My answer: I know that some
link Ohigan with the six paramitas (perfections). This is not good because we
are not a self-power school.
The
word “Ohigan” means “the other shore”. We also celebrate Ohigan at Amidaji but
the meaning we attach to it is to remember the importance of birth in the Pure
Land. This is what “going to the other shore” means.
The six paramitas were taught in the context of
self-power practices so we can simply ignore this term. However, if we wish to
use it then we must reinterpret it in the context of Other Power faith.
On the path of self-power a bodhisattva in aspiration aims by his practice to develop the six perfections (paramitas), also called “the six types of practices by means of which a bodhisattva attains Buddhahood”. These perfections (paramitas) are:
1.Charity and generosity
(dana) 2. discipline and proper behaviour (sila) 3. perseverance (ksanti) 4.
diligence 5. meditation (dhyana) and 6. higher wisdom (prajna).
If you read (reinterpret)
the six paramitas with the eyes of faith in Amida Buddha you realize that a person
of shinjin (faith) naturaly has the six
paramitas of Amida centered Power. This is an expression that I myself
invented, but what I am about to say now is not wrong from the perspective of the
Jodo Shinshu Buddhist teaching.
One who entrusts to Amida Buddha is naturally inclined
to be generous in sharing the Amida Dharma with other people. Even when he is
not actively participating in missionary activities he or she is a living
example of faith which can influence others and help them create karmic
connections with Amida. This is the first
paramita of Amida centered Power – charity/generosity (dana)
One
who entrusts to Amida Buddha is naturally observing the eight precepts of faith as taught at Amidaji. He never denies or encourages others to deny the
existence of Amida Buddha and His Pure Land, nor the authenticity of the Larger Sutra. He knows the importance of
the wish to be born in the Pure Land for the attainment of Enlightenment and
encourages all beings to have this aspiration. He always considers himself to
be a person of karmic limitations and knows that the only way of salvation from
Samsara is through Amida’s Power. He never doubts or causes others to doubt the
Primal Vow and birth in the Pure Land. He never denies or encourages others to
deny that birth in the Pure Land takes place after death. He never abandons the
Nembutsu nor encourages others to abandon it. He never mixes nor encourage
others to mix Nembutsu and devotion towards Amida Buddha with other faiths and
practices from inside or outside of the Buddha Dharma. This is the second paramita of Amida centered Power - discipline and proper behaviour (sila).
On the path of self-power a bodhisattva in aspiration aims by his practice to develop the six perfections (paramitas), also called “the six types of practices by means of which a bodhisattva attains Buddhahood”. These perfections (paramitas) are:
One who entrusts to Amida Buddha has natural perseverance in the sense that he will never be interrupted in his faith[1]. He is also diligent in the sense that he will naturally think to Amida Buddha and say His Name in faith. Of course, being an ordinary person of great karmic limitations he cannot think to Amida every second of his life but he will never forget Amida. No matter how much he is caught in everyday activities he always knows that he is saved and assured of birth in the Pure Land after death. Even if he is a lazy person or a busy person he will still think to Amida Buddha and say His Name. This are the 3rd (perseverance) and 4th (diligence) paramitas of Amida centered-Power.
This is the 5th paramita of Amida centered-Power (meditation).
1) to know that we are people of deep karmic limitations, incapable of attaining Buddhahood through our own power;
2) to know that only Amida Buddha can save us through His Vow Power (Other Power), without asking anything from us.
[1] Faith (shinjin) once received can never be lost.
[2] “Abandon the defiled and aspire for the pure” means to decide to put an end to samsaric existence by aspiring for birth in the Pure Land.
[3] Passages on the Pure Land Way - The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.295
[4] Shinran quotes Master Ch’ing-wen in Kyogyoshinsho, chapter II. Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 51
[5] Notes on the Inscription of Sacred Scrolls - The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.506
[6] Lamp for the Latter-Ages, letter 14 - The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.544
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