Without accepting
the actual, literal existence of Amida Buddha there can be no true faith, no
true salvation and no real birth in His Pure Land. If we have faith in someone,
then it means we are sure beyond any doubt that he is reliable and that he will
keep his promise. Also to believe in someone’s promise means that we accept his
existence, too. Promises can be made by living persons, in our case by a
living, existing Amida Buddha, not by material objects or fictional characters[1].
Thus, we must accept Amida as a living Buddha who can hear, see and save us by
taking us to His Pure Land after death.
Honen Shonin said:
"Amida
Buddha fulfilled the forty-eight vows and established the Pure Land. He always
listens to a person who utters His name".[2]
„Amida
Buddha never fails to hear you, regardless of time and circumstances”.[3]
He also said:
"When sentient beings constantly and reverently prostrate themselves before Amida Buddha with their body, Amida Buddha will see them. When they arouse themselves to practice and to always recite with their lips the name of Amida Buddha, Amida Buddha will hear them. When they constantly think of Amida Buddha in their hearts, Amida Buddha will think of them. In these three kinds of karmic acts, Amida Buddha and sentient beings are not separate from each other. Hence, they are called intimate karmic relations.
Therefore, if you hold a rosary, Amida Buddha will see it. If you think in your
mind to recite the nembutsu, Amida Buddha will, in His mind, think of you."[4]
Amida Buddha is always in front of us, seeing
us, hearing us. This is NOT a metaphor, but the truth. Amida Buddha is in three
places in the same time: 1) in His ultimate Dharmakaya beyond form, 2) in His
Pure Land in Sambhogakaya form, and 3) in an infinite number of transformed
bodies (Nirmanakayas) all over the universe[5].
Thus, He is also there, in our room, in the bus or subway we take to work, in
our temple or dojo. Everywhere we go, Amida Buddha is accompanying us. Even if we don't actually see Amida Buddha's
manifestations with our unenlightened eyes (although visions can happen), it
does not mean Amida is not there with us, embracing us with His Light.
Shakyamuni Buddha said in the Contemplation Sutra:
“Amitayus,
exercising supernatural powers at will, can freely manifest His various
forms in the lands of the ten directions"[6]
“Buddha
Amitayus possesses eighty-four thousand physical characteristics, each having
eighty-four thousand secondary marks of excellence. Each secondary mark emits
eighty-four thousand rays of light; each
ray of light shines universally upon the lands of the ten directions, embracing
and not forsaking those who are mindful of the Buddha..”[7]
Also, His Pure Land is a real, enlightened place where we'll actually be reborn after the death of this physical body.
Amida Buddha wishes to save us all, but He doesn’t take us to His Pure Land by
force, so if we do not wish to go there or we do not accept the existence of
that enlightened realm or the existence of Amida, then we’ll not go there.
Nobody can go to a place which he thinks it doesn’t exist and can’t be saved by
someone whom he considers being an imaginary person. We must reflect on this
and accept the existence of Amida Buddha and of His Pure Land.
[1] Read the chapters, "Those who deny the existence of Amida don't
have shinjin" from Jodo Shinshu
Buddhist Teachings, by Josho Adrian Cirlea, Dharma Lion Publications, Craiova, 2012, p 186
and "The karmic consequence of denying the
trancendent reality of Amida Buddha and His Pure Land" from The
True Teaching on Amida Buddha and His Pure Land, by Josho Adrian Cirlea, Dharma Lion
Publications, Craiova, 2015, p. 109
[2] Words
to a Believer (Aruhito-ni Shimesu-kotoba),
http://www.jsri.jp/English/Honen/TEACHINGS/zendo.html
[3] Honen
Shonin, Dialogue on One Hundred
Forty-Five Topics, The Promise of Amida Buddha - Honen's Path to Bliss; English translation of the Genko edition of the works of Honen Shonin
- Collected Teachings of Kurodani Shonin:
The Japanese Anthology (Wago Toroku), translated by Joji Atone and Yoko
Hayashi, Wisdom Publications, Boston, 2011, p.295
[4] The Demeanor for Birth in the
Pure Land (Ojojodoyojin), http://www.jsri.jp/English/Honen/TEACHINGS/zendo.html
[5] Read the chapter “The
doctrine of the Three Buddha-Bodies and Two Buddha-Bodies in relation with
Amida Buddha and His Pure Land”, from The
True Teaching on Amida Buddha and His Pure Land, by Josho Adrian Cirlea,
Dharma Lion Publications, Craiova, 2015, p. 88
[6] 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.91
[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.
87
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