The Nembutsu Is the Right Wisdom

“The auspicious Name embodying the perfectly fulfilled supreme virtues” refers to the Nembutsu. To put it simply, it means that the Nembutsu is the true wisdom because no matter what adverse circumstances we are in, the Nembutsu transforms everything into meaning and value in our lives, making us accept all things just as they are. With these words, Shinran teaches us how important it is for us ordinary people to say the Nembutsu.

Speaking of reciting the Nembutsu, there is a wonderful poem written by Saichi Asahara called Myokonin (The Superior Nembutsu Follower), which goes:

When catching a cold, a cough comes out.
Saichi has caught the cold of Buddha Dharma,
and the cough of the Nembutsu comes out again and again.

This poem is really wonderful because the essence of Jodo Shinshu is summarized in it. It is almost as if we can hear the cough of the Nembutsu coming from of the mouth of Saichi who caught the cold of the Dharma.

But how about in our daily lives? Like when you can’t stop coughing if you catch a cold, does the voice of the Nembutsu come from your mouth naturally? And when things do not turn out as you would like, instead of reciting the Nembutsu, don’t you instead get angry at someone or something as you complain? And don’t you only say the Nembutsu, “Namo Amida Butsu” when it is convenient and you are in good mood? Certainly, it is wonderful to say the Nembutsu when you are doing well. But Jodo Shinshu actually teaches us that it is very important to utter the Nembutsu especially when we are in trouble.

My grandfather often said to me, “Say the Nembutsu when you face a problem.” He meant that when facing a problem, jump into Amida Buddha’s embrace first. The Nembutsu is always working on each of us as “the true wisdom that transforms our evil into virtue.” That is why it is fine to say the Nembutsu while feeling angry; and to say the Nembutsu while feeling sad. This is the Nembutsu of Other Power which Shinran teaches us.

I know that there are some of you who think that it is bad to say the Nembutsu when we are angry. I deeply understand your feeling. But if we could only say the Nembutsu when we had peace of mind, it would not be easy to do so, would it?

Also, if you believe that only the Nembutsu recited with a clear mind has virtue but the Nembutsu recited in anger does not, I have to say that is nothing but the Nembutsu of Self Power. It is because you only place importance on your state of mind when you say the Nembutsu. That kind of Nembutsu is not that which is received by Amida Buddha, but instead the Nembutsu of our own creation. If you think that we should say the Nembutsu after ceasing our complaining or calming ourselves down, please realize that this is actually us using Self Power and our own calculation in the first place.

Since my childhood, whenever my dad took a bath, I could always hear him happily saying the Nembutsu. Even when he was using the bathroom, I often heard his cheerful voice uttering the Nembutsu. When I was young, I thought that it was terrible thing to recite the Nembutsu while relieving oneself. So, there were times when I thought of my dad as a minister who was disrespectful to Amida Buddha. But now I fully understand that my dad’s Nembutsu is actually the Nembutsu that goes beyond one’s own calculation; and that his cough of the Nembutsu meant he had caught the cold of the Dharma.

Although Shinran says that the Nembutsu is the right wisdom, what this actually means is we are allowed to become fully aware of ourselves and our afflictions as well as the great compassion of Amida Buddha. In other words, because the Nembutsu makes us see our true selves whenever we encounter Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow, the Nembutsu is called the right wisdom.

That is why it is so important for us to say the Nembutsu like coughing when we have caught a cold. Not only when we are at peace or when we are feeling grateful. But we should say “Namo Amida Butsu” even with a feeling of anger when we become frustrated or irritated when we are complaining.

Even when arguing with your spouse, you should say the Nembutsu. Some examples are: “I am angry, Namo Amida Butsu”…“No matter how I look at it, my wife is wrong, Namo Amida Butsu”… “My husband is always selfish and egotistical, Namo Amida Butsu”…“I am always right, Namo Amida Butsu…” If you do so, you will gradually but surely be able to see yourself saying the Nembutsu repeatedly. “Although I thought that I have already understood well how foolish the ordinary people who are confused by afflictions is through listening to the Dharma, who am I to get angry over the smallest thing? Am I nothing but this foolish being full of selfishness?” In this way, we will begin to become aware of our imperfect selves and feel a sense of self-reflection naturally through the power of the right wisdom.

By saying the Nembutsu even with negative feelings like, “I am always right, Namo Amida Butsu,” we will surely begin to see ourselves afflicted with faults and shortcomings because of the bright light of wisdom. And at that moment, our delusional thought, “I am right!” will surely be transformed into the more accurate realization, “How shameful I am!” Unfortunately, it is very difficult to turn our selfish minds into something precious through our own actions. The power of the Nembutsu transforms our troubled mind into a virtue for us.