Shinjin and Illness

[carvahlo19]

Is one able to obtain shinjin even if one is mentally ill or has a congenital condition which could effect one's intellectual faculties (i.e. severe autism, Down's Syndrome)? Is any sort of understanding of the nembutsu + primal vow necessary in such cases? Are there any good writings on this subject?

_/|\_

[Zhen Li]

Rev. Dr. David Matsumoto talks about his son in this video, who has Down's Syndrome.


He touches on the subject more in relation to art. He doesn't address the topic directly, but maybe you can get something out of it.

Rennyo suggests that the following five are required for birth:

first, [the unfolding of] good from the past; second, [meeting] a good teacher; third, [encountering Amida’s] light; fourth, [attaining] faith; and, fifth, [saying] the Name [of the Buddha].

He also notes elsewhere that listening deeply is an important part of the 2nd and 3rd aspects. He notes that simply listening passively is not enough, but one must reflect on the meaning.

If one can do this and give rise to faith that, without doubt, one's birth is settled, one can attain birth. So, I think someone with down's syndrome or autism is definitely capable. Does the person know that they will, eventually die, and what that means? Can they conceive of the Buddha and Pure Land?

It is important to note that one cannot intervene on another's behalf to bring about their birth in the Pure Land by the primal vow of Shinjin, it depends upon the person who is attaining birth.

There is also birth by the 19th and 20th vows. This involves the recitation of the Nembutsu, even out of self-power motivations. If someone thinks of the Buddha or recites his name with the aspiration to be born even ten times, they will be born. This can eventually lead to other-power Nembutsu, relying only upon the Buddha by the 18th vow. The understanding which gives rise to this transition takes a while for people with a lot of mental calculation to work through, and I think it is entirely conceivable that it would, actually, be easier for someone who has Down's Syndrome or autism (again, depending on the person).

[源食う]

David Matsumoto from IBS wrote an article about this called "An Approach to the Question of Human-ness in Contemporary Western Shin Buddhism
- the soteriological significance of disability"https://mylibrary.ryukoku.ac.jp/iwjs000 ... &once=true which touches a bit on this. The Larger Sutra mentions how bad karma leads to being born "poor and destitute, corrupt, beggarly, lonely, deaf, dumb, blind, stupid, wicked, physically handicapped, deranged, or subnormal." He calls this a "dialectic of exclusion"

He quotes Tanluan who provides some nuance on able-bodiedness:

Question: Names designate things. Where there is a thing, there is a name. In the Land of Peace and Bliss there are not such things as the Two Vehicles, women and deformed and deficient persons. Why is it necessary to say that there are no names for these three things?
Answer: Boddhisattvas who are not yet strong-willed and very courageous are looked down upon and called 'sravakas.' Flatterers or weaklings are derided as 'women.' Again ignorant persons are regarded as 'blind' even though they have eyes to see; those who hear expositions or principles of truth but fail to understand them are laughed at as 'deaf even though they have ears to hear; and those who stumble and falter in speaking are contemptuously called 'dumb' even though their tongues can speak. Although such people have complete sense-organs, they are called by derisive names [as if their sense-organs were impaired]. For this reason, it is necessary to say " ... not [even] names.'' In the Pure Land there are no such words for flattering or despising others.

Here, T'an-luan makes another departure from a simple comment on the prevailing societal valorization of persons with disabilities. Accepting, in a sense, the negative evaluations of persons with disabilities, he presents "disability" (being "blind," "deaf," and "dumb") as a metaphor for "ignorant persons" in general. For so-called "able-bodied" or "able-minded" persons, this metaphorical use of disability leads to an apparently egalitarian conclusion that "we are all disabled in the search for enlightenment." However, for a person with disabilities, such a position is problematic, for it accepts prevailing societal bigotry, while promising a world of nondistinction in another existence. Also, the claim to "disability" by "normal" persons might also be seen, by persons with disabilities, as another form of neglect or belittling of their existential situation in this life.

I haven't read the article past the section on Tanluan (and it's a short one--hoping to do so soon but you should definitely check it out if you're interested!), and I'd imagine he goes on to discuss praxis and shinshu's role in materializing less-ableist social forms "in this life", but he pretty clearly is saying Tanluan doesn't see "mundane" physical or intellectual disabilities as being spiritually pertinent. Presumably Shinran would think the same about shinjin.

Again, you should read the article for yourself since I'm just going off of half of it though.

[Zhen Li]

The topic of the cause of illness and the question of whether one can attain Shinjin with illness are separate. I think it is best not to conflate them.

In the defence of the Larger Sutra, it does not exclude people based on illnesses, it simply describes the miseries of saṃsāra to encourage beings to take birth.

[源食う]

In the defence of the Larger Sutra, it does not exclude people based on illnesses, it simply describes the miseries of saṃsāra to encourage beings to take birth.

Yeah Dr. Matsumoto says perhaps "the sutra is actually presenting those issues in order to contrast the life in the realm of delusion with the path to birth in the Land of Utmost Bliss". So this dialectic of exclusion applies to the world of samsara, but also I think is used here to criticize some Buddhist views that there is a certain able-bodiedness that is best for achieving enlightenment, from which those with intellectual disabilities are excluded (as are women, physically disabled, those born in non-buddhist societies, etc.) I also just realized we're both citing him.

There's a section in the 浄土論註 where Tanluan describes the Amitabha's characteristics (or in Corless/Kamayama's translation, "the perfection of the merits of the adornment of Amitabha) one of which is his bodily karma (身業). Tanluan says that seeing Amitabha's body of light of excellent forms, beings are released from the bonds of the eight difficulties. There are the "eight conditions under which it is difficult to comprehend Buddhism" which include birth as an animal, ghost, or in hell, birth in the idyllic continent of Uttarakuru, birth in heaven, being deaf/blind/dumb, being a philosopher, or being born when the dharma has been forgotten. You might note, there's no explicit understanding of intellectual disability, as we understand it today, as being a barrier to practice, but there is a general understanding of ability.

First, Tanluan does suggest that, in fact, Buddhist practices outside of the pure land are inherently inaccessible to some people, which hints at some level of acceptance of the dialectic of exclusion. This shouldn't be too surprising since it's kind of an orthodox view in Theravada, monastic Mahayana, etc.

Second, however, he says that Amitabha makes this irrelevant since his vow is impartial (even for differing abilities) and because with rebirth in the pure land and "entering into the family of the Tathāgata, [beings] certainly obtain bodily activity that is equitable". So what is made possible through Amitabha has no regard for place, time, or other types of ability. I think Shinran agrees with this, about shinjin.

There's a line early in the work that says "the merits of the pure land are able to bring great benefit to beings, enabling them to practice constantly in the world" (可常行于世) which I think suggests some overcoming of those "eight difficulties" in the mundane world--not full enlightenment, as the Tannisho says it's impossible with a body of affliction, but if you can practice the dharma I'd assume there's some level of comprehension, right?

I think this is getting a bit into the mechanisms and textual bases of shinjin which is way over me, but some food for thought, I guess.

[Konchog Thogme Jampa]

It’s Other Power

[Zhen Li]

There's a line early in the work that says "the merits of the pure land are able to bring great benefit to beings, enabling them to practice constantly in the world" (可常行于世) which I think suggests some overcoming of those "eight difficulties" in the mundane world--not full enlightenment, as the Tannisho says it's impossible with a body of affliction, but if you can practice the dharma I'd assume there's some level of comprehension, right?

I think this is getting a bit into the mechanisms and textual bases of shinjin which is way over me, but some food for thought, I guess.

Shandao suggests that you must be a human to attain birth. In principle, I would say the eight difficulties do hold true but that the sixth difficulty is not as black and white as the others. I think there are cases where one absolutely has no way of hearing the Dharma, but for the most part, I would say that it is possible, although more difficult. It comes back, in my opinion, to the five requisites of birth that Rennyo cites—definitely, those with mental illness or other impairments, in general, have the ability to do these, and unfortunately, there are some cases where they make it impossible. It really has to be understood on a case by case basis.

Can the eight difficulties be overcome by the merits of the Pure Land? I think this refers to how, by being born, we are no longer able to end up with the eight difficulties, and we are able to continually practice. Neither of that is true in this world.

Really, a big part of coming to say the Nembutsu is developing a revulsion with this world. Highlighting these issues is part of identifying how useless it is to stay here and how vital it is to settle our birth.

[源食う]

Can the eight difficulties be overcome by the merits of the Pure Land? I think this refers to how, by being born, we are no longer able to end up with the eight difficulties, and we are able to continually practice. Neither of that is true in this world.

Really, a big part of coming to say the Nembutsu is developing a revulsion with this world. Highlighting these issues is part of identifying how useless it is to stay here and how vital it is to settle our birth.

In the Kyogyoshinsho, Shinran says that it's upon attainment of shinjin, not upon birth in the pure land, that we "transcend" or "overcome" samsara and the eight difficulties:

When we acquire the Diamond-hard True Faith, we transcend crosswise the five evil realms and the eight adverse conditions (五趣八難), and unfailingly gain ten benefits in this life...

This suggests the transcendence of the eight difficulties is in fact in this life. Of course there's a big can of worms to open about the difference between attainment of shinjin and attainment of birth, and the what when and where of "即得往生".

[Zhen Li]

Can the eight difficulties be overcome by the merits of the Pure Land? I think this refers to how, by being born, we are no longer able to end up with the eight difficulties, and we are able to continually practice. Neither of that is true in this world.

Really, a big part of coming to say the Nembutsu is developing a revulsion with this world. Highlighting these issues is part of identifying how useless it is to stay here and how vital it is to settle our birth.

In the Kyogyoshinsho, Shinran says that it's upon attainment of shinjin, not upon birth in the pure land, that we "transcend" or "overcome" samsara and the eight difficulties:

When we acquire the Diamond-hard True Faith, we transcend crosswise the five evil realms and the eight adverse conditions (五趣八難), and unfailingly gain ten benefits in this life...

This suggests the transcendence of the eight difficulties is in fact in this life. Of course there's a big can of worms to open about the difference between attainment of shinjin and attainment of birth, and the what when and where of "即得往生".

The quoted passage has two clauses, the first is:
横超五趣八難道 - we transcend crosswise the path of the five realms and eight difficulties
the second is:
必獲現生十種益 - and certainly, in this life, acquire ten kinds of benefits.

We do not transcend beyond the five realms in this life, otherwise, we would not need birth in the Pure Land in the next life; so, the same goes for the eight difficulties. In the first clause, it is talking about after birth. The 現生 only comes after the 必獲, so the ten benefits are what apply to this life.

We had a thread some time ago about prolepsis in Shinran's writing. Which is talking about something in the future as if it has already occurred now. I think part of this is actually just the ambiguous nature of Chinese and Japanese tense, but he definitely does use prolepsis at times. I think that this passage, however, is distinguishing between two times—I think that to look at the passage in this way, is the simplest way of understanding the passage without complicating it and needing extra layers of interpretation about liberation in this life beyond non-retrogression.

[ronnymarsh]

Of course!
Think about it: every Buddhist temple has a consecrated Buddha image and every Buddhist relates to this object as if it were the Buddha himself (and he is). If even a piece of wood can become a Buddha, why would a person with down's syndrome or severe autism be prevented from attaining birth in Sukhavati?

Shinjin is not a condition that belongs to the person who recites the name and that one can "develop". That would be "self power" which is the opposite of what Honen and Shinran teach.

Shinjin is the Buddha's own mind, it's something the Buddha bestows on beings out of "grace", without needing to have any merit involved. It is the "other power" itself. Attaining shinjin doesn't need understanding, it doesn't need to work the discriminating mind, it doesn't need any kind of exercise, not even reciting the name.

Attaining shinjin is not subject to the person, but the Buddha himself, who emanates his grace to all beings.