Kyo Gyo Shin Sho

[Dharmavidya]

Hanryo has added the following:
Among the huge corpus of books on Shin Buddhism, the "Kyo Gyo Shin Sho" deservers our special attention. In this work Shinran presents us with a comprehensive system of the Pure Land Buddhist Path. It consists of six chapters.
(1) The True Teaching (Kyo) is revealed in the Daimuryojukyo (Larger Sukhavati-vyuha Sutra) preached by Sakyamuni Buddha on Amida Buddha's Pure Land for the salvation of all beings. According to Shinran although Sakyamuni preached many Sutras, only the Daimuryojukyo is the True Teaching as it reveals the inconceivable, supernal virtues of Amida Buddha which brings all beings without exception to the other shore of Great Nirvana.
(2) The True practice (Gyo) is to call on the name of Amida Buddha, “Namo Amida Butsu”. This practice of the Nembutsu is Amida Buddha himself beckoning us to entrust ourselves to his vow-power.
(3) The True Shinjin (Shin) is what makes the act of calling the name "Great Practice" and enables us to attain birth in the true fulfilled land. When one attains Shinjin and calls on the Nembutsu, one is embraced in the light of Amida Buddha and dwells in the Mahayana stage of non-retrogression until the end of life in this world. Upon arriving in the Pure Land one immediately attains the Highest Enlightenment.
(4) Shinran reveals the true attainment (Sho) of the Pure Land Way as the ultimate fruition of Buddhahood which is an endownment from Amida Buddha's transference (Eko) of His own supernal virtues to us out of his unconditional compassion for all beings.
(5) In the True Buddha and Pure Land, Shinran reveals Amida Buddha as having two aspects of Dharmakaya (Ultimate Reality in Mahayana Buddhism). The first is Dharmakaya-as-suchness (Hosho Hoshin) which refers to the formless, inconceivable nature of ultimate reality which is beyond human conceptual understanding; out of which emerges the Dharmakaya-as-compassion (Hoben Hoshin) which human beings can conceive and lead to the Ultimate formless reality (Buddha). Further, the True Pure Land is none other than the True Buddha or Ultimate Reality itself.
(6)The last chapter on Transformed Buddha Bodies and Lands deals with the expedient aspects of various Pure Land Teachings and practices which are based on one's own power in which Shinran considers as expedient means leading us to True Shinjin. He recalls his own spiritual struggle as passing through the 19th & 20th vows of self-power before leading to the full entrusting of oneself to the 18th vow of other-power made by Dharmakara Bodhisattva and the essence of the Pure Land Buddhist Path.

[Joaquim Monteiro]

Dear Dharmavidya:
Dear Hanryo:



I am very much touched by this post on the Kyogyoshinsho. It may be a very difficult book to read and to understand, but it is certainly an indispensable source for anyone engaged in Pure Land Buddhism. I think that it is fundamental to know it better.



Gasshô.
Joaquim Monteiro. ( Shaku Shoshin )

[Wong Zhi Xiang (Shaku Hanryo)]

Dear Rev. Shoshin,

Thank you for your comment on the Kyogyoshinsho.

I think if we really want to know about Shinran and his Pure Land thought, it is important to read his own writings carefully. So with Honen. When reading works by later teachers and modern scholars they are meant to
guide us but if we are perplexed with what they say, do not rely on them. Read the writings of Shinran and Honen. They are the best compass to the Pure Land.

The mind of faith is like a diamond and cannot be broken down by the views of people of different faith and practices. That's why Shinran describes it as the diamond-like mind. Question: Can we attain it without the nembutsu or meditative samadhi? Answer: We can attain it by shinjin through listening to the teachings of a true teacher or through reading the Kyogyoshinsho. The Kyogyoshinsho is the most wonderful book in the world. Through this book, no matter how many times we read it, our spiritual horizon never fails to expand infinitely and boundlessly as we enter upon the vow-mind of Amida.

The Kyogyoshinsho seems to be a work compiled mainly from the writings of other masters and not Shinran's own words but if we know how to read it, the whole thing becomes a personal self-profession of Shinran's. When we have entered into Shinran's thought-world and read it through Shinran , we will find that all the passages in which Shinran quotes starting from Nagarjuna to Shandao in the Kyogyoshinsho are in fact not Nagarjuna's thought or Tanluan's or Shandao's but Shinran's own unique understanding of the Pure Land Path. They are the themes he constantly touched upon throughout his letters, hymns and other writings. And that is incredible if we really think of it. The most beautiful thing about the Kyogyoshinsho is: through this book we are able to enter into the thought-world of a truly great human being called Gutoku Shinran and through his thoughts into the vow-mind of the infinite Buddha.

Gassho,
Hanryo.

[Dharmavidya]

Shinran loves me because Amida loves me.