96 Essays in Anarchism and Religion: Volume 1
some of the more liberal aspects of the Japanese politico-religious
tradition but he also sets himself apart from it by refusing to pres-
ent buppo (i.e. the Buddhist teaching) and obo (i.e. the law of the
king) as necessary or inherently complementary. This separation is
put forward in a letter in which Shinran’s disavows his son Jishin-bo
for misrepresenting his ideas:
If you accept what Jishin-bo is saying –that I have instructed peo-
ple to spread the nembutsu by relying on outside people as power-
ful supporters, which I have never said- it will be an unmitigated
error. [...] You must not in any way design to spread the nembutsu
by utilizing outside people for support. The spread of the nem-
butsu in that area must come about through the working of the
revered Buddha.^60By refusing any kind of interference or help from “outside people”
or “powerful supporters”, which referred to government officials,
Shinran can be said to resist the cooptation of his community.
However, by using the principle of tariki once again he disrupts
an old Japanese concept: the mutual or necessary dependence be-
tween buppo and obo. The coupling of buppo and obo goes back
to the introduction of Buddhism in Japan and served to provide
a symbiotic relationship for state and Buddhist institutions. Thus,
the monks protect the state through rituals and in turn the state
protects them through naked power.^61 This relationship enabled
the rulers to be legitimized by Buddhist ideology and to be able
to use that ideology to rule their subjects; on the other hand the
Buddhist teachings were officially endorsed and spread by the
rulers. Shinran explicitly challenges the logic of this model when
refusing external support.^62 Although he does not reject the idea
that practicing the nenbutsu might benefit the nation in some
sense, Shinran is firmly opposed to provide or receive the “bene-
fit” the state expected from Buddhist establishments.
The possibility of benefiting the nation, and others at large, is
expressed in another letter to Shoshin-bo, a follower who was
about to undergo litigation because of his involvement with
Shinran’s movement. In it Shinran identifies as part of a persecut-
ed community, “people of the Pure Land nembutsu”, and shares
his experience as an exile. Towards the end he also encourages the