Other-power

Other-power, in Japanese tariki, is the power of the Buddha Amitābha’s vow to bring beings to birth in his Pure Land. Its opposite is self-power (jiriki), the effort of one’s own practice. The contrast was drawn by the Chinese master Tanluan in the sixth century, and became the central theme of Japanese Pure Land thought.

For Hōnen, relying on other-power meant setting aside difficult practices and reciting Amida’s name, trusting the vow. Shinran pressed further: any trace of reliance on oneself, even on the sincerity of one’s faith, is still self-power. True entrusting is given by Amida, and the one who receives it is grasped and never abandoned. Good works and moral effort have their place, but they are not the cause of liberation.

The question of grace and effort is found across the devotional traditions. The Śrī Vaiṣṇava schools of South India divided over it: the Vaḍakalai likened the soul to a young monkey that must cling to its mother, the Teṉkalai to a kitten that the mother cat carries in her mouth. Christian theology has argued over grace and free will since Augustine.