In Mohammedan countries, blind men, who cannot look down into the surrounding gardens or house tops at the pretty women in or on them, but who have clear and penetrating voices, are often chosen us muezzins to utter the call to prayer from the minarets.  On much the same principle, in Old Japan, J[=o]-d[=o] priests, blind to metaphysics, but handsome, elegantly dressed and with fine delivery, went about the streets singing and intoning prayers, rich presents being made to them, especially by the ladies.  The J[=o]-d[=o] people cultivate art and aesthetic ornamentation to a notable degree.  They also understand the art of fictitious and sensational miracle-mongering.  It is said that Zen-d[=o], the famous Chinese founder of this Chinese sect, when writing his commentary, prayed for a wonderful exhibition of supernatural power.  Thereupon, a being arrayed as a priest of dignified presence gave him instruction on the division of the text in his first volume.  Hence Zen-d[=o] treats his own work as if it were the work of Buddha, and says that no one is allowed either to add or to take away even a word or sentence of the book.

The Pure Land is the western world where Amida lives.  It is perfectly pure and free from faults.  Those who wish to go thither will certainly be re-born there, but otherwise they will not.  This world, on the contrary, is the effect of the action of all beings, so that even those who do not wish to be born here are nevertheless obliged to come.  This world is called the Path of Pain, because it is full of all sorts of pains, such as birth, old age, disease, death, etc.  This is therefore a world not to be attached to, but to be estranged and separated from.  One who is disgusted with this world, and who is filled with desire for that world, will after death be born there.  Not to doubt about these words of Buddha, even in the slightest degree, is called deep faith; but if one entertains the least doubts he will not be born there.  Hence the saying:  “In the great sea of the law of Buddha, faith is the only means to enter.”

Salvation Through the Merits of Another.

In this absolute trust in the all-saving power of Amida as compared with the ways promulgated before, we see the emergence of the Buddhist doctrine of justification by faith, the simplification of theology, and a revolt against Buddhist scholasticism.  The Japanese technical term, “tariki,” or relying upon the strength of another, renouncing all idea of ji-riki or self-power,[8] is the substance of the J[=o]-d[=o] doctrine; but the expanded term ta-riki chin no ji-riki, or “self-effort depending on another,” while expressing the whole dogma, is rather scornfully applied to the J[=o]-d[=o]ists by the men of the Shin sect.  The invocation of Amida is a meritorious act of the believer, much repetition being the substance of this combination of personal and vicarious work.

H[=o]-nen, after making his discovery, believing it possible for all mankind eventually to attain to perfect Buddhaship, left, as we have seen, the Ten-dai sect, which represented particularism and laid emphasis on the idea of the elect.  H[=o]-nen taught Buddhist universalism.  Belief and repetition of prayer secure birth into the Pure Land after the death of the body, and then the soul moves onward toward the perfection of Buddha-hood.