"If you
think that birth in the Pure Land is possible through your own efforts, you
will become consumed with conceit that you are wise. When you possess this
heart of conceit, you will not be in accord with the Primal Vow, and you will
lose the protection of Amida Buddha as well as that of other Buddhas[1].
You are ultimately haunted by malevolent spirits. I here repeat - be vigilant
indeed against conceit."[2]
Commentary:
Amida Buddha can protect us if we are totally connected to Him, that is, if we let go
to any idea of improving our chances to be born in the Pure Land. We must
always remember these golden words, “let go and let Amida”. Let go to your tendency
to play smart in samsara and let Him save you. We are not and we’ll never be
spiritual heroes, but only mere imitators, no matter we wear monk robes or the
clothes of lay people. Only if we let go and let Amida we can be protected by Amida
because any protection works within the law of cause and effect. If the cause
of our practice is our unenlightened personalities, then the effect is that we
are influenced by unenlightened forces and malevolent spirits who roam
everywhere around us. If the cause of our practice is Amida Buddha, that is, if
we rely completely on Him for our birth in the Pure Land, then the effect will
automatically be related with Amida. Please bear in mind that He cannot protect
those that do not rely on Him because the karmic cause for this protection is
missing. This is a natural law, just like the moon cannot be reflected in a
covered bowl of water or the rays of the sun cannot enter a room with closed
windows.
Shinran Shonin also said in agreement with His Master, Honen:
“When people are not
in correspondence with the Primal Vow,
Various conditions arise to trouble and confuse them.
To lose sight of shinjin (faith) in confusion
Is to 'lose right-mindedness'."[3]
He also said, quoting Honen:
"Know that shinjin (faith) is the true intent of the Pure Land teaching. When one has understood this, then as our teacher Master Honen declared, 'Other Power means that no working is true working'. 'Working' [that is negated] is the calculating heart and mind of each practitioner. As long as one possesses a calculating mind, one endeavors in self-power. You must understand fully the working of self-power."[4]
Faith (shinjin) is the cause of birth in the Pure Land. This faith is in Amida alone, not in ourselves. Jodo Shinshu or the True Pure Land teaching of Master Honen and Shinran does not say “trust yourself” or “be your own light”. Just as light is not produced by the walls of a room but by an exterior power source, so we are saved not by our own limited power but by Amida’s hand that is extended to us.
Jodo Shinshu does not deny that we can be successful in our professional or personal life. However, being a good engineer, doctor, husband, wife, etc, is not the same with being a Buddha. Becoming a Buddha through our self-power is like trying to reach the Moon with a bicycle. So, discussions on self-power vs Other Power (Amida’s Power) are held only in relation with birth in the Pure Land and the attainment of Buddhahood. Only in this matter our calculations and mind categories do not apply. We can design a good car or a sophisticated engine, but we cannot design our birth in the Pure Land:
"Other Power means that no working is true working. 'Working [that is negated] is the practitioner’s calculating and designing. Tathagata's Primal Vow surpasses conceptual understanding; it is a design of the wisdom of Buddhas. It is not the design of foolish beings. No one can fathom the wisdom of Buddhas, which surpasses conceptual understanding. […] Thus, the great teacher Honen said, 'No working is true working'. My understanding has been that nothing apart from this realization is necessary for the attainment of birth into the Pure Land; therefore, what others may say is of no concern to me."[5]
We are like ignorant peasants who know nothing about flying technology, yet still they trust the pilot and jump on the board of a plane to be taken to their desired destination. We do not know the exact technical supernatural details of how the Primal Vow works but we know it works, so we simply let Amida take us to His Pure Land.
By abandoning any tendency to try to work our minds to attain
birth in the Pure Land (“not working”)
Amida can do His saving work on us (“true
working”).
Namo Amida Bu
[1] I explained the protection of Amida
and other Buddhas as well as the protection offered by various deities to the
person of faith in my book The Meaning of Faith and Nembutsu in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, chapter on The Ten Benefits in this Life
[2] Honen Shonin, Instruction in the 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.141
[3] The
Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu
Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.381
[4] Shinran Shonin, Notes on the Inscriptions on Sacred
Scrolls,The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation
Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.520
0 comentarii:
Post a Comment