Repeated Utterance of a Divine Name Or a Sacred Formula Is a Religious Be- Havior Commonly Observed in Many World Religions

A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF DHIKR AND NEMBUTSU*

KOJIRO NAKAMURA

Repeated utterance of a divine name or a sacred formula is a religious behavior commonly observed in many world religions. There are, to give a few examples, hesychasmof Eastern Orthodox Christian monks; dharani and mantra of Indian Yogis; dhikr of Sufi Muslims; nembutsuof Japanese Pure Land Buddhists. The Jews also have a similar practice in the tradition of Merkabah mysticism, and the Sikhs have imran. The striking similarities among these religious practices have already drawn attention of some scholars.(1) It can hardly be said, however, that these phenomena have adequately been studied yet in a general framework by comparative religionists. What is the meaning of this practice in each religious tradition and in the general framework of man's religious consciousness? The purpose of the present essay is to make an attempt to analyse the structures of dhikr and nembutsu by comparison toward a unified understanding of those similar religious phenomena. (2) To be specific in its scope, our study will be confined to the dhikr of Ghazali (1058-1111), a great Muslim theologian and spokesman of orthodox Sufism (Muslim mysticism), and the nembutsu of Honen (1133-1212), founder of the Pure Land Sect (Jodo-shu) of Buddhism in Japan.

* This is a part, with revision, of the author's doctoral dissertation submitted to Harvard University in 1970 under the title, "Al-Ghazali's Idea of Prayer." He is grateful to Profs. A. Schimmel and M. Nagatomi of Harvard University: the former guided his whole thesis work and the latter read this part and gave valuable suggestions during the process of revision. (1) Cf. L. Gardet, "Un probleme de mystique comparec: la mention du nom divin (dhikr) dans la mystique musulmane," Revue Thomiste, LII (1952), 642-79; LIII (1953), 197-216; E. Benz, "Nembutsu und Herzensgebet," Buddhism and Culture, Dedicated to Dr. Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki in Commemoration of His Ninetieth Birthday, ed. by Susumu Yamaguchi (Tokyo: Suzuki- gakujutsu-zaidan, 1960), 126-49; M. Eliade, Yoga; Immortality and Freedom, trans. by W. R. Trask (2nd ed.; New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1969), 212-19, 408. See also L. Massignon, Essai sur les origins du lexique techniquede la mystiquemusulmane (New ed., Paris: J. Vrin, 1954), 88-98. (2) It is also a fascinating subject, although a very difficult one at the present stage of our study, to investigate the historical interaction, if any, among them and to trace their origins.

75 BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES

The two great personalities lived far apart from each other in time and space in the totally different cultural milieus with little possibility of influence, direct or indirect, from one upon the other. Ghazali was born in 1058 A. D. and brought up in the north-eastern part of the present Iran and spent his life in the heartland of Islam.(3) His father, and possibly his mother too, died in his child- hood. From an early age, if his own account in the Munqidh is correct, it was his habit and custom "to thirst after a comprehension of things as they really are."(4) He had been intellectually too critically-minded and too self-confident to accept naively the traditional authority by the time he reached adolescence. Being unable to be satisfied with the given answers, he wanted to verify all the traditional beliefs and truths all by himself, and thus became seriously engaged in studying every branch of religious sciences (Qur'anic studies, theology, philo- sophy, Islamic jurisprudence, and others), seeking the ultimate Truth. To a certain extent he was successful indeed in this quest; he mastered all these sciences, and was socially rewarded for his endeavors and achievements. In 1085, at the death of Imam al-Haramain, a great theologian and jurist of his age, under whom Ghazali had studied with other eminent students, Ghazali moved from Nishapur to the Camp of Nizam al-Mulk, vizier of the Seljugid Sul- tan. This vizier surrounded himself with scholars and poets as a patron, and was making every effort to restore Sunni Islam against rampant Shi'ism at that time, with the support of Muslim intellectuals. Ghazali was duly received, and in 1091 he was appointed professor at the Nizamiyya College (Madrasah) of Baghdad, the highest position and the most coveted honor for the Muslim scholars in those days. With all this success and his thoroughgoing intellectual quest, however, he came to realize that he was still devoid of the true faith (yaqin),(5) or experimental understanding of the truth which he had been pursuing, demonstrating

(3) For his life, see his autobiography, al-Mundiqh min al-dalal ("Deliverance from Error"), translated by W. M. Watt in his The Faith and Practice of al-Ghazali (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1953), 19-85. For the critical study, see, among others, D. B. Macdonald, "The Life of al-Ghazzali, with especial reference to his religious experiences and opinions," The Journal of American Oriental Society, XX (1899), 71-132, which has not been superseded yet. See also W. M. Watt, Muslim Intellectual: A Study of al-Ghazali (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1963). (4) Munqidh (Watt), 20-21. (5) To give a brief account of this important term, Ghazali uses it in two different meanings: that of logicians and theologians on the one hand and that of the Sufis on the other. In

76 A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF DHIKR AND NEMBUTSU and teaching, namely, the unity of God (tawhid), expressed in the Muslim confes- sion: "There is but one God," and the life in the Hereafter. To put it epistemo- logically, Ghazali fell into deep skepticism and was desperately struggling to find the solid basis for knowledge of the religious truth. Ethically he came to be aware of, and admit with daring frankness, the gap between his actual way of life and the imperative of God as he understood as a result of his ruthless logical pursuit. But he also realized that the gap could not be bridged by intellectual effort, and that Truth was a divine gift bestowed freely by God upon the Sufi in the ecstatic experience of fana' ("passing-away").(6) In this mystical experience, the Sufi intuitively knows his own nothingness and utter dependence upon God, and the overwhelming reality and universal sovereignty of God (tawhid). All man can, and should, do is to prepare himself and wait for this grace by detaching himself and emptying his thought and will of all concerns but God. Dhikr is one of the major methods in this purgative way of the Sufi. After the acute inner crises and the agonizing process of decision, Ghazali finally denounced his position, honor, family, wealth, and all that would obstruct his devotion to God, and set off from Baghdad to lead a Sufi life. He spent about two years in Syria as a wandering hermit, and then came back to his native town. There he continued the Sufi practices with a small number of his disciples, while composing many works, for about ten years until his death, except for a short period of teaching at the Nizamiyya College of Nishapur. On the other hand, Honen was born in 1133 A. D, as a son of the local warrior class in the present Okayama prefecture, approximately 150 miles west of Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan.(7) He was also bereft of his father, and possibly his mother altogether, at his age of nine, when they met a night assault by a rival warrior. It is reported that his dying father left him the last will that he do not revenge on his enemy but forsake the worldly life to become a Buddhist

the former sense, it means to accept a certain statement because it is logically proved and free from doubt (shakk) or any possibility of doubt. In the latter sense, on the other hand, it means to accept a statement not only because there is no doubt about it, whether logically proven or based on the generally accepted authority, but also because it grips one's heart to such an extent that it dominates his entire concern and there is a full commitment to it. For more details, see Ghazali, Ihya' 'ulum al-din ("Revivification of the Religious Sciences") (4 vols.; Cairo: 'Isa 'l-Babi 'l-Halabi, n. d.), I, 73 (K. 'Ilm, bab 6); F. Jabre, La notion de certitude selon Ghazali (Paris: J. Vrin, 1958). (6) See infra, p. 85. (7) For his life, see one of the oldest biographies composed by a monk, named Shunjo, at the imperial command about a century after Honen's death, Honen the Buddhist Saint: His Life and Teaching, translated and annotated by H. H. Coates & R. Ishizuka (Kyoto: Chion' in, 1925). For the critical study of his biography, see, among others, Encho Tamura, Honen (in Japanese) (Tokyo: Yoshikawa-kobun-kan, 1959).

77 monk, seek salvation and pray for his father.(8) Honen was sent to a cloister- temple nearby and stayed there under the care of the monk. However, it did not take this scholar-monk long to detect Honen's serious devotion to Buddhist learning and his unusual talents for it. Thereupon, in 1145, Honen moved in accordance with the wise recommendation of this teacher to the Enryaku-ji Monastery Temple at Mt. Hiei, the headquarters of the Tendai (Ch. T'ien t'ai) school of Buddhism. As his long studious engagement in learning and vigorous disciplines and practices in the search for Truth proved to be vain and fruitless in bringing him light, he became gradually frustrated and irritated by his own sense of inability and hopelessness, despite the reputation of his rare intelligence. This made him more and more skeptical about the traditional way to enlightenment through "the Sage's Path" (shodo-mon),or the path of self-effort, and he was spending gloomy days in despair of reaching Truth thereby, when he was introduced through the commentary of Shan-tao (Ja. Zendo; d. 681), to the gospel of Amida Buddha, or the message of salvation by rebirth in the Pure Land through "the Pure Land Path" (jodo-mon), or the path of other-power, expounded in the Three Canonical Sutras of Pure Land Buddhists.(9) He was now firmly convinced that man, in such a degenerate and decadent age of Dharma (mappo),(10)was totally deprived of chance and ability to attain the ultimate Truth by his own self-effort, self dis-

(8) Coates & Ishizuka, Honen, 103-4. (9) These are The Larger Sukhavati-vyuha, The Smaller Sukhavati-vyuha and Meditation on Buddha Amitayus. The first two are translated from Sanskrit into English by Max Muller and the last one is rendered into English from the Chinese text (the Sanskrit original being missing) by Junjiro Takakusu for The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XLIX, and they are reproduced in Buddhist Mahayana Texts, ed, by E. B. Cowell, et al (New York: Dover Publicaions, 1969), Part II, 1-75, 89-103, 161-201 respectively. For the study of these sutras, see Kotatsu Fujita, Genshi-jodo-shisono Kenkyu ("A Study of Early Pure Land Buddhism") (Tokyo: Iwanami-shoten, 1970). (10) According to the Buddhist view of history, there come three periods of time after the death of Buddha: shobo (Sk. saddharma), zobo (Sk. saddharma-pratirupaka) and mappo (Sk, saddharma- vipralopa) in succession. In the period of shobo, there are the true teaching of Buddha, those who put it into practice, and those who attain the goal of enlightenment altogether. In the next period of zobo, there are the true teaching of Buddha and those who put it into practice, but with no result of enlightenment. In the last period of mappo, there is the true teaching of Buddha, but no one puts it into practice and attains enlightenment any more. There are different views about the time-span of each period with consequent difference in the calculation of the beginning of mappo. In Japan unusual succession of political distur- bances and natural calamities around the time of Honen produced a universal consciousness among the people that they had stepped in the period of mappo. The background of this mappo-consciousness is indispensable for understanding of Honen's thought (For more details, see Kyoichi Kazue, Nihon no Mappo-shiso ["The Saddharma-vipralopa Thought in Japan"] [Tokyo: Kobun-do, 1960]).

78 A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF DHIKR AND NEMBUTSU cipline, or good work as exhorted in the traditional Buddhism, but by exclusively doing a simple practice of nembutsu in accordance with Amida's Original Vow and with a single-hearted trust in Him and His saving power. This took place in 1175, when Honen was forty-three years old.(11) Thus Honen identified himself with those common people who were deeply sunken in sinful and wicked acts in the karmic law of suffering, forsaken by the traditional abstruse teaching of Buddhism, which required good work, discipline and full-time devotion. He began preaching and propagating the new message to them, and eventually founded an independent Pure Land sect of Buddhism. This innovation of Honen in doctrine and practice vexed the established Buddhist tradition represented by the Kofuku-ji Temple in Nara and the Enryaku-ji Tem- ple at Mr. Hiei (Nanto-hokurei)and associated closely with the political establish- ment and authority, and inevitably incurred such an unprecedented vehement opposition to him and produced such a dangerous situation that the Imperial Government was moved to take a final step to issue an order to ban the nembutsu practice throughout the country and to exile Honen and his eminent disciples in 1207. In less than a year, however, the order was rescinded, though he was not allowed to return to Kyoto until 1211. And he died the following year.

PRACTICE OF DHIKR

The word dhikr (from the verb dhakara) literally means "to remember or re- call" and "to mention or utter," that is, both man's mental activity and vocal communication. It is no wonder that in the Qur'an these human actions are in most cases associated with God. Man is commanded over and over again "to remember" God, His works, and His favors (2:47, 2:63, 2:200, 7:69, etc.). Dhikr as vocal communication is often used in connection with the worship of God in the sense of "mentioning God's name," "praising or glorifying Him by invoking His name" (20:34). As such, it tends to be associated with particular places or occasions such as the mosque (2:114, 22:40, 24:36-7, etc.) and ritual prayer (salat) (20:14), and even to be identified with ritual prayer itself (38:32, 62:9).(12) At the same time, the way of "mentioning God's name" became gradually specified and established, though there is no explicit statement in the Qur'an about the formulas used on those specific occasions. Despite this process

(11) There are some scholars who disagree on this date (See E. Tamura, Honen, 34-40). (12) If the central meaning of ritual prayer is "praise of God's greatness and power, and thanks- giving for the salvation bestowed by Him" (F. Heiler, Das Gebet: eine religionsgeschichtliche und religionspsychologische Untersuchung [5th ed.; Munich: C. Brugel & Sohn, 1923], 444), then it is no wonder that dhikr of God as such should be the essential part of ritual prayer, or even be regarded as ritual prayer itself.

79 of reification or institutionalization, however, dhikr has never lost the character of a free, "extra-canonical," devotional act, especially for night vigil in the Qur'an (73:6-8, 76:25, 87:15). It is this last usage, together with the Qur'anic exhorta- tion of constant remembrance of God (62:10, 63:9, etc.), that inspired the pious Muslims of the early generations. Because of its great meritoriousness in expiating sins, dhikr, as praise of God by invoking or calling upon His name was practised assiduously, together with repentance (tawbah) and other ascetic exercises, by these early Muslims who were preoccupied with the idea of the approaching Last Judgment, in order to escape from the eternal doom of hellfire.(13) On the other hand, among the Sufis, who were the spiritual heirs of those early ascetics, the same dhikr continued to be practised, but not so much merely for such meritoriousness as rather for its conduci- veness to promoting concentration of the mind in their effort toward the final goal of mystical experience (fana'). Ghazali is one who gave a theoretical expression to this practice of dhikr. Later it underwent further development among the Sufi orders (tariqah), absorbing external influences, and came to be practised in groups as well as in solitude, with accompaniment of various techni- ques-breathing, bodily movemens, music and others. And each order has come to be associated with a particular manner of dhikr, and thus dhikr has become the main distinctive practice of each Sufi order.(14) The usages of the term dhikr in Ghazali's thought are widely ranged from the general and Qur'anic to the specifically Sufi one. We may be able to group them into five. First, as man's mental activity, dhikr is an endeavor to keep the mind in constant remembrance of God, or a laborious effort to turn his concerns preoccupied with worldly things toward God by remembering Him constantly.(15) As long as a man is occupied with the remembrance (dhikr) of God, he is free from worldly concerns, and thus there is little chance for Satanic insinuation and temptation. Indeed, the remembrance of God is the safest refuge from Satan.(16) Yet it is very hard to keep on remembering God all through daily life, especially for the beginner who is still preoccupied with this world. He easily slips back into heedlessness (ghaflah) of God, and thus Satanic insinuation (waswas) creeps in.(17)

(13) Generally speaking, as a religious behavior which originally came into being as a spontan- eous response to God, becomes formalized, its meritoriousness is more and more emphasized (Cf. F. Heiler, Das Gebet, 150-56, 479-85). (14) For this later development of dhikr, see L. Gardet, "Dhikr," Encyclopaediaof Islam (2nd ed.), II, 223-27, and the bibliography cited therein. (15) Ihya', IV, 176 (K. Khawf, Bayan ma'nan su' al-khatimah), et passim. (16) Ihya', III, 29 (K. Qalb, Bayan tasallut al-shaitan). (17) Therefore, dhikr must go hand in hand with other ascetic practices such as repentance, renun-

80 A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF DHIKR AND NEMBUTSU

Secondly, dhikr means a kind of "spiritual exercise," or meditation on one's own death, the torment in the tomb, the eschatological events like the Last Judgment, God's punishments in Hell (as well as on earth), or His gracious gifts, eternal joy in Paradise, and the like. This type of dhikr may seem to be similar to the previous one. However, the two are different methodologically from each other; the latter leads to the higher state of dhikr,(18)whereas the former produces a certain mood or sentiment in the heart, say, fear (khawf), gratitude (shukr), or hope (raja'), and this mood in turn will become a spur for more earnest engagement in the remembrance (dhikr) of God and in other exercises as well.(19) Gha- zali particularly urges the novice to be mindful of his own death, which may come at any moment, and of his perilous position before God and what will occur to him thereafter. Then, says Ghazali, his delight in, and attachment to, the transient world will disappear.(20) In this second type of dhikr as remembrance or meditation, its object is for the most part something other than God Himself. The practice of meditation will become more effective when it is repeated regularly. To be sure, this idea of repetition is also included in the connotations of dhikr (or tadhakkur). For it purports not only to remember a certain idea, but also to establish it in one's heart as a real virtue by repeating the remembrance of it. A better understanding of this semantics of dhikr may be obtained by contrasting it with fikr (discursive meditation), another meditative exercise, which means to produce a new idea or knowledge by combining two known different ones.(21) Whereas fikr is heuristic, dhikr is self-preserving. If these two meditative exercises are employed altogether with regard to God, the novice is not only able to multiply his knowledge ('ilm) of God, but to strengthen and establish it in his heart.(22) If the exercises are conducted with reference to the mercy of God, man's love of God will be increased; if they are done with reference to His majesty, man's fear of Him will be strengthened. Thirdly, dhikr means repeated invocation of God's name or utterance of a sacred formula. In the Prophetic traditions the practice is commended because

ciation, seclusion, poverty, and another effort to "transform one's whole character after the attributes of God" (takhalluq bi-akhlaq Allah) in order to sever the attachment to the world. (18) See infra, pp. 83-84. (19) Ihya', I, 138-39 (K. Taharah, qism 3, naw'1); I, 163-64 (K. Salat, Bayan al-dawn' al-nafi'). (20) Ihya', IV, 434-36 (K. Dhikr al-mawt, bab 1). For the similar meditations in Buddhism and Christianity, see H. C. Warren, Buddhism in Translations (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1896), 297-300, 360-62; Genshin's Ojo-yoshu (see infra, p. 87); and St. Ignatius Loyola's The Spiritual Exercises (passim). In Genshin, this meditation on the various forms of the Buddha is the essential meaning of nembutsu. (21) Ihya', IV, 412 (K. Tafakkur, Bayan haqiqat al-fikr). (22) Hence Ghazali often uses these two terms (dhikr and fikr) in combination (Ihya', I, 194 [K. Salat, bab 7, qism 1]; I, 334 [K. Awrad, bab 1, Fadilat al-awrad], et passim).

81 of its meritoriousness, particularly its "sacramental" nature, so to speak, in expiating one's sins. For example, [The Messengerof God] said, "If one says, 'Glory be to God, and praise be to Him!' (Subhana'llah wa-bi-hamdi-hi)(23) a hundred times a day, his sins fall off from him, even though they are like the foam of the sea."(24) It is related: "When a man says, 'There is but one God' (La ilahailla 'llah), the word comes on the leaf [of his book](25)and passes by [the recordsof his] sin, erasing them, until it finds a good deed similar to itself,and then finally nestles down beside it."(26) Ghazali, however, does not take the merit of this dhikr as it is expounded in the traditions. His attitude toward it is interpretative. He rather regards the reported merit of dhikr as symbolic of the special inner state which is induced in the heart of the Sufi by its repeated utterance.(27) It is essential, according to Ghazali, to pronounce the formula with the presence of mind, without any discrepancy betweem the tongue and the inner state of the utterer, as a tradition says, "He who professes single-heartedly (mukhlisan), ' There is but one God,' will enter Paradise."(28) The pronouncement of the formula must be done "single-heartedly" or "sincerely" (sidqan), without any other object or purpose whatsoever in the heart (see infra, n. 34). And, moreover, this presence of mind in this dhikr must be constant, with no interruption.(29) Otherwise there would be no use of dhikr. When the Sufi novice performs dhikr his inner state must be exactly like that of one who is fighting for the single cause of God (jihad), without any other object in mind but the Blissful Vision of God (ru'yat Allah) in the Hereafter. This is the very state which is expressed by the formula: "There is but one God" (tahlil).(30) We may conclude from the above discussion that mental dhikr is more essential and cardinal than vocal one, which is rather an auxiliary, yet important, method or "support" for mental dhikr. This idea of primacy of meditative aspect is also implied when the practice of dhikr is methodically and systematically or-

(23) As for the arguments about the syntax of this formula, see E. W. Lane, An Arabic-English Lexicon (8 parts; London: William & Norgate, 1863-93), II, 639. (24) Ihya', I, 300 (K. Adhkar, bab 1, Fadilat al-tasbih). (25) I. e., the book in which each man's deeds are recorded. It is to be handed down and shown to him on the Day of Judgment (Cf. Qur'an, 83: 7-8, 18-19, 84: 7-12). (26) Ihya', I, 300 (K. Adhkar, bab 1, Fadilat al-tahlil). (27) Cf. Ihya', I, 303 (K. Adhkar, bab 1, Fadilat al-tasbih). (28) Ihya', I, 299 (K. Adhkar, bab 1, Fadilat al-tahlil). (29) Ihya', I, 303. (30) This is, according to Ghazali, the reason why the Prophet Muhammad preferred tahlil for dhikr to the rest of the formulas (Ihya', I, 305 [K. Adhkar, bab 1, Fadilat al-tasbih]).

82 A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF DHIKR AND NEMBUTSU ganized in combination with other similar practices-discurvsive meditation (fikr), Qur'an-recitation (qira'ah) and supplication (du'a'). By performing all these practices in turn, the Sufi keeps his mind in constant remembrance of God, while averting boredom (malal) which comes from repeated practice of the same act.(31) Thus Ghazali repeatedly stresses the presence of mind during these practices, as well as dhikr.(32) Dhikr turns useless when it is nothing but a movement of the tongue, with no mind in it. Indeed, it is burdensome and requires constant effort to turn the mind to the practice of dhikr and keep on doing it. This is particularly so in the first stage of the Sufi novitiate when his mind is not bent on the practice yet completely. Nevertheless, as the formula is uttered repeatedly over a long period of time, with the mind in the remembrance of God, the practice of dhikr becomes in the end something familiar (uns) and palatable to his nature, and the initial hardship in it gradually disappears, and joy, sweetness or love (hubb) in it results instead. In general, certain food, for instance, no matter how repugnant and distasteful to one's nature at first, turns sweet and pleasant in the end, when he tries to eat it with every effort and continues the practice. In like manner, no matter how unpleasant and impracticable a certain act may seem at first, repeated practice will eventually render it pleasant and joyful, and finally turns it into a second nature. The same is true with the practice of dhikr. It becomes in the end such a blissful thing that the Sufi cannot endure without it.(33) When familiarity (uns) with dhikr of God and love (hubb) of it have taken firm root deep in the heart, man's thought and concern are cut off from all but God. This implies that he has attained the state of single-heartedness (ikhlas).(34) The

(31) These four practices are called "the Four Offices" (al-waza'if al-arba'ah), which constitute the main part of the daily practices of Ghazali (Cf. Ihya', I, 333-67 [K. Tartib al-awrad]; Ghazali, Bidayat al-hidayah ["The Beginning of Guidance"], trans, by W. M. Watt, in The Faith and Practice, 86-152). (32) Ihya', I, 303 (K. Adhkar, bab 1, Fadilat al-tasbih); I, 305 (Ibid.), et passim. (33) Ihya', I, 303 (K. Adhkar, bab 1, Fadilat al-tasbih). Cf. Inya', II, 292 (K. Sama', bab 2, maqam 2), et passim. (34) This is one of the key terms in Chazali's thought. Originally it meant "to keep something clear and pure, or free from mixture." In the Qur'an, it is mostly used to mean "absolute devotion to God," in opposition to ishrak (associating something with God; polytheism) (C. van Arendonk, "Ikhlas," Shorter Encyclopaediaof Islam, 161). Furthermore, according to Ghazali, it means that man's action is motivated by a single pure intention. For example, when a man gives alms, its motive is not mixed with vanity, eye-service, or any other similar intention. And finally it means to orient man's every single thought and act to the supreme goal of the Meeting with God in the next world; or such an inner state of man. This is called the "absolute single-heartedness" (ikhlas mutlaq) (For more details, see Ihya', IV, K. Niyah. Cf. the same inner state [shijo-shin] required in the practice of nembutsu, infra, p. 89).

83 orientation of his whole personality is now totally reversed. This is the state which is implied by the fourth usage of dhikr. It is the inner state reached as a result of constant practice of dhikr, both mental and vocal, and other ascetic practices as well.(35) It is the higher spiritual state in which a man is solely bent on God and his mind is completely submerged in the thought of God. This is what Ghazali means when he says that "the real essence of dhikr is established in the heart only after the heart is consolidated in God-fearing (taqwa) and purified from blameworthy qualities."(36) Now no matter what the Sufi may do, his mind and thought always turn to God. No effort is needed for the remembrance (dhikr) of God. He is freed from all worldly concerns, and is ready for the next dhikr. The fifth-and last-usage of dhikr is the most intensified method of repeating incessantly the name of God (Allah) or a simple phrase like "Glory be to God!" (Subhana 'llah), without being disturbed by any other thought whatsoever. While practising this dhikr, the Sufi eventually, ... comes to a state in which his effort to move his tongue drops off and it looks as if the word flowson his tongue all by itself. Then, let him stick to this until any trace of motion is removed from his tongue and he finds his mind persever- ing in dhikr. Then, let him still stick to this until the image ofthe word, its letters and shape are effaced from his mind and there remains the idea of the word alone in the mind, clinging to it, as if it were glued to the mind, without separating from it.(37) In this process, we see the mind of the Sufi gradually concentrated and recollected upon the word of dhikr and what is expressed by it. Characteristic of this dhikr is that all such practices as Qur'an-recitation, reading of the Prophetic traditions, or supplication, which may distract the mind, are shunned, and that only a short simple phrase is used for dhikr. The word used is such that when it is uttered uninterruptedly the repetition soon turns mechanical. And this mechanical and monotonous repetition holds the mind from engaging in logical and imaginative wanderings and thus from drifting away from the word of dhikr. The Sufi can advance up to this point by his own will and effort (ikhtiyar).(38) But no one is able to step further on and attract the mercy of God. He has only to wait bare and surrendered to God's initiative and His will, with his mind completely empty, until the light of the Truth illumines his inner heart. About this final state (fana'), Ghazali writes as follows:

(35) See supra, p. 81. (36) Ihya', III, 35 (K. Qalb, Bayan tafsil madakhil al-shaitan). (37) Ihya', III, 18-19 (K. Qalb, Bayan al-farq bain al-ilham...). (38) Strictly speaking, however, this "will and effort" is not his own, but God's.

84 A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF DHIKR AND NEMBUTSU

He is like one dumbfounded (madhush), absorbed in the sea of the witnessing ('ain al-shuhud), whose inner state resembles that of the ladies who cut their hands, witnessing the beauty of Joseph, when they were dumbfounded and their perceptions were gone.(39) The Sufis express this state by saying that "he has passed away from him self" (faniya 'an nafsi-hi). Whenever a man has passed away from himself, he has passed away all beside himself. Then it is as if he passed away from everything except the Witnessed One, and passed away from the act of witnessing. For the heart, whenever it turns aside to view the act of witnessing and itself as a witness, becomes heedless of the Witnessed One. And for him who is infatuated in a thing which he sees, there is no turn- ing aside, in his state of absorption, toward his witnessing, nor toward his own self through which his vision comes, nor toward his heart in which his joy is....(40) This is the ecstatic state in which the object, or "the Witnessed One," has so completely permeated and absorbed the mind of the subject that he is not conscious of himself, but only of the object. To bemore precise, the subject does not have his consciousness of the object, since he is not conscious of himself. Nor is there consciousness of his witnessing of the object. Only the Witnessed One occupies his mind. In this state, therefore, there is no disparity nor differentia- tion of the witness, the witnessed one and the act of witnessing. This is the time when "the true nature of the Truth" (haqiqat al-Haqq) manifests itself,(41) or "the True One" (al-Wahid al-Haqq) is seen(42) and "the secret of the Divine Kingdom" (sirr al-malakut) is revealed.(43) This is the goal of the Sufi way.(44) There is no more need of dhikr than there is no need of the guide once the destina- tion is reached. For dhikr presupposes the subject of dhikr (dhakir) and its object (madhkur). When this disparity disappears, there is no dhikr any more. (45) In

(39) Cf. Qur'an, 12:31. (40) Ihya', II, 288 (K. Sama', bab 2, maqam 1). (41) Ihya', III, 395 (K. Dhamm al-ghurur, sinf 3). (42) Ihya', IV, 241 (K. Tawhid, Bayan haqiqat al-tawhid). (43) Ihya', III, 18 (K. Qalb, Bayan al-farq...). (44) The vision of God is not complete in this world. It is but a foretaste of the blissful experience of seeing Him in the Hereafter. Man's worldly existence is a preparation for this supreme goal. (45) Cf. Ihya', I, 304 (K. Adhkar, bab 1, Fadilat al-tasbih); al-Zabidi, Ithaf al-sadat al-muttaqin bi-sharh asrar Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din (10 vols.; Cairo: al-Matba'at al-Maimuniyyah, 1311 A.H.), V, 23. L. Gardet is right when he says, in discussing the development of dhikr, that "al- Ghazzali's analysis in the Ihya' halts at this stage" (i.e., the dhikr of the heart and the step of "absorption" [dhyana] of Yoga), falling short of the stage of the dhikr of the "inmost being" (sirr) and samadhi of Yoga ("Dhikr," EI2, 225), in so far as he is referring to Ghazali's desc- ription of dhikr in Ihya', III, 18-19 (supra, p. 84). It must be borne in mind, however, that this does not represent the whole picture of his mystical experience.

85 this mystical experience, the Sufi is given an experimental understanding, with unshaken conviction (yaqin), of the truth about the overwhelming reality of God as well as man's utter dependence upon Him, and about the life in the Here- after. (46) Faith has been established.

PRACTICE OF NEMBUTSU

The word nem-butsu (Sk. buddhanusmrti; Ch. nien-fo), literally and originally, means to remember (nen) the Buddha (butsu) or to meditate on the Buddha.(47) Technically it came to mean to keep an idealized Buddha in mind and meditate on His merits, virtues, or His forms, and later to hold the name firmly in mind with "a desire to turn the gracious attention of the Buddha toward the sinful devotee."(48) This nembutsu as a meditative exercise was further elaborated and developed along with other Buddhist practices. On the other hand, nembutsu in the meantime also came to be identified with vocal repetition of the name of the Buddha (namu-amida-butsu)(49)by the Chinese patriarchs of the Pure Land tradition, especially Shan-tao (d. 681), the most eminent representative of this tradition and the spiritual mentor of Honen.(50) Thus we see two distinctive types in nembutsu: one is mental or meditative (kanso-nembutsu),and the other vocal (shomyo-nembutsu).(51) Nevertheless, down

(46) See supra, n. 44. (47) It was a natural desire of the bereft followers of Buddha to remember the Enlightened Master as he had lived among them, with deep affection and respect. Nembutsu as a vocal invocation of bis name was used at this early stage in this sense of affectionate address (Ryosetsu Fujiwara, Nembutsu-shiso no Kenkyu ["A Study of the Nembutsu Thought"] [Kyoto: Nagata- bunsho-do, 1957], 7, 12-15). (48) D. T. Suzuki, Essays in Zen Buddhism (3 series; London: Luzac & Co. for The Eastern Buddhist Society, 1927-34), II, 140. (49) Sk, namo 'mitabhaya buddhaya; Ch. nan-wuo-mi-t'o-fo, which means "I put my trust in Amida Buddha." When this is repeated rapidly in Japanese, it sounds like "Nam-man-dabu." It is interesting to notice, in passing, a parallel development from "mental" to "vocal" in both dhikr and nembutsu. (50) For this development, see R. Fujiwara, Nembutsu-shiso, 107-221. Unfortunately, this final aspect of Shan-tao's Pure Land thought which had been reached at the end of his life, did not see its due development by his successors in China. (51) For the various kinds of nembutsu, see R. Fujiwara, ibid., 2-3. Honen himself classifies nembutsuinto three types: nembutsuof the Maka-shikan, or Mo-ho chih-kuan (Ch.), which is the meditative and contemplative method for enlightenment in the orthodox Tendai school (i.e., utterance of the name of the Buddha and meditation on Him as one of the methods for concentration); nembutsu in the Ojo-yoshu (see later) (i.e., both meditative and vocal nembutsufor rebirth in the Pure Land); and nembutsucommended by Shan-tao (i.e., simple utterance of the name of Amida Buddha for rebirth in the Pure Land with trust in Him). For the Tendai school, see Leon Hurvitz, "Chih-i," Melanges Chinois et Buddhiques, XII (1960- 62), 1-372.

86 A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF DHIKR AND NEMBUTSU

to the time of Genshin (d. 1017),(52)whose influence was decisive in the formation of Honen's belief in the Pure Land and who introduced him to Shan-tao's works, nembutsu,both meditative and vocal, was employed side by side with other practices as one of the auxiliary methods for mental concentration and contemplation toward the final goal of enlightenment.(53) Although Genshin advocated for the first time in Japan the salvation through rebirth in the Hereafter and elaborated in detail the manners and merits of nembutsuin his widely read Ojo-yoshu("Es- sentials for Rebirth in the Pure Land.")(54) as the most efficacious practice for it, he did not emphasize so much the vocal aspect of nembutsuas the meditative one. And it is Honen who made clear that nembutsu should be identical only with simple utterance of the name of Amida Buddha, and singled it out as the only possible way in these latter days of evil and degeneration (mappo) for those sinful and wicked like himself to be born in the Pure Land, while rejecting all self-disciplinary practices based on man's self-power on the other hand, and removing all the elaborate meditative elements out of nembutsuon the other. Honen says in his oft- quoted Ichimai-kisho-mon("The One Sheet Document"): By nembutsu I do not mean the practice of contemplatingas engaged in by the sages of China and our country. Nor is it the recitation of the Buddha's name practised as the result of understanding the meaning of the term "nen (think- ing)." It is just to recite "Namu-Amida-Butsu" without doubting that this will issue in rebirth in the Pure Land.(55) This choice of nembutsu (senjaku) by Honen and exclusive practice of it is based on the Original Vow (hongan; Sk. purva-pranidhana) and its fulfilment as is expounded in the Canonical Sutras of the Pure Land tradition and interpreted by Shan-tao. Amida(56) as Hozo Bosatsu (Sk. Dharmakara Bodhisattva) is said to have made the Original Vow, which is differentiated into forty-eight vows. The most impo rtant of them is the Eighteenth Vow, called "the Vow for Rebirth in the Pure Land by Nembutsu," in which Amida vowed: When I have obtained Buddhahood, if those beingswho are in the ten quarters

(52) For him, see Mizumaro Ishida, Kanashiki Mono no Sukui: Ojo-yoshu ("The Salvation of the Pitiful: the Ojo-yoshu") (Tokyo: Chikuma-shobo, 1967). (53) See Tetsuei Sato, "Eizan ni Okeru Jodo-kyo no Kenkyu," Bukkyo no Konpon-shinri ("The Fundamental Truth of Buddhism"), ed. by Shoson Miyamoto (Tokyo: Sanseido, 1956), 1051-76. (54) Part of it is translated into English by A. K. Reischauer under the title, "Genshin's Ojo Yoshu: Collected Essays on Birth into Paradise," Transactions of Asiatic Society of Japan, 2nd Series, VII (1930), 16-97. (55) Quoted from Daiei Kaneko, "The Meaning of Salvation in the Doctrine of Pure Land Buddhism," The Eastern Buddhist, n. s., Vol. I, No. 1 (1965), 58. (56) Sk. Amitabha ([Possessor of] infinite light) or Amitayus ([Possessor of] infinite life). See K. Fujita, Genshi-jodo-shiso, 287-335.

87 should believe in me with serene thoughts, and should wish to be born in my country, and should have say ten times thought of me (or repeatedmy name), if they should not be born there, may I not obtain the perfect knowledge;...(57) (Italics is mine) And He engaged in disciplinary practices and passed through all sorts of religious austerities during many kalpas(58) of time, thus transferring the full merit of all these practices upon His devotees through nembutsu. And to be sure He is now preaching in the Western Pure Land as the Buddha, and thus His Vow has all been fulfilled.(59) All His devotees, in consequence, are assured of their rebirth into the Land of Bliss, only if they accept single-heartedly this gospel of Amida's fulfilled Original Vow and commit themselves to this belief by calling upon His name assiduously, thus showing their willingness to be saved. The meritoriousness of nembutsu is such that ten repetitions of the name, or even once, is enough to save all sentient beings; how much more if it is repeated more.(60)

(57) There are some discrepancies between the Sanskrit text and its Chinese translations. This passage is quoted, as translated into English by Bunyiu Nanjio from Sanghavarman's Chinese translation which has been used among the Pure Land Buddhists in Japan. It is appended as Note to Max Muller's English translation of The Larger Sukhavati-vyuha (E. B. Cowell, et al, Buddhist Mahavana Texts, Part II, 73-75), since this 18th, together with the 21st, is entirely wanting in the Sanskrit text. The crucial point is how to interpret the word nen in the phrase:"...should have say ten times thought of me (or repeated my name)" (Ja. naishi-ju-nen). Originally and traditionally it was understood to mean "... should have say (naishi) ten times (ju) thought of (nen) me" (R. Fujiwara, Nembutsu-shiso, 40-56; K. Fujita, Genshi-jodo-shiso, 546-47: Jodo-sanbu-kyo, Chinese text, Japanese translation and annotations by Hajime Nakamura, et al, Iwanami-bunko [2 vols.; Tokyo: Iwanami-shoten, 1963-64], I, 281-82 [note 136]). Following Shan-tao, however, Honen took "nen" as meaning "utterance (of the name)," taking into consideration the passage in Meditation on Buddha Amitayus on those who will be born in the lowest form of the lowest grade: "...'Even if thou canst not exercise the remembrance of Buddha, thou mayst, at least, utter the name, "Buddha Amitayus."' Let him do so serenely with his voice uninterrupt- ed;...on the strength of (his merit of) uttering Buddha's name he will, during every repetition, expiate the sins which involve him in births and deaths during eighty millions of kalpas (see note 58)" (Buddhist Mahayana Texts, Part II, 198; Showa-shinsu-Honen-shonin-zenshu ["Collected Works of Honen"], ed. by Kyodo Ishii [Tokyo: Jodo-shumusho, 1955], 321, 370-71). As for the interpretation of the words "naishi-ju (-nen)," see infra, n. 60. (58) A general term for a long period of time, the length of which is so great that it cannot be defined by the month or the year. (59) Honen-zenshu, 317, 364. (60) Honen humbly surmises the reasons for Amida's Original Vow for rebirth by nembutsuand mentions two. The one is that nembutsu is the easiest of all practices. The other is that it is the most meritorious of all practices, because of the inexhaustible merits of the Buddha. The former is what had been surmised traditionally. But Honen's originality lies in his adding the second reason thereto and giving a systematic reinterpretation to the Pure Land doctrine (Shinshu-yoron ["An Outline of the Shinshu Doctrine"], [published by Ryukoku University, Kyoto, 1953], 39-40). And this comes from Honen's strong conviction that

88 A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF DHIKR AND NEMBUTSU

Although the merit of nembutsuis infinitely great, its meritoriousness presupposes faith on the part of those who practise nembutsu. Now faith consists of three factors, named "three hearts"-"a most sincere heart" (shijo-shin), "a deep believing heart" (jin-shin) and "a longing heart" (eko-hotsugan-shin).(61) By "a most sincere heart" is meant "a heart true to the full, that is, a heart which in every act of the body, in every word of the mouth and every thought of the mind, is true."(62) It is sincerity and single-heartedness in all men's inner and outer acts in loathing this transient world and aspiring rebirth into the Pure Land. By "a deep believing heart" is meant, on the other hand, a heart which truly recognizes man's moral incapacity, sinfulness and unworthiness of salvation in this age of decadence, and on the other a heart which has unshakable trust in the saving power and compassion of Amida Buddha expressed in His message of the Original Vow, no matter how sinful and wicked he may be; that is to say, "a deep believing heart" means to face up man's existential situation of total lostness, and yet, at the same time, to have a sincere hope of salvation through the gracious power of Amida Buddha. By "a longing heart" is meant the sincere aspiration which "prays for birth into the Pure Land, presenting, with a true and deep believing heart (to Amida in the Land of Bliss), the whole of one's stock of merit, resulting from actions[,] whether worldly or religious[,] performed in the past or present by one's body, mouth or will, and also that merit which results from regarding with satisfaction similar action performed by other men, whether common mortals or holy beings."(63) It goes without saying, however, that one does not have to understand all this argument. "If only he continues incessantly the practice for rebirth in the Pure Land without regard to the eye of other people," says Honen, "the three

the compassion of the Buddha is equal to all sentient beings, without regard to their different abilities and capacities, because there is neither limit nor bound to the compassion of the Buddha. It is, therefore, derogatory to this compassion of Amida Buddha for a mortal to make a distinction in His act of salvation because of man's inability and weak- ness. Rather it is the poor, the weak, and the wicked and sinful who are more entitled to Amida's compassion and saving-power (Honen-zenshu, 319-20, 367-69). It is in this spirit that Honen interprets the above-mentioned naishi-ju-nen. According to him, naishi, which is put into "say" by B. Nanjio (see supra, n. 57), should be interpreted as "even only," and ju (ten) should not be taken arithmetically. Rather the phrase naishi-ju-nen should be understood in the spirit of "...down to ten times or even only once" (Honen-zenshu, 321, 371. See also R. Fujiwara, Nembutsu-shiso, 51-56), although there are some scholars who try to confine the "once" repetition only to the special case of those who are about to breathe the last (Akihisa Shigematsu, Nihon jodo-kyo Seiritsu-katei no Kenkyu ["A Study on the Formation of the Pure Land Sects in Japan"], [Kyoto: Heirakuji-shoten, 1964], 394-403). (61) Honen-zenshu, 328-34, 382-93. (62) Coates & Ishizuka, Honen, 414. (63) Coates & Ishizuka, Honen, 419-20.

89 hearts will be established all by themselves."(64) Anyhow the fundamental characteristic of Honen's nembutsu is this faith, without which the utterance of the name is useless, as well as its repeated practice.(65) Honen encourages his nembutsu followers to do ceaseless uttering of the name of Amida Buddha at every moment, "with an entire trust in the merits of the Great Vow, looking up in con- fidence to Amida with every repetition,"(66) following Shan-tao's famous words: Only repeat the name of Amida with all your heart, whether walking or standing, sitting or lying. Never cease the practice of it even for a moment. This is the very work which unfailingly issues in salvation, for it is in accordance with the Original Vow of that Buddha.(67) It is said, in fact, that Honen used to utter the name seventy thousand times a day.(68) He also recommended his followers to fix the number of repetition and live up to it. Needless to say, the number itself is not the issue here. The essen-

(64) Honen-zenshu, 467, 519, et passim. (65) Thus Honen's idea of nembutsusounds simple. But this does not mean that it is crystal clear. Indeed there is much room in his thought of nembutsu (together with his priestly and disciplinary way of life) for various interpretations. Even during his lifetime, some of his followers asserted, stressing the aspect of faith in Honen's nembutsu,that one utterance of the name was sufficient for rebirth because of the infinite meritoriousness of nembutsu (the Ichinen-gi branch); some became antinomian; some, on the other hand, stressing the aspect of practice (work) in Honen's nembutsu, asserted the necessity of as many repetitions as possible and the desirability of good work (the Tanen-gi branch). This last group eventually became identified as the orthodox line of Honen, called the Pure Land Sect (Jodo-shu). Although Shinran, one of the devoted followers of Honen, did not claim to found an independent sect, regarding himself as a faithful disciple of his master, he stressed the aspect of faith in Honen's nembutsuand pushed it to its logical limit. And thus Shinran's followers, calling themselves the True Pure Land Sect (Jodo-shin-shu), tend to distinguish Shinran from Honen, regarding the former as the final culmination of the Pure Land tradition. On the other hand, the followers of Honen also make a distinction, though from a different point of view, between Honen and Shinran, regarding the latter as rather unorthodox. Even in the academic world, there is no unanimous understanding of Honen's nembutsu thought, particularly in his relation to Shinran, though it has been a dominant tendency to make a fundamental distinction between the two. Some see that Honen understood nembutsu quantitatively and hence his emphasis of many repetitions of nembutsu (Cf. A Shigematsu, Nihon Jodo-kyo; Shinryo Mochizuki, Jodo-kyono Kenkyu ["A Study on the Pure Land Sects"], [Tokyo: Kaneo- bun'en-do, 1922]). The others in contrast say that Honen's nembutsushould be understood qualitatively in the same way as Shinran's and stress the continuity between Honen and Shinran (Cf. Fumio Masutani, Shinran, Dogen, Nichiren [in Japanese] [Tokyo: Shibun-do, 1956]; Kyoichi Kazue, Hongan-nembutsuno Erabi: Senjaku-shu ["The Choice of the Original Vow: the Senjaku-shu], [Tokyo: Chikuma-shobo, 1967]). Between these two stands are there intermediate views. I myself understand that Honen's nembutsu consists of both practice and faith; that is, practice (of nembutsu) is faith itself in Honen. We shall discuss this problem in more detail in the next chapter. (66) Coates & Ishizuka, Honen, 405. (67) Coates & Ishizuka, ibid., 408. (68) Honen-zenshu, 458.

90 A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF DHIKR AND NEMBUTSU tial point is how one should assiduously be engaged in the nembutsupractice as much as possible.(69) However, this constant repetition of the sacred name does not mean to en- courage the principle of self-effort; if the devotee supposes that he will be saved by his effort of repeated practice of nembutsu,he is in a dire mistake, no matter how laborious his effort may be. This is technically called the nembutsu by jiriki (self-power). On the other hand, no matter how assiduous his practice of nembutsumay be, it is not by jiriki but by tariki (other-power), and thus issues in salvation, if it is practised in sincere reliance upon the saving power of Amida Buddha.(70) Therefore the devotee must practise nembutsucontinuously day and night, while attributing all the merit not to himself, but to Amida. If the devotee is negligent of the practice of nembutsu, believing that one or ten utterances of the name is sufficient for rebirth in the Pure Land, his faith hinders the practice. On the other hand, even if he never stops practising nembutsu, believing that one or ten utterances of nembutsu might be insufficient, his practice is hindering faith. Be assiduous in practice, therefore, believing that one utterance of the name is sufficient for rebirth (71)

CONCLUDING ANALYSIS

We must now turn to a comparative examination of the structures of dhikr and nembutsu and make a clarification of their similarities and dissimilarities. First of all, according to Ghazali, God is the Creator, who directly participates in every being and movement in the worlds. Man, for example, wills, thinks, and does something. But the real agent in these acts is not he, but God. Man is a mere locus through which God carries out His eternal will. Therefore, there are two aspects in human conduct: man's act and God's manipulation. Nevertheless, most people are not aware of this fact, or we should rather say, they are, but there is no real commitment to this belief, since they are bound to the worldly concerns and pleasures, and thus forgetting about God and the Meeting with Him (liqa' Allah) in the Hereafter. How is it possible to realize this truth and have the real commitment to it? That is, however, not something we obtain, but a gift given freely by God upon man as His special grace; Ghazali came to this conclusion after his vigorous intellectual efforts and despair. This does not mean, however, that man should just sit back and wait for God's initiative. On the contrary, man can, and should, prepare himself for

(69) Ibid., 650, 668, et passim. (70) Coates & Ishizuka, Honen, 404-5. (71) Honen-zenshu, 464.

91 the divine gift according to God's custom ('adah) and predestination (qada'). Although God can do and does whatever He wills, there is a certain custom or order in His acts in executing His will. Hence man can make preparations for the divine gift according to this God's custom. And man's acts in these preparations are also predestined by God, since no matter what man does, it is His will and acts. To overcome this dualism in man and realize intuitively the universal sovereignty of God is the goal of the Sufi. Thus man must make every effort to turn his central concern from this world to God and the Hereafter, and wait with his mind and will absolutely empty and bare to the oncoming of the divine grace. Dhikr is oneof these methods or means, though the most efficacious one, for this purpose. Therefore, once the goal is attained, there is no need of it. In Honen's thought, on the other hand, Amida Buddha is not the Creator, but the Savior. Amida is not involved creatively in the phenomena of the world as the sole agent. Mar is suffering amidst the endless flowings of doing and undoing under the karmic law; that is, man's present acts and conditions are determined by his previous ones, and his present ones in turn determine the future ones. To overcome this bondage and become liberated from the endless cycle of suffering is the goal of the Buddhists. However, when Honen was despaired of all the traditional methods based on self-discipline and self-power, including the old type of nembutsu,there is no way out left for him but to hang on the saving hand stretched out by Amida Buddha, namely, the nembutsuof the Original Vow. For Honen, therefore, the question is whether or not to accept the nembutsu with trust in Amida. There is no other reasoning about its meritoriousness, nor psychological explanation for it as Ghazali did. To do so means to Honen to throw doubt on Amida's intention. Whereas Ghazali's attitude toward dhikr is interpretative and indirect, Honen's attitude toward nembutsu is direct and "sacramental." In other words, Honen's idea of nembutsu is more like that of those who practise dhikr, accepting its meritoriousness as expounded in the Prophetic traditions, while Ghazali's idea of dhikr is more like that of those nembutsu practitioners prior to Honen in Japan, who rather stressed the meditative or contempletive aspect of nembutsuas one of the self disciplinary methods toward the perfect knowledge. Honen, rejecting once for all this elaborate, self-disciplinary, contemplative type of nembutsuas well as other practices as ineffective and impracticable for those sinful and wicked in these latter degenerate days, chose only the nembutsuof the Original Vow as the sole remaining way. Hence Honen's nembutsuis both practice and faith, while Ghazali's dhikr is nothing but practice as a method toward the true faith or the spiritual conviction (yaqin). The following diagram shows this contrast of the structures:

92 A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF DHIKR AND NEMBUTSU

(Faith1 means uncommitted faith; Faith2 fully committed one.)

With this difference in mind, let us have a still closer look at the structures of the two. In both dhikr and nembutsu, to begin with, this transient world is denied a positive value and rejected as something loath. Man is required, in both cases, to reorient his whole life by shifting his ultimate concern from this world to the Hereafter for the Meeting with God in Paradise (in the case of Gha- zali) or for rebirth in the Pure Land (in the case of Honen). And the actual state in which man is wholly oriented toward the next world is technically called ikhlas (single-heartedness) or shijo-shin ("a sincere heart") and eko-hotsugan-shin ("a longing heart") respectively. We have already seen in the case of dhikr how difficult and painful it is for those enmeshed in the love of this world to sever all the worldly bonds and turn their preoccupation toward the life in the Hereafter. Why is the same not true with the case of nembutsu? How is it possible to practise nembutsuwith full faith in Amida Buddha to such an extent that our whole life is joyfully committed to His message and totally oriented to salvation in the Hereafter? This is also an exremely difficult task, at least for some people, and indeed Ghazali spent his whole life in search of the true faith (yaqin). Honen's answer to this question, however, is simple and categorical: Have faith in Amida Buddha and practise nembutsu assiduously, and nothing else. But whence this faith? Probably we should see the secret in the repeated utterance of Amida's name. In fact, I propose to see the same psychological basis underlying in Honen's nembutsuthat we have seen in Ghazali's dhikr. When Amida's name is repeated over and over again at a stretch, according to D. T. Suzuki,(72) it becomes mechanical with no conscious effort and, therefore, with no conscious realization of the "hearts." As long as there is an intelligible meaning attached to the name, it suggests an endless train of ideas, feelings and imaginations. The mind then either becomes engaged in working a logical loom, or becomes inextricably involved in the meshes of imagination and association.

(72) D. T. Suzuki, Essays, II, 142; Suzuki-Daisetsu-zenshu ("Collected Works of D. T. Suzuki") (30 vols.; Iwanami-shoten, 1968-70), VI, 50-54.

93 On the other hand, when meaningless sounds are repeated, the mind stops right there, not having any chance to wander about. Images and promptings are less apt to creep in. When the name of the Buddha is thus mechanically repeated, it produces a subtle consciousness in the mind of the devotee-"a state of un- consciousness in which ideas and feelings superficially floating are wiped off,"(73) that is, the state of concentration, called samadhi. This is the same state as fana' for which the Sufi aspires.(74) It is at this very time that the devotee realizes the saving grace of Amida has reached him. To be sure, he then knows that "we who have been calling Amida's Name for salvation now turn out to be the ones who, all the while, have been called by Amida to awake and take refuge in him."(75) This is the time when faith is established in the heart of the devotee. Faith is now understood to be a gift from Amida, not something obtainable by human effort. The following diagram shows this change:

Thus nembutsuis in a sense a dhikr of the Pure Land Buddhist. However, what is established in man's heart in this final state is, in Ghazali's case, faith in God, not in dhikr, which is nothing but a means, while in Honen's case it is faith in Amida invoked in nembutsu and His saving power in it. It is from the standpoint of this final state or other-power that Shinran re- formulated in a consistent way his master's teaching in terms of Amida's initiative, and thus removed all ambiguities inherent in Honen's nembutsu,by emphasizing man's utter impotence and attributing all his practice and faith to Amida. Nembutsufor Shinran is not man's practice through which Amida's grace reaches him, but the expression of man's gratitude for His grace which is already given to him. Hallaj (d. 922), a celebrated Sufi, is talking from the same standpoint when he says as follows: It is Thou that castest me into ecstasy, not the dhikr;

(73) D. T. Suzuki, ibid., 145. (74) In fact, it is often reported that Honen has attained this state of mind (Coates & Ishizuka, Honen, 206-7, 212, 722, 730). (75) D. Kaneko, "The Meaning of Salvation," 59.

94 A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF DHIKR AND NEMBUTSU

Far from my heart be the thought of cleaving to my dhikr; The dhikr is the pearl of the shroatpiece which hides Thee from my eyes.(76) So is Rumi (d. 1273), another Sufi saint, when he tells about a man who cried upon God till his lips grew sweet with praising Him; and then fell asleep despaired of God's response; and thereupon heard a voice in his dream, saying, "Why did you hold back from praying unto God? Indeed, your 'O God' is God's response, 'Here am I.'"(77) Ghazali is more concerned with the method or process to this higher state. And so is Honen. But Honen categorically denied to interpret nembutsuin terms of method, at least explicitly, as Ghazali did. That would mean to retrogress into the old types of nembutsu. However, in this very denial of self-disciplinary factor (jiriki) in nembutsu,on the other hand, are other practical benefits. The devotee has only to utter the name, without bothering himself about the manner and effect of contemplation during the nembutsupractice. And this is extremely helpful for him to concentrate the mind. Furthermore, there is a well-known fact that "a voluntary effort to think of and to realize the object of the desired suggestion is found not to be successful."(78) This means that the more efforts a man makes to concentrate the mind, the less successful his attempt proves to be. However, the nembutsudevotee, upon every utterance of the name, is required to remove all jiriki or self-power consciousness and is thus practising self-denial and humiliation, which means to reduce his "voluntary effort" to zero level. (79) It is not our contention in this essay, however, to suggest that Honen was a pragmatist. The foregoing is our interpretation of Honen's nembutsu, not his own. Whether or not Honen himself saw nembutsuas we do does not primarily concern us here. We simply propose to see the above-mentioned psychological factors working in Honen's nembutsu practice. Even if he knew it someway or other, he could not formulate it in explicit terms because of the very fact that for him the merit of nembutsuis absolute and therefore beyond any human investi- gation. Dogmatically nembutsu is not meritorious because of the inner effect that its practice produces in the devotee's mind. It is not a method for this

(76) H. A. R. Gibb, Mohammedanism, A Galaxy Book (2nd ed.; New York: Oxford University Press, 1962), 133. (77) R. A. Nicholson, (ed. & tr.), Rumi: Poet and Mystic (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1950), 91. (78) R. H. Thouless, An Introduction to the Psychology of Religion (2nd ed.; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1924), 164. This is called "the law of the reversed effort." (79) This same function is performed by du'a' (supplication), an expression of self-denial and humiliation in Ghazali's thought (Cf. Ihya', I, 305-16 (K. Adhkar, bab 2]). Dhikr and du'a' are complementary to each other. Therefore, any attempt to understand one of these without regard to the other remains incomplete.

95 effect. It should be practised simply because "it is in accordance with the Ori- ginal Vow of that Buddha" (supra, p. 90). This is the main point of difference which distinguishes Honen from Ghazali who interpreted dhikr explicitly in terms of method. And this interpretation was made possible by the very nature of the general framework of his thought, namely, the unity of God (tawhid).