September 2026 Dharma Newsletter

Rev. Michael Jones

Salvation and Other Power

The following is a modified version of the Dharma Talk I gave on August 2. It is meant to provoke thought, consideration, and to encourage your questions or comments.

This month, there are two terms I want to review – Salvation and Other Power.

We have discussed Other Power before. It is contrasted with self-power. Self-power is our effort to work toward our own enlightenment, whereas Other Power comes from Amida. It is not unusual to see this process called salvation. That is, the Other Power of Amida is our salvation and provides us with our enlightenment and entry into the Pure Land.

Salvation is a term that can be heard in a lot of Christian discussions. God sent Jesus Christ to be sacrificed and resurrected for the salvation of mankind. This is a very general description, and the Christian world is divided on how much of a role the sinner plays in his own salvation. Note that there is a parallel here to self-power and Other Power.

From a general Buddhist standpoint, the problem to be solved is not the sinfulness of the sentient being, but rather their ignorance of reality. Their lack of understanding of impermanence and the concept of no permanent self. Also, the word salvation is not very meaningful here, so Buddhists tend to use words like liberation or awakening instead.

In Pure Land Buddhism, we do not believe that we foolish beings, or bonbu, are capable of attaining enlightenment on our own (that would be self-power), and so we are taught to rely on the Other Power of Amida’s Compassionate Vow.

The problem being solved in the Christian perspective is a moral issue. One of sin and guilt. Salvation comes from an external judgment and forgiveness from God. In Buddhism, we are solving an existential problem of ignorance about how the world or universe works. Outside of the Pure Land perspective, there is the difficult path of self-power to earn your way to enlightenment or nirvana. In the Pure Land tradition, and specifically in Jodo-Shinshu, we look to Other Power. 

In Buddhism, we don’t talk much about sin. We know we are foolish beings who make mistakes and bad choices. But these bad choices are caused by our failure to understand the way that the universe works. Our attachments and our ego drive us to bad decisions. What we have is never enough. Either we want more, or we want newer versions of what we already have. We work to be recognized and applauded. We want people to think highly of us. Because we do not fully comprehend that there is no permanent self, we are constantly trying to make that self bigger and more popular. That is our ego.

Our ignorance and our ego work against our progress toward enlightenment. They impede our passage to the Pure Land.

Here is my dilemma regarding Other Power. When I think of terms like “Amida’s Other Power” or the “Other Power of Amida’s Compassionate Vow,” I get a picture of Amida as some type of benevolent deity. Someone who looks over us and looks out for us. But Amida is not a deity. That’s why we do not use petitionary prayer to “talk” to Amida. In other words, we don’t ask Amida to provide us with anything. We don’t pray for money, status, a new job, rain, or even broader benefits for the world. That is not our practice.

As I think through all of this, I have a theory that I am working on. 

We talk about using our own calculations to decide what to do. You may have heard the term for this in Japanese as hakarai. This is the seed of jiriki or self-power. This could come in many forms. We could meditate to improve our understanding, thinking that it will help us with our enlightenment. Although dana is defined as selfless giving (no expectation of reward), some might see this as a way to earn merit.  That is, we could use dana to help us be more worthy of enlightenment. 

Other Power, on the other hand, is said to come from Amida. We are taught that we are not capable of attaining enlightenment through our own self-power. Therefore, we should allow the Other Power of Amida to bring us to the Pure Land. 

Here is where I start to think a little differently. As I have said before, the question is not who is Amida, but what is Amida? Amida is ultimate reality. Amida is all of the teachings. Amida is the way that the universe works. The Other Power of Amida is the way that the universe works. It is the process by which we get to the Pure Land. Self-power is us trying to do it ourselves. Therefore, we do things that are neither necessary nor effective toward our enlightenment, thinking that we are building merit toward that goal. Self-power is us resisting ultimate reality. Resisting the way the universe works. Resisting the reality of our eventual entry into the Pure Land at the end of this sentient life.

Jodo Shinshu is sometimes said to be the practice of no practice. Our practice is gratitude. And we express that practice by saying the Nembutsu – Namo Amida Butsu.

Our working to earn merit is actually interfering with the way things work. The other in Other Power is simply that which is external to us. To make this work for us, we simply need to allow the universe to work as it does. We need to allow ultimate reality (what we call Amida Buddha) to bring us to enlightenment when the causes and conditions that provide our sentient life cease to function. 

In summary, our desire, as Buddhists, is enlightenment or entry into the Pure Land. As Jodo Shinshu, we are taught to rely on the Other Power of Amida’s Compassionate Vow, and that our self-power is ineffective and unnecessary toward our goal of entry into the Pure Land. Our goal is not salvation since we are not focused on sins, and we are not seeking acceptance or forgiveness from a creator God. We seek awakening from the ignorance that keeps us from truly understanding the impermanence of all things, and our own lack of a permanent self.

We live our life, not focused on enlightenment, but rather we live today, in the here and now, and we live in gratitude for the teachings that help us to better understand the path to the Pure Land. We express our gratitude through the Nembutsu – Namo Amida Butsu.

Please let me know your thoughts on what you have read here. You can come see me in the Office or email me at mjones@sjbetsuin.org.

In Gassho,

I am in the office Saturday through Wednesday. If you would like to contact me directly, please send me an email at mjones@sjbetsuin.org.