On the great road of Buddha ancestors, there is always unsurpassable practice, continuous and sustained. It forms the circle of the way and is never cut off. Between aspiration, practice, enlightenment, and nirvana, there is not a moments gap; continuous practice is the circle of the way
For Dogen, as Kosho Uchiyama Roshi has explained, "the Way is not simply one direction from starting point to goal; rather, the Way is like a circle. We arouse the enlightened mind moment by moment, we practice moment by moment, we become fully aware moment by moment, and we are in nirvana moment by moment. And we continue to do it ceaselessly. Our practice is perfect in each moment and yet we have a direction toward Buddha."
Regarding practice and aspiration, as a Pure Land Buddhist I follow the "easy path" of Faith. Easy, yes, but as is also said :- "Few there be who walk it."
In the Pure Land way, it was said that to be "saved" one must entrust themselves fully to the Vow of Amida. Such entrusting was seen to have three aspects, sincerity, trust itself, and aspiration - these also known collectively as "sincere mind" or "deep mind".
Shinran (!3th century, one of the "fathers of Pure Land Buddhism) fundamentally alters this understanding by taking "sincere mind" not as the devotees "sincerity", but rather the true and real mind of Amida. Thus, a person does not "sincerely" entrust themselves, but rather the "sincere mind" of Amida is given - by grace - to the person, and this manifests as the person's entrusting and aspiration. Simply put, a Pure Lander trusts the "nature" of Amida (Reality-as-is), not their own, however directed or understood, within or without.
Or, in Christian terms, one trusts in Grace, not in the strength of ones own belief. And this is within the context of realising that which is eternally, of recognising the unchanging nature of the Divine. Such recognition grants us nothing for it is already the reality in which we live and move and have our being. We just did not know it.
Or as D T Suzuki says in full Buddhist terminology ( 😀) "we do not become empty, we are empty from the beginning". In effect, nothing changes (pun intended....)
The Dharma, and in its Pure Land expression, is born of the non-dual east. This for me brings clarity of mind, no matter what others might assume. I can deal with the "nature of Reality", but trying to understand the mechanics of some giant ego in the sky who writes a book to explain himself is beyond me. Especially when the book is open to so many interpretations (no matter what the fundamentalists claim) and seems to demand belief in very many unbelievable things and events of time and space.
