Letters of Summer (2)

This is the second of the four ‘Letters of Summer’ composed by Rennyo Shonin in the last year of his life. This letter was written in May, 1498 and continues on from the themes explored in the previous epistle. What stood out the most for me in this letter was Rennyo Shonin’s exhortation to listen deeply to the readings of the Triple Sutras (the three Pure Land Sutras), and to understand the essential focus of this act of hearing the Buddha-Dharma according to the teaching of our tradition.

All who have come here today to the shrine of Shinran Shonin are here for the purpose of listening to the readings of the Triple Sutra. However, it appears to me that to attend these gatherings, wherever held and without the slightest desire to understand the meaning of the Sutras but attend only for the sake of appearances, is totally pointless. The readings of the Sutras are for the purpose of receiving the Shinjin-Faith of the Other-Power and through an understanding of the Dharma, to recognise the shallowness of one’s own faith and attempt to correct it. This is the true teaching of the Buddha-Dharma. To gather at the daily readings of the Sutras without understanding them is truly futile.

From you today, you must seriously understand the meaning if the Teachings and ask others about the erroneous concepts of Shinjin-Faith that you had formerly held and correct them into True Shinjin. If you should understand this well and listen carefully, it will be beneficial both to you and to others. I shall now explain the reason for this. Listen very carefully!

By “Anjin-Faith” is meant that no matter how deeply evil a person may be, by discarding all he sundry practices, by single-heartedly placing reliance on Amida Tathagata, and by placing total reliance on the life to come in this Amida, truly such a person becomes a follower of the Nembutsu who will have received that “Determined-Anjin” (Faith). Only after a thorough understanding of this can one express truly the Nembutsu of gratitude to Amida Buddha. Thus, in the Shonin’s “Wasan”, this essence is expressed as follows:

“To receive the Nembutsu for the Wisdom of Amida Buddha is the actualisation of the Power of the Vow of Dharmakara. Without this Shinjin-Faith from the Wisdom of Amida Buddha, how can one receive enlightenment.”

Unless one has received the determination of this “Shinjin-Faith,” there can be no expression of gratitude to the Grace of Amida Buddha. I am curious as to how you have felt about this point up to this time.

You should all be fully aware of the essence of what I have just written and should you carry it back home with you and by discussing Shinjin-Faith among yourselves, obtain the determination of this Shinjin-Faith, you will have gained the unalterable determination of the coming rebirth into the Land of Bliss.

With reverence, I remain

Latter part; 5th month, 7th year of Meio (1498)

 

Ofumi I.6: Suimin no sho (On Drowsiness)

The letter that I reached last night in my current cycle of Ofumi readings was I.6.

Reading the Ofumi throughout life one might expect it to become repetitious but actually new things continuously leap out for examination and reflection.  Last night I noticed the interesting sentence:

… all I continously pray for day and night is that, [not only now but] after my death also, those who have been decisively awakened to faith at this temple may suffer no retrogression [on the Path].”

At first sight this statement of Rennyo’s seems rather contradictory; after all how can one regress from shinjin which is said to be akin to the Mahayana Bodhisattva ’stage of non-retrogression’.  However from my own experience I have found that the settlement of faith is a bit like finding a path home.   Once the path is realised one can always find one’s way home.  This does not however prevent us from choosing to neglect to attend to the call of that place and instead wandering off down various labyrinthine by-roads.

Further letter I.6 is closely related to another letter called The Family Members from Kyoto in the Jogai-Ofumi where Rennyo upbraids one of his sons for saying that it is OK to indulge in sleep when feeling drowsy or indolent if one’s faith is settled.  Here another metaphor comes to mind which is that of a relationship.  Shinjin indicates the settlement of the relationship between individual and Amida, but just like all relationships it is something living and dynamic.  If we don’t live in attentiveness to the Buddha-dharma then that relationship is negated, even though we still retain the certain knowledge that it always exists for us as a possibility.  The question is why lose out on a moments existence that could be lived within the fullest possible experience of the Light?

Finally I should add that the sentiments of the statement I have been discussing are closely related to the letter I.16 On Sare No Sho which urges us to:

Constantly dredge out the Channel of Faith and let the water of Amida’s Dharma flow freely.”

This latter teaching has become the basis for the bi-annual retreats we hold at our home temple and is one that I have found endlessly helpful.  Namuamidabutsu.

(See also: ‘Shinjin: A Basket Immersed in Water’)

 

Notes: ‘Bearer of the Light’ (K4)

I’ve jumped ahead a bit now as Jishin is covering the earlier part of chapter 3 very nicely already.

Kyōshin’s Notes - Day 4 (p.92-97)

p.92 - Kakunyo’s transmission of the teaching

Basing himself on the Ryuju verses of the Shoshinge Kakunyo transmitted the essential tenets of Shinran’s teaching in their most concise and radical format:

• Shinjin is the true cause of Birth
• Saying the Name is a response in gratitude for the Buddha’s benevolence

[Ryuju] teaches that the moment one thinks on Amida’s Primal Vow,
One is naturally brought to enter the stage of the definitely settled;
Solely saying the Tathagata’s Name constantly,
One should respond with gratitude to the universal Vow of great compassion.”
(Shinran’s ‘Shoshinge’, KGSS II:102)

p.93 - The ‘One-thought Moment’ as a manifestation of Amida’s Compassion

Kakunyo points out that because human lives are fragile, transient and fleeting Amida’s compassion brings about the settlement of shinjin in the space of ‘one-thought moment’.  As Shinran says “Contemplating true and real shinjin, I find there is the one thought-moment. One thought-moment expresses the ultimate brevity of the instant of the realization of shinjin and manifests the vast, inconceivable mind of joyfulness”.  This stands in contrast to Pure Land traditions which taught/teach the importance of continuous recitations of the nembutsu, and/or death-bed nembutsu.
(KGSS III:60)

p.97 - Shinran followed Honen all his life

Evidence that Shinran followed Honen’s teaching all his life can be seen his compilation of a collection of his teacher’s words, the Saiho Shinansho (Notes on Guidance Toward Birth in the West), when he was aged 84.