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Saturday, June 11, 2022

There is no need to wait for the coming of Maitreya when Amida’s Primal Vow is available here and now - the strange story of Ajari Koen, former teacher of Honen Shonin

"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.
[3] Sakura-ga-ike at Kasahara – a small pond situated at a spot SE of Ike-shinden, Ogasa county, Totomi, about 13 English miles S of Horinouchi on the Tokaido railway. This pond is surrounded by mountains on three sides – north, east and west. On the northern side stands the Ike shrine, which is dedicated to the god of the pond. A curious festival is held in the autumn equinox every year, in which many rice-tubs full of sekihan (rice boiled with red beans) are carried by good swimmers to the center of the pond, and pushed down into the water, so as to be accepted by the god as offerings made to him. The county of Kasahara in Honen’s day is said to have been the domain of Tadamasa Kwazan-in. It is said that Honen visited the pond for the rescue of his teacher Koen, who died in 1169, six years before Honen founded the new way of salvation. Koen is believed to have turned into a serpent and is still living in this pond. The Osho-kyo-in temple at Nakauchida in commemoration of Honen’s visit, transferred its allegiance from the Tendai to the Jodo sect. (Footnote to the text at page 546.)
[4] Honen the Buddhist Saint - His Life and Teachings, volume III, 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. 535-536
[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.
[6] Garudas, the second type of animals with miraculous powers, are very big birds with incredible strength, being capable to pull banyan trees from their roots (Jataka, 412, 543) or create a powerful wind with the flapping of their wings (Jataka, 518) through which they separate the waters of the ocean and find nagas dwelling places (Jataka, 412) or to cause a storm which can destroy human houses and plunge a whole town into total darkness (Jataka, 360).
Also, because of their supranatural powers, garudas can shapeshift, often taking human form. You can read more explanations about garudas in the section related with animals from my book The Four Profound Thoughts Which Turn the Mind Towards Amida Dharma.
[7] Miroku in Japanese.
[8] Read my book Commentary on the Sutra on the Buddha of Infinite Life (Larger Sutra), pages 455-458 and all other references to Maitreya from that sutra.
[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
[11]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
[12]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.53
[13] The Collected Works of Shinran, Passages on the Pure Land Way, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.317
[14] Just like in our world pupils who became themselves teachers often visit their former teachers to show their respect and gratitude, after we attain Buddhahood in the Pure Land we will also visit our former teacher Buddhas and can even assist them in their activity to save sentient beings in their respective universes.
[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.
[16]The Three Pure Land sutras, translated into English by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, revised second edition, BDK English Tripitaka12-II, II, IV, Numata Center for Buddhist translation and Research, 2003, p.17
[17]The Three Pure Land sutras, translated into English by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, revised second edition, BDK English Tripitaka12-II, II, IV, Numata Center for Buddhist translation and Research, 2003, p.42
[18]The Three Pure Land sutras, translated into English by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, revised second edition, BDK English Tripitaka12-II, II, IV, Numata Center for Buddhist translation and Research, 2003, p.17
[19] They are offered to Buddhas ruling those lands and to their Enlightened Assembly of Bodhisattvas and Sravakas (disciples).
[20]The Three Pure Land sutras, translated into English by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, revised second edition, BDK English Tripitaka12-II, II, IV, Numata Center for Buddhist translation and Research, 2003, p.42

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