The Concept of Gratitude in Shin by Taitetsu Unno

t the heart of Shin Buddhism (Jodo Shinshii) their attitude to the world even without such an A is a radical transformative experience, consis­ awareness. The Japanese idiomatic expression, tent with the goal of Buddhism, which Okage-samo, is a case in point. Whatever one's converts a being, bound to the infinite burden of present circumstances, he or she lives by virtue of saqtsara, into a free liberated person who, willingly the workings and sacrifices of countless others, taking on the responsibilities of his karmic exis­ including nature. (Kage means "shade," protec· tence, manifests wisdom and compassion in rela­ tion, assistance, beneficence, kindness; and 0 and tion to the world. This positive affirmation of SIlmtl are honorifics.) Thus, Okage-SIlmtl prefaces life comes from a deep sense of gratitude to all the words of gratitude expressed by a person forms of existence, a gratitude rooted in being recovering from illness, a man beginning anew itself and permeating one's every thought, speech, after a failure in business, a scholar publishing a and action. Gratitude, in this profound sense, is book, a woman who has raised fme children, an not simply a mere attitude, a deep feeling, or artist who has achieved success-in none of these even a desirable virtue; it is as elemental as life cases does an individual claim to have made it on itself. his own. In fact, just to be alive is Okag.. SIlmtl­ our life is a gift of nature and aU the hidden forces The original tenn for "gratitude" in Sino­ contained therein. Japanese is en (in Chinese) or on (in Japanese). This term connotates kindness, goodness, favor, Such an appreciation for life comes from a blessing, benevolence, and grace which make humble sense of self. From gratitude is born this possible one's life and existence. Later, with the sense of natural humility which, in turn, deepens strong influence of Buddhism , it took on the addi· one's gratefulness to all things. Both continue to tional meaning of the feeling of gratefulness or grow with maturity and age; they are the qualities thankfulness, as well as the deep wish to repay or of a truly wise, humane person. The consequence reciprocate for a salutary act.! The two cannata· of humility and gratitude is compassion, a compas­ tions, however, are inseparable, since the latter is sion that is unforced and free flowing. These mani­ the natural reaction to the former, and the former festations of what it means to be truly human­ cannot be talked about without some sense of the gratefulness, humbleness and compassion-are latter. The English word "gratitude" fails to ade· the natural flowerings of life, free of any will, quately convey this twofold sense but since there purpose, judgment, or discrimination. are no other equivalents in Western languages, it must suffice for now to convey the dual meaning The concept of gratitude has deep roots in of the original term. Indian Buddhism in which recognition or aware­ nes~ of favors (krtajfia, katanniij is not only essen· Although the profound sense of gratitude is tial to the religious life but, more fundamentally, brought to awareness in the person who has been to human life itself. It even becomes the propelling touched deeply by life, it has been the fundamen· force behind acts of compassion, even though one tal ethos of East Asian people and permeates is not the recipient of any favor or kindness. This

25 is because life is a vast network of interdependence One of the frrst examples of the more standard and mutuality that constitutes being. In early form appears in the on the Meditation on Buddhism this appears in the affrrmatioll of daily the True DhamuI, translated in A.D. 359.5 The life, as exemplified in the Eightfold Noble Path, four objects of gratitude, enabling one to come based on the principle of the and into contact with the Buddha , are mother, negating any concept of an absolute. In Mahayana father, Tathagata, and teacher of dharma. They Buddhi.ml Nagarjuna gave it a fuller expression are considered to be "fields of " (punYIl­ in his philosophy of dependent co-origination. ksetruj, any devotional acts to them being con­ The basic motivation behind the 's sidered meritorious for advancing on the religious six paramitii is said to be a sense of gratefulness, path. Among them, the fourth, the teacher of the crucial component being kshiil1li with its dharma, was considered to be crucial. dual connotation of "tolerance" and "wisdom." Through the practice of tolerance one is able to In the ninth century different formulations of become cognizant of the standpoint of others, as the Four Gratitudes appear in translated well as of favors or bleSSings received; hence, it during this period. In theMahiiyiinaSiitra onMedi­ makes possible the birth ofwisdom.2 tation of the Mind of Original Birth the four are listed as I) father and mother, 2) sentient beings, Chinese Buddhi.ml, in spite of its variegated 3) king, and 4) Three Treasures of Buddha, expression, inherits this understanding of life and Dharma, and .6 Among these the gratitude enriches it with some basic assumptions of its to sentient beings reflects the interdependent own. They may be summarized in the assertion nature of existence, and the inclusion of king or that "the genuine Chinese cosmogony is that of ruler is thought to reflect certain periods of Indian organismic process, meaning that all of the parts Buddhism. In another version, Siitru on Embracing of the entire cosmos belong to one organic whole Truth in Yarious Buddha Realms, the Four Grat~ and that they all interact as participants in one tudes are given as 1) king, 2) father and mother, spontaneously self-generating life process ... 3 3) benefactors of the dharma, and 4) sentient beings in all the universes. 7 The concept of gratitude which evolved in East Asia, thus, is a deepening appreciation for the In contrasting the fourth century and the ninth interdependency and interpenetration of life as it century formulations scholars have pointed out is. It rejects any kind of a supreme being or power that the latter show accommodation to Chinese that rules over human destiny, as well as any values, exemplified in patriarchal Confucian nihilistic and fatalistic acceptance of things. Grati­ ethics, listing the father first as the primary object tude is an essential and integral part of the ecology of mial piety and the ruler as the exclusive object of life. of loyalty. The religious dimensions are found in the reverence for the Three Treasures and for The first formulation of Four Gratitudes, sentient beings. The former, on the other hand, reflecting the original connotation of en or on still retains remnants of matriarchal Indian society as bleSSing, caring, kindness, and benevolence, with the mother given priority and the religious was used to translate the Four Embracing Acts components, the Tathagata and teacher of dharma, (catJiiiri samgra/unJastiinij taught in Indian maintaining their central place. Buddhism.4 The four are generosity, loving words, beneficial acts, and empathy, all highly The patriarchal nature of Confucian hierarchi­ acclaimed qualities of a bodhisattva. But this was cal ethics can be summarized, for example, in the a special usage, quite different in contents from following statement found in the Classic of FiliDl what was later to become widely associated with Piety: the popular understandingofthe Four Gratitudes. The connecting link between serving one's

26 father and serving one's mother is love. The and gratitude in the religious sense which ulti­ connecting link between serving one's father mately expresses thankfulness for this human life, and serving one's prince is reverence. Thus, the vehicle through which one realizes supreme the mother elicits love, while the prince caDs enlightenment. While the horizontal and vertical forth reverence; but to the father belongs relationships are inseparable, the basis for grati­ both-love and reverence. 8 tude is clearly the vertical one between the Buddha and oneself. This great tradition of filial piety directly countered the central practice of the Buddhist This rejection of particularistic ethics on the tradition-renunciation of the family and the horizontal plane is characteristic of Japanese worldly life. This conflict ultimately forced the Buddhism in the Kamakura Period (1185-1333). Buddhists to justify their ways by making accom· In spite of the fact that Buddhism was intimately modations to the prevailing family ethics. This bound to the state from the time of its introduc­ they did by arguing that renunciation itself was tion into Japan in the sixth century and that filial the highest form of filial piety, since the forsaking piety was an accepted social and ethical norm, the of worldly life for supreme enlightenment meant leaders of Kamakura Buddhism, such as Honen, that ultimately one would return to save aU beings, Shin ran, Dogen, and Nichiren, were adamant in including one's own parents. Moreover, filial piety claiming the superiority of the Buddha Dharma should not be solely a matter of the present but over aU secular aUegiances. of past and future lives; the entry into religious life meant that seven generations of ancestors Both Honen and , affirming the exclu­ would also be saved.9 sive reliance upon the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha, negated the conventional social norms. The sacrosanct nature of familial ethics led According to the Tract Lamenting the Devilltions, the BUddhists to forge several apocryphal siitras, Shinran states unequivocaDy: two of the most famous and important being the so-caUed UllllmblUllJ Siitra, composed around I, Shinran, have never even once pronounced A.D. 510,10 and the SUtra on the Heavy Indebt­ the nembutsu for the sake of my father and edness to Parents, probably compiled around the mother. 13 same period. I I Several versions of both siitras exist, but the first stresses the gratitude owed to This did not mean that Shinran had no concern ancestors, especiaUy to fathers and mothers for for the welfare of his parents; what he negated seven generations past, and the second focuses on was a particularistic ethics centered on family ties. the gift of human life received from parents to His parents, naturaUy, would be included in his whom children are deeply indebted. universal concern for the happiness of aU beings, the solidarity of aU forms oflife being expressed These accommodations made in the course of in the statement immediately foDowing the above Sinicization, however, did not mean the outright quotation: "The reason is that aU beings have been capitulation to secular ethics. A common refrain fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, in the in Buddhist , frequently chanted in ordina­ timeless process of birth-and -death." tion ceremony, states: "To abandon gratitude [based upon human ties] and to enter the realm Shinran's rejection of filial piety also appears of the uncreated (as!lJ?lskrta) is the true and real in his advice to Shoshin, who was among those expression of gratitude. "12 Here we see a clear foDowers in the Kanto district being persecuted rejection of particularistic ethics and an affirma­ for foDowing the nembutsu path. In short, he tion of universal ethics. Among Buddhists, then, suggests that Shoshin disregard his mother's a clear distinction existed between gratitude in criticism of his activity: the social context, expressed to parents or rulers,

27 It is extremely wrong for people to place by government authorities. The rejection of the the responsibility for the nembutsu persecu· emperor and state as paramount is found in tion on you alone. Those who uphold the common in Shinran, Nichiren, and Dogen, and nembutsu should be on your side and should we can cite many instances to demonstrate this be helping you. That your mother and fact, but suffice it to say that the traditional younger and older sisters criticize you is notion of Four Gratitudes was undermined by simply behind the times. [You should dis­ these religious thinkers. What was central was the regard their criticisms.) 14 deep and profound gratitude to the Buddha and dharma through which the Four Gratitudes The life of nembutsu, in accord with the Primal become truly meaningful. Vow of Amida, takes priority over all conventional social and ethical practices, including filial piety. A standard recitation in Buddhist liturgy begins with the reading of the " in the Nichiren, Shinran's younger contemporary, Three Treasures"-Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha­ expresses the religious standpoint even more which begins with the lines: clearly when he writes: "In general, it is the son's duty to obey his parents, yet on the path to Difficult is it to be born into human life; , not following one's parents may Now we are living it. ultimately bring them to good fortune ... That Difficult is it to hear the teachings of the is, in order to enter the true way, one leaves his Buddha; home against his parents' wishes and attains Now we hear it. Buddhahood. Then he can truly repay his debt of gratitude to them."lS Another contemporary, In order to truly realize the sacrosanct nature of Dogen of Soto , echoes this rejection of par· human life, one must first be awakened by the ticularistic ethics and advocates the Buddhist ideal teachings of Buddha. This awakening enables us of liberation for all beings. In theRecord ofThings to see the boundless compassion that constantly Heard DOgen states: works in our life, liberating us from karmic bondage. When liberation is experienced, then we Because renunciants abandon the debt of become truly grateful for life itself. Although it gratitude and enter the uncreated, the is, indeed, difficult to comprehend and manifest proper act of a renunciant regarding the the teachings in one's being to the point of ulti· payment of gratitude is not limited to one mate liberation, that is the raison d'efre of human person. Thinking with deep gratitude to all existence. sentient beings alike as fathers and mothers, he returns the roots of goodness he creates That one can awaken to the teaching and back to the universe. If one were to limit it become liberated from samsara is a momentous specially to his parents in this life's single event that comes not from'will power or rational generation alone, he would be going against decision but from the sole working of the Primal the path of the uncreated. l6 Vow of Amida Buddha. The gratitude thus born directed to the compassion of Amida is immeasur· The unequivocal negation of hierarchical ethics able. Shinran praised the working of the Vow also meant the negation of the ruler, whether until the very end of his earthly life: king or emperor, as the object of gratitude which was an essential component of the Four Grati· Those who truly entrust [shin;in) , tudes. Prior to the Kamakura Period, Japanese Saying Amida's Name, Buddhism had flourished by virtue of imperial Are constantly mindful of Buddha and aristocratic patronage. Buddhism was a And wish to repa) the Tathagata's de facto state religion, regulated and controlled benevolence. l

28 The Buddha's protection and testimony The benevolence of the Buddha's Are due to the fulfdlment of the compassion, compassionate Vow; Even if our bodies are crushed must be Those who have attained the diamond·like returned in gratitude. mind [shinjin 1 The benevolence of masters and teachers, Should repay Amida's benevolence. IS Even if our bones are broken should be returned in thankfulness.21 Those who lack full awareness of all that has been done for the self (that is, those who lack Since gratitude is such a concrete experience, krtajna, /cQtaiiiiii) will remain forever unenlight· it is also expressed not in euphoria but in practical ened and will continue wandering aimlessly in terms of everyday life. AJ one of the ten qualities S3I]1sira. In other words, people who cling to self· or benefits of the nembutsu, "Knowing gratitude centered calculations ("okuroi) and rely upon their and repaying benevolence,"22 it is manifested in own powers in the religious quest can never know I) the constant saying of the nembutsu in the liberation and what it means to be truly grateful. midst of daily living, 2) the sharing of the joy of According to Shinran, nembutsu with others, 3) the communal expret­ sian of gratitude in worship, and 4) the concern Doubting the inconceivable wisdom of the for the well being of all life. Buddha And favoring the recitation of nembutsu A central characteristic of Shiman's teaching by self· power, is that the nembutsu, the saying of Namu Amlda· One remains within the borderland, the butsu, is not a petitionary act leading to a desired realm of sloth and indolence, goal but a confirmation of having been liberated And has no gratitude for the Buddha's from sat!,sara, of having arrived. Moreover, the benevolence.19 saying of nembutsu expresses profound gratitude for having attained the ultimate realization. Both Our gratitude to the Buddha is made real for confirmation and gratitude come from a source us through our /cQlyanamitra-good friends, spiri­ deeper than the mind or heart of an individual; tual guides on the way to enlightenment. For they come from the very source of true campa$­ Shiman such a person was his teacher Honen to sian, the Primal Vow of Amida. whom he expressed everlasting affection and gratefulness: This means that the virtue of nembutsu does not depend on the subjective feelings of a person, Even within countless lives, whether grateful or ungrateful, nor upon the cir· Never would I have known the good cumstances of one's life, whether fortunate or fortune of liberation, unfortunate. The nembutsu is the most concrete If I had not met my teacher Genkii manifestation of our profound appreciation for [Honenl, life that can be expressed by anyone, any time, This life, too, would have passed in vain. 20 and anywhere. In the words of Shinran,

The deep sense of gratitude to the Buddha and We should know that all the nembutsu said to the teacher are inseparable. Both are connected throughout Our lifetime expresses gratitude to a historical legacy, a legacy that extends back to the benevolence and give thanks to the through history and beyond it to the Primal Vow true compassion of the Tathagata.23 of Amida, the home·ground of existence itself. The infmite gratitude expressed to this historical In sum, the saying of nembutsu is an uncondi· legacy-the seven patriarchs enumerated by tional celebration of life and an unqualified Shinran-knows no end: affirmation of its essential meaningfulness. It

29 clearly recognizes evil and sin, tragedy and suffer· alized, Hoonko was held at all Shin temples for ing, but no matter how tragic they may be, they seven days and nights during the month of are completely transformed by the power of November or January, according to the calendar Amida's Primal Vow into joy and thanksgiving. used. "Broken tiles and rocks are transmuted into gold," so says Shinran, by virtue of true compassion. The Hoonko is more than a memorial service, for it is an occasion for people to deepen their Such a radical sense of gratitude naturally leads understanding of the teaching by devoting the to the wish to expand the circle of joy to share whole week to immersing themselves in the the teachings with others. "To believe oneself dharma. Thus, they took off from work, closed and to make others believe-this is the most diffi· their shops, observed vegetarian diets, discussed cult of all difficulties in the world. That great questions of faith, shared their meals, and enjoyed compassion is spread widely and brings benefits spiritual fellowship. As part of the formal ritual, to all beings-this is the true way of repaying the the biography of Shinran, written by Kakunyo, BUddha's benevolence."Z4 This was the powerful the third head of Hongwanji, is read and received motivation in Shinran's life that lead to the pro­ by the congregation in all Shin temples. In some lific output of numerous treatises, commentaries, areas of Japan Hiionko is held in every home of religious poetry, and letters in his eighties, the the faithful where the teachings are heard, dis· most productive years of his life. He states this cussed, remembered and celebrated. explicitly at the end of his major work, the Kyogyoshimho. Finally, gratitude is expanded into compas· sionate concern for the welfare of all beings. The Now, having entered the ocean of Amida's ultimate manifestation of compassion occurs vow, I have come to know deeply the when one becomes part of the working of Amida's BUddha's benevolence. In order to repay the Primal Vow-called genso-eko or returning to teaching of highest virtue, I have selected samsaric existence. This completes the progression the essential passages concerning the true on the path to enlightenment-called oso-eko or teaching to forever praise the inconceivable going to the Pure Land. Both the going and return· ocean of merit. I rejoice in the Primal Vow ing are the workings of the Primal Vow, the whole and humbly receive the dharma.25 process infused with the human feeling of bound· less gratitude for the gift that is life itself. It is the All the religious rituals in Shin Buddhism are propelling force behind the deep wish to actualize expressions of gratitude to the salvific powers of reality, to make real the complete enlightenment the Primal Vow which becomes an occasion to of self and the world: deepen one's awareness of true compassion. Whether it is a daily home ritual, a temple service, For the sake of repaying benevolence, we say even a memorial or funeral gathering, they are all the nembutsu with the thought: may peace directed to praising and expressing thanks to abound in the world and may the Buddha Amida Buddha. The most important among the Dharma become spread evermore.26 religious observances is the communal worship of Hoonko or the "Service to Express Gratitude" which commemorates the passing of Shinran on the 28th day of the II th month in the year 1262. FOOTNOTES: Patterned after the memorial service honoring

Honen, held by Shinran for his teacher on the 1. Nakamura Hajime, "On no shisho, It in 25th of each month (also called Hoonko), it was On (Gratitude), edited by Bukky;; shis;; observed monthly on the day of Shinran's death. kenkyii kai (Kyoto: Heirakuji, 1979), However, as the Hongwanji became institution· pp. 3-4. I am indebted to this volume,

30 the fourth of a series of studieJ on 14. Go.ho.oku.hil, Shin.hil .ho/IYo zenlho. Buddhist thought, for the preparation Vol. 11 (Kyoto, 1957), p. 696. of this article. 15. "Letter to the Brothers," The Major Writ­ 2. Nakamura, Ibid., p. 32. ings 01 Nichiren Dai.rhonin,Vol.l (Tokyo: Nichiren Shoshu International Center, 3. Frederick W. Mote, Intellectual Founda­ 1979), p. 14 I. See also,Nichiren: Selected tions 01 China (New York: Alfred K. Writing., translated by Laurel Rasplica Knopf, 197 I), p. 19. Rodd (Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii, 1980). p. 124. 4. See, for example, P'u-yao-ching, Taisho 3.495c. 16. Reco,d 01 Thing. Heard I,om the Trea­ JUry 01 the Eye 01 the True Teaching •• 5. Ch~ng-Ia nien-ch'u-ching, Taisho 17.359b. translated by Thomas Cleary (Boulder: Prajn. Press, 1980), p. 45. 6. Ta-ch 'eng pen-.rheng h.rin-ti kuan-ching, Taisho 3.297a. 17. IOdo Mla.ran, Rylikoku Translation Series IV (Kyoto, 1965), p. 26. 7. Chu-Ia·ching-chieh .he-che.-.hih ching, Taisho 18.284b. 18. Ibid. • p. 117.

8. The lI.ioo Ching, translated by Mary L. 19. Sho,omQtsu waSQn, Ryukoku Translation Makra (New York: St. John's Univenity Series vn (Kyoto, 1980), p. 61. Press,1961),p.11. 20. KOlo wQJan, Ryiikoku Translation Series 9. For a discussion, see Kenneth Ch'en, VI (Kyoto, 1974), p. 126. "Filial Piety in ," lIa,­ .""d JoumIll 01 A.iatic Studi.. , Vol. 28, 21. ShozomatJU Mla.an, p. 59. (1968), pp. 81-97. 22. Kyo/IYoshinsho, Shin.hii .ho/IYo zen.ho, 10. YIi-lan-pen ching, Taisho 16.779.-<:. Vol. II, p. 72.

II. Fu-mu-en-chungching, Taisho 85.14031>- 23. Tanni.rho: A Shin Buddhut Cla"ic, p. 26. 1404a. 24. Kyo/IYo.hin.ho. p. 165. 12. Chu-ching yao-chi, Taisho 54.29b. 25. p. 166. 13. Tanni,ho: A Shin Buddhi.rtClallic, trans­ lated by Taitetou Unno (Honolulu: 26. Go,ho.olauhii, p. 697. Buddhist Study Center Press, 1984), p. 10.

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