| Nagarjuna's analysis is
streamlined, strict, and formal. At the same time, the Mahayana movement
as a whole produced more emotionally driven interpreters as well. Let's
face it, life is vain- even back then. Some early followers of Mahayana
visualized Shakyamuni Buddha as a remote presence at the top of the stupa,
which they imagined as a symbolic "mind vehicle." They dreamed-up thousands
of legendary Buddhas, one to fit practically every mood or need. The western
paradise of the Buddha Amitabha, for example, became a savior's utopia.
In the east, Akshobhya's joyful utopia held a similar promise. Children
learned that they were waiting for the future Buddha Maitreya. In addition
to this vast array of Buddhas, we also find an equally vast array of heroic
Bodhisattvas, i.e. Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri, Samantabhadra, Vajrapani,
etc. These figures served dual duty as both the active embodiments of the
basic motives of Mahayana Buddhism as well as the quiet pantomime of Nirvana.
Consider how the saviour figure Amitabha was perceived as a symbolic Buddha of immortality and boundless light. His western paradise was assumed to be an immeasurable distance from the world of mankind. How, then, were Buddhists expected to enter such a remote place? Well, aside from death (the West being the direction of the setting sun and therefore the direction of death) Buddhists were advised to enter this "pure land" while alive. One scripture suggests that entry is possible "With active love, confront him who comes for redeeming." And another says to "just surrender yourself." This difference between
active and passive is an interesting one and we might compare it to the
difference in Vedanta between Bhakti, which means "faith,"
and Prapatti, which, although, meaning "surrender to the grace of
God," was interpreted by Vedantadeshika (1268-1370 CE) as requiring some
effort on the part of the devotee. We find this struggle again in Christian
thought between Pelagius (354-418 CE) and St. Augustine. Pelagius objected
to Augustine's doctrine of Divine Grace as a contributory factor to the
moral degradation that he, Pelagius, found in Rome. Pelagius insisted that
humankind had to take an active role.
|
| This difference between
active and passive is an interesting one and we might compare it to the
difference in Vedanta between Bhakti, which means "faith,"
and Prapatti, which, although, meaning "surrender to the grace of
God," was interpreted by Vedantadeshika (1268-1370 CE) as requiring some
effort on the part of the devotee. We find this struggle again in Christian
thought between Pelagius (354-418 CE) and St. Augustine. Pelagius objected
to Augustine's doctrine of Divine Grace as a contributory factor to the
moral degradation that he, Pelagius, found in Rome. Pelagius insisted that
humankind had to take an active role.
Later, the interaction between the Japanese Amitabha master Honen (1133-1212 CE) and his disciple Shinran touch on similar patterns as they strove to enter the Pure Land. Honehimself had studied Japanese Tantra and found that it was not necessarily appropriate or adequate for everyone. He then turned to a faith-based practice centring on Amitabha (Jap. Amida), who in his mind was simply another form of Shakyamuni. This drew a famous criticism of Honen from a monk who accused him of omitting the Bodhicitta principle thereby rendering him a bogus Buddhist. Shinran (1173-1263 CE) was inspired by Master Honen's deeper intentions and pursued this principle even more aggressively. Shinran once said: "Anyone who only calls Amida's name shall be saved without fail, for the Name-Call [nembutsu] is not a human contrivance, but the select way given in Amida's Original Vow." This, not surprisingly, earned Shinran his own measure of opprobrium from critics who failed to see any connection with Buddhism and its insistence on individual, realized catharsis. |