On the nine grades of birth in the border land of the Pure Land (sections 22 – 30 of the Contemplation Sutra)

Fragment from my Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra. It is a work in progress and under constant revision. Click here to read the other chapters.

As I previously explained based on Shinran Shonin’s reading of the Contemplation Sutra, those who reach the Pure Land through the 19^th Vow of Amida Buddha[1], that is, through the practices mentioned in this sutra, are born in the borderland of the Pure Land. This is because they still cling to their self-power and the idea of personal merits and personal transference of merits, while the followers of the Primal Vow (18^th Vow) are born in the center of the Pure Land (Fulfilled Pure Land) due to their complete faith in the Power of Amida Buddha which makes them understand that all the merits necessary for birth in the Pure Land belong only to Amida.
 
The Contemplation Sutra describes nine grades - highest, middle and low, each with their own three levels. These are exclusively related to birth in the border land of the Pure Land, referring to the practitioners of the 19^th and 20^th Vows. They are NOT related to birth in the Fulfilled Pure Land (center of the Pure Land) and to followers of the Primal Vow (18^th Vow). Why is that? Because among the practitioners of the 19^th and 20^th Vows who still cling to their self-power, there are differences in spiritual achievements, virtues, wisdom, etc, and these differences do matter for the various grades and levels of birth in the border land. Also, after being born there, they remain different from each other as they continue to be unenlightened until they overcome their attachment to self-power and their so-called personal merits. On the contrary, the difference in this life between the followers of the Primal Vow (18^th Vow) do not matter because nothing that can be found in their personalities adds anything to their birth in the Pure Land, nor obstructs it, as this birth depends totally on the Power of Amida Buddha in which they entrust without any trace of clinging to a delusional idea of merits or self-power. Thus, their birth in the Pure Land means immediate access to the center of that enlightened realm, also called the Fulfilled Pure Land, where they instantly attain perfect Enlightenment.

The difference between the three kinds of faith in the Contemplation Sutra and the three kinds of faith of the Primal Vow and the Larger Sutra

Fragment from my Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra. It is a work in progress and under constant revision. Click here to read the other chapters.

Shakyamuni Buddha said, in the Contemplation Sutra,

 
“Those who attain birth on the highest level of the highest grade are sentient beings who resolve to be born in that land, awaken the three kinds of faith, and so are born there. What are the three kinds of faith? They are, first, sincere faith; second, deep faith; and third, the faith that seeks birth there by transferring one’s merit. Those who have these three kinds of faith will certainly be born there.”[1]
 
In relation to the above three minds of faith in the Contemplation Sutra, Shinran Shonin explained,
 
“The three minds that beings awaken are all minds of self-benefit that are individually different and not the mind (of faith) that is single, which arises from Amida’s benefiting of others. They are roots of good with which to aspire for the Pure Land that Sakyamuni Tathagata taught as a distinct provisional means.”[2]
 
Here “the three minds” are “the three kinds of faith”. These are not aspects of true faith/shinjin (“mind that is single”) that is given by Amida Buddha (“arises from Amida’s benefiting of others”), and which means a complete and total reliance on Amida Buddha in matters of birth in the Pure Land, but aspects of a self-created faith.  As the personalities of the practitioners of the highest level of the highest grade (as well as all grades and levels listed in the Contemplation Sutra) differ from each other, they have “individually different” faiths/minds with which they go to the border land of the Pure Land.
As this is a book that is meant to be simple, I will try my best to offer easy to understand explanations of these three faiths or three minds.
 
The sincere faith of the Contemplation Sutra means a sincere wish to go to the Pure Land of Amida Buddha and sincerely relying partially on Him and partially on their own spiritual capacities. For these kind of practitioners, Amida’s Power is only an assisting power and not the only Power that leads to birth in the Pure Land. They have a mixed faith and a faith that is deep in the sense that they really want to go to the Pure Land. Their deep faith is a deep understanding of the suffering of samsara and a strong wish to go to the Pure Land, asking for the assistance of Amida Buddha and being deeply convinced that their so-called merits and contribution is very important to reach that goal. Thus, they have a “faith that seeks birth there by transferring one’s merit”.
 
Contrary to the three aspects of the self-power faith of the Contemplation Sutra, the three aspects of the genuine faith of the Primal Vow that is presented in the Larger Sutra, are a sincere faith in the Power of Amida as the only Power that makes birth in the Pure Land possible. This mind of faith is a “mind that is single” in the sense that has totally surrendered to Amida’s Power and is uniquely oriented towards Amida, thus saying only His Name in faith, without combining other practices. The deep mind aspect of a genuine faith in Amida Buddha is the twofold profound conviction which is 1) to know that we are people of deep karmic limitations, incapable of attaining Buddhahood through our own power and 2) that only Amida Buddha can save us through His Vow Power without asking anything from us.
The aspect of merit transference in a genuine faith (shinjin) is that we rely NOT on the transference of our pitiful merits towards birth in the Pure Land, but on Amida’s transference of merits. A person of true faith abandons the idea of “deserving” to be born in the Pure Land which is the main feature of those destined to the border land and who are obsessed with levels and grades. Unlike them, a person of total faith in Amida Buddha knows that he cannot create anything in his samsaric and unenlightened mind that can bring him to the Pure Land of Enlightenment, and so he lets Amida bring Him there.

________________________________________

[1] The Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study and Translation from Chinese by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.92
[2] Shinran Shonin, Kyogyoshinsho, cf with Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 212

Relics of Shakyamuni Buddha and precious objects at Amidaji temple

Dear friends and members of Amidaji, 

I know it’s amazingly incredible, but I need to tell you that Amidaji now possesses two relics of Shakyamuni Buddha which are stored in these two beautiful crystal pagodas on the sides of the main altar. The one in the left as you face Amida statue is the Pagoda of Victory over heresies and the other is the Pagoda of Shakyamuni's descend from the heaven of the gods after He taught the Dharma there.

Together with these two pagodas we also received 21 statues of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha. Inside or in front of some of these statues we will place relics of various Arhats that will soon be sent to Amidaji. Who are the senders? Dharma friends from Taiwan, monks and lay people who appreciate the work we are doing here. The relics were first sent from Burma to Taiwan and now to Romania. Details will be given to visitors only. Also, I will not post photos of the relics online, but they can be seen and appreciated at the temple.    

It’s wonderful that the sacred relics of Shakyamuni are stored in these two pagodas which are very much in line with two of the main aspects of Amidaji's teaching style,

1)    Buddhas as supreme teachers of gods and humans, which also means that the Buddha Dharma is supreme among all teachings and religions of the world,

 and

2)    maintaining an orthodox attitude towards Buddhism in general and Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in particular, while also fighting against various heresies and worldly ideologies that plague many centres and sanghas of our time.

If you are familiar with Japanese Buddhist temples in the Jodo Shinshu tradition you will not see such a display of various statues, pagodas and images. However, because Amidaji has a very friendly attitude towards all authentic Buddhist schools we are sent gifts from various practitioners, monks and lay people that wish to adorn our temple. We gratefully receive what they offer and consider their sacred gifts to be the expression of the 17th Vow of Amida in which He said that all Buddhas will praise His Name. They also remind us that all Buddhas and Enlightened Protectors, no matter which practices are associated with them in various schools, they all protect protect us who say the Nembutsu of faith in Amida.

Let us remember some of our favorite sayings at Amidaji,

"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. " 

NAMO AMIDA BU 

Please support Amidaji temple with a one time donation or by becoming a Patron (constant supporter),

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

 

As this is a very important teaching I decided to poste it here too. At Amidaji we consider it to be of utmost importance to respect all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, as well as all Dharma Gates, sutras, tantras and authentic lineages of transmission. 

There are hundreds of video teachings on my youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@JoshoAdrianCirlea and I invite you to visit it, subscribe and enjoy them, perhaps finding something useful there.

As a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist I do NOT believe in any good or evil "world order"

I think this short video might be useful, so I post it here too. Please check my youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@JoshoAdrianCirlea/videos for hundreds of other video teachings and discussions.  

Namo Amida Bu 

Article mentioned in the video:
The benefit of entering the stage of the truly settled (non-retrogression) 

Keep worldly affairs out of the temple

 

As you may probably know, in many Buddhist temples around the world, Jodo Shinshu or not, members organize parties with music, alcohol, and dancing. Some say it relaxes people and brings them together. I say it is a smart trick of internal maras (one's own blind passions and ignorance) and/or external maras or various evil spirits to make people forget the Dharma in the exact place where they have the chance to deepen its meaning, a subtle way of distracting them from the teaching and keeping them focused on their worldly passions and preoccupations.

State of mind in the moment of death

Shinran Shonin said in one of his Letters (Mattosho):

“I, for my own part, attach no significance to the condition, good or bad, of persons in their final moments. People in whom shinjin (faith) is determined do not doubt, and so abide among the truly settled. For this reason, their end also - even for those ignorant and foolish and lacking in wisdom - is a happy one.”

This is for me, one of the most important statements of Shinran Shonin. No matter if I die well, in my bed, or in the street like a homeless person, no matter if I feel good or bad, if I smile and die peacefully with the appearance of a wise person or I cry because of pain or fear, no matter if my death makes a good impression or not, no matter if I die of old age or in my youth, I am accepted exactly as I am and I will be born in the Pure Land because of Amida’s Compassion. This is because, in His Primal Vow, Amida Buddha did not mention a special condition in which I have to die in order to be born in the Pure Land, He just promised that those beings who trust in Him, wish to be born in His land and say His Name will be born there. These three minds – the mind who entrusts in Amida, the mind who wishes to be born in Amida’s Land and the mind who says Nembutsu are in fact one mind –  the manifestations of the entrusting mind.

In Jodo Shinshu our salvation starts in the here and now, that is, we enter the stage of non-retrogression (“truly settled”) or the stage of those assured of Nirvana, in the very moment we entrust ourselves to Amida Buddha, and we are born in the Pure Land where we become immediately Buddhas in the moment we die. But even after we receive shinjin (faith in Amida Buddha) we continue to live our lives like ordinary people, filled with blind passions and illusions, and we can die like ordinary people because of the problems of ordinary people.

However, this very ordinary person is already “received and never abandoned” by the Compassion of Amida Buddha and in this way his end becomes a happy one. He dies like an ordinary person but is reborn as a Buddha in the Pure Land of Amida.