The Ten Benefits of faith in Amida during this life: 3. The benefit of our karmic evil being transformed into good

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The Ten Benefits in this Life of a Person who has Faith in Amida Buddha

Due to the influence of Amida we can transform an unpleasant experience into an opportunity to understand life as it is and the Dharma.  It doesn’t mean that we will no longer have problems, or experience lack of material things, etc., but that we can understand these unfortunate events as being the effects of our karma, using them to become more aware that this is samsara, the world of suffering, from which we must escape once and for all through birth in the Pure Land. Bad events in our lives can thus be transformed through the light of the Dharma into useful ones – useful for our understanding.

Also this benefit refers to the fact that in the instant we receive shinjin (faith) our karma is cut or sterilized and cannot plant its seed into another life. When shinjin enters our heart we receive the pure karmic energy of Amida Buddha. Our evil is turned into good in the sense that it is no longer an obstacle for our birth in the Pure Land at the end of this life:

The Ten Benefits of faith in Amida during this life: 2. The benefit of being possessed of supreme virtues

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The Ten Benefits in this Life of a Person who
 has Faith in Amida Buddha

This benefit means that by entrusting ourselves to Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow we receive His merits and virtues which cause us to attain birth in the Pure Land:

"When sentient beings of this evil world of the five defilements
Entrust themselves to the selected Primal Vow,
Virtues indescribable, inexplicable, and inconceivable
Fill those practicers".[1]

„All beings, having heard Amida’s virtuous Name,

Attain joyful faith, rejoice in what they hear,

And call his Name even once. The person of sincerity, Amida,

Endows merit to them. All who aspire for birth in the Pure Land attain Birth there.

Hence, I prostrate myself to worship him and aspire to be

born there.'"[2]

Shinran Shonin explained in his work “Passages on the Two Aspects of The Tathagata’s Directing of Virtue”:

The Ten Benefits of faith in Amida during this life: 1. The benefit of being protected and sustained by unseen powers and divine beings

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The Ten Benefits in this Life of a Person who has Faith in Amida Buddha

This benefit means that those who have shinjin (faith in Amida) are protected against various influences from external evil forces. Thus, the nembutsu follower has no reason to be afraid of sorcery, black magic or evil spirits. Shinran Shonin said in Hymns of Benefit in the Present:

"Those who deeply entrust themselves to the Buddha's teaching are protected by all the gods of the heavens and earth, who accompany them just as shadows do things."[1]

„When we say ‚Namo Amida Butsu,’

Brahma[2] and Indra[3] venerate us;

All the benevolent gods of the heavens

Protect us constantly, day and night.

When we say 'Namo Amida Butsu',
The four great deva-kings together
Protect us constantly, day and night,
And let no evil spirits come near.

The Ten Benefits in this life of a person who has faith in Amida Buddha

  This is a chapter of my book

 The Meaning of Faith and Nembutsu in Jodo Shinshu Budhism

Shinran Shonin speaks about ten benefits that a    person who entrusts in Amida Buddha receives in the present life:

„When we acquire adamantine true faith we unfailingly gain ten benefits in this life. What are  the ten?[1]

1. The benefit of being protected and sustained by unseen powers and divine beings

2. The benefit of being possesed of supreme virtues

3. The benefit of our karmic evil being transformed into good

4. The benefit of being protected and cared for by all the Buddhas  

5. The benefit of being praised by all the Buddhas

6. The benefit of being protected constantly by the light of

Amida’s heart (the 4th and 6th benefit are explained together in the same article!)

7. The benefit of having great joy in our hearts

8. The benefit of being aware of Amida’s benevolence and

of responding in gratitude to His virtues

9. The benefit of constantly practicing great compassion 
                (the 8th and 9th benefit are explained together!)

10. The benefit of entering the stage of the trully settled. (non-retrogression)"

 

Here you can see an one hour discussion on the Ten Benefits on my youtube channel: 

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[1] Shinran Shonin, Kyogyoshinsho, chapter III, Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 121 and The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.112

Why did Shinran say that we should not wait for Amida’s coming at the moment of death?

Question:

 Why did Shinran say that we should not wait for Amida’s coming at the moment of death? Will Amida not come for people of shinjin?

Answer:

The person who has faith in the Primal Vow does not wait for the final moment of death to have a good state of mind in which to say Nembutsu and be welcomed by Amida Buddha, but receives faith during his present life when he  becomes assured of birth in the Pure Land, which will actually happen at the moment of death, when he is naturally welcomed  by Amida Buddha and attains Budhahood. The Nembutsu one says during one’s whole life is thus the expression of faith and gratitude, and not the self power nembutsu. When Shinran said that we should not wait for Amida's coming at the moment of death, he did not mean that we are not actually received by Amida in His Pure Land when we die or that He might not send one of His manifestations to us in our final hours before death! Of course Amida can do that if He wants! What Shinran meant is that we should not think that the moment of death is more important than our daily lives, and we should not attach a false significance to it, fearing that if we do not have a good state of mind or concentration in those final moments, then we will not go to the Pure Land. No matter we are or we are not in a concentrated or good state of mind when we die, no matter if we say the Nembutsu or die without saying it because of unforeseen circumstances, we will be welcomed by Amida Buddha in His Pure Land if we already entrusted ourselves to Him and said His Name in faith during life. Shinran explained:

Abandon the idea that you can attain Buddhahood in this life

Question:

You said in one of your recent  posts that as long as you still harbor in your mind the smallest thought of personal merit or “maybe I can attain Buddhahood by myself” kind of thinking, you cannot see and enter the Dharma gate of birth in Amida Buddha’s Pure Land. Please explain in more detail.

Answer:

People don't really understand what is meant by becoming a Buddha in this life, and in this very body. This is perhaps due to the bad influence of many fancy Buddhist magazines which talk about Enlightenment like it’s some kind of calmness or stillness of mind which can be attained by everybody. They use a language which makes Enlightenment seem a normal human experience if you are good, and meditate, and they also describe Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha, like a normal human being who proved that spiritual calmness can be attained by anybody.

Spring work at Amidaji and the plan for this year (2018)

planting tibetan goji on the eastern fence

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE NEW UPGRADES AT THE TEMPLE 

As usually in spring, I started the work at Amidaji temple with planting activity. Thus, from the few donations received from readers and Dharma friends I planted 20 tibetan goji on the eastern fence of the temple land, and 26 sea berry on the Western fence.

I also added three Paulownia Tomentosa (Empress Tree/Kiri Tree). The Paulownia Tomentosa are fast growing trees which are also present in China and Japan. The total amount spent was around 150 euro (700 lei).