Echoes of the Name

Sorry about the silence and delay in authorising comments; I’m recovering from a very bad bout of flu at the moment and haven’t really got the energy to do much at all. Hopefully I’ll be back to posting again properly in a few days. In the meantime here’s an interesting and frank post by Rev. Toshikazu Arai: What will happen after I die?

I’m going to go and sit under a blanket with my cat and watch the morning sun raising steam off the garden fences and the birds flitting back and forth. That’s one thing about being ill; it strips away the heart’s superfluities and helps one enjoy and be grateful for the things that really matter. Namuamidabutsu

In the Higashi calendar that my home temple follows today is both the memorial of Zendo Daishi (Shan Tao) and also Rikyukaishu-ye: Anniversary of the founding of Jodo Shinshu. (In the Nishi Honganji the latter is celebrated on 5th April.)

As Shinran never formally established his own tradition Rikyukaishu-ye actually commemorates the day that Shinran Shonin finished the first draft of his most important work; Teaching, Practice, Faith and Attainment or Kyogyoshinsho.

Zendo is such a pivotal figure in Pure Land Buddhism that Shinran said in the Shoshinge: “Shan-tao alone in his time clarified the Buddha’s true intent.” Leaving aside his many other contributions however, including his emphasis on nembutsu as oral recitation, it is interesting to note that Honen and Shinran’s self-identification as foolish and blind beings (bombu) is related to Zendo’s teaching of placing what is outward inward for reflection (deep hearing), what is inward outward that it may be changed (sincere entrusting):

Zendo:

The sutra states, The first is sincere (shijo) mind. Shi means true, jo means real. This shows that the understanding and practice of all sentient beings, cultivated through their bodily, verbal, and mental acts, unfailingly take as essential what was performed [by Amida] with a true and real mind. We should not express outwardly signs of wisdom, goodness, or diligence, for inwardly we are possessed of falsity. (Source)

Shinran:

Through hearing the shinjin of the wise, the heart of myself, Gutoku (”foolish/stubble-haired”), becomes manifest:
The shinjin of the wise is such that they are inwardly wise, outwardly foolish.
The heart of Gutoku is such that I am inwardly foolish, outwardly wise. (Source)

People who aspire for the Pure Land must not behave outwardly as though wise or good, nor should they act as though diligent. The reason is stated, for inwardly we are possessed of falsity (literally, that which is empty and transitory). Inwardly means “within”; since the mind is filled with blind passions, it is empty and transitory. Empty means vain, not real, not sincere. Transitory means provisional, not true. (Source)

If anyone can provide me with any information on the Sekisen and Kuge schools of Jodo Shinshu thought (or any other such schools of Shin Buddhology) I would be very grateful.

So far the only references I have are from Takamaro Shigaraki’s The Problem of the True and the False in Contemporary Shin Buddhist Studies where he says:

According to Zenjo, a representative scholar of the Kuge school, shinjin is to “rely upon and put one’s trust in the Name.” This was typical of the dualistic interpretations of shinjin. In contrast, Soe, a Sekisen scholar, stated that shinjin means that “the mind becomes pure and clear. That is the nature of shinjin.” This view represented an excellent understanding of Shinran’s purport—the original meaning of shinjin in Shin Buddhism. Yet, the Hongwanji branch labeled Soe’s doctrine as heterodoxy, and completely rejected it. The dualistic Kuge school became mainstream of Hongwanji thought, and remains so even today.”

and in Concern for Others in Pure land Soteriological and Ethical Considerations: The Case of Jogyo daihi in Jodo-Shinshu Buddhism - Kenneth K. Tanaka (in Buddhist Theology, Ed. Roger Reid Jackson & John J. Makransky, 2000 Routledge, p.359) where it says:

The Kuuge doctrinal school, for example, maintained that ho ongyo (’responding in gratitude to the Buddha’s benevolence’) is expressed in the Five Contemplative Gates (gonen-mon) [1]. The Sekisen school, in contrast, focused on the Five Correct Practices (gosho-gyou [2] and stressed the recitation of the Name (shomyo) as the primary action (shogo), with the other four as supporting actions (jogyo) …

Gizan [of the Sekisen school of thought] … cited preaching to his wife and children as a form of jogyo daihi and concluded, “The activities of the propagation of great compassion should not be confined exclusively to the recitation of the Name” (Sousho 2:671) …

“For [some later Jodo Shinshu commentators] Amida as the ultimate truth does not manifest directly in human actions or deeds. The only exception is the spontaneous utterance of the Name, “Namo Amida Butsu”. The Name is considered the only direct emanating action (sohotsu) while other actions are carried out indirectly based on human reason (risei). Gizan of the Sekisen school describes this with a metaphor of a man who is under the influence of an alcoholic beverage (sake in this case). The man begins to sing and dance. However, according to Gizan, his singing and dancing are the effects of being drunk, not the direct effect of the sake. Just as sake is not the direct source of this man’s merry behavior, Amida is not the direct source of human ethical actions. Rather the realization of shinjin results in compassionate and ethical actions (Fugen: 286) …

This request for information is an open-ended one so please get in touch if you know anything regardless of the length of time since I first posted this. Thanks!

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[1] … of Vasubandhu
[2] This sounds the same as Shan-tao’s own interpretation?