Good afternoon, everyone. Our Amida Buddha is like a “great and infinite memory” that embraces us forever, without ever forgetting us. How do we feel that we have a place where we belong in this world? We feel this when we remain in someone’s memory, when we are remembered by someone.

However, with the passage of time, all of us will eventually be forgotten. A day may come when humanity itself is no longer here, and we may feel the fear that all traces of our existence will disappear. We all carry, somewhere in our hearts, this loneliness and insecurity. But the Buddha’s memory never fades. Even if we are forgotten by the world, the Buddha never forgets us.

The Buddha knows not only the life we actually lived, but also our regrets, the choices we did not make, and even the joys that could have happened if we had followed another path. The image of a life that could not be born growing up in good health, or the life of someone who departed young and who, if they had lived longer, would have achieved happiness. The Buddha understands even those happy memories that we, here, cannot touch.

Our joys, our sufferings, and even our unfulfilled desires, everything lives forever within the Buddha’s heart. To be embraced entirely within this loving memory of the Buddha — this world of absolute peace is “O-Jodo,” the Pure Land, where we will go at the end of our journey.

Today, we gather to remember and honor those who departed before us. Both we and they are beings who, in the long history of time, will one day be forgotten. But, within the Buddha’s heart, that person’s smile, the time we spent together, and even the future that person wished to live, everything continues to be kept with infinite affection. Long before we try to stretch out our hands in search of salvation, we are already enveloped by this immense compassion of the Buddha, who never forgets anything or anyone. Thank you.