Key ideas
THE PURPOSE OF SHINRAN'S TEACHINGS
The goal of Buddhism is to attain enlightenment and enter nirvana. The attainment of nirvana implies the elimination of greed, hatred and ignorance and the end of the endless cycle of birth and death. However, this noble goal is beyond the reach of most ordinary people. It is for us, beings incapable of self-liberation, that Amida Buddha established his 48 vows. Shinran Shonin teaches us that our life's purpose can be completed in this life through the awakening of shinjin. This experience allows us to realize that we live enveloped in the light of Amida Buddha. A person who experiences shinjin is certain of his or her birth in the pure land and the realization of buddhahood.
keyword: heizei gojo (completing our purpose in this very life)
WHAT IS SHINJIN?
Shinjin is the cornerstone of our school because shinjin is the cause that enables a person to be born in the pure land of Amida and become a Buddha. Throughout time, this word has been translated as having faith, believing, trusting, entrusting, awakening, etc... However, none of these translations are true to the meaning that Shinran Shonin discovered in shinjin. Shinjin is the mind of the Buddha in us; but we cannot possess or create the mind of the Buddha, the mind of the Buddha manifests as in a person only through the power of Amida's vow. Therefore, it is better to say that we receive shinjin.
keyword: shinjin (to entrust, to trust...)
HOW TO RECEIVE SHINJIN?
The power of Amida's vow reaches us at all times as the moonlight illuminates everything equally when it is high in the sky. However, for that power to reveal shinjin, an attitude of active listening is necessary. The answer to how to receive shinjin is, simply by listening. And what is there to listen for? The call of Amida Buddha in its different forms: the Buddha calls us with his Name, Namo Amida Butsu, the Buddha calls us through his original promise, even, the Buddha calls us through other beings. Responding to this call, we feel the moonlight on our skin and that contact triggers in us, the joy of feeling enveloped by Amida's light and eager to share that experience with others.
key word: listening (chōmon)
THE NEMBUTSU
Before Shinran, the recitation of the nembutsu was seen as a practice that was under the control of the practitioner. This led many people to believe that their birth in the pure land depended on the number of recitations of Amida's Name: the more recitations, the more merit accumulated to attain birth. This is the nembutsu of one's own power. Shinran Shonin redefined this practice based on his interpretation of Amida Buddha's long sutra and the teachings of his teacher Honen. The nembutsu of the other power is the proof that Amida's vow has already been fulfilled; in other words, saying Namo Amida Butsu expresses that we are already on the path to awakening. The nembutsu that Amida gives us is the nembutsu of the other power.
Keyword: nembutsu of the other power (tariki no nembutsu)
THE UNOBSTRUCTED PATH OF THE NEMBUTSU'S LIFE
In the Tannisho, there is a phrase attributed to Master Shinran that says: "the person of the nembutsu lives on the great path without obstacles". Once we place ourselves in the hands of Amida Buddha, once the nembutsu of the other power spontaneously manifests in our lives, we discover that life has acquired another flavor. We are still imperfect beings. The good we try to do still falls short. The bad deeds we try to avoid continue to happen in spite of ourselves. Happy and unhappy moments continue to hit us. So what has changed? We now know that awakening is on its way to us. Now, the good and the bad, our good and our bad deeds, all remind us that we are in Amida's embrace and that certainty softens the onslaught of life and gives meaning to our existence.
Keyword: the unobstructed path (muge no ichido)