The Three Treasures text is a call to action: “If I do not transcend the world of delusion in this life, when will I ever attain spiritual liberation?” Liberation is the aim of the Buddhist path, and to follow it we must find a gate or point of entry. Lacking a gate, we will continue to live unexamined lives, putting up with our troubles or complaining about them, experiencing moments of happiness, but mostly just running out the clock on our brief existence.

One of my teachers has identified two levels at which we may approach Buddhism, the first being the practical level. By reading Buddhist books or by joining a sangha, we learn to cope with our troubles and to arrive at a greater level of happiness. We hope to experience less unhappiness and more happiness as we become attuned to ethical conduct and religious practices. This is a necessary stage, but we may come to see it as provisional or incomplete.

The second way of approaching Buddhism is at the truth-level. Here the Dharma awakens the aspiration for Buddhahood, the perfect fulfillment of one’s life. It is to realize something that goes beyond worldly benefits, namely, to meet with impermanence and to learn what I truly am. Shinran calls this aspiration hikkyō-e—that which can be relied on when nothing else works—that which remains when our other aspirations are gone.

Seeking the truth about myself is different from pursuing happiness and avoiding unhappiness. If I’m happy or unhappy I tend to view these mental states as absolutes. However, these impressions are not inevitable or absolute. They are projections based on the judgments I make about people and events. By approaching Buddhism at the truth-level, I begin to transform this limited view. I start to appreciate the Buddha’s all-encompassing wisdom which finds value in all experiences, including things that formerly I saw as being negative and meaningless. Thus, everything in life can become a source of insight.

Shinran devoted his life to seeking the truth, because he met a teacher who embodied the Dharma:

Through countless kalpas and innumerable lives,

We did not know the [powerful condition] of liberation;

Were it not for our teacher [Hōnen],

This present life also would pass in vain.

Were it not for the Buddhist teachers I have met, my present life too would pass in vain. May we continue to reflect on the Three Treasures text and its call to action: “If I do not become a truth-seeker in this life, when will I ever attain spiritual liberation?”

Excerpt from Let This Be Known: Finding the Shin Buddhist Path, 2nd Edition (2021)

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