Nembutsu

Quan Shi Yin Bodhisattva
Practises deeply "other shore wisdom",
Sees the five skandhas completely empty
Goes beyond the world of affliction.
Oh Shariputra,
This world and the Pure Land are not apart!
The Pure Land is not apart from here!
The Form World is the emptiness
The Emptiness World is this world of form.
All the skandhas: regard them like this.
Shariputra, See the Empty character of all:
Not the birth and death world;
Not the defiled and pure world;
Not the gain and loss world.
Be in the empty centre,
Where the five skandhas are absent;
Sensual attachments are absent;
Sensual delights are absent;
Sense made worlds are absent;
Radiance is not lacking,
Therefore no struggle darkness to destroy,
Nor any other of conditioning's chains.
Be free of decay and death.
No need to strive to destroy them.
No affliction, no arising,
No suppressing, no path;
Be not concerned with
Wisdom and attainment.
A bodhisattva relies
On the other shore wisdom
Where mind is no obstacle
So there is no fear.
Going beyond all troublesome states
Just practise nirvana
Like all the Buddhas, past, present and future,
Just rely on other shore wisdom
Thus attain supreme, perfect, enlightenment
Samyak-sambodhi,
Thus to know other shore wisdom
The great inexplicable mantra
The great radiant mantra
The unexcelled mantra
Incomparable mantra
Able to clear away every suffering
It is true. It is not false.
Proclaim the prajna paramita mantra
That is proclaimed and proclaimed like this:
Going, going, going beyond,
Always going beyond, awakening. Svaha!

(Dharmavidya, inspired by Honen Shonin’s Ichimai Kishomon)

For those with the karmic affinity with Amitabha Buddha, wishing to practice a religious life in truly simple faith, freeing themselves of sophistication and attachment to all forms of cleverness, the method of opening oneself to Amitabha’s grace is the practice of Nien Fo with body, speech and mind, particularly verbal recitation of “Namo Amida Bu”. This is not something done as a form of meditation, nor is it based on study, understanding and wisdom, or the revelation of deep meaning. Deep meaning is indeed there for the nembutsu is a window through which the whole universe of Buddha’s teaching can be perceived in all its depth, but none of this is either necessary or even helpful to success in the practice. Rather such study cultivates secondary faculties to be held separate from the mind of practice itself.

The primary practice requires only one essential; realise that you are a totally foolish being who understands nothing, but who can with complete trust recite “Namo Amida Bu”; know that this will generate re-birth in the Pure land, without even knowing what rebirth in the Pure Land truly is. This is the practice for ignorant beings and ignorance is essential for its accomplishment. This practice automatically encompasses the three minds and the mind of contrition as a fourth. To pursue something more profound or more sophisticated, or to have a theory, or to think that understanding will yield greater enlightenment than this is to be misled and to fall back into self-power whereby the whole practice is spoilt. However wise, learned or skilled you may be, set it aside and be the foolish being completely in the performance of the practice. Nothing else is required and anything else is too much. Faith and practice cannot be differentiated.

The Buddha-body is delineated by the precepts. How deficient we are in comparison! By our daily difficulty in the preceptual life, we awaken to the presence of the myriad karmic obstacles without which we would already perceive the land of love and bliss, we would be as the vow-body of Buddha. Thus we know in experience that we are foolish beings of wayward passion. This knowledge of our condition is part of the essential basis when it gives rise to contrition. Thus all obstacles become impediments to faith unless we experience contrition and letting go. Saving grace, as was made clear by Shan Tao’s dream and advice to Tao Cho, only comes through the sange-mon.

If you can perform the practice in this simple minded way, Amida will receive you and you may fear for nothing since all is completely assured. Dwelling in this settled faith you may then use your secondary faculties, your knowledge and skills and accumulated experience, as tools for helping all sentient beings. But do not then think that anything of relevance to your own salvation is thereby accomplished, nor that you are making something of yourself. Whatever merit there may be in your actions of this kind, immediately and totally dedicate it to the benefit of others, that they may enter the Pure Land and that you yourself may not be encumbered by consciousness of virtue which will only contaminate the practice. As Honen says, “without pedantic airs, fervently recite the Name.”

On January 23, Honen dictated the Ichimai Kishomon, a record of his essential teaching, to his disciple Genchi, and passed away two days later on the 25th at the age of 80. In a teaching style, he re-affirms the need to be aware of our fundamental ignorance and to single mindedly recite the nembutsu. The Ichimai-kishomon is used frequently in daily services given by Jodo Shu priests.


"In China and Japan, many Buddhist masters and scholars understand that the nembutsu is to meditate deeply on Amida Buddha and the Pure Land. However, I do not understand the nembutsu in this way. Reciting the nembutsu does not come from studying and understanding its meaning. There is no other reason or cause by which we can utterly believe in attaining birth in the Pure Land than the nembutsu itself. Reciting the nembutsu and believing in birth in the Pure Land naturally gives rise to the three minds (sanjin) and the four modes of practice (shishu). If I am witholding any deeper knowledge beyond simple recitation of the nembutsu, then may I lose sight of the compassion of Shakyamuni and Amida Buddha and slip through the embrace of Amida's original vow. Even if those who believe in the nembutsu deeply study all the teachings which Shakyamuni taught during his life, they should not put on any airs and should practice the nembutsu with the sincerity of those untrained followers ignorant of Buddhist doctrines.1

I hereby authorize this document with my hand print. The Jodo Shu way of the settled mind (anjin) is completely imparted here. I, Genku, have no other teaching than this. In order to prevent misinterpretation after my passing away, I make this final testament."

January 23, the Second Year of Kenryaku (1212)