Category: A Collection of Letters (Zensho Text)

I respectfully submit the following letter. {The Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life} [note1] records the phrase, “the person realizes shinjin and joy,” and {one of the Hymns on the Pure Land based on the Garland Sutra} [note2] states: The person who attains shinjin and joyIs taught to be equal to the Tathagatas.Great shinjin is itself Buddha-nature;Buddha-nature is none other than…

As we say the Name, we become settled in the stage of nonretrogression, for we are grasped by the unhindered light of Tathagata’s compassionate mind. Since this is the case, I feel no personal need to inquire anew about “being grasped, never to be abandoned.” In addition, the Garland Sutra states, “The person who hears…

I respectfully submit the following letter. {The Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life} [note1] records the phrase, “the person realizes shinjin and joy,” and {one of the Hymns on the Pure Land based on the Garland Sutra} [note2] states: The person who attains shinjin and joyIs taught to be equal to the Tathagatas.Great shinjin is itself Buddha-nature;Buddha-nature is none other than…

You ask about “being grasped never to be abandoned.” Shan-tao’s Hymns [on the Samadhi] of All Buddhas’ Presence states that Sakyamuni and Amida are our parents of great compassion; using many and various compassionate means, they awaken the supreme shinjin in us. Thus the settling of true shinjin is the working of Sakyamuni and Amida.…

Since those who have realized shinjin necessarily abide in the stage of the truly settled, they are in the stage equal to the perfect enlightenment. In the Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life those who have been grasped, never to be abandoned, are said to be in the stage of the truly settled, and in the Sutra of the…

What you inquire about in your letter is a passage from a sutra that states: “Those who attain shinjin and joy are equal to Tathagatas.” This is from the Garland Sutra and means that the person who rejoices in shinjin is the equal of all the Tathagatas. This is also indicated in Sakyamuni’s statement about…

A person said: At the point of the awakening of the one moment of shinjin, we come to be grasped and protected by the unhindered light of Amida’s compassion; hence, the cause of birth in the Pure Land is one and the same [for all]. Thus, there should be no doubt about this. Therefore, there…