On the Jodo Shinshu path we are relaxed because we don't need special states of mind or special qualities, we don't need to be different than we already are in our daily lives, that is, caught in attachments of every kind; we don't need to be wise ... in short, we need to be nothing else than we already are.
This is because Amida does EVERYTHING....
- Reverend Josho Adrian Cirlea
What is this genuine faith we call shinjin?
In our school we consider that salvation through Amida comes through a form of knowing and entrusting which we call “shinjin”.
There are eight essential elements which identify true shinjin and differentiate it from other spiritual experiences.
For me, shinjin, is the wellspring from which naturally emanate these 8 elements:
To accept the actual, literal existence of Amida Buddha and His Pure Land
To accept the story of Amida Buddha as told by Shakyamuni Buddha in the Larger Sutra
To wish to be born in the Pure Land for the attainment of perfect Enlightenment/Buddhahood
To have the twofold profound conviction (nishu jinshin), which means to know that you are a person of deep karmic limitations, incapable of attaining Buddhahood through your own power, and that only Amida Buddha can save you through His Vow Power (Other Power), without asking anything from you.
To accept the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha without any doubt and be sure of your birth in the Pure Land
To accept that birth in the Pure Land of Amida Buddha takes place after death
To say the Name of Amida Buddha (Nembutsu)
To not mix Nembutsu and devotion towards Amida Buddha with other faiths and practices from inside or outside of the Buddha Dharma.
None of the the above can be discarded or separated, there can be no cherry picking in the understanding of shinjin.
Josho says these words on shinjin,
People, in general, are hungry for special feelings and sensations, thinking that if they don't feel something special then maybe they have no true spiritual realisations. But in matters related to shinjin and the salvation of Amida Buddha, no special state of mind is necessary in your daily life.
As a person of shinjin, these 8 elements represent plain and simple KNOWING within me. Yet I need to stress that none of this emanates from myself. My capacity for faith is far too weak and unreliable for any sustained form of faith or practice. The knowing I have has been given to me, it is the precious gift of Amida Buddha in whom I entrust and rely upon. From this awareness arises the Nembutsu, NAMO AMIDA BU, as an expression of my relief and gratitude. The relief that the continuous cycle of frenzied searching, trying and failing to reach ultimate truth from my own effort is over.
Josho continues,
The human mind is so complicated - but Shinjin is simply the gift of faith-mind consciousness Amida gives us when we come to rely exclusively on Amida for attainment of enlightenment.
This is the inconceivable mystery of Amida embracing us here and now, EXACTLY AS WE ARE. This does NOT mean I am enlightened, or any the wiser or more compassionate, nor there are any higher dimensions of consciousness and insight that open up to me. I am still the old foolish bombu who strives through each day as best she can with the joys and anxieties of life.
Josho makes an important point here to reflect upon:
The Buddha has no expectation from the people for which He made His Primal Vow. It's normal for ordinary people filled with blind passions to remain ordinary people filled with blind passions.
Buddha Amida actually asks for nothing in return, He has no expectation of me because he knows how inadequate I am. ALL I CAN DO is be grateful and rely on His benevolence through NAMO AMIDA BUTSU.
Namo Amida Bu
SHAKU HOKAI
Some things you may find interesting
Shinjin, article by Reverend Josho Adrian Cirlea
Shinjin: knowing not experiencing, article by Paul Roberts