1) the ultimate Dharmakaya aspect, and
2) the manifestation or Sambhogakaya (recompense) aspect.
1) The first aspect (Dharmakaya) means that the Pure Land is Nirvanic in its essence, as it was stated in the Larger Sutra:
My land, being like Nirvana
itself,
Will be beyond comparison.”[1]
This means that all the manifestations of the Pure Land are
grounded in the perfect Enlightenment of Amida Buddha, and are conducive to
Enlightenment. We ourselves will attain Enlightenment when we are born in the
Pure Land, because the essence of the Pure Land is Enlightenment/Nirvana/Dharmakaya
itself. Otherwise, if the Pure Land was not an enlightened realm, it would
produce only sensorial attachments, like other Samsaric realms do, but
Shakyamuni Buddha[2] and our
Masters were very clear that this is not the case.
Also, in the Essentials
of Faith Alone, Master Seikaku said:
“’The Land of Bliss
The “uncreated” refers to ultimate Dharmakaya beyond forms,
which is the essence of all Buddhas and their lands. From this Dharmakaya emerge
all the manifestations for the sake of saving sentient beings in accordance
with the specific vows of different Buddhas. In our case, the Pure Land of Amida appeared when He attained perfect Enlightenment and thus brought His 48
vows to fulfilment. In that moment, His land took the form and manifestations
described in the sutras and especially in His 31st and 32nd
Vows, while also maintaining its formless Dharmakaya essence.
2) About the Sambhogakaya (Recompense) aspect of the Pure
Land, Shinran Shonin said:
“We clearly know from
the Tathagata’s teaching of truth and the masters’ commentaries that the Pure
Land of Peace and Provision is the True Land of Recompense”.[4]
This is because the Pure Land is the effect or “recompense”
of Dharmakara’s practices and vows, and it came into existence when Bodhisattva
Dharmakara became Amida Buddha:
“When I contemplate
“recompense,” I find that the accomplished land has resulted as the recompense
for the Tathagata’s oceanlike Vow. Hence, ‘recompensed’.”[5]
So,
being a Recompensed (Sambhogakaya) Land, the Pure Land is the result or
recompense of the fulfillment of the 31st Vow:
“If, when I attain
Buddhahood, my land should not be resplendent, revealing in its light all the
immeasurable, innumerable and inconceivable Buddha-lands, like images reflected
in a clear mirror, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.”
and the 32nd Vow:
“If, when I attain
Buddhahood, all the myriads of manifestations in my land, from the ground to
the sky, such as palaces, pavilions, ponds, streams and trees, should not be
composed of both countless treasures, which surpass in supreme excellence
anything in the worlds of humans and devas, and of a hundred thousand kinds of aromatic
wood, whose fragrance pervades all the worlds of the ten quarters, causing all
bodhisattvas who sense it to perform Buddhist practices, then may I not attain perfect
Enlightenment.”
The Light of the Pure
Land is the Light of Amida Buddha, the Pure Land
The “myriads of
manifestations” mentioned in the 32nd Vow show that the Pure Land Pure
Land
It is obvious that the treasures found in the Pure Land
*
Shinran Shonin distinguished between
two aspects of Amida’s Pure Land as a Recompensed
Land
1) the Fulfilled Pure Land
(sometimes named the True
Recompensed Land
2) the Transformed Pure Land
It is important to emphasize that both are the rewards of
the Vows of Amida Buddha, so they are not different realms, but part of the
same Recompensed (Sambhogakaya) Pure Land. This
is why I call them two aspects, and not two Pure Lands.
Those born in the Fulfilled Pure
Land are followers of the true faith (shinjin) of the 18th Vow
(Primal Vow) and they immediately attain Nirvana or Buddhahood, while those who
are born in the Transformed Pure Land are followers of the 19th and 20th Vows. The later are people with mixed faith, and so they need
to stay for a while in that place until they overcome their doubts.
As Master
Shan-tao called it, birth in the Fulfilled Land of the Pure Land is called „Inconceivable Birth” and all those born
there „are endowed with bodies of Naturalness,
Emptiness, and Infinity”[6]
. To have bodies of Naturalness,
Emptiness and Infinity means to become a Buddha or to attain perfect
Enlightenment.
The Pure Land in the aspect of the Transformed Land is as described in the
„thirteen contemplations” and the „nine grades of aspirants” from the Contemplation Sutra, but also in the Larger
Sutra and other texts. As Shinran
explained:
„The Transformed Land refers to the Pure Land
as shown in the Contemplation Sutra; again it is as described in the Sutra on the Bodhisattvas Dwelling in the
Womb (Bosatsu Shotai Kyo), namely the Realm of Sloth and Pride; again it is as
described in the Larger Sutra as the Castle of Doubt and the Womb-Palace.”[7]
So, the Border Land (Henji)[8], Realm
of Sloth and Pride (Keman)[9],
the Castle of Doubt
(Gijo)[10],
and the Womb-Palace (Taigu)[11]
are different names for the Transformed
Land aspect of the Pure Land
Referring to the Transformed
Land (borderland of the Pure Land
“Since practitioners of shinjin are few, many are guided
to the transformed land”.
Master Shan-tao
also said:
“Those born in the Fulfilled
Pure Land
are extremely few; those born in the Transformed
Pure Land
Again, I stress the importance that both the
„Transformed Land” and „the Fulfilled Pure Land” (or “True Land of Recompense”) are aspects of
the same Pure Land of Amida Buddha, just like the anteroom and the main room
are part of the same house. As usually, the owner of the house (in our case –
Amida Buddha) prefers to stay in the main room together with His faithful sons
(followers of the 18th Vow), while those who have a mixed faith
(followers of the 19th and 20th Vows) keep themselves in
the anteroom. It is not the fault of Amida or a punishment that some are born
in the borderland of the Pure Land (Transformed
Land Pure
Land , not Amida Buddha, so when they
overcome their doubts, they will also join the Fulfilled Pure
Land
[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.9-10
[2] For example, when He explained the role and origin of
the wonderful birds of the Pure Land, He said:
“Shariputra, you should not assume that these birds
are born as retribution of their evil karma. The reason is that none of the
three evil realms exists in that Buddha-land. Shariputra, even the names of the
three evil realms do not exist there; how much less the realms themselves?
These birds are manifested by Amida Buddha so that their singing can proclaim
and spread the Dharma”.
[3] The Collected Works of
Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto
[4] Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching,
Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata
Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 229.
[6] Larger Sutra.
Shinran himself made reference to that
passage in the Larger Sutra, in his
work, Passages on the Pure Land Way
[REALIZATION]:
“Their countenances are dignified and wonderful,
surpassing things of this world. Their features, subtle and delicate, are not
those of human beings or devas; all receive the body of naturalness or of
emptiness, the body of boundlessness.”
[7] Shinran Shonin, Kyogyoshinsho,
cf with Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching,
Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata
Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 233. and Kygyoshinsho, Ryukoku Translation
Series, Ryukoku University ,
Kyoto
[8] It is thus called
because those born there are far removed from the true bliss of the Pure Land
just as those in a border land are less benefited by civilisation. cf with Tannisho – Notes Lamenting Differences,
Ryukoku Translation Series, Ryukoku University, Kyoto, 1962, p. 41, fn 1.
[9] It is thus called
because those born there are too proud to believe in the Buddha’s Primal Vow
whole-heartedly, and due to the lack of faith they are not so dilligent as to
advance to the True Land of Recompense. cf with Tannisho – Notes Lamenting Differences, Ryukoku Translation Series,
Ryukoku University, Kyoto, 1962, p. 41, fn 1.
[10] It is thus called
because those born there have to stay in the Transformed Land due to the sin of
doubting just as though pent up in a castle. cf with Tannisho – Notes Lamenting Differences, Ryukoku Translation Series,
Ryukoku University, Kyoto, 1962, p. 41, fn 1.
[11] It is thus called
because those born there are like being inclosed in a lotus flower and can
neither see the Buddha nor hear the Dharma. cf with Tannisho – Notes Lamenting Differences, Ryukoku Translation Series,
Ryukoku University, Kyoto, 1962, p. 41, fn 1.
[12] Birth in the Transformed
Pure Land by the followers of the 19th Vow is called „Birth
under the Twin Sala Trees” (Sojuringe Ojo). Birth in the Transformed Pure
Land by followers of the 20th Vow is called
„Incomprehensible Birth”
(Nanji Ojo). The word „incomprehensible” is used with two meanings: 1) to
praise their attainment of Birth in comparison with a lower mode of Birth
attained by the followers of the 19th Vow and 2) to depreciate it in comparison
with a higher mode of Birth attained by the followers of the 18th Vow.
(The Kyogyoshinsho, Ryukoku
Translation Center, Ryukoku University, Kyoto, 1966, p.160, fn. 8.)
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