I have decided to skip forward to be in sync with where I am chanting. I also realised that I did not properly count in sets of sixes in the previous one, so they are out of line with the traditional chanting sequence, sorry about that!

81

Those who, doubting the inconceivable Buddha-wisdom
But believing in the recompense of good and evil,
Aspire to attain the Pure Land by practicing the root of good
Are taught to be of “womblike birth.”

"Believing in the recompense of good and evil" refers to believing that any karmic action you take can have an effect on your Pure Land birth. Shinran teaches that those who believe in that do attain a lesser birth in the Pure Land, since they still doubt the universality of the vow. If there is no doubt in the vow, then one knows they are saved regardless of whatever good and bad acts they commit.

82

The fault of doubting Buddha-wisdom is grave.
Becoming fully aware of this,
You should, with deep repentance,
Entrust yourself to inconceivable Buddha-wisdom.

As always we see two common themes in Shinran's work: becoming aware of our faults, and entrusting. As Shandao taught, these two aspects of shinjin are not separable. It is not possible to entrust in the Buddha without being made aware of our faults, and it is not possible to be made aware of our faults without receiving the mind of entrusting from the Buddha.

The above twenty-three hymns were composed in order
to awaken people to the offense of doubting the Primal Vow
that embodies inconceivable Buddha[wisdom].

[Start of "Hymns in Praise of Prince Shotoku"]

83

Coming to entrust ourselves to the Vow of inconceivable Buddha-wisdom
Through the kindness of Prince Shotoku,
We have entered the stage of the truly settled
And are like Maitreya, the future Buddha.

Prince Shotoku is often revered in Japanese Buddhism. He defended Buddhism in Japan significantly and so many cults of worship grew around him, and people expressed gratitude for his bringing the Dharma to them. When we entrust, we enter the stage of the truly settled, meaning that there is nothing that can be done, nothing that we can do, to break our inevitable enlightenment. The causes are already set out. This means we can act freely in our lives without having to worry to maintain religious discipline or practise.

84

Great Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, the world-savior,
Who appeared as Prince Shotoku,
Is like a father, never leaving us,
And like a mother, always watching over us.

Avalokitesvara appeared to Prince Shotoku telling him to seek out his eventual teacher Honen. Of course he must have felt quite grateful, and since Avalokitesvara is the great compassionate bodhisattva, naturally she acts as both parents. Interestingly, our mothers and fathers do leave us and do stop watching over us in reality. Perhaps in some cultures of ancestral worship they do not think of their mothers and fathers in this way, but for us in the west we are often harshly aware of the limitations of our parents and how they have eventually failed us, while of course still remaining grateful for the care they could offer. Unlike our real parents, Avalokitesvara really is infinite, never leaving us, never running out power, never unable to help us.

85

From the beginningless past down to the present,
Prince Shotoku has compassionately
Watched over us, like a father,
And stayed close to us, like a mother.

Avalokitesvara's compassion is based on true reality (suchness) and so actually transcends time. From the perspective of the truth, linear time is a mental construct of deluded beings.

86

Prince Shotoku has compassionately
Urged and led us to enter
The Vow of inconceivable Buddha-wisdom,
So that we now dwell in the stage of the truly settled.

Since Prince Shotoku is our parent, he knows what is best for us, and takes care of us. Therefore much like in the two rivers he encourages us to walk along the path to enlightenment through the easy way. We can see that sentient beings' attachments to their self-power and their own strengths is so great that we need great motivation from our parents. We are like arrogant children who think we can accomplish anything without any help. We must accept the help of the world of truth, or we will remain in a bad situation.