Worldly benefits and otherworldly benefits of Nembutsu

Question:  According to what I have read in some teaching of the Chinese Pure Land school, they say that it is incorrect to say that Nembutsu does not bring benefits to this life, like for example, longevity and other physical and worldly benefits which is in contradiction to Shinran’s thought.  I for my part contemplate the ten benefits which have nothing to do with my longevity or other worldly benefits that I know I do not have and I'm not very interested in them either.  Why do these schools wish for more benefits as if going to the Land of Amida is not enough?

My answer: If one does not have aspiration for birth in the Pure Land then he does not meet the requirements of the Primal Vow: “entrust yourself to me, say my Name and wish to be born in my land”. It is very clear that according to the Primal Vow we must say the Nembutsu with faith in Amida Buddha and aspiration for birth in His Land. Amida did not say that we should say the Nembutsu while wishing to get worldly benefits and long life. However, due to a combination of personal karma and Amida’s help we might indeed receive more benefits than the usual ten, including long life, although this is not why Amida manifested His Name and instructed us to say it as an expression of faith. Honen Shonin said:

„The burden of one’s karma is lessened by the compassionate power of Buddha Amida for those who are faithful in Nembutsu. This is called a ‘burden is lessened’. [..] Whatever illness befalls the Nembutsu devotee, that misfortune is the result of residual karma. He should think that although he was supposed to receive a heavy burden, the compassionate power of Buddha Amida lessened the burden. Buddha Amida eliminates our burden of evil karma and enables us to attain birth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, the great religious goal. There is no reason not to believe that Buddha Amida can prolong our short life and lessen our illness in daily life.”

So, we do not deny that many other benefits like escape from an illness, longevity and so on, may also arise in the life of a practitioner to help him on his Path or to assist him in doing Dharma activities. If you are engaged in Dharma activities then health, long life and some good material circumstances could be useful and you might be helped by Amida, other Buddhas and worldly protectors to get such things if your karma is also capable to provide some fuel for this. However, we should not expect this to be a thing that must happen to anybody and we should better have the attitude of Daigan[1] who said that being assured of birth in the Pure Land is enough for him. Sometimes a life of sickness and poverty might be beneficial in understanding the impermanence of this life, awake true aspiration and be an example of faith to others. So, you never know. 

In conclusion, we should simply entrust to Amida Buddha, say His Name and help others receive the same faith. We must never say Nembutsu for the sake of long life and worldly benefits. No matter we live long and have good circumstances or we meet with sickness, poverty and death, we should be grateful to Amida Buddha that this is our last life as samsaric beings. The otherworldly benefits of the Pure Land are infinitely more important than any worldly benefit.

The 3^rd element of faith as defined in our Amidaji branch is to wish to be born in the Pure Land for the attainment of perfect Enlightenment/Buddhahood. We have no other goal than to attain birth in the Pure Land and become Buddhas. We don’t aim at creating a paradise on this earth for us and others because we know it’s impossible.  As Shinran said in Tannisho, what he learned from His Master Honen was “just say the Nembutsu of faith and be saved by Amida”. Be saved means to be taken to the Pure Land, not living endlessly in samsara.

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[1] Daigan Alejandro Macia, member of Amidaji from Uruguay. He is the one who asked this question during a Sangha meeting.