reading aloud; recitation; intoning
seventh day of the month; seven days
service for the benefit of suffering spirits
to ease (sewing garments); to shirr
brat; kid; urchin; preta; hungry ghost
audience; attendance; hearers
to rot; to decay; to die in obscurity; to be forgotten with time
every evening; night after night
road; path; way; set of practices; Buddhist teachings; Taoism; modern administrative region of Japan (Hokkaido)
the six realms (Deva realm, Asura realm, Human realm, Animal realm, Hungry Ghost realm, Naraka realm)
vicissitudes; continual change; transmigration; metempsychosis
sins (which prevent entry into bliss)
to grant; to give; to confer; to teach; to instruct; to impart (knowledge)
gatha (poetic verse of a scripture)
merit; virtuous deed; divine reward (for virtuous deeds); grace (of the buddhas and gods); merit; meritum
late completion; a late bloomer
bell (often a large hanging bell); chime
previously; already; beforehand; in advance; for some time
Buddha's name (esp. when used in prayer); fame; renown
Man'yōshū (8th century anthology of Japanese poetry); (arch.) thousands of leaves; (arch.) thousands of years; (arch.) all ages
to turn; to shift; to alter; to distract
worldly desires; evil passions; appetites of the flesh; klesha (polluting thoughts such as greed, hatred and delusion, which result in suffering)
bodhi; enlightenment; happiness in the next world
defilement; impurity; object (perceived with the mind or the senses); one billionth
pure land (esp. the Western Pure Land paradise of Amitabha); (Buddhist) paradise; Pure Land Buddhism
happiness in the next world
must not; should not; do not
great debt of gratitude; great obligation
to be negligent in doing something; to shirk; to be off one's guard
husband and wife; married couple
yours sincerely; respectfully yours
to write down; to note; to jot down; to remember
square jō (approx. 10 sq feet); abbot's chamber; chief priest
abundant (grain) crop; good harvest
August; eighth month of the lunar calendar