Dharma Message from Jeff Wilson

“June Reflection ”

 

I once heard a story that summed up the difference between the Path of Sages and the Path of Pure Land. Long ago, a rural village in Japan decided to build a temple and invite a Buddhist monk to come and minister to them. There were two applicants who seemed qualified, so the village decided to put them to a test in order to determine which one would be their new spiritual leader.

In the middle of the village two gigantic iron pots were set up and a fire was lit under each one, bringing the water inside to a boil. Then the two applicants were asked what they would do with the pots to prove their worthiness. The first monk was an advanced Zen meditator. Without batting an eye, he calmly climbed into the first pot, which reached up to his neck. Unaffected by the boiling water, the monk meditated for hours. The villagers were amazed and impressed—here was a monk who truly had amazing powers.

The second applicant was a Shin priest. He didn’t have impressive robes like the Zen monk, and he didn’t even shave his head. Everyone wondered how he could possibly do better than the first man, especially since while the Zen monk had been quietly preparing himself for his intense meditation, the Shin priest had just been chatting casually with the villagers, asking about their families and how the harvest was going. But when his turn came, the Shin priest gave a big smile and walked up to the second boiling pot. “Quick!” he called out. “Bring me some vegetables and salt!” Puzzled, the villagers gave him what he requested. Whistling to himself, the Shin priest chopped up the veggies and threw them in the pot with the salt. After a while he called out, “Soup’s ready!” He served the whole village supper from the big pot, and talked with them late into the night about their hopes and fears, offering advice and telling them to take comfort in Amida’s never-abandoning compassion. In the morning, the villagers thanked the Zen monk for coming and asked the Shin priest to stay and minister to their village.

Here we see an important difference between Shin and other types of Buddhism. The self-powered Zen monk was a very impressive meditator, and doubtless he knew the Sutras well and faithfully followed the precepts. With his powers he could maintain mental clarity in any situation, and he probably generated lots of merit that could be dedicated to the deceased members of the village.

The Shin priest, on the other hand, had no special powers. Instead, his approach was to meet ordinary people where they were and see what their everyday needs were. He demonstrated the principle of compassion by feeding everyone and bringing the community together to share and support each other. He didn’t need to accumulate merit because he knew that he and the other villagers would all be embraced by Amida and be born in the Pure Land just as they were. In the end, this was a Buddhist teaching which didn’t separate the good and the skilled from the rest of the community. I’m grateful that today we still have Shin priests whose concern is not just their own nirvana, but the liberation of everyone.

 

Jeff Wilson is a Phd Candidate on Buddhism at the Univeristy of North Carolina and a member of the West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple

 

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