“:It is a rare event to meet the Buddha while he is here. It is also rare to find beings who are endowed with faith and transcendental wisdom. The rarest event is to listen to the most wonderful doctrine (of the Pure Land). But the rarest of the rarest is to believe in the doctrine and also to have others believe. Propagating as universally as possible the message of great compassion is indeed the truest way to requite what the Buddha has been doing for us.”
DTZ, KGSS True Faith, pg 135
In our tradition of Jodoshinshu Buddhism you will often hear the name of Amida Buddha. The name literally means infinite Wisdom and infinite Compassion. Many have used the term Light to describe Amida. We may hear terms like “warm light” and how this light continually shines on all of us, nurturing and supporting all life equally without discrimination.
This all sounds wonderful, but how can we wrap our heads around this idea, how can we believe and embrace this concept?
As with all ministers we struggle to find ways in which to convey this wonderful teaching that can be understood and embraced. Let’s all take a moment to think of your parent whether alive or dead. If you cannot think of a parent, think of someone who help raise you who cared for you through your youth. If you can recall the look or the gaze that a loving parent has toward their child. It is warm and glowing.
Consider a parent and a child and the deep connection that they have since birth. We call our parents: mom; dad; jiichan; baachan; kachaan; toosan. That name is filled with love and compassion and represents the love and affection felt by both.
Now imagine in your mind the statue of Amida Buddha. I have often told visitors that the Buddha has his/her eyes half open, and half closed. These are the eyes of Compassion. Although from a distance it may seem that the eyes on the statue are closed, they are in truth half open, and half closed. This represents the idea that we have to keep looking within ourselves while still being aware of the world around us.
The term in Japanese is Hangan which means to see the unity of both the inside and outside view. It means to see the inner world and the outer world equally without prejudice. It means to see others with kindness and compassion. Seeing others as you wish to be seen. It means to see the self clearly and honestly.
Our loving parents even when scolding us, looked upon us with loving kindness. In the same way the universe continually looks upon us with loving kindness. When events occur that we dislike or we don’t wish to happen, it is not an evil that is thrown upon us, but a failure to see the world as it truly is.
Because compassion is wisdom working toward all of us, the eyes are cast on each one of us with the light of wisdom, which are the eyes of the Buddha’s compassion. Think of it as the sun shines on a field of grass, it does not just benefit particular blades of grass but all of the blades of grasses.
Like a loving parent we have been and forever the recipients of Amida’s wisdom and compassion and now we can put our hands together in Gassho and recite namoamidabutsu. We are not asking for anything, we are not doing so by our own contrivance, but it is through Amida’s great power that we recite the name.
As children we were not aware of our parents watchful eye, in the same way it may be difficult with our busy lives to be aware of Amida’s compassionate gaze. Knowing that we are never abandoned, we then put our hands together and recite the Nembutsu.
“The blissful pure mind. The bodhisattva makes all beings attain to the great Enlightenment; he takes them all in and makes them be born in the Pure Land. The Enlightenment is thus the abode wherein they eternally remain in the state of bliss. This they will ultimately attain. If the bodhisattva did not make all beings ultimately attain an eternally blissful state, this would contradict the Enlightenment. How does one ultimately get his eternal bliss? This is gained in the Mahayana teaching, which is of the Buddha-land of Peace and Happiness. For this reason it is said again that the bodhisattva takes all beings in and has them all born in that Country.”
DTZ, KGSS, True Realization pg 195
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