Echoes of the Name

My old friend and zenchishiki Jeff Wilson is an increasingly important voice in the Western Buddhist community because of the way he balances a deep understanding of the needs of practitioners (of which he himself is one) with a critical awareness of the implications of modern scholarship.  Like all people of true faith he isn’t shaken when academic research questions the assumptions of tradition, nor is he obstinate and unheeding, but rather he takes it as an impetus to deepen his spiritual journey.

Anyway check out his latest post at Tricycle for an interesting follow-up to his now infamous post about meditation in Buddhism.

Sorry I haven’t posted for a while. In a couple of weeks though I’ll be attending the Hoonko Otorikoshi ceremonies at my home temple so will have lots to write about then.

I’ve just been reading The Prince and the Monk by Kenneth Doo Young Lee which sadly I found rather disappointing. The book promises to explore the place of legendary Prince Shotoku in Shinran’s thought but is largely based on other peoples’ research and thinks that it is more contentious than it really is. For people interested in Prince Shotoku there is quite a lot of interesting material; covering the evidence for and against his historical existence and also outlining the development of the Shotoku cult. However when it comes to Shinran’s attitude towards Prince Shotoku Lee produces no new sources and also fails to back up many of his assertions with much in the way of evidence.

The essence of Lee’s argument is that Shinran was actually quite conservative in his veneration of Shotoku and like his contemporaries made usage of the Shotoku cultus in order to locate his movement within the prevailing religious milieu. (Though he perhaps differed from preceding leaders in focusing more heavily on Shotoku as Kannon Bosatsu, rather than Shotoku as Cakkravartin (enlightened ruler)). He also suggests that the Honganji have overstated Shinran’s opposition to kami worship, and that the Honganji, under the influence of Kakunyo, has tended to play down the status of Shotoku as a Bodhisattva, and to instead deify Shinran. I don’t necessarily disagree with either of these latter points but I do think that Lee greatly overstates his case and draws unconstructive conclusions.

In my experience Prince Shotoku is deeply revered within the Honganji, and the fact that Shinran perceived him as Kannon Bosatsu is never concealed. Furthermore the tradition has always had an ambiguous attitude to the kami (neither revering nor defaming) which is highlighted openly every week in Shin temples via the reading of Rennyo’s letters.

As to Lee’s conclusions he seems to impute a sort of dishonesty to the Honganji in its supposed downgrading of the status of Shotoku but provides little real evidence for this, nor considers the effects of such a move. Regardless of the Honganji’s original intentions, for modern devotees the placing of Shinran above Shotoku in the tradition makes sense because the latter - as a (historically documented) deeply honest and self-reflective person - is in many ways an ‘everyman’ figure, whereas Shotoku is a mythological symbol of nationalism and aristocracy.

As Lee points out Shinran’s veneration of Shotoku was almost certainly reflective of the religious environment at his time, one very different from our own, but we can still respect Shotoku - as seen through Shinran’s eyes - as a dynamic symbol of the spirit of Jishin Kyoninshin (attaining faith and sharing it with others).

After my last post I thought something lighter would be in order; so here is one of my favourite bits from the Rennyo Shonin Goichidai Kikigaki which tells of an amusing but also moving incident where we get a glimpse of Master Rennyo’s own faith, contrasting notably with his sometimes daunting reputation as a strict leader and enforcer of doctrinal orthodoxy:

“Article 3: During a Service, Shonin Rennyo completely missed the Wasan (Hymn) he was to have led during the Junsan. After returning to his residence in the South Quarters, he stated, “Shonin Shinran’s teachings as he expressed them in the Wasan, are all so wonderful that I completely forgot where I was to take the lead”. In recollection, he said, “There are very few who believe in the teachings of the Shonin, that I so dearly appreciate, and who obtain rebirth in the Pure Land”. Thus, spoke the Shonin.”