Notes on Shinran's Ten Benefits of the Nembutsu in the Present Life

 
 

NOTE: This article is a quick gloss on Kenji Sensei’s videotaped Dharma Talk of June 20, 2021, “Benefits of Dharma in This Life.” Kenji Sensei provides a practical or street-level view of Shinran’s presentation, especially items 3, 7, and 9.

In Shinran’s recounting, drawing on traditional discussion terms in the Mahayana canon — the ten benefits include magical or mystical references. These references can be seen primarily to intensify the perception of the security provided to those who dwell in the world of Samsara with the the benefit of Dharma. In other words, the list is meant to identify the extent of security of the truly settled. Such individuals are free of the neurotic insecurity many of us bonbu (foolish beings) feel. ~ B.T.

Per Shinran, once a follower has awakened deeply, the follower should live life as an expression of gratitude, conduct life by moral standards, and fulfill social obligations. As one's faith in Amida deepens, Shinran articulated ten spiritual benefits that develop:

  1. Protected by unseen divine beings (myoshu goji)

  2. Possessed of the supreme virtue (shitoku gusoku)

  3. Having evil turned into good (tenaku jyozen)

  4. Protected by all Buddhas (shobutsu gonen)

  5. Praised by all Buddhas (shobutsu shyosan)

  6. Protected by the Buddha's spiritual light (shinko jogo)

  7. Having much joy in mind (shinta kangi)

  8. Acknowledging His benevolence and repaying it (chion hotoku)

  9. Always practicing the Great Compassion (jyogyo daihi)

  10. Entering the Rightly-Established Group (shojyoju ni iru)

Sources: This brief overview lightly adapts the Wikipedia article retrieved June 20, 2021, which cites Jonathan Watts and Yoshiharu Tomatsu, editors, Traversing the Pure Land Path: A Lifetime of Encounters with Hōnen Shonin (Tokyo: Jodo Shu Press, 2005) 136–137; and the web article "ten_benefits" at web.mit.edu, retrieved 2019-08-19.

BT SD