Honen

Asian History Japan

HONEN AND THE FOUNDING OF THE JODO SECT

Honen (1133-I2I2) entered Mt. Hiei and studied the Tendai doctrines at the age of 15, and later went to Nara to acquire knowledge of the Kegon and Hosso sects. However, he became increasingly dissatisfied with the teachings which stressed learning and ascetic exercises which, in the final analysis, sought salvation through one's own efforts (jiriki). After reading Genshin's Ojo Yoshu (Document IJ, he decided to found a new sect based on the nembutsu (Document 3). He vigorously claimed that his new doctrines were as valid as any of the established ones (Document 2). The shorter letter (Document 4) contains the essence of his teachings. The catechism (Document 5) shows his deep commitment to the nembutsu. As to the position of women (Document 6), Honen assured them of their eventual salvation by taking the form of men, which was a step forward, but still showed the bias of a male-dominated society.

The new Jodo sect became a powerful force, gaining for its converts such people as ex-Emperor Goshirakawa, Kampaku Kujo Kanezane, famed samurai, as well as many common men. The hostilities of established sects led to his banishment in Tosa (1207) but he utilized this opportunity to spreadhis teachings to the common men. In 1211 he was allowed to return to Kyoto, but died the following year.

2 The Ancients Not Necessarily Our Superiors' "There is a saying that we should reverently expect posterity to surpass the great of the present, and so we may say that the teacher is not necessarily in advance of his pupil. Five hundred years after the death of the Buddha, five hundred enlightened priests (Sk. Arhats) met together and composed the Abhidharma-mahavibhassa-sastra [a doctrinal treatise of the Sthavira school of the Hinayana Buddhism], and nine hundred years after his death, Vasubandhu appeared and wrote the Abhidharma-kosa-sastra [a fifth-century work which became the standard book of the Kusha sect, one of the six Nara sects of Japan], thus overturning those teachings. We see therefore that the antiquity of a doctrine cannot of itself decide whether it be true or false."

Nembutsu and the Founding of a New Sect.... Honen was well

acquainted with the doctrines of the various sects of the Holy Path....

Nevertheless he was still troubled about the way of attaining salvation, and ill

at ease. So with a view to the discovery of the path leading thereto immedi-

ately after death, he read the whole of the Buddhist Scriptures through five

times. He dwelt long and intently upon every trace he could find of what

Shakamuni himself had taught during his life-time, only to find one difficulty

after another presenting itself to his mind. At last he found a book called Ojo

Yoshu, written by Genshin, based upon a commentary by the venerable

Shan-tao on the Meditation Sutra. While perusing this book, it occurred to

him to examine Shan-tao's commentary. He found that the writer earnestly

inculcated the principle that by the practice of the nembutsu, even the

ordinary man, with all his distractions, may understand how he may be born

into the Pure Land immediately at death, and thus the way of deliverance was

made very easy. Though he had noticed it every time he turned over the pages

of Scripture, he read this again three times with special attention, and finally

came to the following passage: -- "Only repeat the name of Amida with all your

heart. Whether walking or standing, sitting or lying, never cease the practice of it

even for a moment. This is the very work which unfailingly brings forth

salvation, for it is in accordance with the Original Vow of that Buddha."

Through this passage he was led to the conclusion that the common man, no

matter how far removed from the age of the Buddha, may by the repetition of

Amida's name, by virtue of Buddha's Original Vow, of a certainty attain birth

into the Pure Land. And so in the spring of the fifth year of Joan [1175], when

was forty-three years of age, he unhesitatingly abandoned all other forms of

religious discipline, and applied himself exclusively to the practice of theN

embutsu.

Once Honen wrote an outline of the Jodo doctrine on a sheet of paper, which runs as follows: "I have carefully examined the qualifications necessary in these Latter Degenerate Days for all sentient beings to attain birth into the Pure Land of Perfect Bliss, and I find that no matter how meager one's religious practices may be, he should not give way to doubt, for ten repetitions of the sacred name are quite enough, indeed even one. And it matters not how great a sinner a man may be, he should not give way to doubts; for, as it says, Amida does not hate a man, however deeply stained with sin he may be. And though the times be ever so degenerate, let him not doubt. For even sentient beings, who will live in the period after the Law has perished, can be born into the Pure Land. How much more men of our own times! Even though we be indeed unclean, we need not doubt the possibility of attaining Ojo, for it is specifically stated that we are but ordinary mortals, painted with evil passions.

"There are indeed many Pure Lands in the ten quarters of the universe, but we seek the Pure Land in the West, because it is in this one that all sentient beings, who have committed the ten evil deeds and the five deadly sins, can find Ojo. The reason for giving ourselves up to Amida alone among all the Buddhas is that He welcomes those who have repeated His sacred name, even three or five times. And the reason we choose the nembutsu out of all the other forms of religious discipline is because it is the one prescribed in the Original Vow of that Buddha. If we are but born into the Pure Land by embarking upon Amida's Original Vow, then none of our cherished desires remains unfulfilled. And this embarking upon the ship of the Original Vow depends upon our faith.

"It is a joy beyond all other joys to have attained all these things that are so difficult of attainment, first of all being born a human being, then coming into contact with the Original Vow, then having one's religious aspirations aroused, then getting free from the long round of transmigrations, and finally being born into the Pure Land. While believing that even the man who is so sinful that he has committed the ten evil deeds and the five deadly sins may be born into the Pure Land, as far as you are concerned, be not guilty even of the smallest sins. And if a sinful man may thus be born into that land, how much that ten repetitions, yea even one, will never be in vain, and so continually practice it without ceasing. If by repeating the nembutsu once a man may thus reach Ogo, how much more so if he repeats it many times!

"As Amida Buddha has already verified the words of His Vow, 'unless it happens as I vow, I shall not accept enlightenment,?and is now in reality in that blissful land, as He said, He surely will come and meet us when we are about to die....

"Let your joy, therefore be as high as the heavens above and as deep as the earth beneath. Let us then, whether walking, standing, sitting or lying, or wherever we are, always be returning thanks for the great blessedness of having in this life come in contact with the Original Vow of the Amida Buddha. It is in these words of the Vow where He graciously says, Or even ten times calling?that we should above all put our trust, and it is to the clause where Shan-tao says that of a certainty we shall be born into the Pure Land, that we should above all else direct our faith."

[A man once asked Honen some hundred and forty-five questions on the preparation needed for attaining Ojo, and he answered them all. Below-is a transcription of a few of them.]

Question 1. Is it possible for a man to enter the Pure Land simply by

concentration of mind and the repetition of the nembutsu, and doing nothing

else, even though his heart undergoes no change?

Answer: "It is the rule with common men for their hearts to be in a

state of confusion, and it cannot be helped. The only thing is that if men do

concentrate their minds upon Amida, and call upon his name, their sin will be

destroyed, and they will attain Ojo. Even sins more grievous than that of

mental confusion disappear, if men practice the nembutsu.

Question 2. Even if we do not fix the number of times for repeating

the nembutsu as our daily task, is it not all right to do it as often as one can?

Answer: "It is better to fix the number, lest you yield to laziness.

Question 3. Ought we to practice the nembutsu after eating leeks,

onions or venison, while the scent of them still remains in the mouth?

Answer: "There is nothing whatever in the world that should interfere

with the practice of the nembutsu.

Question 4. How many repetitions of the sacred name should one

regard as a day's work?

Answer: "Well, the number of nembutsu repetitions may begin with ten

thousand, and then go on to twenty, thirty, fifty, sixty or even a hundred

thousand. Everyone should, in his own heart and according to his own will,

determine the number within these limits.

Question 5. They say that the cord with the five-colored strands is put

into the Buddha's left hand, but in which of my hands should it be put, and

how drawn (when I come to die)?

Answer: "It should be drawn by both hands.

Question 6. Is there any merit in fasting from noon till dawn, and

ought one to do it?

Answer: "There is merit in such fasting especially on the six days of

fasting appointed for each month. But in case there is some matter of great

importance, or one is ill, it is not necessary to do it, but only to repeat the

nembutsu, and one will thereby get free from the transmigratory round andat

tain Ojo.

Question 7. Even if one does not see a Buddha, or fasten a cord fromon

es hands to the Buddha’s, or even call upon the sacred name oneself, is it possible to be born into the Pure Land at death merely by listening to others repeating the nembutsu?

Answer: "It is not always necessary to fasten the cord to one’s hands, nor to meet the Buddha face to face, but by means of the nembutsu alone can one attain Ojo. And so long as one has a very deep faith, it is enough to listen to other men's repetitions of the nembutsu.

Question 8. Though one may wish to be eternally free from the experience of birth and death, and never to be born again into this three-fold world, is it true, as some say, that, even after one has become a citizen of the Land of Perfect Bliss, the Karma which has brought him there loses its efficacy, so that he may be born again here into this three-fold world? Now I have no wish to be so reborn, even though I might be born a king, or born into the so-called heavenly world above. My one wish is to get entirely free from this world, and never return here, and so to this end what should I do?

Answer: "Such ideas are entirely wrong. If one is once born into the Land of Bliss, he will never return to this world, but every such one will attain Buddhahood. Only in case one wishes to come back to save others, he may indeed do so, but by so doing, he does not again return to the round of birth and death. There is nothing better than the practice of the nembutsu to get safely out of this three-fold world and be born into the Land of Perfect Bliss. So you ought to practice it most diligently.

Question 10. Is it a sin to drink sake (Japanese rice wine)?

Answer: "Indeed one ought not to drink, but (you know) it is the way of the world.

Question 12. When one is about to die, is it enough, in order to attain Ojo, to repeat the nembutsu as one ordinarily does, without calling in a religious adviser?

Answer: "Even though no religious adviser comes in, and one is not able to die as painlessly as he desires, he will attain Ojo if only he repeats the nembutsu.

Question 13. When evil thoughts will keep arising within the mind, what ought one do?

Answer: "The only thing to do is to repeat the nembutsu.

Question 18. Is it all right to make up on one day for religious duties that were neglected on another day? And may one store up merit now, so as to be forehanded for the future?

Answer: "It is all right to make up for past losses. But to be laying up for the future (forgetting the present) would tend to laziness.

Question 19. Is there any merit in bringing offerings to a lawless or ignorant priest?

Answer: --We ought in these latter days to do honor to a lawless and ignorant priest even as to the Buddha.

6 On the Salvation of Women In Honen's Commentary on the Larger

Sutra, in dealing with the thirty-fifth of the forty-eight Vows, namely the one about woman's birth into the Pure Land, he explains it as follows: -- "The vow of birth into the Pure Land by means of nembutsu, as above mentioned, refers to both men and women, without distinction. If so, what then is the special significance of this vow? On careful reflection, we must admit that there are great lindrances in the way of woman's attaining enlightenment, so that unless she be dealt with in a special way, she may become a victim of doubts. The reason is that her sin is grievous, and so she is not allowed to enter the lofty palace of the great Brahma, nor to look upon the clouds which hover over his ministers and people. She is always taken down to a lower seat than the soft-cushioned one of the divine Indra, and she can never behold the flowers in his thirty-three-citied Heaven.... No matter what Sutra or Shastra (commentaries) you look at, she is always spoken of in terms of scorn, and everywhere despised. There is no place for her to go but to the three painful states and the eight misfortunes, and there are no shapes for her to assume but those of the six ways and the four modes of birth. Even in Japan too, woman is refused admission to holy places and buildings. Around the sacred places on Mount Hiei, founded by Dengyo Daishi, he himself set boundaries by valleys and mountain peaks, within which women were forbidden to enter. From this we see that over the top of the mountain of the One Vehicle [i.e., the one and only true way of salvation in all the worlds, according to the Tendai doctrine], the clouds of the five obstacles cannot be overspread, and in the depth of the valley of the ineffable sweetness, the stream of the three obediences cannot flow. Mount Koya is also a mountain peak set apart by Kobo Daishi, where flourishes the Superior Vehicle of the Shingon. There the moonlight of the three secrets shines over everything, and yet not over the incapacity of woman. The water of wisdom stored in the five vessels flows everywhere over the mountain, but it does not wash away woman's uncleanness. The gold and bronze image of Vairocana, one hundred and sixty feet high, erected by the Emperor Shomu, may be worshipped by women at a distance, but they are not allowed to go inside the door.... Alas! woman! Though thou has two feet, there are mountains of the Law which thou mayst not ascend, and courtyards of the Buddha which thou mayst not tread. Shame though it be, while possessed of two eyes, there are sacred places upon which thou mayst not look, and holy images which thou mayst not worship!.... How then, can you ever possibly draw near to the Buddha of the ten thousand transcendent virtues in the Pure Land of countless treasures? It is no wonder that women doubt the possibility of attaining birth into the Pure Land.

"This is the reason that the Buddha Amida made a separate vow

particularly for women. The following is the venerable Shan-tao's interpretation of it: -- By virtue of the merit of Amida's great Vow, women who call upon the sacred name, may, when they come to the end of life here, have their bodies changed into those of men. Amida holds out His hands to them, and the Bodhisattvas help them to seats upon a lotus stand, on which they are carried into the Pure Land. Amida Himself goes before them, so that they are admitted into His great community, and at length attain that state of nirvana, wherein they transcend the experience of life and death. Apart from the power of the great Vow of Amida, a woman cannot have her body changed to that of a man in a thousand kalpas, as there are sands in the river Ganges. This expresses the beneficent power of Amida's merciful Vow, by which woman may escape pain and receive the gift of blessedness!?