Some people say that the Nembutsu of faith is too much related with death and afterlife and that they prefer something (a practice or teaching) for the "here and now”. The world of spiritual seekers is filled with such ideas of "here and now" being a supreme goal, that we must learn to live in the "here and now", and not think about death or after death. But this separation is only a delusion. In truth, death is not separated from the "here and now” as breath which comes out might not be followed by the breath which comes in. In the "here and now” we can lose everything; in the "here and now” we and our loved ones can stop breathing, in the "here and now” we may suddenly find ourselves in the afterlife, losing this humanform, the chance of listening the Amida Dharma and receive faith.

Like in the good movie, "Groundhog day” , the minds of unenlightened people dwell constantly in an ever repeating "here and now”. Unfortunately, they like this "here and now" so much that they even create spiritual ideologies to keep them focused on it. Being extremely attached to the "here and now”, they refuse to speak about death and rebirth, or the aspiration to be born in Amida’s Pure Land, calling it a reminiscent of folk religion or a distraction from the "here and now". Unfortunately, they will also die one day, in the exact moment they dream about ‚"here and now" and will be born again, in another "here and now" - the same here and now, but painted differently. How sad this is…
I know that the Buddhas always live in the here and now, because they transcended life and death, as well as any limitations of time and space, but are those practitioners whose mouths are filled with "here and now", really living in the here and now of the Buddhas? It is important to understand that unenlightened beings never dwell in the "here and now”, but only dream in the "here and now”. They move, they live, they die and are born again in the "here and now” dream and slavery of samsara. Without birth in the enlightened realm of Amida Buddha, ordinary beings cannot hope for true awakening.
Children should not behave like adults. Similarly, unenlightened beings should not imitate the speech and actions of Buddhas or Enlightened Masters of the past. Until we actually transcend birth and death and attain Buddhahood, we should not speak too much about "here and now" and forget death.
Again, I urge all my Dharma friends to realize that there is NO time for the so-called spiritual evolution. All we have is this fragile moment, this short break before death and another uncertain rebirth. In this moment we either accept Amida’s helping hand or refuse it and waste our human life so hard to obtain.
There's no time, no time! There's no time for your so called "spiritual evolution"!
All you really have is this fragile moment between life and the next uncertain rebirth, so please, don't rely on the "achievements" or "virtues" of your deluded ego!
As you cannot make a mirror by polishing a brick, you also cannot transform yourself into a Buddha!
Understanding the two types of impermanence, of your body and your so-called "spiritual realizations", don't lose your time in vain, and entrust to Amida.
Only by being born in His Pure Land after death you can safely get out of samsara and be able to benefit all sentient beings.