870 mark unno
sentient beings must have faith in the power of the dharma, in the
Buddhist path of practice, to overturn negative karma:
When a person possesses the mind of faith in nothing more than this
mantra, the [karmic] seed of this wisdom is planted in that person’s
mind. It is like the flourishing growth of vegetation that occurs when the
seeds of grasses and trees are planted in the great earth where there are
no stones. Although the minds of sentient beings are unborn by nature,
they nevertheless form the mental bases for the realization of all the
tathāgatas. If the stone of disbelief gets in the way, the seeds of virtue
will not grow. If there is faith, myriad goods will flourish like the verdant
earth. (Unno 2004, 212)Fourth, a significant corollary to the unseen nature of karmic frui-
tion is that benefits in this life are unpredictable. The various examples
given by Myōe show that faith, directed to the goal of awakening and
liberation, can have unexpected material benefits. Myōe’s writings
on the mantra of light, of which approximately ten are thought to be
extant (Unno 2004, 313), are primarily concerned with awakening and
liberation, in both this life and the next, and material benefits in this
life are secondary although significant. More precisely, material ben-
efits are markers of the unseen working of positive karma that lead to
awakening. According to Myōe,
No direct correlation exists with either the sick [being cured] or the
rakshasa [turning to the Buddha’s virtue such that any explicit karmic
links can be identified]. Yet the benefits derived by virtue of their faith
was not insubstantial.... [They] ultimately lead to the extinction of sins,
the production of good, and the realization of great awakening. (Unno
2004, 245)Traditionally, petitionary prayer for good health, safe childbirth, and
other desired outcomes has often been explained doctrinally in terms
of enzukuri , creating a karmic bond with the buddhadharma
in order to encourage lay practitioners. That is, such prayers and their
the goal of attaining this-worldly benefits are often explained as a kind
of hōben or skillful means (upāya). Myōe’s presentation of the
mantra of light seems to accord with this but, as we have seen, he does
not describe the desire for this-worldly benefits as mere wishful think-
ing. Rather, he suggests that material benefits can and will accrue, but
only as an effect of faith and karmic action that is directed toward the
ultimate goal of awakening. The difference between petitionary prayer
as a means to an end and faith in the karmic power of the mantra may
seem minor to modern readers, but it seems that for Myōe, they are