Jesus Prayer and the Nembutsu Author(s): Taitetsu Unno Source: Buddhist-Christian Studies, Vol. 22 (2002), pp.

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BUDDHIST RESPONSES TO CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

and the Nembutsu JesusPrayer

TaitetsuUnno SmithCollege
in As a Shin Buddhistof the PureLandtradition,I find the practiceof JesusPrayer EasternOrthodox Christianityfascinating,becauseso much of it resonateswith
my own experience in the saying of Nembutsu or the
Name-NAMU-AMIDA-

BUTSU. 1 One callson the Name of Jesus,and the otheron the Name of Amida,the

Buddha of Immeasurable Light and Life. Both may be called the "Way of the
Name."2 Some appreciation of the Jesus Prayer may help us understand the depth

of Nembutsu experience,for the similarities are striking,but thereare also fundamentaldifferences. We beginwith fourdefinitionsof prayer as givenby the OrthodoxscholarKallis3 The firstmay be calledexternalprayer, tos Ware. which includessome form of verto be granted.Secondis prayer for favors God, includingpetitions ballyaddressing as is only silence,negatingall disunderstood Here there God. simply standing before cursiveactivities.In both of these casesthe focus is on the human and not on the divine. In Buddhisttermsthese two forms of prayerare dualistic,the subjectstanding apartfromthe objectand the act centeredon the humansubject.In PureLandlanIn the caseof Nembutsuit mayalsobeginas a selfguageboth areactsof self-power. it but must be Trueprayer, as we shallsee, is nondualistic act, superseded. generated with the initiativecoming from the side of the divine. In PureLandtermsit is the manifestation of the workingof Other Power. Buddhistmeditativepracticemay also begin in a dualisticmode with personal benefitsas the goal, but ultimatelyit becomesa nondualisticexperience, whereby so that a deeperrealityis conceptualdistinctionsof subjectand object disappear, 4 realized. The Soto Zen teacherKoshoUchiyamasums up this awareness: In our zazen,it is precisely at the point whereour small,foolish self remains or completelybewildered, that immeasurable naturallife beyond unsatisfied, the thoughtof the self functions.It is precisely at the point wherewe become completelylost that life operatesand the powerof Buddhais realized. The thirdand fourthdefinitions of prayer, basedon SaintGregory of Sinai,highlight the core experience in JesusPrayer. The thirdsense of prayer, to Ware,is according

22 (2002). ? by Universityof Hawai'iPress.All rightsreserved. Buddhist-Christian Studies

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TAITETSU UNNO an inneract. In his words,"True innerprayeris to stop talkingand to listen to the wordless voice of God within our heart;it is to ceasedoing thingson our own, and 5 Here,silenceis not meresilencebut the openness to enterinto the actionof God." to hearthe wordless voice of God.The initiativecomesfromthe divine:"Ihavebeen crucifiedwith Christand I no longerlive, but Christlives in me" (Gal. 2:20) and I must becomeless"(John 3:30). "He must becomegreater, as "the Fourthis prayer not baptismas a ritualact but manifestation of Baptism," as the embodyingof the divine.This is the stateof gracethat is brought"tothe point of full spiritual when we experience and feel the and consciousawareness perception of the and activity immediately."6 Spiritdirectly the writings These two connotationsof prayermay be helpfulin understanding 7 of Shinran,the founderof Shin Buddhism, who livedin thirteenth-century Japan. of his works,comingfroman entirelydifferent traThe Englishtranslations cultural To take sometimes dition andwrittenin an alienlanguage, defyeasycomprehension. one importantexample,Shinranstatesat the beginningof the Chapterof Practice in his majoropus, translated of the Pure as "True and Realization Practice, Teaching, LandWay," as follows:8 The greatpracticeis to say the Name of the Tathagata of unhinderedlight. This practice,embodyingall good acts and possessingall roots of virtue, is oceanof perfectand most rapidin bringingthem to fullness.It is the treasure virtuesthat is suchnessof true reality.For this reason,it is calledgreatpractice. This practicearisesfrom the Vow of greatcompassion. the meaningof thispronouncement becomesclear. Keepingin mind theJesusPrayer, or Buddha,is neithera petitionary The sayingof Nembutsu,the Name of Tathagata act nor the resultof human calculation(hakarai). Rather,"thispracticearisesfrom the Vowof greatcompassion." That is, the sourceof recitative Nembutsuis suggested by the adjective "great," denotingthe Buddhaof Immeasurable Lightand Life,whose or activityenablesthe small-minded to set asidethe ego-selfeven for the "practice" moment.Thus, greatpracticemeansthe salvificact of the Buddhacoming through in the intoning of Nembutsu. in a person,eachsaySinceit is the Buddha's activitybeingbroughtto realization bringsto fullness"allgood actsand all rootsof virtue." ing of the Name immediately of suchness(tathata) or truereality, metaIn generalBuddhismthis is the realization The revolutionary oceanof virtues." nature hereas the "treasure phorically expressed of Shinran's teaching made this realizationavailableto anyone who invokes the Name. It changed the course of JapaneseBuddhism,for it meant that all those excludedfrom the Buddhistmonasticpath in the thirteenthcentury could now achieveliberation and freedom.Heretofore excludedwerehunters,butchers,fisherand women of all classes. merchants, men, peasants, the callingfromthe BuddhaAmida. In sum, the sayingof Nembutsuis basically A lay Buddhistexpressed the Nembutsuas the Name-that-calls. Hence, I translate 9 this as follows:

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JESUS PRAYERAND THE NEMBUTSU Althoughthe voice that calls

NAMU-AMIDA-BUTSU

is mine,

It is the voice of Oya-samacallingme, "Comeas you are!" is a termof intimacywhen referring to one'smotheror fatherand in some Oya-sama It is interesting to note that D. T. Suzuki,who firsttranscasesboth parents together. lated Shinran's opus into English,renderedthe originalterm for Amida Buddha's 1 While Primal Vow (purvapranidhana in Sanskrit, or hongan in Japanese) as"Prayer." it conveysthe ultimatesignificance of the Primal Vow as idiosyncratic, linguistically the deep prayer that all beings,regardless of class,gender,occupation,or moralculand freedomfromkarmicbondage.He also translated mayattainliberation pability, not as the The Prayer of boundlesscompassion usual but as "Living." gyo "practice" enfoldsus in our everyday life;thus,Livingitselfwherewe contendwith our ego-self becomesthe basicpracticefor Shin Buddhists. to Ware,is to "Become what Now, the ultimate goalof Orthodoxprayer, according on not the human level but works that within are," you by discovering simply grace each person.The purposeof Nembutsupracticeis also to become trulyhuman by
living
NAMU-AMIDA-BUTSU,

such that a finite being (NAMU)-limited, imperfect,

and mortal-realizes itselfwithin the bosom of boundlesscomfallible,vulnerable

passion (AMIDA-BUTSU). Such a life, characterized by humility, gratitude and quiet

confidence,is broughtto realityin the sayingof Nembutsu.Saichi,a Myokoninthose rareand simplebut profoundShin faithfuls-expressed it thusly:12 When you catcha cold, you can'tstop coughing. Saichihas caughtthe cold of BuddhaDharmaand can'tstop coughing, coughingNamu-amida-butsu The appealand effectiveness of JesusPrayer, to the Orthodoxtradition,is according ascribedto four factors: and simplicity flexibility, completeness, powerof Name as and of Here we such, spiritual discipline persistent repetition. again see comparable the of the made about Nembutsu with points exceptionof the fourth,spirisaying tual discipline. who firstestablished an independent PureLandSchool Honen, Shinran's teacher,
in 1175 C.E., advocated Nembutsu practice as an alternative to the complex, rigor-

ous practices of his own TendaiBuddhism,to which he had devotedhis whole life. He proclaimed two qualitiesof Nembutsuas responding to the spiritualhungerof his time: extremesimplicityand unequalled superiority. Simplicitybecausethe sayanywhere, any time, by anyone;and superiority ing of Nembutsucould be practiced becausethe attainment of supremeenlightenment hasalready been accomplished by the workingof the Primal Vow.In experiential termsthatwhich is simple,in contrast to surfacecomplexity, cuts deep, deep into the depth of life itself.In so doing it also to embrace all of life, animateand inanimate. expandsendlessly

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96

TAITETSU UNNO The PureLandteachers alsounderstood the Vownot simplyas the deepwish that all beingsattainsupremeenlightenment but alsoas containingthe powerto makeit In fact,the Name or Nembutsucontainsthe forty-eight an actuality. Vowsof Amida fulfilledas the culminationand completionof the bodhisattva ideal.13As such, the Name itselfis the Buddhaincarnate in ourworld;it hasno objective referent beyond it. Thus the preferred of is not the statueor paintobject Shin devotionalworship
ing of Amida Buddha but the Name,
NAMU-AMIDA-BUTSU,

written on a scroll and

placedon the altar. Regardingspiritualdiscipline,recitativeNembutsu was considereda religious down throughthe centuries since the beginningof PureLandBuddhismin practice the firstcenturyC.E. in India, but it was rejectedas a self-poweractivityby Shinran.Instead,he sawthe Nembutsuas evidenceof the workingof Amidain the heart and mind of a personhereand now.Thus, a singleutterance of the Name would be sufficient;in fact, just the thought of such a voicing would suffice.In his words, "When the thought of saying the Nembutsu erupts from deep within, having entrustedourselvesto the inconceivablepower of Amidas vow which saves us, at thatverymomentthe ultimate enablingus to be bornin the PureLand,we receive 4 Repetitionas a spiritualdiscibenefitof being graspedneverto be abandoned." is the decisive moment of is a matter because spiritual pline unnecessary awakening it of hereand now.The JesusPrayer alsohas a similaremphasis, yet encourages repetition and, for the monks,the trainingof the body,includingbreathing exercises.15 The hereand now is basic,because the Primal Vowof Amidabreaks throughcontime at instant. This is ventional,lineartime.The timelesspenetrates every through called the one-thoughtmoment of spiritualawakening.In the words of Shinran, is time at its ultimatelimit, wherethe realization "One thought-moment of shinjin takesplace."16 is the Primal Vow in the to manifest Shinjin awakening becoming This one-thought one'slife, wherebyall doubtsvanishand true entrustingappears. momentis vocalized as a totaland by the sayingof Name,pouringout spontaneously of with the boundless joyful compliance compassion. working Orthodoxprayer warnsagainst visualimages,visions,or forms,as enticecreating The full powerof the JesusPrayer mentsto delusion.17 is felt when one abandons all Shin Buddhismalso negatesvisualvisualconceptsand simplyfeels God'spresence. in the long historyof the Pure izationof anyform,althoughit wascommonpractice Landmovementin India,China, Korean,and Japanpriorto Shinran. Suchpractices, for example,areitemizedin the Contemplation Sutra,one of the threemain scriptures of PureLandBuddhism,compiledaroundthe fourthcentury in CentralAsiaor China.18 These practices includethirteenmethods C.E. probably of contemplation,centeredon the setting sun, water,earth,jeweledtrees,jeweled ponds,jeweledpavilions, jeweleddais,all in the PureLand,Buddhaimages,Amida, andso on. Althoughtheseformsof visualizations Avalokitesvara, Mahasthamaprapta, must havebeen practiced at varioustimes, PureLandmasters agreedthat they were to its ultimatemessagenoted at the veryend:A singlesayingof Nempreliminaries even to a personon the deathbed. salvationand enlightenment butsuassures is said to be twofold:First,it transforms one's The consequenceof JesusPrayer

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JESUS PRAYERAND THE NEMBUTSU and with the world,which is seen as being infusedwith God'spresence; relationship In is with other brief, second,it changesa person's JesusPrayer relationship people.19 case in Shin The two are also found in which is also the Buddhism. world-affirming, with a different another Ichitaro, sensitivity. livingthe Nembutsu,althoughexpressed "The is a states: Land of Bliss On found everywhere. Myokonin, vegetableleaf, On a bladeof grass.On a sardine. Without sayingwhethera thing is good or bad, if you sensethe workingof Amidain and on eachthing, this is the truthfreedof the good and bad of things.All good and badarethe productsof one'sthoughts."20 When we see a thing and judge it as good or bad, we arebasingour view on a self-centered When we see the worldin the light of boundless humanperspective. the compassion, Landof Blissor PureLandcan be found everywhere. Suchan awareness makesus keenlysensitivenot only to otherhumanbeingsbut to all living things. Thus, Ichitaroon anotheroccasionremarks: "Trueentrusting meansthat you'reable to trulyrelateto anotherbeing. Not only humanbeingsbut with plantsandanimals. Eventhosethingsthatcannotspeak,you're ableto heartheir Such a worldviewis basedon the Buddhistunderfeelings.Namu-amida-butsu."21 and interdependence that one standingof the vast networkof interconnectedness comes to acknowledge in becomingliberated from the ego-self. In spiteof the striking in Nembutsupractice andJesusPrayer, fundamenparallels tal differences exist reflecting the respective historiesof Buddhismand Christianity. the most important is the treatment of sin, evil, blindpassion, Amongthem, perhaps and ignorance(avidya). darkness, TheArtofPrayer: An Orthodox an excellent forJesusPrayer, sourcebook Anthology, devotesa majorsection underscoring the cleavagebetweengood and evil passions, graceand sin, God and Satan,life and death,the latterto be "hated,trampledon, This dualityis repeatedly such as in the followingpassage: rejected."22 emphasized, "Sinis now drivenout from its strongholdand goodnesstakesits place,while the of sin is shattered and dispersed. 'Grace and sin do not dwelltogetherin the strength mind,'saysSt. Diadochos,'butbeforebaptismgraceincitesthe soulto goodnessfrom to barallthe doorsof righteouswithout,whileSatanlurksin its depth,endeavouring nessin the mind;fromthe verymomentthatwe arerebornthe devilremains outside and gracedwellswithin."'23 I don'tknow how this relatesto Romans5:20, "Where sin increased, all the more,"andMartinLuther's simuliustus graceabounded etpeccator,but it presentsa sharpcontrastto Shinran,who sees the raisond'etreof boundlesscompassion to be the transformation of evil into good, sin into virtue,deathinto life.To negateevil, sin, anddeathmeansto denya partof one'sreality; to affirm them transformation means to make one's life and whole. through complete This transformation of the negativeinto the positiveis summedup in the phrase "bitsof rubblearetransformed into gold."Shinran's favoritemetaphorfor transfor24 mation is that of ice into water: Throughthe benefitof the unhindered light, We realizeshinjinof vast, majesticvirtues, And the ice of our blind passionsnecessarily melts. water of Immediately becoming enlightenment.

97

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TAITETSU UNNO

Obstructions of karmic evil turn into virtues; It is like the relation of ice and water; The more the ice, the more the water; The more the obstructions, the more the virtues. The philosophical basis of this transformation is rooted in the Buddhist worldview that sees impermanence, flux, and change as elemental and all phenomenal reality as devoid or empty of enduring essence (sunyata).Yet human ignorance is such that we cling to things and trap ourselves in anger,jealousy, fear, insecurities, addictions. But this foolish being undergoes transformation into its opposite, a process inherent in nature itself, called "made to become so" by itself and for itself. According to Shinran, "'To be made to become so' means that without the practicer'scalculation in any way whatsoever, all his past, present, and future evil karma is transformed into the highest good. To be transformed means the evil karma without being nullified and eradicated is made into the highest good, just as all river waters, upon entering the This transformation results spongreat ocean, immediately become ocean water."25 is of Other Power that from the beyond conceptual understandtaneously working with the of It should not be confused power positive thinking or some form of ing. creative therapy. The challenge to Shin Buddhists is to awaken to this compassionate working of the Buddha of Immeasurable Light and Life not by strenuous repetition of the Name but by awakening to its origin and import for oneself. This requires effort and dedication to a process called deep hearing (monpo), which consists of four aspects that are interrelated and interconnected. First is receptivity to the teaching of the Namethat-calls. Second is unfolding awarenessof its truth in one's life, consisting of its two aspects: boundless compassion and karmic bondage. Third is the growing sensitivity to the interplay of light and darkness, boundless compassion and blind passion, expanding horizon and diminishing self-enclosure. Fourth is awakening to the call of Amida that works a miraculous transformation-negative into positive, darknessinto luminosity, and blind passion into the very content of supreme enlightenment.
NOTES

1. For Jesus Prayer,see The Wayof the Pilgrim, tr. R. M. French (New York: Harper, 2nd ed., 1954) and for the Nembutsu, see the author's Tannisho:A Shin Buddhist Classic (Honolulu: Buddhist Study Center Press, 2nd rev. ed., 1996), pp. 61-62. 2. On the Invocation of the Name of esus by a Monk of the Eastern Church (London: Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius, no date), p. i. 3. Ware, "The Power of the Name: The Function of the Jesus Prayer,"CrossCurrents,Vol. XXIV, No. 2-3 (Summer-Fall, 1974), pp. 184-203. See also Foreword by Kallistos Ware, TheJesusPrayer (Crestwood, NY: St. Valdimir's Seminary Press, 1987) and TheArt of Prayer: An OrthodoxAnthology, compiled by Igunen Chariton (London: Faber and Faber, 1966). 4. Uchiyama, Opening the Hand of Thought:Approachto Zen (New York: Penguin, 1993), p. 61. 5. Ware, p. 185. 6. Ibid., p. 186.

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JESUS PRAYERAND THE NEMBUTSU

7. The Collected WorksofShinran, trs. Dennis Hirota, et al. (Kyoto: Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, 1997), Vol. I and II (hereafter CW I and II). 8.CWI, p. 13.

99

ed. Tatsuo 9. Dharma Treasures: Pioneers, from Hawaiis Shin Buddhist SpiritualInsights
Muneto (Honolulu: Buddhist Study Center, 1997), p. 35.

TheCollection the True 10. See TheKyogyoshinsho: Teaching, of Passages Expounding Living,
Faith, and Realization of the Pure Land (Kyoto: Shinshu Otani-ha, 1973). 11. Ware, p. 186. 12. Myokonin Asahara Saichi shu (Collected Poems of Saishi the Myokonin), ed. D. T. Suzuki (Tokyo: Shunjusha, 1967), p. 147. 13. For the forty-eight vows, see the translation from the Chinese by Luis Gomez, The

of Hawai'i Landof Bliss:TheParadise oftheBuddha Light(Honolulu:University ofMeasureless

Press; and Kyoto: Higashi Honganji Shinshu Otani-ha, 1996). 14. Tannisho:A Shin Buddhist Classic,tr. Taitetsu Unno (Honolulu: Buddhist Study Center Press, 1996), p. 4. 15. In Shin Buddhism the natural rhythm of the body, including proper breathing, is realized by virtue of the thirty-third Vow of Amida, which ensures suppleness, flexibility, and openness of the body and mind. 16. CW I, p. 474. 17. The Art of Prayer,pp. 100-101. 18. For this sutra, see English translation by Hisao Inagaki, The Three Pure Land Sutras (Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist Research and Publication, 1995). 19. Ware, pp. 199-200. 20. Tetsuo Unno, JodoshinshuBuddhism (South San Francisco: Heian International, 1980), p. 12.

An Introduction to thePureLandTradition 21. Quoted in my Riverof Fire,Riverof Water:

of Shin Buddhism (New York: Doubleday, 1998), p. 121.

22. TheArt of Prayer, p. 140. 23. TheArt of Prayer, p. 172.

24. CW I, p. 371. 25. CW I, p. 453.

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