section 59. What feelings are ours when we have thus learned to believe (Mida Butsu wo shinzuru Kokoromochi)? Before conversion, our lives have been spent in the midst of evil, and our minds have been dragged down to the low level of our surroundings. The Voice of the Preacher, telling us of Amida Butsu, acts as a Sursum Corda. It tells of our Father, of his gracious invitation, of the arrival of the lifeboat.

[paragraph continues] Then our heart utters the Nembutsu, but not as a prayer. It is an act of Thanksgiving for the spiritual mercies we have received. We are filled with shinjin kwanki, "joy in believing."