Buddhist Psalms of Shinran ShoninBuddhismAccepted by Some TraditionsJapaneseShareBuddhist Psalms 16S. Yamabe & L. Adams Beck (1921) - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableS. Yamabe & L. Adams Beck (1921)LanguageEnglishEspañol‹Buddhist Psalms 1Buddhist Psalms 2Buddhist Psalms 3Buddhist Psalms 4Buddhist Psalms 5Buddhist Psalms 6Buddhist Psalms 7Buddhist Psalms 8Buddhist Psalms 9Buddhist Psalms 10Buddhist Psalms 11Buddhist Psalms 12Buddhist Psalms 13Buddhist Psalms 14Buddhist Psalms 15Buddhist Psalms 16Buddhist Psalms 17Buddhist Psalms 18Buddhist Psalms 19›Concerning Belief And DoubtBuddhist Psalms 16ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter293Whoso comprehendeth not the wisdom of the Enlightened One, and doubteth concerning His illumination, shall rise no higher than the Outermost Places, for he hath trusted in the power of Reward, and hath relied upon the principle of morality. 294Whoso doubteth the wisdom of the Enlightened One—that wisdom beyond all human understanding—and reciteth the Holy Name, trusting in the merit of himself, shall not rise beyond the outermost bounds of the Pure Land that is the Temporal Paradise, for he hath not the grace of right thankfulness for His Compassion. 295Whoso shall accept the doctrine of rewards and doubteth the wisdom of Him that hath Light that surpasseth all knowledge of man, shall be made captive in Doubting Castle, and the three jewels of the faith shall no more be his. 296For his sin, in that he hath doubted the wisdom of the Enlightened One, shall he remain in the Outermost Places of the Land of Purity. And for as much as we are taught that the sin of doubt is grievous, we are also instructed that he must there dwell for many Kalpas. 297If the prince committeth a sin against his Father, even the Chakravarti, the King, he is fettered as a prisoner, though the chain be of gold. 298Whoso reciteth the Holy Name, and so doeth as a work of self-merit, shall be bound in the prison of the sevenfold gems, for he believeth not right by the divine promise of that Holy One, and heavy is the sin of his doubting. 299Yet he even that hath a doubting soul and sinneth the sin of self-merit, must needs strive to comprehend the merciful goodness of the Blessed One, and he shall recite the Holy Name if he would at all be equalled unto him that holdeth the true faith. 300It is the Law that he who soweth shall reap what he soweth, therefore the man that is full of righteous deeds for the sake of self-merit shall enter into the prison of the sevenfold gems, for he doubteth the marvellous wisdom of Him that hath the Light. 301Whoso doubteth of the wisdom of Him that hath Light beyond the imagining of man, and trusteth to the root of goodness and virtue—he shall not attain unto the Soul of Great Mercy, for he is born into the Outermost Places of Paradise, and slow and dull of heart is he. 302Among those men that doubt the Holy Word, some are imprisoned in the shut bud of the Lotus. And they shall be despised as they that in illusion are born into the outermost Paradise or are held captive within the narrow walls of the womb. 303Whoso doubteth the omniscience of the wisdom of the Light-Bearer, but holdeth to his belief in Reward, excellent ofttimes in making the root of goodness to grow, 304Because he doubteth the wisdom of the Eternal Wisdom, and is held captive as in the strait prison of the womb, hath neither knowledge nor wisdom, and is compared unto a man straitly bound in captivity. 305He that is born into the outermost place, all glorious with the sevenfold jewels, shall not in five hundred years behold that three-fold jewel, the Tri-ratna, for there is in him no spiritual well-doing, that he should give it unto his fellow-men. 306To him who is born into the Palace, glorious with the seven jewels, for five hundred years there shall befall many sorts of sorrows from his own evil doing. 307Whoso hopeth reward and maketh to flourish the root of goodness, shall remain in the transitory Paradise, for though he be a good man, yet hath he a doubting heart. 308Because he accepteth not the Divine Promise of Him who is the Light unspeakable, and carrieth his doubt with him unto Paradise, therefore the shut flower of his heart openeth not, therefore is he unshapen as a child in the womb. 309When he perceiveth the Land of Purity, the Bodhisattva Maitreya thus questioneth the Holy One, saying, “What is the cause and what the circumstance of that man who, having been born, yet remaineth as it were straitened in the womb? 310And thus spake the Lord unto the Bodhisattva Maitreya saying, “Whoso trusteth in the root of goodness that he himself maketh to grow and hath a doubting soul, he it is that is in the outermost places of the Paradise, he it is that is said to be straitened still in the womb of ignorance.” 311He who doubteth the wisdom of Him that is all Light, shall for his sin be made captive until five hundred years be gone, and this is called the conception within the womb of ignorance. 312Whoso doubteth the wisdom that is beyond man’s understanding, and hath believed the doctrine of reward, shall of a certainty be born within Doubting Castle, and this is called conception within the womb of ignorance. 313Whoso trusteth upon self-righteousness rather than upon the wisdom of the Enlightened One that is beyond man’s knowledge, shall be conceived within the womb of ignorance, and to him shall the mercy of the Three Jewels be unknown. 314Whoso doubteth the wisdom of the Enlightened One that surpasseth all knowledge of man and trusteth in the hope of reward, and would attain unto birth in Paradise by making the root of goodness to grow, shall be straitened in the womb of ignorance. 315Heavy is the sin of doubting the wisdom of the Buddha. He who is instructed taketh refuge in the wonderful wisdom of the Enlightened One, being in contrition for his foolishness. These twenty-three psalms above-written are made by me that men should know the heaviness of their sin in doubting the Divine Promise of the Buddha of Infinite Light. ‹Previous chapterBuddhist Psalms 15Next chapterBuddhist Psalms 17›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain