III.
The Voice of Amida Speaking to the Heart.
Hōjō,[1] having meditated for five Kalpas (aeons or ages) conceived the desire for the turning of the heart of the Children to their Father and of the Father to the Children, and when, as Amida, ten kalpas later, he manifested his Enlightment, he created the power whereby the Father and his Children receive one another. Ever since then, in accordance with his gracious forty-eight-fold-vow[2] he has been calling for his lost children; but throughout the whole twenty-five forms of existence, there was no answer to his call. We may imagine how grieved must have been his Heart which thus yearned with affection over his children.
But now we have recollected the home from whence we came, and have begun to call upon the Name of our Father. Surely it must be a great joy to Him when he hears the cry of Namu Amida Butsu.
Fushi Sogo.
- ↑ Hōjō is the name of Amida before he attained to perfection and received the Name above every Name. It means "the fulfiller of Righteousness." The fact that five kalpas, and the ten kalpas are mentioned shows that Hōjō cannot be intended to be historical. Fifteen million years is a long span for human life. But Buddhism loves to deal with immense numbers, in a meaningless fashion. The book Fushi Sōgō has never been translated into any European language and exists only in a Chinese Version. The title means "Father and Son sending for one another."
- ↑ For the details of Amida's Vow, see the valuable paper by Mr. J. Troup On the Tenets of the Shinshū in vol XIV of the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan.
