Did He become a Buddha during His life on this earth that we all know from history, or had He attained Buddhahood countless lifetimes ago, in the incomprehensibly remote past? Or was He the manifestation of Amida Buddha?
The answer depends on which sutras you choose to read. In many sutras the first situation is presented, in others the second is taken as a profound truth (for example, the Lotus Sutra, - Life Span chapter). The Pure Land sutras are interpreted by Shinran Shonin to clearly show the third situation in which the true reason for the appearance of Shakyamuni in the world was to teach the Dharma about Amida Buddha’s salvation. In my case, the third is the one I prefer.
The same thing
applies to many important figures in the Buddhist history after Shakyamuni’s
passing. Some Masters have a visible life in which they are born, do this or
that, meet with the Dharma, practice it and one day attain the most important
thing – supreme Enlightenment, or in the case of Shinran Shonin, he received
shinjin, which is faith in Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow.
This is the
visible life, but an invisible one or hidden truth about them might be revealed
by their own words or actions on various occasions or by the testimonies of
their closest disciples who had revelatory dreams or visions about these
Masters.
In the case of Master Honen (Genku), Shinran sometimes described him not as an ordinary person who received shinjin during his earthly life after struggling with hard practices, but also in the following terms:
“It was said among the people
That the original state of our teacher Genku (Honen)
Was Master Tao-ch’o,
Or again, Master Shan-tao.”
Genku appeared as Mahasthamaprapta,
And also as Amida.
Emperors and ministers venerated him,
And the ordinary people in the capital and the countryside revered him.
“When the moment of death approached,
Our teacher Genku (Honen) said,
‘This is my third time to be born in the Pure Land;
It is especially easy to accomplish.
Genku himself said,
‘Formerly, I was among the assembly on Vulture Peak[1];
I practiced austerities with other sravakas
And guided beings to the Buddhist path.”
He then, presented again his own opinion of who his Master really was:
“Amida Tathagata, manifesting form in this world,
Appeared as our teacher Genku;
The conditions for teaching having run their course,
He returned to the Pure Land.”
[...]
“The death of our teacher Genku
Came in 1212, in early spring;
On the twenty-fifth day of the first month,
He returned to the Pure Land.”
Master Honen returned
to the Pure Land, which means it was not the first time when he was born there
– this is how Shinran Shonin regarded his Master. This is how I, a disciple of
Shinran, look to Honen Shonin, too.
Also it is well
known the opinion of Shinran Shonin about prince Shotoku[2], whom he also regarded not
as an ordinary person, but as a manifestation of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. I
myself look to Shotoku Taishi in this way, so as to be in accord with my Master,
Shinran.
Now lets move to the actual topic of this chapter and refer to the case of
Shinran Shonin about whom, I think, we can have two visions that are equally
argued. First, we may think of Shinran as an ordinary person filled with blind
passions who struggled for twenty years as a monk to attain Enlightenment
through his personal power and after being confronted with failure, he met
Honen Shonin and entrusted himself totaly to Amida Buddha, remaining an
ordinary person until his death when he was born in the Pure Land and became a
Buddha himself. Or we may think of Shinran as the manifestation/emanation of
Amida Buddha and Avalokitesvara who took the apparent form of an ordinary
person filled with blind passions, going through struggle, failure, conversion
and birth in the Pure Land, so that the most suitable Dharma for this age
(Amida Dharma) is being spread in the world and be accepted by many.
The first vision
about Master Shinran is based on the fact that he never described himself in
his written texts as being a manifestation of anybody, but only an ordinary
person filled with blind passions who had faith in Amida Buddha. We should
clearly understand this. He didn’t even describe himself to be the founder of a
new school, but always considered himself as a disciple of Honen.
The teaching he
left to the world is outstanding and unique, however, he never said about
himself as being an extrardinary person. I don’t insist on this first vision as
there are so many quotes from Shinran’s own words that can be used as a proof
for it.
My interest is to
the second vision that I personally share about Shinran Shonin, despite the
humbleness he always showed in what he wrote and preached.
So, what is the basis for my
vision of Shinran Shonin as being the emanation/manifestation of Amida Buddha
and Avalokitesvara? I don’t deny that my own feelings of devotion play a
crucial role in this. On this basis I accept openly the testimonies of others
who themselves have shared the same vision as myself. And who were these persons that also
regarded Shinran Shonin as being the manifestation of Amida and/or
Avalokitesvara?
First it was his
own wife, the mother of our school, Eshinni. Here is what she wrote to her
daughter Kakushinni, after Shinran’s passing:
“Also I
recall a dream I had while we were at a place called Sakai village at
Shimotsuma in Hitachi province. It seems that there was a dedication ceremony
for a temple building. The building stood facing east, and it was apparently on
the eve of the ceremony. In front of the building there were lanterns burning
bright, and to the west of the lanterns in front of the building there were two
Buddhist images suspended from the horizontal part of what seemed to be a
shrine gate (torii).
In one there
was no face to the Buddhist image, but only a core of light, as if it were the
radiance of the Buddha’s head; distinct features could not be seen, and the
light was the only thing there. In the other, there was a distinct face to the
Buddhist image.
I asked what
Buddhist images these were, and the person [who answered] – I have no
recollection who the person was – said, ‘The one that is only light is none other than
Master Honen. He is the Bodhisattva Seishi’[3].
When I asked who the other was, he said, ‘That is [the Bodhisattva] Kannon[4].
That is none other than the priest Zenshin[5]
[Shinran]”.
Upon hearing
this I was shocked [out of my sleep], and I realized that it had been a dream.
I have heard that such things are not to be spoken to other people, for they
may not think such things spoken by this nun [i.e. Eshinni] to be true.
Therefore, I have remained silent, not telling other people about this. But I
did tell my husband Shinran] the part about Master Honen.
He said, ‘Among dreams there are many different
types, but this dream must be true. There are many other instances of dreams in
which people have seen Master Honen in one place or another as a manifestation
of the Bodhisattva Seishi.
The Bodhisattva Seishi is the ultimate in wisdom, so he appeared simply as
light.’
I did not say
anything about my husband being Kannon, but in my own mind I never looked upon
him from that time forward in an ordinary way. You should ponder these things
well[6].
Thus, you should have no doubt concerning Shinran’s birth in the Pure Land
however his death may have been.”[7]
To me, Eshinni is
very important and her apparition in human form as a consort of Shinran Shonin
is not accidental. She is a part, together with her daughter Kakushinni, of
Amida’s salvation work. The image that suddenly appears in my mind is that of
Buddhist paintings where some Buddhas are pictured together with their
consorts. So far my gratitude and devotion to her goes in my mind....
Things are
profound and beyond our capacities to understand using our limited minds, but I
certainly feel with my heart the wonderful Compassionate work of many Buddhas
and their manifestations who are always active in order to make us, hopeless sentient
beings, to entrust ourselves to Amida Buddha. I am amazed when seeing with eyes
of devotion the working of the Buddhas.
We indeed live in
the last Dharma age in which no one is capable of attaining anything permanent
from the spiritual point of view, but exactly in this age Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
are very active using lots of methods to
make us aware of the Amida Dharma. Shinran was the most important part of
Amida’s working, following a long line of Masters which started with Shakyamuni
Buddha himself, and in my opinion he could not be an ordinary person in his
true nature.
Now let’s read
other testimonies in which Master Shinran appears as an
emanation/manifestation.
We read in Hongwanji
Shonin Shinran Denne (Godensho[8]),
the biography of Shinran Shonin written by Master Kakunyo Shonin (1270-1351),
the third chief abbot of Hongwanji (the son of Kakushinni and grandson of
Shinran):
“On the
ninth day of the second month in the eighth year of Kencho (1265)[9],
at night at the hour of the tiger[10],
Shaku Ren’i had a vision in a dream: Prince Shotoku bowed in worship to Shinran
Shonin and said in verse:
‘Adoration to Amida Buddha of Great Compassion!
You have appeared in this world (as Shinran Shonin) to spread the excellent teaching;
you lead people of the evil world in the evil period of the five defilements
to definitely
attain the supreme Enlightenment.”
Hence, it is
clear that Shonin, the Patriarchal Master, was an incarnation of Amida
Tathagatha.’”
Shaku Ren’i (or
Ren’i-bo) was a native of Hitachi Province (present day Ibaragi
Prefecture). He came to Kyoto and lived with Shinran, attending to him in his
last years. So he was not a nobody, but a very close disciple.
We also read in
the Godensho the following testimony:
“The Shonin’s disciple, Nyusai-bo, cherished the desire to have a portrait of Shonin. Knowing this, Shonin said to him, ‘You can ask the Dharma-bridge[11] Jozen [who lived in Shichijo] to portray me.’
Elated by the
Shonin’s suggestion based on deep observation, Nyusai-bo invited the
Dharma-bridge to the Shonin’s abode. Jozen came at once as requested. The
moment Jozen saw the Shonin, he said, ‘Last night I had an inspired dream. The holy
priest I saw in the dream is exactly the same person as I now see before my
eyes.’
With profound joy and awe, he continued, ‘Two noble priests came to visit me.
One of them said: ‘I wish to have a portrait of this revered incarnated one made. Please make one, Jozen.’
So I asked: ‘Who is this incarnated one?’
The priest replied: ‘He is the founder[12] of the Zenkoji Temple’.
I prostrated myself on the floor with my hands joined together, and thought to myself in the dream, ‘He must be a living incarnation of Amida Tathagata’.
Feeling my hair standing on end, I deeply revered and paid homage to him. The priest added: ‘A portrait of his face will be enough.’
After the
exchange of these words, I awoke from the dream. As I now see the Shonin’s
august countenance at this hermitage, it is not a bit different from the holy
priest that I saw in the dream.”
So saying,
Jozen shed tears of great joy. The Shonin remarked, ‘Let my portrait be just as you saw in your
dream.’”
Master Kakunyo commenting on this last testimony said:
“Jozen
portrayed the Shonin’s face only. Jozen had this dream in the night of the
twentieth day of the month in the third year of Ninji.”[13]
He then
concludes:
“As I
deeply contemplate this miraculous and portentous event, I clearly see that the Shonin was an incarnation of Amida
Tathagatha. It follows then that the teaching he promulgated was most likely
Amida’s direct exposition. Amida holds up the brilliant lamp of undefiled
wisdom to disperse the darkness of delusion in the world of defilement;
furthermore, he showers the rain of Dharma everywhere in order to moisten the
dried-up hearts of ordinary and deluded beings in the distant future. Let us revere
and entrust ourselves to His teaching.”
Here is another
incident from Godensho which shows that Shinran Shonin was not an
ordinary person in his original nature. When Heitaro of Obu village in
Nakanosai County in Hitachi Province was obliged to make a visit to Kumano
Shrine (a Shinto shrine) due to his public duty, he went there without
observing the Shinto prescribed manner concerning such a visit, didn’t put on
the mask of a wise person and did not purified his body with special rituals,
but kept adoring the Primal Vow in his heart.
As the story goes,
„...he reached Kumano without any incident. On that night, Heitaro had a vision in a dream: the door of the shrine was opened and a layman in proper ceremonial dress and hat came in and said to Heitaro, ‘Why have you come here in such a defiled and impure state, unafraid of the deity?’
At that
moment, the Shonin suddenly appeared before him and said ‘He practices the Nembutsu in accordance with
Zenshin’s (Shinran) instructions.’
Thereupon, the
layman held up his scepter in the proper way and bowed deeply to show his
respect to the Shonin, without saying a word. Then Heitaro awoke. He was struck
with unspeakable wonder.
On his way
home, Heitaro paid a visit to the Shonin and told him what had happened. In
reply the Shonin said: ‘That was good’. This was also an inconceivable thing.
At the end of Godensho,
Master Kakunyo states:
“Many
miraculous stories were told about the Shonin, but it is impossible to relate
them all. I have presented only a selected few.”
As we clearly
saw, Eshinni, Kakushinni, Ren’i-bo, Nyusai-bo, Juzen, the painter, Heitaro and
Master Kakunyo are only a few names of those who shared the belief that Shinran
Shonin was the manifestation of Amida Buddha.
Master Kakunyo is
the third succesor from Shinran Shonin in the Nishi Hongwanji, Higashi Hongwanji
and Amidaji branch of Jodo Shinshu and a
very important figure in the history of our school. His book, Godensho,
is accepted as the official biography of Shinran Shonin at Amidaji[14] and it is always read in
every temple on the occasion of Hoonko or Shinran’s memorial days (9-16
January).
All these
testimonies, together with my own intuition prove to me that Shinran Shonin was
in fact an emanation/manifestation of Amida Buddha himself and of
Avalokitesvara. He came to this world and took the human appearance of an
unenlightened person who tried at first practices based on personal power, gave
up to them, received shinjin and preached the Dharma about Amida Buddha in such
a unique and accesible way for everybody. At the death of his illusory body he
came back to his original form, which is Amida Buddha. He is now dwelling in
the Pure Land as well as here in samsara with us, taking many forms, always
guiding us in ways known or unknown.
Shinran, the
emanation of Amida Buddha and Avalokitesvara, took not only human form but also
human problems and a human personality with its many difficulties and
shortcomings, living the life of an ordinary person in the last Dharma age in
order to show that Amida’s salvation is especially concerned about such people
who can’t save themselves by any self-power method. Shinran „experienced”
failure in his spiritual life as a monk and a self power practicer in order to
show that failure is accepted and we should not worry about it.
He intentionaly
lived the life of an ordinary person, got married even if he was a monk, didn’t
preach about precepts [15] and showed that even hunters, fishermen, prostitutes and
all hopeless people can be saved only by faith in Amida Buddha. He did all
these and lived like an ordinary person filled with blind passions, in order to
show that Amida especially saves such beings as ourselves. I think that nothing
in Shinran’s life happened accidentally, but was included in Amida’s plan of
salvation.
However, no
matter if all Jodo Shinshu followers share or not the second vision about
Shinran Shonin that I myself share, we all have to agree on one point, that he
became a Buddha in the Pure Land of Amida, like any person of shinjin will
become at the end of his or her life. That Pure Land is a real enlightened place and once
born there through shinjin we become Buddhas.
Also, no matter
whether Jodo Shinshu followers believe or not that Shinran was a
manifestation/emanation of Amida and Avalokitesvara, they have to listen and
entirely accept his teaching so that they can receive the same shinjin as him
If for you,
Shinran was just an ordinary person until death and birth in the Pure Land, but
you totally accept his teaching and receive shinjin in your heart, then you
have fulfilled everything on the Jodo Shinshu path.
We have enough
reasons and arguments to chose each one of these visions about Shinran Shonin,
so it depends on each one of us. After all, the most important matter in Jodo
Shinshu is to receive shinjin. If you can listen openly to his teaching and
entrust in Amida Buddha, nothing else matters.
Shinran finally
gave his message to the world, and in doing so he acomplished his mission. Now,
it falls upon each one of us to keep and transmit his message without modifying
it.
Namo Amida Bu
Homage to Shinran Shonin,
the emanation of Amida Buddha and Avalokitesvara!
[2] Shotoku Taishi (574-622) was a prince who led the campaign to unify Japan, wrote the imperial constitution, and promoted Buddhism.
[3] Bodhisattva Seishi (Daiseishi) or Mahasthamaprapta, is one of the attendant Bodhisattvas of Amida Buddha together with Kannon (Avalokitesvara). He represents wisdom.
[4] Bodhisattva Kannon (Kanzeon) or Avalokitesvara, is the Bodhisattva of Compassion and one of the attendants of Amida Buddha together with Bodhisattva Seishi. Kannon is often depicted with a small representation of Amida Buddha on his crown. In China and Japan he is often portrayed in feminine form as Kwan Yin.
[5] Zenshin is a clerical name adopted by Shinran during his six year period of study unde Honen’s guidance in Kyoto. Zenshin can be found in some parts of his writings, even if he used more often the name, Shinran.
[7] The quote and most of the footnotes are from Letters of the nun Eshinni, by James C.Dobbins, printed at University Hawai’i Press in 2004.
[8] This is even in our present time the official biography of Shinran Shonin recognized by the Hongwanji-ha branch of Jodo Shinshu. All quotes and footnotes that follows are from Zuio Hisao Inagaki’s English translation printed by the Horai Association in 2009.
[11] The Dharma-bridge: ‘Hokyo’ in Japanese, an abbreviation of ‘hokkyo-shonin-i’, the rank of the Master of of Dharma-bridge; originally, the lowest of the three higher ranks of priesthood, which corresponds to the older term ‘risshi’. Later, used as a title of honor for medical doctors, painters, poets, and so on.
[12] Founder; hongan no onbo in Japanese; here hongan does not mean ‚primal vow’, but rather‚a founder or promoter of a temple, statue, or a Dharma meeting.
[13] This corresponds to 1242.
[14] As far as I know it is also accepted as the official biography in Nishi Hongwanji and it is also chanted on the occasion of Hoonko.
[15] He didn’t preach about precepts as a Path to Buddhahood. However, he didn’t encourage his followers to do evil
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