masao abe edited by steven heine - a study of do gen his philosophy and religion 1992 suny press
This chunk (final section) focuses on Abe’s Chapter VI “The Unborn and Rebirth” and related comparative analysis of Dōgen and Shinran. It contrasts Dōgen’s view—practice and realization as one, whole-being Buddha-nature, ‘complete accordance with the Dharma directly in you,’ and the casting off of body-mind (shinjin-datsuraku) that manifests the original face—with Shinran’s emphasis on sinful karma, other-power (Amida’s primal vow), inverse correspondence (gyakutaiteki), and the ‘birth of no-birth’ (musho no sho) realized as immediate rebirth through faith (shinjin/sokutokuōjō). Abe introduces the terminology true correspondence (seitaiteki) for Dōgen and inverse correspondence (gyakutaiteki) for Shinran, and raises a meta-philosophical conclusion about the need for an existential encounter that self-consciously realizes both modes—otherwise one’s Dharma risks naiveté or collapsing into Mara. The section includes editorial front/back matter and extensive notes and glossary entries relevant to key terms (uji, busshō, shinjin, sokushin-zebutsu, fushō, etc.).
Questions this document answers
Amida's eighteenth vow.
Musho no sho (the birth of no-birth).