Shinjin () 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 () or calculation (). The term has been variously translated as "faith", "entrusting heart", "true entrusting", "mind of true faith", and so on. It is also often left untranslated in English language publications on Shin Buddhism. It is a key concept in the thought of Shinran (1173âÂÂ1263), the founder of Jà Âdo Shinshà «. Shinran's concept of shinjin is rooted in the concept of faith found in Indian Pure Land scriptures and in the teachings of the Chinese Pure Land Buddhist masters Tanluan and Shandao, who also emphasized the importance of faith in AmitÃÂbha Buddha.
The term Shinjin (Chinese: Xìnxën) is also used in other Buddhist traditions occasionally, though not as commonly as in Pure Land. The influential early Chan Buddhist poem Xìnxën MÃÂng (Faith-Mind Inscription) is one example.
The original Sanskrit term that was translated into shinjin was prasanna-cittÃÂ. 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-cittàappears 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 Saá¹ ghavarman states:<blockquote>If, when I attain buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten directions who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves 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.</blockquote>Luis O. Gomez, translating from the Sanskrit, uses "serene trust" for prasanna-cittÃÂ.
In the DasabhumikavibhÃÂsàattributed to Nagarjuna, ä¿¡å¿ xìnxën is used in the following passage:<blockquote>If a person sows roots of good but still harbors doubts, the flower petals will not open. For the person of pure xìnxën, the flower will open and he will see the Buddha.</blockquote>Another synonymous term is cittaprasÃÂda (settled faith, pure faith). According to the Dàzhì dù lùn, cittaprasÃÂda can be attained by sentient beings through the actions of the Buddha:<blockquote>All his bodily actions, all his vocal actions and all his mental actions accompany knowledge (sarvÃÂá¹Âi kÃÂyavÃÂgmanaskarmÃÂá¹Âi jñÃÂnÃÂnuparivartini). â In the Buddha, all bodily, vocal and mental actions are preceded by knowledge (jñÃÂnapà «rvaá¹Âgama) and, subsequently, accompany knowledge (jñÃÂnÃÂnuparivartin). Of all the bodily, vocal or mental actions of the Buddha, there is not one that is not useful to beings: this is why it is said that his actions are preceded by knowledge and accompany knowledge. Thus it is said in a sà «tra: "In the Buddhas, even the out breath (praà ÂvÃÂsa) and the in breath (ÃÂà ÂvÃÂsa) are useful to beings." How, then, would their bodily, vocal and mental actions not be useful to them? The wicked who smell the perfume (gandha) of the breath (ÃÂnÃÂpÃÂna) of the Buddha obtain pure faith (cittaprasÃÂda) and love the Buddha.</blockquote>In Bodhiruci's translation of Vasubandhu's Upadeà Âa on the Sà «tra of AmitÃÂyus Buddha (), the term is used in the following passage:<blockquote>How does one contemplate? How does one produce pure faith ? If a good man or woman practices the Five Gates of Mindfulness and if that person's practice is perfected, ultimately that person will obtain birth in the Land of Peace and Bliss and will see Amida Buddha. What are the Five Gates of Mindfulness? The first is the Gate of Worship. The second is the Gate of Praise. The third is the Gate of Aspiration. The fourth is the Gate of Contemplation. The fifth is the Gate of Merit Transference. </blockquote>Furthermore, Vasubandhu speaks of three key qualities bodhisattvas cultivate to achieve birth in the Pure Land: (1) the undefiled pure mind that does not seek anything, (2) the peaceful pure mind that seeks to eliminate suffering in all beings, (3) the blissful pure mind which seeks to bring all beings to Buddhahood. Vasubandhu also goes on to state that "the above-mentioned three types of minds, namely, the undefiled pure mind, the peaceful pure mind and the blissful pure mind are condensed into one which is the perfection of the exquisite, blissful, superior and true mind". He also states that this comprises Wisdom (Prajña), Compassion and Expediency (Upaya).
In Chinese Buddhism, the term (Xìnxën) and other related compounds (such as , xìnxën mén, "gate of the faith mind") appear in various sources like the MahÃÂparinirvÃÂá¹Âasà «tra and the Shi Moheyan Lun (, a commentary to the Awakening of Faith). Various Chinese Mahayana sutras contain related terms for faith, such as jìng xìnxën (, serene faith mind) which appears in the and which appears in various sutras like the Diamond Sutra.
In Chinese Pure Land Buddhism, faith in the Buddha AmitÃÂbha 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.
The Chinese Pure Land patriarch Tanluan gives faith a central role for the practice of Pure Land Buddhism. According to Tanluan, reciting the names of the Buddha Amitabha has the power to eliminate ignorance and satisfy all of one's aspirations. However, some people are not in true union with the name of the Buddha and this is because of a lack of faith. If one's faith is not honest, definitive, continuous and one-pointed, then one will not be able to attain union (ç¸æ xiÃÂngyìn, or "association", "to be bound to", yoga) with the true meaning of the Buddha's name.
The central concept of Pure Land faith taught by Shandao is the triple mind or "three minds" (), 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 ) and in his Hymns in Praise of Birth (Wangsheng Lizan Ji, ). They are also listed in the Contemplation Sutra and taught by other Chinese commentators like Jingying Huiyuan. According to Shandao, the "Three Minds" represent three qualities necessary for practitioners seeking birth in the Pure Land of AmitÃÂbha Buddha. They are:
Shandao emphasized the importance of these three qualities as internal states that align the practitioner with AmitÃÂbha'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.
Shinjin (, 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. Hà Ânen (1133âÂÂ1212), the founder of Jà Âdo-shà « and Shinran's teacher, discussed the idea of Shinjin basing himself on the teaching of Shandao about the threefold mind (sanshin ). However, the term Shinjin is particularly associated with the Jà Âdo Shinshà « teaching of Shinran, in which it becomes the central and singular element of a person's liberation.
Hà Ânen generally follows Shandao's explanation of the threefold mind or threefold devotional heart and exhorts his followers to "cultivate the threefold devotional heart". Hà Ânen explains the threefold mind as follows: <blockquote>Put succinctly, the Three-fold Devotional Heart is nothing more than just the earnest desire for birth in the Pure Land. The wish for birth in the Pure Land, truthfully and without pretension, is called the "Genuine Heart." The purity of this heart, which bears no doubt even for a moment that the vocal Nembutsu leads to Buddha Amitabha to come to welcome one at the time of death, is called the "Profound Heart." One's desire to be born in that Pure Land and to transfer one's accumulated merits of practice and wholesome deeds for Ojo (birth in the Pure Land) are called the "Heart Aspiring Ojo through the Transference of Merit." In short, if one wishes for birth in the Pure Land with purity of heart, one will by nature embody the Three-fold Devotional Heart.</blockquote>Furthermore, according to Hà Ânen, the triple mind is "the heart of the essential vow, which Amida Buddha made when he was a bodhisattva Dharmakara". He also writes that it is not necessary to have some deep scholarly understanding to develop this faith, since:<blockquote>The threefold devotional heart was designed for even the most ignorant. Those who are not even aware of the name of the threefold devotional heart can also possess the three parts of it without knowing anything about them. Accordingly when one hears that Amida Buddha will certainly receive us into the Pure land through total reliance on him and the single-hearted recitation of his name â if, with deep faith in these words without questioning, one desires to be welcomed by him and recites his name â one will embody the threefold devotional heart naturally because one's heart is in accordance with the threefold devotional heart. </blockquote>Hà Ânen also taught that there are two types of the threefold heart: "the threefold devotional heart that encompasses wisdom and the threefold devotional heart that encompasses practice". The threefold heart of faith which encompasses wisdom is developed gradually through study of the Pure Land scriptures. The threefold heart of practice meanwhile is "devotion in the recitation of nembutsu, unshakable faith, and aspiration for birth in the Pure Land."
Shinjin became a major element in the teachings of Shinran, who is credited with transforming and systematizing Pure Land beliefs into the school of Jà Âdo Shinshà « (, "True Pure Land School"). For Shinran, Shinjin represented a radical interpretation of faith as total reliance on AmitÃÂbha (Japanese: Amida) Buddha's saving vow, contrasting with the traditional Buddhist emphasis on self-power (jiriki ) 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".
According to the Shinran, all the various mental qualities discussed by the past masters like Vasubandhu (who speaks of the undefiled mind, the peaceful mind and the blissful mind, as well as the five mindfulnesses) and Shandao (who teaches the three minds), are really all aspects of one quality, Shinjin. Shinran draws on passages in Vasubandhu's Upadeà Âa on the Sà «tra of AmitÃÂyus where he speaks of the "single mind" or "single mindedness" to support this position.
In Shinran's Jà Âdo Shinshà « tradition of Pure Land, shinjin denotes an absolute and singular entrustment in AmitÃÂbha's Primal Vow (Japanese: 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. However, Shinjin is not just trust, it is a multifaceted phenomenon which Shinran describes as follows:<blockquote>We see clearly that sincere mind is the mind that is the seed of truth, reality, and sincerity; hence, it is completely untainted by the hindrance of doubt. Entrusting is the mind full of truth, reality, and sincerity; the mind of ultimacy, accomplishment, reliance, and reverence; the mind of discernment, distinctness, clarity, and faithfulness; the mind of aspiration, wish, desire, and exultation; the mind of delight, joy, gladness, and happiness; hence, it is completely untainted by the hindrance of doubt. Aspiration for birth is the mind of wish, desire, awakening, and awareness; the mind of accomplishment, fulfillment, performance, and establishment. It is the mind of great compassion directing itself to beings; hence, it is completely untainted by the hindrance of doubt. Here, in considering the literal meanings of the terms for them, we find that the three minds are the mind of truth and reality, free of any taint of falsity; they are the mind right and straightforward, free of any taint of wrong and deceit. Truly we know, then, that this is called shinjin* because it is untainted by the hindrance of doubt. Shinjin* is the mind that is single. The mind that is single is shinjin that is true and real. </blockquote>Thus, Shinjin has other dimensions besides devotion and trust, including a joyful aspect, aspiration, lack of doubt, and wisdom or discernment.
The ultimate dimension of shinjin is that it is non-dual with Amitabha Buddha. Shinran taught that true Shinjin is not self-generated but rather is a gift of grace granted by AmitÃÂbha, who is always calling out to beings to guide them to the Pure Land. Thus, James C. Dobbins writes:<blockquote>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. </blockquote>According to Yoshifumi Ueda, "Shinjin is the mind of Amida Buddha given to and realized in a person. Shinran interprets shin () to mean truth, reality, sincerity; jin () means mind. When shinjin is realized, Amida's mind (wisdom and compassion) and the practitioners mind of blind passions become one." This non-dual view of shinjin is expressed in different ways by Shinran. For example, he equates shinjin with Buddha nature: <blockquote>Buddha-nature is great shinjin. Why? Because through shinjin the bodhisattva-mahasattva has acquired all the paramitas from charity to wisdom. All sentient beings will without fail ultimately realize great shinjin. Therefore it is taught, "All sentient beings are possessed of Buddha-nature. </blockquote>Shinran also writes: "Faith means single-mindedness. Single-mindedness means the indestructible mind. The indestructible mind