HORAI CALENDAR 98
"Ganriki mugu" - O the
Vow-Power! Boundless!
The Horai Association has published a calendar of this year with Zuiken's
sayings in his original calligraphy, their printed letters in Japanese,
and their English translation. The English translation of the twelve sayings
of Zuiken is presented here for the sake of viewers of this home page.
January
Unlike New Year's Day
in this ephemeral world,
In the Pure Land where we shall be born
Everyday is New Year's Day.
February
How wonderful this inconceivable Dharma!
The supreme Dharma, indeed,
is the Six-character Sacred Name.
March
Falling flowers in the spring make me yearn
For the Pure Land - adorned with flowers
of everlasting glory.
April
Like the willow branches
bending in the spring wind,
I shall go to be born in the Pure Land
throuogh the Vow-Power.
May
Samsara is the realm of activity
for the Tathagata;
Always sending forth the Light
without hindrance,
He calls us, sentient beings, to awake to it.
Samsara is the life-force of the Tathagata.
June
Each and every adornment
of the Land of Utmost Bliss
Manifests the Vow-Power.
The Primal Vow-Power is itself
Namu amida butsu.
July
"The darkness of spiritual ignorance
is dispelled@by the illumination
of the Unhindered Light" -
This is the teaching of Jodoshinshu.
Apart from this, there is no light in this life.
August
The Vow-Power - it surely saves us!
The Vow-Power - it is the only saving power
for us!
Through mindful concentration
on the Vow-Power,
We are endowed with all the merits
of the inconceivable Name,
and so our Birth is assured.
September
The full moon!
As I look up
... speechless.
This autumn evening.
October
Don't try to know the abstruse truth
of Buddhism.
For Amida has already given us
Namu amida butsu
srough his thought-power
and Primal Vow-Power.
November
Amida's call,
"Come straight to me, please!"
This call is Namu amida butsu;
How wonderful and inconceivable
is the Buddha's Wisdom
and Great Compassion!
December
No rest for Namu amida butsu
even on New Year's Eve
or New Year's Day;
Whether we are dead or alive,
the Buddha's Compassion is always
upon us.
Return to Appendix-Index; Index.
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