Correspond with the Primal Vow

Kasha/ Hi no kuruma/ Fire chariots 火の車

Be it religions or philosophies, after having spent 50 years reading, I discovered that there is no other way (not even one or two) aside from the Primal Vow-power of the Tathagata for a bombu to gain salvation. Forget it, forget it, if we have been duped, so be it; please follow after Master Shinran! By showing off your smartness of a monkey, you wouldn’t be able to put an end to the fire chariot of evil karma! The problem of our afterlife, like gold ingots falling from heaven, “just as you are,” truly it is “just as you are”. The sound of the Call of coming right away single-mindedly－it’s superfluous to say “just as you are.” When you have naturally become “just as you are,” that’s called “correspond with the Primal Vow.” If you are working hard towards becoming “just as you are” you will go to places unthought of. The Buddha Dharma is about not-self; not-self is to become an idiot, to be a simpleton. It’s such that despite being alive our calculation perishes. It’s such that we discover the fact that no matter how it’s just impossible by using our own power.

Zuiken

Passage from the essay “All-pervasive illumination of Buddha-Wisdom”

When fish are hauled out of water

A student called Two-Three-Four could not answer a question from his teacher in school. Fellow traveler Hirata shared with the student the Buddha-Dharma. 

Two-Three-Four was moved and wrote the answer for the question as follows: 
“When fish are hauled out of water, they will die no matter how you treat them. Fish will only survive in water.” 

We discover Buddha like fish discovers water (Namo).

“We rely on the Buddha to live.” How many people out there are aware of this themselves? The wisdom of Namo is the master of the six syllables. The six syllables are the Buddha; relying on the Buddha we humans are shone upon and protected. Such an object (person to be saved) is only savable with the one-thought moment of Amida Buddha. Ahh, how embarrassed I am, how embarrassed I am!” 

“Namo” is Sanskrit, which is translated as “take refuge” in China and “the saving Buddha” in Japan. Just hear the salvation of Amida Buddha. 

The moment when we are informed “Ah! (I see..) ’ is “Namo.”

by Hirata Ariwa (平田有和)

Note: Madam Hirata was a myokonin of Zuiken's time. She benefited a lot from Zuiken's dharma teaching and owed him great respect. Her speeches, thoughts and poems were collected into Zuiken's book titled The Ship of Vows of Great Compassion. 

This Very Special Great Vow (betchi no gugan)

Concerning shinjin, what can we do about it? 

What on earth can you do about it? Your (true) features when born, the same old you just like before hearing the Dharma! Doesn’t it mean that I won’t be able to attain birth? Yes, it does. You won’t make it (birth)! As you (this good-for-nothing) won’t make it, it only requires the Tathagata to fasten the lock of the Vow-power around your waist and pull you along. The Pure Land is not devised for unordinary people.

  

Isn’t it like gold ingots falling from heaven (a windfall)?

Indeed. If you cannot listen to or are deaf to this very special great Vow (*betchi no gugan 別異の弘願), you won’t be able to enter the White Path of the Primal Vow. It is the 18th Vow that surpasses the ordinary causes and effects of our world! It is *shukuzen! Even so, you are still invited to try listening with astonishment.

Zuiken (an extract)

*betchi no gugan 別異の弘願 The very special great vow. Amida's vows distinguish themselves from those of other Buddhas in that they promise salvation for ordinary beings filled with evil passions. In this sense, the term specifically refers to his eighteenth vow. The term comes from Shan-tao's Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra, in the section on the "Essential Meaning" (Gengibun 玄義分). See hongan; hongan no mon. [AK.; KG.6]

*shukuzen Karmic virtue; stored merits in one's past lives.

Please read: Amida's Primal Vow Accords with the Nature of Beings

The Tathagata trusts that you can definitely be saved

The Tathagata trusts that you can definitely be saved. This shinjin (faith-mind) and compassion of the Tathagata as it stands penetrates my mind, is my anjin, also my shinjin. 

Zuiken (an extract)

It is the Primal Vow at work to align with us

In your heart of hearts, have you ever raised a thought of plea for help from the Buddha, “Amida Buddha, I beg of you”? If you do, that’s self-power, and that's not in accordance with the Primal Vow. Then, what is to be done to align with the Primal Vow? As we are working our will to align with the Primal Vow, and hence we can never be in perfect alignment. In fact, it is the Primal Vow at work to align with us.

The Single Path Free of Hindrances

念仏者は無碍の一道

The Nembutsu is the great path free of hindrances. I am now walking on this great path, which is the great path of the Primal Vow and of great compassion. The great path is calling to me—the calling sound is the great path. This sound resonates and keeps resounding until it penetrates my body and mind. It is the great mind of compassion; therefore, it can penetrate. It is the Vow-power of the Buddha; therefore, it certainly can penetrate. It is the Buddha-wisdom; therefore, it can inconceivably make one entrust and accept it.

Faith (shinjin) is the great mind of compassion; therefore, it certainly can bring about the great benefit of attainment of birth [in the Pure Land]. This faith is the great Bodhi-mind (great compassion); therefore, even the heavenly gods and earthly deities venerate the practitioners [of shinjin], while maras and non-Buddhists present no obstruction. Neither evil nor karmic retributions come into effect. Though we are children of evil, we are unaffected by evil. Though we live in the seas of karma, we are unaffected by karmic retributions. Some people sigh as follows: ‘I exist as the result of cause and effect, so what sort of karmic evil did I create in my previous life?’ People who sigh thus have not tasted the wonder of the Buddha-Dharma. We suffer in the seas of suffering as a matter of course. Think further: this body of ours has been entrusted with the mind of great compassion, and joined in the activities of the Tathagata. Is there anything more fortunate than this? Is there anything more enjoyable than this? Haven’t we been liberated from the cycle of birth-and-death? Haven’t we broken away from reincarnation? After resolving birth-and-death, what happiness could we still ask for? After attaining birth in the Pure Land, aren’t we disclosed the mind of great compassion (through the Vow-power) and return as a manifested body to the world of suffering to cross over the sentient beings? Such being the case, this body that begins to perform the practices of the Tathagatas, while practicing diligently our own, should we not propagate the Buddha Dharma even if life is distasteful? Don’t our eternal activities take place within the world of suffering (kugai)? This world of suffering is rightly the great place of the way (dojo) for propagating the great compassion. This great dojo is a dojo beginning from time immemorial, and it will extend to the endless future, ad infinitum. In this case, however distasteful this world of suffering may be, we should feel fun and nostalgic at the same time, shouldn’t we? Conversely, those who want to escape alone hastily from the world of suffering make us feel that they have not yet joined in the wonderful practices of great compassion.

The seven calamities, come on! The eight sufferings, come on! You can be aptly revealing the majestic force (anubhāva) of the Primal Vow-power. The mind of propagating the great vehicle—if not as hard as the iron rock, what use is it?  We spend our day in reading samadhi, every single word is Nembutsu, and every verse is burning with the mind and heart of great compassion and vows. To recognize and repay this kindness—that’s beyond my knowledge and ability. However, I am grateful to be endowed with such great benefit! In this present life, when condition allows, three days are not short, and 3,000 years are not long. Regardless of what we have been born as, be it a horse or a cow, if we can spread the great compassion expediently, isn’t it good?

In this present mind, we forget about suffering while living in this world of suffering, forget about poverty while being in poverty, forget about birth-and-death while floundering in birth-and-death, and forget about being good or evil while living in this filthy world. Enjoying the bliss of the Dharma, we can gain the bliss of enlightenment that Buddha himself enjoys (jiju-horahu), which is not the privilege of the bodhisattva. Isn’t this the state of “No evil act can bring about karmic results”?

Open your living eyes and behold the extensive waves of the activities of great compassion! These waves are spreading throughout the entire Dharma realm, extending toward the unending future. What is there but the sounds calling continuously to sentient beings? While listening to the sounds, involuntarily we merge into the sound; the two are merged into one another. Together with the sounds we are spreading and reverberating to the ten quarters, on board the unlimited time machine (vehicle) to transmit the sounds. The taste of ‘The Nembutsu is the path free of hindrances’ lies in this.

At the peak of the lonely mountain, where the dead end appears, our mind is illuminated by the great compassion and enabled to roam the Dharma realm. Once out of the crossroad, there is no looking backward or forward. To the right we have the sound of Dharma and to the left we have the sentient beings with whom we are closely connected. The thought of wishing to find a way out has been turned into a great joyful mind. Being commonplace, we do not go against the conditions [of life] but follow in accord with these conditions. We are accompanied by the Dharma, the Tathagata, our parents, our benevolent teachers, and we travel along with virtuous friends. Ah, what a joy! Let the wind of tomorrow blow tomorrow—we just walk straight ahead unwaveringly on the white path. Our clothing and food will be there, the money needed to buy books will come naturally. Health and long life will also be endowed. I am very steadfast in this belief. Oh, virtuous friends! For the Buddha-Dharma we have only to advance forward with an indomitable spirit, and life lies within. The shinjin that has been endowed should come with bounties, no hesitation. This is the gladness of the person on the great path without hindrances.

(Please also read: The Single Path Free of Hindrance by George Gatenby)

7. Shinran Shōnin

Shinran Shonin walking during a snow storm

“Hearing the Name, having joy in shinjin (faith)” is the abstruse tenet of Jōdō Shinshū, the anjin (settled mind) of the Shōnin, as well as the basis for salvation. “Hearing” is the working of the Name; other than this working, the Name is not found. “Hearing” is the great shinjin that is the mind of great compassion, so it is the real cause of birth in the Land of Recompense. The Name, arising from the ocean of vows, is anchored in the ocean of great wisdom and compassion. It is the mind of great compassion that hears the mind of great compassion. The Buddha’s mind is itself the mind of great compassion; hence, the Buddha’s mind hears the Buddha’s mind. The mind of bombu (foolish beings) is not capable of hearing the Buddha’s mind. So, what sort of mind is it that hears the Buddha’s mind? It is the Buddha’s mind that hears. How does the bombu’s mind work, and where is it headed? The bombu’s mind is likened to murky water, while the Buddha’s mind is equal to the Moon. Just as the Moon dwells in the murky water, the Buddha’s mind becomes imprinted on the bombu’s mind, as it were. This is called “hearing” or shinjin. Being bombu, people are simply incapable of reverently receiving the Buddha’s mind of great compassion. However when something that cannot happen is made to happen, and one turns to reverently receive the Buddha’s mind thanks to the Buddha’s mind, this is called “inconceivability.” Relying on the inconceivable Buddha-wisdom, we hear the inconceivable vows, and so the shinjin received is also inconceivable. “Exclusively hold fast to this practice and only uphold shinjin” is what the Shōnin means by “to receive.”

Buddha-Dharma cannot be heard by bombu as a matter of course; to be able to hear it is inconceivable. However, without putting effort into listening to the Buddha-Dharma, one cannot possibly hear it. Be that as it may, it is impossible for bombu to hear the Buddha-Dharma through their own efforts. It is entirely because of the benevolence of the Buddha that bombu can hear the one-thought moment of shinjin; this is beyond human concepts and expression.

To distinguish and study the merits of the Dharma-gates alone does not help to sail across the sea of birth-and-death. One cannot do without leaving behind speech and texts and straightforwardly trusting with awe [1] in the Buddha’s mind. What the Shōnin means by “leaving behind the texts” is to accept wholeheartedly his preaching—not drawing a snake and adding feet to it, not putting in one’s own ideas, but listening to it with a sincere mind. By regarding the holy texts as being sacred, one can partake of the taste of “leaving behind the texts.” Studying the texts logically while being constrained by intellectual reasoning, as long as it remains theory, can never be Buddha-Dharma. When sailing across the sea of suffering in birth-and-death, Buddha-Dharma transcends birth-and-death altogether. Hearing of the ship’s existence while remaining an onlooker is of no avail. Without boarding the ship of Great Compassion, there is no Buddha-Dharma. Among the devotees of Jōdō Shinshū, the majority are prone to be so attached to name and form, overly attached to the sense perceptions of self-power (jiriki).

To study how to cross over the sea of suffering in birth-and-death, how to acquire shinjin, how to determine the true and real shinjin and so forth, as long as one sets off from one’s standpoint to accommodate the Buddha’s mind, to resolve the matter on one’s own, even if hundreds of thousands of years are spent, this is still too difficult to yield a result. Most practicers are irritated by this point. The Shōnin noticed this and taught us that “shinjin is the call of the Tathagata. It is the command of the great compassion that summons us to trust it.” He exhorted, “You shall not establish, imagine, create or discriminate shinjin in your mind, and so assume this is shinjin.” In order to see and know the state of mind that is the great shinjin of the Shōnin, you should refer to the following texts:

The universal Vow difficult to fathom is indeed a great vessel bearing us across the ocean difficult to cross. The unhindered light is the sun of wisdom dispersing the darkness of our ignorance. [2]

The radiant light, unhindered and inconceivable, eradicates suffering and brings realization of joy. [3]

The Shōnin’s words do not touch on how to understand, to believe, whether our mind and feeling should be like this or that, to cultivate virtue, to stop evils, etc. It just unfolds the fact of the accomplished Dharma-body, as though depicting the spectacle of sunrise in the eastern quarter of the sky. Right above me, who have been drifting along on the sea of birth-and-death, the Sun of the great compassion is rising, emanating its embracing light. Other than the Sun, the rays of the Buddha-wisdom of great compassion, what could be accomplished by thinking, pleading and designing of one’s own accord to create the causal seeds for attaining birth? The ray of the Primal Vow of the One Vehicle is absolute and non-dual. What is still not enough with this one thing? The Name that reveals the Primal Vow-power, the mind and body of the Buddha, as well as His Pure Land—all are formed into the command that is calling to me. The sound of this call is flowing throughout the ten quarters, which is incomprehensibly “felt” as it makes its imprint on my mind presently. This one Dharma has accomplished the attainment of birth; apart from this one Dharma, bombu cannot possibly create their own way to birth. This one Dharma becomes the sound, the white path, the Name, the Buddha-body, as well as the Pure Land, as manifestations to call to me. Those who discover shinjin in the calling sound can attain birth, while those who come upon shinjin within their sense perception and discriminating mind will not escape from samsara.

“Taking refuge (kimyō), therefore, is the command of the Primal Vow, summoning us to trust it.” [4] Reading this sentence for a thousand or even a hundred thousand times may lead you to the realization of true and real shinjin. “Taking refuge” (kimyō) refers to shinjin, and shinjin refers to the explication of “the command of the Primal Vow, summoning us to trust it.” Such a marvelous explication has not been sought after, and is unheard of in all other Buddhist schools and world religions.

“Taking refuge” refers to the object of the One Vehicle of the Primal Vow, which is absolute and non-dual—diamond-like shinjin. “The command of the Primal Vow, summoning us to trust it” refers to the teaching of the One Vehicle of the Primal Vow, which is absolute and non-dual. The object and the teaching are one, together revealing their absoluteness and non-duality (one object, one Dharma) in the great ocean of shinjin. This is the culmination of Jōdō Shinshū, the pure essence of shinjin.

The command is the embracing light (external cause); taking refuge (kimyō) is the internal cause of shinjin. When the internal and external are one, sentient beings are delivered. Though we are saved by shinjin, this shinjin is not a bombu’s mind. There is no shinjin other than the embracing light.

The Shōnin says, “How joyous I am, my heart and mind being rooted in the Buddha-ground of the universal Vow, and my thoughts and feelings flowing within the Dharma-ocean, which is beyond comprehension!” [5] These words reveal the entire reality of the Shōnin. When Amida's light and heart (Vow) totally illuminate our heart, our state of mind will transform, and the Nembutsu will flow out. How great this is!

The shinjin of the Shōnin is likewise revealed in the following words:

To manifest shingyo (serene entrusting) within the power of the Vow and reveal the incomparable fruit of enlightenment in the land of peace. [5]

Shingyo is shinjin. Where does shingyo reveal itself? In our mind? In our daily conduct? The Shōnin says that it is revealed within the Vow-power. The joy of the Shōnin is to find “my shinjin” and “my attainment of birth” within the Vow-power of the great compassion of the Tathagata. This joy instantly turns into the Tathagata’s practice of teaching people to believe in the Dharma. You should read this hundreds or thousands of times to appreciate the taste of the holy words.

The Shōnin manages to eliminate his dark night of the distant past in the One Vehicle of the Primal Vow, awakening from the deep slumber. His outpouring of joy is shown as follows:

When one has boarded the ship of the Vow of great compassion and sailed out on the vast ocean of light, the winds of perfect virtue blow softly and the waves of evil are transformed. The darkness of ignorance is immediately broken through, and quickly reaching the land of immeasurable light, one realizes great nirvana and acts in accord with the virtue of Samantabhadra. [6]

When the above words are gathered and recited together with “my heart and mind being rooted in the Buddha-ground of the Universal Vow,” it will be like the Shōnin’s countenance beaming before us.

Taking refuge (kimyō), therefore, is the command of the Primal Vow, summoning us to trust it. [4]

The unhindered light is the sun of wisdom dispersing the darkness of our ignorance. [3]

To manifest shingyo (serene entrusting) within the power of the Vow and reveal the incomparable fruit of enlightenment in the land of peace. [5]

When reciting the three sentences above repeatedly, the clouds of our doubt are dispelled all of a sudden, and we meddle into the unhindered light. It affords us the delight of forgetting ourselves in the sounds of the great compassion.

Zuiken-sama

[1] 仰信signifies that we respect someone because of their honorability and character, not because of evidence.

[2] The True Teaching, Practice, and Realization of the Pure Land Way (The Collected Works of Shinran, Vol. I, 3)

[3] Passages on the Pure Land Way (The Collected Works of Shinran, Vol. I, 295)

[4] The True Teaching, Practice, and Realization of the Pure Land Way (The Collected Works of Shinran, Vol. I, 38)

[5] The True Teaching, Practice, and Realization of the Pure Land Way (The Collected Works of Shinran, Vol. I, 291)

[6] The True Teaching, Practice, and Realization of the Pure Land Way (The Collected Works of Shinran, Vol. I, 56)

Taste of Buddha Dharma

The present English translation was revised in January 2015 with the kind assistance of Rev. Koju Fujieda

Digital edition (PDF)

(1)

Namo Amida Butsu is my compassionate Parent.

The compassionate Parent is calling to me

From the Land of Utmost Bliss.

He is awaiting me

In the Land of Utmost Bliss.

The beautiful lotuses are emitting lights.

How lovely are the beautiful sounds of birds!

The Pure Land is my motherland;

The Land of Bliss is the home of the compassionate Parent.

(2)

All day long work weighs us down.

At night we are exhausted and tend to be neglectful.

Nevertheless, I am grateful;

I have the compassionate Parent who never forgets me.

(3)

No need to worry—

The compassionate Parent is waiting for me

No need to bring a gift—

The compassionate Parent is expecting me.

Whether you are righteous or evil or very sinful,

The compassionate Parent

Knows this from ages past.

Seeing through everything, He beckons us.

No need at all to make up for it.

As when I was born, just like that

Waving my arms all the way home.

I go to the Land of Utmost Bliss.

I go to meet the compassionate Parent, who I am longing to see;

I go to meet the compassionate Parent, who is longing to see me.

Why worry?

Why be nervous?

(4)

There it is! The call of the Buddha, “right here and now.”

The calling sound of the six-character Name,

Calling to me: “Come, come!”

Without a mind of having to die,

How reluctantly we must part with this world!

When our energy is exhausted—finished up—when our destiny ends,

We pass away amid tears.

Die then, but cheerfully;

Time to die is time to float, like a lotus blossom.

(5)

In the Land of Utmost Bliss, there are still fathers.

In the Land of Utmost Bliss, there are still mothers.

The children will come along;

The grandchildren will come along

To meet one another, to come together.

The speeches made are the voices of the Dharma.

Look up and meet our compassionate Parent, Amida Nyorai!

(6)

The life of man is but fifty years.

Fifty years are just like another dream within the dream.

While life is dreamlike we can still lose our temper;

While listening to the Buddha-dharma, we still have desires.

From dawn till dusk,

The flames of anger are burning;

The river of desire is billowing.

To assume that by listening to the Buddha-Dharma

One will not lose one’s temper easily,

And desires will get fewer and fewer—

How presumptuous such a frame of mind is!

The more aged you are, the more desires there will be;

The older you become, the more easily you lose your temper.

After losing my temper,

After the desires arise,

This shameful being that is me

Can only be saved by the compassionate Parent,

Can only be saved by Amida Buddha—

The beckoning sounds of the wonderful Vow-Power—

The promise of the inconceivable Buddha-wisdom.

(7)

Between the two rivers of water and fire,

The beckoning sound echoes inconceivably,

Calling to this useless being that is “me,”

Calling to this being that has no one to rely upon—

This beckoning sound is the sincere mind of the Buddha.

Trusting and relying on the sound of Great Compassion,

Advance to the other shore—the Land of the West.

Salvation is in the beckoning sound,

The true and real sound of salvation—

The Land of Utmost Bliss is the only way.

The faith that is heard in such a way is the mind of the compassionate Parent.

Ah, so happy!

It is really fascinating and exciting.

What a joy!

My sleeves are drenched by tears and Namo Amida Butsu—

Even the sound of the Nembutsu comes from the Buddha’s compassion.

(8)

To think that in order to attain birth in the Pure Land

The mind has to be purified as well as the body,

The saying of the Nembutsu should not be interrupted,

The three karmic energies have to be perfectly clean—

In this way only can birth be attained.

If this is the way that you think about birth in the Pure Land,

Then you would be completely wrong.

When we are only slightly ill,

We begin to think we may be dying.

We might fume for nothing more than a petty matter—

The river of desires has no bound.

Whichever way you look at it,

No matter what,

It is unreasonable that you could attain birth.

If only those who are qualified are to be born there—

If only a good person can attain birth—

Then it is nothing extraordinary.

Committing evils throughout my life,

This villain who is oblivious to the Buddha’s benevolence

Could not attain birth in any event.

Hell is decidedly my definite abode.

This villain, who has a clear ending,

Calling out, seizing and holding on

Without letting go, he is carried by Namo Amida Butsu to the Land of Utmost Bliss,

Carried along to birth—amazing!

(9)

Only Faith—oh, only Faith!

The stage of explaining theories and parading your knowledge

Cannot make attaining birth in the Land of Utmost Bliss possible in any case.

The wisdom of bombu is comparable to the wisdom of monkeys;

Whatever they think, say, and do

Is purely the evil karma of the three evil realms.

If you can manage it, go on, try it! Harvest stores of merit and virtue.

Even if you have accumulated merit for a thousand years,

All this can be burnt to ashes with a single flame of anger.

If you can manage it, go on, try it! Contemplate the Dharma while sitting in zazen.

Just one day of sitting zazen—

Your legs and feet and your waist

Will complain in spasms of pain.

The mind is as confused as a tangled skein,

As scattered as grains of sesame.

It is like horses running wild;

It is like monkeys jumping around in the branches.

It is a daydream to obtain “no thought” and “no mind.”
You still mind it when your rice is overcooked!

You still hear the disputes of your children!

You still think of the things that cause you to hate!

You still remember it all quite clearly,

Three years ago,

The money your neighbor borrowed from you!

The wandering thoughts are overwhelming.

Even if you spur on the mind of self-power,

Putting much effort into self-powered practice,

Bombu wanting to become a Buddha

Is much harder even than lifting up the whole world.

The ghostlike three poisons transformed into a Buddha—

This is the wonder of all wonders.

Just give yourself up! Ah, Faith alone!

The golden words of the Buddha are not unreal;

The command of Amida Buddha is not empty.

(10)

My mind is like a peephole.

Though the mind is ever changing and transient,

Unchanged is the truth and reality of the compassionate Parent.

My mind is like muddy water.

Though the mind is impure and unclear,

Untainted is the pure mind of the compassionate Parent.

My body is like horses and donkeys.

Though my body is burdened and exhausted with evil karma,

Amida Buddha has made the Original Vow;

The heavy evil karma is made not so heavy.

I am blind—an idiot!

Though I cannot find my destination,

The Buddha possesses the eyes of wisdom.

I have the compassionate Nyorai, who guides my way.

(11)

The sword of karma is so dreadful!

The karmic retribution is so dreadful!

The mishaps that follow one after another

Include the evil karma created in this life time—

The retribution comes swiftly.

The retribution will come again

Unexpectedly!

The accumulated karma is as high as a mountain,

As bottomless as the ocean.

The karmic retribution is Avici hell;

The ghost armies and fire are waiting.

As this is your own created evil,

You definitely cannot escape!

For the one who embraces hell:

Your worship of the Buddha is thanks to His compassion.

In hell, you are able to listen to the Buddha-Dharma.

This is inconceivable!

Just because such an inconceivable compassion exists,

We can hear the Dharma that cannot be heard;

Relying on the power of the Dharma,

We are taken to the Western Paradise.

So happy!

So grateful!

(12)

The disasters that one accumulates with age—

This or that, however much—

Simply because of the seeds of evil karma you sowed,

Have finally sprouted.

You should be aware of this!

“I am a good person,

Therefore I do not deserve retribution.”

You are just stupid to think like that.

How is it possible to see your own good with your own eyes?

It is ridiculous!

The more you listen to the Buddha-Dharma, the more you will understand,

And the more you discipline yourself, the more you become aware of the fact that you are indisputably wicked.

If you gradually see your own evil, then

This is real.

Therefore, do not blame Heaven or curse the earth.

Therefore, do not bear hatred towards people.

Do not in any way speak ill of others!

The evil especially of slandering the monks is quite heavy.

Even if you are a good person,

There are effects of karma,

And you can’t avoid pain and suffering.

Look, look!

The difficulties that Shinran Shōnin had to face when he turned ninety—

The Lord Buddha too had been framed by Devadatta time and again, and almost died of his machinations

When the Lord Buddha was gravely injured.

Also, there was a time

When the armed forces of the king of Kashi Kosala came to attack,

Desiring to destroy the country of the Lord Buddha, the Kapilavastu.

Lord Buddha just waited in the shade for the forces to come.

Sitting in meditation,

Staying still, he did nothing.

These events had also happened twice.

Besides, Yan Hui of China,

Confucius’ favorite disciple, who also claimed to have the highest virtue,

Yet he was short-lived—

Did he not die in his youth?

Consider this, ponder it well!

For a man like me,

Who is immoral and always creates evil,

Who has never done any practice,

Who has never accumulated any virtue,

Paying no respect to parents—

How is it possible for me to encounter good things?

The ground breaking open,

A huge flame bursting out

To engulf you while you live would be your just deserts!

However, until today,

Why are you still enjoying three meals a day,

Not trampled underfoot to death by horses and cattle?

You have complained again and again for bitterness of life.

However, in this triple-fold world, can you ever find a person happier than you?

To live until today, to whom are you indebted?

Had it not been for the benevolence of the Buddha, what else could it be?

So, please listen!

Do not hope that anything cheerful, joyful or pleasant might happen.

You should know about poverty, fire, and flood,

And that you will surely get sick and die.

In the event that there is nothing befalling you today,

Thank the Guardian, the Buddha.

Be happy to be guarded by the Buddha in the course of everyday life.

When the karmic energy has manifested,

Know that this is in natural response to the principle of cause and effect;

During that time, you should be able to acknowledge aloud that “it is simply a matter of course!”

Pursue your life with such awareness.

Living in this burning house and impermanent world,

We anticipate the Land of Peace and Bliss to come.

Every day we live in the light and wisdom of Buddha;

No matter how tough life is, we are still able to take it.

Walking step-by-step in the light for the span of fifty years,

Even if there is only seven days of life left to spare,

We should diligently and uninterruptedly repay the kindness of the Buddha by saying His Name.

Good children should live their lives in such a way.

(13)

Dangerous, dangerous, how dangerous this world is!

Beguiled by desires, you feel giddy and your vision is blurred.

Taking advantage of people in order to get promotion,

Telling a pack of lies and believing in what is not true,

Reviling the Nembutsu followers,

Turning deaf ears to your parents,

Having an abusive tongue, mixed words, and being free in what you say,

Disbelieving the law of cause and effect,

Believing in neither Buddha nor Dharma—

People who lead such a life

Are dangerous, dangerous, dangerous indeed!

It is as if skating on very thin ice,

Or standing upon the edge of an abyss—

Dangerous, dangerous, extremely dangerous!

The retribution will come soon enough, now and forever;

The retribution waits for no man.

Beginning with this life, you can experience a living hell.

When huge guilt is created, you should repent.

Even if the wrong is tiny enough, we should avoid it.

We should reflect on our mistakes during the course of life.

(14)

No matter how poor you are,

You just can’t steal.

To be truthful and simple-minded in life—

How light-hearted and carefree this is!

No matter how penniless you are,

It is pointless to talk about it—

The retribution of not paying respect to the Buddha—

At this late hour.

Even if you have become a beggar,

There is something you just can’t forget,

There is something you must not skip—

Even if you have nothing important, you ought to come to pay your respects to the Buddha.

Even if you have nothing important, you ought to say the Nembutsu.

Do not forget about “diligence”!

You may have accumulated millions in wealth;

You may be very prosperous.

However, you may also fall into hell for incalculable eons.

What is the use of it all, if you were to suffer miserably?

I can leave neither wealth

Nor stock of possessions behind;

The only relic that I shall leave

Is this saying—

Keep it in mind!

“Either the Buddha or our parents are in the Land of Bliss.”

Together, let us cherish this happily!

If the children are dead,

If the parents are dead,

If at the beginning a person has his body and mind settled,

The Nembutsu of gratitude responding to the benevolence of Buddha

Will naturally flow out from his mouth;

There is no directing of virtue as great as this.

(15)

This living body will definitely succumb to death.

That person is dead, this person is dead—

They were still doing fine the day before,

But today they have all become cadavers,

Staggering forlornly along the river Styx in the underworld. So pitiful!

Man will die! Man will die!

Old as well as young, robust as well as ill—

Life is like lightning and morning dew;

It disappears in a flash like dew on a blade of grass.

Life is such that you can hardly predict tonight;

Impermanence will come at any time.

Think it over carefully!

“The afterlife that you will be going to, isn’t it bright enough?

Of course it is not pitch-dark, but it isn’t bright either.

I have so much faith!

I am seriously saying the Nembutsu!

And I have never bullied anybody . . .

Buddha will probably take me to the Land of Ultimate Bliss.”

If your innermost being is so unclear,

Regretfully I dare tell you that you will not be born in the Pure Land.

Watch this man of low capacity, like a revolving lamp.

No matter how many times it turns,

You will still be the same old self.

Other than falling into hell, what else do you have?

This incurable wretch

Is saved by the inconceivable Vow-Power.

Amida Buddha’s hand is so strong and powerful—

Trust reverently to Him!

Joy is born instantly from one moment of trust

Thanks to the inconceivable virtue of the transcendent Power.

Namo Amida Butsu is the proof given by the Buddha;

Namo Amida Butsu is the directing of the Buddha’s virtue;

Namo Amida Butsu is the Great Compassion;

Namo Amida Butsu is the compassionate Father-and-Mother.

He is my compassionate Father-and-Mother, and hence

He calls on me:

“I save you as you are.

Come just as you are, just as you stand there.”

Zuiken