The nembutsu is the spiritual “buzz” or “vibe” of the cosmos. It can also be seen as the intimate calling of life itself, manifesting in our hearts and minds, transforming suffering into wholesomeness. The nembutsu is the union of all opposites, in which the limited and confused self is integrated with Boundless Life and Light. In other words, it is the union of the historical and ultimate dimensions in the very here and now. With Namu-Amida-Butsu, uncertainty and death are transformed into assurance and deathlessness. That is to say, the finite, frail and mortal individual awakens to the fact that she has always been fused within the one life, which freely and totally bequeaths itself to her through compassion and wisdom. As a result of this profound recognition, our deep seated alienation and a sense of separation are replaced by spiritual inclusion and nurturing interconnection. Shinshu Kyodan Remei captured the feeling of this inner transformation when he wrote, “Namu-Amida-Butsu is the cry of joy, when meeting my true self.”
At its root, the voicing of the nembutsu is a non-dual practice, that is, its voicing does not just originate from our volition or ego-centered will power but is really the result of the ceaseless working of Boundless Life within us, personified as Amida Buddha. It is the natural consequence of deeply hearing the cosmic “buzz” with the entirety of one’s mind, body and speech. As Muso Kimura so nicely stated, “While in a world of voices, one transcends all voices and one hears the voice that is voiceless.” Shinran Shonin clarified this non-dual nature of the nembutsu by saying, “although I recite the nembutsu, I am not reciting. It is Amida in me that makes me recite…” The non-dual expression of Namu-Amida-Butsu, as a sign of spiritual liberation, empowers us to truly fuse our lives with reality’s deepest source and consciously partake in the Pure Land, which is the realm of eternal life. This articulates the completion of circle of life, in which the merger of Namu (historical) with Amida (ultimate) manifests as Butsu (awakening) in the eternal now.
Through the ceaseless working of the nembutsu, we are transformed to live at the nexus of the historical and ultimate dimensions. As 20th century Shin Buddhist philosopher Zuiken summed it up, “the essence of the Mahayana is; without severing blind passions, one attains Nirvana.” That is the say, our foolish and fictitious selves are gradually dissolved and we are gratefully brought to the realization of the natural life, in which we are no longer bounded by our self-limitations, isolated from the past, present and future but truly seeing everything arising and blending together within the boundless interplay of the Pure Land.......from tripod.com
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