Translated by Zuio H. Inagaki
Ref. Horai Magazine since January 2003
Pada 3 (101-150)
101 Amida's Mind-Power and Vow-Power -
Their working is inconceivable!
Following it, I go to the Pure Land.
102 Because you cannot believe in Amida's great wisdom and great compassion,
you cannot entrust yourself to his Primal Vow.
103 Because you do not understand the depth
and sublimity of Sakyamuni Tathagata's Enlightenment,
you cannot entrust yourself to Amida Tathagata's
Primal Vow-Power of Great Compassion.
104 "What should I do in order to accept the inconceivable Primal
Vow as inconceivable?"
"You should bear the following thought in mind - 'Since I
am incapable of any practice whatsoever,
hell is definitely my dwelling place in any event'
(Tannisho)."
105 Riding on the wings of Great Compassion,
I shall sport throughout the universe (to save beings).
How pleasant this will be!
106 Even if you tell me, "Leave me alone,"
I cannot leave you alone - irresistibly with my parental love.
I beg you to let me help you.
107 Ah, this is the end of my life of delusion;
How enjoyable the rest of this life is!
108 Limitless is the heaven of inconceivable Buddha Wisdom.
What a joy it is to keep looking at the limitless heaven
with limitless admiration!
109 "I feel I will fall into hell."
"If so, I will go there with you."
110 "As far as your salvation is concerned,
I will see that it will not go amiss."
This is the Power of Amida's Primal Vow.
111 There is a limit to the wisdom of humans;
Just think of how inconceivable the Power of the Primal Vow
is.
112 People in the world are deceiving each other
like foxes and badgers.
113 Between rock-bases and pine roots
the valley-river flows on -
freely and naturally.
114 If you are devoted to the Buddha-Dharma,
you are miraculously blessed with good health
and your lifespan will be prolonged;
Also you will not suffer shortage in clothing,
food, or accommodation.
The fact, however, is that very few have this conviction.
115 "Without severing evil passions, one will realize Nirvana"
(Shoshinge):-
Isn't this the most wonderful thing in the world?
This phrase makes us savor the wonder
of the Power of the Primal Vow
deep in our heart.
116 Having encountered the Power of the Primal Vow,
the ignorant as well as the wise
lose their existential base.
117 Those who entrust themselves to the Primal Vow
are generally ignorant of the law of causality;
Those who believe in the law of causality
are liable to be ignorant of the Primal Vow.
118 How wonderful! Amida established
the Vow of Namo amida butsu
that never misleads or fails me.
119 "Amida established the highest, supreme Vow;
He made the rare, great Universal Vow." (Shoshinge)
How admirable and grateful!
Amida made the Vow of saving us as we stand.
120 My teacher, Master Riken, used to say:
"Throughout the Dharma-realm there is only
the effulgence of the Unhindered Light."
121 As the Nembutsu sounds out from the empty mind,
It echoes in the mountain - cool and refreshing.
122 The Buddha-Dharma is inexplicably trustworthy;
There is nothing I can do but
adore the Power of the Primal Vow.
123 Those who have become your friends with selfish desires
will part from you through selfish desires;
Those who have become your friends
through the Buddhist Way
will not part from you forever.
124 Lust and greed are like a tempest,
sweeping over trees and destroying them;
They exterminate everything, leaving nothing to survive.
125 Forget both good and evil, wishful thinking; even faith.
Look up adoringly! There you find the serene moon.
126 If you control your desires, try to be kind to others,
deeply contemplate impermanence,
And live by the axiom of "realize shinjin in yourself
and teach others shinjin,"
Your life will become more enjoyable.
127 If you let your suffering stay as it is,
it will cease to trouble you;
While resigned to persistent suffering,
and letting your mind dwell in the Pure Land,
You will learn to live in unspeakable happiness.
128 To follow the Buddha-Dharma diligently,
seeking to attain shinjin,
Is the highest good.
129 The primary duty to you is
to save yourself.
130 The path to the Land of Utmost Bliss is straight ahead -
Namo Amida Butsu;
Don't look round with calculative thoughts. (Daiei)
131 From the Buddha's non-discriminative wisdom
arises the Great Compassion;
From the Great Compassion comes the Primal Vow.
132 Shinjin is the Tathagata Amida's
Mind of Great Compassion.
133 The Buddha has non-discriminative Wisdom;
he is our Parent of Great Compassion.
Bombu has only discriminative wisdom
and lacks compassion.
134 Namo Amida Butsu
- the Tathagata's Mind of Great Compassion -
when reflected in our minds
Becomes shinjin.
When shinjin appears in our mouths,
it is nembutsu.
135 The Buddha-Dharma does not belong exclusively
in the hands of priests;
Approach lay-believers, too; hear the Dharma from them.
136 If you engage in Buddhist studies,
while deeply contemplating impermanence,
Your studies will advance remarkably
and bring benefit to you.
137 To study Buddhism is to study the Tathagata's Mind of
Great Compassion.
138 Nembutsu is praising and acknowledging the benevolence.
It is the manifestation of the mind to praise the Tathagata
and rejoice in the happiness given to us.
139 If you hear the Buddha-Dharma - hear it thoroughly,
You will realize that there is no need to hear it.
And then you will find that the Power of the Primal Vow
is all the more trustworthy.
Moreover, you cannot help hearing more and more of
the Buddha-Dharma
At the same time, you cannot stop expounding it to others.
140 The Buddha-Dharma is difficult to follow,
because the Primal Vow Power is difficult to understand;
The Buddha-Dharma is easy to follow,
because the Parent is with us.
141 In a family where the Buddha-Dharma is alive,
there is surprising good fortune;
In a family where the Buddha-Dharma is dead,
there is unexpected ill-fortune.
142 The reason why we go to the Pure Land is to become Buddhas
and promulgate the teaching of the Tathagata's
Great Compassion endlessly.
143 If you move forward strongly and with determination
"to establish Faith in myself and teach others Faith,"
Your suffering in your life will be reduced to a hundredth
and you will come to enjoy life in the world.
144 The objective of studying Buddhism is to know that
birth in the Pure Land is easy
because of the Power of the Primal Vow .
145 Wherein lies the true intention of Shinran Shonin?
Study the Buddha-Dharma while deeply contemplating
the Shonin's mind.
146 Man can do only one thing in his life;
To acquire shinjin is the most he can do.
147 It does not stand to reason that evil men or women
can commit evil
since the Primal Vow saves them after all.
"Don't take poison even though there is an antidote."
147 If someone asks, "What sort of person is Zuiken?"
Just answer,
"He only looks up and adores the Primal Vow Power."
148 When the Tathagata's Great Compassion is reflected
in your mind and penetrates it,
it forms the Great Shinjin.
If you fail to realize the Compassion,
what is the use of your life?
149 Apart from the Tathagata's Great Wisdom Power,
Great Compassion Power, and Great Primal Vow Power,
My birth in the Pure Land would be impossible.
Apart from Namo Amida Butsu, there is no shinjin;
apart from shinjin, there is no Namo Amida Butsu.
150 In the ocean of the Vow, nobody hears or trusts the Vow;
Only the voice of Amida's call sounds and resounds everywhere.