Nembutsu

The central element of all Pureland practice is called nien fo. Fo is the Chinese word for Buddha. Nien refers to a thought or impulse of the mind. Nien fo, therefore, means to have the Buddha in mind. Anything that brings the Buddha to mind is nien fo. Buddhists, therefore, have many reminders that help them to keep the Buddha in mind. They have statues and pictures and amulets and special clothes. They learn to do things in ways that remind them of the Buddha. Having Buddha in mind makes one happy. Buddhism is a cheerful religion.

Little rituals built into the day can generate a sense of beauty, peace and reverence in the midst of ordinary life. Thus, it is common for Buddhists to greet one another by putting the palms together in front of the chest in a gesture called anjali, or by saying “Namo Amida Bu”. Whatever brings the Buddha to mind is nien fo and so is Buddhist practice. Nien fo helps us to be faithful to the Buddha and his vision.

Pureland Buddhists say the nembutsu inwardly or outwardly on innumerable occasions. At first, it may feel strange saying these three Sanskrit words and initially they may not mean much to you. However, as you continue, you will build up a wealth of association with this simple gatha within which all the love, compassion, joy and peace of the Buddha is indicated. “Namo Amida Bu” ... “Namo Amida Bu”

Buddhist practice is about orienting the mind. The mind is always conscious of something. It responds to objects. Buddhism, therefore, sets up strong wholesome objects before the mind. We can refer to such wholesome mind-objects as icons. Icons may be real things, sacred art images, or purely imaginary forms. A Buddha statue, a nembutsu scroll, one's spiritual teacher, and Amida's Pure Land are all icons. Buddhist contemplation, or meditation, is defined as holding a wholesome object in mind. Contemplation, therefore, is sustained mindfulness of an icon. As Pureland Buddhists, the most important icon is the Pure Land in the West, with Amida at its centre.

Remember, nien fo means to bring Buddha Amida to mind and the method of Pureland practice is to have this wholesome object in mind as much as possible until it is there all the time without special effort. Sometimes nien fo is done sitting quietly as formal meditation. Sometimes it is done in the midst of ordinary activities as mindfulness in everyday life. The advantage of nien fo over many other Buddhist methods is that it takes only a moment to bring Amida to mind and you can build the habit of doing so into all your activity, so that Amida is always with you. Every time Amida enters your mind, the mind becomes better. When one acts with a good mind, happiness follows, “as the wheel follows the hoof”. Nien fo is a fool-proof method of practice.

The nembutsu is, in fact, like a key that unlocks the whole of Buddhism, or a window through which the whole of Buddhism can be understood. When we are with other Pureland Buddhists we can greet them by saying “Namo Amida Bu”. We can say “Namo Amida Bu” as a way of saying “Thank you”, or when acknowledging that something has happened. We train ourselves so that “Namo Amida Bu” is the first thing that comes to mind. If things go well, we say “Namo Amida Bu” to celebrate. If things go badly, we say “Namo Amida Bu” to say that it doesn't matter. In this way we learn that “Namo Amida Bu” will carry us through all the vicissitudes of life. No matter what happens to us, we invoke Amida. “Namo Amida Bu” becomes our constant companion through life. This is the core practice of Pureland. This is our way of taking refuge.

Namo Amida Bu

From the Amida Trust Pureland Introductory course