A
When I think about the misery of those in this world, their sadness becomes mine. Oh, that my monk’s robe were wide enough to gather up all the suffering people in this floating world. Nothing makes me more happy than Amida Buddha’s Vow to save everyone.” –trans. John Stevens
B
Kaneko says that in realizing that we and others are fellow beings bonded by an inseparable inner togetherness, we seek a solution to our misery that will be adequate for all. The answer, according to Kaneko, is the Primal Vow—Amida Buddha’s oath to bring all beings to oneness, which embraces all beings just as they are. This great vow provides the nembutsu (the recitation of Amida Buddha’s name, Namo Amida Butsu) as an easy practice that anyone can perform.
B
Interrelatedness, or interdependence, is the central insight of Mahayana Buddhism. It means that nothing exists separate from all the other things in the universe. Every person lives only by relying on the support of others. No matter how far out you trace the web of relations, there is always more that can be said about it: it is infinite and total, and only a buddha can truly perceive its full extent. Indeed, in the Mahayana tradition it is often said that comprehension of this totality is what precipitates buddhahood or is buddhahood itself. Thus while I seem in my deluded mind to be one individual person struggling in the world against others, in fact from the Buddha’s viewpoint there is no separation between self and other. In traditional language this is often called emptiness, because we are empty of independent existence. But “inner togetherness” is a uniquely Shin term for this understanding, which stresses the positive side of connection and the fellowship aspect without losing sight of the interrelatedness that informs the basic concept of emptiness.
B
There is no separation between self and other, and my life exists only because of others. It is the power of others, the power-beyond-myself, that sustains my entire existence. We say there is no self, but another way to express it would be to say that when you have a near-death experience, the entire history of the universe ought to flash before your eyes. This vision is embedded in Shin within the story of Amida’s Pure Land, a representation of the liberated peace and bliss of nirvana. In Pure Land Buddhism we say that we wish to be born together with all beings in the Pure Land, so again we see the emphasis on togetherness. We seek a common destination that will be acceptable to all people. In this life, we have separations and disputes with other people based on our deluded egos: this is a fact of living that we cannot fully overcome. The story of the Pure Land upholds our greatest values, confirming that even though we are imperfect, we are embraced by great compassion, and even though we are unable to get along now, our goal is total reconciliation and togetherness.
B
MATERIALISTIC DETACHMENT
B
There is no separation between self and other, and my life exists only because of others. It is the power of others, the power-beyond-myself, that sustains my entire existence
B
Nembutsu, therefore, is a grateful expression of thanksgiving: it is an end, not a means. The path has already been accomplished for us, and our part is simply to relax, trust, and say “Thank you,” Namo Amida Butsu.
B
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