Denial of “Amida Buddha Coming to Welcome Us at Death&rdquo

The thought of “Amida Buddha Coming to Welcome Us at the Moment of Death” (rinju raigo), is considered very important in the Pure Land teaching. First, the 19th Vow in the Larger Sutra (Daikyo), states:

If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the ten directions who aspire to be enlightened, perform various meritorious deeds and sincerely desire to be born in my land, do not see me appear before them at their death surrounded by a multitude of sages, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.

As can be determined from this, Amida Buddha vowed to appear with a multitude of enlightened beings in front of those who are about to leave this world. The same thought is expressed in the Meditation Sutra (Kangyo) and in the Amida Sutra (Amida-kyo). This was considered very important by the founders of the Pure Land teaching. In Japan, Genshin Kasho (942 - 1017 AD), whom the Venerable Master revered as the Sixth Patriarch of Jodo-Shinshu, considered “Amida Buddha coming to welcome us at death” to be especially important. Under the heading, “Deportment at the Moment of Death” (rinju Gyogi) of his work, Ojoyo-shu (Essentials of Birth in the Pure Land), Genshin Kasho carefully explained how we should act so the mind that has faith in Buddha’s salvific activity will not be disturbed when we are about to die.

When you correctly come to the end of your life, ask yourself if you truly know that this is the absolute end. That single thought at the moment of death is superior to your actions for the past hundred years. When you pass that final moment is when your birth in the Pure Land is determined. Truly when you single-mindedly think of the Buddha during that last moment, you will be born on a seven-jeweled lotus flower growing in the Lake of Eight Virtues in the subtle Pure Land of Ultimate Joy.

As can be determined from the above, Genshin Kasho considered “...the single thought at the moment of death is superior to your actions for that past hundred years.” That was how important he considered the proper mental attitude at the moment of death. From many current documents of the time, we can determine just how great an influence the idea of “the Buddha welcoming us (to the Pure Land) at the moment of death” (rinju raigo) and “proper mental attitude at the moment of death” (rinju shonen) had. For example, in the story, “Crane Forest,” found in Volume 30 of Eiga Monogatari (Tales of Prosperity), there is a record of the desire for “Amida Buddha coming to welcome him at the moment of death” by Fujiwara Michinaga, then the most powerful person in the land. That is how powerful an influence Genshin Kasho’s thought of “the Buddha welcoming us at the moment of death” had on the people of Japan.

Regarding this, Master Honen in his Saiho Shinan-sho (Notes on Leading to the Western Direction), wrote:

At our death the Buddha will come to welcome us (to his Pure Land) without fail because of the Nembutsu that we recite during ordinary times. (Most people) are reassured regarding the last moments of their life when they see that figure of the Buddha ... Those who recite the Nembutsu during those ordinary times have no need to be concerned about whether the Buddha will come to welcome them to the Pure Land or not. Further, know that the Buddha coming to welcome us means that we are absolutely prepared for our pending death.