Shinjin

For South Korean automaker, see Shinjin Motors.

Shinjin (信心) is a central concept in Japanese Pure Land Buddhism which indicates a state of mind which totally entrusts oneself to Amida Buddha's other-power (Japanese: tariki), having utterly abandoned any form of self effort (J: jiriki) or calculation (J: hakarai). The term is variously translated as "entrusting mind", "true entrusting", "true faith", "trusting heart-mind", and so on. It is a key concept in the thought of Shinran (1173–1263), the founder of Jōdo Shinshū. Shinran's concept of shinjin is rooted in the concept of faith found in the Pure Land sutras and in the teachings of the Chinese Pure Land Buddhist masters Tanluan and Shandao, who also emphasized the importance of faith in Amitābha Buddha.

Indian precedents

The original Sanskrit term that was translated into shinjin was prasanna-cittā. In Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit and in Pali, prasanna (Pali: pasanna) can indicate belief, trust or faith (according to Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary, p. 388; and the Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary), thus the term can mean "faithful mind". However, the term prasanna also means "clarity" and "pure" in Sanskrit, thus the term can also mean "clear mind" or "pure mind". Furthermore, the term can also mean pleased, peaceful, serene, delighted, happy. Thus, prasanna may have had multiple connotations.

The term prasanna appears in a key passage of the Amitayus Sutra which discusses the 18th vow of Amitabha Buddha (when he was Dharmakara bodhisattva). This passage is central to Pure Land Buddhist through, for it discusses the fundamental vow (hongan) of Amitabha. The standard Chinese edition of Saṅghavarman states:

If, when I attain buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten directions who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves [prasanna-cittā] to me, desire to be born in my land, and think of me even ten times should not be born there, may I not attain perfect enlightenment. Excluded, however, are those who commit the five grave offenses and abuse the Right Dharma.

Luis O. Gomez, translating from the Sanskrit, uses "serene trust" for prasanna-cittā.

Precedents in Chinese Pure Land

In Chinese Pure Land Buddhism, faith in the Buddha Amitābha and his power to transport all beings to the Pure Land was a central element. It was discussed by various Pure Land masters, including Tanluan and Shandao.

Shanda's triple mind of faith

The central concept of Pure Land faith taught by Shandao is the triple mind or "three minds" (三心), which is the mental attitude needed to attain birth in the Pure Land of Amitabha. The "Three Minds" are found in Shandao’s extant works, like his commentary on the Amitayus Contemplation Sutra (Guan Wuliangshou Jing 觀無量壽經) and in his Hymns in Praise of Birth (Wangsheng Lizan Ji, 往生礼讃). According to Shandao, the "Three Minds" represent three qualities necessary for practitioners seeking birth in the Pure Land of Amitābha Buddha. They are:

1. The Sincere Mind (至誠心, zhicheng xin): This mind embodies the quality of complete sincerity and authenticity in one’s trust in Amitābha Buddha. For Shandao, sincerity here means aligning one's intention entirely with Amitābha’s vow to liberate beings. It implies an earnest and wholehearted commitment without pretense.
2. The Deep Mind (深心, shen xin): This mind reflects a profound trust and belief in the effectiveness of Amitābha’s power and vow. Shandao interprets this as unwavering confidence that Amitābha’s vow can indeed enable rebirth in the Pure Land. It also involves deep humility, recognizing one’s own limitations and the inability to attain liberation through self-effort alone.
3. The Mind Aspiring for Rebirth (迴向發願心, huixiang fayuan xin): Often translated as "Aspiring-for-Rebirth Mind," this is the sincere desire and intention to be born in Amitābha’s Pure Land. This mind also involves dedicating all merits accumulated from one’s practices, thoughts, and deeds to this purpose.

Shandao emphasized the importance of these three qualities as internal states that align the practitioner with Amitābha’s vow. By cultivating these three mental attitudes, Shandao taught that one could ensure rebirth in the Pure Land regardless of one's level of doctrinal understanding or meditation skill.

Japanese Pure Land

Shinjin (信心, often translated as "true entrusting" or "mind of true faith") is a general Japanese Buddhist term used in other traditions, especially in Japanese Pure Land Buddhism. However, it is particularly associated with the Jōdo Shinshū teaching of Shinran.

In Jōdo Shinshū

Shinran (Nara National Museum)

Shinjin became a major element in the teachings of Shinran, who is credited with transforming and systematizing Pure Land beliefs into the school of Jōdo Shinshū (浄土真宗, "True Pure Land School"). For Shinran, Shinjin represented a radical interpretation of faith as total reliance on Amitābha (Jp: Amida) Buddha’s saving vow, contrasting with the traditional Buddhist emphasis on self-power (jiriki 自力) practices such as meditation and ethical perfection. Furthermore, Shinran saw shinjin as the essence of Pure Land Buddhism, as he states in Notes on 'Essentials of Faith Alone: "Know that the true essence of the Pure Land teaching is that when we realize true and real shinjin, we are born in the true fulfilled land".

In Shinran's Jōdo Shinshū tradition of Pure Land, shinjin denotes an absolute and singular entrustment in Amitābha’s Primal Vow (Jp: hongan), which promises salvation to all beings who sincerely call upon his name (Nembutsu). Shinjin refers to a unified state of faith, trust, and humility. Shinran taught that true Shinjin is not self-generated but rather is a gift of grace granted by Amitābha, who is always calling out to beings to guide them to the Pure Land. Thus, James C. Dobbins writes:

For Shinran, faith is not the believer's individual act of volition, a conscious decision in favor of Amida and Pure Land; instead, it is a state wherein humanly contrived choices cease and one reposes effortlessly in Amida's embrace. Amida's mind and purpose become one's own mind and purpose. In fact, faith is none other than Amida's mind transmuted in the person.

Shinran emphasized that Shinjin is not something that can be cultivated or forced through personal effort; rather, it is an expression of Amitābha’s compassion and power (tariki 他力, "other-power"). This faith requires abandoning all reliance on self-power and recognizing one's own limitations and karmic burdens. Shinjin, therefore, reflects a complete surrender to Amitābha's vow, relying solely on other-power without any calculation, contrivance (Jp: hakarai) or self effort on the devotee's part. This means that making strenuous effort to perform Buddhist practices (such as good works, precepts, intensive chanting of nembutsu, etc) are not actually helpful in attaining shinjin and birth in the Pure Land. Indeed, for Shinran, once Shinjin is attained, further practices or rites are not necessary for rebirth in the Pure Land, as the practitioner’s liberation is already assured through Amitābha’s vow. This teaching diverges significantly from traditional Buddhist practice models and emphasizes a form of Pure Land Buddhism that is available to all, regardless of their spiritual capacity, since it does not rely on personal effort or skill. This does not mean that those who receive Shinjin do not do any practices however. It only means that those with Shinjin perform traditional Pure Land practices, like recitation of nembutsu and chanting sutras, out of a sense of gratitute to Amitabha. They therefore practice spontaneously and naturally, not out of a sense of calculation or out of a feeling that they need to do so to attain some kind of result like birth in the Pure Land. According to Shinran, for a person with shinjin, the act of saying the nembutsu is actually done by the Buddha's power, not by their own intent. As Dobbins writes "When a person of faith says the name, it is a tangible sign of Amida at work in the person." This means that a person with shinjin will say the nembutsu automatically, since this is equivalent to shinjin. As Shinran writes in the Tannishō:

When the thought of saying the Nembutsu emerges decisively from within, having entrusted ourselves to the inconceivable power of Amida's vow which saves us, enabling us to be born in the Pure Land, in that very moment we receive the ultimate benefit of being grasped never to be abandoned.

According to Yoshifumi Ueda, "Shinjin is the mind of Amida Buddha given to and realized in a person. Shinran interprets shin (信) to mean truth, reality, sincerity; jin (心) means mind. When shinjin is realized, Amida's mind (wisdom and compassion) and the practitioners mind of blind passions become become one." This non-dual view of faith is expressed in different ways by Shinran. For example, he equates shinjin with Buddha nature. Shinran also writes: "Faith means single-mindedness. Single-mindedness means the indestructible mind. The indestructible mind [vajra mind] means the mind aspiring for complete enlightenment [bochicitta]. This is in fact the Other-power [of Amida at work], which supersedes all other-power."

Once Shinjin has been attained, it may lead to feelings of gratitude and a desire to live in harmony with Buddhist precepts as a natural expression of Amitābha’s compassion. However, for Shinran, shinjin does not lead to moral perfection, rather it happens within our own imperfection and corrupted experiences and inclinations. Indeed, the encounter and acceptance of one's own corrupt and defiled self aids one's sense of faith in the Buddha's vow power, since in accepting this we come to realize that we cannot rely on our self-power, but must rely on Amida's power.

Bibliography

• Kasulis, Thomas P. (1981). Review: Letters of Shinran: A Translation of Mattōshō. Volume I: Shin Buddhism Translation Series I by Yoshifumi Ueda, Philosophy East and West 31 (2), 246-248
• Friedrich, Daniel G. (2008). Shinjin, Faith, and Entrusting Heart : Notes on the Presentation of Shin Buddhism in English, 大阪女学院大学紀要 5, 107-117
• Lee, Kenneth D. (2004). Comparative Analysis of Shinran's Shinjin and Calvin's Faith, Buddhist-Christian Studies 24, 171-190 – via JSTOR (subscription required)
• Ueda, Yoshifumi (1981). Response to Thomas P. Kasulis' Review of "Letters of Shinran", Philosophy East and West 31 (4), 507-511 – via JSTOR (subscription required)
• Rogers, Minor L. (1980). Review: Letters of Shinran: A Translation of Mattosho, by Yoshifumi Ueda. Notes on `Essentials of Faith Alone': A Translation of Shinran's by Yuishinsho-mon'i., by Yoshifumi Ueda. Monumenta Nipponica 35 (4), 508-511 – via JSTOR (subscription required)

External links

• Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Major Expositions KGSS III: A Collection of Passages Revealing The True Shinjin of the Pure Land Way; in: Shinran Works. The collected works of Shinran, including the Kyōgōshinshō.