This paper clarifies the fundamental structure of “The True Realization of the Pure Land Way” in Shinranʼs thought. In doing so, it focuses on the fact that Shinran positions the two hisshi 必至 （necessary attainment） vows as the subject of true realization.
The two hisshi vows are the 11th and 22nd vows. Shinran views the word hisshi as a common element of these two. This can be seen from the fact that he lists “Necessary attainment of nirvāṇa” and “Necessary attainment of the rank of succession to Buddhahood” as the first name that he gives for these vows. From this choice, it is possible to surmise that he intended to show that these two vows are closely related in that they both contain the word hisshi.
The word hisshi appears only in three places in the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha sūtra 仏説無量寿経 （T. 360）. Two are found in the vows introduced above, while the other is in Dharmākara Bodhisattvaʼs vow to “necessarily attain unsurpassed enlightenment” 必至無上道. This paper suggests that this commonality is critical to understand the fundamental structure of “The True Realization of the Pure Land Way.”
