"Ajari[1]
Koen, the abbot of the Kudokuin Temple, and one of Honen’s teachers hailing
from the province of Higo, was a noted scholar who was learned in the doctrines
of both the esoteric and exoteric sects, and himself a disciple of Hokkyo
Kokaku of Sugyu on Mount Hiei. One day as he was reflecting seriously upon
life, and considering the limitations of his own powers, he thought that it
would be no easy thing for him to get free from the fated round of life and
death, and that every time he would change his state of existence, he would, as
the doctrine goes, forget what had happened to him in the one before, and so,
he thought, he would probably in the next life forget what he had now learned
about the Teaching of the Buddhas. ‘I have’, he said, ‘indeed been born a man,
but I am so unfortunate as to have come into the world in the period between
the appearance of the two Buddhas, and so I see nothing for it but that I must
go through transmigration after transmigration. But in order to be able to meet
the Merciful One (Maitreya) when He finally appears in the world, I should like
to have my body changed into that of some being that has long life. So there is
nothing better for me than to be born a serpent. I therefore vow that I shall
be born a great serpent (naga). Only there is one thing I am afraid of, and
that is the mighty gold-winged bird (Garuda)[2]
that lives on the serpents dwelling in the great sea. My wish therefore is to
live in a pond.’ So he made a bargain for a pond called Sakura-ga-ike[3]
in the village of Kasawara in the province of Totomi, receiving the deed of it
from its owner. When he came to die, he asked for some water which he put in
the palm of his hand and then passed away.
On a certain day
sometime afterwards, although there had been neither rain nor wind, the water
in the pond, to the astonishment of everybody, kept increasing in volume, till
there were such big waves that all the filth of the pond was washed away. When
this was told to the man who had previously owned it, he remembered that the
day the waters became so swollen was the very day on which the Ajari died. It
is said that to this very day, on a still night, you can hear the sound of a
sacred bell ringing at the bottom of the pond. Surely it is very remarkable
that such an event should happen in these latter days.
Honen on hearing this story, remarked, ‘He was indeed a wise man, and well knew the difficulty of getting release from the round of transmigration, and so with a truly religious mind, he longed to meet the All-Merciful One (Maitreya). But the wish he realized of being born such a loathsome creature as a serpent was entirely due to his ignorance of the principles of the Pure Land doctrine. If I had only known this myself before the Ajari died, I should certainly have told him, whether he believed me or not. The fact is that after a man has attained birth in the Land of Perfect Bliss, he is free to go at pleasure anywhere in any of the ten directions of the universe, and so he can meet any or all of the Buddhas he wishes, and offer his devotion to them. What need is there, then, for him to go on living so long in this corrupt world? What a pity then for the Ajari to be wasting his time living in a pond waiting for the coming of the great Buddha of the future (Maitreya)!’”[4]
Commentary:
As far as I understood, Ajari Koen made the aspiration to be reborn as a naga. According to the sacred texts, nagas are animals with miraculous powers who live in many places: in some realms of the gods or humans, bellow the four continents or in depths of waters (oceans, rivers, lakes, etc) where they have their own parallel reality, invisible to us, with cities, palaces and various manifestations. The nagas resemble a lot with the spirits and have miraculous powers but are included in the category of animals because of their body in the form of big hooded snakes like cobras, and also probably because of their powerful animal instincts[5]. To be reborn as such a creature has some advantages like living a long life and having the capacity to become invisible and shapeshift (the sacred texts often mention them to appear in human form, although they can take other forms, too) and disadvantages like being killed and eaten by garudas[6] who are their natural enemies.
Maitreya[7] is, as you know, the future Buddha that will take up the role and activity of Shakyamuni. Ajari Koen lamented that although he was born a human being he was living in a period between the two Buddhas, Shakyamuni and Maitreya. It is indeed beneficial to practice the Dharma under the personal guidance of a Buddha in physical form but this does not justify his later decision. Unfortunately, despite his devotion to the Dharma he did not have the karmic openness towards Amida Buddha, as I am sure Ajari Koen heard about the Pure Land teaching but perhaps he misunderstood it or dismissed it as being too easy to be true.
The
idea of transferring the merits of one’s practices and good deeds towards
rebirth in the era when Maitreya appears in our world is common to many
followers. Although there is nothing wrong with having devotion towards Him, it
is definitely useless and not practical to aspire to remain in samsara until His
appearance in our world, when we can simply entrust to Amida and join the stage of those assured of birth in the Pure Land. Some people will indeed be born at
that time due to various causes and conditions but that doesn’t mean that you,
the reader of these lines, should make that aspiration when Amida Buddha is
already available here and now.
If you are in a house on fire you should accept to be saved by the first fireman who comes at the scene and do not wait for the second. Similarly, one should accept Amida’s helping hand that takes him to liberation soon, rather than waiting for Maitreya who will come in a very distant future. Who knows what will happen to you until Maitreya comes? Even though your aspiration might be strong now you can always retrogress and lose whatever merits you think you accumulated and although you will be born during Maitreya’s time you might be an insect without the capacity to understand His Dharma. Many things can happen during the long time between your present life and Maitreya’s coming! Even if you are a long living snake (naga) your mind can become obscured and reach a point when you become uninterested in the Buddha Dharma, so Maitreya’s coming might catch you unprepared, or you can die from various illnesses. There is absolutely NO guarantee that one’s life or one’s many lives will be a straight line towards the era of Maitreya but there is a CERTAINTY that Amida Buddha will save you if you entrust to Him and say His Name during your present life. This is why Ajari Koen’s decision was plainly stupid.
Even if we are now between the periods of the two Buddhas (Shakyamuni and Maitreya), we also live in the never ending time of Amida who is constantly available in any era for those who wish to quickly escape birth and death.
Also, what do some practitioners think that Maitreya will teach? Actually, His main reason for the appearance in the world will be the same as that of Shakyamuni – to promote the Primal Vow of Amida. This happens with all Buddhas from countless universes as their main objective is to transmit the Amida Dharma. Already in the Larger Sutra we saw that Shakyamuni Buddha entrusted the teaching on Amida to Maitreya who was an active listener and interlocutor together with Ananda[8]:
“Now you have
encountered a Buddha, listened to His expositions of the Dharma, and been able
to learn about Amitayus (Amida). What pleasure and joy this is for you and me
to share!
I share the joy with you.”[9]
This means, I chose you (“you have encountered a Buddha”) for the transmission of this Dharma about Amida – “what pleasure and joy this is for you and me to share! I share the joy with you”.
Maitreya asked all the questions in the Larger Sutra for our sake (not because He did not know the answers) and He always received with devotion what Shakyamuni taught:
“Bodhisattva Maitreya prostrated himself on the ground and said, ‘Your majestic glory, O Buddha, is awe-inspiring, and your exposition is most pleasing to me. Having heard your teaching I feel deeply that people of the world are just as you have described”[10], that is, without any true capacity to liberate themselves from samsara through their own efforts.
“Your compassionate revelation of the Great Way has opened our eyes and ears, awakening us to liberation. Those who have heard your teachings are all filled with joy. Devas, humans, and lesser beings, including even those that crawl, have all been blessed by your compassionate guidance and have thereby attained deliverance from suffering and affliction”.[11]
He is also recorded as saying:
“Maitreya said to the Buddha, ‘Having received your considerate admonition, we will diligently practice the Way and follow your teaching. We will not allow any doubt to arise.’”[12]
So, as Maitreya himself accepted the teaching of Shakyamuni about Amida Buddha and because He will transmit the same message when He appears in this world, why not entrust ourselves to Amida here and now? Why not follow His teaching and fulfill His heart desire? Shinran Shonin said:
“Looking into the essence of the teachings of the Buddhas, we find that the true and fundamental intent for which all the Tathagatas, past, present, and future, appear in this world, is solely to teach the inconceivable Vow of Amida".[13]
Thus, the best way to express your devotion and affinity with Maitreya is to say the Nembutsu of faith in Amida and reach His Pure Land after death.
At the end of our fragment Honen was recorded as saying:
“After a man has attained birth in the Land of Perfect Bliss, he is free to go at pleasure anywhere in any of the ten directions of the universe, and so he can meet any or all of the Buddhas he wishes, and offer his devotion to them[14]”.
On what authoritative passages Honen Shonin relied when making such a statement? On some of the vows made by Amida Buddha himself and recorded by Shakyamuni in the Larger Sutra:
“If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in my land[15] who would make offerings to Buddhas through my divine power, should not be able to reach immeasurable and innumerable kotis of nayutas of Buddha-lands in as short a time as it takes to eat a meal, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.”[16] (23rd Vow)
The passage showing the fulfilment of the 23rd Vow is in section 28 of the Larger Sutra, where Shakyamuni said:
“By the Buddha’s power, Bodhisattvas of that land go to innumerable
worlds of the ten directions, in as short a time as it takes to eat a meal, in
order to pay homage and make offerings to the Buddhas and World-Honoured Ones.”[17]
The 24th Vow promises:
“If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in my land should not be able, as they wish, to perform meritorious acts of worshipping the Buddhas with the offerings of their choice, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.[18]
The passage showing the fulfilment of the 24th Vow is also in section 28 of the Larger Sutra where Shakyamuni said:
“If those Bodhisattvas so wish, countless and innumerable offerings,
such as flowers, incense, music, silken canopies, and banners, spontaneously
appear before them as soon as they are imagined. They are, accordingly, offered
to the assemblies of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Sravakas[19]”.[20]
So,
as you see from the above passages, there is absolutely no spiritual reason to remain
in samsara and wait for Maitreya’s coming:
“What need is there, then, for him to go on living so long in this corrupt world? What a pity then for the Ajari to be wasting his time living in a pond waiting for the coming of the great Buddha of the future (Maitreya)!’”
Unfortunately, those who do not listen to Shakyamuni’s teaching on Amida might also not listen to Maitreya’s teaching on Amida when He will come to this world, and will probably not listen 1000 or 2000 years after His passing, aspiring to be born when the next Buddha after Maitreya comes, then the next one, and so on ad infinitum until for such people samsara will have no end. Please do not be like them.
Namo
Amida Bu
*
photo: Woodblock print representing the meeting between Honen Shonin and the Naga of lake Sakura-ga-ike who was his former teacher, Ajari Koen. The author of this woodblock is Ogata Gekko (1859-1920). The woodblock is called “The Flowers of Japan: Sakura-ga-ike Lake” and was made in 1896. A copy of this print is in the British Museum collection, London. Source of the photo here.
[1] Ajari (阿闍梨) is a Japanese term that is used in various schools of Buddhism in Japan, specifically Tendai and Shingon, in reference to a senior monk who teaches students; often abbreviated to jari. The term is a Japanese rendering of the Chinese transliteration for the Sanskrit "âcârya," one who knows and teaches the rules. (Wikipedia)
[2] Garuda are the natural enemies of nagas.
[5] You can read more explanations about nagas in the section related with animals from my book The Four Profound Thoughts Which Turn the Mind Towards Amida Dharma.
[7] Miroku in Japanese.
[9]The Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study and Translation from Chinese by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.52
[10]The Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study and Translation from Chinese by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.51
[15] The term Bodhisattvas in my land refer to Enlightened Bodhisattvas. I argued in the chapter dedicated to section 2 of my Commentary on the Sutra on the Buddha of Infinite Life and on my explanations of the 22nd vow from the same book that enlightened Bodhisattvas are actually Buddhas who manifest as Bodhisattvas. Please read that carefully.
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