Now I lay me down to sleep,
Namu Amida Butsu
in my heart I will keep.
Watch over me through the night
and keep me safe till morning's light.
Now I lay me down to sleep,
Namu Amida Butsu
in my heart I will keep.
Guide me with your love and light
Keep me close and in your sight.
Now I lay me down to sleep,
Namu Amida Butsu
in my heart I will keep.
If I should dream before I wake,
Amida I will listen
this promise, I make.
Namu Amida Butsu
Namu Amida Butsu
Namu Amida Butsu
thank you,
Jishin
(journal notes 3/1/13)
Even if you are going to deconstruct the Buddha and self into emptiness, asking questions like who is it that chants the nenbutsu, I think the Buddha must first be real in order to be deconstructed. In the language of esoteric practice this is the "worldly siddhi" (seken jōju 世間成就) , i.e., auspicious dreams, visions, miraculous events...the Buddha appearing before you. It is then that you can start your deconstruction project.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that most of us struggle to really interact with the Buddhas as real, that is to say "namu" with faith that it implies, i.e., that we leave our lives and destinies in the hands of the Buddhas. As far as I can see, for "namu" to be real, the object of "namu" must be real to us.
Certainly this poem draws upon a Christian tradition that originally lies outside of your Shinshu faith, and perhaps some might fear a confusion of Amida Buddha with a Judeo-Christian monotheistic creator deity and some of its attendant theological notions.
However, propagation across cultural distance requires ladders and bridges, and I think that for anyone from our cultural background, as a skillful means of the Buddha your prayer possesses the penetrating power to pull at our heartstrings. In doing so it confronts us with our own smallness and the expansive ocean of Amida's compassionate wisdom.
For many this prayer holds the potential to make Amida very immediate right in there own situatedness. So, it works for me.
(Sorry so long!)