On people who cannot be saved by Amida Buddha

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Selected passages from Honen Shonin 

with commentary

Honen Shonin said:

“Indeed it matters not how vile we be whether in body or in mind. Whoever we are, we ought to put our trust in Amida’s Vow, and bend our whole mind to the one way, and so we shall assuredly be born into the Pure Land. Nevertheless, we must remember that many men have many minds. There are some who look only for the pleasure and glory of this present evanescent world, which is but a vision or a dream, and know nothing at all about that afterworld. There are others again who have come to dread the future, and accordingly bend their energies in that direction. Thus their minds flit from this to that religious practice, and they do not trust exclusively in the one and only way. Again there are some who, when they have once made up their minds in a certain way, will not change them, but persist therein in spite of everything they may hear. Then there are others who today have a most excellent faith, and it would seem as if they could never deviate therefrom a hair’s breadth, and yet they afterwards give it up entirely. Such being the case it is very hard to find anyone who has really entered the gate of Jodo (Pure Land), and is devoting himself heart and soul to the practice of the Nembutsu alone. I seem to myself to be the only one who secretly grieves over such a regrettable state of things, and indeed it is hard to find anyone in this world, who gives heed to the Dharma itself, irrespective of the character of the man who expounds it.”[1]
 
Commentary:

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

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Selected passages from Honen Shonin 

with commentary

Honen Shonin said:

 

"Regardless of whether it is of Mahayana Buddhism or Hinayana Buddhism, we cannot endure the training in these sacred teachings of the four vehicles, as they are not appropriate teachings for our present time……It is unnecessary to state here that in this period of the decline of Dharma (the Last Dharma Age), pursuit of these achievements is almost impossible, especially for those of us with minimal capabilities…..It goes without saying that in the present day, while it is still the period of the decline of the Dharma (the Last Dharma Age), let alone during the periods of the true Dharma (the Right Dharma Age) and the semblance of the Dharma (the Semblance Dharma Age), no being is excluded from birth in the Pure Land.”[1]
 
Commentary: 

When does our salvation takes place? In this life or after death? (video discussion)

 I always ask questions to my students so that they themselves be able to explain the Dharma. At Amidaji not only the teacher speaks:

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La razón de Honen para la fundación de una escuela Tierra pura separada y la razón por la cual he fundado Amidaji

Buda Amida es mi fuerza.
El Buda Amida es mi refugio.

Buda Amida es mi salvación.

Amida Buddha es todo lo que transmito 

a los demás

                    traducido del inglés por 

Juan Sebastian Hincapie Arana  

“Honen dijo una vez: ‘La razón por la cual fundé la escuela Jodo   (Tierra Pura) es para poder mostrarle al hombre común cómo   nacer  en la verdadera tierra de compensación (hōdo) del Buda.

 Según la secta Tendai, el hombre ordinario puede nacer en la

 llamada Tierra Pura, pero esa tierra se concibe como un lugar muy

 inferior. Aunque la escuela Hossō la concibió como un lugar muy

 superior, no permiten que el hombre común pueda nacer allí en

 absoluto. Además todas las escuelas, aunque difiriendo en muchos

 puntos, están de acuerdo unánimemente en no permitir que el

 hombre común pueda nacer en la tierra de compensación real del

 Buda; mientras que según el comentario de Zendo (Shan-tao), quien

 sentó las bases de la escuela Jodo (Tierra Pura), quedó claro que el

 nacimiento en esa tierra es posible incluso para el hombre común.

Sin embargo muchos me dijeron: 'Seguramente puedes promover la

 forma de Nembutsu para alcanzar el Ojo (nacer en la Tierra Pura)

 sin necesidad de establecer una nueva escuela. Estás haciendo esto

 simplemente por ambición, para parecer superior a los demás. Si

 nosotros, la gente común, solo podemos lograr este nacimiento,

 debería ser suficiente nacer en la tierra en la que el Buda aparece en Su cuerpo temporal. ¿Por qué necesitas hablar de que (las personas comunes) alcanzan esa tierra de compensación real que está ocupada solo por los Budas y los Bodhisattvas más elevados?´

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

Amida Buddha is my strength.

Amida Buddha is my refuge.

Amida Buddha is my salvation.

Amida Buddha is all I transmit to others.

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Selected passages from Honen Shonin 

with commentary

 "Honen once said: ‘The reasons I founded the Jodo (Pure Land)   school was that I might show the ordinary man how to be born into     the Buddha’s real land of compensation (hōdo). According to the   Tendai sect, the ordinary man may be born into the so-called Pure   Land, but that land is conceived of as a very inferior place.   Although  the Hossō school conceived of it as indeed a very   superior  place, they do not allow that the common man can be born   there at all. And all the schools, though differing in many points, all   agree in not allowing that the common man can be born into the   Buddha’s land of real compensation; while according to Zendo’s   (Shan-tao) commentary, which laid the foundation of the Jodo (Pure   Land) school, it was made clear that birth into that land is possible   even for the common man. But many said to me: ‘You surely can   promote the Nembutsu way of attaining Ojo (birth into the Pure  Land) without establishing a new school. You are doing this merely out of ambition, to appear superior to others. If we ordinary people can only attain this birth, it ought to be enough to be born into the land in which the Buddha appears in His temporary body. Why do you need to talk of their reaching that land of real compensation that is occupied by the Buddhas and the highest Bodhisattvas alone?’
At first sight this seems quite plausible, but on further reflection it really misses the point. Unless I start a separate school, the truth that the common man may be born into the Buddha’s land of compensation will be obscured, and it will be hard to realize the deep meaning of Amida’s Primal Vow. I, therefore, in accordance with the interpretation given by Zendo (Shan-tao), unhesitatingly proclaim the doctrine of the land of real compensation. This is by no means a question of personal ambition.”[1]

Shinjin (faith in Amida Buddha) is knowing, not feeling

 

Click here to watch more videos in the DHARMA TALK playlist. There are 122 videos there until now, so you'll certainly find one that is useful to you.