... (the Venerable Master Shinran) urged us to observe the principles of humanity, justice, propriety, wisdom and sincerity; that we should honor the “king’s law”; and that, deep within, rely completely on the shinjin based on the Primal Vow of “Buddha-centered power.” In Letter 12 of Fascle III Master Rennyo wrote: In particular, make the “king’s law” fundamental and, giving priority to (the principles of) humanity and justice, follow generally-accepted customs; deep within yourself, however, maintain the “settled mind” (anjin) of our tradition; and, outwardly, conduct yourself in such a way that the transmission of the dharma you have received will not be evident to those of other sects and other schools.

Master Rennyo cautioned his followers to not make light of those in authority and urged them to “make the king’s law fundamental.”

I have already mentioned this but those who criticize Master Rennyo take his statements such as “Do not slight buddhas and bodhisattvas revered in other temples” and “Do not slight Shinto Shrines,” to be expressions that court those in authority. These scholars say such statements go against the Venerable Master Shinran’s position of being anti-authority, and corrupt the Venerable Master’s shinjin. But, I repeat, that is the position of those who misunderstand the shinjin that the Venerable Master Shinran taught.

The Venerable Master Shinran’s shinjin is the shinjin of the 18th Vow. In “On the One Recitation and the Many Recitations,” he wrote, “Shinjin is hearing the Tathagata’s Honorable Vow without doubt,” pointing out that shinjin is accepting the salvation of the Primal Vow without a second thought.

Shinjin is not engaging in anti-authoritarian activities, nor is it simply not worshiping other buddhas or gods; rather, it is accepting the truth of the Primal Vow, and is the correct cause of our birth in the Pure Land.

When we accept the truth of the Primal Vow, we will not, of course, worship other buddhas or gods. But simply not worshiping other buddhas or gods without an acceptance of the Primal Vow is absolutely not what shinjin is.

I seem to keep repeating myself but the shinjin that the Venerable Master Shinran taught is simply acceptance of the Primal Vow, nothing else.

I also mentioned this before, but regarding “king’s law is primary” (obo ihon), Article 37 of “Items Agreed Among Brothers”(Kyodaichu Shinjojojo) contains the passage:

Needless to say, in our school we make the “Buddha’s Law” primary. The reason the “king’s law” is followed in the world is solely to further the teaching of Buddha-dharma. At that time, however, many thought the “king’s law” came first and the “Buddha’s Law” second. This is absurd.

What Master Rennyo wished to accomplish with the words quoted above was to lessen discord between his organization and the outside world, which included the power of temples and shrines that felt threatened by his teachings, the shugoguardians of the peace, the jito district administrators, and the feudal lords.

During the 4th year of Bummei (1472 AD), Master Rennyo conducted the 13th Memorial Service for his step-mother, Nyoenni. In “A Record of Gathering Dust” (Shunjin-ki) this is recorded in the following way:

Nyoenni passed away on the 4th day of the 10th lunar month during the 1st year of Kansho (1460 AD). Later, during the 4th year of Bummei (1472 AD), the 13th-year memorial service for her, and other Buddhist activities were held at the Yoshizaki Temple in Echizen Province. (Although his step-mother treated him badly during his childhood) Master Rennyo always treated her with the respect that he wanted to give his birth-mother. Nyoenni regretted her attitude toward Master Rennyo when he was a child, and expressed remorse for her past actions. She awakened to the “shinjinof joy” (shinjin kangi) and achieved her cherished desire of “birth in the Pure Land.”

Master Rennyo regarded his step-mother—who had treated him so coldly when he was a child and had even tried to prevent him from succeeding his father as the Spiritual Leader of the Hongwanji—as he regarded his birth mother. It is said that Nyoenni regretted how she had treated Master Rennyo, repented, received “settled shinjin,” and was born in the Pure Land.

I believe Master Rennyo’s gentle character can be determined from the above passage.

During the time he was in the Yoshizaki area—speci-fically the 5th year of Bummei (1473 AD) when he was 59 years of age— Master Rennyo had the Venerable Master Shinran’s “Hymn of True Faith” (Shoshin-ge) and “Hymns in Japanese” (Wasan) printed in book form so it would be more widely available.