Say Nembutsu in the mountains and forests

If you can, go to mountains and forests, say the Name of Amida Buddha and encourage all nonhuman beings living there to say it in faith. Spread the good news of the Primal Vow everywhere!

May all beings create indestructible connections with Amida Buddha, say His Name in faith and wish to be born in His Pure Land!
Namo Amida Bu

Ve a las montañas y los bosques, di el nombre del Buda Amida y anima a todos los seres no humanos que viven allí a decirlo con fe. ¡Difunde las buenas noticias del Voto Primordial por todas partes!

¡Que todos los seres creen conexiones indestructibles con el Buda Amida, digan Su Nombre con fe y deseen nacer en Su Tierra Pura!

 Идите в горы и леса, произносите Имя Амида Будды и побуждайте всех живущих там нечеловеческих существ произносить его с верой. Распространяйте благую весть об Изначальном Обете повсюду!
 

Пусть все существа создадут неразрушимые связи с Амида Буддой, произнесут Его Имя с верой и пожелают родиться в Его Чистой Земле!
Намо Амида Бу  

Mergi in munti si paduri, spune Numele lui Buddha Amida si incurajeaza toate fiintele neumane care traiesc acolo (spirite si zei) sa-l rosteasca cu credinta. Raspandeste peste tot vestea cea buna a Legamantului Principal!
Fie ca toate fiintele sa creeze legaturi indestructibile cu Buddha Amida, sa rosteasca Numele lui cu credinta si sa isi doreasca sa se nasca in Taramul sau Pur.
Namo Amida Bu

 

A question on spirits

Question: "If I see or feel the presence of negative spirits around me, how do I send them away? And what if they refuse to leave?"

Answer: Why send them away? Just leave them alone. Let them stay and listen to your Nembutsu, let them hear your thoughts and words of faith. One day, they will become bored with a guy like you who minds his own business and constantly says Nembutsu, or even better, they might be influenced by your devotion and entrust to Amida themselves. In Jodo Shinshu we do not exorcize, nor fight with spirits, rather we convert them by our example. The urge of Shinran, "receive yourself faith and help others receive faith" applies to them, too.

It is good to be friendly towards the spirit world. Realize that spirits, ghosts and various types of nonhuman beings inhabit the same space with us. Your land is their land, too. Some are in the same place for hundreds or thousands of years, so they have the same right as you to be here. Who are you to tell them to go away? Let them be and focus on living a life of gratitude with as little damage as possible to other beings, and focus on Nembutsu.

All beings suffer, no matter they are humans or non-humans. Some spirits may like you, feel neutral towards you or may be inclined to hate you due to karma from the past. No problem! Let them hate you, while you just focus on Nembutsu. How much can somebody hate another person if that one does not respond to the hate and minds his own business?

Offer incense to Amida Buddha in the name of all beings, including the spirits of the place you live, and make aspirations for them - may they be healthy in body and mind, always receive whatever is necessary and beneficial for them. May all their obstacles be removed and may they create indestructible connections with Amida Buddha, entrust to Him, say His Name (Namo Amida Bu) and wish to be born in His Pure Land[1]. Also pray to Amida to help them, although He already tries His best to help. However, if you pray for them, they will feel your good intentions.

If you think this way, if you say Nembutsu and have devotion and faith, the invisible beings who happen to live there or just pass through will know your thoughts and might be inspired to entrust to Amida and say Nembutsu themselves, and if not, they will finally leave you alone as they see that you are no threat to them. In fact, they cannot harm you even if they try, because if you have faith (shinjin) you automatically benefit from the protection of Amida and all Buddhas.

So again, no matter what you see, hear, or feel around you, just focus on Nembutsu and mind your own business.

 

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[1] You can also use the specific ceremony to help the hungry ghosts and bardo beings fom my book Worshipping Amida Buddha – Liturgies and Ceremonies of Amidaji Temple.

Helping animals make a connection with Amida Buddha

Here it looks like Codita is bowing his
head in front of Amida image

No human being arrived today for the service, so I recited Nembutsu with one of the dogs of Amidaji - Codita.
Even if animals may not understand human language is beneficial for them to hear the sacred Name and see holy images of Amida. This plants a seed in their mental stream and will help them make a karmic connection which Amida Buddha and His Dharma, which one day, perhaps in a better rebirth, will result in becoming open to His Primal Vow. This is why I encourage you to say Nembutsu in the presence of animals, make them see Amida images and even put statues with Amida on the crown of their head.