The following is an essay I wrote when I was taking my two year Jodo Shinshu correspondence course with the Buddhist Temples of America (BCA).
The type of Buddhism I follow is based on the teaching of Shinran Shonin.
The essay below speaks about the religious practice and study in Buddhism and how it relates to Shinran’s search for enlightenment.
There are many different forms of religious practice and study in Buddhism of which many are based on self-power i.e. mindful meditation, practicing the eight fold path and physical Buddhist practices. During Shinran’s time as a monk on Mt. Hiei he spent many hours undergoing strict physical practices in hopes of reaching enlightenment.
Although I believe there is great significance to religious practice and study in Buddhism, I don’t think it Is the ultimate pathway to attaining enlightenment, as Shinran would state after he spent years practicing and studying on Mt. Hiei. During his time there he found himself no closer to enlightenment after all those years. As outlined in the course material ‘no matter how much he practiced or studied, Shinran found that there was no end to it. In fact, the more he studied and practiced the further he found himself far from his goal.’
I believe religious practice and study in Buddhism is important and cannot be ignored. But with any type of practice finding the middle ground is also important. Studying and practicing the principles of Buddhism enables us to experience compassion and wisdom. It helps us to reflect upon ourselves and hopefully enables us to see our true nature – good and bad.
As much as practicing and studying is important relying on it solely to reach enlightenment, would seem very difficult to do based on our ego-centric minds. As a person living in the modern world we are conditioned to rely on self-power, to work hard and are told by adhering to certain practices or actions we will ultimately achieve our goals. Maybe this holds true for some things i.e. getting a job or completing a ballet performance, but to end human suffering and achieve happiness? I don’t know, this seems like something much harder to achieve by means of self-power alone.
To use the Buddhist practices’ as a means to reach enlightenment would mean to do it by ones own self-power. People who believe in this type of Buddhism believe spiritual attainment is achieved through one’s own efforts. In a paper written by Ven Sri Dhammanand he states that the real purpose in our life is to purify our clouded, deluded, milled minds and free ourselves from worries and disturbances. He went on to say the Buddhas advice is that we should be free from these distractions if we want to experience bliss, and this release is obtained by our own efforts and come from within ourselves (Buddhism & Present Life). In many Buddhist texts mindful meditation is referred to as a means of finding bliss or Nirvana; no craving, no more attachment or selfishness. It is a way of clearing ones mind and becoming more aware of the present moment.
This type of self-power was not as rigorous a practice as to what Shinran went through on Mt. Hiei, but it is still a form of self-power as it relates to our period in time. Not many people can use their own self-power to end their blind passions and find enlightenment as Shinran found out after 20 years engaging in strict practices on Mt. Hiei. However, I feel Shinran would not have been lead to Master Honen and the teachings of the Nembutsu if it wasn’t for the strict practices and study he endured over those years. It was also during this time that he learned the teachings of the Buddha and was able to self reflect on these teachings and gain a better understanding of his true nature. In the collected works of Shinran (pg. 240) where he states ‘that he has now departed from the ‘true’ gate of provisional means and, (my self-power) overturned, have entered the ocean of the selected Vow’. I feel this was his turning point of where he was able to let go completely of all the things he felt was needed to find enlightenment and completely trust in the Other Power, that is the power of Amida Buddha. For Shinran, his years of practice and study helped him recognize that enlightenment for many people would never be attained even after completing strict religious practices and so he ‘discarded all his sundry practices’ (The Collected Works of Shinran, pg 240) and recited the Nembustsu and realized that people who are only capable of creating evil can become enlightened through the power of Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow.
The religious practice and study in Buddhism that Shinran went through to find enlightenment eventually lead him to enlightenment by accepting the practice presented by Honen and that is to say the nembutsu freely in the midst of everyday life knowing that everyone, good or bad, would eventually experience awakening and encounter the Buddha. As expressed in the Eighteenth Vow – ‘this vow works to redeem all sentient beings who seek birth in the Pure Land and who make the practice of Nembutsu their central concern’ (The sutra of Immeasurable Life, Larger Sutra).
I don’t believe this means a person is to discard all buddhist practices, but it cannot be the only way of finding enlightenment, and to rely on this completely only restricts a person from really hearing the teaching of the Buddha as they become too focused on their own pre-conceived ideas of how to find enlightenment. Other power enables a person to let go of these ideas and relying on the teaching of Amida Buddha who knows the way.
REFERENCES
The Collected Works of Shinran, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha. Horikawa-dori, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan 1997.
A Life of Awakening: The Heart of The Shin Buddhist Path, Takamaro Shigaraki. Hozokan Publications, 2005.
Buddhism Today: Buddhism and Present Life, Ven. Dr. Sri Dhaammanand