Don’t agitate the water.

Or your mind.

Think of the mind as a pool of water.

When the water is calm, we can see all the way to the bottom. We thus view everything clearly without obstruction in its sparkling perfection.

But when the water is disturbed, the mud rises from the bottom, and the water becomes cloudy, contaminated by all the dirt swirling around. When we need to decide how to respond to or resolve a situation, we need a clear mind.

Chanting “Amituofo” allows us to calm our agitated mind just as we would enable the water in the pond to clarify by allowing all the mud and other contaminants to settle to the bottom.

But if we become frenzied in our attempts to figure out what to do, trying one method then another, it will be as if we reached into that pond and started wildly roiling the water, frantically poking here, grasping there.

Instead, sit quietly and allow the water—your thoughts—to settle.

Doing so, your solution will shine forth.