The Problems of “Birth in the Pure Land in the Present” and “Becoming a Buddha in the Present”

The Venerable Master assumed the two principles of “impossible-to-conceive of birth in the Pure Land” (nanjigi ojo) and “immediately be born (in the Pure Land)” (sokutoku ojo). Because he interprets “immediately be born (in the Pure Land)” as “presently in the ‘rightly-established group’ of those assured of birth in the Pure Land” (gensho shojoju), however, misunderstandings such as the following arise:

• The Venerable Master’s use of the term “birth in the Pure Land” (ojo) to refer to “receiving shinjin” leads to feeling we can be born in the Pure Land in the present
• We will become a Buddha in this world when our shinjin is settled..
• We will be endowed with virtues close to that of a Buddha.

These misunderstandings have existed for a long time, and have been referred to as, “benefits of entering the Dharma Gate” (ichiyaku homon) and “secret benefits of attaining nirvana” (metsudo mitsuyaku). Recently these sorts of problems have again come up for discussion.

Let us take the problem of “birth in the Pure Land in the present” (genzei ojo) first. As already related, being included in the “rightly-established group” of those assured (of birth in the Pure Land) in the present” (gensho shojoju) is a unique insight by the Venerable Master. This “salvation in the present” that is taught in Jodo-Shinshu is, I believe, a matter of great importance and significance.

I believe this is where the value of Jodo-Shinshu in our world is to be found. I cannot, however, agree with the position that when the Venerable Master talked about “birth in the Pure Land in the present,” he meant that we are born there at the moment we receive shinjin. As already related, the Venerable Master clearly understood “immediately be born (in the Pure Land)” which comes from the “passage on completion of the Primal Vow” in the Larger Sutra to mean that we are absolutely guaranteed to be included in the group of those who are assured of being born in the Pure Land. I am sure that the Venerable Master did not intend this to mean being born in the Pure Land.

In commenting on “immediately be born (in the Pure Land)” in the Ichinen Tanen Mon’i, the Venerable Master wrote:

When we receive true shinjin, we are embraced in the mind and heart of the Buddha of Limitless Light, never to be abandoned. ... When we are so embraced — when we are in the “rightly-established group” — we are guaranteed “birth in the Pure Land” (ojo).

In other words, when we receive shinjin, we are in the “rightly established group.” That is how the Venerable Master interpreted Shakyamuni Buddha’s words in the sutras.