The Way of Jodo Shinshu

Koso Wasan 77

Waiting for the moment when Faith,
Firm and diamond-like is fixed,
When the Light of Amida's Heart embraces and keeps
    us,
Freeing us completely from the cycle of birth-and-death.

Faith and Enlightenment

This verse is a key passage in Shinran's writing because it affirms the central tenet of Shinran Shonin's teaching: that at the moment that shinjin is settled we become free forever from the round of birth-and-death. The phrase 'waiting for the moment' (sadamaru toki) is translated in the Hongwanji International Center publication The Collected Works of Shinran as 'When the time comes'. Although subtly different, it seems to me that it is a better turn of phrase because it gives less emphasis to the passage of time; and is ultimately more accessible.

Needless to say, this verse became somewhat controversial. It appears to have been cited by those who claimed that faith and Enlightenment are the same. It is one of the few verses to be quoted in a source outside Shinran's own writings. This latter citation occurs in the Tanni Sho, and is found in a section of that document, which categorically refutes any idea that shinjin and Enlightenment are the same.

The relevant chapter of the Tanni Sho rightly reminds us that even though our destiny is settled at the time that shinjin becomes firm and diamond-like, we nevertheless remain ordinary beings (bombu, Sk. prthagjana): we are neither bodhisattvas nor buddhas. The Tanni Sho goes further than this by also reminding us that we show neither physical nor mental signs of Enlightenment after the fixing of faith. Throughout the history of Jodo Shinshu, two moments of awakening are delineated. The first is when faith becomes settled and the second is Enlightenment, which occurs at the moment of birth in the Pure Land.

Faith is the indispenable condition for 'freeing us completely from the cycle of birth-and-death', but it is not Enlightenment. Although this verse is quoted in the Tanni Sho as part of the argument in support of this proposition and against any confusion between faith and Enlightenment, it is only asserting the plain understanding of Shinran himself. In the corpus of Shinran's own writings, there is not a single word or phrase that can be used to support any view other than that Enlightenment occurs at birth in the Pure Land and not before that event. Throughout the Kyo Gyo Shin Sho, in the Wasan and, especially, in a brief work called Notes on 'Essentials of Faith Alone', Shinran frequently describes the inner disposition of those with settled faith. In light of these passages, it is very hard to see how anyone could misconstrue his teachings - or, for that matter, those of Shan-tao.

It seems to me that we can regard Shinran himself as the most representative exemplar of the life of shinjin. Yet, he clearly sees himself as being in no way enlightened. He unequivocally rejected any notion of himself as having an inner reality that is appropriate for a Buddha:

The shinjin of the wise is that they are inwardly wise, outwardly foolish.

The heart of Gutoku is such that I am inwardly foolish, outwardly wise.

- CWS p. 600

Even if we spent our entire lives searching the Buddhist canon, we would never find a single occasion on which a Buddha speaks of himself in that way. In contrast to this, there are many other passages in Shinran's writings, which attest to the fact that he did not see himself as being enlightened.

The heart of the person who is inwardly foolish but outwardly wise is such that they are profoundly honest, self-aware and - thanks to the shinjin of Amida Buddha - able to be self-understanding, and perhaps, in a sense, self-accepting. They have no illusions about themselves; knowing their frailties and shortcomings well. Outwardly, they do not make much of their unenlightened condition as an ordinary person (bombu, Sk. prthagjana), indeed it appears that they are inclined to want to be kind and courteous in the matter of their daily conduct.

- December 9, 2003.

Lilies.