Master Honen (Genku)
本 师 源 空
“Our teacher Genku was well-versed with Buddhism.
And he showed pity on ordinary foolish people, whether good or evil.
By spreading the True Teaching and Realization, in this scattered land,
He propagated widely, the selected Primal Vow to this evil world.”
“Our continued return to this cyclic home of birth and death,
Is certainly due to the hindrance of doubt.
Swift entrance into the peaceful, uncreated Realm of Bliss,
Is necessarily brought about by Shinjin.”
In deep reverence and gratitude to his teacher Master Honen (Genku), Shinran Shonin wrote these beautiful verses, in his Gatha of True Faith, They precisely capture the essential teachings, passionately expounded by this 7th Lineage Teacher of Jodo Shinshu, the True Pure Land School.
With his vast knowledge of the various teachings, taught in the Buddha Dharma, Master Honen was brought to realize, that ordinary foolish persons, during this badly defiled Dharma Ending Age, are absolutely incapable of performing any kind difficult, self-power practices to attain Enlightenment. Pitying pathetic persons with extremely poor spiritual aptitudes, like ourselves, he widely propagated the Easy Path of Salvation, that relies completely on the Other-power, Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow, for our guaranteed birth in Sukhavati, the Land of Peace and Happiness.
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Master Honen (1133 to 1212) was an important personality, in the Buddhist history of Japan. Born in the District of Mimasaka, Japan (present day Okayama Prefecture), as the only child of a provincial official, he became a monk at the age of nine, according to the wishes of his dying father. At the age of 15, he went up to Mt. Hiei in Kyoto, the most famous center for Buddhism at that time, and fervently studied both the tantric, as well as exoteric Buddhism of the Ten-dai School, under prominent teachers for 25 years.
His main teacher, Master Eiku, who gave him his Buddhist Name, Honen-bo Genku, was a lineage teacher of the Yuzu Nembutsu Sect, that emphasized the recitation of the Name, with visualization and meditation on Amida Buddha. For most of his time on Mount Hiei, he lived in seclusion, at a hermitage with his teacher, away from the glare and politics, so prevalent then. Being an extremely serious scholar and practitioner, Master Honen, accomplished the rare feat, of reading through the voluminous Mahayana Tripitaka, five times, in his perpetual search for an assured path to Enlightenment.
Deeply impressed by his teacher’s detailed lecture on the Ojo-yoshu, ‘Collected Essays on Birth in the Pure Land’, written by a famous Ten-dai Buddhist monk, Master Genshin, he wrote 4 commentaries on it. Master Honen was then brought to share, the same view with Master Genshin, that he was just an ordinary foolish person of deep evil, absolutely incapable of achieving Enlightenment, through the performance of difficult, self-power, meditative and non-meditative, practices.
However, though Master Honen was deeply inspired by the Ojo-yoshu, he was still unable to find an effective practice, that would definitely lead him out of the pain and horror of samsara, the vicious cycle of birth, suffering and death. As he continued his search in the library on Mount Hiei, he found the ‘Commentary on the Sutra of Contemplation on Infinite Life’ (觀 無 量 壽 經), written by Master Shan Tao, a well-known, accomplished Buddhist Master, who had widely propagated the True Pure Land Dharma of Salvation, during the Tang Dynasty in China, about 500 years before. Studying and reading through the complete writings of Master Shan Tao, eight times, he was suddenly awakened, by the fact that, he was actually saved, solely by the power of Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow of Boundless Compassion. That dramatic conversion experience, took place in the year 1175, when he was 43 years old.
Abandoning all sundry meditative and non-meditative practices, that he had been fervently performing for over 25 years, struggling to attain Enlightenment, Master Honen was finally settled, on the Path of total reliance on Amida’s Primal Vow. Rejecting the interpretations of the self-power Nembutsu teachings, taught in Ten-dai, Shin-gon and other Mahayana traditions, he concluded that Faith (shinjin), and Nembutsu (saying Namo Amida Butsu), rooted in the Primal Vow, are the true causes, for an aspirant’s assured birth in Sukhavati. In the year 1197, he wrote the Sen-chaku-shu (Selection of the Nembutsu in the Primal Vow), setting down the doctrinal basis, for the exclusive practice of Nembutsu (念 佛).
Soon after that dramatic awakening to Amida’s Vow-power, Master Honen descended Mount Hiei, and started propagating, the exclusive Nembutsu teaching of Master Shan Tao. As the time and environment at that time, favors this easy practice among the common folks, the Nembutsu teaching, quickly gained enormous popularity and acceptance. However, the established Buddhists sects, became extremely jealous, and persistently petitioned the authorities, to ban the Nembutsu teachings. As a result, when two of Master Honen’s disciples, incurred the wrath of the emperor, by converting two court ladies, the Nembutsu teaching was prohibited in the year 1206. Master Honen, together with Master Shinran, and other disciples, were stripped off their monk-hood, and banished to remote areas in Japan.
Master Honen was exiled, to the remote island of Shikoku. After he was pardoned in the year 1211, he went back to Kyoto. Having accomplished his mission, of spreading the precious Nembutsu Teaching, to millions of pitiful persons, like ourselves, he returned to The Pure Land, age 80. We are deeply indebted to Master Honen, for his wisdom and compassion, in passing down to us, the sole lamp, that lights up our path of Salvation, in this Age of spiritual darkness.
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The True Pure Land Dharma, specially taught by Master Honen, directly revealed the wonderful working of Amida Buddha’s Universal Vow of Boundless Compassion. His marvelous teaching, essential to Jodo Shinshu, is that ordinary foolish persons, who are overwhelmed by stubborn blind passions, should rely entirely on Amida’s Primal Vow for their Salvation. In taking pity on the multitudes of these lowly gifted, hopeless persons, Master Honen exhorts every one, to abandon completely, all meditative and non-meditative practices, which are definitely not in accord, with their pathetic spiritual capacities.
With compassion for all hopeless, miserable aspirants, like ourselves, Master Honen urges every one, to put all our attention, single-mindedly, on the main practice of Saying the Buddha’s Name (念 佛 – Nembutsu). In his Sen-chaku-shu, he carefully explains to us, why the Nembutsu, is the practice, exclusively selected by him, from among the 5 right practices, namely, reciting Sutras, contemplating Amida and His Pure Land, worshiping Amida, Saying the Buddha’s Name and praising Amida. He asserts that, Saying the Buddha’s Name, with entrusting faith (Shinjin) in Amida’s Primal Vow, is the Right Act of assurance, that definitely guarantees, our birth in The Pure Land.
Thus, the moment when we are able to entrust ourselves, single-heartedly in the Primal Vow, Amida Buddha’s infinite merits and virtues, are transferred to us, for our going forth to the Pure Land. As taught by Master Honen, in his famous, ‘One Sheet Document’, delivered just before he departed for The Pure Land, we should deeply understand, that Nembutsu with faith, is all we need, to get out of samsara, in this defiled Age.
The Primal Vow, is Amida Buddha’s absolute promise to save all miserable persons like ourselves, who are incapable to perform any spiritual practice. Thus, abandoning all self-power practices, and single-heartedly relying on this Vow of Great Compassion, is now, our only option, if getting out of samsara at the end of this life, is indeed our goal. Persons with entrusting faith in the Primal Vow, are truly settled in their minds and hearts, while they are still living out, their present, mortal lives.
Entrusting Faith (Shinjin – 信 心) on our part, the persons to be saved, is the faith-mind consciousness that fully accept the Primal Vow without any doubt. It comes about with the awareness that we are evil beings, who have been transmigrating, from the beginningless past, with absolutely no possibility of escape, from this dreadful cycle of relentless pain and suffering. Thus, we accept Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow that firmly embraces us, and that its Vow power absolutely guarantees our births in the Pure Land. We would then, Say the Buddha’s Name (南 无 阿 彌 陀 佛, Namo Amida Butsu), in deep gratitude, for the rest of our fleeting lives, and thus remembering, the great Compassion of the Buddha, for having saved, miserable persons like us.
Stage of the Truly Settled (正 定 聚), also called the Stage of Non-retrogression (住 不 退 轉), is a term originally used in the traditional Mahayana teachings to describe the stage of spiritual development in the Bodhisattvas’ paths to enlightenment, when these Bodhisattvas, after trillions of years of hard practices, will never again, backslide in their attainments.
This Stage of Non-retrogression, is instantly received by us, the very moment, here and now, when our Shinjin is truly settled. As we are now relying single-heartedly and fully on Amida Buddha’s Vow-power, we too will not backslide into samsara ever again, and are absolutely assured of advancing to Nirvana, without going through countless billions of lives, performing self-power, difficult practices, on the Bodhisattvas’ path.
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Listening Deeply to the True Pure Land expositions of Master Honen, highlighting the absolute relevance and significance of the marvelous teaching of Nembutsu with faith, may all foolish mundane persons like us, follow only, the True Pure Land Path. May all suffering persons, mindfully take heed of the benevolent advice of our truly accomplished teachers, and seize this extremely rare opportunity, making full use of this precious human birth, before it quickly comes, to the inevitable end.
Abandoning all self-power meditative and non-meditative practices, and entrusting our karmic destiny entirely to Amida Buddha and The Primal Vow, we single-heartedly Say the Buddha’s Name in gratitude.
The Buddha’s infinite merits and virtues
Are bestowed equally on all beings.
May all accept Amida’s Gift of Shinjin
And obtain birth in His Land of Peace and Bliss.
Thus, we have definitely HEARD:
The Call of Boundless Compassion
南 无 阿 彌 陀 佛 – Namo Amida Butsu
南 无 阿 彌 陀 佛 – Namo Amida Butsu
南 无 阿 彌 陀 佛 – Namo Amida Butsu
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Twenty Hymns on Master Honen was composed by Master Shinran in profound reverence and gratitude to this 5th Lineage Teacher of Jodo Shinshu, based on his writings:
98
As our teacher Genku appeared in the world
And spread the One Vehicle of the universal Vow,
Throughout the entire country of Japan
Favorable conditions for the Pure Land teaching emerged.
99
Our teacher Genku appeared
Through the power of the Light of Wisdom,
And revealing the true Pure Land way,
He taught the selected Primal Vow.
100
Though Shan-tao and Genshin urged all to enter the true Pure Land way,
If our teacher Genku had not spread it among us
On these isolated islands in this defiled age,
How could we ever have awakened to it?
101
Through countless kalpas and innumerable lives,
We did not know the strong cause of liberation;
Were it not for our teacher Genku,
This present life also would pass in vain.
102
Genku, at the age of fifteen,
Became aware of the reality of impermanence;
Manifesting a long-cherished aspiration to reject this defiled world,
He entered the path to enlightenment.
103
The supreme virtues of Genku’s wisdom and practice were such
That even the teachers in the various schools of the Path of Sages
All turned to him for guidance and revered him
As master of the diamondlike precepts embodied in the one-mind.
Teachers in the various schools: Genku’s teachers in the Path of Sages later all turned to him for guidance.
l.4: the teachers of the various schools all became Genku’s disciples.
104
When Genku was alive
He emanated a golden light,
Which the Chancellor, an ordained layman,
Saw before him.
Chancellor: The regent Kanezane; the kanpaku. The lord Tsukinowa, whose Buddhist name was Ensho.
105
It was said among the people
That the original state of our teacher Genku
Was Master Tao-ch’o,
Or again, Master Shan-tao
106
Genku appeared as Mahasthamaprapta,
And also as Amida.
Emperors and ministers venerated him,
And the ordinary people in the capital and the countryside revered him.
107
The ordained retired emperor of the Jokyu era
Revered our teacher Genku;
Monks of Sakyamuni’s tradition and scholars of the Chinese classics
All alike awakened to and entered the true Pure Land way.
Retired emperor: Gotakakura-in
108
When the time came for the Buddhas’ guidance through skillful means,
They appeared as Master Genku
And, teaching supreme shinjin,
Opened the gateway to nirvana.
109
To encounter a true teacher
Is difficult even among difficult things;
There is no cause for endlessly turning in transmigration
Greater than the hindrance of doubt.
110
Genku emanated a radiance
Which he always revealed to his followers,
Without discriminating between the wise and ignorant
Or between those of high station and low.
111
When the moment of death approached,
Our teacher Genku said,
“This is my third time to be born in the Pure Land;
It is especially easy to accomplish.”
112
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.”
113
Born on isolated islands scattered like millet in the sea,
He spread the teaching of the nembutsu;
In order to guide sentient beings,
He came into this world many times.
Isolated islands scattered like millet: this country of Japan.
114
Amida Tathagata, manifesting form in this world,
Appeared as our teacher Genku;
The conditions for teaching having run their course,
He returned to the Pure Land.
115
At the death of our teacher Genku,
Radiant light shone in the sky like purple clouds;
Music sounded, subtle and elegant,
And the air was fragrant with rare perfumes.
116
Monks and laypeople, men and women, gathered beforehand;
Ministers and nobles assembled in numbers.
Lying on his right side with head to the north, facing the West,
He observed the manner of the Tathagata’s passing into nirvana.
117
The death of our teacher Genku
Came in 1212, in early spring;
On the twenty-fifth day of the first month,
He returned to the Pure Land.
Here ends the Hymns on Master Genku
Namo Amida Butsu
callofboundlesscompassion 