"Tathagata's Primal Vow surpasses conceptual
understanding; it is a design of the wisdom of Buddhas. It is
not the design of foolish beings. No one can fathom the wisdom of
Buddhas, which surpasses conceptual
understanding."[1]
The fact that foolish beings are made to attain perfect Enlightenment after birth in the Pure Land, although they are now possesed by blind passions, is beyond conceptual understanding because, as Shinran said, it is related with the "inconceivable Buddha-wisdom" and it comes about "through the working shared only by Buddhas". This means that only Buddhas know the mechanism of Amida's salvation and only they can understand it. All we can do is to accept in faith that such foolish people like us, possesed of blind passions, will attain perfect Enlightenment once we enter the Pure Land of Amida.We are like ignorant peasants who enter a plane for the first time. We do not know how the plane flies, but we trust the pilot and the engineers who built it, and we are certain that they will take us safely to the destination.
The theme of the inconceivability of Amida Buddha's salvation is often mentioned in the sacred texts. Simply stated, unenlightened minds cannot understand the Enlightened Minds and work of Buddhas, just like an ignorant peasant who never got out of his village and who does not know how to read or write, cannot understand planes or the flying technology. Shinran Shonin even scolds Kyomyo-bo in a letter, saying that to try to understand with his limited mind or "conceptual understanding", the mechanism of the Vow and the Name of Amida, will only lead to confusion:
It seems to me that with all your attempts to understand by reasoning and by learning you have fallen into confusion. It is completely in error. Once you have simply come to realize that Vow and Name surpass conceptual understanding, you should not calculate in this way or that. There must be nothing of your calculation in the act that leads to Birth.
You must simply entrust yourself to Tathagata."[3]
It seems to me that with all your attempts to understand by reasoning and by learning you have fallen into confusion. It is completely in error. Once you have simply come to realize that Vow and Name surpass conceptual understanding, you should not calculate in this way or that. There must be nothing of your calculation in the act that leads to Birth.
You must simply entrust yourself to Tathagata."[3]
The fact that foolish beings are made to attain perfect Enlightenment after birth in the Pure Land, although they are now possesed by blind passions, is beyond conceptual understanding because, as Shinran said, it is related with the "inconceivable Buddha-wisdom" and it comes about "through the working shared only by Buddhas". This means that only Buddhas know the mechanism of Amida's salvation and only they can understand it. All we can do is to accept in faith that such foolish people like us, possesed of blind passions, will attain perfect Enlightenment once we enter the Pure Land of Amida.We are like ignorant peasants who enter a plane for the first time. We do not know how the plane flies, but we trust the pilot and the engineers who built it, and we are certain that they will take us safely to the destination.
The theme of the inconceivability of Amida Buddha's salvation is often mentioned in the sacred texts. Simply stated, unenlightened minds cannot understand the Enlightened Minds and work of Buddhas, just like an ignorant peasant who never got out of his village and who does not know how to read or write, cannot understand planes or the flying technology. Shinran Shonin even scolds Kyomyo-bo in a letter, saying that to try to understand with his limited mind or "conceptual understanding", the mechanism of the Vow and the Name of Amida, will only lead to confusion:
It seems to me that with all your attempts to understand by reasoning and by learning you have fallen into confusion. It is completely in error. Once you have simply come to realize that Vow and Name surpass conceptual understanding, you should not calculate in this way or that. There must be nothing of your calculation in the act that leads to Birth.
You must simply entrust yourself to Tathagata."[3]
It seems to me that with all your attempts to understand by reasoning and by learning you have fallen into confusion. It is completely in error. Once you have simply come to realize that Vow and Name surpass conceptual understanding, you should not calculate in this way or that. There must be nothing of your calculation in the act that leads to Birth.
You must simply entrust yourself to Tathagata."[3]
[1] Shinran Shonin, Lamp for the Latter-Ages, letter 7, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.533
[2] Shinran Shonin, A Collection of Letters, Letter 10, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.571-572
[3] Shinran Shonin, Lamp for the Latter-Ages, letter 9, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.536
[4] Shinran Shonin, A Collection of Passages on the Types of Birth in the Three Pure Land Sutras, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.643
[5]Shinran Shonin, Lamp for the Latter Ages, letter 8. The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.535
[6]Shinran Shonin quoted Master Yuan-chao in Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 117