Enlightenment, there is the sole teaching of Nembutsu. Therefore, the acclaimed holy teachings from the lifetime of Buddha Shakyamuni are the teachings of Amida Buddha, particularly for the common people in the defiled world of the future.' ”[1]
Commentary:
“Common mortals of the future defiled world” are us, people living in the Last Dharma Age, far removed from the presence in human form of the historical Buddha and His direct disciples.
“There is no
practice superior to the recitation of the Name of Amida Buddha for birth in
the Pure Land”.
No method for birth in the Pure Land is superior to the Nembutsu of faith because that alone was selected by Amida Buddha in His Primal Vow. As Amida knows better than us how to reach the enlightened realm He himself created, we should simply do what He told us: “entrust to me, say my Name and wish to be born in my land”. More than this, the Name of Amida contains the merits of all practices, so by saying it as an expression of faith we automatically include them all and receive their merits. Master Honen and Master Shantao explained this very clearly:
"The Japanese
designation for Amitabha - Amida - consists of only three characters (A-MI-DA).
Within this Name, however, is the merit
of the inner realization of Tathagata Amida and His external activities, as
well as the merit of Buddha Shakyamuni's extremely profound teachings, which
are as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges. Who can fathom this?
Master Shan-tao, in
the chapter 'Essentials of the Commentary' of the 'Commentary on the Meditation
Sutra', interpreted this Name thus:
'The Chinese term for
Amida Buddha, 'A-mi-t'o-fo', is a transliteration of the language of India. It
was interpreted into Chinese as 'Enlightened One Whose Life Is Immeasurable
(Wu-liang-shou-chiao)'. 'Immeasurable Life (Wu-liang-shou) points to the
Dharma, and 'Enlightened One (chiao)' is a person. Both the Dharma and the
person are combined into 'Enlightened One Whose Life Is Immeasurable'.
Accordingly, He is referred to as 'A-mi-t'o-fo'.’ […]
Therefore, all of the
merits of the teachings, the meditative practices on the phenomenal aspect of
reality and the noumenal principle, the unmatched power acquired through
meditation and wisdom, the wisdom of inner realization, and the merit of
external activities, as well as all of the virtues and undefiled
Enlightenmentof Tathagata Amida, Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, Bodhisattva
Mahasthamaprapta, Bodhisattva Samanthabhadra, Bodhisattva Manjusri, Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, Nagarjuna,
and the Bodhisattvas[2] and Sravakas[3] of the Pure Land are
encompassed in the three characters of the Name of Amida. This being so, would
there be any Dharma not included in the teaching for birth in the Pure Land?[4]”[5]
“Even in the
path for the instantaneous realization of Enlightenment, there is the sole
teaching of Nembutsu”.
“Therefore, the
acclaimed holy teachings from the lifetime of Buddha Shakyamuni are the
teachings of Amida Buddha, particularly for the common people in the defiled
world of the future.”
The true intention of Shakyamuni in coming to this world was to teach about the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha. This is because He knew that the time when people could easily achieve liberation by themselves through following His and His direct disciple’s example was very short by comparison with the long and difficult era that followed after that
As
the intention of any Buddha is to save EVERYBODY, not only the spiritual elites,
what other Path than the Nembutsu of faith is effective in doing this? What
other Dharma Gate can save the wise and the idiot, the saint and the sinner if
not the Nembutsu of faith? It is in the logic of infinite Compassion that teachings
and practices which can be followed by a limited group of gifted people with high
spiritual capacities are not the main intention of a Buddha.
Just like a mother of one special children and nine mentally retarded will focus more on the retarded ones because the special can take care of himself alone, the Buddhas who are the spiritual Parents of sentient beings, will focus more on those who cannot save themselves. Thus, a practice that can be followed by anybody, no matter their capacities, like the Nembutsu of faith, will always be the priority of all Buddhas in the ten directions when teaching the Dharma in their respective universes.
“Common mortals of the future defiled world” are us, people living in the Last Dharma Age, far removed from the presence in human form of the historical Buddha and His direct disciples.
No method for birth in the Pure Land is superior to the Nembutsu of faith because that alone was selected by Amida Buddha in His Primal Vow. As Amida knows better than us how to reach the enlightened realm He himself created, we should simply do what He told us: “entrust to me, say my Name and wish to be born in my land”. More than this, the Name of Amida contains the merits of all practices, so by saying it as an expression of faith we automatically include them all and receive their merits. Master Honen and Master Shantao explained this very clearly:
The true intention of Shakyamuni in coming to this world was to teach about the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha. This is because He knew that the time when people could easily achieve liberation by themselves through following His and His direct disciple’s example was very short by comparison with the long and difficult era that followed after that
Just like a mother of one special children and nine mentally retarded will focus more on the retarded ones because the special can take care of himself alone, the Buddhas who are the spiritual Parents of sentient beings, will focus more on those who cannot save themselves. Thus, a practice that can be followed by anybody, no matter their capacities, like the Nembutsu of faith, will always be the priority of all Buddhas in the ten directions when teaching the Dharma in their respective universes.
[1] 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.149
[2] Bodhisattvas in the Pure Land refer to those who attained Enlightenment in the Pure Land and are now Buddhas who manifest as Bodhisattvas. For a better understanding of this idea read chapter “The qualities of Bodhisattvas in the audience” from my book, Commentary on the Sutra on the Buddha of Infinte Life.
[3] Here “sravaka” is not used with the sense of a Hinayana follower, but of a close enlightened disciple of Amida in His Pure Land.
[4] I present more passages as the above in chapter “Nembutsu is true and real” from my book Simple Teachings on Emptiness and Buddha nature. Please read it carefully and be amazed at the supreme merits of Nembutsu.
[5]Honen Shonin, Commentary on the Three Sutras of Pure Land Buddhism, The Promise of Amida Buddha - Honen's Path to Bliss, 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 (WagoToroku), translated by Joji Atone and Yoko Hayashi, Wisdom Publications, Boston, 2011, p.81-82
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