Jōdo-shū Nembutsu Association of Kentucky

04/07/2026

04/01/2026

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Namu Amida Butsu!!

03/30/2026

Hōnen’s teaching struck a chord in people’s hearts because the turmoil of the age made them more aware of their own defilements, the brevity of life, and anxiety for their welfare after death. His teaching, based on his own experience, was decidedly otherworldly. He persistently taught the power of Nembutsu—based on Amida’s
Vow to overcome all obstacles to Enlightenment—for everyone, whether a highly competent monk, scholar, aristocrat, warrior, a lowly peasant, fisherman, robber, or even a pr******te. In Hōnen we see a man of great warmth and humane feeling, which he communicated to every individual he met, no matter what status the person held.... Sincere recitation of the Nembutsu would purify a person, high or low, of eons of kalpas (inconceivably long periods of time) of evils.

Hōnen the Buddhist Saint: Essential Writings and Official Biography
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Not much has changed since the time of Hōnen Shōnin. To many, Hōnen's teachings continue to speak to the tender depths of our hearts. His message resonates deep within us, speaking to the places that are longing for answers, longing for hope, longing for direction, and longing to be embraced by the infinite compassion of Amida Buddha. Through this profound teaching, Hōnen tells us simply: "Say the Name: Namu Amida Butsu, and Amida Buddha will gather you to the Western Pure Land when this earthly life ends."

May we truly embody this simple and profound teaching from Hōnen and recite the Nembutsu for the entirety of our lives. Namu Amida Butsu!

In gassho,
Keishin (慶心)

Author's Image: Mausoleum of Hōnen Shōnin, Chion-in Temple, Kyoto, JP

03/28/2026

The merit of protection by Amida Buddha is received in daily life. This is because one who has genuine belief in birth in the Pure Land holds no doubt and awaits the coming of Amida Buddha; this is the nembutsu devotee who embodies the threefold devotional heart. The Meditation Sutra teaches that one who has the threefold devotional heart will be born, with certainty, in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. 169 Amida Buddha casts eighty-four thousand rays of his light of compassion upon one who is resolute in the attainment of this goal. Amida Buddha shines this light continually on the nembutsu practitioner in daily life and up to the final moment of that person’s life. For this reason, it is called the 'vow by which Amida Buddha never abandons the nembutsu devotee.’

03/27/2026

Q. (12): How much negative karma will be eradicated by calling the name of Amida Buddha?

Answer: It is taught that “Through a single utterance of nembutsu, the negative karma binding one to the six delusive worlds of transmigration for eight billion eons is eliminated." It is also said that “If one merely hears the name of Amida Buddha and the names of his two attendant bodhisattvas, the negative karma binding one to saṃsāra for immeasurable eons is nullified.”

The Promise of Amida Buddha, Dialogue on the Essentials of Nembutsu
Image: Amida Triad, Jorakuji, Kanagawa, JP

02/17/2026

In this manner, merits evolve and expand from few to many. If the Nembutsus become as great in number as the sands of the Ganges, then the unsurpassed quantities of merit too will be as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. One should surely understand it in this manner. If this is the case, then why should people who desire Rebirth abandon the Nembutsu with its unsurpassed great benefits and strive to perform the other practices with their small and surpassable benefits?

Honen Shonin, Senchakushu, Ch. V, The Benefits of the Nembutsu

Photo: Young Honen Shonin (Seishimaru) in prayer

02/13/2026

The fact is no one knows beforehand just how he will die. It may be all of a sudden on the highway, it may be in the toilet, it may be that a man is cut down by a long sword or a dagger, that he is burned to death or drowns; for it is impossible for a man to escape the results of his former evil karma. And yet no matter what kind of death a man meets, if he daily practices the Nembutsu, and has made up his mind he is going to the Land of Bliss, when he actually comes to the end, Amida, Kannon, and Seishi do come forth to welcome him to that Land, and we ought so to believe. It says in the Ōjōyōshū that quite apart from time, place, or other circumstances, if a man begins to pray for Ōjō as he comes near to death, there is no method of salvation comparable with the Nembutsu, and truly this is so.

"Honen the Buddhist Saint: Essential Writings and Official Biography"

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Though the day, hour, and manner of our departure from this life remain unknown, we find profound comfort in the Essential Vow of Amida Buddha. Through the diligent practice of the Nembutsu, we gain the assurance that regardless of how or when our end arrives, our hearts will be cradled by the transcendent presence of Amida, Kannon, and Seishi Bosatsu.

We need not be captive to the fear of the future or the transition of death. Instead, we can transform moments of worry and anxiety into an act of radical trust. By joining our hands in gassho and reciting with the entirety of our being: Namu Amida Butsu; we replace uncertainty with the peace of birth in the Pure Land.