How does Amida Buddha save us? By transfering His merits to us, those who have faith in Him. Shinran
Shonin said:
"When I humbly
contemplate the true essence of the Pure Land Way, I realize that Amida’s merit
transference has two aspects: one is the aspect of going forth, and the other
that of returning. Concerning the aspect of going forth of merit transference,
there are true teaching, practice, faith, and Enlightenment"[1].
In the practices based on personal power the practitioner
“earns” virtues which he transfers for his own Enlightenment. But in the
case of Other Power (Pure Land) way, the
transference of merits takes place from Amida Buddha to those who entrust to
Him. This transference of merit (eko) carries the follower to the Pure Land
where he attains Nirvana or perfect Enlightenment. Shinran Shonin says in a
hymn:
“When sentient beings of this evil world
of the five defilements[2]
Entrust themselves to the selected Primal Vow,
Virtues indescribable, inexplicable, and inconceivable
Fill those practitioners."
As mentioned above, the merit transference from Amida to the practitioner has two aspects:
of the five defilements[2]
Entrust themselves to the selected Primal Vow,
Virtues indescribable, inexplicable, and inconceivable
Fill those practitioners."
As mentioned above, the merit transference from Amida to the practitioner has two aspects:
1) the merit transference of going forth (Oso-Eko) and
2) the merit transference of returning to this world
(Genso-Eko) .
The first refers to the fact that through Amida's
transference of merit we go to His Pure Land where we become Buddhas, while the
second one means that after we become Buddhas in the Pure Land by sharing
the same Enlightenment as Amida, we return to the various samsaric realms and universes, to save all beings.
To better understand the merit transference from Amida
Buddha to us, we can compare it with a blood transfusion, or an organ
transplant. When a sick person receives healthy blood or a healthy vital organ
he can continue to live, even if until then he was supposed to die. Thus, the
blood or the organ he received becomes part of his own body and will function
as if it has always been there.
In the same way, we who deserve to be born in the lower
realms if we are left at the mercy of our unenlightened karma, by entrusting ourselves to Amida Buddha
we receive His enlightened karmic merits which imbues our mind stream and leads
us securely to His Pure Land. Even if we continue to have delusions and blind
passions until we die and we are actually born in the Pure Land, we become
united with Amida Buddha from this very life (we enter the stage of
non-retrogression), as His own blood or enlightened karma circulates now
through our veins.
What are
the elements of the first aspect of merit transference, that is, from Amida
Buddha to us (Oso-Eko)? Shinran Shonin
said:
"Concerning the
aspect of going forth of merit transference, there are true teaching, practice,
faith, and Enlightenment."
This means that Amida Buddha transmitted to us a teaching, a practice and a faith
through which we can attain Enlightenment
in His Pure Land. If we accept that teaching, if we have that faith in our
hearts, and we follow that practice, then we will attain Enlightenment. If not,
our life in human form would be spent in vain.
It is extremely important to notice that all the above
elements of the Path to the Pure Land come from Amida Buddha (are part of His
merit transference), so they are not something we develop by our own power.
Thus, we are not the creators of the true teaching on Amida Buddha (Amida Dharma), that is, we cannot change it
according to our own personal opinions, likes or dislikes, and we are not even the owners of our faith and
practice!
You can read more on this topic in the following articles:
[1] Kyogyoshinsho – On
Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao Inagaki,
Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 5
[2] The five defilements are
the five marks of decay of the world we live in: 1) the defilement of views,
when incorrect, perverse thoughts and ideas are predominant, 2) the defilement
of passions, when all kinds of transgressions are exalted, 3) the defilement of
human condition, when people are usually dissatisfied and unhappy, 4) the
defilement of life-span, when the human life-span as a whole decreases –
according to the sutras, when it is less or close to one hundred years, 5) the
defilement of the world-age, when war and natural disasters are rife.
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