It appears there were expressions current during Master Rennyo’s time that implied you could become a Buddha in the present world if your “shinjin was settled.” Examples of such expressions are:

I thought Namo Amida Butsu was the Name and title of the Buddha but it is actually an aspect of the person chanting it. (said by Master Shoku (1177 - 1247 AD) of the Seizan branch of the Jodo denomination of Buddha-dharma)

and

When I chant Namo Amida Butsu, Namo Amida Butsu, there is no distinction between the Buddha and me. (said by Master Ippen (1239 - 1287 AD, founder of the Ji denomination of Buddha-dharma)

Master Rennyo, however, insisted on following the lead of the Venerable Master Shinran and his teaching of the “two benefits” (niyaku) of: 1) being in the “group of those assured (of birth in the Pure Land)” in the present, and 2) attaining nirvana in the next world.

In Letter 113 of “Chogai Honorable Letters,” Master Rennyo wrote:

Many people in this area say that when we receive shinjinwe become one with the Buddha and awaken to nirvana. That is absolutely not the case. How pitiful that they believe such a thing. In the Venerable Master (Shinran’s) school, we teach “rightly-assured (of enlightenment),” and “extinction” (metsu-do, nirvana). We abandon auxiliary practices and single-mindedly rely on Amida Buddha. Because of the merit of “being taken in and not abandoned,” we will be among those who are “rightly-assured (of birth in the Pure Land).” This is called heizei gojo.

This passage brings to mind the words of the leader of the Seizen school of the Jodo denomination and by the leader of the Ji denomination previously quoted, and criticizes as outrageous the assertions that with shinjin we are already Buddhas.

Further, this passage states that the teaching of the Venerable Master Shinran is that when we single-mindedly rely on Amida Buddha (receive shinjin), we receive the benefit of being in the “‘group of those assured (of birth in the Pure Land)’ in ‘this world,’” and that we will be born in that Pure Land and attain Enlightenment when our life comes to an end. That is what “karma (for being born in the Pure Land) determined during our everyday life” (heizei gojo) is.

In other words, the heizei gojo that Master Rennyo spoke of is being in the Venerable Master Shinran’s “‘group of those assured (of birth in the Pure Land)’ in our ‘present life.’”

When our “shinjin is settled,” we are assured of birth in the Pure Land just as we are with all our “ignorance and base passions” (bonno) intact. This is the true and real benefit that we receive, and is what both the Venerable Master Shinran and Master Rennyo taught. That is why I believe the teachings of both masters are in absolute accord.

As I indicated in Chapter One, I cannot help but believe that those who assert that Master Rennyo distorted the Venerable Master Shinran’s teaching in order to curry favor with those in authority and by speaking only about the “life to come” (raise), have absolutely no understanding of the essence of the Venerable Master’s teaching.

It is because such people do not understand being in the “‘group of those assured (of birth in the Pure Land)’ in our ‘present life’” that they they do not understand what the Venerable Master Shinran and Master Rennyo taught, and that misunderstandings of Master Rennyo arise.