The importance of the word Namo

(Translated from a talk given by Venerable Hằng Trường in Vietnamese on July 5th, 2025)

Let me tell you a story.

There was a couple who had been married for 22 years and had three children. After living together for 22 years, the wife realized that their marriage needed to end. Why was that? I listened carefully to understand.

The story began with a very beautiful love. But gradually, life brought pressures and changes, such as changes in careers and responsibilities. Their roles evolved from simply being husband and wife to becoming father and mother. From there arose countless disturbances due to not knowing how to manage or navigate the changes. 

They married too young, without truly understanding each other, and by the time they matured—after 20 years—they could no longer continue together. They argued constantly. Even the smallest things led to conflict. Every conversation turned negative, with each person pointing out the other's faults. There wasn’t a single matter where they didn’t find something to blame the other for. The level of anger and resentment had grown too high. At that point, it was impossible for them to live together, and even their three children could feel that it was no longer possible to continue living with both their parents, because every day was filled with disharmony.

The house felt like it had become a ticking time bomb, always ready to explode at any moment. At that point, it was inevitable that things would come to an end. But how could it end and fostering the beginning of a new life?

The Americans call it an “exit strategy”- how to part ways so that neither side feels deep sorrow. Perhaps you have witnessed people around you go through this, or maybe you yourself have reached a point where continuing is no longer possible.

The most difficult thing that both thought about was how to rebuild a new life, a new destiny, a new path not only for themselves but also for their children - without harming one another. The tug-of-war brought about many tears, and it was not something easy to resolve.

That is why, when we speak of renewal, of beginning a new life, of starting over, Buddhism teaches us a very beautiful method. That method lies in the two words: “Namo” and “Om.” 

Today we study the word Namo.

The word Namo means "to take refuge" or "to entrust one's life." To take refuge means that you offer your very life, your being, to the one you are taking refuge in - the one you are bowing to or reciting the name of.

For example, when you recite “Namo Amitabha” it means: “I offer my entire life, my very essence, to Amitabha Buddha. I hold nothing back - I give everything, completely.”

The word “Namo” means to give without holding anything back—to give fully, to dedicate, to sacrifice, to let yourself go. A complete offering.

In Christianity, this is called surrender—meaning to completely let go, to yield, to hand everything over to God, to the Virgin Mary, or to the Divine. You no longer hold on to anything.

Namo expresses a state of mind that no longer looks from the perspective of the ego, the "self." You no longer view things from the standpoint of "me," but instead from the standpoint of the one you are bowing to: the Buddha, the Bodhisattva.

When you say “Namo Amitabha” it means you are seeing from the perspective of Amitabha Buddha. But often, when we chant Namo Amitabha, Namo Amitabha, we don’t open our heart to see through his eyes. That’s why we cannot have a new life, or anything truly new at all.

We may be reciting Namo Amitabha, but we are not offering ourselves completely.

Returning to the story of the couple:

When speaking with me, the wife insisted that everything was the husband’s fault, while the husband firmly believed it was all the wife’s doing. Neither side was able to step outside of their ego to see their own faults or blind spots.

That is one of the great sufferings in our lives.

These struggles are not only between husband and wife. They happen between teacher and student, between friends, between parents and children, between person and person.

Often, you may notice how anger and resentment just keep growing and growing, and we’re unable to break free from them.

That’s why the word “Namo” is so wonderful, because it helps us leap out of those entanglements, or what we might call attachments, like being stuck in a muddy pit that binds people together such that they cannot break free from.

When we are caught in a state of struggle, we can no longer communicate with each other. It's not about speaking of what's good or bad, right or wrong. It’s that we are unable to speak from a place that is not the ego.

So, if we are not speaking from the standpoint of the ego, then what are we speaking from?

From the compassion of Amitabha Buddha, from the compassion of Kwan Yin Bodhisattva, from the wisdom of Manjushri Bodhisattva.

When we stand on compassion, when we stand on wisdom, we are standing on truth.

We should begin to look back at ourselves, to find a place of refuge within, and from there look outward — so that we can completely let go of our ego.

If the phrase “completely let go” is too hard to understand, then I would like to offer a simpler word: forgiveness and compassion.

Question: Dear Thầy, does psychology have another word for this?

Answer: In psychology, they cannot truly help us escape the ego—they accept the ego and only aim to help us become aware of our blind spots. But they have no way to help us transcend the ego. A counselor cannot say anything to make our anger disappear. They simply listen, and they don’t do much beyond that.

If they want to help resolve things, they usually explain to us the characteristics and tendencies of our own mind, our ego’s needs, and the psychology of the other person. From there, they try to help us avoid saying or doing things we’ll regret.

But they cannot offer us a path of practice or cultivation that allows us to go beyond the ego. That belongs to the realm of spirituality, of religion.

So in the U.S., marriage counselors don’t have the right to speak about spiritual matters. They will often refer clients to priests, monks, or other spiritual teachers to address the spiritual aspect.

According to Buddhism, we have:

1. The subconscious level (irrational)

2. The conscious level (rational)

3. The superconscious level (transrational)

   
   

Our suffering belongs to the irrational level.

Marriage counselors only address the rational level, which means they cannot resolve what lies in the irrational depths.

Counselors may encourage forgiveness, but even that is difficult—because both sides tend to blame each other. Relying only on consciousness and reasoning often leads to deadlock.

That is why we must integrate both the trans-rational (superconscious) and the rational mind in order to gradually reach true healing.

Religion and spirituality remain deeply essential in today’s life.

Our path is the path of spiritual cultivation:

1. To develop love, forgiveness, and compassion — this belongs to the trans-rational (superconscious) level — represented by the word "Namo"

2. To combine this with empathy, the ability to recognize our blind spots and mistakes, and to see the ego — this belongs to the rational (conscious) level.

   
   

I would like to remind you that everyday, when we put our palms together and recite the name of the Buddha or the Bodhisattva, we should remember that we are taking refuge,

• placing our whole being into the hands of the Buddha or Bodhisattva.

• Let go of everything.

• Become the Buddha or the Bodhisattva.

• See from their perspective.

• Learn as the Buddha or Bodhisattva learns, not by imitating the habits of ordinary beings.