Alfred Bloom Prof. Emeritus, University of Hawaii The Foundation of Shinran's Faith: Supremacy of the Vow in the Tannisho Introduction As the background to my discussion of the Tannisho, I want to comment on my experience with Shin Buddhism. It will perhaps give some perspective on my interpretation of Tannisho as well as other Buddhist texts. To begin with, I was raised in a fundamentalist Christian environment. I was a Baptist. In my teenage I became myself an ardent believer. During the war I joined the army and had the opportunity to study Japanese. At the end of the war I went to Japan in the army of occupation and was active in a Christian group of GIs. We went to churches to give talks and help the youth learn English so they could get jobs with the army and also to save their souls. On one occasion, as I was speaking the minister of the church compared my idea of Christian grace with Amida. I was shocked when I heard it, since I had been taught that Christianity was absolutely unique. There could be nothing like it. I returned from the army and went to seminary. However, many questions had been raised in my mind. I gradually came to understand that the fundamentalist interpretation of Christianity was wrong and that there were many more religious alternatives than just Christianity alone. After going to two seminaries, I went to Harvard Divinity School where I was again able to take up the study of Japanese and to learn more about Buddhism. At that time I got hold of a copy of Yamamoto Kosho's Shinshu Seiten and discovered that Shinran should be the focus of my study. I received a Fulbright scholarship and went to Japan for research. Eventually, I completed my thesis and published the text Shinran's Gospel of Pure Grace. The title reflects the issue which I had been trying to solve since those army experiences. It was my attempt to inform students of religion of the depth and significance of Shinran's teaching which had not been explored earlier in an academic fashion. Within the last year, after 25 years, the book has gone out of print. Nevertheless, it has fulfilled its task of making Shinran known and now more scholars are taking up the study of exploring the Shin tradition and publishing many important works. In the course of my explorations, I encountered the Tannisho and against the background of my own religious experience and training found it a remarkable and deeply significant text for the understanding, not only of Shin Buddhism, but of religion in general. It was because of my interest in the Tannisho that I was able to develop a series of radio talks sponsored by the Moiliili Hongwanji temple in Honolulu, Hawaii, which eventually became the small volume: Tannisho: Resource for Modern Living. While I was studying the book, I had an encounter with a Japanese actor, Morishige Hisaya. You may be familiar with him. I was at a dinner party. When I was introduced as a University professor and student of Shin Buddhism, he commented that he understood the Psalms of the Old Testament but he could not understand the Tannisho. As a more humorous retort, I responded that I understood the Tannisho but I could not understand the Psalms. As I reflected on the exchange later, I began to realize that there was a significant point in our conversation. He had read the Psalms without anyone telling him that they were profound expressions of religious faith. He simply read the texts and reacted to their evident meaning as he encountered the ideas. However, people for centuries have been told that the Tannisho is very profound text. Consequently, when you tell someone that a book is profound, they will naturally assume that they cannot understand it and thus never read it. Or, if they read it, they will not be able to respond to the meaning because they assume they do not understand what they read. Interestingly enough, Rennyo Shonin assumed that people would understand it when they read it. Consequently, he warned his followers not to read the Tannisho until they were 40 years of age. That is, too old to implement its religious perspective. As we shall see, the Tannisho is a text of spiritual liberation. Through the use of Pure Land teaching based in Shinran's understanding of shinjin or endowed trust, there is a liberating spirit that pervades the text. The ideal of spiritual liberation offered by this work has made it enormously attractive and meaningful to many modern Japanese seeking a basis for their lives. Most notably, Kiyozawa Manshi made the book famous in modern times when he rediscovered it after centuries of obscurity. Kiyozawa ranked the Tannisho with the words of Epictetus, the Greek stoic philosopher, and the Buddhist Agamas, that is, the ancient Theravada Buddhist Sutras. His emphasis was on liberation from the self. However, the liberation from the self enables the person to be firm and tranquil amidst the turbulence and upheaval of the surrounding world. While not seeking, necessarily, to change the external world directly, the world transforms as the self transforms. Kiyozawa, in his own way attempted to bring about religious reform and the revitalization of Shinshu in the Meiji era. If taken seriously, it can also assist in revitalizing our own Sangha. As a result of Kiyozawa's efforts, the Tannisho became widely known as a religious classic in the Shin tradition. Since that time it has become a literary and religious classic beyond the boundaries of the Shin sect. It has been translated into many western languages and, in effect, taken on a life of its own. Nevertheless, it is not as widely known or studied in our own temples. I encountered a temple president some years ago who said he had never heard of it, despite years of activity in the temple. While it is not possible to go through the book in detail here or to deal exhaustively with Shinran's teaching, I have developed several topics which I believe focus attention on some important issues for religious faith arising from the text. In this initial discussion, I want to consider the Primal Vow as the foundation of Shinran's religious experience and thought. In the second presentation, I will discuss the deeply personal character of Shinran's approach to religion. Subsequently, we will look at the Tannisho as a manifesto of spiritual liberation and finally the relevance of the Tannisho. In this segment of our study I will summarize the religious perspective or style of life of the Tannisho which is the basis for its modern significance. I. The Inconceivable Primal Vows The Tannisho opens with a clear statement of the foundation for spiritual liberation through the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha. It states: When the thought of saying the nembutsu emerges decisively from within, having entrusted ourselves to the inconceivable power of Amida's vow which saves us, enabling us to be born in the Pure Land, in that very moment we receive the ultimate benefit of being grasped never to be abandoned. Amida's Primal Vow does not discriminate between the young and old, good and evil; true entrusting alone is essential. The reason is that the Vow is directed to the being burdened with the weight of karmic evil and burning with the flames of blind passion. Thus entrusting ourselves to the Primal Vow, no other form of good is necessary, for there is no good that surpasses the nembutsu. And evil need not be feared, for there is no evil which can obstruct the working of Amida's Primal Vow. [Taitetsu Unno, trans., Tannisho: A Shin Buddhist Classic. Honolulu: Buddhist Study Center Press, 1984. p. 5. (72 pp.) This passage, with its flowing, lyrical style, is an eloquent statement of the very foundation of Shinran's teaching. Though we speak of the Nembutsu as the central idea of Shinshu, the Nembutsu is rooted in the Vow. Not enough attention is paid to the understanding of the Vow as the symbol and expression of the nature of spiritual reality. When Shinran recounted his experience of faith through his teacher Honen, he exclaimed: “How Joyous I am, my heart and mind being rooted in the Buddha-ground of the Universal Vow, and my thoughts and feelings flowing within the dharma-ocean, which is beyond comprehension.” (Shin Buddhism Translation Series, The True Teaching, Practice and Realization of the Pure Land Way, Volume IV, Transformed Land, p. 616.). In the preface to the Shoshinge in the Kyogyoshinsho, Shinran states: “The Vow on which true and real practice is based is the Vow that all Buddhas say the Name. The Vow on which true and real shinjin is based is the Vow of sincere mind and trust. These are the practice and shinjin of the selected Primal Vow....The Buddha and land are the fulfilled Buddha and fulfilled land. All of this is none other than the ocean of true reality or suchness, the inconceivable Vow” (Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Ibid., I, p. 159). For Shinran, all of spiritual reality is the expression of the Primal Vow. If we put this into modern terms, Shinran is indicating for us that history is moved by a spiritual dynamic, profound aspiration in which all beings seek a higher realization and fulfillment of their lives. The Vows are a power in things working for growth and creativity, and for the transcendence of all limitations. Shinran expressed this dynamic reality in the terms of Pure Land teaching. The Vows represent aspects of the nature of Amida Buddha as the Buddha of Eternal life and Infinite Light. (some mention can be made of the central Vows in Shinran's thought; 12,13,17,18,11,22 and for his own experience: 19, 20) Consequently, when Yuiembo, the compiler of the Tannisho, arranged the quotations from Shinran that he remembered, it is important that he prefaced them with the recognition of the supremacy of the Primal Vow. It is only through our constant awareness of the power of the Vow in our lives that we can avoid the deviations or errors which Yuiembo was attempting to correct within the early Shin sangha. Briefly, let us consider this opening passage: When the thought of saying the nembutsu emerges decisively from within, having entrusted ourselves to the inconceivable power of Amida's vow which saves us, enabling us to be born in the Pure Land, in that very moment we receive the ultimate benefit of being grasped never to be abandoned. This passage tells us that even before we actually recite the nembutsu verbally, the inconceivable power of the Vow stirs our faith, and we are embraced in that moment by the Buddha's compassion. We will never be abandoned or rejected. The assurance we have of final enlightenment comes not from our feeble and unsteady, wavering minds and hearts, but from the Buddha whose nature and purpose is to bring all beings to enlightenment. This affirmation is extremely important when we survey the religious world. Most religions establish criteria and requirements that must be fulfilled in order to attain salvation. The degree of perfection demanded leaves the majority of people doomed. It is the unconditional compassion of Amida working in his Vow that brings about our deliverance or final enlightenment not what we do for ourselves. Understanding this perspective transforms the nature of our religious life and the way we relate to people. Knowing that the source of our deliverance is in the Vow, we cannot be self-righteous or put on an air of superiority. This is the basis of the dogyo-dobo horizontal community that characterizes Shinran's relations to his disciples. Amida's Primal Vow does not discriminate between the young and old, good and evil; true entrusting alone is essential. The reason is that the Vow is directed to the being burdened with the weight of karmic evil and burning with the flames of blind passion. The second segment of this passage makes three important points. The first is the universality of the Vow. In this context he focusses on age and moral qualifications. However, in the Faith Volume of the Kyogyoshinsho indicates that the Great Sea of Faith transcends age, sex, economic, intellectual, religious, moral, mode of enlightenment, number of nembutsu, or any human distinction that may be invoked as a criteria to evaluate another person's faith. Shinran gives us the clearest rejection of the judgmental attitude that tends to afflict religious people and encourage hypocrisy. The second issue is that entrusting alone is essential. This is the central feature of Shinran's teaching that has made it famous over the centuries and distinctive among Buddhist schools. Generally speaking, traditional Buddhism in all its various forms has focussed on practice as the essential way to enlightenment, and particularly meditation in some form, though also teaching the preliminary character or important of faith. For Shinran, prior to all aspects of practice is the character of the human spirit and mind. That is, what people think they are doing and with what attitude their actions are performed determines the character of their religious perspective. If they think that religious actions are based in their own ability to achieve good, they misunderstand the power of the ego and ego-delusion which leads to cloaking egoism in the guise of religious effort. Faith-awareness makes it clear that whatever good we do, has its root in the working of universal compassion. Thus entrusting ourselves to the Primal Vow, no other form of good is necessary, for there is no good that surpasses the nembutsu. And evil need not be feared, for there is no evil which can obstruct the working of Amida's Primal Vow. Shinran declares the total supremacy of the Primal Vow. He states that “no other form of good is needed.” Nothing is superior to the nembutsu. This affirmation correlates to the section Tannisho VIII where Shinran states that the nembutsu “is neither a religious practice nor a good deed. Since it is practiced without my calculation, it is ‘non-practice.‘ Since it is not a good created by my calculation, it is ‘non-good.‘ Since it is nothing but Other Power, completely separated from self-power, it is neither a religious practice nor a good act on the part of the practicer.” Here we should understand that for Shinran the nembutsu, as the conscious manifestation of shinjin, endowed trust, arises spontaneously and freely. It is without hakarai which indicates deliberateness, calculation, devising. Hakarai is something done with ego intention and therefore, being the kind of people we are with raging passions and ego interest, all actions become self-serving. Religion for Shinran could never be obligatory or done merely for social reasons. With the grounding in the Vow religious faith becomes the natural expression of the human spirit which recognizes that there is something greater that embraces our lives and give them meaning and value. The value and meaning of human existence is symbolized in Amida's Vows as the life of the universe realizing itself in the dynamic life of nature and the yearning for spiritual fulfillment in human life. Just as there is no good that surpasses the nembutsu as the requirement for enlightenment, there is no evil that can obstruct or hinder the fulfillment of the Vow in bringing us to enlightenment. It is possible to view the supremacy of the Vow in external or internal dimensions. Externally, it suggests that no matter what opposition followers of the nembutsu may face, those opponents cannot finally overcome the faith. Shinran himself faced such challenges when he was exiled along with other followers of Honen. Pure Land teaching was persecuted for many years in Japan until it became a recognized and accepted faith among all the other Buddhist schools. While we do not face overt persecution, the cultural environment within which we live threatens to undermine religious commitment through ongoing secularization and the allure of the material culture we have created which makes religion merely a colorful decoration or condiment to the salad of life. Internally, no evil can obstruct the Vow or nembutsu, and no evil need be feared suggests that we are never too evil to be embraced by the Buddha's compassion. There were people in Shinran's day, who by profession or other reasons, were continually committing acts defined as sinful and impure in traditional Buddhism. It was virtually impossible for such people to receive the assurance that they would ultimately be delivered. Warriors, prostitutes, butchers, merchants, hunter were all in professions which traded on human passions and created karma. The message of Pure Land teaching, and particularly Shinran, declared that there was hope for all. No one would be left out, because the Buddha's Vow had been fulfilled. In the Kyogyoshinsho Shinran illustrated this fact by recounting the story of Prince Ajatasatru who had committed what was the unforgivable sin in bringing about his father, King Bimbisara's death. He symbolized the lowest, despicable evil. Yet, through the Buddha's compassion even he would eventually attain Buddhahood. This hope liberates the human spirit to live creatively and meaningfully in this world of suffering in the spirit of gratitude and compassion for all beings. In this opening passage, therefore, Shinran offers an important alternative among the plurality of religious paths in our time and an inspiring vision of universal compassion which inspires hope, courage and commitment. We must take this vision seriously for our individual lives, as well as that of our sangha. As For Me, Shinran: Shinjin Means Taking a Stand Shinran's approach to religion is deeply personal and inward. He illustrates clearly the Buddhist emphasis that the character of the mind determines the meaning and value of external actions. Thus in Tannisho 3, Shinran comments that people who perform good deeds with a self-power lack the mind, kokoro, of reliance on Other Power. If this mind is transformed and one relies on Other Power, they will attain rebirth in the Pure Land of True Fulfillment. The term shinjin has become a central term in Shin Buddhism because it is the entrusting mind or heart, the kokoro of faith. By the same token, hakarai, as deliberation or calculation, is a trait of mind. Shinran confesses that he, himself, does not have a pure or sincere mind, even though he takes refuge in Jodo Shinshu. Our minds are like asps and scorpions, making our good deeds poisonous. (Jodo Shinshu Honganji-ha, Jodo Shinshu Seiten. Honganji Shuppansha, 1989, 3rd. ed. p. 617; #94, #96 [1570 pp.]). We must also note that personal does not mean simply individual. Western culture is based on the myth of competitive individualism. In the economic realm we call it capitalism. We exalt the so-called 'self-made man'. We say that people pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. That these are erroneous metaphors can easily be seen in the fact that no one would grow up, if others had not nurtured and encouraged the person. If you try to pull yourself off the ground by pulling on your bootstraps, you will soon see how wrong that image is. Our modern way of thinking has been strongly influenced by social Darwinism which drew upon aspects of the evolutionary theory, especially the notion of the survival of the fittest. More recent thought indicates that throughout nature there is much more cooperative interaction by which various species are able to survive and multiply. Consequently, through contemporary interest in ecology, we are recognizing more and more the interdependent character of all life. As the awareness and imagery of interdependence becomes stronger, Buddhism and Shinran's thought become more relevant to our daily lives. Though Shinran had a strong self-awareness rooted in his shinjin, he constantly acknowledged his indebtedness to his teachers and the tradition which gave him spiritual nurture. He balanced his existence as an individual and the liberation that shinjin gave him and the responsibility that such liberation requires in the context of interdependence. In the context of interdependence, our freedom and liberation to be our true selves is always a liberation and freedom for others. In Shinran's thought, we can never desire something for ourselves that we do not desire for others. I. The Vow is for Shinran Alone. Shinran hitori ga tame ni The master constantly said, “When I ponder on the compassionate vow of Amida, established through five kalpas of profound thought, it was for myself, Shinran, alone. Because I am a being burdened so heavily with karma, I feel even more deeply grateful to the Primal Vow which is decisively made to save me.” (Taitetsu Unno, Tannisho, A Shin Buddhist Classic, Honolulu, Buddhist Study Center Press, 1984, p. 35 [pp. 73]) This is a very significant passage which highlights the deeply personal character of Shinran's experience of the Pure Land teaching. For him it was not a matter of family, community or culture or of abstract theological terms and debate. Religious faith was, for him, a matter of inner awareness which established his identity and the limits of what his mind could grasp spiritually. When Shinran declares that the Vow was made for him alone, he is not expressing a self-centered idea that he alone possesses the truth. It is that his experience is uniquely his. No one can imitate another's experience. We each meet the truth in our own way. It is stifling to deep religious experience when conformity and uniformity become a mark of membership and belonging. The educational philosophy of Mahayana Buddhism recognizes that each person varies in their level of religious insight and understanding. Upaya or Hoben are employed in order to convey the truth in a way that each person can understand, according to their capacity. While Shinran appeals to his personal experience, he is never dogmatic or intolerant. Later in this section, Shinran confesses the limits of his knowledge and understanding: According to the master, he said, “I do not know what the two, good and evil, really mean. I could say that I know what good is, if I knew good as thoroughly and completely as the Tathagata; and I could say I know what evil is, if I knew evil as thoroughly and completely as the Tathagata. But in this foolish being filled with blind passion, living in this impermanent world of burning house, all things are empty and vain; therefore, untrue. Only the nembutsu is true, real and sincere.” (Taitetsu Unno, trans. Tannisho, A Shin Buddhist Classic, Honolulu, Buddhist Study Press, p. 36.) [73 pp.] Throughout Shinran's writing we find a variety of confessions of his limitations and spiritual incapacity when viewed from the standpoint of the Vow and nembutsu. We have already noted his confession of spiritual impurity. In the Faith Volume of the Kyogyoshinsho, after he outlines the character of the true Buddhist disciple, he laments: I know truly how grievous it is that I, Gutoku Shinran, am sinking in an immense ocean of desires and attachments and am lost in vast mountains of fame and advantage; so that I rejoice not at all at entering the stage of the truly settled and feel no happiness at coming nearer the realization of true enlightenment. How ugly it is! How wretched! (Shin Buddhism Translation Series, The True Teaching, Practice and Realization of the Pure Land Way. Kyoto: Hongwanji International Center, 1985. II, p. 279 [351 pp.] Shinran's confessions and lamentations are important for the way in which he related to his disciples. We see his spirit at work in Tannisho 9 where Yuiembo complained that he did not rejoice at the prospect of going to the Pure Land. Shinran commiserated with him, noting that he had the same doubt as Yuiembo. He then went on to show that it was precisely for this reason, that is, our passionate attachment to life, that Amida Buddha had established his Vows. Shinran had a deep personal experience, but he never took pride in it, nor did he employ it to demonstrate his superiority over others. He realized that despite the experience and insight he gained, he was no different, no better than any one of his followers or other people. His acute sense of personal evil together with his intense personal experience gave him a spiritual strength and a sense of realism that has contributed greatly to the attraction that modern people find in Shinran in Japan , as well as beyond Japan. II. Personal Commitment and Tradition One of the major problems facing modern religion is the reconciliation between tradition and individual autonomy. The issue is usually seen as a contradiction. Tradition tends to subordinate the individual to the group, while in reaction, the individual rejects tradition when possible. Also we live in an age when everything is under suspicion. This results from the type of social analysis which regards that all thought and tradition covers over ulterior motivations for the control and exploitation of people. With Shinran there is the possibility of integrating religious commitment and tradition more adequately. With a firm foundation for spiritual development and individual or personal commitment the vitality of tradition can be maintained. When we observe the character of Shinran's thought, we can see that, while he affirmed Pure Land tradition, it did not act as a barrier to the development of his experience and thought. Rather, it became a stepping stone leading to deeper insight. The relation between Shinran and tradition is termed dento and kosho. Dento refers to tradition, while kosho refers to the personal insight Shinran brings to the tradition. While it is customary to limit such relationships to Shinran and perhaps Rennyo, it is the mark of a living and vital tradition that there is a constant interplay between the tradition and the experience of followers in any age. Though we are anchored in the tradition, it is important to interpret and reinterpret the tradition to bring out its meaning within the changing social and cultural situation. It is important for all followers of Shinran to study and reflect on the teaching, and, as Confucius said of the teacher, to bring the new out of the old. In Tannisho 2 Shinran tells his disciples who had travelled over many provinces to question him about the meaning of the teaching, that essentially he relies on the witness of tradition, as well as his own personal experience, for his confidence in the truth of the nembutsu. His is not merely a scholastic view such as they can receive from scholars on Mount Hiei or in Nara. Rather, he accepts the word of his teacher, because his own spiritual weakness reveals that the nembutsu is the only alternative for such a passion- ridden person. Though the truth of the nembutsu cannot ultimately be proven, the possibility that he had been deceived by his teacher Honen is meaningless, since he is destined for hell in any case. Thus he declares: “As for myself, Shinran, I simply receive the words of my dear teacher, Honen, ‘Just to say the nembutsu and be saved by Amida,' and entrust myself to the Primal Vow. Besides this there is nothing else.” He continues: “If Amida's Primal Vow is true, Sakyamuni's teaching cannot be false. If the Buddha's teaching is true, Shan tao's commentaries cannot be false. If Shan tao's commentaries are true, how can Honen's words be empty? If Honen's words are true, what I, Shinran, say cannot be meaningless. In essence such is the true entrusting of this foolish one. Now, whether you accept the nembutsu, entrusting yourself to it, or reject it, that is your own decision.” This is a significant passage for the interplay between tradition and Shinran's personal experience. He relies on tradition because it gives a basis for his faith in the possibility of deliverance which he cannot create for himself. Also, he relies on tradition and his teacher as the basis for the validity of his own teaching which he shares with his disciples. The tradition acts as a background and basis for his teaching while also inspiring his own interpretation. In essence, Shinran is pointing out that we must all speak from some standpoint which, in some measure, is validated by our experience. Against the background of the earlier Pure Land teaching, Shinran indicates his words are not without meaning. He is not making it up. He stands on that witness of previous teachers. Nevertheless, he does not claim a simple identity with the previous teachers, but, as we can see in his writings, he extends and expands the teaching in many significant ways. Emphasis on tradition tends to make religion to make religious communities rather conservative in character. However, the proper use of tradition is to enable us to engage our future; to look forward. Simply to try to preserve tradition within the flow of social change is to be like the fisherman who made a notch on the side of his boat to mark where he got the good catch of fish. When he drifted from the spot, the notch became useless for finding fish. Rather, tradition should be like the buoy or marker we place in the water to mark the spot to which we can return to fish profitably. Tradition must become one's own. That is, if it remains tradition, it is something in the past. The word tradition means to hand over. Like Shinran, we must receive the tradition and hand it over to future generations energized by the vitality of our own commitment. III. Shinran and His Disciples One of the best indicators of the spirit of Shinran is the manner in which he related to his disciples. The test of any teaching is what kind of person does it create. In the Tannisho there are several incidents which show how Shinran reflected the compassion of the Primal Vow and his sensitivity to others. In our age of alienation and distrust, the model Shinran exhibits is highly relevant. The first instance is found in Tannisho 2 which we have already mentioned earlier. The last statement of this section is very significant. In this exchange, Shinran had declared his own position and understanding of the teaching. He concludes: “Now, whether you accept the nembutsu, entrusting yourself to it, or reject it, that is your own decision.” This simple, direct statement says a great deal about Shinran's attitude to inquirers. He respected their personalities and integrity. He did not demand that they follow him, nor did he threaten them with dire consequences if they disagreed. It was simply that he had offered his own view, and they had to make a judgment for themselves. The phrase has become very famous: men men no onhakarai nari. Shinran was not a guru as modern people have come to see them in the multitude of religious groups or the variety of evangelists who parade the country condemning people to hellfire and brimstone, if you don't follow their insistent claims to having a monopoly on the truth. There is a totalitarian frame of mind that pervades our modern society despite its supposedly high level of education and availability of information and knowledge. Shinran, for his part, never exploited people's intellectual or spiritual weakness, scaring the “hell” out of them. He avoided dogmatism by admitting that there were things he did not know. He states that he did not know whether the nembutsu was the cause for birth into the Pure Land, or the act that would condemn him to hell. (Tannisho 2). He also stated that he could not judge good and evil, since he was not enlightened as Amida Buddha. (Epilogue). His confessions of a lack of pure mind and entanglement in passions as a bombu, an ordinary person, put him on the same level with everyone else. One will have to search far and wide in the history of religion to find a teacher as realistic and open as Shinran. The second incident is found in Tannisho 6. Here Shinran declares: As for myself, Shinran, I do not have a single disciple. If I could make others say the nembutsu through my own devices, they would be my disciples. But how arrogant to claim those who live the nembutsu through the sole working of Amida's compassion. If the karmic condition is to come together, we shall be together; if the karmic condition is to be separated, we shall be separated. How absurd that some people assert that if one goes against his own teacher and says the nembutsu under another, he cannot attain birth in the Pure Land. Are they saying that they will take back the true entrusting which is a gift from Amida as if it belonged to them? Impossible that such a thing should happen. When we live according to the reality of “made to become so by itself,” we shall know gratitude to the Buddha, as well as to our teachers. (Taitetsu Unno, trans., Tannisho: A Shin Buddhist Classic, Honolulu, Buddhist Study Center Press, 1984, p. 11) (73 pp.) This passage has great significance because it shows that Shinran was not on what modern people call a power trip. He was not possessive of his disciples and even disagreed with other of his disciples who apparently wished him to condemn disciples who left to follow other teachers. In Kakunyo, the third Abbot's text Kudensho 6 we see another version of this incident and gain further insight into Shinran's thinking. It is clear in both presentations, that as important as a teacher may be for our coming to know the teaching, faith and deliverance for Shinran did not depend on adherence to a particular teacher. In the Kudensho story, a certain person, Shingyobo, disagreed with Shinran on the meaning of a passage of scripture. When he was admonished by Shinran, he left. Later, another disciple Renni asked Shinran whether Shinran should not take back the object of worship and teachings. He indicated that Shingyobo would probably not respect Shinran. Shinran replied that it was not proper to take these things back. He noted that since we are all disciples of the Buddha, we are fellow companions in the faith. We are dobo dogyo. Faith arises through the working of the two Buddhas, Sakyamuni and Amida and not something given by Shinran. This is a remarkable passage because it shows that Shinran rejected any form of authoritarianism. He even goes so far as to indicate that even if that errant disciple uses the teaching and dislikes Shinran, still the people will be delivered because everything depends on the Primal Vow and not merely the human instrumentalities. He declared we should not hold on or take back the teachings like the ordinary people who grasp after riches. Shinran proposes a horizontal community of people bound together in a common spiritual destiny. He did not try to establish a hierarchy of superior and authoritative people who control others. Shinran was aware of the subtlety of the teaching process, and especially being a religious teacher. In the Shujisho Shinran states: This self who is unable to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil,who has no claim even for little deeds of love and compassion, and yet who is willing just for name and gain to pose as a teacher--[how shameful!]...(Daisetsu Suzuki, Collected Writings on Shin Buddhism. Kyoto: Shinshu Otani-ha, 1973. pp. 122-123.) (262 pp.) Teachers, like everyone else are motivated by their egos. They want to be out front. Shinran lamented this lust for fame and gain, but he realized that the truth about our egos is revealed through the very activity motivated by our egos. This ego-drive lurks behind even the most exalted activities in religion, as well as ordinary life. Based on his understanding of ego, Shinran proclaimed a truly Other Power view of education and human relations. He saw that whatever we achieve, is not merely the result of ego assertion, but results from the interdependence of life symbolized by the compassion of Amida Buddha and the Primal Vow. We do not create faith in others or in ourselves. We are the occasion for it, not the source. we come together or part within the grand process of life which is understood as the working of Amida. Shinran could accept what happened without becoming ego- involved because he had a broader perspective on human action and reality. Finally in matters of the spirit there is no re-possession like taking back cars and houses. A faith or tradition is not owned by anyone. Rather, the teachings are to be shared. What is important is the sharing, not the formalities of official. It is the process of “the reality of ‘made to become so by itself,'” the naturalness of the Vow. When we live in this spirit, we express our gratitude to the Buddha and have respect for our teachers who share their lives and teachings with us. Shinran rejects all forced and obligatory relations that do not reflect the freedom and spontaneity of the human spirit as it is animated by endowed trust. The third incident that bears mention is the conversation of Yuiembo and Shinran in Tannisho 9. Of all the passages, I think I feel most affinity for this account because of the way in which Shinran demonstrates his compassion in direct relation to a suffering disciple. Yuiembo had great anxiety because he did not feel secure in faith. He was plagued by doubt since he could not measure up to the Sutras description that people with faith dance for joy at the prospect of going to the Pure Land. Yuiembo could not feel that way. When he presented his doubt to Shinran, Shinran did not criticize him for lack of faith, but simply stated that he himself had the same problem. It was probably this very question that drove him to Honen and eventually to working out his own interpretation of Pure Land teaching after he spent 20 years on Mount Hiei and could not gain spiritual peace. Thus he says: “I too had this doubt.” It is a penetrating statement. It reassured Yuiembo that he was OK. He had nothing to fear for even Shinran faced the same dilemma as we have seen above. Then Shinran went on to show how it is that our passions are so deep-rooted and that Amida made his Vows for just such people. Shinran, as true teacher and companion, the good friend-Zenchishiki in the deep sense, affirmed the worth of his disciple and did not put him down. Shinran never let the authority of sacred texts cancel or render meaningless the realities of human experience. Here again Shinran is sensitive to the dignity and worth of the person. Shinran's understanding of the person as the true object of Amida's compassion laid the basis for a democratic, egalitarian movement. Conclusion We have selected out some of the major issues that flow from Shinran's personal experience and trust in the Primal Vow. With a vital faith he established himself in tradition and related in positive and fulfilling ways. He showed the deepest respect for his followers by not flaunting his authority and even writing to them in honorific terms. If the spirit of Shinran were to pervade our relationships within and without the Temple, Shin Buddhism could be a thriving spiritual influence in our society and culture where increasingly other are our enemies rather than our companions on the path to fulfillment and enlightenment. Tannisho: A Manifesto of Spiritual Liberation In our previous discussions, we have tried to lay the basis for the distinctiveness of Shinran's approach to religious faith as depicted in the Tannisho. In general we have seen that his teaching and understanding of faith is solidly grounded in the Primal Vow which symbolizes Amida Buddha's unconditional compassion. We have also seen that Shinran's religious faith was deeply personal, yet rooted in tradition. Through his awareness of the Vow, tradition and his personal situation, he related very positively and openly to his followers. In this lecture I want to offer an overall perspective of the Tannisho as a manifesto of spiritual liberation. It is not without reason that translators and exponents of the Tannisho have titled their work as The Religion beyond Good and Evil or Perfect Freedom in Buddhism. the Tannisho, in spite of its apparently negative title, Lamenting the Deviations, opens a new path in Buddhism whereby the most ordinary person can fulfill his or her spiritual potential within the limits of everyday life. we should note that the title implies the liberation and emancipation embodied in Shinran's teaching, since it is an attempt on the part of Yuiembo to restrain the followers who misunderstood the true intention of Shinran's teaching and turned the freedom to their own egoistic ends. There were those who misunderstood by assuming they could do anything, since Amida's compassion is unconditional, and there were those who were moralistic in advocating purity or some form of virtue as the basis of religious faith. Yuiembo opposed both extremes in the spirit of Shinran's teaching. In line with Shinran's teaching, I understand spiritual liberation to mean the freedom from fear, anxiety and intimidation brought about by dogmatic and intolerant assertions and attitudes of religious teachers who capitalize on the fear of the unknown and the lack of adequate knowledge on the part of the individual. In Shinran's day, as well as our own, there were those who attempted to secure the adherence of people with threats of hell and damnation such as depicted in the Kamkura era hell scrolls or the scrolls of hungry ghosts, or through appeals to magical curses and angry deities. Shinran is remarkable for the fact that he never exploited his followers through fear and he himself opposed those forms of religion that relied on magic. Perhaps, even more remarkable, Shinran did not even try to lure people with visions of pleasures in paradise, thus appealing to their egoistic-self satisfaction. If his writings are fully indicative of his practice among the people, Shinran is distinctive in breaking through the circle of magic, the folk religious tradition that has dominated Japan from earliest times. I. The Path of Unobstructed Freedom While the whole character of Shinran's teaching aimed at spiritual liberation for even the most ordinary person, the passage which clearly proclaims that emancipation is Tannisho 7: In the person of Nembutsu opens up the great path of unobstructed freedom. The reason is that the gods of heaven and earth bow before the practicer of true entrusting, and those of the world of demons and rival paths cannot obstruct his way. The consequences of karmic evil cannot bear fruit, nor does any form of good equal his. Thus, it is called the great path of unobstructed freedom. (Taitetsu Unno, Tannisho: A Shin Buddhist Classic. Honolulu: Buddhist Study Center Press, 1984. p. 12. (73 pp.) This passage is significant because it goes against all the wisdom of Japanese and world folk religion. The world's religious traditions are filled with fear of evil and angry gods. In Japan the curse, tatari feared and avoided. How many obake or kwaidan stories are based on the fear of angry spirits? Japanese literature such as the Genji Monogatari, and the Diary of Lady Shonagon depict the anxieties involved in demon possession. Exorcism was widely practiced. Even today, there are ceremonies to ward off angry spirits resulting from the practice of abortion, called mizuko-kuyo. In western society there is wide belief in demon possession and anxiety about satan, the devil, run through the culture. However, Shinran tells us that when we have experienced endowed trust in Amida's Vow and his embrace which never abandons, no longer do we need to fear hostile spiritual powers. Rather than we bowing down to worship such beings, they bow down before us. Shinran clearly rejected folk superstitions, because he saw that the world and human life were all manifestations of the compassionate Buddha-nature expressed in Amida Buddha. Likewise, with faith in Amida, we have the power to stand confidently in the face of all forms of opposition, which he describes as the world of demons and rival paths. At that time Pure Land teaching was under attack from the established religious Orders, Tendai and Shingon and the temples of Nara because much of their wealth and power came from those superstitious anxieties and the services they performed to relieve those anxieties. There was a clear interrelation between the character of the religion and the economic system which Pure Land teaching, through its emphasis on the compassion of Amida, threatened. It brought about the exile of Honen and his disciples, including Shinran. Nevertheless, the teaching remained to comfort the masses. Pure Land faith gives an inner strength which enables the person to meet every challenge of life, aware that a greater reality sustains our lives. In this passage, Shinran proclaims the liberation of people from karmic bondage through the power of the Vow. Here again, Shinran shows himself a man of the people understanding the resignation and fear that attends belief in karma as it has been popularly understood through much of Buddhist history. Karma represents the dead hand of history which weighs heavily on our lives and has been used to justify social discrimination in all forms. From Shinran's perspective our karmic bondage is counterbalanced through endowed trust by the embrace of Amida. Therefore we have no need to fear our past. We have no need to fear our future. Our final enlightenment does not hang on our qualifications of purity or spiritual abilities. In his conversation with Yuiembo concerning karma in Tannisho 13, Shinran sets out a virtual fatalistic theory of karma. However, according to him, so far as any action, good or evil, we perform in this life is dictated by karma, the good we do is not because we are truly good and superior but results from the karma of a previous existence. Likewise, the evil also results from the same source. This means our presumed good is not the basis for our enlightenment, nor is our evil an obstruction to that enlightenment. What we attain is received through Amida's Vow. Shinran does not reject the theory of karma. Rather he is placing it within the perspective of Amida Buddha's Vow which is the ultimate reality and source of our emancipation. Thus Shinran states: The gist of this statement is that when we think good thoughts, we think we are good; and when we think evil thoughts, we think we are evil, not realizing fully that it is the inconceivable power of the Vow that makes our salvation possible. (Taitetsu Unno, Tannisho: A Shin Buddhist Classic. Honolulu: Buddhist Study Center Press, p. 24. (pp. 73). II. The Path of Universality Shinran's teaching of the universality of the Primal Vow lifts our minds beyond the limitations of our family and communal bond, as important as they are to us. In a remarkable passage, Tannisho 5, Shinran enunciates the universality of the teaching and its essential mission: I, Shinran, have never even once uttered the nembutsu for the sake of my father and mother. The reason is that all beings have been fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, in the timeless process of birth-and-death. When I attain Buddhahood in the next birth, each and everyone will be saved. If it were a good accomplished by my own powers, then I could transfer the accumulated merits of nembutsu to save my father and mother. But since this is not the case, when we become free from self-power and quickly attain the enlightenment of the Pure Land, we will save those bound closest to us through transcendental powers, no matter how deeply they are immersed in karmic suffering of the six realms of existence and the four modes of birth. (Taitetsu Unno. Tannisho: A Shin Buddhist Classic. Honolulu: Buddhist Study Center Press, 1984. p. 10 (pp. 73) In this passage Shinran poses the time-honored Buddhist universal perspective against the narrow confucian-oriented familial perspective which was imported to Japan from China along with Buddhism. From its beginnings Buddhism had transcended social and cultural boundaries, rejecting the Indian caste system and spreading through all the cultures of south and east Asia. Nevertheless, even Buddhism had to absorb features of asian-confucian social outlook in order to be accepted into those cultures. As a result, Buddhism became a vehicle for confucian ethic and still maintains this role as a family religion involved with ancestor cult. Shinran does not reject the family or its importance. However, the narrow concerns of family and community must not inhibit or negate the wider perspective of Buddhism to bring Amida's compassion to all people. Though Shin Buddhism originated as a specific historical tradition in Japan, it is not simply another Japanese religion. The Universal Primal Vow is not a Japanese Vow. The vision of the interrelatedness of all peoples and beings that share life has great implication for social and ecological concerns in our contemporary society. While we cannot shed or throw off our histories and heritage, we can work through them to bring out their universal dimensions for all to share. Shinran has given us the challenge to move beyond group ego and to work for the good of the whole. In the Kyogyoshinsho Shinran declares the mission of Jodo Shinshu: The diamond-like mind is the mind that aspires for Buddhahood. The mind that aspires for Buddhahood is the mind that save sentient beings. The mind that saves sentient beings is the mind that grasps sentient beings and brings them to birth in the Pure Land of peace. This mind is the mind aspiring for great enlightenment. This mind is the mind of great compassion. (Shin Buddhism Translation Series, The True Teaching, Practice and Realization of the Pure Land Way, A Translation of Shinran's Kyogyoshinsho. Kyoto: Hongwanji International Center, II, p. 259.) In this passage Shinran indicates that a major element in the experience of true entrusting is to aspire to universal compassion for all beings. He concludes, noting, "For great compassion is the right cause of realizing the enlightenment of Buddha." As we confront the many problems of BCA and Jodo Shinshu in the West, it is of utmost importance that we translate the universal compassion of the Primal Vow into practical measures to reach the larger society beyond the boundaries of traditional Shin Buddhism. Shinran has emancipated us from all narrow and provincial perspectives, which is all the more important in a fragmented world of national and racial strife. True entrusting and boundless compassion are the means by which we can work to bring people together in the greater harmony of the Primal Vow. III. The Path of Transcendence In Tannisho 10, Shinran declares: "in the nembutsu no self-working is true working; it is beyond description, explanation and conceivability." (Taitetsu Unno, Tannisho: A Shin Buddhist Classic. Honolulu: Buddhist Study Center Press, 1984. p. 16.) (pp. 73). Also: Even a good person attains birth in the Pure Land, how much more so an evil person. But the peoples of the world constantly say, even the evil person attains birth, how much more so the good person. Although this appears to be sound at first glance, it goes against the intention of the Primal Vow of the Other Power. In chapter 11 of the Tannisho we read: Next, he who inserts his own calculations into the consideration of good and evil, believing that the former helps and the latter hinders birth in the Pure Land, fails to entrust himself to the inconceivable power of the Vow...(Taitetsu Unno, Tannisho: A Shin Buddhist Classic. Honolulu: Buddhist Study Center Press, 1984. p.19. (pp. 73). These few passages show that Shinran rose above the moralism and legalism that pervades religion and society, judging each person by a standard not usually applied to one's own behavior and character. For Shinran no human distinctions or criteria could be used to measure the spiritual qualifications of others or to define the applicability of the teaching and faith. Shinran does not ignore that some things are right or wrong either among his disciples or in society at large. However, his sense of the value and dignity of the person did not require that he condemn the person, though recognizing that the person's behavior was evil. Shinran taught that we are all equally bombu, common, passion-ridden people, and that the compassion we experience in the Vow is the same compassion we should extend to others. IV. The Path of True Compassion Our final point concerning Shinran's liberation concerns the liberation from self- assertion and the guilt we experience when we cannot achieve our goals. Shinran states: There is a difference in compassion between the Path of Sages and the Path of Pure Land. The compassion in the Path of Sages is expressed through pity, sympathy and care for all beings, but truly rare is it that one can help another as one desires. The compassion in the Path of Pure Land is to quickly attain Buddhahood, saying the nembutsu, and with the true heart of compassion and love save all beings as we desire. In this life no matter how much pity and sympathy we may feel for others, it is impossible to help another as we truly wish; thus our compassion is inconsistent and limited. Only the saying of nembutsu manifests the complete and never ending compassion which is true, real, and sincere. (Taitetsu Unno, Tannisho: A Shin Buddhist Classic. Honolulu: Buddhist Study Center Press, 1984. p. 9. (pp. 73). Shinran recognized how much our ego infects all our actions, even the good acts that we perform. We even think sometimes to do good for others as a subtle means of demonstrating our superiority to others. In our common language we call it do-gooding. There is a problem in human relations of wanting to do good and knowing how to do good. Shinran's realistic approach to human action frees us from egoistic assertion, posing as good, while yet do what good we can as the occasion demands. Shinran never said not to do anything, but to do it with the proper understanding of the limitations and significance of one's acts. Shinran, as a leader and teacher, confronted many problems in his new community. We read about them in his letters. He realized that he could only do so much and the rest remains with the Vow. This passage testifies to the way in which Shinran nourished his hopes and aspirations in hard times. When we come to understand the compassion of the Primal Vow like Shinran we recognize that our petty deeds fall far short of the sincerity and compassion of the Buddha. We are often like the woodpecker who repeatedly hammered at a great tree which was then being chopped down by a woodcutter. When the tree fell, the woodpecker thought that he had done it. As we become aware of the power of the Vow at work in our life and world, we cannot take credit for any good that we do. We are the instruments of a higher order that works for good, despite our weaknesses and failings. This understanding of life and human action can save us from futility and despair as we confront the many problems and disappointments in our Sangha and our world. Shinran's liberation is a message of hope that our aspirations and limited efforts are not lost in the swirl of events. The nembutsu is the final compassion because it expresses the highest ideal of compassion and truth for which we yearn and work toward. It always reminds us that there is yet something beyond the present moment to inspire our continuing commitment. Religious Faith in an Age of Pluralism and Suspicion: The Relevance of the Tannisho In this lecture I shall attempt to relate Shinran's perspective on religious faith to that of Sakyamuni Buddha, since the month of December marks the commemoration of Gautama's enlightenment. Just as Gautama's experience of enlightenment had great significance in human history by opening a new path of religious experience, understanding and liberation, so Shinran, in his time, also opened another spiritual perspective which has had an enormous impact in Japan and potentially in the west. Shinran's teaching grew out of the original Buddhist message as Sakyamuni's teaching influenced the lives of people in a variety of cultures and historical periods. Over its long history Buddhism in Asia gave birth to numerous traditions and styles of teaching and practice. In Japan in the 13th century, the disruption and disturbances of that society promoted the formation of new Buddhist movements, inspired by the compassion of the Buddha. These movements attempted in various ways to alleviate the sufferings of the people. Within our Sangha, it would, perhaps, not be wrong to suggest that our members are more familiar with the four noble truths, particularly the first, that all life is suffering, than they are with the content of Shinran's teaching. Consequently, people experience confusion trying to relate the two aspects of Buddhism. From the time of Buddha's enlightenment to the present day Buddhism has had its focus on suffering. Though it may appear negative to stress the suffering in life, we can only say that it is realistic when we survey the news that comes to us daily. The horrendous sufferings that pervade the world goes beyond comprehension as we contemplate the horrors of war, famine, disease, ecological disasters and the social evils of racism and ethnic hatreds. We encounter them everyday in one way or another. The egoism that motivates our actions, individually and collectively as groups and societies, gives testimony to the truth of Buddha's insight. We suffer ourselves, and we cause suffering for others. Competition and conflict have been the way of life of western culture and seemingly the world. We want to become even more competitive. We have reached the point in modern life where the words of the French philosopher Sartre that others are my hell are literally true. The violence we see and hear about is clear witness. It has become dangerous to speak to some people or even to touch someone in a friendly manner. Safety on the roads and streets has become a matter of anxiety. Despite the despair and difficulties of modern life, we have gathered to reflect upon the meaning of the Buddhism and Shinran's teaching. We must question ourselves as to how we express that meaning in our own lives. What does it mean to us? Are the Buddhist stories and teachings merely relics from the long long ago? Are they just a pleasantries that we hear of such ideals and principles, even though they have no apparent relation to the lives we have to live? If Buddhism is to have vitality and meaning for our times and into the future, we must carefully consider how the enlightenment of Buddha is expressed through Shin Buddhism and how it relates to our own lives today. Through the lectures on the Tannisho we have tried to suggest the relevance of Buddhism for today as expressed through Shinran's teachings. Though Shinran was separated from the time of Gautama by almost 2,000 years, there are threads of connection that come through that history. According to Shinran, in the context of faith, Amida Buddha manifested himself in Sakyamuni, Gautama Buddha, being born in Gaya in India, in order to teach the Primal Vows, that is, the Larger Pure Land Sutra which narrates the origin of Amida Buddha. Thus, in essence, because there was Sakyamuni Buddha, we can know of Amida Buddha and his Primal Vows which are the basis for our final enlightenment, even though we are merely passion-ridden common people. In Shinran's time this was a liberating message for the masses and it still has that potentiality when we explore its implications. I. Suffering as the Constant Context of Life As we have indicated, suffering is the focus of Buddhism, but this stress is not pessimistic or negative. It is realistic. Key features of suffering are impermanence and delusion. The decay of our bodies and minds display the ravages of time. Change always seems to be a threat when we lose the things we love and meet situations what is painful. In death everything slips away from us. Death is never timely or desirable for itself, despite the problems of death with dignity or the right to die. In such instances death may become preferable to the unceasing, intense suffering we may encounter in our lives. Shinran carried forward the Buddhist perspective when he declared in the Epilogue of Tannisho penetrating beyond the mere concreteness of physical suffering to that of the spirit: But because we are filled with all kinds of tormenting cravings in a world that is evanescent, like a house on fire, everything we do, everything that exists, is vain and deceptive- -Only Nembutsu is real and true. In Tannisho 9 Shinran declared: Again, it is because of the torments of ego that we worry about death at the slightest illness, feel helpless and forlorn, and lack the urgent desire to be reborn in the Pure Land. How truly flourishing are the cravings of the ego when we cling to the abode of our long cherished sufferings through interminable transmigrations without longing for the Pure Land of Peace and Contentment in to which we are not yet reborn. Yuiembo described his life "as short as a drop of dew on a withered blade of grass. We are all familiar with Rennyo Shonin's letter on White Ashes and its eloquent description of the brevity of human life. Shinran expanded the view of suffering in Buddhism when he contrasted the delusory, deceptive character of human life in contrast to the truth of the Nembutsu. The aspect of delusion which creates suffering does not receive as much attention as impermanence as the basis for suffering in Buddhism. Shinran, however, had probed his ego and passions, perhaps more deeply than any figure in the history of Buddhism. He realized that his egoism motivated even his religious life. When Shinran described the world as a lie and deceptive, he was referring to the upside down view of the world that we hold. That is, we are more concerned with the material and external world of things than we are with the character and meaning of our inner world of spirit and life. Our passionate grasping and attachments to such externals stimulates our desires and leads to competition and conflict with others for power and property. The driving power of the ego and the passions distorts all human life and we are seeing graphic illustrations of this in our contemporary society. II. Passions the Driving Force of Suffering The second of the four truth enunciated by Sakyamuni Buddha was the fact that suffering is created by desire, thirst, craving. It is this feature that Shinran felt must keenly in himself when he sympathized with Yuiembo about his not desiring to go to the Pure Land. In our lecture we called attention to Shinran's personal confession that he himself had no desire for the final fulfillment of going to the Pure Land and attaining enlightenment. In the Treatise on Holding to the Faith, he laments that he poses as a teacher out of lust for fame and gain. It is important to note that Shinran did not condemn himself or others because the passions were so strong. He saw it as the fundamental character of human existence which made all striving for self-perfection impossible. Rather, he states: It is the tormenting cravings of ego which inhibit the joy in reciting Nembutsu. Amida, foreseeing this, has accepted us with all our tormenting cravings. Hence His Compassionate Vow was proclaimed for every sentient being. Having awakened to this reality, I feel firmer in the faith of Amida. He also declared: Amida is especially compassionate toward those who have no urgent desire to be reborn in the Pure Land. III. The Hope of Final Emancipation It is common because of the stress on suffering in Buddhism to see it as pessimistic and world-denying. However, it is the third truth, that suffering and desire can be overcome, which indicates the optimism and positive character of the Buddhist message. Buddhism, in all its forms, is a religion of hope. It rejects fatalism that believes everything is predetermined. It refutes resignation, which encourages indifference and passivity. The third truth teaches that whatever has a cause can be overcome when the cause is removed. Our sufferings can be overcome with the stilling of the passions and cravings that cause the suffering. If there is a difference between Shinran's teaching and the ancient Buddhism, it unfolds from this point. As we have seen, Shinran realized that so far as we are human beings in this life, we are bound by our passions. They even infect our religious actions. However, Shinran did not so much take issue with Sakyamuni's message itself, but the ways in which later Buddhist teachers presented that message and prescribed religious solutions to the problems. Because of his understanding of the depth and power of passion, Shinran realized that repression, covering them over with piety and purifying practices only transforms them to a more subtle form of self-righteousness and spiritual competition. Rather, Shinran advocated recognizing those passions, owning up to them. By recognizing our solidarity with all other passion-ridden common people, we become open and sharing. The passions become displaced. It is like playing golf. When we are about to tee off, we shout "Fore!" That shout warns those in front to be on the lookout for a dangerous shot. The game proceeds, each person alerting the other to the danger one represents. In the same way, by acknowledging our egoistic motivations we free others from our aggressions, and they in turn will not need to establish barriers to defend themselves from it. To be able to admit our errors and give up self-justification, positive human relations become possible and in effect, thwart the power of the passions which still remain from interfering with the deeper development of our lives. IV. The Path to Liberation The fourth noble truth, according to tradition, sets out the practice which leads to the transformation of the passions and the attainment of egolessness. The eight aspects cover the major aspects of spiritual life and all traditions in Buddhism have acknowledged them as the basis of Buddhist religious experience in some form. They begin with right views, right understanding. That is, the mind must be focussed on the right goal and the way to arrive there. Shinran, however, was most concerned with the state of mind with which we approach the practice of Buddhism. In other words, what is the source of motivation to engage in the practice? After his own twenty years of serious and rigorous discipline on Mount Hiei, Shinran realized that his motivations and practice were flawed by self-interest. He also observed the pride and vanity of those who believed that they were superior to others because of their years of practice. Consequently, he abandoned Mount Hiei and sought spiritual relief and consolation from the Master Honen. Honen made clear to him the true meaning of the Pure Land teaching that enlightenment, wisdom, is the result of Amida Buddha's Vow power and not our own. In Tannisho 3, Shinran comments that the person of self power, "being conscious of doing good, lacks the thought of entrusting himself completely to Other Power." (Taitetsu Unno, trans., Tannisho: A Shin Buddhist Classic. Honolulu: Buddhist Study Center Press, 1984. p. 8.) In Tannisho 4, Shinran notes the limitation of the self-power approach to religious life. It is incomplete. He states: In this life no matter how much pity and sympathy we may feel for others, it is impossible to help another as we truly wish; thus our compassion is inconsistent and limited. Only the saying of nembutsu manifests the complete and never ending compassion which is true, real, and sincere. (Taitetsu Unno, Tannisho: A Shin Buddhist Classic. Honolulu: Buddhist Study Center Press, p. 9.) The stress that Shinran places on shinjin, endowed trust, goes to the heart of religious motivation and action. Prior to religious action, there is the arising of shinjin which combines the awareness of our deeply self-centered natures and the awakening that Amida's compassion embraces us in spite of our evils. In this twofold awareness we realize that whatever good we may do is the result of Amida's compassion working in our lives and in our world. The Eightfold Noble Path is relevant to Shin Buddhism as the way through which Amida's compassion becomes manifest and active in our day to day living. Shin Buddhism is sometimes described by critics as a do-nothing or passive religion. This is a misunderstanding. That we can do nothing on our own power to attain enlightenment is not the same as saying we can do nothing at all, or that we should not do anything, to give substance and meaning to our religious faith. The perspective of shinjin, endowed trust, is to motivate us to live in this world as expressions of Amida's compassion for all sentient beings. From Shinran's perspective, we live and work in this world, not to be saved, but to be part of the saving process which makes enlightenment available to all. Conclusion During the various presentations in this retreat, I have attempted to explore with you numerous important issues related to religion and Shin Buddhism as we take our place within the religious world. Shin Buddhists do not, and cannot, live in isolation from the problems and challenges presented by our contemporary society. There is also a severe competition going on within the society among religious traditions claiming to have the truth and asserting their solutions to our problems. At the same time there is a great opportunity within the context of religious freedom to share the Buddhist insights and understanding of life with people in all walks of life, such as we have never had before. Despite our small number which we represent in society, there is, nevertheless, an enormous interest in Buddhism. Shin Buddhism itself attracts people when they are able to study it for itself in Shinran's writings or modern expositions. In view of the openness in modern society and the modern relevance of Shin teaching, it is important that we all study it more closely and take up the mission that Shinran set forth in his vision of the universality of the Primal Vow and the dynamic compassion of Amida Buddha.