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KEY IDEAS
THE PURPOSE OF SHINRAN'S TEACHINGS
The goal of Buddhism is to attain enlightenment, which means the cessation (nirvana) of suffering. The attainment of nirvana implies uprooting our greed, hatred and ignorance, which means that the cycle of birth and death (samsara) comes to an end. We stop making the same mistakes and tripping over the same obstacles. However, this noble goal is very difficult to reach for most ordinary people. It is for people like us, who are unable to liberate themselves from suffering, that the easy path of the Pure Land was given by Shakyamuni Buddha. Shinran Shōnin teaches us that our life's purpose can be completed in this life through the awakening of shinjin, which means entrusting to the Pure Land path of birth (i.e. awakening) through the nenbutsu. This experience allows us to realize that we are already enveloped in the light of Amida Buddha, which symbolizes immeasurable wisdom and compassion. A person who experiences shinjin is certain of their 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 Shōnin 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, which expresses our deep connection with awakening, the fact that we already live in relation to awakening. 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, the question is whether we realise that it is shining on us. Realising that we are already enveloped by the light of immeasurable wisdom and compassion is what we call shinjin. But, how do we come to this realisation? An answer commonly given is that we awaken to shinjin as we listen… But listening doesn’t just mean literally listening with our ears, though it can mean actually listening to. ‘Listening’ is a way of talking about an open and receptive attitude, because we can close our eyes but we can never close our ears. So, what is it that we are ‘listening’ to? The call of Amida Buddha, which is the call of Immeasurable Life (compassion) and Immeasurable Light (wisdom), is the call of reality itself beckoning us to awaken to things as they truly are. This ‘call’ takes the form of Namu Amida Butsu, which expresses that my limited, self-centered ‘I’ (i.e. Namu) is already in relation to the unlimited wisdom and compassion of the Buddha (i.e. Amida Butsu). As we hear this message, encapsulated in the Namu Amida Butsu, we come to experience the joy of feeling enveloped by the light of the Dharma, embraced and on the path to freedom from suffering, just as we are.
key word: listening (chōmon)
THE NENBUTSU
Traditionally, in some Pure Land Buddhist schools, 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. There was also a belief that the practice of the nenbutsu ought to be continued until the last minute of life, otherwise birth in the Pure Land would be compromised. This is the nembutsu of one's own power. Shinran Shōnin redefined this practice based on his interpretation of the Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life and the teachings of his master Hōnen. The nembutsu of other power is the proof that Amida's vow has already been fulfilled; in other words, saying Namu Amida Butsu expresses that we are already on the path to awakening. The nembutsu of other power, that is, the nenbutsu that is itself other power, expresses that the Buddha’s vows and merits are already fulfilled and are freely given to us if we simply ‘listen’ to them. The frequency or number of recitations are irrelevant, because the effort of the practitioner is negated and trust is placed in the power of the Vow itself, the power of awakening, the power of the Buddha.
Keyword: nembutsu of the other power (tariki no nembutsu)
THE UNOBSTRUCTED PATH OF THE NENBUTSU'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 flavour. We are still imperfect and limited 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 ups and downs of life and gives meaning to our existence.
Keyword: the unobstructed path (muge no ichido)