evil karma　悪;罪悪;悪業 Generally in Buddhism, there are the words describing one’s evil acts which are regarded as the hindrance to the attainment of the final goal of emancipation. Therefore, eliminating one’s evilness and accumulating merits instead through the Buddhist practices is required for the attainment of emancipation. In the Pure Land tradition, however, these terms are viewed from a different perspective; i.e., they are treated in relation to Amida’s saving work. Especially for Shinran, they are the key terms for describing how deep and far Amida’s compassion is thus no other than the realization of one’s evilness. Rennyo’s understanding of these notions is essentially the same as Shinran’s.
　Although we have used “karmic” or “karma” in rendering these terms, there is not the slightest element of a fatalistic view, but it denotes the awareness of evilness lying in the deepest depth of one’s existence.