The Particularity and Universality of Shinran’s View of Salvation: A Comparison with Nichiren’s Use of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra

Abstract

Shinran and Nichiren, as contemporaries, seem to have shared a common awareness of the question of what it means to be a true Buddhist disciple, and both look for the answer in the example of Ajātaśatru, whose salvation is discussed in the Nirvāṇa Sūtra. Shinran presents Ajātaśatru as the subject of the working of Amida’s Vow of salvation, equating Ajātaśatru with himself as the ordinary person who has become aware of the depth of karmic evil. Shinran’s viewpoint is distinctive in that, while he admonishes his followers to distance themselves from people who have committed the five grave offences and slander of the right dharma, he also affirms that such lamentable deeds are embraced by Amida’s compassionate Vow. Meanwhile, Nichiren superimposes Ajātaśatru, who transgressed against Śākyamuni, on contemporary people who slander the right dharma in the last dharma age. Nichiren’s characteristic stance is that the salvation of sentient beings, including himself, is achieved by accepting the Lotus Sūtra with sincere faith and upholding its teachings.