„There are those who say that the effort to avoid sin and improve oneself is making light of Amida’s Vow [...] But do not for a moment be misled by such misconceptions. Is there any place in any of the sutras where Amida encourages men to sin? Certainly not. Such things come from those who make no effort to get away from their own evil deeds, and who go on in their former sinful life. By such utterly unreasonable and false sayings, they would mislead ignorant men and women, urging them forward in the committing of sin and stirring up their evil passions within them. Now such persons are nothing less than a company of devil, and you ought to think of them as enemies to your reaching birth into the Pure Land of Bliss”.[1]
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Sunday, June 19, 2022
Focus on Amida’s Name, not on your monkey mind
Answer (by Honen Shonin): ‘The only thing to do is to repeat the Nembutsu.’”[1]
This is something that I often say in my books, articles and discussions with my Dharma friends. We cannot fix our samsaric minds. We cannot eliminate evil thoughts. We cannot stop thinking. All we can to do is change the focus from whatever appears in our mind to Amida, through the saying of His Name. Just as you don’t take a monkey serious, don’t take your mind serious. We are not saved because of any quality that can be found in our minds and we are not obstructed to be born in the Pure Land by our blind passions and evil thoughts. Our salvation comes from outside of our samsaric mind, so we do not need to bother about it anymore.
Friday, June 17, 2022
Do not despise other Buddhas, Dharma Gates and Buddhist teachings because you have faith in Amida
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.
Nembutsu is the same no matter who says it
‘Because you are a
wise man, and know in detail what merit there is in the repetition of the
sacred Name, clearly understanding the meaning of the Buddha’s Primal Vow.’
At this Honen replied: ‘You have not yet really come to believe in the Primal Vow at all. As to calling upon the sacred Name of the Primal Vow of the Buddha Amida, it makes no difference whether the man be a wood-cutter, a gatherer of grass or greens, or a drawer of water or the like, whether he be utterly unlettered in Buddhism or other religions. It makes no difference, I say, so long as he calls upon the sacred Name. If he believes his Ojo (birth in the Pure Land) is certain and keeps repeating the Nembutsu, he is the very best kind of believer. If it is possible by wisdom to get free from the bondage of life and death, why indeed should I, Genku (Honen), have given up the Holy Path (Shodo-mon) and devoted myself exclusively to this Pure Land doctrine (Jodo-mon)? The self-discipline of the so-called Holy Path consists in the effort to escape birth and death by the cultivation of one’s wisdom whereas that of the Pure Land consists in coming back to what the world calls foolishness, and thus attain birth into the Land of Bliss.’”[1]
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Goodness or badness are NOT the cause of birth into the Pure Land
Commentary:
There is a sentence in Tannisho which explains the reason for such useless discussions about eating or not eating meat in relation with birth in the Pure Land:
There is a sentence in Tannisho which explains the reason for such useless discussions about eating or not eating meat in relation with birth in the Pure Land:
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
Iguales al Buda Maitreya
Una enseñanza única del Jodo Shinshu es que los seguidores que han recibido shinjin (fe) son iguales a la Iluminación perfecta, iguales a todos los Budas e iguales a Maitreya Buda.
Honen said the Nembutsu as if already saved by Amida
Honen Shonin said:
“Where one is to
receive something from another, which is better, to have already received, or
not yet to have received? I, Genku (Honen), repeat the Nembutsu as if I had
already received.”[1]
Commentary:
There
are two types of Nembutsu: the Nembutsu of those who don’t have faith, and the Nembutsu
of faith.
The
Nembutsu of those who are not yet established in faith is said without being
sure of their salvation (“not yet to have
received” – not yet assured of birth in the Pure Land). This is because when one relies on one’s own
power one cannot have any certainty.
The
Nembutsu of faith or Honen’s Nembutsu is said by one who knows that he has
already received the assurance of birth in the Pure Land since the moment he
entrusted for the first time in Amida (“have
already received”). This is the Nembutsu
of Buddha centered Power through which one is certain to attain Ojo[2].
It is also the Nembutsu of “thank you Amida Buddha for saving me as I am”.
[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. 400
[2] Ojo means birth in the Pure Land.
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