Fellow Travelers

Rev. Gregory Gibbs

A Distorted View

Over the past century and a half a very dour stream of Jodo Shinshu thinking has been dominant. Shinran's experience of what Shan-'tao called the 'two aspects of deep faith' has been given an inappropriately negative interpretation; - "I'm scum but the Buddha loves me anyway" - or so some would have us believe. As misguided as this explanation is, it tends to devolve into an even worse perspective - "You are scum, the Buddha loves you anyway, but I don't."

A One-Sided View

The perspective considered above, "we are worthless but the Buddha will help us anyway," is not a Buddhist viewpoint. Besides such a distorted and dour viewpoint, there is a negative perspective on the self which does have foundation in Shinran's teaching. This view is that, considered only as we are in this moment, we are digging a hole for ourselves with our self-centeredness. Shinran did agree with Shan-'tao that, considered apart from our relation to the Dharma and to its embodiment in Amida Buddha's compassion, we are drowning in our selfish preoccupations. This negative judgment of our spiritual potential and moral worth is based on comparing ourselves to a wise, upstanding, self-sacrificing Bodhisattva such as Amida was before his thorough-going Awakening.

While this negative perspective on our current state has foundation in Shinran's teaching and in subsequent tradition, it is one-sided when separated from a positive assessment of our worth which Shinran also provides. He reminds us that it is only due to our past good karma - rigorous philosophical study, tireless meditative endeavor, and genuinely virtuous morality - that we have been privileged to hear the Nembutsu teaching in this life. Shinran means this quite seriously and was comfortable with the literal perspective on past lives which it involves. These days there are few who have not studied Buddhism carefully who can believe in the literal reality of past lives. Fortunately, Shinran has another perspective on our worthiness which might be more accessible.

We are Equals of Maitreya Bodhisattva

Shiran wrote in his masterwork and in his poems and insisted repeatedly in his letters that when we receive shinjin, the encompassing heart and mind of true reliance, we become equals of the next Buddha, Maitreya. This realization of our worthiness should balance our recognition of how severely we fail to live up to our potential. We may each be like caterpillars crawling through grime. It helps to know that our destiny is to be something even more beautiful than a butterfly, a Buddha!

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