by Reverend Marvin Harada (Orange County Buddhist Church)
Originally published in "Korin," July, 1991

Of the many words and teachings that Shinran Shonin has left us, perhaps one of the most central and important messages is his statement that he was "Neither Priest Nor Layman." This statement occurred in a certain historical context that needs background explanation.

Shinran’s early years of life were spent training and practicing Tendai Buddhism on Mt. Hiei, the established monastery and center for Buddhist learning near Kyoto. At that time, of course, there was no sect of Buddhism as Jodo Shinshu, and Shinran practiced a very arduous form of Buddhist discipline that requires a monastic lifestyle. Shinran became a monk from around the age of nine, and practiced on Mt. Hiei until the age of twenty-nine.

Tendai Buddhism and its practices still exist, even to this day, and monks are still carrying out the difficult disciplines to enlightenment that Tendai Buddhism prescribes. Some of these practices are unbelievably difficult. One in particular, called Kaihogyo, is a practice involving daily visits to religious sites on the mountain. These sites cover miles in territory, and the monk must leave at around 2:00 a.m. in the morning, and walk, hike, and even run around the mountain to complete the circuit by nightfall. He then sleeps for a few hours and awakens to begin anew. This practice requires years to complete, and in its final stages the monk is walking nearly fifty miles every day. Shinran experienced and practiced this while he was a monk on Mt. Hiei.

Although Shinran practiced such disciplines, he could neither attain enlightenment, nor realize the heart of the Dharma through this path. In great despair and frustration, Shinran went to meet the Master Honen, who was teaching a new form of Buddhism, focusing only on the Nembutsu. Through Honen, Shinran was able to truly meet the heart of the teachings, and the darkness of his ignorance was opened up to the great light of truth. Shinran then became a disciple of Honen’s.

Honen’s new form of Buddhism was not looked upon highly by established Tendai Buddhism. Through politics, they had Honen and his followers stripped of their ordinations, or priesthood, and they were exiled to remote provinces of Japan.

It is in opposition or in protest of that action that Shinran makes his famous statement of "Neither Priest Nor Layman."

In that sense, Shinran is making the statement that, "Although you take away my religious standing as an ordained priest/monk, I am not simply a layman. My spirit as a true disciple of the Buddha is deeper than any ordination, and that can never be taken away."

He is not a priest, in that he has had his ordination removed by the authorities and established Buddhism. But he is not a layman, because in touching the heart of the Dharma, he transcended secular life. He has met a truth that goes beyond the ordinary aspects of secular life, like a home, car, wealth, and status.

It is this dimension of "Neither Priest Nor Layman" that Yonezawa, Hideo, a well-known teacher of Buddhism in Japan emphasizes in his own writings.

As Shinshu followers, the words, "Neither Priest Nor Layman," are not just some sayings of Shinran’s, but they must be a challenge, a theme for us in our own lives.

In my everyday life, am I caught up, sunk in the world of a layman, the secular world that leads me chasing after pipe dreams like a rat in a revolving cage? Is my pursuit of wealth, status, and material possessions such that I have no time or interest in religion, in Nembutsu, in the study of the Dharma? Am I involved in the temple only for the social, cultural, or political dimensions of secular life? These are the kinds of questions that we must ask ourselves, when we reflect on Shinran’s statement of "Neither Priest Nor Layman."

We are "Neither Priest," because we cannot escape from this secular world. We must live within it. In Shinran’s time, monks would retreat from the secular world into mountains and monasteries to remove themselves from the temptations of life, like material things, social status, etc. But Shinran discovered in his life on Mt. Hiei that you cannot escape the secular world. Within the monasteries politics, desire for higher status, and everything else that is a part of the secular world existed.

The Nembutsu path, as taught by Honen and Shinran, is to live within the secular world, but to have the conviction, the religious spirit of a priest or the true follower of the Buddha. It is to live within the confines of secular life, and all of the complications that accompany it, like getting along with others, working for a living, tolerating office politics, raising a family, etc. But, within the confines of the secular life, through the Nembutsu we can touch what goes beyond secular life and its frustrations. We can discover a deeper truth, a truth that enables us to live within the secular world, but not be bound by it. As Shinran puts it, we discover the path of unobstructed freedom.

 

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