Question: How can I be
sure that I say Nembutsu in the right way? You often use terms like “the
genuine/true Nembutsu”. What is it exactly and how it differs from a Nembutsu
said in the wrong way?
Answer: The Name of
Amida Buddha is not your property, and it does not work because of you. It
works because of Amida. Your saying of the Name is effective because Amida put
all His Power and infinite merits in His Name.
If you entrust yourself to Amida Buddha's
salvific Power, then you are saying the Name in accordance with its true nature, but if you are saying the Name and think that
its efficacy depends on something within yourself, like how often you say it,
or how focused you are when you say it, or on the presence of so and so virtue
and merit witthin you, then you cannot benefit from all the blessings of the
Name. This is why those who say the Name in self power (followers of the 20th
Vow)[1] can
go only to the border land of the Pure Land. They may usually
say - "but we rely on Amida's Name, not on ourselves"; however, the
reality is that deep in their minds what they actually do is - "we rely on
our capacity to recite as many times as possible". So they
actually think, "the more we recite, the better chances we have to be born
in the Pure Land Pure Land (the "center" of the Pure Land
Now please, do not
imagine that people who say the Name while truly relying on Amida’s Power to
save, cannot say it many times! On the contrary, they might say it many times,
just like practitioners of self-power Nembutsu. The only difference is that
they are not obsessed with numbers! They are not obsessed with having the
proper state of mind when saying the Name, too! They do not have the delusion that they can add or contribute with
something from themselves to Amida's salvation. They realize all these,
while they continue to say the Name! They do not abandon the Name, but on the
contrary, they enjoy it with the relaxation given by the fact that they are
already saved.
They do not need to
assure their own salvation in each moment of their life by saying the Name
continuously - something like, "I must be sure that I say the Name all the
time, so that if I die now I can go to the Pure Land
So, dear friend, enjoy
the Name whenever you like, and whenever you can. The sure sign that you are
really enjoying the Name is when you say it without worry of your salvation,
that is, after you entrusted yourself to Amida Buddha. This true saying of the
Name is the Nembutsu of faith - the Nembutsu of the Primal Vow.
Please remember that
in the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha the saying of the Name ("say my Name perhaps even ten times") is not mentioned
alone, but together with faith ("sincerely entrust to me, say my Name
perhaps even ten times"). This is extremely important and it shows
what Amida wants from us, that is, to say His Name while completely entrusting
ourselves to Him and His Power to save. We cannot run contrary to the Primal
Vow and emphasize only the Name while neglecting faith. In truth, the Nembutsu
(saying of the Name) cannot be separated from faith and faith cannot be
separated from the Nembutsu. Those who are not yet established in faith might
say the Name too, and is important that even people without faith to say the
Name, but those who have faith will surely say the Nembutsu and their saying
will truly be in accord with Amida's instruction from His Primal Vow, "entrust to me, desire to be born in my
Land, and say my Name perhaps even ten times..."
To say the Name while
entrusting ourselves completely to Amida is the genuine Nembutsu - the Nembutsu
Amida wants us to say.
[1] The fact
that people without settled faith say the Name exclusively puts them in
connection with Amida Buddha, more exactly with His 20th Vow which was
especially made for those who say the Name but do not completely rely on
Amida's power. See chapter “Birth in the borderland of the Pure Land” from this
book.
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Namo Amida Butsu
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