Na-mo  A-mi-tuo  Fo

Na
The desire with which people yearn for the Buddha,
Like plants craving the sun’s light,
Is an innate instinct.

Mo
The greatest and kindest teacher
Is Amitabha Buddha,
To whom we shall constantly pour out
Our hearts and our affections.

 A
To whom shall we express our grievances?
How do we eliminate them?
Simply submerge our sufferings into the Dharma-water of the six-character name.
Open our hearts to the benefits for sentient beings.
Make a wish for rebirth in the Buddha-land, and
Leave everything else to Amitabha Buddha.
That is all we have to do.

Mi
By Buddha-recitation,
We do not negate the value of everyday life, rather
We dignify life, for recitation imbues life with real value and purpose.
It may be concluded that,
Life is meaningless without Buddha-recitation;
For all things are impermanent.
In the blink of an eye, everything vanishes.
Where would we go?

Tuo
Before returning to the Pure Land
We still have a long journey ahead.
Let us not resist, struggle, nor fear it,
Simply yielding to the rhythms of Yin-yuan.
Let us make the best of our life.
Because, in the end,
No matter what,
We will be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Fo
The name of Amitabha Buddha is
The key to the truth.
It opens with a gentle turn, the gate of paradise, so that Buddha Reciters may
Enter the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

(Translated by the Pure Land School of Translation Team;
edited by Householder Ronald D. DiVestea)

1. In Buddhism, the law of causality or conditioned causality combines two Sanskrit words, “hetu” (or “yin” in Chinese pinyin), which means cause or reason, and “pratītya” (or “yuan”), which means dependent origination or dependent arising. It is a key doctrine of Buddhism which states that all dharmas (phenomena) arise in dependence upon other dharmas. The direct causal condition is “yin,” and the secondary and dependent conditions are “yuan. Yin-yuan is the conditional causes that gather all factors and produce the phenomena of the dharma world. Phenomena are sustained only so long as their sustaining elements remain.