Other Power and the Nembutsu

The saying of nembutsu is neither a religious practice nor a good act. Since it is practiced without any calculation, it is “non-practice.” Since it is also not a good created by my calculation, it is “non-good.” Since it is nothing but Other Power, completely free of self-power, it is neither a religious practice nor a good act on the part of the practicer.

The Tannisho, section eight, translation by Dr Taitetsu Unno

This quote comes from a 13th century Japanese text called The Tannisho, a record of conversations between an aging Shinran, the founder of Jōdo Shinshu-sect Buddhism, and his disciple Yui-en.

It’s a strange quote, and many aspects of the Tannisho are also strange at first glance. But the details are important and worth exploring.

Shinran is basically deflating the idea, still common today, that the nembutsu (reciting the name of Amida Buddha) is a practice in the traditional Buddhist sense. Shinran says the recitation of the nembutsu isn’t a magic spell, mantra, or anything that could accomplish a desired result. From Shinran’s perspective, the nembutsu doesn’t do anything.

So, why recite it? From the Jodo Shinshu perspective,¹ the nembutsu is simply means calling out to Amida in our hour of deep need. That’s why it’s not a good act nor a practice. Further, Amida Buddha hears all beings and shines his light upon them, a combination of wisdom to illuminate our ignorance, and compassion to embrace us.

The Other-Power described here is called tariki (他力) in Japanese. The idea is that Amida Buddha’s light (i.e. wisdom and compassion) is what transform us. There’s nothing we do that adds or subtracts from this.

Sometimes when I reflect on this, it feels a little bit like sophistry to me, but then I remember an anecdote about Shinran’s teacher, Honen, that helps illustrates this.

One time, someone asked whose nembutsu was better: Honen himself, or Awanosuke, a former-fortune teller who was not well-regarded by others in the community. Honen scoffed at this question and said that there was no difference between his nembutsu and Awanosuke’s because neither skill, nor style, nor conduct, nor grasp of the Buddhist doctrines mattered. It was all through Amida Buddha and not through one’s own efforts.

The whole idea is that in spite of who we are, Amida Buddha’s compassion shines on us all. It is simply that many people may be unaware of this.

Namu Amida Butsu

P.S. Just to clarify, the concept of Other Power wasn’t invented by Shinran and his teacher Honen. It was alreaady prevalent in earlier generations of Chinese Pure Land Buddhists such as Tan-luan and Dao-chuo, but I suppose that Shinran/Honen took it to its logical conclusion centuries later.

P.P.S. I have a backlog of fun things I wanted to share with readers, but the backlog is growing, so I am posting three a week or now just to help catch up.

¹ … and arguably the Jodo Shu sect, too. The emphasis of both sects is on Amida Buddha’s compassion, rather than one’s own efforts as depicted in other Pure Land traditions. Sometimes, this feels like a case of “tomayto vs. tomahtoe” to this old Buddhist, but it’s how the various sects of Pure Land Buddhism sometimes define themselves.