Against the view that the Pure Land Sutras are not Shakyamuni’s teaching, but a later invention

by Rev. Josho Adrian Cirlea

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Sutra on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life

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“Genku himself said,

‘Formerly, I was among the assembly on Vulture Peak;

I practiced austerities with other sravakas

And guided beings to the Buddhist path.”



Shoshinge

“The reason for the Buddha's appearance in the world

Is solely to expound the Primal Vow of Amida, wide and deep as the ocean.

All beings in the evil age of the five defilements

Should believe in the truth of the Buddha's words.”



“Amida, who attained Buddhahood in the infinite past,

Full of compassion for foolish beings of the five defilements,

Took the form of Sakyamuni Buddha

And appeared in Gaya.”



Jodo Wasan

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Kyogyoshinsho

“The teaching of the Pure Land way is found in the Larger Sutra of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life [….] It reveals that Shakyamuni appeared in this world and expounded the teachings of the way to Enlightenment, seeking to save the multitudes of living beings by blessing them with the benefit that is true and real. Assuredly this sutra is the true teaching for which the Tathagata appeared in the world. It is the [….] It reveals that Shakyamuni appeared in this world and expounded the teachings of the way to Enlightenment, rare and most excellent. It is the conclusive and ultimate exposition of the One Vehicle. It is the right teaching, praised by all the Buddhas throughout the ten quarters. To teach [Amida] Tathagata’s Primal Vow is the true intent of this sutra; the Name of the Buddha is its essence.”



Kyogyoshinsho

“The Sutra of Immeasurable Life is truly the shortest path to attainment of birth, the superlative means to liberation from suffering. All people should embrace its teaching.”



Gutoku’s Notes

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Kyogyoshinsho

“Well does Shakyamuni, in this evil age of the five defilements – in this evil world, among evil sentient beings, evil views, evil passions, and in a time when evil acts and lack of faith prevail – teach and praise the Name of Amida, encouraging sentient beings: ‘If one says the Name, one unfailingly attains birth’.”



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“Further, the Buddhas throughout the ten quarters, fearing that sentient beings might not accept the teaching of the one Buddha, Shakyamuni, all together with the same intent […], preach these true and sincere words:



‘Sentient beings, each of you should accept what Shakyamuni has taught, has praised, has given witness to!’”



Kyogyoshinsho

In the Mahayana sutras, the master of the being difficult to save is expounded. The Larger Sutra states:



Excluded are those who commit the five grave offenses and those who slander the right dharma.



And [the Sutra of the Tathagata of Immeasurable Life states]:



Excluded are those who commit evil acts that condemn them to Avici hell and those who slander the right dharma or the sages.



The Contemplation Sutra teaches the attainment of birth of those who commit the five grave offenses, but not of those who slander the dharma, and in the Nirvana Sutra , the beings and the sicknesses difficult to cure are taught. How are these true teachings to be understood?



Answer: The Commentary on the Treatise states:



Question: The Sutra of Immeasurable Life states,



Those who aspire for birth are all brought to attainment. Excluded are those who commit the five grave offenses and those who slander the right dharma.



The Sutra of Contemplation on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life states,



Those who have committed the five grave offenses and the ten transgressions, and who are possessed of various evils also attain birth.



How are these two sutra passages to be reconciled?



Answer: The first sutra speaks of committing two kinds of serious evil act: the five grave offenses and the slander of the right dharma. Because of committing both these two kinds of evil act, a person is unable to attain birth. The other sutra speaks only of committing the evil of the ten transgressions and five grave offenses; nothing is said of slandering the right dharma. Because a person has not slandered the right dharma, he attains birth.



Question: Suppose a person has committed the five grave offenses but has not slandered the right dharma. In the sutra, it is granted that such a person can attain birth. Further, suppose there is a person who has only slandered the right dharma but is free of the five grave offenses and other evil acts; if he aspires for birth, will he attain it or not?



Answer: Although he has only slandered the right dharma and has not committed other evil acts, he will definitely be unable to attain birth. How is this known? A sutra states that the person who has committed the five grave offenses falls into great Avici hell and fully undergoes their recompense for one kalpa. The person who slanders the right dharma falls into great Avici hell, and when that kalpa has run out, he passes on into the great Avici hell of another quarter. In this way he passes through a hundred thousand great Avici hells one after another. The Buddha does not indicate any time when it is possible for him to emerge. This is because slandering the right dharma is an evil act of extreme gravity.



Further, the right dharma is the Buddha-dharma. Such a foolish person has already slandered it; how can it be reasonable to think that he would aspire to be born in the Buddha-land? Suppose the person aspires for birth merely because he craves to be born into happiness; this is like seeking ice that is not water or fire without smoke. How can it be deemed reasonable that he attain it?



Question: What are the characteristics of slandering the right dharma?



Answer: Saying there is no Buddha, no Buddha-dharma, no bodhisattva, no bodhisattva-dharma . Deciding on such views, whether through understanding thus in one's own mind or receiving the ideas from others, is called slandering the right dharma.



Question: Taking such views only concerns the person himself. What pain and suffering does his act inflict on other sentient beings, that it should exceed the evil of the five grave offenses in seriousness?



Answer: If there were no Buddhas and bodhisattvas to expound the mundane and supramundane good paths and to teach and guide sentient beings, how could we know of the existence of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and sincerity? Such mundane good would all be cut off, and the sages of the supramundane would all perish. You know only the gravity of the five grave offenses, and not that they arise from the absence of the right dharma.

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Thus, the person who slanders the right dharma is involved in the gravest karmic evil.



“Here I, Gutoku [Shinran], of outlying islands, relying on the treatises from India and the western regions and looking to the explanations of the teachers of China and Japan, reverently entrust myself to the teaching, practice and realization that are the true essence of the Pure Land way.”



Discourse on the Ten Stages

“When he was seeking the Path to Buddhahood, he performed

many marvellous practices

as described in various sutras.

So I prostrate myself and worship him.”



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Depending on the sutra’s exposition

Of the manifestation of true merit,

I compose verses of aspiration in a condensed form,

Thereby conforming to the Buddha Dharma.



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Contemplation Sutra

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A Collection of Essential Passages Concerning Birth

Ojoyoshu

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“I am not telling you this by my own initiative. I just state exactly what the sacred scriptures describe, as if holding the text up to a mirror. Please look over the scriptures.”



“There is not one word of falsehood in the words uttered by Shakyamuni Buddha. Simply revere and believe them. Also know that if you doubt his teaching, it would be harmful and would be karmically unfortunate. Please have implicit faith in his teaching.”



Tannisho

“If Amida's Primal Vow is true, Shakyamuni's teaching cannot be false. If the Buddha's teaching is true, Shan-tao's commentaries cannot be false. If Shan-tao's commentaries are true can Honen's words be lies? If Honen's words are true, then surely what I say cannot be empty. Such, in the end, is how this foolish person [Shinran] entrusts himself to the Vow.”



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