The aim of this essay is to provide a brief introduction to the perfect and sudden precepts (endonkai 円頓戒), the bodhisattva precepts employed in the Japanese Jōdoshū 浄土宗, or Pure Land school. I will discuss their history and philosophical background, consider their relationship to the nenbutsu 念仏, reflect on their purpose and significance, and finally describe the ordination ceremony as practiced in present-day Japan. Many people consider the Jōdoshū to be a religious denomination that teaches us to recite the nenbutsu with faith in Amida 阿弥陀 Buddha’s vow to save us, thereby attaining birth in the Pure Land of Supreme Bliss after we die. In a nutshell, it is a religious denomination that teaches the way to go to a pleasant world in the next life ( gose zensho 後世善処) through the nenbutsu. Such an understanding is not wrong, but the Jōdoshū also advocates keeping the perfect and sudden precepts for our welfare in the present world. In other words, it is also a religious denomination that teaches the way to attain peace of mind in the present life ( genze an’on 現世安穏). Followers of the Jōdoshū, monastics as well as lay people, are nurtured by both the nenbutsu and the perfect and sudden precepts.
目次
I. THE HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHICAL BACKGROUND OF THE PERFECT AND SUDDEN PRECEPTS IN THE JŌDOSHŪ 211 History 212 Philosophical Background 214 II. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE NENBUTSU AND THE PERFECT AND SUDDEN PRECEPTS 216 There is No Contradiction between the Nenbutsu and the Precepts 217 Hōnen’s Understanding of the Precepts 218 Shōgei’s Understanding of the Precepts 220 III. THE PURPOSE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PERFECT AND SUDDEN PRECEPTS IN THE JŌDOSHŪ 222 The Purpose of Keeping the Precepts 222 The Significance of the Precepts 223 IV. ORDINATION CEREMONY FOR RECEIVING THE PERFECT AND SUDDEN PRECEPTS 226 Ordination Ceremony 227 CONCLUSION 229
