The connection from Sakyamuni Buddha to Shinran Shonin
Nagarjuna
Nagarjuna or Ryuju was a South Indian Buddhist monk of the 2nd-3rd century CE. Known for the development of the Madhyamaka philosophy, many texts are attributed to him that later gave rise to various Buddhist schools that regard him as a foundational figure. Certainly, it is difficult to disentangle what he actually wrote, and even whether it is a single author or several. Shinran himself sees Nagarjuna as a practitioner of the nembutsu who shows us the easy path to the pure land and recommends it against the difficult path of ascetic practices.
"The Buddha said for Mahayana practitioners, "Taking vows and seeking the path to Buddhahood is a more difficult task than lifting the whole universe." You know that the stage of non-retrogression is extremely difficult to attain, requiring a long period of practice, and you ask me if there is an easy path of practice by which you can attain this stage quickly (...) if a person wishes to quickly attain the stage of non-retrogression, he should, with a sincere heart, say the name, holding fast [to this practice]."
Keyword: the easy way (igyo-do, jodo-mon)
vasubandhu
We are still in a territory of legend where historical data are mixed with fictitious ones. The monk Vasubandhu was famous for being the fundamental pillar of the philosophy of yogacara or cittamatra -only consciousness-. As with Nagarjuna, many texts were attributed to him in both India and China, although he probably could not have written them all. His Chinese name is Tenjin or Seshin.
"How is faith awakened? If a good man or woman performs the five mindful practices, eventually, he or she will attain birth in the Land of Peace and Bliss and see Amida Buddha. What are the five gates of contemplation? (...) by performing the five practices, bodhisattvas achieve both benefit for themselves and benefit for others, and quickly attain complete and unparalleled awakening."
Keyword: single-mindedness (isshin)
DONRAN
Donran or Tan Luan (476-542) was a Chinese Buddhist monk who lived in the early days of Buddhism in China. It was a time when Confucianism and Daoism were struggling with Buddhism to gain a foothold in Chinese society. Donran himself practiced a kind of Daoist alchemy mixed with ascetic practices. Finding himself unable to attain awakening through his knowledge, he surrendered himself to 'alien power', a term he coined to express the interdependence of all phenomena and the absence of a permanent personal identity independent of them.
"To take refuge in the pure land of Amida is the same as taking refuge in all the lands of the Buddhas. I praise and revere a single Buddha with a single mind, rather than my praise extending in the ten directions reaching out to other liberated beings. Before these numberless Buddhas of the ten directions, I prostrate myself with a sincere mind full of veneration."
Keyword: the other power or the power of others (tariki).
DAOCHO
Daocho / Doshaku (562-645) was a Chinese Buddhist monk, a meditation master, who followed the example of Donran in abandoning other practices and devoting himself fully to vocal nembutsu. He exerted an important influence among the common people of his time and is credited with the use of the juzu or bead rosary for counting recitations. Daocho was Zendo's teacher, although on some occasions he acknowledged that he felt himself to be surpassed by his disciple. One of his great contributions was the division of Buddhism into two great paths: the path of the sages and the path of the pure land.
"Our present age is that of mappo, in which the world suffers from the plague of the five impurities. Only the Pure Land is available to us. At present, neither monks nor laymen can attain the goals proposed by Hinayana and Mahayana. It is true that there are still practitioners who, by their great effort, enjoy the benefit of being born as human beings or celestial beings. But this benefit is achieved only by practicing the five precepts and the ten acts which very few observe.However, when we consider the evil and sinful actions of people today, do they not remind us in their intensity of the fury of storm winds or heavy rains? That is why many Buddhas, in their immense compassion, urge us to aspire to the Pure Land."
Keyword: the era of the decline of the dharma (mappo).
shandao
Zendo / Shandao (613-681) studied a multitude of sutras from a very young age until he came under the tutelage of master Daocho in 641. His legacy represents a synthesis of the teachings received by his predecessors and the introduction of some additional ideas that characterize pure land Buddhism as it is known today, for example: (1) that birth in the pure land takes place, primarily, because of Amida's vow and not because of our efforts to be born there; (2) that the ten 'nen' cited in the sutras can be applied to verbal recitations of the Name; (3) and the distinction between correct practices (those that are directed to Amida Buddha) and miscellaneous practices (those practices that are not aimed at birth in the pure land of Amida).
"All present and future Buddhists, monks and lay people, should awaken in themselves the highest aspiration. Birth and death are extremely difficult to abhor, and the Buddha Dharma is difficult to seek. All together with the resolve of a diamond, you must leap over the four rivers. Join hands and take refuge in Amida wishing to enter his Pure Land."
Keyword: the five right practices and vocal nembutsu.
GENSHIN
Genshin / Eshin (942-1017) was a Japanese Tendai monk most famous for his practice of nembutsu as a form of meditation on Amida Buddha. He also wrote about the single vehicle and his descriptions of the hellish, heavenly states and the wonders of the pure land in his well-known work 'Ojoyoshu' are famous. Yokawa's speech remains a very important text within our school where the practitioner's absolute trust in Amida arising from the nembutsu of the other power is shown.
"Even if the nembutsu is said with a mind filled with doubt, we must know that the nembutsu is like a lotus flower that is not stained by muddy water. We should not harbor any doubts as to our birth in the Pure Land. Nor harbor worries about the state of our deluded mind. Instead, let us reflect on the superficiality of our faith, And recite the Name with conviction."
Keyword: the nembutsu of the other power (tariki no nembutsu).
honen
Honen / Genku (1133-1212) played the role of disseminating and popularizing the teaching of the pure land throughout Japan. Master of our founder, Shinran, he expressed his complete rejection of the efficacy of any practice based on self-power and his full confidence in the efficacy of the Name as an expression of the promise and power of Amida's vow. His proximity and charisma enabled people from all walks of life, including those excluded by traditional Buddhism, to connect with Amida Buddha's teaching.
"Do not worry about the extent of your defilements, nor whether your burden of faults is heavy or light. Simply recite "Namu Amida Butsu" with your lips, listen to the sound of your voice and fix your mind firmly on being born in the Pure Land. Your own mind creates the conditions for your birth (...) if you believe that your birth is certain, then it is assured. To trust wholeheartedly in it, without the slightest anxiety about past events, nor any doubt about one's birth, that is what we call the heart of trust."
Key word: the efficacy of the original vow