Honen’s search for salvation

Honen’s search for salvation
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Selected passages from Honen Shonin
with commentary

Here is the story of Honen’s meeting with the Primal Vow in his own words[1]:

“Having a deep desire to obtain salvation, and with faith in the teachings of the various scriptures, I practiced many forms of self-discipline. There are indeed many doctrines in Buddhism, but they may all be summed up in the three learnings, namely the precepts, meditation and wisdom[2], as practiced by the adherents of the Lesser (Hinayana) and Greater Vehicles (Mahayana), and the exoteric and esoteric sects. But the fact is that I do not keep even one of the precepts, not do I attain to any one of the many forms of meditation. A certain monk said that without the observance of the sila (precepts), there is no such thing as the realization of samadhi[3]. Moreover, the heart (mind) of the ordinary unenlightened man because of his surroundings, is always liable to change, just like monkeys jumping from one branch to another. It is indeed in a state of confusion, easily moved and with difficulty controlled. In what way does right and indefectible wisdom arise? Without the sword of indefectible wisdom, how can one get free from the chains of evil passion, whence comes evil conduct?And unless one gets free from evil conduct and evil passions, how shall he obtain deliverance from the bondage of birth and death? Alas! What shall I do? What shall I do? The like of us are incompetent to practice the three disciplines of the precepts, meditation and wisdom.


And so I enquired of a great many learned men and monks whether there is any other way of salvation than these three disciplines, that is better suited to our poor abilities, but I found none who could either teach me the way of even suggest it to me. At last I went into the library at Kurodani at Mount Hiei, where all the scriptures were, all by myself, and with a heavy heart, read them all through. While doing so, I hit upon a passage in Shantao’s Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra, which runs as follows:


‘Whether walking or standing, sitting or lying, only repeat the Name of Amida with all your heart. Never cease the practice of it even for a moment. This is the very work which unfailingly issues in salvation, for it is in accordance with the Primal Vow of that Buddha’.


On reading this I was impressed with the fact, that even ignorant people like myself, by reverent meditation upon this passage, and an entire dependence upon the truth in it, never forgetting the repetition of Amida’s sacred Name, may lay the foundation for that good karma which will with absolute certainty eventuate in birth into the Blissful Land. And not only was I led to believe in this teaching bequated by Shantao (Zendo), but also earnestly to follow the great Vow of Amida. And especially was that passage deeply inwrought into my very soul which says, ‘for it is in accordance with the Primal Vow of that Buddha’”.[4]



Commentary:
I would like to focus on the passage from Master Shan-tao that helped Master Honen entrust to Amida Buddha. He did not understand it in the sense that he must say Nembutsu in every minute or second of his life, as some might hurry to interpret it, but that there is no special inner or outer condition in which he should say the Name.
“Whether walking or standing, sitting or lying, only repeat the Name of Amida with all your heart” can be understood as saying the Nembutsu of faith in a relaxed manner without worrying about the circumstances of your life and without being attached to a specific time or posture. “With all your heart” means with faith, that is, with the” entrusting heart” (shinjin). “Repeat the Name of Amida with all your heart” is to say the Nembutsu as an expression of faith. Only this Nembutsu of faith “is in accordance with the Primal Vow of that Buddha (Amida Buddha)”.
This is how we should understand the passage from Master Shantao that helped Honen Shonin entrust to Amida Buddha and come in agreement with the Primal Vow.


One who has faith in Amida Buddha will never forget to say His Name (“never forgetting the repetition of Amida’s sacred Name”) but he will do it in a relaxed manner without being concerned with his state of mind, time, number of recitation, posture or any circumstance of his life because he knows that nothing from his illusory personality can interfere with the salvation offered by Amida Buddha. In the very first moment one entrusts to Amida and says his first Nembutsu of faith he receives the merit transference from Amida Buddha that places him in the stage of nonretrogressionfor birth in the Pure Land. This is the meaning of “may lay the foundation for that good karma (merit transference from Amida) which will with absolute certainty eventuate in birth into the Blissful Land”.
For Master Honen to be in accordance with the Primal Vow was the primary goal of his life and it should be our goal too, because we are the school of the Primal Vow:


“Especially was that passage deeply inwrought into my very soul which says, ‘for it is in accordance with the Primal Vow of that Buddha’”.


If we are in agreement with the Primal Vow we are carried safely to the shore of Enlightenment despite the fact that we are not capable to practice meditation and attain samadhi, follow precepts or develop wisdom.
[1] Words in brackets are my own.
[2] The edition of 1925 and 1949 used the word “knowledge”, but the actual meaning is wisdom, so I used it in this text.
[3] Special concentrated state of mind. Morality, meditation (Samadhi) and the development of wisdom go hand in hand on the path of self-power. You cannot have one without the other.
[4] Honen the Buddhist Saint - His Life and Teachings, volume II, compiled by imperial order, translation by Rev Ryugaku Ishizuka and Rev Harper Havelock Coates, The Society for the Publication of Sacred Books of the World, Kyoto, 1949, p. 185-187

Adrian Cirlea
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