Buddhist Psalms
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Shinran Shonin >> Buddhist Psalms
58. In His great compassion the Blessed One accomplished His
infinite wisdom in His divine promise, ordaining that womanhood
shall be raised into manhood.
59. Instructing all that have life in the Ten Regions how they
should through sincerity, effort, and hope be born into the Temporal
Paradise, He faithfully promiseth to manifest Himself unto the eyes
of the dying, opening wide the gate of all righteousness before
them.
60. By the divine promise to the dying of His consoling presence our
Lord instructeth men that they shall make to grow all righteousness
revealed in the Sutra of Meditation upon the Buddha of Infinite
Life.
61. All righteous deeds done of men in true obedience to the holy
Doctrine of Sincerity and right-doing, are but the seed of merit
that shall be born within the Temporal Paradise.
62. Instructing All that have life in the Ten Regions how that they
may through sincerity, merit, and hope be born into the Temporal
Paradise, He promiseth that no man shall lose salvation, for He hath
opened the Gate of Truth.
63. By the Divine Promise of the final salvation hath our Lord
instructed the men of the Single Vehicle to recite His Holy Name
that is the Essence of all the merit revealed in the Lesser Sutra of
the Buddha of Infinite Life.
64. He that reciteth the Holy name by his own effort and in the mind
of meditation or of dispersing, being led by the virtue of the
divine promise of final salvation, turneth naturally in at the Gate
of Truth.
65. He that holds not the True Faith, even though he desire to be
born into the Pure Paradise of Joy, must go unto his own place, and
it shall be in the border of the Outermost Places, for this is the
fruit of doubting the mystery of the Supreme Wisdom.
66. That a man should be a Buddha, made manifest in this world, is a
rare thing and difficult. So difficult is it also to hear the
excellent doctrine of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In all the
myriads of Kalpas such a way comes seldom.
67. Difficult is it for men to find a wise Teacher; so is it also
for them to be instructed and to hear the Holy Law. More difficult
still is it to receive the True Faith.
68. More difficult is it for men to receive the Divine Promise made
unto men than to receive all other teachings.
The Lord Buddha teacheth that this is of all hard things most
difficult and yet again more difficult.
69. The true Doctrine teacheth men that they may become Buddhas in
reciting the Holy Name, and so therefore is it that all other faiths
and moralities are but transitory doorways unto the Truth. Man
comprehendeth not that Pure Land of Peace unless he holdeth fast the
true Doctrine, casting aside that which is transitory.
70. Seek refuge in the Sole Vehicle of merciful promise. For the
transitory teachings have let and hindered men in the Way of
Enlightenment so that they must needs pass through the long
weariness of births and deaths.
CONCERNING THE SUTRA OF THE MEDITATION
71. That Lord that was made flesh in India, the Lord of great pity,
showing unto Vaidehi, Queen of Magadha, the golden mirror created by
his marvellous power, commanded her to choose the Land of Pure Joy
among all the worlds therein appearing.
72. Binbisara, he who commanded that an ascetic should be slain
before his pre-ordained time was come, by his own son was imprisoned
in a seven-walled prison as the due recompense of his violence.
73. Ajata-Satru, prince and heir of Magadha, denouncing his mother
as a traitor, with drawn sword ran furiously upon her.
74. Then said Jivaka the minister and another with him: "This act is
worthy only of an outcast. For the fame of our race unworthy art
thou to dwell in the Palace." And earnestly did they counsel him to
change his evil purpose.
75. Laying his hand on his sword-hilt, Jivaka, the minister, drew
backwards a few steps, steadfastly regarding the prince, that he
might avert this great sin. And so it was that the prince laid down
his sword, and secluded his mother in a palace.
76. Certain is it that Ananda with Vaidehi, Devadatta and yet
others, bearing their part in this great sorrow of the royal palace
of Magadha, must needs so suffer that they might know the infinite
pity of the Blessed One, that Lord who in this world made manifest
the true teaching.
77. And all these wise ones having so received instruction revealed
unto us, who are of all evil-doers worst, the true way, the refuge
of His divine promise that absolveth all the sins of men.
78. For when the full time was come that by the will of our Lord and
of Vaidehi the teaching of the Pure Land should be made known here
on Earth, Ajata-Satru, her son, sinned this sin, Varshakara his
minister bearing testimony against it.
79. It is needful that the heart of a man be opened unto the Faith
universal which He who is Blessed hath shown us, forsaking the
belief that his own works shall save him, for in every man the power
to perform righteous deeds is differing.
CONCERNING THE LESSER SUTRA
80. The Eternal Father is called the Buddha of Infinite Light,
because very mightily He holdeth in safety all beings dwelling in
the Ten Regions of the world who, by His merciful enlightenment,
recite His Holy Name.
81. The myriad Buddhas, unnumbered as the sands of Ganges, counsel
all having life to trust in the Supernal Virtue of the Holy Name,
declaring that weighed against this even righteous deeds are the
lesser good.
82. The innumerable Buddhas, countless as the sands of Ganges, are a
testimony and a shield to all that have life in this sorrowful and
sinful world, declaring unto them that teaching most high and
difficult of acceptance, which is the true faith.
83. Whoso attaineth unto a Soul clear and enduring as diamond shall
testify unto his thankfulness for the limitless grace of the Blessed
One, for even the testimony and the safeguarding that he hath of all
the Buddhas proceed only from the fulfilment of His most merciful
promise.
84. The innumerable Buddhas, countless as the sands of Ganges, guide
into a sure trust in the Holy Name those sinful creatures and
evil-hearted that wander in the darkness of this wicked world
bearing the five signs of degeneration upon it.
OF THE MANY SUTRAS CONCERNING THE INFINITE ONE
85. Having great pity, our Eternal Father lighteneth the dark night
of ignorance, manifesting Himself in that Land of Joy as the Buddha
of Infinite Light which enlighteneth all the worlds with its
immeasurable glory.
86. That Lord most compassionate, the Buddha of immeasurable Light,
He who had attained unto the Supreme Wisdom even before the myriads
of Kalpas were, pitying them that know not, made himself manifest in
the Palace of Kapila as the Lord Sakya-muni.
87. If a man had the duration of all the myriad Kalpas, had he
innumerable tongues and each of these tongues innumerable voices,
yet should he vainly essay the praises of that Blessed One.
88. The Lord instructeth us that the way into Paradise is straight
and easy. Therefore whoso receiveth not this Truth is, in verity,
called a man that hath not eyes to see nor ears to hear.
89. The One true freedom is the Highest, and the Absolute is perfect
freedom. And when we attain unto that freedom, for us shall desire
and doubt vanish away.
90. When every man is beloved of us, even as the son of our own
body, there is the Universal Mind made perfect in us. And this shall
be in Paradise.
91. He who is in all things supreme, is Himself Nirvana, and Nirvana
is that true light that abideth in the Land that is to come, but
this world cannot know it.
92. Our Lord instructeth us that he who rejoiceth in his faith is,
in so doing, in unity with the Highest. For true faith is the seed
of light, and the seed of true light is in itself the potentiality
of that which is Deity.
93. Whoso trusteth not in the Supreme Wisdom of the Enlightened One,
clinging unto his own purblind knowledge, must suffer by fire for
long Kalpas of ages.
CONCERNING THE WELFARE OF THE PRESENT WORLD
94. He that hath unending pity, the Buddha of Infinite Life, hath
given unto us in the Sutra of Golden Light a teaching concerning
long life, that the way of long life and the welfare of the people
might be made known unto them.
95. Dengyo-Daishi, he who taught the Tendai-shu in the mount of
Hiye, hath compassionately instructed us that we should recite
Namuamida-butsu, that Holiest Name, as a sure shield against the
seven sorts of calamities.
96. Whoso reciteth the Holy Name, that is higher than all other
virtues, shall be set free from the fetters of the past, the
present, and the future.
97. To him that reciteth the Holy Name shall be good unending even
in this world, for the sin of his former births is vanquished and
his youth set free from death.
98. To him that reciteth the Holy Name, shall Brahma and Chakra the
great king bring homage, and about him shall heavenly beings and
benignant deities keep watch throughout the days and nights.
99. That man that reciteth the Holy Name shall the four mighty
Regents in Heaven guard through the days and nights against the
disturbance of all evil spirits.
100. To him that reciteth the Holy Name shall the Deity of the Earth
bring homage, watching over him throughout the day and night, as the
shadow follows its substance.
101. To him who reciteth the Holy Name, Nanda and Upananda the Naga
Kings, together with their attendant deities shall bring homage,
watching over him throughout the day and night.
102. To him who reciteth the Holy Name, the King of Death, together
with his ministers in the five worlds, shall do reverence, guarding
him throughout the days and nights.
103. Mara, the Tempter, he who is Ruler of that heaven, where
pleasures are collected, hath sworn unto the Lord to shield him from
temptation who reciteth the Holy Name.
104. All good deities in Earth and Heaven shall be gracious unto him
who reciteth the Holy Name, shielding him throughout the days and
nights.
105. All evil spirits in heaven and earth tremble before that
believer who standeth upon the Immutable promise. For even in this
world hath he the mind of Divine Illumination.
106. Kwannon and Seishi, the Bodhisattvas of incarnate Pity and
Wisdom, together with their companions, innumerable as the sands of
Ganges, shall be beside him who reciteth the Holy Name, even as the
shadow cleaves to the substance.
107. Within the Light of Buddha of Infinite Light are unnumbered
Buddhas, and of these, each and every one shall shield him who hath
within him the true Faith.
108. Whoso reciteth the Holy Name shall be surrounded himself by
those Buddhas who cannot be numbered, who in the Ten Regions with
joy protect and guide him.
Upon the Sutra of Suraigama-Samadhi, I, Shinran Shonin, have uttered
these eight lauds praising the virtue of Seishi the Bodhisattva of
Wisdom.
109. Seishi, he who is the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, having
comprehended the fullness of the Holiest Name, rising from his seat,
prostrated himself beneath the feet of our Lord, worshipping Him, he
and his fellowship, and thus he spake:
110. "O my Lord, in the ancient time, before the Kalpas innumerable
as the sands of Ganges, there was manifest in this world a Buddha,
and His Name was called--The Buddha of Infinite Light.
111. "In His footsteps twelve Buddhas followed, and twelve long
Kalpas have rolled away. And of these Buddhas the last was He that
is called that Buddha in whose glory the Sun and Moon are even as
darkness.
112. "Unto me hath that Buddha revealed the Path of the meditation
of the Supreme--that meditation wherein He instructeth us that all
the Buddhas of all the Ten Regions compassionate as even as a father
pitieth his child.
113. Whoso seeketh refuge in Buddha, as a child in the bosom of his
mother shall verily perceive Him now or in the time that shall be.
And it shall be soon.
114. "As a man encompassed by the cloud of incense casteth sweet
odours about him, so he that trusteth in the Holy Promise is
spiritually endued with the Divine Essence.
115. "When I was initiate in right doing, I attained unto the high
way of that assurance that freed me from birth and death, through
the teaching of the Noble Doctrine of the Holy Name.
"Therefore in this world, rejoicing, I guide the faithful believer
into the way of Purity."
116. Now with all praise let us give thanks unto the merciful
goodness of the Bodhisattva of Wisdom.
OF THANKSGIVING FOR NAGARJUNA, THE GREAT TEACHER OF INDIA
117. Nagarjuna, the great teacher, setting forth in many excellent
writings the praise of the Kingdom of Purity, hath instructed us to
recite the Holy Name.
118. For the Lord Buddha declared in prophecy that in India, in the
Southern Parts, should arise a great Teacher, trampling upon the
false teachings of affirmation and denial.
119. Nagarjuna, the Great Teacher, he who mightily set forth the
noble doctrine of the greater Vehicle, and himself attained unto
that height whereon a man rejoiceth eternally in the Faith, hath
very sweetly persuaded men that they should receive the teaching of
the Holy Name.
120. Nagarjuna, that great priest, setting forth the two ways--the
way that is straight and plain, and the way of high austerity,
leadeth very gently to the Ark of the Divine Promise such as are
driven through the weariness of births and deaths.
121. He who receiveth this teaching of Nagarjuna the Great Teacher,
should recite always the Holy Name, believing the Divine Promise of
the Buddha of Infinite Light.
122. Whoso would quickly attain unto that resting-place where
illusion ceaseth, should recite the Holy Name holding his mind in
steadfast piety.
123. One Ark only, that Ark of the Divine Promise of our merciful
Father, doth voyage and bear us unto the shore of the eternal
peace--even us who so long have drifted hither and thither in the
ocean of birth and death.
124. This great priest hath in one utterance set forth that the Lord
is Ruler indeed of the sacred teaching, and that herein are the holy
Bodhisattvas His ministers. Therefore should we bring homage unto
our Lord.
125. The mighty company of the Bodhisattvas utter these words, "When
we became wise in holiness, yea, we who have striven through Kalpas
unnumbered,
126. "Yet could we not root out our earthly desires which are the
very seed of birth and death. But through that only way of the
meditation of the Highest did we attain unto the final deliverance
that hath destroyed all our sin."
OF THANKSGIVING FOR VASUBANDH, THE GREAT TEACHER OF INDIA
127. Among those doctrines taught of our Lord Vasubandh, the great
priest hath persuaded us who are full of sinful desires to accept
the Divine Promise of our infinite Father.
128. Only to Him who is above all things is known the glory of the
Land of Peace. Wide as the sky and boundless is it spread forth.
129. Whoso believeth in the power of the Divine Promise shall verily
be at one with the holy Essence, even as the turbid stream is clear
and pure within the ocean depth when they have flowed together.
130. When the assemblage of the believers in the holy faith is born
within that Land of Purity that hath sprung from the lotus of the
true enlightenment, soon shall their heart's desire be fulfilled in
them.
131. The heavenly spirits and those souls freed from illusion, they
who are born in the land of purity from the wisdom deep as the ocean
of the Divine Promise, differ not the one from the other in their
powers. Pure are they as the air is pure.
132. Vasubandh, that exalted master of excelling works, who himself
hath found refuge in the Buddha of Infinite Light, hath declared
that whoso is borne in the Vehicle of the Divine Promise shall
without doubt attain unto the Promised Land.
133. Whoso taketh refuge in the Buddha of Infinite Light, that light
that shineth unto all the worlds of the Ten Regions, shall be
called, according to the teaching of that master of excelling works,
a man whose heart is great, and to him shall the True Light be
shown.
134. He whose heart is great and who shall attain unto the true
enlightenment is he also that desireth the salvation of all living,
and verily the true faith given of that Blessed One is salvation.
135. The single heart perceiveth the true faith, and so doing is
strong and clear as the diamond, and this strength is the wisdom of
the supreme that strengthened us.
136. When we shall attain, unto the Promised Land, which is that
Nirvana past all understanding, there shall we labour abundantly for
the salvation of all living things. For so the Sutra teaches us in
these words: "A heart that inclineth to the succour of others."
OF THANKSGIVING FOR DONRAN, THE GREAT TEACHER OF CHINA
137. Donran, that great teacher of China, being instructed of
Bodhi-ruci, the priest of India, sought refuge in the Land of
Purity, and thus doing he burned with fire the books of the Taoist
teaching which he had aforetime held in honour.
138. Having thus cast from him the writings that he had so many
years diligently studied, he preached unto all men the doctrine of
the Divine Promise, and, so teaching, he led men that are fast bound
in the fetters of illusion, in at the Gate of the Great Peace.
139. A mighty King of this world brought homage unto him in his
monastery and put unto him this question, saying: "If so it is that
the Land of Purity should be in all the Ten Regions, how then is it
declared unto us in the Sutra that it is in the Western Heaven?"
140. And with humble piety he replied:
"Of this matter can I not tell thee. It is too high for me. Still am
I in the lower rank of wisdom, even still small is my knowledge. I
cannot fathom this great mystery."
141. All men in the priesthood or the people who know not the rock
of their trust, did Donran the Great Priest guide unto the sure
refuge of the doctrine of the Land of Bliss.
142. He abode in the Temple of the Great Rock, being favourably
bidden thereto by the King of the Gi Dynasty, and in the evening of
his days he travelled into the district of Dun.
143. And this King of the Gi Dynasty reverently offered unto him the
holy title of Shinran (Ran of Divinity) and the honourable name of
"Rock of the Venerable Ran"--that his dwelling-place should be
called by it.
144. Great and mighty upon the people was his spiritual power in the
temple of Genchu and in the fourth year of Kokwa of the Gi Dynasty
the Temple of Yosen became his beloved dwelling.
145. And when he had reached sixty-seven years, he sought his final
refuge in the Eternal Kingdom. And at that departing were vouchsafed
many holy marvels unto which all men, both of the priests and
people, came and did reverence.
146. And when Donran the Great High Priest had departed into the
Peace, the King of the Gi Dynasty by a royal order commanded there
should be built for him a holy monument in the lands of Dun.
147. What man could know the unsearchable mystery of the faith and
deeds of the Divine Promise were it not for that most excelling
commentary of Donran the wise Priest, which he wrote concerning the
teaching of Vasubandh that had lived aforetime.
148. He who believeth that the Sole Vehicle of the Divine Promise,
most perfect, most mighty, receiveth within itself the Greatest of
Sinners, and this because it is its chief will so to do, will
receive the depth of this essential teaching--namely, that before
the eyes of the Instructed, illusion and wisdom are in their Essence
One.
149. Among the Five Mysteries that are preached in this Sutra, the
mystery of the Divine Power of the Enlightened One is highest, and
this is the holy vow of our Blessed One, this and this only.
150. Unto us hath our Father given those two spiritual gifts. Of
these the first is the Virtue whereby we attain unto His Kingdom,
and the second is the Virtue whereby having so attained we return
into this world for the Salvation of men. By the merit of these two
gifts are we initiates of the true faith and of its deeds.
151. When we shall have attained unto the faith and the deeds of the
Merciful Promise through our Father that is in all things able to
give them unto us, birth and death are henceforward as Nirvana. And
this is called the Gift of Departure.
152. And when we shall have attained unto that height which is
desire for the ingathering of all beings into Paradise, shall we
return again into this world that we may be Saviours of Men. And
this is called the Gift of Returning.
153. That "Single Mind" expounded unto us by Vasubandh, the Master
of Writings that excel, is nothing other than the faith of us that
are now fast bound in illusion. So teacheth Donran the Great Teacher
in his Commentary.
154. The Buddha of that inexpressible Light that shineth into the
worlds of the Ten Regions, being for ever enlightened in the night
of ignorance, hath most certainly opened the way of Nirvana to every
man who even for one moment rejoiceth in receiving His Divine
Promise.
155. By the merit of His Infinite Light, when we attain unto that
faith divine and omnipotent, the ice of illusion shall melt into the
water of perfect wisdom.
156. Sin is made one with virtue in its essence, even as ice is one
with water. The more there is ice, so much the more water is
there. So also is the binding up of sin with virtue.
157. In the unbounded ocean of the Holy Name is not seen even one
single death of a blasphemer. For the myriad streams of sin are on
purity with the ocean of righteousness when they have flowed into
the impurity thereof.
158. When the streams of illusion have flowed into the Great Sea of
the Merciful Promise of the Enlightened One, whose light shineth
into all the worlds of the Ten Religions, then shall they too become
the pure water of the Perfect Wisdom.
159. No other way is there of attaining unto the Perfect
Enlightenment save only by birth into the Land of Gladness, and
therefore have all the Enlightened Ones exhorted men that they
should receive the Doctrine of the Kingdom Purity.
160. The Great Priest hath well taught us that in order to cleanse
our deeds, words, and thoughts of deceitfulness, our Father hath
performed the three of His pure and universal.
161. There is no way unto the Kingdom of Gladness save only by
attaining unto the true faith through that Holy Name, the very Jewel
of Wonder.
162. When the new birth through the clearness of the Divine Promise
is attained in the Eternal Kingdom, it is not like unto the birth of
this world; then is there no inferiority even in those that in this
world were sinners, for they have entered into Paradise.
163. The Holy Name of the Buddha of that Boundless Light that
shineth into all the worlds of the Ten Regions, and the glory of His
Wisdom, destroy the darkness of ignorance in the Eternal Night, thus
fulfilling all the desires of men.
CONCERNING UNRIGHTEOUS DEEDS
164. These three things are expounded unto us by Donran
Daishi. First, that faith is not holiness, for faith is not
abiding. At one time it abideth, at another it is gone.
165. And second: This faith is not Single Minded, for it hath not
resolution.
And third: It continueth not, for the other thoughts of the heart
divide it against itself.
166. The three ways of this faith lead the one to the other one. On
this must the believer fix his eyes. If his faith is not in
holiness, then hath he not the faith of resolution.
167. And having not the faith that is resolute, that faith cannot
endure, and because it endureth not, how can he attain unto the
faith of determination? And attaining not unto the faith of
determination, the faith is not sanctified in him.
168. For the attainment of Right Practice expounded by the Master of
the Written Word is according unto the true faith and this alone.
169. If a man return into the Great Way of the Divine Promise,
eschewing the narrow ways of deeds and works, in him shall the true
light of Nirvana be made manifest.
170. The mighty king So, he of the Ryo line, worshipped the Great
Teacher Donran Daishi, naming him the Bodhisattva of Ran, turning
his face in worship unto the dwelling-place of his Teacher.
CONCERNING DOSHAKU-ZENJI
171. Having cast away from him all trust in the righteous deeds of
the sages, Doshaku-Zenji, the Great Teacher, hath taught us to enter
in at the only gate that is the Gospel of the Pure Land.
172. Having thus cast away from him the laborious study of the
Doctrine of Nirvana, Doshaku, the Great Teacher, himself trusted
only in the power of the Divine Promise, and he persuaded men to
follow after him.
173. In this world of sin that is so far removed from the blessed
day of our Lord, is there no man who attaineth unto the wisdom
Supreme, yea, not though he should compass all righteous doing. So
teacheth our Lord of Great Teaching.
174. He who succeeded unto the teaching of Donran-Daishi,
Doshaku-zenji, the Great Priest, thus declareth: "To toil and labour
after righteous deeds in this life is the unavailing toil of
self-effort."
175. In this world, the doing of evil and the sin that is wrought of
men is violent and furious as the storm wind and rain. Therefore
have the compassionate Buddhas exhorted men to seek their refuge
within the Land of Purity.