The Nembutsu (the Heart of Pure Land Buddhism)

Namu-amida-butsu!

I have actually been trying to understand for myself what the nembutsu is but often I think such a task is much like asking of life in general "what's it all about?", which can scramble the brain.  Be that as it may, for over 15 years I have been trying with varied but strictly limited success. 

The nembutsu is the heart of Pure Land Buddhism, which is often called the Buddhism of Faith, this being contrasted with a Buddhism more associated with the intellect, with meditation and even the monastic tradition.

The nembutsu:- "Namu-amida-butsu". Or alternatively, as translated by some:- "My foolish self is held within infinite compassion; grasped, never to be abandoned." A very loose translation but maybe worthy of reflection.

"Grasped" Just who, or what, is doing the "grasping" in Pure Land Buddhism, a faith that, despite some appearances, shares the fundamental non-theistic approach to reality of mainstream Buddhism?

There is a wide spectrum of understanding within Pure Land Buddhism, between Amida being him ( or her ) "up there" - or out to the West - who comes to collect us when we die to escort us to the Pure Land; and of Amida as a personification of Reality-as-is and the Pure Land as being HERE, now, when seen with new eyes. And all points in between, as the devotee moves between simple belief and the actual realisation of the path.

The Pure Land (out to the West)

Just an added note on Amida being "him or her", a few words of explanation from D T Suzuki (a man known in the West more for his writings on Zen, but who also had allegiances and insights into the Pure Land path) :-

.....we believe in Amida Buddha as our Oya-sama, or Oya-san, as it is sometimes called. It is the term used to express love and compassion. Oya means parent, but not either parent, rather both mother and father; not separate personalities, but both fatherly and motherly qualities united in one personality. The honorific san is the familiar form of sama. The latter, Oya-sama, is the standard form. In Christianity, God is addressed as the Father - "Our father who art in Heaven" - but Oya-sama is not in Heaven, nor is Oya-sama Father. It is incorrect to say "he" or "she," for no gender distinction is found. I don't like to say "it," so I don't know what to say. Oya-sama is a unique word, deeply endearing and at the same time rich with religious significance and warmth.

Amida Buddha (Buddha of Infinite Light)

So Suzuki does not really know what to say, which perhaps says it all. But getting back to the nembutsu, to say it - out loud or silently - is not to chant, nor is it a mantra. Rather it is simply to say it and then trust that things will be "made to become so of themselves", beyond our calculations. Myself, to begin with, it was simply a way of mindfulness, to keep my mind from straying and thrashing about like a fish out of water. It then became a habit, and morphed over time into "thank you", gratitude in all circumstances. It has had an undoubted effect and that is all I can say. In Zen, a master has said that if we wish to know the truth we should cease to cherish opinions. Maybe feeling some sense of gratitude in all circumstance has much the same effect - if by "truth" we mean life itself, the actual living, and not some assertion, belief or claim of the intellect.

Anyway, as usual I am waffling and perhaps making little sense. I will finish with a short passage from the book "Tariki: Embracing Despair, Discovering Peace" by Hiroyuki Itsuki. The book is semi-autobiographical and in the opening chapters Itsuki speaks of his early life as a refugee, of times where he woke hoping the human being sleeping beside him had died in the night so that he could profit from their death, being able to take their clothes and what little food they had. 

Such suffering - so the passage I quote should not be dismissed as words of sentimentality or superficiality, but more of hard won experience. 

Itsuki speaks more of "Tariki" ( Other Power ) than of Amida, and in Japanese this word is contrasted with "Jiriki" (self power).....

The Other Power (Tariki) derives from the true and full acceptance of the reality that is within us and surrounds us. It is not a philosophy of passivity or iresponsibility, but one of radical spiritual activity, of personal, existential revolution. Its essence is the spontaneous wondrous force that gives us the will to act, to "do what man can do and then wait for heaven's will." Importantly, Other Power is a power that flows from the fundamental realization that, in the lives we live, we are already enlightened. This enlightenment does not come easily. It is born of the unwelcome understanding that, despite our protestations, we are insignificant, imperfect beings, born to a hell of suffering that defines human existence. But in this hell, we sometimes encounter small joys, friendship, the kind acts of strangers, and the miracle of love. We experience moments when we are filled with courage, when the world sparkles with hopes and dreams. There are even times when we are deeply grateful to have been born. These moments are paradise. But paradise is not another realm; it is here, in the very midst of the hell of this world. Other Power, a power that transcends theological distinctions, avails us of these moments. In the endless uncertainties of contemporary life, Other Power confers upon us a flexibility of spirit, an energy to feel joy, and the respite of peace.