The Twelfth Passage of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra Quoted in the ‘Chapter on True Buddha and Land’ in Shinran’s Kyōgyōshinshō

Abstract

Why did Shinran quote the twelfth passage of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra in the chapter on True Buddha and Land? Earlier studies regarded this passage as three aspects of one teaching. But Shinran’s Japanese reading and conclusion of this chapter indicate that this passage is questions and answers between the Buddha and Kāśyapa. Therefore, this passage reveals why Buddha said “bodhisattvas of the tenth stage see little of Buddha-nature.” The Ratnagotravibhāga explains why Buddha told us Buddha-nature by a similar sentence. It considers that this sentence recommends self-power Bodhi-mind. Also the Ichijō Yōketsu of Genshin which influences Shinran’s works accepts this consideration. Conversely, Shinran considers it as a recommendation to discard self-power practices and take refuge in the Primal Vow, according to this passage.