往生淨土決疑行願二門 1.35

1.35

Second, as for the gate of ten recitations: Every day at early dawn, after putting on one's clothes, face west and stand upright, join the palms, and continuously recite 'Amitābha Buddha' in a succession of sounds, taking one full exhalation of breath as one recitation. Ten such breaths are called 'ten recitations.' One simply follows the length of the breath, not limiting the number of times the Buddha's name is recited. Only length and duration are sought, taking the exhaustion of the breath as the limit. The sound of the Buddha's name should be neither high nor low, neither slow nor fast, harmonized and balanced in the middle. Continuously repeating ten breaths like this without interruption is intended to keep the mind undistracted, taking single-minded dedication as the practice. Calling this 'ten recitations' shows that it relies on the breath to restrain the mind. Having performed this recitation, make the vow and dedication of merit, saying: