On June 27, 2020 on
Zoom we watched the lecture “The Role of the Teacher in Zen and Jodo Shinshu,”
a presentation by Prof. Melissa Curley of the analysis of Kyoto School philosopher
Keta Masako. Prof. Curley said in Keta’s view, the difference between Zen and
Shinshu is in Zen the teacher acts as a wall – challenging the student to go
over him, while in Shin the teacher serves as a window – the person becoming
transparent so the student sees the rich transmission behind him.
For Shinran, all the
teachers in his Magnificent Seven scheme are windows, allowing him to see
through to the essence of the Buddha’s teachings. In Topic #3, I talked of the
Mahayana rebellion, that Nagarjuna had to wrestle the true message of universal
awakening away from the clutches of those who wanted to make Buddhist
institutions for elites only. Now in this topic, we looked at Tanluan (476-572)
who was attracted intellectually to Buddhist philosophy but encountered the
living truth of Buddhism only after he was faced with a life-threatening
illness.
He abandoned the
useless metaphysics of Buddhism and sought the magic formulas for regaining
health in Taoism (not the Western idea of Taoism as a purely philosophical
path). He happened to encounter Bodhiruci, a monk from Central Asia, bringing
Buddhist texts to the Chinese. Bodhiruci showed him the Pure Land teachings of
Vasubandhu who focused on the Larger Sukhavativyuha Sutra. In Vasubandhu’s commentary,
Tanluan received the awakening to the truth of each life is a part of the Unbounded
Life (Amitayus) and Light (Amitabha). He no longer felt anxious about whether
and when his illness would terminate his individual life and in his zeal to
spread the Pure Land teachings he recovered and went on to live several more
years. I said it was like Mr. Noboru Sanwo of Kingsburg, California who was
told his cancer would kill him within six months but he lived another ten years
once he found the clear presentation of Shinran’s teachings in the works of
Shuichi Maida. He became friends with Rev. Gyoko Saito who was a
brother-disciple with Maida in Akegarasu’s group. I was fortunate to sit in on
one of the study sessions Mr. Sanwo held for people in the Fresno area to
discuss Maida’s works and the urgent concerns they each had about hearing the
Buddha’s teachings of transcending ego-attachment.
Right now in isolation
due to the coronavirus lockdown, it’s hard for me to relate to Tanluan’s joy of
giving up the idea of an individual self for the experience of being
interconnected to all lives. There’s much to learn from Tanluan so I wait to
see him through the window provided by Shinran in the Kyogyoshinsho which I can
only look through when given the chance by translators such as Nobuo Haneda (weekly
Maida Center class) and Michael Conway (monthly ministers seminar) on the
internet these days.
