Please do not confuse your emotional ups and downs with having or not having faith (shinjin). Faith is not at all something special, but a simple entrusting to Amida Buddha. No matter how hard you may try, you can never create in your mind a state when you will no longer feel anything that you don’t like. Thoughts may wander and will always wander in the mind, even thoughts that you think it should not arise. Just let them exist and you go on relying on Amida Buddha. To trouble yourself with your thoughts and trying to have a good or calm state of mind with which to relate to Amida Buddha is a subtle form of jiriki (self power) . Faith and nembutsu do not solve our psychological problems or the wandering of our thoughts. I myself have my own problems and feelings of depression. I also often meet with adverse conditions. I know I cannot make my mind to always have the best thoughts. But I know that Amida Buddha wants to save me and is ready to save me, so I just accept to be saved by Him and be taken by Him to the Pure Land when I die. This is all I can do. I simply let Amida save me, and I go on living my daily ups and downs. Remember that NOTHING can interfere with Amida’s salvation; we just need to let Him save us. Saying Namo Amida Bu with faith (shinjin) means just that – that we let Amida save us. Do not become obsessed with your faith in the sense that you might think there is something you should feel because you have faith. Just entrust in Amida and let your changing mind be a changing mind.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 14:41:55 +0000
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