Prologue 14

The Preface to the Kyogyoshinsho states: “The unhindered light is the sun of wisdom dispersing the darkness of our ignorance.”

The truth is exactly as pronounced in the above passage; no elaboration is needed to make further clarification. Never again hold on to thoughts and designs; never again cling obstinately to wrong beliefs. Apart from the shining of “the unhindered light”, there will be no destruction of darkness or fulfilment of aspiration. Because bombu wrongly regard the nembutsu as something belonging to them and take shinjin for their own possession, they become lost in the maze and cannot find their way home.

“The unhindered light” is precisely the radiant wisdom of Buddha. Thus, for bombu to attempt to exercise their own powers in dispersing the darkness of ignorance is simply an unattainable accomplishment, no matter what they might do. Although the radiant wisdom capable of “dispersing the darkness of our ignorance” illuminates us constantly like the sun, there are still people searching for the light in various places.

When “the unhindered light” penetrates our entire being, we are instantly grasped by the Tathagata’s light of compassion, never to be abandoned. I do not know how this happens; nobody knows. It is all due to the independent working of the realm of light.

Zuiken Sama

Prologue 101

Amida Buddha is here now, preaching the Dharma;

Father is present, no need to worry about our birth in the Pure Land.

Listening to the Dharma until you can perceive the Tathagata is truly honorable. In the course of doing this, you may encounter hundreds or even thousands of situations. When dealing with these situations, the Buddha Dharma that you have learnt will be a test. Without hitting the wall, a person’s ‘eye of the mind’—the Eye of Buddha or Wisdom-Eye—will never open.

Hit the wall, hit the wall! Hit the wall quickly and completely!

This mind is intractable, but even if it were made obedient, the Pure Land is just not a place that you and I can go with an obedient mind. The Pure Land is a place that we can go only by relying on the power of Buddha. 

This is why it is said that ‘The power of the Buddha surpasses conceivability; never has there been such power’ (Chapter on Shinjin from Kyogyoshinsho).

Zuiken Sama

KGSS III: 104

Chih-chüeh of the Ch'an school praises the practicer of the nembutsu:

How wondrous! The power of the Buddha surpasses conceivability; never has there been such power.

Prologue 62

Knowledge and intelligence are not the Way. Many scholars mistakenly believe that the knowledge and intelligence they have accumulated comprise the Way, and regard themselves as people who have attained the Way. But when you take their reference materials and annotations away from them, they fail to make an account of anything. Such people are numerous.

The world of ‘peace of mind’ (anjin) is the same. When you have got rid of what you have been listening to and remembering so far, what is left behind? Do you become insecure and helpless? If you have such a frame of mind, it means that you have not truly met the Tathagata, and have not really accepted the Primal Vow.

When a person, after having discarded all his knowledge and ideas, still feels the peace and warm security of the Primal Vow, he is a person who has truly received the virtue directed to him out of the Buddha’s Vow-Power.

Zuiken Sama

Prologue 93

This body has no one to rely on,

Like a boat adrift in a boundless ocean.

The radiance of compassion emanates from kalpas in the distant past;

The Vow-Power takes in and accepts people without discrimination.

To forget about one’s own problem of birth-and-death while talking bombastically and volubly about the Dharma doors is an attitude abhorred by Rennyo Shonin. In the face of a dying person at death’s door, to tell him or her all about shinjin and saying the nembutsu, is simply too late.

The dying person whose eyes no longer see can only be saved by the Primal Vow-Power.

‘Other-power is none other than the power of Tathagata's Primal Vow’ (Chapter on Practice from Kyogyoshinsho). The Primal Vow-Power is not intended to save people who like a great deal of speculation. Who is the very sick and dying person? Stunned and ashamed, what remains is

Namu-amida-butsu!     Namu-amida-butsu!

Prologue 90

 

Not fearful of being burned into ashes at Mt. Toribe (the cremation ground), 

But of the karmic power that is pulling us into profound darkness.

This life is impermanent, like morning dew. Therefore, it is essential that we first resolve our own personal problem of birth-and-death.

The inferno of hell starts burning right at our feet. If we listen to the Dharma in such a state of mind, we will naturally come to savour the authentic taste of the Buddha Dharma, and at the same time feel the Primal Vow-Power of the Tathagata of Great Compassion.

Zuiken Sama

Prologue 44

Many people do not know how truly honorable Buddha is, but go too far in saying ‘my karmic evil is profound’. This, however, is merely your idea of ‘profound karmic evil’. If you do not know the virtue of Buddha but talk about ‘profound karmic evil’, you are not being true to your words. If you do not know about ‘white’, how can you know about ‘black’?

Take ‘the explication of six syllables’ as an example: Simply because the ‘gratitude’ of the two-syllable ‘na-mo’ is not separated from the ‘I will definitely save you!’ of the four-syllable ‘a-mi-da-butsu’, ‘the person to be saved’ (Namo)(Shinjin) is Namo Amida Butsu, and ‘the Dharma that saves’ (Amida Butsu) (I definitely save you!) is also Namo Amida Butsu. This is known as ‘the oneness of the person to be saved and the Dharma that saves’ and ‘perfection of self-benefit and benefiting of others’ (if they should not be born there, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment). 

Namo Amida Butsu, therefore, is the Buddha of ‘the person to be saved and the Dharma that saves’, of ‘perfection of self-benefit and benefiting of others’. This is why Amida Tathagata is regarded as unbelievably honorable.

Zuiken Sama

<Perfectionof self-benefit and benefiting of others>

- the Tathagata's perfection of both the great merit-power for his own benefit and the merit for benefiting others

Prologue 63

Shinran Shonin reveals this to us in his book “the Passages on the Pure Land Way” (Jodo-monruijusho):

“The radiant light, unhindered and inconceivable, eradicates suffering and brings realization of joy.”

These Dharma words of the Shonin speak of the inclusiveness of the Great Ocean of Shinjin. It is the entire energy of the Shonin, the soul of the Shonin, as well as the entire body of the Tathagata. This one saying can quench the thirst from the a billion kalpas in the past.

For human beings, knowing a lot remains definitely the way to hell; having all kinds of thoughts still definitely destines us to hell; practicing moral good remains definitely the way to hell; and committing evil remains definitely the way to hell (also).

In this “saying”, there is no judgement of bombu; bombu’s design (of self-power) is of no use either. This sacred saying is the tribute to the virtue of Buddha; the praise extended to the merit power of the Tathagata. The life of the Tathagata is found resounding in this saying. Hence, why do you worry? What do you need to do?

by Zuiken Sama

Prologue 34

“The explication of the six-syllables” is the lion’s roar extended by Master Zendo in the section on the “Essential Meaning (Gengibun)” towards the practicers from the path of sages of all schools. Shinran Shonin explained this in “the Chapter on Practice” as “taking refuge, therefore, is the command of the Primal Vow, summoning us to trust it”.

Note: “Essential Meaning (Gengibun)”: 'Namo' means 'to take refuge'; it also has the significance of 'making aspiration and transferring (merits).' 'Amidabutsu' is the practice. For this reason, one can definitely attain birth. (http://www12.canvas.ne.jp/horai/kgss-b.htm)

“Taking refuge”, has the meaning of “submission”, that is to submit ourselves to the word of Buddha. This also means to believe in and obey “the command of the Primal Vow, summoning us to trust it”. “The implication of taking refuge” made by Master Zendo is, sentient beings obey to the word of Buddha, therefore the act of sentient beings is their awakening to Shinjin (the object to be saved becomes prioritized). However, our Shonin explained this as “taking refuge, is the command of the Primal Vow, summoning us to trust it”, where he analyses the meaning of “the object to be saved” (Shinjin) as “the Dharma that saves” (the command of the Primal Vow) (the Dharma that saves becomes prioritized). This is the well-known “explanation of the Dharma body”, in which you can perceive the very friendly intentions of the Shonin.  If there is any slight thought of “I entrust myself”, one will fall prey to self-power.

What you call “Shin” (Faith), is the trust you owe to the compassion of the Tathagata, to trust to the utmost extent. Therefore, this “Shin” is the virtue of Shin that does not attach to Shin. When taking refuge, meanwhile it returns to “the command of the Primal Vow, summoning us to trust it”, therefore it carries no substance of “I” (anatta-lakkhaṇa). At the same time, there is also the understanding that there is no “I” between “command” and “taking refuge”, hence, the product of self-power is not found. “Taking refuge” with no self is like a vacuum: this is “the command of the Primal Vow, summoning us to trust it”. The implications of this are profound. 

Zuiken Sama

Prologue 94

The autumn moon, glimmering

Emerges from the billowing clouds

The ‘mound of anjin’ of a bombu is such that it becomes crushed, and crumbles away as soon as it is built. Until it is distorted beyond recognition, it will be built again.  Bombu does this for a thousand or a hundred thousand times before they come to realize all of a sudden that the focal point is not to appease this one mind, but to turn our attention to the Power of the Tathagata, Buddha-power and the Primal-Vow Power.

“Because of the Primal-Vow Power, the person who cannot be emancipated becomes emancipated. Emancipation is right before you, it is right here, right here, Namu-amida-butsu”.

As a consequence, in that instant of hearing that ‘my attainment of birth has been settled (ji jo)”, the karmic obstacles of the three lives, the past, future and present are now all turned into the sounds of praising the Name [of Amida Tathagata]. When we take in truthfully the dharma words of our founding teacher the Shonin, we simply show our reverential trust to the Primal-Vow Power of the Tathagata, and what remains is ‘inconceivable’, ‘inconceivable’.

Zuiken Sama

Prologue 41 & 42

Revised on the 18 August 2016.

Prologue 41

“The explication of the six syllables” is not based merely on verbal expression. It means “relying on Namo Amida Butsu to attain Birth,” which can also be articulated as “relying on the virtue-power of the perfect enlightenment of Amida Tathagata to attain Birth.” This is Shin Buddhism, which is about Other-power—the great noble truth that, the more you listen to it, the more it touches you to the heart.

What is this noble truth that stirs people? It is Amida Tathagata’s “all-inclusive enlightenment of the perfection of self-benefit and benefit of others.”

The truth of Namo Amida Butsu is the great noble truth that moves heaven and earth. One must pay attention to this when addressing “the explication of the six syllables.”

The Dharma-realm of all things is substantially “selfless,” which is known as “the great compassion” of selflessness. As it does not discriminate, it is also called “the wisdom of non-discrimination.” The great compassion of selflessness and the wisdom of non-discrimination are themselves “Dharmakaya Buddha,” also called “Dharma nature” or “True Reality.”  When the virtues of the True Reality (power, merits) are entirely converted into human dignity manifesting as the Buddha, this is Amida Tathagata. Amida Tathagata consummates all the merits and virtues in the form of the Name and Call, which is Namo Amida Butsu, the six-syllable Name.

The six-syllable Name is not a product from the world of unenlightened beings (bombu).

Prologue 42

The Primal Vow of Amida Tathagata is the vow to enable sentient beings to hear and rejoice in faith (monshin) through Namo Amida Butsu, and so receive them into the Land of Happiness. As a matter of fact, both the Primal Vow and the Name are indivisible and equivalent. “The explication of the six syllables,” referring to the analysis of the Primal Vow, is to entrust in and be indebted to the Primal Vow.

Concerning “the six syllables,” many only regard them as a mere string of six characters. One will never ever grasp the import of “the six syllables” if one treats them as something that is dead.

“The six syllables” are “alive,” vibrantly and excitingly “leaping forth” from the inestimably distant past, and are still active even today. They share their life with heaven and earth (in an immeasurable span of life); their entirety is inconceivable in virtue. Most people believe as follows: “If I have started saying the Nembutsu, I can avail myself of the power of the Nembutsu to attain Birth.”  Such a state of mind belongs to practicers of the 20^th Vow.

“The Shinjin of the 18^th Vow” as well as “the Nembutsu of the 18^th Vow” and morally ethical conduct (that is, to think that one has to entrust oneself in order to accrue the power from saying the Nembutsu before one could achieve Birth) are totally out of place. The Practice of the Tathagata has His realization, which now clearly manifests as “the Primal Vow-power,” also the “Nembutsu” of everyone, of presence.

Prologue 91, 92, 95

Prologue 91

The empty hands obtain the gems of limitless storage

If I have to die now I cannot do anything about birth.

However, Amida Buddha never gives me the cold shoulder; on the other hand, He raises the Vow to save me. This moves people to tears.

‘Hear the Name and rejoice in faith’, is the feeling that comes along naturally when one has come to entrust oneself reverently in the ‘inconceivable power’ as ‘inconceivable’.

The life of a person of Nembutsu is life in the joy of faith. 

Prologue 92

Though I don’t know the way, Oyasama takes me with Him

Whether I am walking, stopping, sleeping or sitting, the Buddha’s name is calling

Believing in the inconceivable Buddha-wisdom is not like bombu’s belief of ‘I have to acquire shinjin in order to attain birth’.

Pure Land is not a place bombu can go with their belief, to understand the disparity between the two of them can be very tricky. ‘Faith-mind’ and ‘bombu-mind’ are not the same.                           

The ‘substance’ of faith-mind, is being elated with the glee of riding on the sail of vow-power for birth, what the mind does contain is ‘the vow-power is inconceivable’; ‘the great compassionate-power is inconceivable’. Whenever thinking of this, it is nothing than reverential entrusting to the ‘inconceivability’; this is what we call ‘substance of entrusting (faith)’.

The mentality of ‘I have entrusted reverently in the inconceivable vow-power’, ‘I am determined of my birth’ is not the ‘faith-mind’ but bombu’s delusion (delusionary mind).

Prologue 95

The Oyasama has waited so long

The ignorant child is crying and sorrowing, seeking after the parent

The salvation is a certainty right here, right now.

The huge cord of Namu-amida-butsu is now pulling me out of hell. It is fine, it is fine, inconceivable, inconceivable.

To go to the Pure Land you don’t need to take with you a ‘matchmaker’, a matchmaker refers to bombu’s ‘thinking’.  

‘Buddha’ is inconceivable, inconceivable. ‘The Original Vow’, ‘The Name’ are inconceivable, inconceivable.

Prologue 88

Prologue 93

When the clouds of the three kinds of existence (of life and death) disperse

The oneness of the Dharma-realm, the true body is revealed

Ah, the luminous Moon (the Primal-Vow and the Name)!

‘The Dharma’ is truly wonderful! Even I can also be saved, how amazing this is!

The irrefutable evidence is ‘Namu-amida-butsu’.

The moonlight is beaming brightly; even the ‘faith’ is out of sight

To attain faith or not is just an idea of man

Amida Buddha and I are like the pine leaf:

Both sides are the same

When Nyorai begins to show His face, all things are unraveled.  Namu-amida-butsu is Nyorai. The Primal-Vow, the Name, the beckoning sounds, the Perfect Enlightenment, all is Nyorai. To encounter Nyorai, it makes the spirit high.

My only duty is to hand over my life-and-death to life-and-death, while roaming in the echoes of nembutsu to repay the kindness of Buddha.

Prologue 97

Prologue 97

The Original Vow of ‘if they should not certainly be born’

The all consummated  six-character Name equals Perfect Enlightenment

The radiance of the Vow-Power embraces and does not forsake me

I make my way on the Great Way feeling so free and happy

Attaining birth is the responsibility of Nyorai (Amida Budda).

Namu-amida-butsu, which is ‘the consummated fruition of enlightenment, the accomplishment of the self-benefiting and benefiting others’, manifesting as the command of ‘with right-mindedness, come at once!’, penetrates deeply into my body and provokes the feeling of joy of dharma, which awakens to the unsurpassed absolute faith.

Shinjin is ‘Namu-amida-butsu’; is the ‘beckoning echoes’.

Attaining birth is a matter for Nyorai, be sure not to be a busybody, be aware of a bombu’s capacity.

Be a foolish self and be simple-minded, then birth is easy. 

Prologue 96, 99

Prologue 96

Taking refuge in the Tathagata of unhindered light shining throughout the ten directions

From the heavenly realms on above down to the hellish realms in below

There is nowhere that is not within the Castle of Amida

Throughout the ten Dharma realms is the home of the Dharma King

Because of the insatiable longing for birth, peace of mind is hardly attainable. When thoughts are overwhelmed by ‘hell is decidedly my abode whatever I do’ (Tanni-sho), things turn out to be so lighthearted.

Other than ‘killing our thoughts’ there is no way out, all are but sense-perceptions and discrimination.

The inconceivable Buddha-wisdom can rescue the ‘corpses of abusers and offenders of the Dharma’: of ‘me’. Forget about Shinjin (Serene Faith), but regard submissively the inconceivable Buddha-wisdom being ‘inconceivable’, and your mind will naturally be tamed. (Naturally you will attain peace of mind)

Prologue 99

The independence of the unhindered lights

The joy of Dharma as well as repentance well up in my breast

Not that we try to believe in Namu-amida-butsu, but Namu-amida-butsu comes into our mind, and our receiving it is termed ‘shinjin’.

It is wrong to regard Namu-amida-butsu as remote at the western Land of Bliss. By relying on the working of the true and serene Primal Vow-Power only we are able to speak about anjin, shinjin and birth.

The six-character name that completes with the virtues of self-benefiting and benefiting others is the perfect enlightenment, is Amida Buddha, is shinjin, and is attaining birth.

The fact that the Buddha established is the fact that I am saved.

Prologue 67, 31, 45

Prologue 67

The heart of Jodo Shinshu is the “Original Vow” of Amida Nyorai; the Original Vow is Amida’s true wisdom of great compassion of no-self and non-discrimination, it is concomitantly the manifestation of Amida’s virtue. This original vow is thus called ‘Namu-amida-butsu’.

On hearing the Original Vow we spontaneously are mindful of Amida’s ‘Great Compassion of No-self”; on hearing Namu-amida-butsu we thus know the ‘Great wisdom of non-discrimination”. We rely on the virtue-power of the great compassion and wisdom of Nyorai –‘Namu-amida-butsu’ to attain birth, and thus this is also called ‘the autonomy of Namu-amida-butsu”.

Shinran Shonin remarked in his Wasan:

The all-complete self-benefiting and benefiting others

I take refuge in the expedient and skillful adornments (Namu-amida-butsu)

Extinguish all thoughts and speeches

I take refuge in the Tathagata of inconceivability

Therefore, why do we lament that we are ‘unable to attain peace of mind (anjin)”?

The ‘great anjin’ goes beyond ‘anjin’ and ‘not having anjin’; this can be realized within Namu-amida-butsu.

Prologue 31

‘Chapter on True Buddha Land’: ‘All sentient beings are truly ignorant of the mind of the Nyorai.’

Seeing the body of the Buddha (Amida’s body) is seeing the Buddha’s mind (Amida’s mind), the Buddha’s mind is itself the Great Compassion, Buddha has such an unfathomable virtue.

Bombu though unable to see the body of the Buddha with the naked eye, can rely on the Nyorai’s Original Vow; bombu can ‘hear’ the Buddha’s mind, this is: ‘hearing the Name and having joy in faith even once’.

Amida Nyorai transformed all His virtue into the spoken virtue of Namu-amida-butsu. Namu-amida-butsu thus is the spoken virtue of Nyorai. Therefore, it is not that bombu say the name and attain birth, but they ‘hear (and accept in) faith to attain birth’  (Birth through hearing is faith)

“Hearing is faith” is Nyorai’s virtue; it is the working of the Original Vow.

Prologue 45

‘The great compassion of no self’ and ‘the great wisdom of non-discrimination’ is the ultimate reality of the Dharma realm. Hearing the ‘ultimate reality’ is when hearing Namu-amida-butsu with deep faith, and this is called the cause of birth, Jodo Shinshu is nothing other than that.

How to hear Namu-amida-butsu? That simply is ‘the original vow is truly inconceivable’, this is hearing-faith (*hearing and accepting in faith).

How to do the nembutsu? That is ‘Namu-amida-butsu is truly inconceivable’, this is the nembutsu.

The faith-practice other than this is the faith-practice of self-power.

When we listen to people explain about self-power and other-power, we usually have the thought of ‘I understand it now’ in fact this is the self-power. Without understanding the ‘deep reverence and honoring of the Buddha’ it remains self-power. The mentality after having deep understanding about the Buddha is Other-power. The nembutsu that ensues after having deep understanding about this view is Other-power.

Prologue 30

Master Zendo says, ‘We can barely detect pleasure in the six realms; only grievances are heard.’ (Jozengi, On the Meditative Good). When hearing these words, at first it seems rather world-weary. However this is just the reality of human life. If you regard human life as pleasurable and relentlessly pursue happiness in it you are just a bungler who leads a befuddled life. The ancient word says it well,

‘Human life is impermanent.

When you delve into this fact deeply enough,

the spring of the other shore arises.’

It is only those who realise the bitterness of human life, and know how dreadfully unbearable life is, who will come to learn Buddhism seriously in all honesty.

Those who are not mindful of death and are not pursuing Nirvana will not ‘perceive’ Buddha’s mind. Those who taste the bitterness of karma will accede to the awareness that the Primal Vow does not forsake this miserable person that I am and that it exists for me alone.

For people who live a down-trodden and miserable life to encounter the Great Compassion which willingly saves me as I am (konomama) under all circumstances… what could be expressed besides thankfulness and unworthiness.

By Zuiken Sensei