Why Anarchists Like Zen? A Libertarian Reading of Shinran (1173–1263)^89
of human defilement and radical evil enables, in Fabio Rambelli’s
words, “radical Amidists [...] to offer an alternative vision –an
essentially egalitarian one”.^38 Although Rambelli does not consid-
er Shinran a “radical Amidist” per se he acknowledges him as an
intellectual bridge that enables subversive Pure Land Buddhists to
deconstruct and mock the established politico-religious order.^39
Consequently, Galen Amstutz calls Shinran “one of the most
shrewdly and profoundly rebellious individuals in East Asian his-
tory” since his reinterpretation of Buddhist doctrine issues “a chal-
lenge to the mythos of monastic Buddhism and its authority”.^40
This is accomplished largely through tariki, which posits a pri-
mordial, enlightened agent (the Amida Buddha) who acts directly
on the practitioner without mediation or validation from religious
authorities. In this way, by regarding the Buddha as the primor-
dial and ultimate agent, the practitioner becomes, in a complex
and paradoxical manner, empowered as one assured of enlighten-
ment, freed from religious institutions and disciplines but deeply
indebted to the Buddha. By entrusting practitioners’ autonomy
over practices that involve training, skill and learning, the social
framework of Buddhist practice can be dismantled or radically
redefined, since there is no need for spiritual hierarchy. However,
a flexible conscience ordered according to Buddhist sensibilities is
not altogether absent, though shifted to the individual’s subjective
sphere, as I will discuss in the fourth section of this chapter. The
libertarian implications of this peculiarly Shinranian notion offer
a paradigm of Buddhist individuality and freedom that can be
developed in an anarchist direction as a basis for self-reliance and
non-conformity. Nonetheless, tariki is embedded and needs to be
seen within the narrative of mappo, the degenerate last days of
the Buddhist teaching (dharma) in which beings are incapable of
being morally good or accomplishing Buddhist practices.
4. Egalitarian Hopelessness, Collective Transformation
Shinran’s revered teacher Honen (1133–1212) was a pioneer in
advocating exclusive reliance on the nenbutsu as the only effective
practice in the age of mappo.^41 However, Honen was not guided
by a teacher but by reading the Buddhist scriptures over and over,