Earth Horse (55th term of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1918, 1978, 2038)
21st day of the month; 21 days
lucky day; auspicious occasion
to tell (a person's) fortune; to divine; to choose; to settle upon (a place to live); to fix (one's residence)
passing on to the next life; death; giving up a struggle; submission; being at one's wits' end; being flummoxed
(Buddhist) lecture meeting; religious association; mutual assistance association (i.e. for financial assistance)
lecture; sermon; preaching; scolding; preaching; moralizing
to lecture; to read aloud; to devise (e.g. a strategy); to work out (e.g. a tactic); to confer; to hold conference (with)
three major sutras of Pure Land Buddhism
reading aloud; recitation; intoning
7th day of the month; seven days
service for the benefit of suffering spirits
to abbreviate; to abridge; to omit; to leave out; to take; to capture
next (year, spring, etc.); coming; since (e.g. last month); for (e.g. 20 years)
audience; attendance; hearers
repentance; confession; penitence
waka; classic Japanese poem, esp. a tanka, often 31 morae
to hum (a tune); to sing to oneself; to croon
six; six years of age; six o'clock (old time system)
shame; embarrassment; disgrace
sum; harmony; peace; Japan; Japanese-style
every evening; night after night
road; path; way; set of practices; moral education; Buddhist teachings; Taoism
detailed; full; minute; knowing very well; knowledgeable (about); well-acquainted (with)
the six realms (Deva realm, Asura realm, Human realm, Animal realm, Hungry Ghost realm, Naraka realm)
continual change; vicissitudes; transmigration; metempsychosis
all things being in flux through the endless circle of birth, death, and rebirth; the circle of transmigration
destruction; ruin; nirvana; cessation (of earthly desires); dying (from overwhelming emotion); being overwhelmed (by something)
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
bell (often a large hanging bell); chime
previously; already; beforehand; in advance; for some time
the six written characters of Buddha's name (used in prayer)
Man'yōshū (8th century anthology of Japanese poetry); (arch.) thousands of leaves; (arch.) thousands of years; (arch.) all ages
3rd day of the month; three days
story; tale; narrative; account; fable; legend
old woman; joker (in old maid)
reason; principle; general principle (as opposed to individual concrete phenomenon); the underlying principles of the cosmos (in neo-Confucianism)
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