MURYOKO
'Infinite Light'
Journal of Shin Buddhism
Harold Stewart
Amida's Transfer of Merit
How then can Amida apparently annul the inescapable Law of Karma and neutralize its inevitable retribution? This miracle is made possible only by his parinama (Japanese: eko), or the transference of his virtues and merits accumulated during five kalpas of ascetic practice to all those still oppressed by the painful consequences of their evil past. Just as the sole cause for Rebirth in the Pure Land of Peace and joy is absolute reliance on Amida's Vow, so the Name alone is the sufficient means thereto. As Amida's Name, the Nembutsu lies outside the Round of Karma, yet it also works within manifestation in accordance with the Wheel of Dharma. It can, therefore, protect the devotee from the evil effects of desire and aversion and enlighten his ignorance, liberating him from his existential chains. Its operation is possible because of jijimuge, the mutual interpenetration of all beings, whose actions and reactions form a single universal karmic network. From the viewless viewpoint of the Buddha, his Insight sees that ultimately the innumerable conscious beings and his One Conscious Being are not two. Hence his Realization that no sentient beings exist and his Vow to save them all.
Thus only Amida's perfect purity can wipe my consciousness clean of defilements accumulated during lifetimes of birth-and-death. For all my attempts at self-purification are polluted by a self, and all that I can ever do is to pile up more karma, more good and evil actions and passions leading me back again to rebirth in one of the Six Destinies. But through his Name, Amida is able to cancel my record of past errors and bring remission of the tortures of remorse. In that ever-present moment when Amida calls to the devotee, his Name occupies the whole of consciousness, so that not only are dark karmic residues dissolved, but latent predispositions (samskaras) toward their future recurrence are also precluded. Then the empty mirror on the altar can shine in all its tranquil clarity, reflecting everything in the universe with impartial truth.