The ancient practice of Nembutsu involves mindfulness of Amida Buddha, and the recitation of the sacred name, Namu Amida Butsu, which means "I follow/return back to Amida Buddha.” Through the practice of Nembutsu, people share and derive spiritual benefit for themselves and others.

Nembutsu Chanting  (click here for Chanting Text)

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What is the Purpose of Nembutsu?

1) To allow all beings and spirits go to Pure Land, which is to live in a peaceful and happy state in this world. Enlightenment right here, right now.

2) For all to receive the merit, wisdom, compassion, majestic power and great love of Amida Buddha.

Why practice Nembutsu?

In our daily lives it is easy to feel separated and cut off from the Source of what is, from other people, and even from ourselves. We are all looking for ways to overcome the suffering in our lives, and to unify with ourselves and all other beings. Through the practice of Nembutsu we realize that there is no separation between our own happiness and that of others. By genuinely wishing for others to overcome and reach peace and happiness, we contribute to our own well being and inner harmony. This is the core teaching of Mahayana Pure Land Buddhism.

Pure Land Buddhism encourages us to heed the bidding of Shakyamuni in the Larger Amida Sutra, and to relinquish all of our spiritual needs to Amida Buddha. In so doing, we accept the Vow (will, mind or intention) and the Name of Amida ("Namu Amida Butsu") and, therefore, our ultimate destiny - Buddhahood, Nirvana. When this happens, our life becomes a joyful adventure, characterised by a sense of indebtedness & gratitude.

The difficulty many of us have is in accepting that Amida's Great Love accepts us exactly as we are, with wisdom and compassion, and no need or judgement for us to become "good or better" people. All of us have an unendurably painful dark side: deep and terrible greed, anger, sadness and a host of other feelings. Worse, we are profoundly ignorant of and constantly shocked at our own insensitivity. Within ourselves, we discover the existential pain that afflicts us all in this "Last Dharma Age."

Yet Nembutsu can be with us in all situations, joyful or painful, without exception. This is why Amida has given us this Name. This is why the Primal Vow is also called "The Universal Vow". The Primal Vow as the "Great Ocean" because it takes in and accepts all people, no matter who they are, just as countless life-forms live in, and depend upon, the ocean.

What is Pure Land?

Pure Land is, in fact, Nirvana or Buddhahhood - ultimate realisation of transcendence; in Buddhist terms "extinction of birth and death".

A Buddha is free of all attachment and aversion and has realised the true nature of things: wisdom and compassion. So it is that our goal does not end in self-absorbed bliss but in reaching out to others to help them as well. In the way that Shakyamuni returned to ordinary human society after his Enlightenment, Amida Buddha initiated - in his Twenty-second Vow - our "return"to this world, so that we may become active in leading others to enlightenment "so that the boundless ocean of birth-and-death be exhausted".

What Attitude is Important When Practicing Nembutsu?

To fail in one's efforts to live up to the high standards of the Buddhist way of life is not so much a cause for despair as it is an occasion for remorse and deep self-reflection on one's shortcomings and limitations coupled with a profound gratitude to Amida Buddha for a) helping one to realize the distress of our human condition and b) assuring us of his salvation and enlightenment despite our imperfections which we cannot hope to eradicate of our own accord. To be deeply imbued, in this way, by Amida's mind of compassionate wisdom is to live the life of a true person.

Who is Amida Buddha?

The Light of Amida Buddha is infinite because there is nowhere it does not reach and nothing that it does not penetrate, including the darkest depths of our minds and hearts. This light illuminates the nature of the world and helps us recognize the extent of our profound attachment to our own egos and to the real gulf that, in so many ways, separates us from the Buddha.

Amida vowed that his Name would be heard "throughout the ten directions," (Larger Sutra 7) that is, everywhere, and that those who say his name, entrusting themselves to him, will be born in the Pure Land and attain Buddhahood .
Amida Buddha's Name has limitless power. Amida Buddha - active in our lives and our consciousness. All of Amida Buddha's virtues, his Life and Light, are embodied in his Name.

Light is wisdom, and life is the compassion that results from perfect wisdom. Amida Buddha's understanding is so complete that when he thinks of us he knows us exactly as we are and, accepts us as we are because of his perfect wisdom.

What are the Three Bodies (trikaya) of Amida Buddha?

1. Three bodies (Kaya) as oneness:

A <Dharhma-kaya>

…is the Spirit of the Universe and three thousand worlds. Dharmakaya is the principle of the universe, and the universe itself, and also the source of creation, or “cause and effect”. Dharumakaya can be called God in Christianity and Judaism, Ala in Islam and Tao in Taoism. Dharmakaya can be recognized as emptiness, as in a state of emptiness. True body of Buddha is beyond all forms, attributes, and limits.

MI <Sambhoga-kaya>

…is the Highest Spirit of the Universe, and at the same time, the Creator of Pure Land as the center of the Universe. The Spirit of all sentient beings will be raised by the power of Sambhoga-kaya. Also, the enlightened spirit of all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Devas is infinitively developing by Sambhoga-kaya. . {The Divine Body, Pure Body, Or Body of Enjoyment, it is invisible to common eyes, can only be seen by the advanced Bodhisattvas.}

DA <Nirmana-kaya>

…there are two kinds; one is the transformation Buddha, which enters into practitioners’ hearts through an image. Because of this, Nembutsu practitioners can feel and recognize Amida Buddha visually as an actual existence.
The second are human beings who existed in this world, having an appearance as the spirit of the universe, and taught the 8400 gates of Buddhism (for example, Shakyamuni Buddha).

What is Another View of Amida Buddha?

2. Oneness of One God teaching, and all Gods teaching,
The three below are oneness.

A <Main Buddha>

…Amida is not one of the Buddhas. It’s the main Buddha of the Universe. Amida is called Dainichi “Large Sun”, or Tathagata (Buddha) in Tantric Buddhism. Therefore we worship Amida Buddha as in the saying of religious study: “One God teaching” .

MI <All Buddhas, Bodhisatvas, and devas>

…All creation based on “cause and effect” is Amida Buddha itself; all Buddhas, Bodhisatttvas, and devas are the separated spirit of Amida Buddha.

DA <All Holy teachings>

…All Holy teachings such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam etc in the planet are the appearance of the unlimited light of Dharmakaya, the 8400 gates of Buddhism and all Sutras as well.