Commentaries

Notes on the Inscriptions on Sacred Scrolls (11)

A passage from "The Hymn of True Shinjin" by Gutoku Shinran, disciple of Sakyamuni, in Japan:

The Name embodying the Primal Vow is the act of true settlement,
The Vow of entrusting with sincere mind is the cause of enlightenment;
One realizes the equal of enlightenment and supreme nirvana
Through the fulfillment of the Vow of nirvana without fail.

The Tathagatas appear in this world
Solely to teach the oceanlike Primal Vow of Amida;
We, the ocean of beings in this evil age of the five defilements,
Should entrust ourselves to the Tathagata's words of truth.

When the one thought-moment of joy arises,
Nirvana is attained without severing blind passions;
When the ignorant and wise, even grave offenders and slanderers of the dharma, all alike turn about and enter shinjin,
They are like waters that, on entering the ocean, become one in taste with it.

The light of compassion that grasps us illumines and protects us always,
And the darkness of our ignorance is already broken through;
Still the clouds and mists of greed, desire, anger, and hatred
Cover as always the sky of true and real shinjin.

But though the light of the sun is veiled by clouds and mists,
Beneath the clouds and mists there is brightness, not dark.
When one realizes shinjin, seeing and revering and attaining great joy,
One immediately leaps crosswise, severing the five evil courses.

The Name embodying the Prima Vow is the act of true settlement: the practice that embodies the selected Primal Vow.

The Vow of entrusting with sincere mind is the cause of enlightenment refers to true and real shinjin, which is given by Amida Tathagata. This shinjin is the very cause for the attainment of the supreme enlightenment.

One realizes the equal of enlightenment and supreme nirvana: The equal of enlightenment is the stage of the truly settled. Bodhisattva Nagarjuna speaks of this stage as "immediately entering the stage of the definitely settled" and Master T'an-luan as "entering the group of the truly settled." It is equal to the stage of Maitreya.

And realizes supreme nirvana: Know that through the fulfillment of the Vow of attaining nirvana without fail, one is certain to realize great nirvana.

The Tathagatas appear in this world solely to teach the oceanlike Primal Vow of Amida: The fundamental intent of the Buddhas in appearing in this world is solely to preach the teaching of the ocean of Amida's Vow, which is the one vehicle. Thus the Larger Sutra teaches:

The reason the Tathagatas appear in the world is their desire to save the multitudes of beings by blessing them with the true and real benefit.

Tathagatas: all the Buddhas. Appearing in the world: Buddhas come into the world. Know that Buddhas appear in this world because they desire to teach Amida's Vow and to save all sentient beings.

We, the ocean of beings in this evil age of the five defilements, should entrust ourselves to the Tathagata's words of truth: All sentient beings of this evil world of the five defilements should accept and entrust themselves completely to the teaching of Sakyamuni Tathagata.

When the one thought-moment of joy arises: Arises means to awaken, to unfold. The one thought-moment of joy: Know that when the true and real shinjin that is one thought-moment of joy unfolds, you will be born without fail in the land fulfilled by the Primal Vow. Joy is joy upon realizing shinjin.

Nirvana is attained without severing blind passions: Without severing blind passions means without having sundered and cast off blind passions. Nirvana is attained: Know that one attains realization of the supreme nirvana.

When the ignorant and wise, even grave offenders and slanderers of the dharma, all alike turn about and enter shinjin: this is a metaphor stating that when lesser sages, foolish beings, those committing the five grave offenses, those reviling the dharma, those keeping no precepts, those devoid of seeds for Buddhahood - when any such people have experienced a turnabout and entered the ocean of true and real shinjin, they are like river waters becoming one in taste with the ocean upon entering it. This is the meaning of they are like waters that, on entering the ocean, become one in taste with it.

The light of compassion that grasps us illumines and protects us always: The compassionate light of the Buddha of unhindered light always illumines and protects the person who has realized shinjin; hence the darkness of ignorance has already cleared, and the long night of birth-and-death is already dispelled and become dawn. Let this be known. This is the meaning of and the darkness of our ignorance is already broken through. Know that when one realizes shinjin, it is as though dawn has broken.

Still the clouds and mists of greed, desire, anger, and hatred cover as always the sky of true and real shinjin: Our greed, desire, anger, and hatred are likened to clouds and mists that always fill the sky of shinjin.

But though the light of the sun is veiled by clouds and mists, beneath the clouds and mists there is brightness, not dark: Although the sun and moon may be covered by clouds and mists, the darkness is dispelled and beneath the clouds and mists it is light; know that in the same way, although shinjin is overcast by clouds and mists of greed, desire, anger, and hatred, they form no obstruction to birth in the Pure Land.

When one realizes shinjin, seeing and revering and attaining great joy describes the person who has realized this shinjin and is filled with great joy and reverence. Great joy is experiencing immense joy upon attaining what one shall attain.

One immediately leaps crosswise, severing the five evil courses: Know that when one has realized shinjin, one immediately sunders crosswise the five evil courses.

One immediately leaps crosswise: Immediately means that the person who realizes shinjin becomes settled in the stage of the truly settled without any lapse of time or passage of days. Crosswise means laterally or transcendently; it indicates the power of the Tathagata's Vow. It refers to the working of Other Power. Leaps means to go beyond. It means easily going crosswise beyond the vast ocean of birth-and-death and realizing the enlightenment of supreme nirvana. Know that shinjin is the true intent of the Pure Land teaching. When one has understood this, then as our teacher Master Honen declared, "Other Power means that no working is true working." "Working" [that is negated] is the calculating heart and mind of each practicer. As long as one possesses a calculating mind, one endeavors in self-power. You must understand fully the working of self-power.

Written on the sixth month, 28th day
Shoka 2, the year "horse/earth" [1258]

Gutoku Shinran
Age 86