Nembutsu pilgrimage to the Buddhist stupa from Tranișu (photos, impressions and doctrinal explanations)

Homage to all Dharma gates taught by Shakyamuni
and to all authentic lineages of transmission.
Homage to Amida Buddha
whose Name is praised by all Buddhas.

Click here for the Spanish version 

Click aici pentru versiunea in limba romana

It all started with a short conversation with myself. Buddhism has accustomed me to make quick decisions, so in about three minutes I contemplated in my mind: "I want to visit the stupa at Tranișu, but will I get along with the people there? What kind of Buddhists are they? How do they view the Dharma? Will I like them or will they like me?" Then I answered to myself: "None of these matters. A stupa is a stupa and it's very good that it exists. I have to get there. Those who worked on that stupa did something extraordinary and deserve my respect.” As I completed this reasoning, I spontaneously visualized the stupa enveloped in light, which gave me confidence that my decision to visit it was correct and that the place was auspicious. Then I said to myself: "I will go there on foot"[1].

There is NO true spirit of compassion in the celebration of Christmas, Easter or other holidays of monotheistic religions

I think it’s necessary to continue the previous article We should not make publicity to nonBuddhist holidays or the gods and spirits they represent with a new one in which to explain even more why I think that promoting nonBuddhist holidays, symbols and so-called “divine figures” associated with them is creating a subtle obstacle for other people’s encounter with the true teaching of Buddhism. Many nowadays Buddhists and especially teachers or aspiring teachers suffer from the illness of political correctness, combined with an incapacity to use what they already have in Buddhism to promote its teachings. They are blind for subtle dangers and are unable to raise themselves above the ideologies or habits of their time and so they support some things just because the majority do it and it’s nice (and “compassionate”) to do them, or it pleases people, etc, without being aware that they actually build more obstacles for people’s encountering the Dharma and receive faith in Amida.
 
I usually do not read other people’s reactions to my posts, but sometimes their stupidity helps me to explain things better, which is why I think this article will be very beneficial to many.
 
Somebody wrote a reply to my previous article,
“The point I am making is that neither Amida Buddha, nor Shakyamuni Buddha, nor any other buddha (awakened being) cares whether you celebrate Christmas or not. Being an American raised in a Protestant Christian family, I personally celebrate Christmas, and treasure its spirit of forgiveness, charity, and compassion.”
 
Here is my answer,
The true spirit of Compassion is to be found in the Buddha Dharma because true Compassion is always related with true Wisdom which belongs only to Buddhas. From Infinite Wisdom arises Infinite Compassion, that is, from a real understanding of ultimate Buddha nature, the emptiness of samsaric phenomena and of the suffering of all beings drowned in delusion, Infinite Compassion arises. 

Nembutsu - the Path of the Last Dharma Age (commentary on the words of Bodhisattva Manjushri)

 

"In the Record of Holy Chu-lin Temple, it is recorded: 'While Bodhisattva Samantabhadra and Bodhisattva Manjusri sat facing each other in the east and west and were revealing the wondrous teachings to a multitude of sentient beings in the great hall of Chu-lin Temple on Mount Wut'ai, the meditation master Fachao kneeled and asked Bodhisattva Manjusri, 'What sort of teaching would make it possible for common mortals of the future defiled world to depart from the delusive triple realms forever and to be born in the Pure Land?'
Bodhisattva Manjusri replied, 'There is no practice superior to the recitation of the Name of Amida Buddha for birth in the Pure Land. 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.' ”[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.

Respect all Dharma Gates but follow exclusively the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha

 

photo: me and a Zen monk bowing to each other
in mutual respect

 Rennyo Shonin said, 

 "Within our tradition there must be no slandering   of other teachings and sects. As the teachings were   all given by Shakyamuni during his life time, they   should be fruitful if they are practiced just as they   were expounded. In this last Dharma age, however,   people like ourselves are not equal to the teachings   of the various sects of the Path of Sages; therefore,   we simply do not rely on them or entrust ourselves to   them”. 

Thus, respect but not follow is the golden rule in our relation, as Jodo Shinshu followers, with other Buddhist schools. We do not follow them not because we despise them, but because we are not wise and capable enough to practice them. We admit we are the lowest of the low in spiritual matters and so we chose to rely exclusively on Amida Buddha's Primal Vow that was made especially for wretched beings like us. 

It is very important to keep this aspect in mind - our exclusiv reliance on the Nembutsu of faith is because we are incapable of following other practices and because in His Primal Vow Amida Buddha asked us to exclusively say His Name in faith if we want to reach His Pure Land. Master Shantao urged us to, 

"Abandon the teachings that Amida Buddha abandoned, observe the practice that Amida Buddha observed, and leave the practices that Amida Buddha left. This is said to be 'in accordance with the teaching of Amida Buddha' and 'in compliance with the intent of Amida Buddha'. Such a person is referred to as the 'true disciple of Amida Buddha'". 

So, our rejection of other practices is made with a humble mind who acknowledges its limitation and with a mind focused exclusively on the requirements of Amida's Primal Vow. There is no pride here but humble respect and us being practical about our spiritual capacities as well as obeying Amida's command.

Namo Amida Bu

Honen’s one-page testament

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Selected passages from Honen Shonin 

with commentary

"The method of final salvation that I have propounded is neither a sort of meditation, such as has been practiced by many scholars in China and Japan, nor is it a repetition of the Buddha's name by those who have studied and understood the deep meaning of it. It is nothing but the mere repetition of the 'Namo Amida Butsu,' without a doubt of His mercy, whereby one may be born into the Land of Perfect Bliss. 
The mere repetition with firm faith includes all the practical details, such as the threefold preparation of mind and the four practical rules. If I as an individual had any doctrine more profound than this, I should miss the mercy of the Two Honorable Ones, Amida and Shakyamuni, and be left out of the Vow of the Amida Buddha. 
Those who believe this, though they clearly understand all the teachings Shakyamuni taught throughout His whole life, should behave themselves like simple-minded folks, who know not a single letter, or like ignorant nuns or monks whose faith is implicitly simple. 
Thus without pedantic airs, they should fervently practice the repetition of the Name of Amida, and that alone."[1]

Commentary:

Monks and nuns of the Last Dharma Age

This is a fragment from my new book 

On the Monks and Nuns of Amidaji Branch 

of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism 

Click here to listen to this article in audio format on YouTube

Click here for the Spanish version

Both Honen Shonin and Shinran Shonin were ordained Tendai monks. Although they left that school, they continued to wear their monk robes, and while Honen remained celibate, Shinran got married and had six children. Before him and after him, many monks had secret wives and children, but Shinran went public about his marriage and continued to wear the monk’s robes. Also, after he and his Master Honen were banished by the Emperor, striped of their ordination status[1] and given secular names, they also kept their robes. At that time Shinran said about himself that he was neither monk nor lay, but he continued to wear the robes of a monk. Later, they were both pardoned, so their former status was restored. 

Why did Shinran marry? Because he wanted to show that the salvation offered by Amida Buddha does not make any discrimination between those who keep the precept of celibacy and those who are attached to their wives and children or have various other blind passions.

Why did he say that he was neither a monk nor lay? There are two reasons for this. First, although the Emperor stripped him of his monkhood and was given a secular name, he did not consider himself a lay person living a worldly life without any religious aspirations. Second, although he was pardoned and his status restored, he was still not able to live the life of a monk belonging to the Right Dharma Age, while in the same time, he had more aspirations than an ordinary lay person. Later, all his ordained disciples followed his example and got married. Even now the clergy of Jodo Shinshu, both men and women, get marry and have children like the rest of Japanese Buddhist monks of other schools[2]. 

So, it is important to realize that Shinran did not deny his monk ordination by saying that he is “neither monk, nor lay”, but only his spiritual capacities to be like the monks of the Right Dharma Age when Shakyamuni and His direct disciples were in the world. By saying, “neither monk, nor lay”, he actually meant, “neither a virtuous monk of the Right Dharma Age, nor a lay”. Thus, there is no problem if we, his disciples of modern times, call ourselves monks and nuns as long as we keep in mind that we are not the virtuous monks of that long gone era, but the decadent monks of this Last Dharma Age.

Do not mix Nembutsu with other practices

 Click here to return to 

Selected passages from Honen Shonin 

with commentary

"The profound heart is the heart that believes profoundly in Nembutsu. It also means to recite exclusively Nembutsu without embracing other practices. If other practices are performed concurrently with Nembutsu, one would be a Nembutsu devotee lacking in the profound heart. To understand that the Three Sutras of Pure Land Buddhism taught by Buddha Shakyamuni

exclusively propagate the sole practice of Nembutsu, to believe that the essence of the forty-eight vows of Amida Buddha is the Vow of the exclusive recitation of Nembutsu, and to recite single-heartedly Nembutsu - these indicate having the profound heart."[1] 

Commentary:

We are the school of the Primal Vow. All we need to know and all we have to do for our salvation is found in the Primal Vow. This is why I explained it word by word in almost 90 pages in my Commentary on the Larger Sutra. 

We cannot enter into karmic connection with Amida Buddha for birth in the fulfilled land of the Pure Land[2] if we do not do EXACTLY what He asked us to do in His Primal Vow – entrust to Him, say His Name and wish to be born in His Pure Land. These three elements are exclusive requirements so we must have faith only in Amida, say only His Name and wish to be born only in His Pure Land. If we do exactly this and only this, then we receive the karma for birth there after death. 

Faith, Nembutsu and aspiration are one

 Click here to return to 

Selected passages from Honen Shonin 

with commentary

If one desires to attain birth in the Pure Land, both his heart and practice must be in concert. Therefore, the interpretation of Master Shan-tao reads: ‘Practice alone is not sufficient for the accomplishment of birth in the Pure Land. Neither is aspiration alone. Realization occurs only when aspiration and practice are concomitant.’ 

Both heart and practice must be a single discipline, not only to achieve birth in the Pure Land, but also to realize Enlightenment in the Holy Gate. This is referred to as ‘observing the practice by awakening the heart to Enlightenment’. 

In Jodo Shu (Pure Land school), Master Shan-tao called this ‘the steadfast heart and practice’.”[1]

 Commentary:

“Heart” refers to the “entrusting heart” (shinjin) or faith in Amida Buddha. This is also linked with “aspiration”, which is aspiration or desire to be born in the Pure Land. “Practice” is to say the Name of Amida Buddha.

All these three: faith (shinjin), the saying of the Name and the wish (aspiration) to be born in the Pure Land are the three requirements of Amida in His Primal Vow, where He asked beings to entrust to Him, say His Name and wish to be born in His Pure Land: “sincerely entrust themselves to me (faith/shinjin), desire to be born in my land (aspiration), and say my Name (Nembutsu) perhaps even ten times”. 

The number of Nembutsu recitation is NOT important as long as we rely on Amida’s Power

Click here to return to "Selected passages from Honen Shonin with commentary"

There are some who teach that Nembutsu must be said many times in order to reach birth in the Pure Land, thus forgetting the Power behind the Name which makes the Nembutsu effective.

I would ask these people to try using their own names, John, Marc, Mary, etc, and see if they can attain birth in the Pure Land through them. Of course, they can’t and the reason why is that theirs are empty names without any power.

As the Nembutsu is the saying of Amida’s Name it belongs to Amida and is infused with His infinite merits and Power. This is why it works in bringing us to the Pure Land at the end of our physical bodies. So, it is extremely important that our saying of the Name should be an expression of faith in Amida, and NOT in our capacities to say it often or seldom. 

Each of us has his/her own personal relation with Amida Buddha who saves us one by one, having us always in front of His compassionate eyes. We do not need to be heroes, have the same visions or recitation capacities like Masters of the past, but simply say the Nembutsu according to our personal conditions while keeping in mind that Amida did NOT impose a fixed number of recitations in order to be born in His Pure Land: “say my Name perhaps even ten times”. This expression “perhaps even ten times” means ANY NUMBER from one to ten or to hundreds, thousands and as many as we can.

Say Nembutsu as you are

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Selected passages from Honen Shonin 

with commentary

Honen Shonin said, in reply to a question by Zenshobo: 

“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. 

Do not despise other Buddhas, Dharma Gates and Buddhist teachings because you have faith in Amida

Click here to return to 

Selected passages from Honen Shonin 

with commentary

Honen Shonin said: 

"Just because one relies solely upon Amida Buddha and believes only in Nembutsu, do not make light of the compassionate vows of various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, or think ill of and slander wondrous sutras such as the Lotus Sutra or the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. The karma of defaming myriad Buddhas and of doubting and slandering many holy teachings is not in harmony with the heart of Amida Buddha. Such actions would certainly exclude one from His compassionate Vow even if one recites Nembutsu”.[1] 

Commentary:

This excellent teaching of Honen Shonin is fundamental to our Amidaji school. 

The determination of the true disciple of Amida Buddha

 

Click here to return to Selected passages from Honen Shonin with commentary

Honen Shonin said: 

“When a deer is being pursued by the hunters, it does not stop even to look around for its fellows or look back at its pursuers, but with all eagerness, hastens straight forward, and no matter how many may be following, it escapes in safety. It is with the same determination that a man fully entrusts himself to the Buddha’s power, and without regard to anything else, steadfastly sets his mind upon being born into the Pure Land.”[1] 

Commentary:
A genuine disciple of Amida Buddha does not care about other practices and does not listen to the wrong views of modernists or the false teachings of externalists (non-Buddhists). Even if thoughts of “what if Amida is not real” or “what if the Primal Vow is not true” appear suddenly in his mind, he does not pay attention to them, but continues to be focused on the Nembutsu of faith. Instead of looking at these “pursuers” who come in the form of non-Buddhists, heretics or even random thoughts, he goes forward to the Pure Land encouraged by Shakyamuni and the lineage Masters. 

To be satisfied with the Nembutsu and to think that Nembutsu is enough, to not need anything else than Amida’s Holy Name – these are the characteristics of a person of faith. Promises of other practices and religions fall deaf to his ears because he obeys only to the exclusive requirements of the Primal Vow: exclusive faith in Amida, exclusive saying of His Name and exclusive wish to be born in His Pure Land. 

Even if the people around him follow other paths or the stones and rocks, the sky and the trees all shout in one voice that Amida does not exist or that so and so god has a better teaching, the true disciple will never falter in his determination to have faith only in Amida, say only His Name and wish to go only to His Pure Land after death. Just like the deer pursued by hunters, he sees nothing, hears nothing and is not interested in any other path than the Nembutsu of faith. Only such a true disciple will reach the safety of the Pure Land.
 

---

[1] 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. 399

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

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Selected passages from Honen Shonin 

with commentary

"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. 

The need for oral instructions by a true teacher

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Selected passages from Honen Shonin 

with commentary

Honen Shonin said: 

“A man who reads about the doctrines of the Jodo (Pure Land) without receiving oral instruction will miss the thing really necessary to the attainment of Ojo (birth in the Pure Land). Men of high station such as Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu, and on the other hand, men of the lowest rank of common latter-day sinners guilty of the ten evil deeds and the five deadly sins, used to be the object of Shakyamuni Buddha’s exhortations to enter the Land of Perfect Bliss. Now we, common men of the lowest class, when we hear the Buddha exhorting good men at once begin to depreciate ourselves and to think that we cannot be born into the Pure Land, and so we actually by our doubts prevent ourselves from reaching that birth after death. The main thing, then, is that we clearly distinguish between the teaching intended for the good, and that applicable to the evil like ourselves. If we are so minded, our faith in the certainty of our own birth will become assured, and through the power of the Buddha’s Primal Vow we shall accomplish our birth into that land at death.”[1] 

Honen Shonin and the nun in the Ninnaji temple

 

Click here to return to 

Selected passages from Honen Shonin 

with commentary

“There was once a nun in the Ninnaji temple who came to Honen, and with a tone of sadness in her voice, said she had made a vow to read the Hokke Sutra (Lotus Sutra) a thousand times over. She had already finished reading it seven hundred times, but as she was now getting quite old, she did not know how to obtain the merit of doing the rest. Then Honen said, ‘You have indeed done well despite your age to read it over seven hundred times. As to the other three hundred, the best thing to do is to apply your whole mind to one thing, and that is the practice of the Nembutsu’.

She took his advice, gave up the reading, and did nothing but call upon the sacred Name all the rest of her life, till she at last attained Ojo (birth in the Pure Land). 

Selected teachings from Honen Shonin with commentary

These texts were revised and published by Amazon under the title Selected Teachings of Honen Shonin with Commentary. You can can order the book or download the free online edition here (click here)

I hope you will enjoy these passages from Honen Shonin's life and teachings, as well as my  commentaries. I also use many quotes from him in some of my books that you can download from here. 

Say the Nembutsu with an undivided mind  

The transmission of the Nembutsu faith from Master Shantao to Master Honen  

Honen's one page testament   

Honen's search for salvation  

The superiority of the Nembutsu Path according to Honen Shonin 

On people who cannot be saved by Amida Buddha 

Self-power teachings and practices are not appropriate for our times 

Honen's reason for the founding of a separate Pure Land school and my reason for founding Amidaji  

Just say the Nembutsu without adding anything to it 

Remember to say the Nembutsu 

On those who slander the exclusive Nembutsu practitioners 

 The thirteen contemplations are provisional practices while the Nembutsu of faith is the main Gate to the Pure Land 

Don't listen to teachers who deny birth in the Pure Land through Nembutsu  

The protection by Amida Buddha can reach only those who exclusively say His Name in faith 

The Meaning of "no working is true working" in relation with our birth in the Pure Land 

Do not mix Nembutsu with other practices  

Faith, Nembutsu and aspirations are one 

The number of Nembutsu recitations is not important as long as we rely on Amida's Power  

Self-power and Amida's Power 

Nembutsu and daily life 

The uniqueness and universality of Nembutsu  

Say Nembutsu as you are 

The indiscriminative salvation offered by Amida Buddha is NOT an encouragement to commit or justify evil 

Focus on Amida's Name, not on your monkey mind 

Do not despise other Buddhas, Dharma Gates and Buddhist teachings because you have faith in Amida 

Nembutsu is the same no matter who says it 

Goodness or badness are not the cause of birth into the Pure Land 

Honen said the Nembutsu as if already saved by Amida  

The determination of the true disciple of Amida Buddha 

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

Soldiers are saved by Amida Buddha if they entrust to Him - Honen Shonin's instruction to samurai Taro Tadatsuma Amakasu 

The cause for birth into the Pure Land may appear anytime 

The need for oral instructions by a true teacher  

Honen Shonin and the nun in the Ninnaji temple 

Honen Shonin's letter to the nun Shonyobo   

Kyo Amidabutsu (Shiro Amano) of Kawachi Province

The prostitute of Muro, a disciple of Honen Shonin

Honen Shonin on Amida Buddha 

More will follow soon!

The origin of universe and humans in the Buddhist cosmology

Related article: 

Description and contemplation of the suffering of the six realms of samsaric existence

Instead of a creator god, the collective karma of a multitude number of beings is the primary cause and first impulse for the appearance of a new universe. This karma contains all the potentiality of that specific universe, including its general laws of physics. Thus, once it comes into existence from collective karmic causes, then all the laws of physics will follow. These will be responsible, for example, with what actually happens with the planets, changing of seasons, and so on. It is very important to understand that if the collective karma is the primary cause for the formation/apparition of a new universe, not all the things which happen next in that universe is due to karma. For example, when a leaf falls from a tree, or when a rock falls from a mountain, it is not the karma of the leaf or the rock to fall, but the simple law of gravitation. If we happen to walk in the mountain when a rock falls, and we are hit in the head, then that is karma, but no matter we are there or not, rocks and leaves will fall, and planets will revolve around the sun, etc. Thus, once a universe appeared, not everything which happens in it can be called karma. However, I repeat, the impulse and the primal cause which brought that universe into existence is the collective karma of the beings that have the causes for rebirth in such physical conditions.   

Abandon any practice which is not mentioned in the Primal Vow

Master Shan-tao said:

"Abandon the teachings that Amida Buddha abandoned, observe the practice that Amida Buddha observed, and leave the practices that Amida Buddha left. This is said to be 'in accordance with the teaching of Amida Buddha' and 'in compliance with the intent of Amida Buddha'. Such a person is referred to as the 'true disciple of Amida Buddha'". [1]

This passage means that we must abandon everything which is not mentioned in the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha, where only faith, saying of the Name in faith and wish for birth in the Pure Land are taught. If you do this, you are in accord with Amida's Primal Vow and you are His true disciple. Any practice or teaching which are not mentioned in the Primal Vow, like various meditation methods, mantras or anything else, should NOT be followed because they do not lead to birth in the true fulfilled land of the Pure Land[2]. This does NOT mean those practices are bad! On the contrary, if they were taught by Shakyamuni Buddha they are all perfect and good in themselves, but I repeat, they are not practices leading to the Pure Land of Amida Buddha because they were not mentioned in His Primal Vow. This is the only reason we should not follow them. Mixing the various Dharma gates is wrong and not useful at the level we are now as unenlightened beings.

 

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[1] Master Shan-tao quoted by Honen Shonin in An Outline of the Doctrine for Birth in the Pure Land.

[2] The true fulfilled land of the Pure Land is the center of the Pure Land where upon birth there we immediately become Buddhas.