told that Shinjin is the Buddha's Wisdom, Amida's Light which embraces us and makes us realise that we are the evil person shackled by greed and hatred that is the prime object of Amida's Compassion. Our abandoning ourselves to Amida's Vow of Salvation just is the reflection of His true Intent; the letting go of the bombu's hakarai is the effect of the Buddha's Go-hakarai. It is this co-intentionality of bombu and Buddha that ensures Non-retrogression or Bodhisattvahood in this life and Enlightenment or Buddhahood in the Next.

The identity of intention of Buddha and Man is the deeper sense of

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

Two approaches to the Nembutsu

2009-12-29T09:13:00.000-08:00

There is an approach to the Nembutsu upheld by many people nowadays, according to which the Nembutsu is a quasi-mystical merger between bombu and Buddha, resulting in enlightenment during the present existence. People who hold this view very often also believe that Amida and His Pure Land are in our minds only. Shinbuddhism, according to these people, is the "sister", i.e. the more "passive" or "softer" counterpart, of Zen.

Of course, this fusion between Zen and Pure Land Buddhism is quite respectable, and actually the main variant of the latter in countries like China, Vietnam or Korea. In Japan this tradition is represented by Obaku, a form of Zen, and the Ji-school of Master Ippen.

However, it has nothing whotsoever to do with Jodo Shinshu, the teaching of Shinran Shonin and Rennyo Shonin.

The Nembutsu of Jodo Shinshu is the Nembutsu of Faith. Faith, or Shinjin, has two aspects:

first, there is NOTHING you CAN do in order become a Buddha;

second, there is NOTHING you HAVE TO do, since Amida Buddha offers you to be born in the Pure Land, and thus to attain Nirvana, by accepting His Merits as a free and unmerited gift, crystallised in his Name: NAMO AMIDA BUTSU.

First, then, you have to acknowledge your total incapacity to achieve Buddhahood, in this or in any future life. You have to have give up any hope to attain Nirvana by your own efforts. You have to understand, not merely intellectually, but with all your being, that not only there is no Buddha within your heart, but that you are uncapable of any good while being capable of any evil and are thus condemned to err in Samasara for ever.

Second, however, though you won't achieve Buddhahood now or in any future life by your own devices, you may attain Nirvana by being born in Amida's Pure Land wholly in virtue of His Primal Vow. If hearing His Name, you wish to be born in Sukhavati and wholly entrust yourself to the Working of His Vow to save all living beings, the mere joyful intention to say His Name suffices to ensure your Birth in the Pure Land. Birth in the Pure Land means Ultimate Realization, but also Return into Samsara, since it will be your turn to come to the rescue of all suffering beings.

Thus, according to Shinran Shonin's and Rennyo Shonin's teaching, the Nembutsu is essentially Faith in the Efficiency of the Name AND in the inefficiency of your own efforts, in view of achieving Perfect Enlightenment. On the Path of the Nembutsu, it is not only recommended, but absolutely mandatory to abandon yourself utterly and completely to the Working of Amida's Vows and the Sufficiency of His Merits.

In Chapter 3 of the Tannishô, Shinran is famously quoted as follows:

Even the good person attains birth in the Pure Land, how much more so the evil person.

It is essential that your realise that Amida's Promise targets the person that is unable to accumulate any merits whatsoever - and that YOU are this person. If you get that this passage concerns YOU, you may be on the way to be saved.

Eventually, you will understand that it has been Amida's Deed all along, that simply nothing is left for you to be done. Even saying the Name out of gratitude as a response to Amida's Salvation is prompted by the Other Power of Amida's Fulfilled Vows.

The message is: Bombu Takes Back Seat. This is the only respect in which bombu and Buddha merge in:

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

Saying the Name as the Great Practice

2009-12-04T09:22:00.000-08:00

In the previous entry, I quoted the following passage from T'an Luan's Commentary on Vasubandhu's Discourse on the Pure Land:

"In some cases, names and things are exactly identical, and in others, they are different. Some examples of the former are the names of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the word 'Prajnâpâramitâ', dhârânis, spells and some other [mystic] phrases. (...)"

The dhârânis and the spells may seem a bit out of place in this enumeration. But on further reflection, it becomes clear that they are meant to represent what today one would call "speech acts". Speech acts, like promises, thanks or affirmations of trust, are ways of doing things by saying words: when you say that you promise something or that you trust somebody, you actually do what you say - provided you are sincere, i.e. true to your words.

The nembutsu, in Honen's view, is nothing other than the speech act of entrusting oneself to the Vow of Amida Buddha. It is grounded on the sincere intention of being born in the Pure Land and the trust or faith in Amida Buddha's work of salvation.

In Shinran's view, however, this perspective is completely reversed. The trust or faith of the bombu is actually just the reflection of Amida's Trust and Faith in the efficiency of His Vows. The sincere intention of being born in the Pure Land is grounded in Amida Buddha's sincere Intention that all ordinary beings that entrust themselves to His Vow are born in His Pure Land. And since the act is already involved in the intention (according to Vasubandhu's Abidharmakosa), and the intention involved in the faith, this means that the One who actually says the Nembutsu is Amida Buddha himself.

In this sense the Nembutsu is the Great Speech Act that consists in Amida Buddha's Work of Salvation which is the fruit of His Merits accumulated during His career as Boddhisattva Dharmakara.

Therefore Amida Buddha is wholly present in

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU

A finger pointing to the moon

2009-11-22T05:19:00.000-08:00

Some authors refer to Nagarjuna's metaphor of the finger pointing at the moon (or sun) in order to challenge the reality of Amida Buddha as Dharmakaya of Compassionate means.

Nagarjuna's Doctrine of the Middle Way, the Madhyamika, which is referred to throughout Shinran's writings, including his Shoshinge, affirms that the only absolute reality or truth is that of interdependence. In other words: all existence is relative and everything is void of self-nature. Hence everything neither arises nor does not arise. In fact, the question whether something arises or not is meaningless in the first place from the absolute viewpoint.

Thus from the viewpoint of ultimate truth, which is that of a Perfectly Enlightened Being, all ontological distinctions - including that between Nirvana and Samsara - are irrelevant. This in-difference is what enables the Buddha to be a "bi-ped", i.e. to be on the Other Shore (Nirvana) and, at the same time, to come to the rescue of ordinary unenlightened beings which are stranded on This Shore (Samsara). It is this in-difference which is also alluded to in the phrase "mugeko" when referring to Amida Buddha: the Light of Amida's Wisdom is Un-limited in the sense of making no difference between Nirvana and Samsara.

Now, while Nirvana and Samsara, the Unconditioned and Interdependence, are the Same for the Perfectly Enlightened One, they are still separate from the relative viewpoint of a bombu, save maybe some rare moments of insight (kensho), which are not tantamount to ultimate enlightenment. Also, from the relative perspective of us ordinary beings who are still stuck in duality, the distinction between existence and non-existence remains valid.

To say it bluntly: even Amida Buddha as Dharmakaya of Compassionate Means is ultimately void of self-nature. This is just (Mahayana) Buddhism 101. However, it is important to point out that voidness is not the same as fictionality. Furthermore, for the bombu who entrusts him/her-self to Amida's Vow, desiring to be born in His Pure Land in order to realize Buddhahood, nothing could be more real than Amida Buddha.

With respect to the metaphor of names as pointing fingers, T'an Luan, one of the Chinese Patriarchs of the Pure Land Tradition and a Madhyamikan to boot, made the following important exception for names of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas:

Question: A name is, as it were a finger to point at an object, as when we point at the sun. If recitation of the Buddha's name is capable of fulfilling one's aspirations, the finger which points at the sun should be able to remove darkness. But the finger cannot remove darkness; how could mere recitation of the Buddha's name fulfil one's aspirations ?

Answer: There are thousands of different things in the world, about which you cannot make a sweeping statement. In some cases, names and things are exactly identical, and in others, they are different. Some examples of the former are the names of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the word 'Prajnâpâramitâ', dhârânis, spells and some other [mystic] phrases. (...)"

Hisao Inagaki (1988). Ôjôronchû: T'an-Luan's Commentary on Vasubandhu's Discourse on the Pure Land. A Study and Translation. Kyoto: Nagado Bunshodo. Fascicle Two, Chapter 2, section 52: pp. 210--211.

Hence there is no problem in Madhyamika to affirm the identity of the Buddha of Infinite Light and His Name, and that Shinjin results from the direct encounter with Amida under the aspect of:

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU