Pure Land Teachings on not committing Suicide

[ZhengShen]

This is, obviously an academic and not a personal question. But are there any specifically Pure Land teachings on Suicide? Of course, most Mahayana Buddhism is full opposed to it.

The only direct teaching I've found from Ippen, "If the settled mind has been established in you, your birth is certain whatever you may do. But if your self-attachment has not been exhausted, you must not take your own life. It is rare and difficult to receive an existence in which you encounter the Buddha-way. How lamentable it would be to cast it away in vain!"

This would strike me as the standard Mahayana view - which is certainly correct. But it seems that, if 100 out of 100 who recite the nembutsu exclusively would be saved, that would include those who die by their own hand.

Again, it's just an academic question - but I'm curious if anyone has seen anything from Honen on the topic.

[Ayu]

... "If the settled mind has been established in you, your birth is certain whatever you may do. But if your self-attachment has not been exhausted, you must not take your own life. It is rare and difficult to receive an existence in which you encounter the Buddha-way. How lamentable it would be to cast it away in vain!"

This would strike me as the standard Mahayana view - which is certainly correct. But it seems that, if 100 out of 100 who recite the nembutsu exclusively would be saved, that would include those who die by their own hand.
...

I don't see how the recommendation not to commit suicide suggests that people who killed themselves cannot get saved. Everyone means everyone: murderers, thieves, warlords and whoever.
If one tries to look at buddhism in an academic manner, at first one has to forget about anything that is being claimed in the bible.
But maybe I write this because I'm uninformed about Pureland?
Do they say anywhere, that suicides have to go to hell and cannot be saved ever? If yes, please quote.

[Zhen Li]

The only direct teaching I've found from Ippen, "If the settled mind has been established in you, your birth is certain whatever you may do. But if your self-attachment has not been exhausted, you must not take your own life. It is rare and difficult to receive an existence in which you encounter the Buddha-way. How lamentable it would be to cast it away in vain!"

This is maybe going a bit beyond the mainstream Mahāyāna perspective.

Actually, what Ippen is saying (which Shinran would agree with) is that if you have settled your birth, it doesn't matter if you commit suicide or not, you will still be born. But if you have not settled the matter of your birth, you will cast away the only opportunity you have to attain birth in the Pure Land by casting away this human life.

There is never any encouragement from Pure Land patriarchs to take any life, including one's own. From the Shin perspective, after settling in faith, the best thing to do with your life is to help guide others to the same faith. To kill yourself can squander the possibility to help others.

Personally, I think that after receiving Shinjin, your orientation in life changes so dramatically towards the Dharma (by the natural working of Amida in one's daily life) that it gradually comes to be impossible to do something that would jeopardize the posisbility that you could help others in the future (even if it takes years of learning before you get there).

That being said, I know of a few cases of Pure Land Buddhists committing suicide and giving signs after death that they had attained birth. If this happens, it is due to karmic habits that had been ingrained deeply prior to settling faith, which continued after receiving faith.

[Konchog Thogme Jampa]

That creates a very heavy negative karma that can repeat over and over lifetime to lifetime according to HEGR