Kyogyoshinsho - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

This chapter delves in more detail the basis for Pure Land Buddhist thought namely:

• That the Buddha Amitabha made a series of vows to save all beings
• That the most important vow is the 18th or Primal Vow to lead beings to the Pure Land if they recite his name
• That the Buddha Amitabha sought to excel among Buddhas by providing a way out of suffering that all could practice.

Later the chapter quotes at length passages from the writings of Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Shan-tao and Hōnen as well as other Jodo Shinshu Patriarchs in chronological order. Shinran appears to be providing a progression of ideas among Buddhist writers that shows the evolution of Pure Land Buddhism. Among the topics discussed and cited are the recitation of the Amitabha's name, or nembutsu, the Path of the Bodhisattva, and the nature of the Pure Land itself.

Toward the end, Shinran turns toward the topic of tariki or Other Power and again quotes from various sutras and commentaries to draw his ideas upon. At the end of Chapter 2, Shinran writes his famous hymn, the Shoshinge or "Hymn of true Entrusting", which is a cornerstone of Jodo Shinshu liturgy.