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.
Hōnen (1133–1212), the founder of
Jōdo-shū and Shinran's teacher, discussed the idea of Shinjin basing himself on the teaching of Shandao about the threefold mind (sanshin ). Hōnen explains the threefold mind as follows: 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.Furthermore, according to Hōnen, 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: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 – if, with deep faith in these words without questioning, one desires to be welcomed by him and recites his name – one will embody the threefold devotional heart naturally because one's heart is in accordance with the threefold devotional heart. 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." For Shinran, Shinjin represented a radical interpretation of faith as total reliance on Amitābha (Japanese: Amida) Buddha's saving vow, contrasting with the traditional Buddhist emphasis on self-power (
jiriki ) practices such as meditation and ethical perfection. 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
Upadeśa on the Sūtra of Amitāyus where he speaks of the "single mind" or "single mindedness" to support this position. In Shinran's
Jōdo Shinshū tradition of Pure Land,
shinjin denotes an absolute and singular entrustment in Amitābha'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: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. This non-dual view of shinjin is expressed in different ways by Shinran. For example, he equates shinjin with
Buddha nature: 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.
Settled shinjin As Ueda notes a key distinction in Shinran's writings is between those who have not attained truly settled Shinjin and those who have Regarding what kind of attitude one should have while reciting the nembutsu, Shinran also writes that the Pure Land Buddhist should "thinking of the Buddha's benevolence, devote himself to the nembutsu in order to respond with gratitude for that benevolence, and should hope for peace in the world and the spread of the Buddha Dharma." Once Shinjin has been attained, it may lead to feelings of gratitude and compassion. As Shinran writes "the waters of foolish beings' minds, both good and evil, are transformed into the mind of great compassion" (
Shozomatsu wasan 40). This experience also means that a person of shinjin has the sense that their birth in the Pure Land is assured. Shinjin may also express itself as a desire to live in harmony with Buddhist precepts and teachings and to share the teachings with others as a way to repay the Buddha's kindness. This inner transformation is described by Shinran who writes "when we entrust ourselves to the Tathagata's Primal Vow, we, who are like bits of tile and pebbles, are turned into gold". As such, Daniel G. Friedrich, describes this transformation as one in which "that which is pure and good becomes one with that which is vile, evil, and impure". However, for Shinran, shinjin does not lead to moral perfection here and now, rather Shinjin and our assurance of birth in the Pure Land (and thus, our future
Buddhahood) happens within our own imperfection, 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. This deep self-knowledge of one's own karmic evil, of the uselessness of one's self-power and the process of self-introspection in which one discovers our need for
other-power, is central for the Shin Buddhist view of shinjin. Thus, the experience of shinjin is also an experience of the deep limitations of the sense of self and therefore in letting go of the self, one attains the true self, the true mind of Amitabha Budha (shinjitsushin), the
buddha-nature, i.e. shinjin. Since it includes an aspect of knowledge and is non-dual with Amida's mind, this means that true shinjin is not just a devotional faith, but includes an element of
prajña (wisdom). Thus, Shinran writes: "Know that since Amida's Vow is wisdom, the emergence of the mind of entrusting oneself to it is the arising of wisdom." Shinjin is also described as a joyful experience, as Shinran writes: "when one attains the true and real practice and shinjin, one greatry rejoices in one's heart. This attainment is therefore called the
stage of joy". Shinran also equates shinjin with
stream entry.
Rennyo and anjin Rennyo (1415–1499) was the eighth head priest of the
Honganji tradition. He was influential in transforming Jōdo Shin-shū into one of the largest Buddhist traditions of Japan. Rennyo teachings expanded and explained Shinran's concept of shinjin, though he rarely uses the term and instead uses the term
anjin (, peace of mind) to describe the central experience of Shin Buddhism. Shin Buddhist scholars generally understand the term as being synonymous with Shinjin, but other scholars see them as distinct. Rennyo explains Shinjin as follows:Shinjin is clearly discerning the significance of Amida Buddha's
Primal Vow and single-heartedly taking
refuge in Amida; this we call decisive settlement of anjin. Therefore full realization of the significance of the six characters "
na-mu-a-mi-da-butsu" is the substance of decisively settled faith. That is, the two characters "na-mu" indicate the receptive attitude of sentient beings who entrust themselves to Amida Buddha. Next, the four characters "a-mi-da-butsu" signify the dharma through which Amida
Tathāgata saves sentient beings. This is expressed as "the oneness in 'namu- amida-butsu' of the person and dharma . ==References==