sired state of mind has the distinct marks of Buddhist
notions of mind and faith. Thus, in some of the more
radical Jodo shinshu formulations the devotee’s sur-
render is not so much an act of belief as an acceptance
of grace: One surrenders one’s own capacity to dis-
criminate and believe, and one accepts the Buddha’s
own believing mind (shinjin), so that one’s faith is in
fact adopting, as it were, the Buddha’s own trustwor-
thy mind (shinjin)—sharing the merits, wisdom, and
compassion of the very object of faith. Affectively, this
theological view is linked with the ideal of joyful trust
(shingyo), the joy and bliss of trusting, which ulti-
mately, or eschatologically, may be said to be synony-
mous with the joy of seeing the Buddha Amitabha face
to face (at the time of death or in the pure land).
Summary Interpretation
Ideals of nondiscursive apprehension straddle the di-
viding line between faith and knowledge, humble sur-
render and recognition of a state of liberation that
cannot be acquired by the individual’s will. In some
ways the tradition seems to assume that one has faith
in that which one respects and trusts, but also in that
which one wishes to attain, and that which one imag-
ines oneself to be or able to become.
See also:Pure Land Buddhism; Pure Lands
Bibliography
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Gómez, Luis O. “Prayer: Buddhist Perspectives.” In Encyclope-
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LUISO. GO ́MEZFAMENSIFamensi, or Monastery of the Gate of the Dharma, was
founded in the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534) at
Fufeng in Shaanxi province, about 110 kilometers west
of modern Xi’an. One of only four Chinese monaster-
ies believed to possess a true body relic of the Buddha,
it was closely associated with no fewer than seven em-
perors of the Tang dynasty (618–907). Originally called
Chongzhensi, it was renamed Famensi in 1003.
In 1981 after heavy rainfall, the thirteen-story oc-
tagonal brick pagoda of the Famensi, built in 1609, fi-
nally collapsed. Excavations in April 1987 revealed not
only the circular foundations of the brick pagoda, but
also the square foundations of a Tang dynasty wooden
pagoda, with steps, a corridor, and three stone cham-
bers, unusually constructed to allow access from the
outside. History records that in 631, 660, 704, 760, 790,
819, and 873, the relics were recovered and conveyed
to the capital.
Most of the objects found in the excavation date
from 874, after which the entire deposit remained un-
touched. A pair of large stone tablets, engraved with a
text written in 874 by monk Juezhi of the Xingshan
Monastery and placed at the inner end of the corridor,
give precise details of the 122 gold and silver objects
presented in 874 by emperors Yizong and Xizong.
The first chamber of the crypt contained a stone
STUPA, painted both outside and inside, enshrining an
elaborate model gilt-bronze stupa, itself containing a
tiny silver-gilt RELIQUARY holding one of the four
“finger-bone” relics. In the second chamber, a larger
shrine, dedicated in 708, contained a second relic. Be-
yond it, and close to the doors leading to the inner-
most chamber of the crypt, was a large cylindrical box
containing a number of celadon bowls and dishes, the
so-called mi seor secret color ware, sent as tribute to
the court from the Yue kilns in Zhejiang province. A
third relic was found in a tiny solid gold stupa, the
innermost of a series of eight nesting caskets, in the
third and innermost chamber, which was filled with
the majority of the accompanying gold, silver-gilt,
glass, and sandalwood offerings. Finally, sealed in a
cavity beneath the rear wall of the innermost cham-
ber, a fourth relic was enshrined in a tiny jade coffin,FAMENSI