Saturday, March 21, 2020

AMIDA DHARMA - Fascicle 4. Personal power and Amida’s Power





1.The teachings and practices taught by Shakyamuni Buddha can be classified in two categories, depending on the capacities of beings: the path of personal power (jiriki) and the path of reliance on the Power of Amida Buddha (Tariki).

2.The path of personal power is also called the difficult path because it refers to following the Buddhist practices and attaining Enlightenment through one’s own efforts. It is a path which often includes retiring from the world.

3.The Path of reliance on the Power of Amida Buddha (the Path of Faith) is also called the easy path because it depends exclusively on the unconditional help offered by Amida who guides the faithful to His Pure Land where Enlightenment is spontaneously attained.


4. The various teachings and practices of the self power path can be followed only by people of superior capacities, so they have a limited relevance.

5. The Path of reliance on the Power of Amida Buddha, also called Amida Dharma, can be followed by anybody, no matter his or her spiritual capacities, and even by the lowest of the low. For this reason it has universal relevance. All beings can be saved through it.

6.The more time passes since the physical presence of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lower the capacities of beings are, as they become more and more incapable to follow the paths of self power. In this age of moral and religious decadence, of powerful attachements and blind passions, the only path that can save us from repeated births and deaths is the Path of Faith in the Salvific Power of Amida Buddha.

7. We must become aware of the impermanence of our bodies and the world we live in, but we must also never forget about the impermanence of our so-called „spiritual realizations.”
This truth may be hard to swallow but Amida Dharma teaches us that our spiritual evolution is a delusion. What we think we obtained now, we can lose in the next moment. The ego cannot evolve; all it really does is to constantly adapt itself to various coarse or refined attachments. From material pleasures to spiritual satisfaction and false Nirvanas, the possibilities of deceit are endless for those who rely on personal power. 

8. If we look to our lives from the perspective of physical impermanence and the impermanence of our so-called „spiritual realizations” we can see things clearly and ask ourselves the right questions. What would happen to us if we die today? You, the reader or listener of these lines, must ask yourself this question: what will happen to you if you die today? Your so called virtues are weak and insignificant, which means that your next rebirth, that can come even now while you are reading these lines is uncertain if you do not rely on Amida.

9. Especially because you are an ordinary person you can’t afford not to be sure where you go after death. If you have met Amida’s helping hand, accept it immediately without hesitation. You must not assume any risk related to the essential matter of your future rebirth and you must not allow death to catch you unprepared, that is, without faith.




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