Returning from the Pure Land - explanation of the 22nd Vow of Amida Buddha

Section from the Larger Amida Sutra Mandala. Samantabhadra is seen near
 the Shakyamuni Buddha on his white elephant.Maitreya and Manjushri are 
also depicted in the right and left of the Buddha.

Revised on September 27th, 2019 for my commentary on the Larger Sutra. 

“If, when I attain Buddhahood, bodhisattvas in the Buddha-lands of other directions who come and are born in  my land[1] should not ultimately and unfailingly reach the Stage of Becoming a Buddha after One More Life, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment. Excepted are those who wish to teach and guide sentient beings in accordance with their original vows. For they wear the armour of great vows, accumulate merits, deliver all beings from birth and death, visit Buddha-lands to perform the bodhisattva practices, make offerings to Buddha Tathagatas, throughout the ten directions, enlighten uncountable sentient beings as numerous as the sands of the River Ganges, and establish them in the highest, perfect Enlightenment. Such bodhisattvas transcend the course of practice of the ordinary bodhisattva stages and actually cultivate the virtues of Samantabhadra”.[2]

the 22^nd Vow

Vows made for those who still cling to their own power - explanation of the 19th Vow and 20th Vows of Amida Buddha

Click here to return to the list of the 
48 vows of Amida Buddha

“If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten directions, who awaken aspiration for Enlightenment, do various meritorious deeds and sincerely desire to be born in my land, should not, at their death, see me appear before them surrounded by a multitude of sages, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.”[1] 

 (19^th Vow)

“If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten directions who, having heard my Name, concentrate their thoughts on my land, plant roots of virtue, and sincerely transfer their merits towards my land with a desire to be born there, should not eventually fulfil their aspiration, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.”[2]

 (20^th Vow)

Generally speaking, Buddhist practices taught by Shakyamuni can be classified into two groups:

Helping animals make a connection with Amida Buddha

Here it looks like Codita is bowing his
head in front of Amida image

No human being arrived today for the service, so I recited Nembutsu with one of the dogs of Amidaji - Codita.
Even if animals may not understand human language is beneficial for them to hear the sacred Name and see holy images of Amida. This plants a seed in their mental stream and will help them make a karmic connection which Amida Buddha and His Dharma, which one day, perhaps in a better rebirth, will result in becoming open to His Primal Vow. This is why I encourage you to say Nembutsu in the presence of animals, make them see Amida images and even put statues with Amida on the crown of their head.

Biography of Shinran Shonin (audio version)

This is the official biography of Shinran Shonin as accepted by Nishi Hongwanji branch of Jodo Shinshu, and also by our temple, Amidaji. The reason I say so is that this biography is recited aloud on every Hoonko week (Shinran’s Memorial) at Nishi Hongwanji mother temple between January 9th to January 16th. 

The title of the biography is “An Illustrated Biography of Shinran, Honganji's Shonin (Honganji Shonin Shinran Denne)” and was compiled by Kakunyo, the 3rd Monshu of Hongwanji temple.

The narrator of this biography is Gansen John Welch, a member, and teacher in Amidaji temple sangha. The edition he uses was translated by Rev Zuio Hisao Inagaki and can be accessed at this link, http://web.mit.edu/stclair/www/horai/denne-index.htm Please click there if you wish to read the whole text together with an introduction, images, and notes.

The karmic situation of beings who have no aspiration for Enlightenment and Shakyamuni’s encouragement to do good in daily life and wish to be born in the Pure Land – commentary on sections 31 - 40 (PART II) of the Larger Sutra

     

                          fragment from my commentary on the Larger Sutra

- this is a work in progress and under constant revision - 
click here to return to the table of contents

     2) Shakyamuni’s encouragements to do good in daily life and aspire for birth in the Pure Land for the attainment of Enlightenment

To counter the karmic effects of the evil acts described previously one has two options: to do good and/or to aspire to be born in the Pure Land. Even without having the aspiration for birth in the Pure Land, people can still do good and change their karmic situation for the better. Also, the aspiration for birth in the Pure Land and the non-discriminative salvation offered by Amida does not mean one should not try to have a good behavior towards others. As long as one is clearly aware that his/her salvation depends entirely on the Power of Amida Buddha and abandons any idea of transferring his pitiful merits towards birth in the Pure Land, his efforts to lead a decent life and do as much good as possible is not in contradiction with the Primal Vow. Thus, to try to lead a moral life and aspire for birth in the Pure Land can be followed in the same time by those who have faith in Amida.

The karmic situation of beings who have no aspiration for Enlightenment and Shakyamuni’s encouragement to do good in daily life and wish to be born in the Pure Land – commentary on sections 31 - 40 (PART I) of the Larger Sutra

         fragment from my commentary on the Larger Sutra

- this is a work in progress and under constant revision - 
click here to return to the table of contents

I divide this chapter into the following sections:

1. The karmic situation of beings who have no aspiration towards Enlightenment

2.  Shakyamuni’s encouragements to do good in daily life and to aspire for birth in the Pure Land for the attainment of Enlightenment

 1.     The karmic situation of beings who have no aspiration towards Enlightenment

Shakyamuni Buddha described various kinds of evil deeds and their karmic consequences like for example, the three evil acts and their retribution, and the five kinds of evils and their effects – the five sufferings and the five burnings. I will present each one of them bellow in Shakyamuni’s own words and offer my comments only when necessary, as they are very easy to understand. My advice is to transform the reading into a contemplation of the sad situation of those without the aspiration towards Enlightenment and who, because they have no faith in Amida, have no chance of escaping samsara.

Condiciones para ser aceptado como estudiante en el templo Amidaji

Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea, templo Amidaji

Traducido del inglés por:

                       Juan Sebastián Hincapié Arana

                                                            

Lo siguiente también aplica para las personas que preguntan ocasionalmente por enseñanzas mías, o para  quienes visitan Amidaji, sin participar en una relación prolongada entre profesor-alumno.

Ya lo he explicado muchas veces, pero creo que es mejor decirlo nuevamente en más detalle, para que las personas que deseen recibir orientación de mí sepan que esperar. Así que, primero, lean esto, y luego decidan si desean continuar o no.