Shin Buddhism in Modern Culture

Chapter 15 – Assurance of Fulfillment

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Traditionally, in what stage of the Bodhisattva path did one enter the company of the truly assured?
- The first stage
- The tenth stage
- The tenth stage
2. Shinran brought the Pure Land even closer to the lives of ordinary people by teaching that:
- salvation is attained through arduous practice
- the gate is opened to people who keep the precepts
- all beings are already saved through Amida’s Vow
3. Which of the following refers to the “diamond-like shinjin” of which Shinran spoke?
- The faith that is attained through repeated recitation of the Nembutsu
- The self-generated mind of desire for rebirth
- The absolute entrusting of mind and heart in Amida’s Vow
4. Which of the following best describes the Indian idea of death-threshold karma?
- The accumulation of Karma throughout one’s lifetime is revealed to one at the threshold of death
- A person’s dying last thought determines his rebirth
- The cause of a person’s death is determined by his karma
5. Shinran challenged the traditional Indian-Buddhist attitude toward the final moment of life by:
- emphasizing the importance of promoting the Nembutsu at the moment of death
- stating that a priest or minister should always be present at a person’s deathbed
- saying that for the person of true faith, there is no need to anxiously wait for Amida’s coming at the moment of death
6. Which of the following statements regarding reform religion is NOT true? It:
- runs on conformity and custom
- rejects external standards of religiosity
- offers the individual a secure spiritual status that’s independent of his social or political one
7. In Shinran’s thought, divination, magic, and astrology have no place because:
- more emphasis is placed on the future than on present life
- there is no anxiety over one’s future life
- such things do not always work

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Thought Questions

1. For many people the assurance of destiny — that is, where they will go after death — is of great concern. Traditionally, one of the roles of religion has been to alleviate this feeling of uncertainty and the fear associated with it. In light of what you have read in this chapter, do you think Shinran’s approach to the problem can be related to the concerns over death that people today hold? Give some specific examples possibly from your own life.

2. Compare Shinran’s view of the last moments of life to that of Honen. How are the two views similar? How are they different?

3. For Shinran, religion was not a tool for securing life. Explain the meaning of this statement.

4. Comment on your understanding of what Shinran calls the “diamond-like shinjin.”