AN INTRODUCTION TO THE AMIDA SUTRA
Originally prepared for a Portuguese translation
of the Amida Sutra
September 2000
By Zuio Hisao Inagaki
Buddhism aims at removing the root of suffering
for all living beings, thereby giving them true
peace and happiness.
The root cause of suffering is evil karma
which one produces through the pursuit of selfish desires. Selfish desires, in turn, arise from spiritual
ignorance which lies deep in one's being. The Buddha Shakyamuni discovered the true cause of human suffering and provided various
means of removing it just as a physician prescribes
different medicines according to the varying conditions of his patients.
The Pure Land Way of delivering beings from
the bondage of their evil karma centers around the Nembutsu ? i.e. recitation of the sacred phrase, "Namo Amida Butsu." This way was first conceived in the mind of the Bodhisattva Dharmakara
("Dharma-store") many kalpas (aeons) ago after hearing the Dharma
from the Buddha Lokeshvararaja ("World-sovereign King")
and contemplating many Buddha-lands under
his guidance. It took Dharmakara five kalpas
to absorb what he had contemplated and to give his idea of salvation a definitive form.
Thus he made Forty-eight Vows. He proclaimed
them before the Buddha Lokeshvararaja and to all beings, human and divine. The Vows are divided into three groups:
・ Those which concern the essential nature of the Buddhahood he would attain.
・ Those pertaining to the Buddha-land he would
establish.
・ Those explaining how one can attain birth
in his land of bliss.
His grand scheme of becoming a Buddha of Infinite Light and Life, establishing
a Buddha-land of perfect bliss, and saving all beings through the Nembutsu-Faith
became a reality after he accumulated a vast mass of pure merit and virtue
through the performance of the Six Paramitas - charity, observing the precepts,
patience, efforts, meditation, and wisdom. Again, it took Dharmakara innumerable
kalpas to realize this, and some ten kalpas ago he became a Buddha called
Amida - the Buddha of Infinite Light (Amitabha) and Infinite Life (Amitayus). He now dwells in the Buddha-land called 'Sukhavati,' the land of perfect bliss, where people enjoy the highest spiritual bliss of Nirvana and partake of the everlasting bodhisattva activity of saving other beings.
The above story of Dharmakara becoming Amida
should not be taken to be merely a mythological tale. It is a transcendent realities explained in terms of cause and effect in
the world of experience. From the outset
of his bodhisattva's career, Dharmakara dwelled in the deep insight into the ultimate reality
and envisioned the transcendent realm of
exquisite beauty and happiness which could
be shared even by ordinary beings of inferior
spiritual capacities. In other words, he
was not satisfied with his attainment of
Bodhi - the highest wisdom of enlightenment. With irresistible compassion and loving kindness,
he sought to embrace all beings in his compassionate
light and bring them to attain freedom from
the defilements of evil passions.
The transcendent reality of Amida Buddha,
the Pure Land and his saving activity was
first revealed to human beings through the
Buddha Shakyamuni. He perceived all of this in the
form of "samadhi" - an intuitive,
transcendent means of perception. He transmitted what may be
called the "Amida Samadhi" to his disciples
of superior capacity with Mahayana propensities. A few centuries later, this Samadhi led
to the codification of Pure Land scriptures. These
scriptures developed, each in its own way
under different cultural milieu, until a
set of three became the standard texts of
Pure Land Buddhism in China in around the
sixth century.
The three Pure Land sutras are as follows: (1) the Larger Sutra, (2) the Contemplation Sutra, and (3) the Amida Sutra. The Larger Sutra fully explains how Dharmakara, formerly a king, determined to become a
Buddha, made Forty-eight Vows, fulfilled duties as a bodhisattva, and became a Buddha.
It also describes in detail the glorious
manifestations of the Pure Land and the distinguished
virtue of its inhabitants. What is more important is clarification
of the methods of attaining birth in the
Pure Land. It emphasizes meritorious acts
centering on mindfulness of Amida.
The Contemplation Sutra was delivered by way of removing the suffering
of Queen Vaidehi of Magadha, an ancient country in India, and showing her
the way of birth in the Pure Land. Two kinds of meritorious acts for attaining
birth are presented: meditative good and non-meditative good. The sutra
concludes by recommending recitation of the Nembutsu.
The Amida Sutra is the shortest of all the three sutras. Here the Buddha Shakyamuni addresses his chief disciple Shariputra without awaiting a question. He describes briefly the glorious features
of Amida and his land of bliss, mentions
that Buddhas in the six quarters praise Amida's
virtue and urge all beings to accept this
sutra in faith, and explains the method of
attaining birth in his land. According to
this sutra, if one is mindful of Amida and
holds fast to Amida's Name for one to seven
days, at the end of one’s life, Amida and a host of sages will appear before
this person to escort him or her to the Pure
Land.
Although the three Pure Land scriptures are the basis for Pure Land Buddhism,
their central message is to recommend the single practice of nembutsu.
The term 'nembutsu' as it is used today is oral recitation of the sacred
phrase, "Namo Amida Butsu," but it also implies meditative or contemplative practice of visualizing Amida and the Pure
Land. In India and China, the latter was
extensively practiced. As a result, many actually succeeded in attaining this transcendent
experience. From the beginning, the oral
and contemplative nembutsu were practiced
side by side, but in the course of development
of Pure Land Buddhism, the sophisticated
contemplative practice gradually gave way
to recitative nembutsu, which is easier to
follow.
The three sutras have distinct functions. The Contemplation Sutra gives a detailed explanation of how to visualize the Pure Land, Amida
and the two bodhisattvas and, at the end, encourages recitative nembutsu.
The Amida Sutra exclusively recommends mindful nembutsu. On the other hand, the Larger Sutra, in a more general sense, accentuates meritorious acts accompanied by
mindfulness of Amida as a means of attaining birth in the Pure Land. For
example, even if one cannot accomplish acts of merit, the practice of concentrated
and mindful reflection of Amida ensures one’s birth in the Pure Land. When one is mindful of Amida with singleness
of heart to the exclusion of various thoughts
on other Buddhas, bodhisattvas or deities
and without conceiving any thought of doing
good deeds through one's own effort, this
mindfulness opens the channel of spiritual
communication with Amida. In fact, one's
effort to concentrate on Amida is, so to
speak, "absorbed" in Amida's great
Vow-Power and so one is spontaneously led
to accept in faith his Wisdom and Compassion.
This is how one attains the Other-Power Faith.
It is, however, important to note that mindfulness
of Amida cannot occur by itself. "Hearing
the Name" is a prerequisite for directing
one's thought toward Amida, as it is stated
in the passage of fulfillment of the Eighteenth
Vow:
All sentient beings who, having heard his
Name, rejoice in faith, remember him even
once and sincerely transfer the merit of
virtuous practices to that land, aspiring
to be born there, will attain birth and dwell
in the Stage of Non-retrogression. But excluded
are those who have committed the five gravest
offenses and abused the right Dharma.
According to Shinran's interpretation, "hearing
the Name" is hearing the origin and result of the Buddha's Primal Vow and
accepting it without any doubt. If one truly
hears the Name, it awakens a true entrusting
heart - the enduring mindfulness - which is the Other-Power Faith. Enduring mindfulness is accompanied by
incessant repetition of "Namo Amida Butsu" (or "Na-mo-o-mi-t'o-fo" in Chinese or "Namo 'mitabhaya buddhaya" in Sanskrit), which induces and maintains concentration of mind
on Amida. In addition, mindfulness of Amida is often accompanied by contemplation
of Amida or the Pure Land. With such auditory and visual perceptive aids, one's
thought comes to be wholly directed towards Amida.
Based on the three sutras, Pure Land Buddhism
developed extensively in China, and attained
its full maturity in Japan in the 13th-14th
centuries. Honen (1133-1212) was the first
to declare the independence of the nembutsu teaching and founded the Jodo school. He discarded
Bodhi-mind and other requisites for the attainment of enlightenment, including
observation of the precepts, and recommended exclusive practice of the
nembutsu recitation in accord with Shan-tao's Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra. In contrast, his disciple, Shinran (1173-1262), the founder of the Jodoshin
school, emphasized the Other-Power Faith - mindful entrusting heart - accompanied
by the nembutsu in accord with the Larger Sutra. For Shinran, true mindfulness is endowed by Amida. It is itself Amida's
mind of Wisdom and Compassion penetrating the devotee's mind.
Shinran pertinently selected three vows in
correspondence with the different channels
of salvation presented in the three sutras:
the Eighteenth, the Nineteenth and the Twentieth
Vows.
(1) The Eighteenth Vow: "If, when I
(i.e., Dharmakara) attain Buddhahood, sentient
beings in the lands of the ten quarters who
sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves
to me, desire to be born in my land, and
call my Name even ten times, should not be
born there, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
Excluded, however, are those who commit the
five gravest offenses and abuse the right Dharma.”
(2) The Nineteenth Vow: “If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings
in the lands of the ten quarters, who awaken
aspiration for Enlightenment, do various
meritorious deeds and sincerely desire to
be born in my land, should not, at their
death, see me appear before them surrounded
by a multitude of sages, may I not attain
perfect Enlightenment.”
(3) The Twentieth Vow: “If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings
in the lands of the ten quarters who, having
heard my Name, concentrate their thoughts
on my land, plant roots of virtue and sincerely
transfer their merits towards my land with
a desire to be born there, should not eventually
fulfill their aspiration, may I not
attain perfect Enlightenment.”
According to Shinran's interpretation, these Vows correspond in order to the three sutras. In the Eighteenth Vow, joyful entrusting heart (the Other-Power Faith) accompanied by the nembutsu recitation is presented as the cause of birth in the Pure Land; this is in agreement with the essential teaching of the Larger Sutra. In the Nineteenth Vow, various meritorious deeds are encouraged, which are interpreted as the meditative and non-meditative good mentioned in the Contemplation Sutra. The Twentieth Vow is meant to encourage exclusive recitation of the nembutsu
which is the most meritorious act of all Buddhist practices and is the
'roots of virtue.'
These three Vows also show the process of
conversion for aspirants. First, they start
with performing meritorious deeds, whether
meditative or not. Next, they are led into
the Twentieth Vow and now concentrate on
the nembutsu. As they recite the nembutsu
exclusively and wholeheartedly, they become
more and more deeply mindful of Amida, until
they attain ultimate spiritual communication
with Amida and rejoice in accepting his mind
and heart, which is the Other-Power Faith
of the Eighteenth Vow. In the first two stages
of the conversion process, the aspirants'
self-power is still dominant; but in the
Eighteenth Vow it is completely replaced
by Amida's Power.
The Amida Sutra exists in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese. There are two Chinese translations
extant: one by Kumarajiva produced in about 402
A.D. and the other by Hsuan-tsang in 650 A.D. Historically and traditionally, Kumarajiva's translation has been recognized
as the standard text of Pure Land Buddhism.
The Amida Sutra came to be widely accepted by Pure Land followers after Shan-tao, the
fifth patriarch, who strongly recommended chanting of this sutra. In the Method of Contemplation on Amida Buddha, he urges people to chant it many times a day:
... if you daily chant the (Amida) Sutra fifteen times, twenty or thirty times or more, or if you are chanting it forty, fifty, a hundred times or more, then you should strive to chant it a hundred thousand times.
It is said that Shan-tao himself chanted the Amida Sutra as many as a hundred
thousand times in his lifetime.
In his Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra, section on "Non-meditative Good," Shan-tao presents a system
of Pure Land practice, called "the five right practices," which
are as follows:
・ chanting sutras
・
contemplation
・
worshiping
・
reciting the nembutsu
・
glorifying Amid’s virtue.
The expression, ‘chanting sutras,’ can be interpreted as chanting only the Contemplation Sutra, the Amida Sutra and the Larger Sutra with singleness of heart. Further, Shan-tao composed an elaborate liturgy, entitled "Hymns on Services for Pure Land Birth," in which he lays down the ritual procedure of walking round in
the Buddha hall while chanting the Amida Sutra. Shinran himself paid a special attention to this work; in his Notes to theAmida Sutra he frequently quotes from it.
The Amida Sutra had been almost exclusively used for services in Jodoshinshu before Rennyo
established the custom of chanting the Shoshinge and Wasan for daily services. Now it is widely used among Shin Buddhists
side by side with the Shoshinge.
It is clear that the Amida Sutra is meant to be chanted, not to be analyzed theoretically. It is hoped that this publication will contribute in no small way to the spread of this sutra in the west.
Return to Nembutsu-Index; Index.