Pure Land Buddhism

Biker, you posted...."Glad you are enjoying the mystical monologue, lol. At least someone is." Such is jeering.

And you did NOT point out any errors, in fact you did not engage in any dialogue at all with what was posted.

Really Biker, as I have said three times now......you would test the patience of a saint, let alone a foolish Pure Lander. When you are wrong you are right!

No, it was simply a comment, though if you wish to take it that way that is your choice.

No-one is wrong when they are right, or the other way round, that is typical of your completely illogical statements.

Though you are almost right the only error I pointed out was that your posts are as always mystical nonsense, and a monologue. Those are facts as well as a very big error on your part. Though I doubt you will acknowledge that at all, you wouldn't dare.

Glenn, sorry, I missed this before.

Yes, I will rock on. I would just like to say that if you get to know the various expressions of the Christian Faith beyond your own, like the Eastern Orthodox, you will see that Christ is known as the Eternal Word, through Whom ALL things are made, Who lights ALL who come into the world (St John's Gospel, prelude) It follows from this that the "salvation" given by and through Christ can in fact be known without knowledge of, or indeed, acknowledgement of, Jesus Christ. Many millions of Christians see this as a truth that in fact deepens their own faith, as showing the true magnitude of Christ and the redemption found in Him. And there are many Christian theologians who are now in active dialogue with Pure Land Buddhism, who are willing to see Amida and Jesus as "one". I would only offer the thought that if a Pure Lander, reliant purely upon grace, and not trusting in "self" at all, surrenders to grace.......would a God who sees the heart rather than just hears the words, hear "Amida" and not "Jesus" from that human beings lips, and therefore reject them?

Anyway, hopefully you will rock on yourself.....

Biker, I explained in great detail exactly WHY there was nothing "mystical" in what I had posted. You have not acknowledged that or addressed such. "You being right even when you are wrong" was merely a lighthearted attempt at humour, yet maybe many on this forum, if they happen to see it, would see the truth of it......

Biker, I will not respond to any more of your posts on this thread, unless you actually seek to engage in genuine debate.

Your choice.

Anyway, I love poetry (well, a lot of it) and here is another poem which expresses pure acceptance. Which, in practice, does not lead to a passive submission to "fate", but in fact is the catalyst of transformation.

You, as you are, you're just right.
Your face, body, name, surname,
For you, they are just right.

Whether poor or rich,
Your parents, your children,
your daughter-in-law, your
grandchildren,
They are, all for you, just right.

Happiness, unhappiness, joy and even sorrow.
For you, they are just right.

The life that you have tread is neither good nor bad,
For you, it is just right.

Whether you go to hell or to the Pure Land,
Wherever you go is just right.

Nothing to boast about, nothing to feel bad about,
Nothing above, nothing below.

Even the day and month that you die,
Even they are just right.

Life in which you walk together with Amida,
There's no way that it can't be just right.

When you receive your life as just right,
Then a deep and profound trust begins to open up.

There has been an interesting little discussion on another thread concerning "knowing the Father", this according to the Christian Faith. In the interests of Inter-faith dialogue, the following is offered.

D.T.Suzuki (who is more associated with Zen Buddhism, but had a deep affinity with the Shin - Pure Land - expression of the Buddhist Faith) wrote once of how Amida is known to those that look to him/her as the source of grace.

It comes from the book he wrote (or spoke, as it is based upon lectures he gave while in New York in 1958, when Suzuki was 88 years old)

.....we believe in Amida Buddha as our Oya-sama, or Oya-san, as it is sometimes called. It is the term used to express love and compassion. Oya means parent, but not either parent, rather both mother and father; not separate personalities, but both fatherly and motherly qualities united in one personality. The honorific san is the familiar form of sama. The latter, Oya-sama,is the standard form. In Christianity, God is addressed as the Father - "Our father who art in Heaven" - but Oya-sama is not in Heaven, nor is Oya-sama Father. It is incorrect to say "he" or "she," for no gender distinction is found. I don't like to say "it," so I don't know what to say. Oya-sama is a unique word, deeply endearing and at the same time rich with religious significance and warmth.

Maybe this highlights the limitations of language - even worse, how language can control and direct our thoughts, even keep them in captivity. Just as a slight detour, there is the "eastern" notion of the Tao, as "defined" at the very beginning of the Chinese classic the Tao Te Ching.....

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.

In the Chinese translation of St John's gospel, the word "Tao" is used for "Word"..........In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....or....In the beginning was the Tao, and the Tao was with God, and the Tao was God.

It seems fairly obvious to me that a mind/heart that has lived within a culture where the ideas and expressions of the Tao Te Ching are prevalent would understand the opening of the gospel in a different light from a mind/heart in which God is often seen as "up there", "out there", even as a "man".

A few more reflections.................

I have long pondered the words associated with the Theravada path, "Buddha's can only point the way, each has to walk the path themselves". Words that call for self-reliance, and often contrasted with the "easy" Pure Land path, where we rely upon grace. But to ask, in the light of anicca (no-self) - the central teaching of the dharma - just who it is that is doing the walking, seems a very pertinent question. This is not just playing around with words. For me it is to begin to recognise that in many respects the "religious quest" often becomes - in practice and experience - the realization that we are striving to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. Such striving can only result in exhaustion! D T Suzuki has said well..........."Other-Power is all important, but this truth is known only by those who have striven by means of self-power to attempt the impossible."

And it was a Theravadin who observed that "at the moment of emancipation, effort falls away, having reached the end of its scope". So maybe the Pure Land way is knowing the "scope" of self-power and its efforts.........and reaching its "end".

"Grace, if thou repent, thou shalt not lack. Yet who shall give ye that grace to begin?" (John Donne)

Something has brought to mind a few words by some Buddhist sage from the long past, I think more associated with Ch'an (Zen) than Pure Land. They float on the edge of my mind and I'm unable to trace them, but the meaning was that there is just a hairs breath between nirvana (heaven) and samsara (this world of birth and death). I think that perhaps the tragedy is that we spend our entire lives seeking to make samsara more comfortable, instead of taking the short "leap" into nirvana! Ahhh!

Anyway, the following is a short extract from a semi-autobiographical book by a guy who had suffered much, in fact had known times when those he slept amongst hoped the person next to them would die, so as to be able to have their clothing to keep warmer......

The Other Power (Tariki) derives from the true and full acceptance of the reality that is within us and surrounds us. It is not a philosophy of passivity or iresponsibility, but one of radical spiritual activity, of personal, existential revolution. Its essence is the spontaneous wondrous force that gives us the will to act, to "do what man can do and then wait for heaven's will." Importantly, Other Power is a power that flows from the fundamental realization that, in the lives we live, we are already enlightened. This enlightenment does not come easily. It is born of the unwelcome understanding that, despite our protestations, we are insignificant, imperfect beings, born to a hell of suffering that defines human existence. But in this hell, we sometimes excounter small joys, friendship, the kind acts of strangers, and the miracle of love. We experience moments when we are filled with courage, when the world sparkles with hopes and dreams. There are even times when we are deeply grateful to have been born. These moments are paradise. But paradise is not another realm; it is here, in the very midst of the hell of this world. Other Power, a power that transcends theological distinctions, avails us of these moments. In the endless uncertainties of contemporary life, Other Power confers upon us a flexibility of spirit, an energy to feel joy, and the respite of peace.

I mentioned this man's experience, just to emphasise that his understanding is not borne from any superficial "life of plenty", but was in fact forged upon the "anvil" of suffering.

For me the Pure Land way offers the encouragement to be totally honest with oneself and ones feelings and fears, such is one's trust in Amida's (Reality-as-is) Compassion and Infinite Light. For me, Amida is another name for the nameless, that can take whatever name, the will that works tirelessly throughout Reality for the ultimate enlightenment of all. All experience has the potential to bring enlightenment; even the moments of apparent failure, of deep existential anxiety, can be transformed by pure acceptance, the embrace of Infinite Compassion. And my own experience is that this can be so virtually inspite of our own "beliefs" and "strategies" rather than because of them. There is a technical term in the Pure Land teachings that means "to become so of itself, not by calculation" and for me this means that it is not my own "understanding" or grasp of truth that brings genuine trust/faith. but Other Power.

This is expressed by some words of a Pure Land devotee......

In the timeless process of birth-and-death,
for the first time I was made to realize
the Other Power of Amida Buddha.
My understanding resulted from listening,
but listening is nothing but a little scratch on a precious gem.
I trusted my understanding instead of trusting Amida.
Until now I was satisfied with my understanding.
But, my understanding does not save me;
It is Amida who saves me.


For me, all the theologies of the world are "little scratches on a precious gem". They have their uses yet ultimately faith is more a letting go (of "self" and its strategies) than a clinging to, or in Christian apophatic terms, more a "darkness" than a light.

Anyway, just to finish, another "ode" from the pen of the Pure Land "saint" Saichi.........

Nothing is left to Saichi,
Except a joyful heart nothing is left to him.
Neither good nor bad has he, all is taken away from him;
Nothing is left to him!
To have nothing - how completely satisfying!
Everything has been carried away by the 'Namu-amida-butsu'.
He is thoroughly at home with himself:
This is indeed the 'Namu-amida-butsu'.

In the Pure Land way, way back in time, it was said that to be "saved" one must entrust themselves fully to the Vow of Amida. Such entrusting was seen to have three aspects, sincerity, trust itself, and aspiration - these also known as sincere mind, deep mind, and the mind that aspired for birth (in the Pure Land) and for the directing of virtue. These conditions needed to be "fulfilled."

Shinran (13th century) fundamentally alters this understanding by taking "sincere mind" not as the devotees "sincerity", but rather the true and real mind of Amida. Thus, a person does not "sincerely" entrust themselves, but rather the "sincere mind" of Amida is given - by grace - to the person, and this manifests as the person's entrusting and aspiration. Simply put, a Pure Lander trusts the "nature" of Amida (Reality-as-is), not their own, however directed or understood, within or without.

(Or, in Christian terms, one trusts in Grace, not in the strength of ones own belief. And this is within the context of realising that which is eternally, of recognising the unchanging nature of the Divine. Such recognition grants us nothing for it is already the reality in which we live and move and have our being. We just did not know it.)

Faith does not arise
Within oneself.
The Entrusting Heart is itself
Given by the Other Power. (Rennyo)

This can be experienced to extend to our seeing of the depths of our "sin" (or, in Pure Land terms, our karmic inheritance) The only thing that brings us/allows us, to SEE the full extent of our darkness, is by the light of the infinite compassion of Amida (Reality-as-is). Thus seeing it, is the forgiveness of it. There are no mechanics or "transaction" involved i.e. seeing it, acknowledging it, repenting of it, accepting a substitute in our place to atone for it and then receiving forgiveness for it, and thus switching from being under God's wrath to being transferred to the "Book of Life".

(I would just add that the "beauty" of such seeing is that it brings our hearts into line with all others. The deeper we see our "sin" the more, when the "sin" of others is seen, we - rather than judge - just react spontaneously in the sense of "yes, just like me!" ("You ARE that man!" as David was told in the Biblical story) So we have William Blake's....."mutual forgiveness of each vice opens the gates of paradise", long a favorite of mine.

And all this against the Pure Land background.....

The gift/grace coming from Amida is a free one, for He/She never asks anything in exchange or in compensation. When the sinner (Japanese ki = jiriki = self-powered person) utters "namu-amida-butsu" in all sincerity they are at once made conscious of their being from the first with Amida and in Amida. There has never been any sort of alienation or estrangement between Amida and the sinner. It was all due to the latter's illusive ideas cherished about themselves. When they are wiped away, they realise that the sun has always been there and they find themselves basking in its light of infinity.

(D T Suzuki, from "Notes to Saichi's Journals", an essay in "Mysticism Christian and Buddhist" )

In some of my previous posts on this thread I have mentioned Pure Land "saints". Saints is not the correct word, they are in fact known (in Japanese) as myokonin.

'Myokonin' literally means a wondrous, excellent person. It is used for a devout follower of Pure Land Buddhism. A myokonin lives a life of total dedication to Amida, and their acts and sayings, though they often run counter to common sense, reveal their depth of faith and true humanity.

One of their number, the cobbler Saichi, wrote...

The love that inspired Oya-sama to go through
All the sufferings and all the hardships -
I thought I was simply to listen to the story,
But that was a grievous mistake, I find.

(Oya-sama.......simply, that which "protects and guides me", the infinite light and life that is Amida Buddha, Reality-as-is.)

For me Saichi's words - in part - point to the reason why many are "dead" to any form of inter-faith dialogue. The words point to the need to engage existentially with the true heart of any faith before one can "know it" in any worthwhile or genuine manner. For me, this is the significance of the Biblical Proverb:- "They who answer a thing before they hear it, it is a shame and a folly unto them."

What is it to truly "hear"? Is it to merely read, only seeking to refute?

Anyway, obviously it is up to each of us to seek an honest answer in our own hearts as to how much we have really "heard" of any faith but our own, before it is rejected as "worthless".

Just as an offering to my Christian friends here, a word on "saints" by Thomas Merton, from his book "New Seeds of Contemplation"....

The saints are what they are, not because their sanctity makes them admirable to others, but because the gift of sainthood makes it possible for them to admire everybody else.

Just a few further words on our seeking - or not - to truly "hear" another faith. These are the words of the Buddha, as recorded in the Majjhima Nikaya, Sutta 72.....

Profound......is this doctrine, recondite, and difficult of comprehension, good, excellent, and not to be reached by mere reasoning, subtle.....and it is a hard doctrine for you to learn, who belong to another sect, to another faith, to another persuasion, to another discipline, and sit at the feet of another teacher.

"No working is true working".

There is a Japanese word, hakarai. translated as "calculation".

Suzuki, in his little book on Amida, equates "calculation" with the Christian "pride".

Hakarai is the noun form of a verb meaning to deliberate, analyze, and determine a course of action. It further means to arrange or manage, to work out a problem, to bring a plan to conclusion. In Shinran's more common usage, as a synonym for self-power, it refers to all acts of intellect and will aimed at achieving liberation. Specifically, it is the Shin practicer's efforts to make themselves worthy of Amida's compassion in their own eyes, clinging to their judgments and designs, predicated on their own own goodness, for attaining religious awakening.

For Shinran, salvation lies rather in the complete entrusting of oneself to the Primal Vow, which works to bring about "the attainment of Buddhahood by the person of evil". This working is Amida's hakarai/calculation. Hakarai, then, possesses two opposed meanings, as a synonym for both self-power and Other Power, and its usage reflects the core of Shinran's religious thought, where one's calculative thinking and Amida's working are experienced as mutually exclusive. Great compassion illumines everyone at all times, but any contrivance to attain enlightenment by cultivating one's own virtues or capabilities - whether through moral action or religious practice - will blind one to it, making sincere trust (shinjin) impossible. Only when a person realizes his or her true nature as a foolish being, all of whose acts and thoughts arise from blind passions, do they awaken to the great compassion that grasps them just as they is. To know oneself and to know Amida's compassion are, in fact, inseparable aspects of the same realization, and one awakens to them simultaneously. In this awakening, one's own hakarai/calculation disappears and entrusting oneself to Amida's Vow actually comes about for the first time. Thus Shinran states, "No working (practicer's hakarai) is true working (Amida's hakarai)."

As true entrusting arises wholly from Other Power, the practicer is completely passive. Even seeking to know oneself as evil or to rid oneself of hakarai in order to accord with the Primal Vow is itself hakarai, and all such effort is futile and self-defeating. This is the paradox the Shin practicer faces. The admonition against hakarai does not mean, however, that one must renounce the aspiration for enlightenment and do nothing at all.

As a slight counterpoint to this, and to help illuminate the words, here is Thomas Merton, speaking form a Christian perspective....

In speaking of the recovery of innocence (the reversal of the "fall" ) the Christian doctrine of grace teaches us that this cannot be the work of our own "self". It is useless for the "self" to try to "purify itself," or for the "self" to "make a place in itself" for God. The innocence and purity of heart which belongs to paradise are a complete emptiness of self in which all is the work of God, the free and unpredictable expression of His love, the work of grace. In the purity of original innocence, all is done in us but without us. But before we reach that level, we must also learn to work on the level of "knowledge" where grace works in us but "not without us".

(Excerpt for "Wisdom in Emptiness", from the book "Zen and the Birds of Appetite" )

For me, it is finding two such similar insights into Grace, drawn from the actual experience of such, in two human beings who were born far apart and raised in two totally different Faiths and cultures, that help in my own surrender to grace.

According to the Canonical texts, the First Noble Truth of Buddism - of suffering (Pali -dukkha) - is to be understood. My own understanding is that suffering is not one side of a coin, the other side being joy and happiness, but that suffering is the total context of our lives. In others words, it IS US, ourselves, not merely a part of us. (I suppose, seeking to link this to the Christian Faith, we "sin because we are sinners", we are not sinners because we sin.)

So "overcoming it" involves not the elimination of certain things, but a transformation of understanding, of "who we are".

My own Pure Land way is one of dual perspective, dual in the sense of seeing clearly our own finitude and failure, yet with such seeing known to be purely by the light of Inifinite Compassion. So the more I see my own "suffering", that it is in fact my total being, the more the light. A Pure Lander has sought to describe such a perspective by speaking of knowing the strength of the light by the depth of his own shadow.

In Pure Land Buddhism (Shin) a distinction is drawn between the path of the Sages where one "perfects wisdom and achieves enlightenment", and the path of Pure Land where one "returns to the foolish self to be saved by Amida". Whereas the path of the Sages is more often associated with the monastery, some priviledged space, or the meditation cushion, the "training ground" for Pure Landers is all of life, as lived and experienced each day. Yet the goal is the same, to awaken to the true self as a manifestation of dharma or "reality-as-is". Such a realization comes via the power of compassion. Illuminated by such a light we are made to see our essential finitude, imperfection and mortality - affirming ones basic reality is the crucial factor in the transformative process. Such a transformation is based on the Mahayana teaching of the non-duality of samsara (this world of birth-and-death) and nirvana; i.e. delusion and enlightenment. This is not a simple identity, for it involves a dialectical tension between the two poles, between limited karmic beings and unbounded compassion. As we walk on, hopefully the "tension" eases, the rubble turns to gold! (This all drawn from Unno, one of my favorite Pure Land writers)

Just to finish, here are some words written by a carer. It is such honesty in the face of suffering that truly speaks to me. I can identify completely.

With righteous fervour I tended to her needs
Day and night, as she lay hostage
To the crippling disease.
Then she asked for a measure more,
And I balked.
She made me see me for what I am.
Namu-Amida-Butsu!

(Namu-Amida-Butsu........loosely translated, "my foolish self is embraced by Infinite Compassion, grasped, never to be abandoned" It is the Nembutsu, the heart of the Pure Land way)