A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HONEN & SHINRAN
Honen was the founder of the Jodo School in Japan. His successor was Bencho. Later, there emerged the Jodoshin School, often called Shin Buddhism, which claimed Shinran as its founder. Jodo and Jodoshin are two of the three most popular forms of Buddhism in Japan, the third being Nichiran. Shinran was, in fact, a disciple of Honen, but in some ways his teaching differs a little from that of his master. For instance, Shinran taught that the Pure Land of Amitabha is identical to nirvana, whereas Honen followed the great Chinese teacher Shan Tao who said that “Reaching there (the Pure Land), our lotus flower will open and we can listen to the 妙 (graceful, marvelous, wondrous) dharma (that Amida preaches). Then the ten (bodhisattva) stages of vows and practices will naturally reveal themselves clearly.” Shan Tao saw the Pure Land as a place where one hears the Dharma more clearly and can practise it more easily and so be assured of not falling back, but not as the same as the ultimate goal of nirvana. A Buddhist prays for rebirth in a life in the presence of a Buddha - in Pureland, the Buddha Amitabha - where the conditions for practice will be optimum. Karma is inexorable, so cannot be wiped out in a magical way, but conditions can make a big difference. Even within this life, we pray to be in conditions where there is support for faith & practice, which is why we take refuge in a teacher, a sangha and the great love that has been transmitted from the time of Shakyamuni. Many Japanese do believe that in the next life everybody automatically becomes a Buddha, but this is somewhat at variance with traditional Buddhist teaching. I do not want to become embroiled in a debate between these two great teachers, but reflecting upon their different views can help us to clarify our sense of the Dharma. As a Pureland practitioner, I hope to enter Sukhavati, but I also have a deep sense that it is important to be willing to go wherever and to receive and accept whatever comes. It is all Namo Amida Bu in the end.
~ Dharmavidya
