Anjin-ketsujō-shō

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Anjin-ketsujō-shō ( Japanese 安心 決定 鈔 ; in German about "About the steadfast attainment of peaceful mind") is a treatise on Buddhist literature written in Japanese that explains the basic concepts of Japanese amidism . Central themes of the Anjin-ketsujō-shō are the 18th of the 48 vows of the Buddha Amida , the Nembutsu ( inter alia as Samadhi , person and uncreated), as well as other power and own power.

The originator and date of origin are unclear, but can roughly be located in the late 13th or early 14th century. Based on the characteristics of the concepts and expressions it contains, it is believed that the author belonged to the Seizan-ha ( 西山 派 ), a branch of the Jōdo-shū , which was founded by Hōnens master student Shōkū ( 證 空 ; 1177-1247). Historically, however, the Anjin-ketsujō-shō developed its greatest effect in the Jōdo-Shinshū . Among the most important recipient of this school include three leaders of the Honganji -Tradition: Shinran grandson Kakunyo ( 覚如 ; 1270-1351), his son Zonkaku ( 存覚 ; 1290-1373) and Rennyo ( 蓮如 ; 1415-1499).

Amida's basic vow

At the beginning, the Anjin-ketsujō-shō presupposes the original vow of Amida as a prerequisite for understanding the teaching of the Pure Land (of the Buddha Amida) and, in the following, outlines the most important points of this doctrine, as it is particularly derived from the Daimuryōjukyō ( 大 無量 寿 経 ; known to the Greater Sukhāvatī-vyūha-sūtra). According to this, the Bodhisattva Dharmakāra once made 48 vows due to his infinite, benevolent mercy , in which he made various promises and at the same time the achievement of his Buddhahood as a condition for the fulfillment of these promises. As in the rest of Amidism, special emphasis is placed on the 18th vow, which is also - from the Ōjō raisan ( 往生 礼 讃 ) of the third Patriarch of the Chinese School of the Pure Land, Shandao ( Chinese  善 導 , Pinyin Shàndǎo ; Japanese. Zendō ; 613-681), - is quoted:

"If, when I have become Buddha [Amida], sentient beings somewhere in the ten directions [ie the entire cosmos] call my name at least ten times and are still not born in the Pure Land, may I not attain perfect Buddhahood."

This vow summarizes two fundamental elements of Buddhist ethics on the way to Buddhahood and interprets them in the basic doctrine of amidism, as stated in the Anjin-ketsujō-shō following the quote: Vow ( 願 , gan ; here a Bodhisattva Vows ) and practice ( 行 , gyō ; also "works", here the invocation of the name of the Buddha Amida, the Nembutsu ). The 18th vow of Amida acts as a guarantee for the birth in the Pure Land of the believers as well as an active force for the effectiveness of their practice, the Nembutsu. Since the endeavor and practice of the Bodhisattva Dharmakāra alone, which is said to last five kalpas or several billion years, fulfill the endeavors and practice of the believers (characterized as foolish, virtuous and basically malevolent beings), not a single expression remains even in Nembutsu and no thought returned to the believer as his own act. Through the Nembutsu, truth and reality of the 18th vow Amidas are embodied, so to speak, return to oneself (to the 18th vow) and thus dissolve all duality.

These explanations contain several basic amidist ideas; on the one hand that of the real presence of Mappo , the age in which the devout Buddhists lack the opportunity to practice in order to reach Buddhahood with their own effort, which is why their only hope is the Buddha Amida and his work. On the other hand, the concept of the other power is evoked, the power of the Buddha Amida, on which one must trust (for salvation from samsara ), since during the Mappo one 's own power among the “foolish beings” lost its effectiveness.

The Nembutsu

A wealth of functions are ascribed to the Nembutsu in the text, all of which, however, are only to be understood in relation to the amidistic goal of salvation, birth in the Pure Land. So the Nembutsu is also the trust in the truth and validity of the fundamental, 18th vow; it is the embodiment and visualization of everything that has been realized through faith, whether the awareness of it is also the occasion for the greatest joys already in this world and therefore also a reason for homage and gratitude, which are also expressed in Nembutsu; it is the becoming one of the believer and Buddha-Dharma. This corresponds to the fundamental and central function that Nembutsu has in the religious teaching of amidism in general.

The idea that Nembutsu is a means of attaining birth in the Pure Land is expressly rejected if one does not believe that the 18th vow has already been practically fulfilled, but rather depends on the accumulation of as many invocations as possible by the believer. If the belief in Amida's fundamental vow is established, so the text, even a single call to salvation is enough (contrary to the 10 invocations implicitly required in the 18th vow).

In Samadhi (state of deepest or most intense meditation, contemplation or concentration with the aim of calming the mind) of the Nembutsu it must be understood that body and mind become Namu-amida-butsu (the pronunciation of Nembutsu, in which believers and Amida should already be loudly one: "Namu" means "worship him", "(I) call" or "(I) surrender myself to him" and refers to the believer, while "amida-butsu" simply means "Buddha Amida" means): Amida's virtuous works and his endeavors permeate all elements and particles of matter and also all blind passions. The more extreme the forlornness of the isolated in samsara, the greater is Amida's benevolent compassion, which is why even the most depraved sentient beings are certain of salvation, since they are already Namu-amida-butsu. This complete penetration is guaranteed by the fact that the Buddha- tathāgata Amida is the body of the Dharma realm, according to Shandao a field of enlightening activity, identical to the realm of sentient beings. In this way, the three modes of action (these are physical, verbal and mental activities) of the believer and the amida are also completely intertwined (a concept that was radically developed in the ji-shu ).

Since the Nembutsu is presented as originally belonging to the Dharma body , it cannot belong to the realm of samsara that has fallen into constant rebirth and annihilation. The text concludes that the Nembutsu is uncreated and thus, as it were, eternal: its validity, truth or effectiveness does not depend in the least on actual utterance or remembrance and can thus neither be created nor destroyed. Shandao is again quoted - this time from the Gengi-bun ( 玄 義 分 ), the foreword to his commentary on the Sūtra of Meditation on Amida:

"The Dharma body is eternal, just like empty space."

Other strength and own strength

In fact, it is pointed out repeatedly, that the Nembutsu performed in faith is nothing more than the other power of the Buddha Amida, which becomes active through the refuge ( 帰 命 , kimyō ) of the faithful believer, so that the believer, as it were, from the fundamental vow of Amida be carried, ride on the reality of Amida's Buddhahood and thus dissolve any duality of mind and Buddha. To illustrate the refuge, a parable is used in which the sun is like the Bodhisattva Kannon : Infants are of the opinion that the light they perceive comes from themselves, that their own eyes are the cause of the light. But insightful people could make them understand that, if this were true, they should also be able to see at night. Therefore, it is appropriate to trust the original light of the sun and not the power of your own eyes. The spirit of the people resembles that of the small child in the parable, who claims to be the cause and owner of all phenomena. But in truth, despite people's apparent ignorance, their life is not their own, but the Immeasurable Life of Buddha Amida. Giving up this ignorance and relying instead on Amida is tantamount to taking refuge in his Other Power.

At the end of the text a parable is tried again: Just as firewood once set on fire can no longer be separated from the consuming flame, so are the hearts and minds of people inseparable from Amida's Immeasurable Light. Namu-amida-butsu is the name of the everlasting unity of enlightenment and protection that the light of Amida bestows on all people.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ This view was first expressed by the Shinshū monk scholar Ekū (1644–1721) and agrees with the opinion of most contemporary researchers; see. Hirota 1999, p. 257.
  2. ↑ In the original: 「若 我 成 仏 十 方 衆生 称 我 名号 下 至十 声 若不 若不 者 不 不 取 正 覚」
  3. ↑ See Hirota 1999, p. 267.
  4. ↑ In the original: 「法身 常住 比 若 虚空」

literature

  • Dennis Hirota: On Attaining the Settled Mind: The Condition of the Nembutsu Practitioner . In: George J. Tanabe, Jr. (Ed.): Religions of Japan in Practice . Princeton Readings in Religions , Princeton University Press, Princeton 1999, pp. 257-267, ISBN 0-691-05788-5 .

Web links