Chapter 16.
The Assurance of Fulfillment
Among the many contributions to religious
understanding in Shinran's teachings, there is probably none more
significant and important, in social as well as religious implications,
as the idea of attaining the status of entry into the "company of
the truly assured" at the moment of faith, in this life (Shojoju).
It is a stunningly radical opening of the Pure Land gate not simply to
those who qualify through precept, arduous practice, or merit
transference, but to each and everyone who entrusts himself or herself
singleheartedly in Amida's Vow to work ceaselessly to save all beings
everywhere. Traditionally, in the ancient process of the pursuit of
Buddhahood, the status of entry into the company of the truly assured
came in the first stage of the Bodhisattva path.
In a comprehensive outline of this process, Dr. Suzuki
indicates that in Mahayana Buddhism there are altogether 52 stages of
discipline leading to Buddhahood. These steps are categorized into ten
units of five aspects each, with the final two relating to supreme
enlightenment. The commonly known ten stages of the Bodhisattva path is
the fifth of these ten units and already presupposes great determination
and training of the aspiring Bodhisattva. The first stage of this series
of ten is called the stage of Joy and is marked by entry to the company
of the truly assured. This stage is non-retrogressive. The Bodhisattva
is so established in his faith that he will not fall back to the realm
of delusion. This stage is described:
The first of the ten Bodhisattva stages (102), where
one attains genuine insight into the Buddha-dharma, enters the great
ocean of Buddha's Wisdom, benefits other fellow beings, and acquires for
himself a great blissful joy. This stage is also known as "the
stage of non-retrogression," for once entering it there is no
falling back, and rebirth is assured. It is also the stage where, for
Shinran, the attainment of faith in Amida's Original Prayer is realized.
[1]
This stage originally related to highly developed
devotees of Buddhist discipline, certainly not to common mortals
involved in everyday activities in the world of delusion. When such a
stage was promised to common mortals in the Pure Land Sutra, it was to
be achieved in the Pure Land -- beyond this life. In the "Larger
Pure Land Sutra" Buddha related to
Ananda:
"The Buddha said to Ananda: 'The beings who enjoy
birth in his country all sit in the Right Established State. Why?
Because in that Buddha country there are no persons wrongly or infirmly
established.'" [2]
It was this doctrine, reinterpreted by Shinran, that
brought the Pure Land even closer to the lives of ordinary people. For
him, assurance of salvation was attained immediately at the moment of
faith as a result of the embrace and non-rejection of Amida Buddha. It
is this awareness that through Amida's Vow all beings are already saved.
The absolute entrusting of mind and heart in the Other Power of the Vow
is the essence of the faith which Shinran described as
"diamond-like shinjin" when he stated:
" ... We say that we abide in the rank of the company
of the truly assured when we encounter the profound Vow of the gift of
Amida's Other Power and our minds which rejoice at being given true
faith are assured, and when, because we are accepted by him, we have the
adamantine mind." [3]
And he urged his disciples:
"You must all consider that your birth (into the Pure
Land) is determined." [4]
It has been widely recognized in Pure Land tradition
that the self-generated mind of sincerity, faith and desire for rebirth
could waver. Honen tried to deal with this by focusing on the practice
itself, and leaving the faith mind to rise naturally as a result. This,
however, gave rise to other problems, for instance the problem as to how
many will assure it -- hence the discussion of one recitation versus
many recitations. Shinran resolved these problems and reinforced the
certainty of one's status in the present life by claiming that the
experience of faith endows the person with equality to Maitreya, the
future Buddha, and with Buddha himself:
"Now, the Larger Sutra speaks of the 'stage next
to enlightenment, like that of Maitreya.' Since Maitreya is already
close to Buddhahood, it is the custom of various schools to speak of him
as Maitreya Buddha. Since the person counted among the truly settled is
of the same stage as Maitreya, he is also said to be equal to Tathagatas.
You should know that the person of true shinjin can be called equal to
Tathagatas because, even though he himself is always impure and creating
karmic evil, his heart and mind are already equal to Tathagatas."
[5]
Shinran declared that, like the Bodhisattva Maitreya,
believers in Amida Buddha are in a state of cause with respect to
Buddhahood. That is, the cause is perfected presently, but its
realization takes place inevitably in the future. Such a devotee of true
faith (shinjin) has the relation to Buddha of a single son, a close
friend, a true disciple, a person of superior virtue beyond description,
as Shinran describes it:
"Hence it is that Sakyamuni rejoices in the person of
shinjin, saying, 'he is my true companion.' This person of
shinjin is the true disciple of the Buddha; he is the one who abides in
right-mindedness. Since he has been grasped never to be abandoned, he is
said to have attained the diamond-like heart. He is called 'the
best among the best,' 'the excellent person,' 'the
wonderfully excellent person,' 'the finest of people,' 'the truly rare person.' Such a person has become established
in the stage of the truly settled and is declared, therefore, to be the
equal of Maitreya Buddha. This means that since he has realized true
shinjin, he will necessarily be born in the true and real Buddha Land.
You should know that this shinjin is bestowed through the compassionate
means of Sakyamuni, Amida, and all the Buddhas in the quarters."
[6]
There is a sense of communion or fellowship implied in
these terms. That the person of faith is the dearest friend and true
disciple, equal to Maitreya, expresses the revolutionary character of
Shinran's perspective, and it is enlightening to trace the connection of
this aspect of his teaching to traditional Buddhist doctrine centering
on the concept of the last thought at the moment of death.
With Shinran's rejection of merit acquisition and his
theory that the moment of faith denoted the conferring of an assured
status for the future in the present life, he relieved the anxiety
implicit in traditional thought, an anxiety that had led its
representatives to undertake the constant recitation of Nembutsu --
sometimes as many as 40,000 to 70,000 times a day. The number was
related to the apprehensiveness associated with the last moment of life,
and was an attempt to be sure that the thought of the Buddha was in
one's mind as one approached death. Since death is often unexpected and
swift, the idea behind this practice was that this unceasing practice
was a virtual insurance that whenever one did die, it would be with the
pronouncing of the Nembutsu and would assure birth in the Pure Land
accompanied by the Buddha (19th Vow).
We may observe the importance of the last thought at
the moment of death from the early Indian "Upanishads" ("Chandogya III," 14,
l; "Prasna," III, 10) to modern expressions of Buddhism. In
his "Man in the Universe," Dr. W. Norman
Brown emphasizes the importance of this concept in Indian thought:
"The most critical time in connection with desire
is the hour of death. Whatever one fixes his mind on then is likely to
determine his future state, for he is thought to fix his mind in his
last moment on that which expresses his deepest desire. The Bhagavad
Gita makes this point emphatically; whoever meditates on Me (Krishna)
alone at the hour of his death, goes to My (Krishna's) estate (BG 8.5,
cf. 8.10; 8.13). There are many stories in Indian literature exploiting
this motif. A small folktale expresses it succinctly. As a man lay
dying, a friend plucked a rose and held it before his eyes, and the man
fixed his gaze on it and, holding it so fixed, died. The friend then
asked a holy man standing there what was the state in which his friend
had been reborn. 'Let me show you,' answered the holy man. He
took the rose, parted the petals, and saying, 'There is your
friend," pointed to a small insect lying in the rose's
heart.'" [7]
It may be useful here to give some illustrative quotes
which reveal the wide influence of this thought and to highlight the
decisiveness of Shinran's interpretation which countered this long
standing belief.
The "Bhagavad Gita," a major popular Indian religious
test states:
"At the hour of death, when a man leaves his
body, he must depart with his consciousness absorbed in me. Then he will
be united with me. Be certain of that. Whatever a man remembers at the
last, when he is leaving the body, will be realized by him in the
hereafter; because that will be what his mind has most constantly dwelt
on, during this life. Therefore you must remember me at all times and do
your duty. If your mind and heart are set upon me constantly, you will
come to me. Never doubt this.
"Make a habit of practicing meditation, and do not let
your mind become distracted. In this way you will come finally to the
Lord, who is the light-giver, the highest of the high." [8]
This idea entered into Buddhism as an aspect of karma.
It is known as Death-threshold Karma. Whatever "is remembered at
the time of death; for when a man near death can remember (kamma), he is
born according to that." [9] In his "History of Buddhist Thought," E. J.
Thomas comments:
"It is a Buddhist doctrine that the next state of a
being to be reborn is determined by the last wish. Buddhaghosa gives
examples of it in discussing the Causal Formula. There is no necessary
violation of the law of karma in this, for whatever that state is, the
individual's karma will begin to take effect in it. Nor can an
individual at the end of a life make an arbitrary wish. It is really
determined by the life he has led, by the character which he has come to
be. We find a parallel to this in the modern parable of Dr. Jekyll and
Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll did not wish to cease to be Mr. Hyde, and he wished
to practice the life of a Mr. Hyde more than ever. What he did not wish
was the unpleasant..." [10]
The concept was not meant to be arbitrary, yet since
it is difficult to have an overview of the entire direction of one's
life, one must counter the possibilities which may come to fruition at
the time of death. The "Tibetan Book of the Dead" reveals the dangers
inherent in this moment in the following way:
"The All Determining Influence of Thought
"(Instructions to the Officiant): Say that, for by such
setting face-to-face, despite the previous non-liberation, liberation
ought surely to be obtained here. Possibly, (however) liberation may not
be obtained even after that setting face-to-face; and earnest and
continued application as follows:
"O nobly born, thy immediate experiences will be of
momentary joys followed by momentary sorrows, of great intensity, like
the (taut and relaxed) mechanical actions of catapults. Be not in the
least attached (to the joys) nor displeased (by the sorrows) of that. If
thou art to be born on a higher plane, the vision of that higher plane
will be dawning upon thee.
"Thy living relatives may -- by way of dedication for
the benefit of thee deceased -- by sacrificing many animals, and
performing religious ceremonies, and giving alms. Thou, because of thy
vision not being purified, must be inclined to grow very angry at their
actions and bring about, at this moment, thy birth in Hell: whatever
those left behind may be doing, act thou so that no angry thought can
arise in thee, and meditate upon love for them.'" [11]
The Tibetan approach to this problem as shown in its
more lengthy discussion indicates an attempt to turn negative thought
into positive influence at the time of death by recognizing its
negativity and the effect it can have. However, a person in a state of
suffering may hardly be expected to give such fine consideration to the
nature of his thought:
"Such (thought) will not only be of no use to thee, but
will do thee great harm. However incorrect the ritual and improper the
conduct of the priests performing thy funeral rites, (think), What! mine
own thoughts must be impure! How can it be possible that the words of
the Buddha should be incorrect? It is like the reflections of blemishes
on mine own face which I see in a mirror; mine own thoughts must
(indeed) be impure. As for these (i.e., the priests), the Sangha is
their body, the Dharma is their utterance, and in their mind they are
the Buddha in reality; I will take refuge in them.
"Again, even if thou wert to be born in one of the
miserable states, and the light of that miserable state shone upon thee,
yet by thy successors and relatives performing white religious rites
unmixed with evil actions, and the abbots and learned priests devoting
themselves, body, speech, and mind to the performance of the correct
meritorious rituals, the delight from thy feeling greatly cheered at
seeing them will, by its own virtue, so affect the psychological moment
that, even though thou deservest a birth in the unhappy states, there
will be brought about thy birth on a higher and happier plane.
(Therefore) thou shouldst not create impious thoughts, but exercise pure
affection and humble faith towards all impartially. This is highly
important. Hence be extremely careful." [12]
This concept is still promoted among Buddhists in the
present day as indicated in a pamphlet concerning death published by the
Buddhist Publication Society in Ceylon. It states:
"This last thought series is most important since it
fashions the nature of his next existence, just as the last thought
before going to sleep can become the first thought on awakening. No
extraneous or arbitrary power does this for him. He does this for
himself unconsciously as it were. The most important act of his life it
is, good or bad, that conditions the last thought moment of a life."
The pamphlet then continues:
"The idea of getting a dying man to offer clothes (Pansukula)
to the Sangha or the idea of chanting sacred texts to him is in order to
help him to obtain a good terminal thought for himself by way of Asanna
Kamma or death-proximate Kamma, but the powerful force of inveterate
habit can supervene and in spite of chantings by the most pious monks
available, the memory of bad deeds repeatedly performed may surge up to
his consciousness and become the terminal thought.
"The reverse can also occur. If the last few acts and
thoughts of a person about to die are powerfully bad, however good he
may have been earlier, then his terminal thought may be so powerfully
bad that it may prevent the habitually good thought from surging up to
his consciousness, as is said to have happened in the case of Queen
Mallika, the wife of King Pasenadi of Kosala ... She lived a life full
of good deeds, but at the dying moment what came to her mind was the
thought of a solitary bad deed done. As a result, she was born in a
state of misery where she suffered, but it was for only seven days. The
effects of good Kamma was suspended only temporarily." [13]
This tradition played an important role in the
development of Pure Land thought. It figures in the 19th Vow, where the
cultivation of virtue is in view of the appearance of the Buddha to
welcome the devotee into the Pure Land, and in the "Meditation Sutra,"
vicarious recitation of Nembutsu is offered as a means to aid the dying
person in his last moment:
"Some good friends will then say to him (at his last
moment), 'Even if thou canst not exercise the remembrance of the
Buddha, thou may'st, at least, utter the name, Buddha Amitayus.'
Let him do so serenely with his voice uninterrupted, let him be
continually thinking of the Buddha until he has completed ten times the
thought, repeating (the formula) 'Adoration to Buddha Amitayus.'
On the strength of (his merit of) uttering Buddha's name he will during
every repetition expiate the sins which involve him in births and deaths
during a eighty millions of kalpas." [14]
Concerning this teaching, Honen gave one of the
strongest statements:
"May it be that when you come down to the closing scene
of life you shall, with a composed mind, look into the face of Amida
Buddha, call upon his name with your lips, and in your heart be able to
await with confidence the welcome to be extended to you by his holy
retinue. Even though through the days and years of life, you have piled
up much merit by the practice of the Nembutsu, if at the time of death
you come under the spell of some evil, and at the end give way to an
evil heart, and lose the power of faith in and practice of the Nembutsu,
it means that you lose that birth into the Pure Land immediately after
death. And though, you may have one or two or three or even four lives
after this, or no matter how many times you experience birth and death
hereafter, you are cut off from the possibility of salvation. Surely
this is indeed a most terrible thing to contemplate, and on which no
words can describe. This is why Zendo so tenderly urged us to pray thus:
'May we, the disciples of the Buddha, when we come to die, suffer
no mental perversion, nor come under the spell of any hallucination, nor
lose the consciousness of the truth, but, free from agony of mind and
body, may we in peace of mind, like those in an ecstasy, have that holy
retinue of Amida come to meet us, and, embarking safely on the ship of
his Original Vow, may we have our birth into Amida Buddha's Pure Land,
and sit upon the lotus of the first rank.'" From this it is clearer
still that we should pray for a composed mind when death comes. There
are some men who say that people who pray for a composed mind at the
hour of death, do not really put their trust in Amida's Original Vow,
but stop and think how superior they must be to the great Zendo himself!
What a base and dreadful thing for a man to say!" [15]
Other passages from Honen, following the prescription
of the "Meditation Sutra," imply that devotees of Nembutsu will be met at
their deathbed by Amida regardless of the presence of a religious
advisor. Here, devotees of Nembutsu are given some advantage over those
who did not believe, and yet some others may gain rebirth through the
help of an advisor. In another passage, the problem of mental suffering
at the last moment is taken up. Honen states:
"And yet even though he becomes insensible through his
agony when he comes to draw his last breath he is, by the power of the
Amida Buddha, kept in his right mind and attains Ojo. The moment of
death is no longer than the time it would take to cut a hair, and
bystanders are unable to tell the exact frame of mind he is in, but it
is known to the Buddha and to the dying man himself..." [16]
In Buddhist, as in Indian, tradition the last moment
of life was a problem rooted in the concept of karma and religious
practice. It is against this background that Shinran's assertions of the
moment of faith placing the believer in the company of the truly
assured, takes on momentous importance. In his development of and
radical contributions to Pure Land thought, he pitted himself against
the whole of Buddhist tradition in this area. Shinran's conviction was
that the basis of salvation for each and every person without
discrimination lies in the work of Amida Buddha (with salvation being
assured through faith in his work). He strongly urged those of his
followers who had true faith not to be concerned with the last moment
before death. He challenged tradition, saying:
"There is nothing I can do about your fellow-practicers,
who say that they await the moment of death. The person whose shinjin
has become true and real -- this being the benefit of the Vow -- has
been grasped, never to be abandoned; hence he does not depend on Amida's
coming at the moment of death. The person whose shinjin has not yet
become settled awaits the moment of death in anticipation of Amida's
coming." [17]
And also:
"The idea of Amida's coming at the moment of
death is for those who seek to gain birth in the Buddha Land by doing
religious practices for they are practicers of self-power. The moment of
death is of central concern for such people, for they have not yet
attained true shinjin. We may also speak of Amida's coming at the moment
of death in the case of the person who, though he has committed the ten
transgressions and the five grave offenses throughout his life,
encounters a teacher in the hour of death and is led at the very end to
utter the Nembutsu.
"The person who lives true shinjin, however, abides in
the stage of the truly settled, for he has already been grasped, never
to be abandoned. There is no need to wait in anticipation for the moment
of death, no need to rely on Amida's coming. At the time shinjin becomes
settled, birth too becomes settled; there is no need for the deathbed
rites that prepare one for Amida's coming." [18]
Since Amida's infinite work provided the basis for the
infinite result in salvation, all anxiety could thus be dispelled about
the state of one's final moment of life and the apprehension that one
might die having not pronounced the Nembutsu with his final breath. For
Shinran, salvation does not depend at all on our own efforts. Rather,
the moment of faith bestowed by Amida became central in shaping a whole
new perspective on the nature of religious existence. Not among the
least of the benefits of this perspective was the release of the
follower of Shinran's thought from magical superstitions concerning the
dead, and, in general, from the principles of magic. Many scholars have
called attention to the fact that Shinran placed no emphasis on the use
of religion as a tool for securing life. In fact, as is evident from the
"Kyogyoshinsho," Shinran describes in spiritual rather than material terms
the 10 benefits for those having true faith in this life:
What are the 10 (benefits)? They are (1) the benefit
of being protected by unseen divine beings, (2) the benefit of being
possessed of the supreme virtue, (3) the benefit of having evil turned
into good, (4) the benefit of being protected by all the Buddhas, (5)
the benefit of being praised by all the Buddhas, (6) the benefit of
being always protected by the Buddha's Spiritual Light, (7) the benefit
of having much joy in mind, (8) the benefit of acknowledging His
Benevolence and repaying it, (9) the benefit of always practicing the
Great Compassion, and (10) the benefit of entering the Group of the
Rightly Established State. [19]
In this passage, the high degree of spirituality of
gain from religion should be carefully noted and compared with the
promise of worldly benefits as promised in other Buddhist texts.
Religious existence for Shinran is itself involved in expressing
compassion, and is thus a benefit -- that is, religious life is an end
in itself, and not merely a tool for gaining other particular ends. It
is for this reason that magic has no place in Shinshu.
We should point out, however, that Shinran wrote a
series of poems designated "Hymns on the Benefits in the Present
Life." They are found in the "Collection of Pure Land Hymns." Shinran
speaks more directly in this context of worldly protection afforded to
the Nembutsu devotee based on the respect given the devotee by all
spiritual beings and powers as a result of the person's faith. It is
clear that Shinran is aware that many physical and spiritual problems
confront people and they need assurance that the powers of the cosmos
care and support the person of faith. Later teachers of Shinshu also
rejected emphasis on benefits as a primary purpose or function of
religious faith. At best, such benefits are a by-product of faith and
not to be sought or used as a proof of faith. Despite Shinran's
awareness of such needs and the protection given as a result of faith,
he avoided any suggestion that religious faith depended on such
phenomena.
With this aspect of Shinran's teaching we have the
clearest evidence for the change in religious style and emphasis which
he brought to Buddhism. Though it is sometimes difficult to see through
the network of traditional religious symbols which he employed to
advocate his views, his contribution was not only religious but social
as well. Understanding this, we can see that it was probably no accident
the forces of Mount Hiei (the stronghold of Buddhist tradition) urged
the government to prohibit the heresy of the "infinite light"
promoted by Pure Land Buddhists. Muryokobutsu -- the symbol of Infinite
Light -- highlighted the egalitarian and liberating teaching of Pure Land,
such as was given by Shinran. The concern of the Buddhist establishment
of Hiei was that being embraced in Amida's light meant to be free from
all anxieties and from the religious bondage which manifested itself in
the great temples and services. Translating the meaning of Shinran's
doctrine to religious principle, we can observe the challenge it places
before all forms of religion based in moralism of spiritual achievement.
Reform movements such as that of Shinran's break
through the bonds of such mundane and communal religious perspectives by
offering the individual a secure spiritual status that is independent of
his social or political one. Such movements reject moralism and its
accompanying external standards of religiosity. They lay the groundwork
for a true equality for all persons by regarding all socially enforced
standards as insignificant for religious evaluation. Buddha did this
2,600 years ago when he rejected the caste system in his
order. Frequently, such movements become subversive, anti-social and are
persecuted once their political implications become clear to the
establishment, and yet -- once the reform has become popular enough, and
begins to institutionalize, the reform itself becomes established and
social and political halters develop in its tradition.
The peace of mind which reform religion offers is not
a cheap or superficial tranquility resulting from becoming blind to the
problem of human suffering -- it is not merely psychological tranquility
-- but an ontological, deep perception that one is in harmony with
reality and that one is accepted, no matter what problem may arise. Thus
Shinran exclaimed:
"I only think of the Buddha's deep Benevolence,
and do not care about people's abuse." [20]
It is this deep tranquility which permits a person to
take his stand and not fear the opposition which may arise when he
presents the truth. It is self-awareness versus the self-consciousness
to which we earlier referred. The tranquility of peace arising from true
faith is a confidence in the essential worth and meaning of life despite
all the evidence to the contrary. This is minority faith; not the easy
faith of the majority which runs on conformity and custom.
Reform religion takes traditional religion out of the
quantitative, futuristic, formal, external realm and seeks the
qualitative, present, spiritual dimension of faith. Quantitative
religion provides a basis for competition and pride reinforcing egoism.
In his qualitative emphasis on religion, Shinran points out that
practices employed to induce egolessness are in essence
self-contradictory, since one knows he is trying to be better than
others, which is inflating the ego in the process of deflating it.
Shinran quotes Shan-tao:
"Indeed I realize that those who perform the
Exclusive Practice with Mixed Minds do not attain the Great Joy. Hence,
the master says: 'These people do not feel grateful for the Buddha's
Benevolence. For, even when they practice, they are haughty and
disdainful and their practices are always accompanied by the desire for
fame and wealth; being naturally covered by self-attachment, they do not
associate with fellow-believer and good teachers; they fondly approach
various worldly matters, creating thereby, hindrances to their own and
other' performances of the Right Practice for Birth.'" [21]
Whenever religion places great emphasis on the future,
the meaning of the present is reduced. Since no one can know the future,
we are particularly vulnerable. Our anxiety manifests itself in a
perennial interest in divination, seeking spirits, or astrology, and --
in our modern life -- this anxiety is also manifested through insurance
salesmen trading on anxiety about the future.
Shinran's rejection of the Last Moment Theory, and his
establishment of the presentness of the Assured State, invests the
moment of the present with its own meaning, independent of the
guarantees of social and religious exploitation on any basis, and it is
this which makes his a religion of true freedom, freeing the individual
to develop his own inner potential in harmony with the compassion which
freed him. Meaning comes not through the anxious pursuit of salvation or
the subjection to the religious emphases of an institution, but through
responding to compassion and embodying it. It is this spiritual freedom
that is the still radical and life-revolutionizing message of Shinran's
thought to the alienated, anxious men and women of today.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Traditionally, in what stage of the Bodhisattva
path did one enter the company of the truly assured?
a) The first stage b) The tenth stage c) The last
stage
2. Shinran brought the Pure Land even closer to the
lives of ordinary people by teaching that:
a) salvation is attained through arduous practice b) the gate is opened to people who keep the
precepts c) all beings are already saved through Amida's Vow
3. Which of the following refers to the
"diamond-like shinjin" of which Shinran spoke?
a) The faith that is attained through repeated
recitation of the Nembutsu b) The self-generated mind of desire for
rebirth c) The absolute entrusting of mind and heart in Amida's Vow
4. Which of the following best describes the Indian
idea of death-threshold karma?
a) The accumulation of Karma throughout one's
lifetime is revealed to one at the threshold of death b) A person's dying last thought determines his
rebirth c) The cause of a person's death is determined by his karma
5.
Shinran challenged the traditional
Indian-Buddhist attitude toward the final moment of life by:
a) emphasizing the importance of promoting the
Nembutsu at the moment of death b) stating that a priest or minister should always be present at a
person's deathbed c) saying that for the person of true faith, there is no need to
anxiously wait for Amida's coming at the moment of death
6. Which of the following statements regarding reform
religion is not true? It:
a) runs on conformity and custom b) rejects external standards of
religiosity c) offers the individual a secure spiritual status
that's independent of his social or political one
7. In Shinran's thought, divination, magic, and
astrology have no place because:
a) more emphasis is placed on the future than on
present life b) there is no anxiety over one's future life c) such things do not always
work
Thought Questions
1. For many people the assurance of destiny -- that
is, where they will go after death -- is of great concern.
Traditionally, one of the roles of religion has been to alleviate this
feeling of uncertainty and the fear associated with it. In light of what
you have read in this chapter, do you think Shinran's approach to the
problem can be related to the concerns over death that people today
hold? Give some specific examples possibly from your own life.
2. Compare Shinran's view of the last moments of life
to that of Honen. How are the two views similar? How are they different?
3. For Shinran, religion was not a tool for securing
life. Explain the meaning of this statement.
4. Comment on your understanding of what Shinran calls
the "diamond-like shinjin."
Bibliography
Bloom, Alfred: "Shinran's Gospel of Pure Grace," pp.
61-68
Shin Buddhism Translation Series I, "Letters of
Shinran: A Translation of Mattosho." Letters 1, 2, 3, 7, and 18
Notes
[1] The "Kyogyoshinsho," D.T. Suzuki, tr. p. 235,
#92
[2] Yamamoto, "Shinshu Seiten," p.
39
[3] "Shinshu Shogyozensho II," 684.
[4] Ibid., 689
[5] Shin Buddhism Translation Series I,
"Letters of
Shinran," #3, pp. 26-27
[6] Ibid., #2, pp.
24-25
[7] W. Norman Brown, "Man in the Universe," p.
85
[8] Prabhananda and Isherwood, "Song of God," 75, Ch.
VIII
[9] Buddhaghosha, "Faith of
Purification", XIX, 16 p. 698
[10] E.J. Thomas,
"History of Buddhist Thought," p. 112
[11] Evans-Wentz,
"Tibetan Book of the Dead," pp. 169-170
[12] Ibid., pp.
171-72
[13] "Buddhist Reflections on Death," V.F. Gunaratna,
Wheel Publication 102/103, 33-34
[14] "Sacred Books of the East," XLIX, p.
198
[15] Coates and Ishizuka, "Honen the Buddhist Saint," pp.
407-08
[16] Ibid., p. 439
[17] Shin Buddhism Translation Series I,
"Letters of
Shinran," #18, p. 55
[18] Ibid., pp. 19-20
[19] Ryukoku Translation Series, Vol. V,
"Kyogyoshinsho,"
p. 121
[20] Ibid., p. 211, also p. 85
[21] Ibid., p.
195
