By Gansen John Welch
In a world where fools
And rogues rule
It is difficult to survive
And strive to live
A life devoted to eternal truths
Where all ages but especially the youths
Are taught half-truths, propaganda and lies
Even up to the end when we die
Buried in our coffins containing confusion
Ignorance, folly and delusion
Is it any wonder
That we wander
Endlessly from birth to death
Without reprieve or pause for breath
From these seemingly eternal nightmares
Of suffering, worries, woes, foes and cares
Today not tomorrow heed Amida’s call
Lest you once again helplessly fall
Into samsara’s realms of pain
Grasp now Amida’s helping hand and gain
Unconditional entry into Sukhaviti
Where you will be forever free
From samsara’s suffering and karma
Thanks entirely to Amida Dharma
Namo Amida Butsu
Namo Amida Butsu
Namo Amida Butsu
Thank you Amida Buddha
Homage to Amida Buddha
I take refuge in Amida Buddha
These verses were inspired by the following passage in Tannisho (pages 23 to 24):
“The Master (Shinran Shonin) would often say:
When I consider deeply the Vow of Amida, which arose
from five kalpas of profound thought, I realize that it was
entirely for the sake of myself alone! Then how I am filled
with gratitude for the Primal Vow, in which Amida resolved
to save me, though I am burdened with such heavy karma."
Reflecting once more on this expression of Shinran's inmost thoughts, I find that is does not differ in the leastfrom those precious words of Shan-tao:
Know yourself to be a foolish being of karmic evil caught in
birth-and-death, ever sinking and ever wandering in
transmigration from innumerable kalpas in the past, with
never a condition that would lead to emancipation."
Thus how grateful I feel for Shinran's words, in which he gives himself as an example in order to make us realize we are in delusion, knowing nothing at all of the depths of
our karmic evil or the vastness of Amida's benevolence. In truth, myself and others discuss only good and evil, leaving Amida's benevolence out of consideration. Among
Master Shinran's words were:
I know nothing at all of good or evil. For if I could know
thoroughly, as Amida Tathagata knows, that an act was
good, then I would know good. If I could know thoroughly,
as the Tathagata knows, that an act was evil, then I would
know evil. But with a foolish being full of blind passions, in
this fleeting world - this burning house - all matters without
exception are empty and false, totally without truth and
sincerity. The nembutsu alone is true and real.”