If
the 1st benefit described the protection of various powerful unenlightened
beings (worldly protectors), the 4th speaks about the protection of all Buddhas
(enlightened protectors), and the 6th refers to the special protection of
Amida Buddha himself. I
decided to explain the 4th and 6th benefit together because they are
interrelated.
The
4th and 6th benefits include but are not limited to, protection against various
influences from external evil forces, sorcery, black magic, evil spirits, etc.
„That
the Buddhas protect persons of shinjin is truly beyond doubt”.[1]
"The
Nirvana Sutra states:
The
Buddha said to Bodhisattva Kasyapa, 'If there are sons or daughters of good
families[2]
who always sincerely perform the exclusive practice of the Nembutsu, whether
they dwell
in
mountain forests or in villages, whether they practice it in the daytime or at
night, and whether they do so while sitting or lying down, Buddhas and World-honored Ones always
watch over them just as if they were before their eyes,
and are ready to accept their offerings and endow merits to them.'”[3]
"When
you singlemindedly recite Amida’s Name, Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta
will always follow you and protect you, just as shadows follow objects. They
are like your close friends and teachers".[4]
„When we
say 'Namo Amida Butsu',
Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta,
Together with Bodhisattvas countless as the Ganges' sands or as particles,
Accompany us just as shadows do things.
Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta,
Together with Bodhisattvas countless as the Ganges' sands or as particles,
Accompany us just as shadows do things.
Countless
Amida Buddhas reside
In the Light of the Buddha of Unhindered Light;
Each one of these transformed Buddhas protects
The person of true and real shinjin
In the Light of the Buddha of Unhindered Light;
Each one of these transformed Buddhas protects
The person of true and real shinjin
When we say 'Namo Amida Butsu',
The countless Buddhas throughout the ten quarters,
Surrounding us a hundredfold, a thousandfold,
Rejoice in and protect us."[5]
„Shakyamuni,
Amida, and the Buddhas of the ten quarters, all with the same mind, are no more
apart from sentient beings of the nembutsu than shadows from things.”[6]
"'When
I [Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta]was in the causal stage,
I realized insight into the nonorigination of all existence
By coming to possess the mind of nembutsu;
Hence now, in this world of Saha,
I embrace persons of the nembutsu
And bring them into the Pure Land.'”[7]
I realized insight into the nonorigination of all existence
By coming to possess the mind of nembutsu;
Hence now, in this world of Saha,
I embrace persons of the nembutsu
And bring them into the Pure Land.'”[7]
"Amida
and a vast and numberless saintly host, consisting of innumerable
manifestation-bodies of Buddhas, of Avalokitesvara, and of Mahasthamaprapta,
appear in person to be alongside and always protect those who have realized
true and real shinjin, at all times and in all places".[8]
„Since
persons of true shinjin are guarded in this world, the Smaller Sutra of
Immeasurable Life speaks of 'the protection of the countless Buddhas in the ten
quarters'. This does not mean that they guard such persons after birth into the
Pure Land of peace, but rather that they watch over them with protecting
thoughts while such persons are still in this Saha world."[9]
Shinran Shonin quoted Master Shan-tao in his Notes on Once-calling and Many-calling:
"'There
are sentient beings who solely think on Amida Buddha; only these people are constantly illumined by the Light of
that Buddha's heart, grasped and protected, never to be abandoned. It is
not at all stated that any practicers of various other acts are illumined and
embraced. This is being protected in the present life, a manifestation of the
decisive cause of birth in the Pure Land'.[10]
Then he explained some words of the passage as
follows:
"'There are sentient beings who solely think
on Amida Buddha': signifies entrusting oneself with wholeness of heart to
Amida Buddha.
'These people are constantly illumined': 'constantly' means ever, without pause.
'Without pause': the person of true and real shinjin (faith) is ever illumined and protected, at all times and places. Since he or she is constantly protected without pause by the heart of Amida, this Buddha is called the Buddha of Unceasing Light.
'Protected' means that the Buddha protects the person of shinjin without pause - in all places, at all times, and without discrimination among people. 'Protected' means that one cannot be deterred by those who have taken up other teachings and beliefs, nor obstructed by those of different understandings and practices; one is not threatened by the heavenly demon Papiyas, nor troubled by evil gods and demons.”[11]
'These people are constantly illumined': 'constantly' means ever, without pause.
'Without pause': the person of true and real shinjin (faith) is ever illumined and protected, at all times and places. Since he or she is constantly protected without pause by the heart of Amida, this Buddha is called the Buddha of Unceasing Light.
'Protected' means that the Buddha protects the person of shinjin without pause - in all places, at all times, and without discrimination among people. 'Protected' means that one cannot be deterred by those who have taken up other teachings and beliefs, nor obstructed by those of different understandings and practices; one is not threatened by the heavenly demon Papiyas, nor troubled by evil gods and demons.”[11]
As we have seen in
the last passage mentioned above, protection of Amida’s Light can also be
understood in the sense that shinjin (faith) can’t be lost once we receive it
from Amida. This is why it is said:
„'Protected' means that one cannot be
deterred by those who have taken up other teachings and beliefs, nor obstructed
by those of different understandings and practices”.
In chapter seven of
Tannisho it is also said:
"To
practicers who have realized shinjin, nonbuddhists present no obstruction."[12]
There were some
non-Buddhists in my life who tried to convince me that I will go to hell
because of not following their religion. Of course, such attempts to frighten
me failed not because I posses some special powers, but because my faith (shinjin)
is not an intelectual creation which sometimes I have and at other times I
don’t.
It is not by
accident that in Jodo Shinshu we have the expression “diamond-like shinjin”.
That which gives power to our faith is its origin – the Mind and Heart of Amida Buddha[13].
We are stable and constant in our faith due to Amida’s influence on us, His
protection and the protection of all Buddhas. Amida’s Power is always working
inside our minds and keeps us on the right Path to His Pure Land. A person who
has genuine faith in Amida will never fall back to nonbuddhist paths, never embrace
wrong views or doubt Amida’s salvation. On the contrary, he will, due to
Amida’s protection and the protection of all Buddhas, be constant in his
profound understanding that self-power is useless in attaining supreme
Enlightenment, and so he will never waver from true and real faith (shinjin) in
Amida which is so rare to meet in our decadent age:
"Through
the words of the witness and protection
Of the countless Buddhas throughout the ten quarters,
We should realize that the mind of self-power aspiring for supreme Enlightenment
Is incapable of reaching fulfillment.
Realization of true and real shinjin
Is rare in the defiled world of the last Dharma-age;
The witness of Buddhas countless as the sands of the Ganges
Reveals how difficult it is to attain[14]".[15]
Of the countless Buddhas throughout the ten quarters,
We should realize that the mind of self-power aspiring for supreme Enlightenment
Is incapable of reaching fulfillment.
Realization of true and real shinjin
Is rare in the defiled world of the last Dharma-age;
The witness of Buddhas countless as the sands of the Ganges
Reveals how difficult it is to attain[14]".[15]
All Buddhas give
witness to and praise the wonderful salvation work of Amida. Thus, they act
like compassionate parents who only wish the best for their children, carrying
for us, nurturing us, leading us to faith (shinjin) in Amida, and being sure
that we do not deviate from it:
"Sakyamuni
and all the other Buddhas
Are truly our compassionate father and mother.
With various compassionate means they lead us to awaken
Supreme shinjin that is true and real."[16]
Are truly our compassionate father and mother.
With various compassionate means they lead us to awaken
Supreme shinjin that is true and real."[16]
„Shinjin
is bestowed through the compassionate means of Sakyamuni, Amida, and all the
Buddhas in the ten quarters”.[17]
As all Buddhas are
involved in the process of our entrusting to Amida, it’s logical that they will
never leave us after we actually entrust to Amida Buddha.
If „the true and fundamental intent for which
all the Buddhas, past, present, and future, appear in this world, is solely to
teach the inconceivable Vow of Amida"[18], then there is no reason to doubt that
these Enlightened Ones will always protect the people who are in accord with
Amida’s Primal Vow (Amida Dharma):
„The
Buddhas of the ten quarters, countless as the sands of the Ganges,
Teach this Dharma (Amida Dharm/the Primal Vow) that is most difficult to accept;
For the sake of the evil world of the five defilements,
They bear witness to the teaching and protect beings who take refuge in it.”[19]
Teach this Dharma (Amida Dharm/the Primal Vow) that is most difficult to accept;
For the sake of the evil world of the five defilements,
They bear witness to the teaching and protect beings who take refuge in it.”[19]
Coming back to Shinran’s explanation of the passage
quoted previously from Master Shan-tao, we read:
„'Never to be abandoned': these words teach us that the person of shinjin is embraced and protected by the heart of the Buddha of Wisdom-Light and that he or she is never abandoned, but always resides within that heart of light.
'It is not stated at all that any practicers of various other acts are illumined and embraced': 'various other acts' signifies all the various kinds of good acts. Thus, it is not the case that any who perform sundry practices and incline toward different forms of discipline are illumined and embraced; they are not protected. This sentence urges us to realize that such people do not receive the benefit of being grasped by Amida, for they are not practicers of the Primal Vow. It means that they are not protected in the present life.
'This is being protected in the present life' means that Amida protects us in this world. This karmic power of the Buddha, fulfilled through the Primal Vow, is the strong cause of the attainment of Birth by the person of shinjin; hence it is called the decisive cause".[20]
„'Never to be abandoned': these words teach us that the person of shinjin is embraced and protected by the heart of the Buddha of Wisdom-Light and that he or she is never abandoned, but always resides within that heart of light.
'It is not stated at all that any practicers of various other acts are illumined and embraced': 'various other acts' signifies all the various kinds of good acts. Thus, it is not the case that any who perform sundry practices and incline toward different forms of discipline are illumined and embraced; they are not protected. This sentence urges us to realize that such people do not receive the benefit of being grasped by Amida, for they are not practicers of the Primal Vow. It means that they are not protected in the present life.
'This is being protected in the present life' means that Amida protects us in this world. This karmic power of the Buddha, fulfilled through the Primal Vow, is the strong cause of the attainment of Birth by the person of shinjin; hence it is called the decisive cause".[20]
Honen Shonin also said in relation with this:
" The
merit of protection by Amida Buddha is received in daily life. This is because
one who has genuine belief in birth in the Pure Land holds no doubt. Amida
Buddha casts eighty-four thousand rays of His Light of compassion upon one who
is resolute in the attainment of this goal. Amida Buddha shines this Light
continually on the nembutsu practitioner in daily life and up to the final
moment of that person's life. For this reason, it is called the 'Vow by which
Amida Buddha never abandons the nembutsu devotee."[21]
Amida's Light represents the working and the
wish of Amida Buddha to save (lead to Buddhahood) all sentient beings
drowned in delusion. The manifestation of this work and wish is His Primal Vow. Amida’s Light is a permanent presence upon
beings everywhere, opened or not opened to it. Through His Light Amida tries permanently
to influence beings and make them accept His salvation contained in the Primal
Vow. It is like an immense magnet attracting all beings to Him. Some become
opened to it sooner while others will do so in the future, but Amida will
continue sending it until all samsaric realms become empty and all beings
attain Buddhahood. However, if one is not yet opened to Amida’s Light (His
Primal Vow) one cannot benefit from the blessings and protection this Light
gives during the present life. This is why Shinran said, „such people do not receive the benefit of being grasped by Amida, for
they are not practicers of the Primal Vow”. The path of birth in the Pure
Land is stated clearly by Amida in His Primal Vow: „entrust yourself to me, say
my Name and wish to be born in my land”. If
people do other practices than the above three recquirements, that is, if they are
‚practicers of various other acts” or
if they „perform sundry practices and
incline toward different forms of discipline” (other Buddhist or non-Buddhist
methods) if they rely on their self power to attain birth in the Pure Land or
if they have the goal of attaining Buddhahood in the present life, etc, then they
do not benefit from the protection of Amida’s Light. This is not because Amida
is angry at them for not following His Primal Vow, but because they refuse to
make the karmic connection with Him that will make them being born in His Land.
By closing their minds to Amida’s method of salvation, they cannot benefit from
what Amida is offering to them. The path leading to birth in the fulfilled land
of the Pure Land is made up exclusively of : „entrust yourself to me (Amida),
say my Name and wish to be born in my land”. Anything else leads to various other
places or realisations, but not to the Pure Land, so its logical that they cannot
benefit from the protection and guidance of the Master of the Pure Land.
Here
it is a question and answer on the protection of all Buddhas and Amida in this
life which I think it might be useful to prevent possible misunderstandings:
Question:
“I still don’t
understand how a person is ‚protected’ by these various Buddhas
and by Amida if a person’s karma can’t be changed in the present life”.
Answer:
In the moment you
entrust to Amida Buddha your karma has its root cut off or sterilyzed, in the
sense that it cannot plant its seeds into another life – that is, you will no
longer be subject to birth and death. But in this life you continue to
experience the effects of your past actions from previous lives or of those
actions you commit until the moment of death. So, we should not make any
confusion and think that after we receive shinjin we should always be happy or
always experience happy circumstances.
Since, with
shinjin, we are protected from rebirth in the unenlightened states of
existence, no being (visible or invisible) can destroy our faith or divert us
from the Buddhist path, and the attainment of Buddhahood in the Pure Land is
guaranteed. These are some ways through which the benefits of being protected
and cared for by all the Buddhas and of being protected by the Light of Amida’s
heart manifest themselves.
[1] Shinran Shonin, Shoshinge, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism
Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.305
[2] The expression “sons and daughters
of good families” means males and females disciples of Buddha.
[3] Nirvana
Sutra, as quoted by Shinran in his Kyogyoshinsho,
chapter III, Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment,
translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and
Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 127-128
[4] Shinran Shonin quoted Master Shantao in Kyogyoshinsho, chapter III, Kyogyoshinsho
– On Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao
Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.
132
[5] Shinran Shonin, Hymns of the Pure Land (Jodo Wasan) - Hymns of the Benefits in the
Present, The Collected Works of
Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu
Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.352-355
[6] Shinran Shonin, Lamp for the
Latter-Ages, letter 2, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism
Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.526
[7] Shinran Shonin, Hymns of the Pure Land - Hymns to Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta, based
on the Sutra of the Samadhi of Heroic Advance,The Collected Works of Shinran,
Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.357
[8] Shinran Shonin, Notes on the Essentials of Faith Alone, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation
Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.453
[9] Shinran Shonin, Lamp for the Latter-Ages, letter 7, The Collected Works of
Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha,
Kyoto, 1997, p.532-533
[10] Shan-tao's Methods of Contemplation on Amida Buddha as quoted by Shinran
Shonin in his Notes on Once-calling and
Many-calling, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism
Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.478
[11] Shinran Shonin, Notes on
Once-calling and Many-calling, The
Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo
Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.479
[12] The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation
Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.665
[14] Because people tend to
dismiss the path of birth in the Pure Land through simple faith in Amida as
being too easy to be true, all Buddhas give testimony to it, thus attesting to
the effectiveness of this path its
utmost importance.
[15] Shinran Shonin, Hymns of the Dharma Ages (Shozomatsu Wasan, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation
Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.409-410
[16] Shinran Shonin, Hymn of the Two Gateways of Entrance and Emergence, The Collected Works of Shinran,
Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.629
[17] Shinran Shonin, Lamp for the
Latter-Ages, letter 2, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism
Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.527
[18] Shinran Shonin, Passages on the Pure Land Way, The
Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo
Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.260
[19] Shinran Shonin, Hymns of the Pure Land (Jodo Wasan), The Collected Works of
Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha,
Kyoto, 1997, p.347
[20] Shinran Shonin, Notes on Once-calling and Many-calling, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation
Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.478-480
[21] Honen Shonin, Essential Discourse on Birth in the Pure Land through Nembutsu, 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.126
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