Shin Buddhism in Modern Culture

Chapter 21 – The Ultimate End of Faith (Part 3)

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the context of world religions, Pure Land teachings:
- respond to the human concern about the nature of the afterlife
- does not address the issue of the afterlife at all
- denies the concept of rebirth
2. In early Buddhist cosmology, there is a gradated universe that essentially has three levels or planes, outside of which there is Nirvana. Every aspect of this cosmology is governed by:
- humans, animals, and gods
- Amida Buddha
- karma and one’s level of discipline
3. An outstanding feature of Mahayana cosmology was the development of the concept of:
- Brahma worlds
- Buddhalands
- Nirvana
4. The idea of the state of non-retrogression, as proclaimed in the Larger Pure Land Sutra, may have offered aspiring bodhisattvas as well as ordinary persons a stronger sense of security because it:
- did away with the various stages of the Bodhisattva path
- eliminated the entire Buddhist cosmology
- eliminated the possibility of backsliding during the course of one’s spiritual development
5. Which of the following statements best describes Shinran’s understanding of the Pure Land?
- Shinran denies the objective existence of the Pure Land
- Shinran believes that the Pure Land exists only in one’s mind
- Shinran affirms both the objective and subjective realities of the Pure Land
6. According to Shinran, the Pure Land is:
- itself a symbol for Nirvana
- superior to Nirvana
- a stage of practice leading to Nirvana
7. Establishing that birth in the Pure Land is Nirvana, Shinran moves to the second aspect of rebirth which is the:
- enjoyment of the bliss of the Pure Land
- the attainment of the pleasures of Nirvana
- the principles of the bodhisattva’s return to the world to work for the salvation of others
8. As a True Land of Recompense, the Pure Land is a place where we:
- practice spiritual disciplines
- we manifest our Buddha nature through the power of the Vows
- we meet our ancestors
9. In contrast to the True Buddha Land, there is a Transformed Land where people who do not have true faith:
- are condemned to hell
- attain birth in an outer region of the Pure Land
- must study the teachings
10. Shinran’s teaching is an expression of great compassion and hope for all humankind because it:
- embraces even the most evil person
- does not use traditional concepts of the afterlife
- applies only to persons who have attained true faith

Submit

Thought Questions

1. How did Shinran respond to the human concern over the nature of the afterlife by using the symbols of the Pure Land?

2. What is your understanding of the reality of the Pure Land?Does it have an objective existence or does it exist only in the mind? Is it a land that one enters after one dies or is it immanent within our world? Discuss the problem of reconciling these two views.

3. What is the difference in meaning between the terms anraku and gokuraku? Which one did Shinran seem to prefer? Why?

4. What was it about Shinran’s use of religious symbols that portrayed his great compassion?