On Reciting the Holy Name Clearly or Distractedly
Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia is now 14 years old
Our Encyclopedia recently received a wonderful opportunity for a major renewal on its 14th birthday . After many years of growing our Encyclopedia had become bit slow and sometimes even decided not to answer when people knocked on the door.
A very big thank you and blessings to Dmytro Rudiy (rudiy.nl) for his great work in upgrading the server, website and all of the infrastructure and helping make TBE fast and reliable again for everyone!
We kindly ask our readers to help us cover the cost of this important upgrade and also help with the ongoing costs of keeping the Encyclopedia alive and freely available.
or card
Every little donation helps and every one is deeply appreciated. 🙏🙏🙏
OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM 🙏🙏🙏
May blessings shower down on all of yous 🙏🙏🙏
There is no difference between the Holy Name recited with clarity of mind or the Holy Name recited when one is wracked by illusive thoughts.
Some people say that reciting the Holy Name when one’s mind is serene, without any stray thoughts, is the recitation of definitive aspiration for birth in the Pure Land, and is in accord with the essential vow of Amideva Buddha. They say that reciting the Holy Name with distracting thoughts is an empty exercise of merely mouthing the name of Amideva. How, then could these two forms of recitation both lead to birth in the Pure Land?
These doubts come from improper understanding of the essential vow. Amideva launched the compassionate ship —the universal vow— on the great ocean of transmigration in order to save sentient beings with unwholesome karma. It is like a ship transporting weighty rocks along with pieces of linen to the other shore.
The supremacy of the essential vow is that there is no need for interpretation: all sentient beings are able to attain birth in the Pure Land through the mere recitation of the Holy Name of Amideva, without regard for the gravity of their negative karma.
—Honen Shonin
om amideva hrih
namo amitabhaya buddhaya
namo amituo fo
namu amida butsu