It was during the Nara period that this concept became known widely, and people did not desire to be reborn in Gokuraku-Jodo (the Pure Land paradise) after their death, but they mostly considered that the concept would be for offering memorial services for the dead or for consoling spirits or for repaying their parents' kindness.
この思想が広まり始めるのは奈良時代にはいってからで、このころの思想は平安中期以降のように自分が死後極楽浄土に往生するいうものを願ったのではなく、もっぱら死んだ方を追善する慰霊あるいは自分の両親の報恩的な性格のものとして捉えられていた。