The seven root masters

FROM SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA TO SHINRAN SHŌNIN

NAGARJUNA

Nagarjuna or Ryūju was a South Indian Buddhist monk from the 2nd-3rd century CE. He is known for the development of the Madhyamaka philosophy, and many texts are attributed to him, which later gave rise to various Buddhist schools that regard him as a foundational figure. It is certainly difficult to ascertain what he actually wrote, and even whether there was a single author or several people called Nagarjuna. However, Shinran sees Nagarjuna as a practitioner of the nembutsu who shows us the easy path to the Pure Land and recommends it instead of 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. This was a time when Confucianism and Daoism were competing with Buddhism in the plural context of Chinese society. Donran practiced Daoist alchemy and other ascetic practices. Finding himself unable to attain awakening through his knowledge, he surrendered himself to 'other power', a term he coined to express the power of the primal vow of Amida, which liberates the practitioner from self-attachment and the belief that they are in ultimate control of their path to liberation.

"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: other power or other-benefitting power (tariki).

DAOCHO

Daocho / Doshaku (562-645) was a Chinese Buddhist monk, a meditation master, who followed the example of Donran in abandoning multiple practices and devoting himself fully to the nembutsu. He exerted an important influence among the common people of his time and is credited to have started, or at least popularized, 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 that his disciple was more advanced than him. 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 mappō, 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 (mappō).

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 also be interpreted to mean to verbal recitations of the Name; (3) and the distinction between correct practices (those that are directed at attaining birth in Amida Buddha’s Pure Land) 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', sometimes compared to Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’. ‘Yokawa's Talks’ remains a very important text within our school. In this writing Genshin shows how the practitioner's complete trust in Amida arises from the nembutsu of the other power.

"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

Hōnen / Genku (1133-1212) played the role of disseminating and popularizing the teaching of the Pure Land throughout Japan. He was the teacher of our founder, Shinran, and 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

Q&A ABOUT THE SEVEN ROOT MASTERS

WHO ARE THE SEVEN ROOT MASTERS?

They are those masters of the Pure Land Buddhist tradition whom Shinran Shōnin singles out as cornerstones in the transmission of Amida’s vow. The first two lived in India, the next three in China and the last two in Japan.

WHY ARE THE SEVEN ROOT MASTERS IMPORTANT?

The teachings transmitted by the seven masters represent a transition within Mahayana Buddhism from extremely rigorous practices to the development of a practice suitable for ordinary people who cannot follow the admirable but difficult path of the sages.

ARE THESE TEACHERS A LINEAGE LIKE OTHER BUDDHIST SCHOOLS?

Yes and no. They represent a line of transmission like that of many Buddhist schools. However, unlike the lineages of other schools, the seven root masters do not represent a continuous line of masters and disciples, even if each of the masters had their own teachers and disciples. Among the seven, only Daocho and Zendo met face to face, but all of the others were all aware of the writings of their predecessors and studied and revered them deeply. The seven root masters do not represent a linear, continuous succession of teachers, but are, rather, selected figures in a very long line of teachers and students that goes back to Shakyamuni Buddha.

WHAT IS THE DIFFICULT PATH TO AWAKENING?

Trying to awaken by our own means and efforts assumes the binary logic of being and non-being: "I exist independently and separately from awakening, which I have to conquer". When we think like this we run into the mountains of being and non-being and the journey becomes long, anguishing and difficult.

WHAT IS THE EASY PATH TO AWAKENING?

The easy path is based on recognizing that awakening already exists in relation to us and in a certain way embraces and supports us at all times, although we do not realize it. For this reason, Nagarjuna compares the easy practice to traveling aboard a ship that sails peacefully on calm waters. We can relax and enjoy the sun on deck because the ship carries us and we don't have to worry about getting lost or overcoming obstacles through great physical exertion. Everything exists in deep interdependence and we are naturally on the path to awakening... the essential thing is to realize that we are already in relationship to the goal, and the path. This understanding is expressed through the story of Amida Buddha, the Primal Vow and the Name, which are expressions of our relationship with awakening.

WHAT IS SINGLE MINDEDNESS (ISSHIN)?

As important as it is, it is impossible to translate! It has been interpreted in many ways throughout history. A certain interpretation in our school sees isshin as an attitude, a heart that harbors no doubts, that moves with determination, without indecision, therefore it is not divided, it is one. It can also be interpreted as a non-dual heart, the heart of the Buddha which blossoms in us as we hear the Buddha’s Name, Namu Amida Butsu. The most important thing to remember is that we come to awaken to this undivided heart through the merits of Amida's original vow. The essence of this single mind or heart is expressed in the meaning of Namu Amida Butsu, which encapsulates our deep relationship with awakening, the fact that, even if our self-centereded beings, we are already embraced by the Buddha.

WHAT IS THE OTHER POWER (TARIKI)?

Donran, commenting on Vasubandhu's treatise, concludes that both 'going to the pure land to be born' and 'returning from the pure land to help other beings' happen because of 'other power' (tariki). This ‘other power’ is the engine that carries us on this double journey. Our imperfect personal efforts, 'self-power' (jiriki) are not the engine, nor are we the ones directing the journey. Therefore the only thing that matters, on our part, is shinjin. Shinjin is letting go, trusting, surrendering. All that remains to be done on our part is to accept that we are not in control and entrust ourselves to the journey, to the process that leads to awakening.

WHAT DOES THE ERA OF DHARMA DECLINE (MAPPO) MEAN?

Shakyamuni Buddha anticipated that his teachings would undergo a progressive decline over the centuries. Mappō is the era when the Buddha dharma decays and in which it is practically impossible to attain enlightenment by our own means. Several of the root masters thought that they were already in the mappo era and, therefore, the capabilities of dharma practitioners had diminished so much that the only practice capable of bearing fruit was nembutsu.

WHAT ARE THE FIVE CORRECT PRACTICES?

The five right practices focusing on Amida Buddha are: 1) bowing, 2) recitation of the sutras, 3) contemplation, 4) saying the Name, and 5) praise and making offerings. When it is said that there are six right practices, praise and making offerings are listed separately.

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE NENBUTSU THAT IS OTHER POWER?

The nembutsu of other power relies on the power of compassion encapsulated in Amida’s promise, and in this way it helps us along the path that liberates us from suffering. This teaching involves acknowledging that liberation is not attained through the merits or efforts of the practitioner, but it emerges naturally when we come to realize that the awakening activity of Amida’s vow is already working on us.

WHY DID HŌNEN INSIST SO MUCH ON RELYING ON THE POWER OF THE NENBUTSU?

Hōnen Shōnin insisted on relying on the power of the nembutsu because he sincerely believed that it provided the most accessible, inclusive and effective path for reaching freedom from suffering in our current age. Hōnen’s teaching represented a groundbreaking change in the history of Japanese Buddhism. Instead of focusing on arduous study and meditation, which relied on self-effort and favourable conditions, Hōnen advocated a Buddhism for the masses, based on faith and devotion, which could be practised by everyone.