Article Three of “Notes Lamenting Differences” contains the phrase:

Since even a good person can be born in the Pure Land, how much more so will an evil person.

This phrase indicates that rather than a “good person,” the object of Amida Buddha’s salvation is the “evil person.” This is expressed in the Jodo-Shinshu teaching as:

The evil person is the true object (of Amida Buddha’s concern) (akunin shoki).

Recently a statement which is worded almost exactly the same as the above passage in “Notes Lamenting Differences” was discovered in Master Honen’s writings. This has lead some to say that the thought of the evil person being the true object of Amida Buddha’s concern should be associated with Master H?nen and not with the Venerable Master.

Even granting that the thought of “Since even a good person will be born in the Pure Land, how much more so will an evil person” originated with Master Honen, however, I believe thought of the salvation of evil persons in the Venerable Master’s teaching has a deeper dimension than in Master Honen’s teaching.

The expression, “The evil person is the true object (of Amida Buddha’s concern),” was first used in a commentary on Article Three of the “Notes Lamenting Differences” written during the Edo Period of Japanese history (1603-1868 CE), and that is how it came to be associated with the Venerable Master’s understanding of the salvation of evil persons. That’s why I believe the thought of “The evil person is the true object (of Amida Buddha’s concern)” must be associated with the Venerable Master.

And then there is the view that, since the expression “Since even a good person can be born in the Pure Land, how much more so will an evil person” is not to be found in anything written by the Venerable Master, it is not a part of his thought. This view holds that it is just a phrase that the Venerable Master’s disciple Yuien-bo quoted him as saying, so the idea of the evil person being the true object (of Amida Buddha’s concern) is not part of the Venerable Master’s thought. That, however, is absolutely not correct.

In the General Preface of his “Teaching, Practice, Shinjin, and Attainment,” the Venerable Master wrote:

…Shakyamuni lead Vaidehi to select the land of peace and tranquility.

Further, he pointed out that Amida Buddha’s Great Compassion was such that Amida Buddha vowed to even save those who committed the five perversities of: 1) killing one’s father, 2) killing one’s mother, 3) killing an Arhat, 4) shedding the blood of a Buddha, and 5) causing disunity in the Sangha.

The Venerable Master also quotes the “Nirvana Sutra” (Nehan-gyo) at length in the Chapter on Shinjin of his “Teaching, Practice, Shinjin, and Realization,” pointing out that even Ajase (Sanskrit: Ajatasatru) who committed the great crime of killing his father was saved by the power of Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow.