With reverence, I remain PS I have written this on the 8th day, 12th month, 5th year of Bunmei (1473CE); and I am sending it to the wives of the temple personnel who live on Mount Yoshizaki. If there are any further questions, I invite you to ask me again. Age 58, personal seal (affixed) I write this to leave as a marker For those of generations to come, May the words herein be reminders Of 'Mida Tathágata’s great, great, Dharma.
In the Founding Shonin's Teachings, prime importance has been established in what is called "Faith." In explaining the purpose of this Faith, I would say that it is the point of departure for us shamefully unenlightened beings who are without virtue and who are forever committing evils to arrive at Amida's Pure Land with ease. Without receiving this Faith, one cannot be reborn in the Land of Bliss, but will be destined to fall and reside in the depths of the 8th fiery Hell. To explain how one acquires this Faith, I would say that those who place complete reliance in only Amida Tathágata, who disregard all other virtues and practices, who discard the feeling for petitionary prayers to the various guardian gods, deities and Bodhisattvas, and who abandon the erroneous thoughts of self-power, will be encompassed, without fail, by Amida in His Universal Light; and if they believe in Amida without any doubt and with that singleness of heart and mind, they will never be forsaken. Upon receiving Faith in this manner, you should believe that the Nembutsu (recited at all times, awake or asleep) is the Nembutsu to express our feeling of gratitude to Amida for our deliverance. Those who especially understand this in this manner, are those who truly have received the True Doctrine of Faith of our sect. If there are those who claim that there is Faith other than this, you can be certain that it is a very grave mistake. Nothing of what they may claim can be acceptable in the least. With reverence, I remain PS The meaning of what I have just written in this letter is the True Doctrine of Faith as taught by Shinran Shonin of our school. Those who understand this thoroughly must take deliberate concern and not discuss the aspects of Faith with people of other sects. All you have to do is simply not rely on any of the other Buddhas, Bodhisattvas or deities. It is necessary to consider this very important. Truly, you must think that all the many deities are included within the Benevolence of Amida Buddha. Without exception, you should not slander any of the various other teachings. Those who understand and follow what I have just written are those who respect the points in the 'manner of conduct' as has been established by our sect. Therefore, the Shonin has said, "Even when we are called 'cattle-stealers', your personal conduct must not be similar to those who teach the after-life as, perhaps, done by a virtuous man, or one who teaches the Dharma." In particular, understand the reasons for this well and recite the Nembutsu of gratitude.
With reverence, I remain I have written this on the night, 12th day, 12th month, 5th year of Bunmei (1473CE)
Although what has been done already cannot be undone now, there have been differences in the attitudes of those who teach-guide in the Teachings that were taught by the Founding Shonin of our sect. Hereafter, the resident priests of this temple (to begin with), other priests who study our masters, the many, many followers of the Faith who gather here, and many of the Faith who are followers in name only must first understand the essence of each of the following three articles. Then decisions on the handling of related matters will be made accordingly. 1. Do not slander any of the doctrines of the other religious sects. 2. Do not disparage any of the guardian deities, Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. 3. Receive Faith and realize rebirth in the Land of Recompense. This temple should be closed to those who do not stand by the aims of these three articles. Also, it should be closed to those who do not place the essence of these aims deep within their hearts and who do not hold them as guiding principles in their lives. I left Kyoto in the fifth month of 1471 and in the seventh month of that year occupied a shack of bundled grass reeds and twigs, windswept and lashed by the waves of the sea. In actuality, there is no significance to my reasons for having lived here in these mountains for the past four years other than to bring these three articles to the people of this Hokuriku District who have yet to obtain that Faith of our sect. Likewise, I hope to have them accept that Faith which is not at variance with the true meaning of Faith. For this reason, I have endured life here to this very day. Therefore, if you believe in the reasons for my residence here, you will have understood truly the original purpose of my stay here during the past months and years. 1. By "Shinmei" is meant that Amida Tathágata (lamenting that sentient beings did not have Faith with respect to the Dharma and were about to fall into Hell in vain) appeared temporarily as a deity in order to deliver them somehow. As an expedient and to utilize the results of even the slightest of related past conditions for the purpose of urging man to finally enter within the fold of the Dharma, He appeared as a "kami." Therefore, if the sentient beings of this present era (by placing reliance on Amida) obtain Faith and through the Nembutsu become destined for rebirth in the Land of Bliss, each of the deities will realize this rather as his own true mind and shall rejoice and watch over these devotees of the Nembutsu. Thus, even though one does not particularly rely upon them with whole-hearted trust, there is meaning in the reverence these people have for these deities. 2. It is not proper for those of this school to slander the other teachings and sects. In the final analysis, since they all originate from the sermons during the lifetime of Shakyamuni Buddha, by devoting oneself to his Teachings it will bear fruit in some level of Enlightenment. However, since lay people (like us of this Closing Third Era) cannot attain to the standards of the teachings of self-power of the various other sects, we simply do not rely or believe in what they teach. 3. When one refers to the various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, they are separate manifestations of the One Amida Tathágata and relative to the Buddhas of the Ten Quarters; Amida Buddha is the Master-Teacher and the abiding root of all Buddhas. When we place reliance on the One Amida Buddha, in effect we are placing reliance on all the various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Because of this, all the various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, without exception, are included within the One Great Body of Amida. 4. The absolute Faith of the Other-Power of Amida Tathágata, as taught by our Founder Shinran Shonin, means that the discarding of all sundry practices and placing reliance on Amida with a singleness of mind and heart (with departure from self-power) is the basis of Faith in the Primal Vow. The former "Good Teachers of the Way" had heard and repeatedly passed along to us that while believing that Amida Tathágata’s True Faith is a grant from the Other-Power of Buddha's Incomprehensible Wisdom, know that the moment of entering within the ranks of those whose rebirth have been determined is the very instant one places complete reliance on Amida. If at that simultaneous moment life does not end but continues from that instant forward, the frequent recitation of the Nembutsu should come by itself in all naturalness. Because of this, we are to understand that the frequent recitation of the Sacred Name (from the very moment of the assurance of having entered within the ranks of those whose rebirth has been determined in our everyday life) is an expression of gratitude for the Grace of Buddha. Therefore, the essence of the Teachings of this school from the Founding Shonin down through the honored teachers that have come after him is only that this Faith, alone, is the best of ways. Those who do not understand this belong to some other sect. To those who comprehend, it becomes the significant mark that designates the devotee of Shinshu. Furthermore, in your social conduct never present the air that you are a devotee of the Nembutsu of our school to the people of the other sects. These points that I have just written should be considered the correct and true principles guiding the behavior of the followers who have received Faith of Shinshu.
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