Twelve Adorations

I bow my head in homage to the one honored by heavenly beings and humans:

Amida Buddha, complete in both wisdom and practice.

The Buddha dwells in the supremely beautiful land of peace,

surrounded by countless children of the Buddha.

His pure golden form is like Mount Sumeru, king of mountains.

His peaceful, composed movement is steady as an elephant’s gait.

His eyes are clear as blue lotus flowers.

Therefore I bow deeply to Amida Buddha.

His beautiful, perfect face is like a pure full moon.

Its radiance is likened to a thousand suns and moons.

His voice resounds like a heavenly drum and the song of the kokila bird.

Therefore I bow deeply to Amida Buddha.

His image appears in the crown worn by Kannon Bodhisattva.

Endowed with wondrous marks and jeweled ornaments,

he calms obstructions to the way and the mind of pride.

Therefore I bow deeply to Amida Buddha.

Incomparable, undefiled and boundlessly pure,

his many virtues are clear as unobstructed space.

He acts freely to help living beings.

Therefore I bow deeply to Amida Buddha.

Bodhisattvas renowned throughout the directions,

and even countless hosts of Māra, constantly praise his virtue.

For the sake of every living being, he holds the power of his vows.

Therefore I bow deeply to Amida Buddha.

Flowers bloom in pools whose golden bottoms are inlaid with jewels.

Through the merit of wholesome actions, a wondrous seat is established.

Upon it the Buddha sits majestically, like a king of mountains.

Therefore I bow deeply to Amida Buddha.

Children of the Buddha arrive from every direction,

manifesting wondrous powers and reaching the land of peace.

Looking up to his noble face, they honor him always.

Therefore I bow deeply to Amida Buddha.

He teaches that existing things change and have no fixed self,

likening them to the moon reflected in water, lightning, shadows and dew.

For living beings he expounds the Dharma, beyond what names and written signs alone can grasp.

Therefore I bow deeply to Amida Buddha.

In that Buddha-land, even the name of evil does not exist.

This ancient hymn says there are no women there and no fear of falling into harmful states of existence.

Its inhabitants honor the Buddha from the depths of their hearts.

Therefore I bow deeply to Amida Buddha.

The Buddha’s activity has limitless means of guidance.

There is no realm of delusion and no one leading beings toward evil.

Those born in that land advance toward awakening without falling back.

Therefore I bow deeply to Amida Buddha.

I have spoken of that Buddha’s virtues.

His many wholesome activities are as boundless as the ocean’s waters.

I dedicate the pure merit gained here

to all living beings, wishing that we may be born together in that land.