1.The Noble Truth of
Suffering:
“Birth is suffering, decay is suffering, disease is suffering, death is suffering, to be separated from the pleasant is suffering, not to get what one desires is suffering. In brief all the experiences made with the body and mind, which have craving as their base, are suffering.”
“It is this craving which produces rebirth, accompanied by passionate clinging, welcoming this and that. It is the craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence and craving for non-existence.”
3.The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering:
“It is the complete separation from, and destruction of, this very craving, its forsaking, renunciation, the liberation therefrom, and non-attachment thereto.”
“It is this Noble Eightfold Path – namely: Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.”
The Path leading to the cessation of suffering and to the true Reality of Buddha nature (Nirvana/Budhhahood/perfect Enlightenment) is the Eightfold Path as explained in the Four Noble Truth:
Right Understanding actually means 1) to know that we are people of deep karmic limitations, incapable of attaining Buddhahood through our own power; and 2) to know that only Amida Buddha can save us through His Vow Power (Other Power), without asking anything from us.
It is to “know that Amida brings one to ride on the power of the Vow. It is to know that, being carried by the power of the Vow, one will be born in the Pure Land of Bliss”[2]as Shinran said.
People who entrust to Amida Buddha can never lie themselves about their true capacities.
As I also explained yesterday, when I talked about the six paramitas, one who entrusts to Amida Buddha is naturally observing the eight precepts of faith as taught at Amidaji. He never denies or encourages others to deny the existence of Amida Buddha and His Pure Land, nor the authenticity of the Larger Sutra. He knows the importance of the wish to be born in the Pure Land for the attainment of Enlightenment and encourages all beings to have this aspiration. He always considers himself to be a person of karmic limitations and knows that the only way of salvation from Samsara is through Amida’s Power. He never doubts or causes others to doubt the Primal Vow and birth in the Pure Land. He never denies or encourages others to deny that birth in the Pure Land takes place after death. He never abandons the Nembutsu nor encourages others to abandon it. He never mixes nor encourage others to mix Nembutsu and devotion towards Amida Buddha with other faiths and practices from inside or outside of the Buddha Dharma.
If he ever talks about Amida Buddha, his words are always in agreement with the Primal Vow (Right Speech). If he acts in the name of Amida Dharma his deeds are in agreement with the Primal Vow (Right Action). His entire spiritual life is in harmony with the Primal Vow (Right Livelihood) and even if his moral capacities are very low and he is not capable to have pure thoughts, say pure words and do pure actions, he lives a life of faith and encourage others to faith Because of having faith, he is a wonderful person in the eyes of the Buddha:
Hear the Dharma and trust Amida’s Universal Vow,
Shakyamuni praises them as “humans of great and superior understanding”;
Such people are called “white lotus flowers.”[9]
A person of faith enjoys listening deeply to Amida Dharma. This is the Right Effort. We make no other effort on the Pure Land Path than listening the Dharma again and again. This listening does not necessarily mean that we read and study thousands of pages every day, but that we naturally remember and reflect on the teaching, never forgetting its essentials.
We listen deeply before receiving faith and we listen deeply after entrusting to Amida. Why? Because we like it, because the Dharma is our joy and brings us spiritual comfort. Because no matter how attached we are in our daily lives we know that beyond the various illusory appearances of this world lies the true reality of Amida and His Pure Land. This is Right Mindfulness.
“Birth is suffering, decay is suffering, disease is suffering, death is suffering, to be separated from the pleasant is suffering, not to get what one desires is suffering. In brief all the experiences made with the body and mind, which have craving as their base, are suffering.”
“It is this craving which produces rebirth, accompanied by passionate clinging, welcoming this and that. It is the craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence and craving for non-existence.”
3.The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering:
“It is the complete separation from, and destruction of, this very craving, its forsaking, renunciation, the liberation therefrom, and non-attachment thereto.”
“It is this Noble Eightfold Path – namely: Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.”
The Path leading to the cessation of suffering and to the true Reality of Buddha nature (Nirvana/Budhhahood/perfect Enlightenment) is the Eightfold Path as explained in the Four Noble Truth:
Right Understanding actually means 1) to know that we are people of deep karmic limitations, incapable of attaining Buddhahood through our own power; and 2) to know that only Amida Buddha can save us through His Vow Power (Other Power), without asking anything from us.
It is to “know that Amida brings one to ride on the power of the Vow. It is to know that, being carried by the power of the Vow, one will be born in the Pure Land of Bliss”[2]as Shinran said.
People who entrust to Amida Buddha can never lie themselves about their true capacities.
As I also explained yesterday, when I talked about the six paramitas, one who entrusts to Amida Buddha is naturally observing the eight precepts of faith as taught at Amidaji. He never denies or encourages others to deny the existence of Amida Buddha and His Pure Land, nor the authenticity of the Larger Sutra. He knows the importance of the wish to be born in the Pure Land for the attainment of Enlightenment and encourages all beings to have this aspiration. He always considers himself to be a person of karmic limitations and knows that the only way of salvation from Samsara is through Amida’s Power. He never doubts or causes others to doubt the Primal Vow and birth in the Pure Land. He never denies or encourages others to deny that birth in the Pure Land takes place after death. He never abandons the Nembutsu nor encourages others to abandon it. He never mixes nor encourage others to mix Nembutsu and devotion towards Amida Buddha with other faiths and practices from inside or outside of the Buddha Dharma.
If he ever talks about Amida Buddha, his words are always in agreement with the Primal Vow (Right Speech). If he acts in the name of Amida Dharma his deeds are in agreement with the Primal Vow (Right Action). His entire spiritual life is in harmony with the Primal Vow (Right Livelihood) and even if his moral capacities are very low and he is not capable to have pure thoughts, say pure words and do pure actions, he lives a life of faith and encourage others to faith Because of having faith, he is a wonderful person in the eyes of the Buddha:
Hear the Dharma and trust Amida’s Universal Vow,
Shakyamuni praises them as “humans of great and superior understanding”;
Such people are called “white lotus flowers.”[9]
A person of faith enjoys listening deeply to Amida Dharma. This is the Right Effort. We make no other effort on the Pure Land Path than listening the Dharma again and again. This listening does not necessarily mean that we read and study thousands of pages every day, but that we naturally remember and reflect on the teaching, never forgetting its essentials.
We listen deeply before receiving faith and we listen deeply after entrusting to Amida. Why? Because we like it, because the Dharma is our joy and brings us spiritual comfort. Because no matter how attached we are in our daily lives we know that beyond the various illusory appearances of this world lies the true reality of Amida and His Pure Land. This is Right Mindfulness.
[1]Objects of desire are infinite from food, drink, houses, wives, husbands, children, cars, riches, etc, to immaterial objects like various egoistic satisfactions of pride, conquering and subduing enemies, having good states of mind, etc. The happiness is which depends on the presence or absence of such objects of desire is not true happiness.
[2]Notes on the Inscription of Sacred Scrolls - The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.506
[3] Lamp for the Latter-Ages, letter 14 - The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.544
[4]Idem, p.107
[5] Shinran Shonin, Lamp for the Latter-Ages, letter 2, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.526
[6]Read the chapter “The true disciple of Amida and all Buddhas” from my book The Meaning of Faith and Nembutsu in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism.
[7] Shinran Shonin, Lamp for the Latter-Ages, letter 2, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.526
[8] Shinran Shonin quoted Master Shantao in his Kyogyoshinsho, chapter III, Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 131-132
[9] Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 77
[10]Shinran Shonin, Tannisho, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997
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