Must I Always Join My Palms When Reciting the Name? | Master Jingben
【Q&A Series】
Must I Always Join My Palms When Reciting the Name?
Master Jingben Answers: Namo Amitabha. Please set your heart at ease: reciting the Name does not necessarily require joining the palms.
Joining the palms belongs to the "action of the body" — a way for the body to express reverence. To join the palms and recite before the Buddha, or during group practice, is of course excellent; but in daily life, there are many people who find it inconvenient, or are even unable, to join their palms — for example: those who are driving, carrying things, doing housework, or whose hands are occupied at work; those who are bedridden and weak in limb; those with physical disabilities or impaired hands; and even those who are dying, whose strength has failed, without even the power to lift a hand. If reciting the Name required joining the palms, would not all these people then be unable to recite?
So, Amitabha Buddha's vow-power says only "recite the Name" — what matters is this one Name, not the outward posture.
There is clear scriptural proof of this in the Contemplation Sutra: in that sutra, beings of somewhat higher capacity still have the strength, at the time of death, to "join their palms and clasp their hands, reciting Namo Amitabha"; but by the last case — beings guilty of the five gravest offenses and the ten evils — pressed by the agony of death, powerless in body and mind, already unable to join their palms, the good spiritual guide simply teaches them to directly recite "Namo Amitabha" — merely calling the Buddha's Name aloud, and they are received into rebirth all the same. From this we can see that whether or not one joins the palms in no way affects the merit of recitation or rebirth.
So, when you are out in crowded places, whether reciting aloud or silently in your heart, unable to join your palms — reciting this way is entirely in accord with the Dharma; please be at ease. To join the palms is good; to be unable to is no hindrance either. Amitabha Buddha's light shines everywhere throughout the ten directions, embracing the beings who recite the Name and never forsaking them — what the Buddha protects and keeps in mind is this one Name of ours.
So long as "Namo Amitabha" is ever on your lips and ever in your heart, that is the finest recitation of all. Namo Amitabha
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