Tannishō

The Tannishō (歎異抄), also known as the Lamentations of Divergences, is a late 13th century short Buddhist text generally thought to have been written by Yuien, a disciple of

According to Yuien's own writing in the preface:[1]

When I reflect with deep humility upon the past and the present, I cannot help but deplore the prevalence of various deviations from the true faith transmitted by word of mouth from our late Master....Therefore I have recorded here the gist of what the late Shinran Shonin told me, while it still reverberates in my ears. This has been written solely to clear away in advance any uncertainties that might arise among fellow devotees. So much by way of foreword.

Many of the conversations found in the Tannishō are candid when compared to more formal religious texts, and this may explain some of the popularity of the Tannishō among Jōdo Shinshū Buddhists. The Tannishō allows Jōdo Shinshū Buddhists to peer into the mind of Shinran and see how he felt about practicing Jōdo Shinshū. The Tannishō was also a major impetus for the start of

The Tannishō[3] is divided into 18 sections (sometimes called chapters), though many of these sections are very short. Some are no longer than a couple of sentences. However, each section deals with a separate doctrinal issue.

Sections 1 through 10 focus on Shinran's thoughts with regard to Jōdo Shinshū, the

From chapter 3:[1]^[4]

善人（ぜんにん）なをもて往生（おうじょう）をとぐ、いはんや悪人（あくにん）をや
"Even a virtuous person can attain rebirth in the Pure Land, how much more easily a wicked person!"

From chapter 8:

念仏（ねんぶつ）は行者（ぎょうじゃ）のために非行（ひぎょう）非善（ひぜん）なり。
わがはからひにて行（ぎょう）ずるにあらざれば非行（ひぎょう）といふ。
わがはからひにてつくる善（ぜん）にもあらざれば非善（ひぜん）といふ。

"The saying of

nembutsu

is neither a religious practice nor a good act.
Since it is practiced without any calculation, it is "non-practice."

Since it is also not a good created by my calculation, it is "non-good."

References