Do not despise other Buddhas, Dharma Gates and Buddhist teachings because you have faith in Amida

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Selected passages from Honen Shonin

with commentary

Honen Shonin said:

"Just because one relies solely upon Amida Buddha and believes only in Nembutsu, do not make light of the compassionate vows of various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, or think ill of and slander wondrous sutras such as the Lotus Sutra or the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. The karma of defaming myriad Buddhas and of doubting and slandering many holy teachings is not in harmony with the heart of Amida Buddha. Such actions would certainly exclude one from His compassionate Vow even if one recites Nembutsu”.[1]

Commentary:

This excellent teaching of Honen Shonin is fundamental to our Amidaji school.

To believe in the existence of Amida while denying the existence of other Buddhas or to accept the Larger Sutra on Amida while denigrating other Mahayana sutras is a karmic and logical impossibility. One who denies the existence of other Buddhas cannot have the good karma of becoming open to the Primal Vow of Amida. He also cannot be guided by other Buddhas and Enlightened Bodhisattvas towards Amida.

More than this, to denigrate other Buddhas and their vows and methods or other sutras can be considered an act of slandering the right Dharma which leads to self-exclusion from the Primal Vow. This is logical because if one denies the existence of other Buddhas how can he accept the existence of Amida? Or if he slanders their sutras and methods of salvation, how can he take as real and effective Amida’s method or the sutra about Amida? For example, if one does not believe in the existence of human beings, how can he believe in your existence, the reader of these lines? It is the same with the Buddhas and their methods. If one does not believe in the existence of transcendent Buddhas and Enlightened Bodhisattvas, how can he believe in Amida, or if one denies the authenticity of Mahayana sutras, how can he accept the Larger Sutra which is itself part of the Mahayana canon? Please remember the explanations of Master T’an-luan of the characteristics of slandering the right Dharma: “Saying there is no Buddha, no Buddha-Dharma”– that is, to deny the existence of any Buddha, not only Amida, and to deny the various methods of the Buddha Dharma, not only Amida Dharma.

Shinran Shonin also said: “If one speaks slightingly of the Buddhas, then one is surely a person who does not entrust oneself to the Nembutsu and who does not say Amida's Name”[2].

One who slanders other Buddhas, Enlightened Bodhisattvas and Dharma Gates automatically self excludes himself from the salvation of Amida Buddha and has no place in our Amidaji sangha.

All Buddhas and Enlightened Bodhisattvas have been our spiritual parents and guides since the beginningless time, helping us in many ways to come closer and closer to Amida’s Primal Vow, so as I said, it is a karmic impossibility for one who has faith in Amida to slander them and deny their existence:

"Sakyamuni and all the other Buddhas
Are truly our compassionate father and mother.
With various compassionate means they lead us to awaken
Supreme shinjin (faith in Amida) that is true and real."[3]

Also, a person of faith does not pick and choose what he likes from the Buddha Dharma and denies what it doesn’t fit with the worldly ideologies of his time. A true follower of Amida accepts in faith even those teachings of Shakyamuni that he cannot follow due to his blind passions and limitations. Thus, he will not deny the Buddhist moral precepts because he is not a moral person, especially when he knows that he is saved as he is by Amida Buddha, nor he will deny rebirth and life after death because atheism and materialism is a popular trend of his time. He acknowledges his limitations and does not criticize what he does not yet understand but patiently waits for the moment when he will know everything as a Buddha in the Pure Land of Amida.

The disciple of Amida and all Buddhas is relaxed with the Dharma and finds no conflict between one’s mind and the Buddha’s teaching. He knows that if Shakyamuni was right when He taught about Amida Buddha, then He was not mistaken whenever He shared other teachings. Unfortunately, there are so many nowadays in the Western world, even among those who wear the robes and kesa of the Nembutsu faith, who are always at war with the Dharma, constantly trying to change it or adapt it to their limited unenlightened views. It is a pity that their karma for birth in human world is spent in vain as what they actually do is “doubting and slandering many holy teachings” and are “not in harmony with the heart of Amida Buddha”.

[1] Honen Shonin, Instruction in seven articles, 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.136-137

Here is the oldest version (from 1925 and 1949) of the same text that I found in the book Honen the Buddhist Saint - His Life and Teachings:

Honen Shonin, Instruction in seven articles, 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.136-137

[2]Shinran Shonin, A Collection of Letters, Letter 4, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.563

[3] 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