Page:The Praises of Amida, 1907.djvu/99

, i.e. earnestly turned towards the Hotoke, and to see Him only. 6. We have a proverb which says that "we leave the shame of our journey behind us." The proverb is perhaps not altogether applicable to our earthly journeys, for in them the shame which we have incurred sticks by us, and gives us at least a certain amount of trouble. But the shame which we may have incurred on our heavenward journey has all been left behind. The Tathāgata, Who has called us, and Who has sent us forth in this life on our heavenward journey, has so contrived that all our shame shall be left behind: and there is no mistake in what He does. It is not with us a question of merely shedding our old skins as the snakes do: we are entirely born again and made new creatures, once and for all. One by one, we throw off our old habits, and, as we do so, we find the new glory of the garment which the Tathāgata gives. My dear brethren, it will not do for us to cling to our old robes and weep because they are taken from