“Those who think that
it is only the Nembutsu of the pious and learned which can eventuate in Ojo (birth
in the Pure Land), and that there is no Ojo for the ignorant and unlettered and
those who go in sinning every day, even if they should say the Nembutsu, have
not yet grasped the fact that the Primal Vow includes both the good and the
bad.
It is impossible in
this life to change man’s nature, which he has inherited through the working of
his karma from a pre-existent state, just in the same way as it is impossible
for a woman in this life to be changed into a man, no matter how much she might
desire it. Those who call upon the sacred Name should do it with the nature
they now have, the wise man as a wise man, the fool as a fool, the pious as
pious, the irreligious as irreligious, and thus all equally may attain Ojo.
Whether a man is rich
and noble, or poor and mean, whether he is kind or unkind, avaricious or
morose, indeed no matter what he is, if he only repeats the Nembutsu in
dependence upon the mysterious power of the Primal Vow, his Ojo is certain. Amida’s
Primal Vow was made to take in all conceivable cases of people, whom He thus
engaged to save, if they would but practice the Nembutsu. Without inquiring at
all into the grade of their several capacities, but merely saying the Nembutsu
in their simple earnestness – this is all that is needed for anybody.
Bear in mind that
everyone who thinks the Nembutsu Ojo is too lofty or too profound to be grasped
has wholly mis-apprehended the very nature of the Primal Vow itself. Can it be
that unless I, Genku (Honen), attain the highest rank as Betto or Kengyo[1], I cannot obtain Ojo, or
that it would be quite beyond me if I remain merely what I was at my birth? Far
from it. The fact is that all I have learned in my studies through the years is
absolutely without avail in procuring me Ojo, and the one thing learning has
taught me is its utter powerlessness to bring me Ojo.”[2]
Commentary:
Buddha Dharma is not for Buddhas who are already Enlightened and free, but for those caught in illusion, blind passions and suffering. It is stupid to ask a Buddhist to behave like a Buddha, think like a Buddha or talk like a Buddha. Among all Dharma Gates, especially the Primal Vow of Amida takes us from where we are, not from where we should be. It starts from the present, whatever that present is for various people, and it does not impose on us any special conditions on which to enter the Pure Land.
Faith in Amida, the saying of Amida’s Name and the wish to be born in Amida’s Land are effective because of Amida. Just as it is very important to have the right connections to obtain various worldly benefits, knowing and trusting Amida is the only Path to His Pure Land. In daily life the more powerful our connections are, the more chances we have to be successful, while in matters related with our Ojo, there is no better connection than the creator of the Land of Bliss – Amida Buddha himself. Thus, it is due to Amida that our Nembutsu recitation is effective in bringing us to Ojo. Because Amida put all His infinite merits, virtues and power in His Name, we enter the stage of non-retrogression for birth into His land in the exact moment we say the first Nembutsu of faith. I always chose my words carefully which is why I use the expression “Nembutsu of faith” as I want to make people aware that this is not the Nembutsu dependent on some special capacities that the reciter develops within oneself, but the Nembutsu of Amida centered Power. The disciple of the Primal Vow is focused on Amida and relies on Amida, not on his so-called good or bad qualities. This is why it does not matter who is the one saying the Nembutsu as long as he says it and entrusts to Amida.
Honen made reference in the above answer to Zenshobo to something that Shinran also explained in the thirteenth chapter of Tannisho – the influence of habitual karma from the past. Someone who says, “I can attain Buddhahood in this lifetime because my true nature is Buddha nature” “fails to understand the influence of good and evil karma of past lives” and “that every evil act done - even as slight as a particle on the tip of a strand of rabbit’s fur or sheep’s wool - has its cause in past karma.”[3] In the same way as someone who abused drugs for many years thinks that he can give up immediately to his dependency, and after a few tries he ends up taking a super dose, also “a person may not wish to harm anyone and yet end up killing a hundred or a thousand people”[4]. This is the heavy influence of karma from past lives and it is exactly why we need Amida’s helping hand. The salvation promised in His Primal Vow does not depend on our own will which is weakened by our bad karma from past lives, but on Amida’s Power of curing our illnesses and transforming us into Buddhas: “it is by the inconceivable working of the Vow (or “the mysterious power of the Primal Vow”, as Honen said) that we are saved”[5].
If you were born a woman, don’t try to become a man, and if you were born a man, don’t try to become a woman, as some deluded people do nowadays. Men and women are equally saved by Amida and they both will become splendid Buddhas in His Pure Land, going forever beyond manhood and womanhood. If you are a grave sinner don’t think you are excluded, and if you believe you have some kind of wisdom or goodness within you, don’t think that is the same with the supramundane wisdom and merits of Amida, but entrust to Him like and evil and stupid person because when compared with a Buddha we are all sinners and ignorant.
What does pious or irreligious mean in the above passage? The pious is, for example, the one who attends many services at home or in the temple, goes into pilgrimages, etc, while the irreligious is the one who does not have a strict religious schedule and discipline. Both are saved as long as they say the Nembutsu of faith.
Although the Power invested in the Primal Vow and in Amida’s Name is impossible to understand with our limited unenlightened minds, we can easily grasp the meaning of Amida’s requirements for us: “entrust to me, say my Name and wish to be born in my land”. Both the wise and the idiots can understand these this, especially if they are not obstructed by false teachers who complicate things. Also, Namo Amida Bu means “I take refuge in Amida Buddha/Homage to Amida Buddha” which is also extremely simple to understand and pronounce. One can even choose from among the various Nembutsu formulas like Namo Amitabha, Namo Amituofo, Namo Adidaphat, Namo Amida Bu (tsu), etc, or even say it in one’s own language.
All learning and scholarship is equal to zero in matters related with birth in the Pure Land (Ojo) which is obtained with a simple faith in Amida. Honen expressed this so well at the end of his answer:
“All I have learned in my studies through the years is absolutely without avail in procuring me Ojo, and the one thing learning has taught me is its utter powerlessness to bring me Ojo”,
His words made me remember Master Rennyo who also said that
knowledge is useless for one who didn’t solve the matter of his after life
through faith in Amida:
[1] I think these might be scholarly
ranks.
[2] Honen the Buddhist Saint - His Life
and Teachings, volume V, compiled by imperial order, translation by Rev Ryugaku
Ishizuka and Rev Harper Havelock Coates, The Society for the Publication of
Sacred Books of the World, Kyoto, 1949, p. 733-734
[3] Shinran Shonin, The Collected Works of Shinran,
Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.670
[4] Shinran Shonin, The Collected Works of Shinran,
Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.671
[5] Shinran Shonin, The Collected Works of Shinran,
Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.671
[6] Rennyo Shonin
Ofumi: The Letters of Rennyo, translated from the Japanese (Taisho, Volume 74,
Number 2668) by Ann T. Rogers and Minor L. Rogers, Numata Center for
Buddhist Translation and Research, Berkeley, California, 1996, p.107
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