“In truth, myself and others discuss only good and evil, leaving Amida’s benevolence out of consideration. Among Master Shinran’s words were: ‘I know nothing at all of good or evil. For if I could know thoroughly, as Amida Tathagata knows, that an act was good, then I would know good. If I could know thoroughly, as the Tathagata knows, that an act was evil, then I would know evil. But with a foolish being full of blind passions, in this fleeting world-this burning house-all matters without exception are empty and false, totally without truth and sincerity. The Nembutsu alone is true and real.’” It seems to me that you often spoke about good and evil, especially in your so-called “spiritual war” against various worldly ideologies. Aren’t you afraid that you leave “Amida’s benevolence out of consideration”?

My answer: No I am not afraid of this because I do not exclusively talk about good and evil, nor do I think that I am an expert of good and evil. When I speak about good and evil I do it NOT by relying on my own personal knowledge and wisdom but on the words and instructions of the Buddha. Thus. I am in harmony with “I know nothing at all of good or evil”, that is, I do NOT rely on my own personal ideas about good and evil and with “as the Tathagata knows” because I rely on the Tathagata’s (Buddha) own words in the sutras about what is good and evil. For example, when I speak about morality, I rely on the sutras taught by Shakyamuni Buddha himself, which is evident in my articles and books.

More than this, whenever I speak about good and evil, and especially about immorality, I ALWAYS IMEDIATELY MENTION AMIDA BUDDHA’S UNCONDITIONAL SALVATION. Thus, my description BASED ON THE BUDDHA’S WORDS of what is evil, is followed by pointing to the fact that the evil and immoral person is assured of Amida’s salvation if he recognizes himself as evil, according to the Buddha’s definition of evil, and entrusts to Amida. Without the Buddha’s definition of what is good and evil we cannot really understand how wretched we are and how much we need Amida’s helping hand. This is exactly why I speak about good and evil FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE TATHAGATA (BUDDHA) so as to make people aware that they are not and will never be truly good so as to save themselves through their own power.

People’s opinions of what is good and evil may differ according to times, and they are always eager to change morality so as to satisfy their desires and because of the ignorance inherent in their unenlightened minds they cannot truly know what is good and evil. This is what Shinran meant by “I know nothing at all of good or evil” because he cannot know “as Amida Tathagata knows” or any Buddha knows, what is good and evil. Thus, only through the Buddha’s guidance we can know and become aware of the evil inside us. This is the meaning of “If I could know thoroughly, as the Tathagata knows, that an act was evil, then I would know evil.”

In conclusion, through hearing the Buddha’s teachings we can come to know that we are evil and we need Amida’s help. However, those who refuse to hear and accept the Buddha’s teaching on good and evil (Buddhist teaching on morality), as many fake Buddhists and members of worldly ideological groups do nowadays, cannot know they are evil and so they cannot feel the need to be saved by Amida. The best way to spot someone who places worldly ideologies above the Buddha Dharma is to do the following: show him or her that he is a sinner according to Buddhist morality and then tell him the good news that he is saved by Amida Buddha as he is, without any discrimination, if he entrusts to Him. What this fake Buddhist will do is to be upset and stop at the first sentence like how you dare to consider him to be immoral and evil[1], and will not care about the second one – the unconditional salvation provided by Amida. These fake Buddhists are those who, unlike the words of Shinran above in the Postscript of Tannisho, will say, “I know better than the Tathagata (Buddha) what is good and evil”. These people are not really interested in salvation but in the justification and institutionalization of their immorality and on imposing it on society and religion. Their aspiration is not towards the Pure Land and Nirvana, but to forcing their personal views on everybody and to cause others to abandon the Buddhist morality.

I hope this answers your question and that you now know why I at Amidaji insist on speaking in the same time about Buddhist morality as a mirror to see ourselves as we really are and about the unconditional salvation provided by Amida. Thus I never leave Amida's benevolence out of consideration.

Unlike the various fake Buddhists and followers of worldly ideologies who are upset about the Buddha’s definition of good and evil, who pick and choose what they like and discard what they don’t like or goes against their worldly ideologies, we at Amidaji regard ourselves as ordinary evil beings who have faith in the Buddha’s words and the Primal Vow. By knowing we are evil, we cling even more to Amida's sleeves.

Namo Amida Bu

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You don't need to change Buddhist morality when you are saved as you are