“The Buddha said to Ananda, ‘Devas and humans in the
worlds of the ten directions who sincerely aspire to be born in that land can
be classified into three grades. ‘“[1]
As
we can clearly see, these grades are not related to beings who are now in the
Pure Land, but who aspire to be born there. Practitioners still living in samsara
are not equal when it comes to their spiritual achievements, but Amida’s
salvation is offered freely to all, without discrimination, so both virtuous
people, as well as those who lack any virtue, are assured of birth in the Pure
Land if they entrust to Him.
It
is not an obligatory condition that only the evilest and corrupt beings
should entrust to Amida; even the wise and virtuous should do that. There are
high-level Bodhisattvas in various universes who also have faith in Amida and
aspire to be born there. Also long-living gods as well as other beings, humans
and non-humans, who are more spiritually advanced, some of them acting as
unenlightened Dharma protectors, entrust to Amida, too. Such beings, while
still not enlightened, are part of the higher grade of aspirants:
“The higher grade of aspirants are those who
leave their homes and abandon worldly desires to become monks. Having awakened
aspiration for Enlightenment, they single-mindedly think of Amitayus (Amida) and
perform meritorious practices, aspiring to be born in His land. When they are
about to die, Amitayus, together with a host of sages, will appear before them.
Then they will follow Him and attain birth in His land. At once they will be
born by transformation spontaneously from within seven-jeweled lotus flowers.
They will dwell in the stage of
non-retrogression, attain steadfast wisdom and be capable of freely exercising
supernatural powers. For this reason, Ananda, sentient beings who wish to see
Amitayus while in this world should awaken aspiration for highest Enlightenment,
perform meritorious deeds, and aspire to be born in His land’”[2]
Such
highly advanced beings “single-mindedly
think of Amitayus (Amida)”, which means they have complete faith in Amida
and exclusively say His Name, without thinking or mixing this with anything
else. The “meritorious practices” mentioned
in the fragment above do not refer to various non Pure Land meditations or
formal practices, but to the fact that they are naturally able to observe the
precepts and lead a moral life without “worldly
desires”. Their personal merits put them in this world on the highest level
of beings who entrust to Amida, helped them be more sensitive and see what
others cannot see, including various manifestations of Amida. However, no
matter what spiritual capacities they have, only their single-minded faith causes
them to be taken by Amida Buddha in His Pure Land. So, even highly advanced
Bodhisattvas who acquired very good karma and are on a level of spiritual
evolution that is thousands of times higher than ours, can understand that
their personal merits are not enough to cause birth and perfect Enlightenment
in the Pure Land, so they single-mindedly entrust to Amida and rely exclusively on His Power.
Everything
that happens to them before birth in the Pure Land, even a few seconds before
it, like Amida together with a host of sages appearing before them, may be
caused by a mixture of personal merits and Amida’s help, but once they reach
the Pure Land they become like anybody born there through the Gate of Faith or
complete reliance on Amida’s Power.
Some
people, humans or non-humans, who entrust to Amida, may have supernatural
visions due to their good karma and moral advancement. Many gods (don’t forget
that gods are part of the three grades of aspirants!) in various realms already
have the capacity to see at a far greater distance than us who are born in
human form, but even some humans who are more spiritually evolved can acquire
this capacity. So, one who possesses very good karma and moral behavior,
being detached from the worldly desires, capable to live the life of a monk
focused entirely on Amida, entrusting to Him single-heartedly, can be more
sensitive to what is invisible to others, and can also see Amida’s
manifestations while in this present life.
Entering
the stage of non-retrogression can be achieved in this life only by faith in
the Power of Amida Buddha, without the need to have any personal virtues or
perform meritorious deeds. Ordinary people like us, who are incapable of detaching from worldly desires and cannot follow monk or lay precepts are
assured of Amida’s salvation and brought by Him into the stage of
non-retrogression, but they don’t naturally develop any supernatural perception.
They can too, of course, have visions of Amida and His Pure Land, but only from
time to time and that is due only to Amida’s work, but cannot have them
constantly or many times. As Shinran said,
“Although
I, too, am in Amida’s embracing light,
My
evil passions hinder me from perceiving it,
But
His light of great compassion never ceases to shine on
me
untiringly."[3]
Our
evil passions hinder us from always seeing Amida’s Light or His various
manifestations, but those highly advanced Bodhisattvas in human or godly form,
or any other form, having a broader perception, can see more than us, and if
they have faith in Amida, their vision includes Him as well. Even if both of us, the lowliest of the low,
and them, the highly advanced beings, are both in the stage of
non-retrogression because of our common aspiration for Enlightenment and faith
in Amida, they have personal qualities that we don’t have, like “steadfast wisdom” and are “capable of freely exercising supernatural
powers” even while in their samsaric bodies. This is the meaning of the
passage,
“They will dwell in the stage of
non-retrogression, attain steadfast wisdom, and be capable of freely exercising
supernatural powers. For this reason, Ananda, sentient beings who wish to see
Amitayus while in this world should awaken aspiration for highest Enlightenment,
perform meritorious deeds, and aspire to be born in His land’”
The
above qualities of highly advanced beings who entrust to Amida appear while
they are still here, in samsara, and not yet born in the Pure Land. Even the
appearance of Amida with a host of sages happen before their birth in the Pure Land. The only words referring to
their status after death and birth in the Pure Land are the following,
“Then they will follow Him(Amida)
and attain birth in His land. At once they will be born by transformation
spontaneously from within seven-jeweled lotus flowers.”
Attention
here – while all the previous things they were capable to perceive and do were
somehow related to their superior capacities, birth in the Pure land by
spontaneous transformation from lotus flowers is due ONLY to their
single-minded faith in Amida Buddha. Because of this complete reliance on His
Power they are capable to reach this supreme type of birth which, in fact, all
beings who entrust to Amida attain, including us, the lowliest of the low.
There
are two types of birth in the Pure Land, 1) by transformation, and 2) birth in
the embryonic state. The first is, according to Shinran, for those who enter
the Pure Land through the Gate of Faith or complete reliance on Amida’s power,
no matter if they had or not had any personal virtues, while the second is for
those who were still clinging to their merits and virtues, thinking that
somehow, these will give them more chances to be born there. The practitioners
who are born in the Pure Land by spontaneous transformation immediately attain
perfect Enlightenment while those who are born in the embryonic state spend some time in the borderland of the Pure Land until their doubts are exhausted.
I will talk about them in detail when I reach the special section of the sutra
related to this kind of inferior birth. For the moment we just need to bear in
mind that anything special about the higher grade of aspirants refers only to
their spiritual capacities, and status in their present life, and NOT after
death and birth in the Pure Land where all born through the Gate of Faith are
equal. Thus, while the various grades of aspirants exist before this Birth,
they matter no more after reaching that enlightened place.
Now let’s move to the middle grade of aspirants:
“The Buddha said to Ananda, ‘The
middle grade of aspirants are the devas and humans in the worlds of the ten directions who sincerely
desire to be born in that land. Although unable to become monks and cultivate
much merit, they awaken aspiration for the highest Enlightenment, single-mindedly
think of Amitayus, perform some good deeds, observe the precepts of abstinence,
build stupas, donate Buddhist statues, give alms to mendicants, hang banners,
light candles, scatter flowers, burn incense, and so forth. They transfer the merit of those practices
to His land, aspiring to be born there. When they are about to die,
Amitayus will manifest His transformed body, which is fully possessed of the
same radiance and physical characteristics and marks as those of the real
Buddha, and make it appear before them, together with a host of sages.
Then they will follow this transformed
Buddha and be born in the Pure Land, where they will dwell in the stage of
non-retrogression. Their virtue and wisdom will be next to those of the higher
grade of aspirants.’”[4]
Practitioners
in this category who aspire to the Pure Land are not so great at moral
behavior, and don’t have the spiritual capacities as those in the higher
grade, but still, they are superior to the people of the lowest grade. They
sincerely wish to be born in Amida’s
Land for the attainment of perfect Enlightenment, and do various good deeds, “observe the precepts of abstinence, build
stupas, donate Buddhist statues, give alms to mendicants, hang banners, light
candles, scatter flowers, burn incense, and so forth” while they also
single-mindedly focus on Amida. However, they do something which makes them
have a lower birth in the Pure Land, even lower than the first and the last
category of aspirants, that is, in the borderland of the Pure Land. What is
their grave mistake? They are proud and attached to their merits, thinking that
these will somehow improve their chances of being born in the Pure Land and so
they transfer them to birth there. By doing this so-called transference of
merit from their delusional personalities towards the Pure Land they prove they
don’t understand and don’t completely trust in Amida’s power. This is the
meaning of “they transfer the merit of
those practices to His land, aspiring to be born there”.
In
their case, the single-mindedly thinking to Amida (“single-mindedly think of Amitayus”) only means that among all
practices they chose to focus entirely on Amida, but it does not include complete
trust in Him. Their faith is not pure and not complete, as they still cling to
ideas of self-power and self-merit transference. Because of this, they will have,
on their death bed, only the vision of a transformed or Nirmanakaya body of
Amida which will lead them to the transformed aspect of the Pure Land which is called “the borderland”. This is the meaning of “when they are about to die, Amitayus will manifest His transformed body (Nirmanakaya), which is fully
possessed of the same radiance and physical characteristics and marks as those
of the real Buddha (like Amida in the Sambhogakaya aspect in the center of thePure Land), and make it appears before
them, together with a host of sages.”
In
that borderland they will stay for some time in an unenlightened but free of
suffering state of mind until they overcome their doubts. Thus, for them, the
stage of non-retrogression is not attained in this life, but after death and
rebirth in the borderland of the Pure Land because they will attain
Enlightenment only after solving their doubts and entrusting completely to
Amida’s Power[5].
This is why the text of the sutra says, “then
they will follow this transformed Buddha (one of Amida’s Nirmanakayas) and be born in the Pure Land (the border
land of the Pure Land), where they will
dwell in the stage of non-retrogression”.
Also,
during this life “their virtue and wisdom
will be next to those of the higher grade of aspirants”. This of course,
refers to the personal merits and personal wisdom developed through their actions,
but not to the wisdom of faith which can only arise in those who completely
entrust to Amida’s Power and give up to any trace of self-power.
Something truly wonderful is said about the lower grade of
aspirants to the Pure Land. The usual tendency would be to dismiss this
category, but after a closer look and careful reading we have all the reasons
to appreciate it and be happy about it because that is where most of us are!
“The Buddha said to Ananda, ‘The
lower grade of aspirants are the devas and humans in the worlds of the ten directions who sincerely
desire to be born in that land. Although unable to do many meritorious deeds,
they awaken aspiration for highest Enlightenment and single-mindedly think of
Amitayus even ten times, desiring birth in His land. When they hear the
profound Dharma they joyfully accept it and do not entertain any doubt; and so,
thinking of the Buddha even once, they sincerely aspire to be born in that
land.
When they are about to die they
will see the Buddha as in a dream[6].
Those aspirants, too, will be born in the Pure Land. Their merit and wisdom
will be next to those of the middle grade of aspirants.’”[7]
People
in this category are “unable to do many
meritorious deeds” and their personal merits and wisdom are lower than
those in the middle and higher grades (“their
merit and wisdom will be next to those of the middle grade of aspirants”),
but they “awaken aspiration for highest
Enlightenment” and are in perfect accord with the Primal Vow. Why do I say they are in perfect accord with
the Primal Vow? Because the three elements of this Vow, “entrust
themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and say my Name perhaps even
ten times” are present in those of the lower grade.
For example, to “hear the profound Dharma” and “joyfully accept it and do not entertain any
doubt” means to have faith, which is the first element of the Primal Vow. “Desiring birth in His land” and “sincerely desire to be born in that land”
are the second element. Also “single-mindedly think of Amitayus
even ten times”
and “thinking of the Buddha even once” are
the third element and it means to say the Name of Amida without being obsessed
with the numbers of recitations and without attachment to personal power, which
is exactly how a person of faith says the Nembutsu.
Because
their personal spiritual capacities are very low, they cannot see Amida as clearly
and directly like those in the higher and middle categories, but “as in a dream” if they are awake, or
even in a dream if they die in the sleep. Shinran Shonin told us to not rely on
visions, and not wait for special things to happen during our life or at the
moment of death, but this does not mean they do not happen. As we can see in
the text, people of faith can also experience such dreamlike visions of Amida
before entering the Pure Land.
“Those aspirants, too, will be
born in the Pure Land”. As I already explained, and
according to Shinran, the type of birth in
the Pure Land of those who have genuine and complete trust in Amida is, no matter
their spiritual capacities, birth by spontaneous transformation and is immediately
followed by the attainment of perfect Enlightenment.
Shinran Shonin
indicated the sections 23-25 of the Larger
Sutra as the place where we find the fulfillment of the 19th
Vow, but when I deeply contemplate on the three grades of aspirants described there
I realize that only the middle grade actually refers to practitioners who still
cling to their self-power and are to be born in the border-land through the
Gate of the 19th Vow. The higher level and lower level have elements
which clearly indicate birth in the true fulfilled land of the Pure Land, like
for example, the mention of “birth by transformation” of those in the high
level which cannot happen in the borderland where there is only “embryonic
birth”, and the mentioning of joyful acceptance and faith without doubts, etc,
by those in the lower level which again cannot exist in beings who are about to
be born in the border-land of the Pure Land.
to be continued
[1] The
Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study and Translation from Chinese by
Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and
Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.35
[2] The
Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study and Translation from Chinese by
Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and
Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.35-36
[3] Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching, Practice,
Faith, and Enlightenment,chapter II, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata
Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 80
[4] The
Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study and Translation from Chinese by
Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and
Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.35-36
[5] I will talk in more detail
about birth in the borderland of the Pure Land when I reach the section
dedicated to it.
[6] In the
translation done by Inagaki the words are “they
will see the Buddha in a dream”, but here I decided to use the “as in a dream” translated by Hongwanji
in The Tree Pure Land Sutras, volume
II: The Sutra on the Buddha of
Immeasurable Life, Shin Buddhism translation series, Jodo Shinshu
Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 2009, p.54
[7] The
Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study and Translation from Chinese by
Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and
Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.36
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