Honen's advice to the Samurai and the Prostitue -

[Kaspalita]

This is the Dharma talk from the Sunday Service, 18th May 2008.

The reading was from Watts and Tomatsu's Traversing the Pure Land Path. I don't have that in front of me at the moment, but I'll copy and paste from an essay Tomatsu wrote, about Honen's teaching, which tells both the stories, you can see his whole article on Jodo Shu Research Institute.

Once a warrior named, Amakasu Taro Tadastune, came and confided in Honen his trouble with reconciling his belief in Pure Land Buddhism with his duty as warrior to fight and kill on the battlefield. Honen answered: The Original Vow (hongan) of Amida is not concerned whether one's predisposition is good or evil, or whether the religious practice is more or less. Since it does not depend upon the purity or impurity of the body, or time, place or opportunity, the occasion of death is of no consequence. Even sinners, just as they are, will attain rebirth in the Pure Land, if they only repeat the nembutsu. This is the miracle of the Original Vow. So, though a man born into a family of warriors goes to war and loses his life, if he only repeats the Nembutsu, he will be assisted by the Original Vow and will be welcomed by Amida in the Pure Land. This you should not forget.
In his later years, traveling to Shikoku after being sent into exile from Kyoto, Honen met a prostitute on a boat in Muro harbor. The exchange went something like this:

Prostitute: Owing to what kind of evil karma I don't know, but I have come to earn my living by this disgraceful profession. How can such a sinful person like me be saved and attain Birth in the Pure Land?

Honen: No one knows what kind of evil karma has made you enter into such a profession. However, if you can find another way of living, you may as well throw the profession away as soon as possible. If it is impossible, you should practice the nembutsu as you really are. You should not despise yourself so much. It is for such a sinful being as yourself that Amida Buddha made his Original Vow. If you rely on it and practice the nembutsu, you are sure to attain Birth.
The Pure Land in the West for This World:
An Examination of Honen's Methods of Teaching, Rev. Yoshiharu Tomatsu

The Dharma Talk
I find the stories that we have just heard particularly powerful, they both begin with an awakening in the part of the practitioner, a realisation that the life they are living is one in which they are not only carrying a burden of heavy Karma, but continually sewing new karmic seeds that will ripen in the future, and then sewing more seeds, and more seeds.

I hope that none of us spend our days literally on the battlefield, sword in hand, taking life upon life, and I’m fortunate that my profession doesn’t ask me to do that, but when we look honestly at our lives, who among us can say that we haven’t, at least, swung a metaphorical sword in someone’s direction?

Or like the prostitute, compromise our values for our own selfish needs?

These stories don’t give us much back ground, so we have to use our imaginations a little, both the warrior and the prostitute live in a society in which the idea of Ojo, birth in the Pureland is a backdrop to everyone’s lives. Perhaps they see this simply as an escape, or perhaps they have more altruistic motivations and intend to attain Ojo in order to come back and help others, as Honen taught.

Whichever, at some point they both realised the lives they were living were incompatible with the traditional Buddhist teaching - if merit alone is the gateway to the Pureland (the 19th vow), then both of these people could in not, in their current roles, generate enough merit to open that gate. If even the great Buddhist sage, Honen, could not enter the Pureland through merit alone, how much less a murderer and a whore.

Once the aspiration for birth is awakened, it is a powerful calling. Amida’s light shines down upon us, exposing our flaws, and we cast a dark, long shadow.

Realising their own nature, both turn towards a great teacher they have heard of, an expert in the teachings of rebirth, and the Pureland. Honen Shonin.

From the stories, we understand that perhaps the Samurai had been practising nembutsu a little, but not wholeheartedly, and the prostitute? Not at all, convinced she was going to Hell, she gave up religious practice.

Honen said that those who think in this way, that only the good go to the Pureland after death, will never get there - because they never begin to say the nembutsu. True Ojo is gained when one who has realised their own evil nature, is overwhelmed with joy upon hearing Amida’s saving Vow, and calls upon Him wholeheartedly. This person will go to the Pureland.

It is, said Shinran, just for sinners like us, that Amida created his Vow.

Yoshiharu Tomatsu uses the examples of the prostitute and the Samurai, in an essay about Honen’s methods of teaching, on the JodoShu Research Institute website, to show how Honen’s teaching is relevant for this world, not just the world after death.

In the stories, Honen gives each a different teaching, like Shakyamuni Buddha he tries to meet people on their own ground, and give them a teaching that is meaningful to their own lives.

We don’t know the character of the prostitute, or the warrior, again we have to use our imagination to fill in the gaps a little.

Honen does not ask the Samurai to change his life, he can see that he is bound, by his fealty, the vows to his lord, his position in society and, we get the impression, by his love of the bow and arrow; his accomplishment as a warrior. Honen’s chief concern is to get the Samurai to the Pureland. If Honen tells the Samurai he must change, we can imagine the Samurai remains trapped in his Koan, trapped between his desire for honour, and safety in this world, and between a desire for rebirth, yet, believing that he is not good enough do attain Ojo.

So, understanding that Amida vowed to save all beings who call upon him, regardless of karmic burden, regardless of the stain of sin, regardless of all the evil ways of living. Honen tells the warrior, he need only repeat the nembutsu once, no matter his lifestyle and the Buddha will come collect him at the point of death.

The prostitute has a different tale, she is tired of her way of living, she feels weighed down by her karma, but Honen sees something different here, the chance to change - the prostitute has no desire to remain as she is, unlike the Samurai, and so Honen gives her a different message.

Again imagine meeting such a great teacher, Honen had a great presence, a great love for others, and a desire to see all attain Ojo, and being told that Amida’s Vow was made for sinners just like you.

Honen tells her that she should not despise herself so much, and that her rebirth is assured, if she relies on the nembutsu.

A moment that changed her life.

I think there is a couple of things we can learn from these encounters, how Honen taught people appropriate to their capability, and his great faith in the saving power of Amida Buddha, how it’s people just like us that Amida created his vows for, people unable to go to the Pureland through creating merit alone.

And about the great power of Faith.

Last week Mudita talked about Faith is Power, how having faith in Amida, and in good friends, can release a great energy, how living in the spirit of Amida’s Vow moves us towards nirvana in both this life and the next.

We can see this in both of the stories, it’s perhaps difficult, in the case of the Samurai, released from his koan by Honen, he marches into battle with a new energy, and I’m sure, given his great skill with the bow, kills more people before his own death. Killed in battle, and now having faith, he dies with the nembutsu on his lips, and achieves Ojo. Without Honen’s advice, he would still have gone to war, I imagine - and died without saying the nembutsu. Or perhaps racked by guilt, hung up his bow. But even then could not generate enough merit to enter the Pureland by goodness alone, and who can say what the consequences of that action would be, leaving his family undefended, losing his honour, and so on...until his next rebirth in samsara, and his next.

From the Pureland he can really learn to practice Buddhism, and come back and help the rest of us fools.

In the case of the Prostitute, we see a great change in this world, inspired by Honen, and suddenly fuelled by the power of Amida’s Vow, she becomes free of her profession and takes to a hermitage, reciting the nembutsu continually the rest of her days, rebirth assured.

Why the different stories? The Samurai and the prostitute both had different karma, very different lives, and different conditions - for the warrior, the consequences of hanging up his bow could have been disastrous, but perhaps if he had lived, in the sprit of the Vow, one day he could have done this. The prostitute had a chance to change and took it - her life in this world changed, and we can imagine that she changed some of the lives of those around her, to whom her story must have been a great inspiration.

Amida made his Vow, because he cared about our lives here and now, as well as our rebirth, knowing that we are saved, in gratitude we cry namo amida bu, and then, with confidence can begin to practice compassion - knowing our own rebirth is assured.

I would exhort all of you to take this message to heart, look at your own lives, and know that Amida’s vow, and the nembutsu is just for the likes of us, change your life, if you can - so that you can recite the nembutu more easily, and begin to help others do the same.

But even if you can not, remember, no matter how evil, if you only call on Amida name once, whole heartedly, your rebirth is assured.

Namo Amida Bu



Kaspa