 The Pure Land Buddhist path based on the working of Amida’s Vow is therefore an effective means toward emancipation from birth-and-death and attainment of Buddhahood—for Hōnen, the only viable way for people at present—and it can be practiced independently of any other Buddhist teaching or method of praxis. While traditionally the nembutsu practice involved mental concentration and the accumulation of numerous recitations, Hōnen taught that in the Pure Land path only the simple saying of “Namu-amida-butsu” with complete trust was involved. There was no specified manner of utterance, no necessity for any accompanying ritual or meditative endeavor, and no stipulation of the length of the period of practice or number of repetitions.