Reborn to the Pure land

Reborn to the Pure land
Feb /25/ 2023–Feb/ 26/ 2023

Hello everyone, welcome to our Dharma talk at Dharma Rain Meditation Center.

How to reborn to the Amitabha Pure Land? It is a question that every being should consider.

When I was talking about our topic of pure land, some people thought about the pure land school immediately, today I would like to talk a little bit about the history of the pure land school. Just like Zen, the pure land school also came from India; however, it did not become a sectarian religion in ancient India. In China’s Buddhist scriptures translation, there are nearly 100 sutras mentioned as pure land Dharma Gate. Pure Land Buddhism in China started from master Huaiyuan who was living in the Han and Jin Dynasties in the Donglin Temple, and master Tanluan in the Northern Wei Dynasty after that master Shandai carried it forward. Donglin Temple, Xuanzhong Temple, Xiangji Temple etc. were considered as the founder’s temple of Pure Land school while the founder’s temple of Pure Land school in Japan is Chion-In Temple. Before the Song Dynasty, it belonged to the “Yuzong”, that is, exist in the Zen school. After the Song Dynasty, the Pure Land school had an independent status. Therefore, Pure Land Buddhism absorbed many concepts from the Tiantai school, Huayan school and other Zen Buddhism. Theoretically speaking, since Pure Land Buddhism emphasized the 18th great vow of the teaching host Amitabha is the fundamental vow, and their main attention on the faith, the cultivation of the Pure Land school looks simple and easy relatively. In the meantime, because of the teaching of Pure Land school could lead to three different root device and cover the sharp and dull root device both, its effect on the people was far-reaching.

After three weeks of discussion, I believe that everyone here won’t think about pure land narrowly, Zen, pure land and esoteric Dharma are originally from one, a perfect one and trinity one. When we are talking about pure land, instead of emphasizing pure land school we should focus on the final target of cultivation–choose the pure land where we truly belong, try your best to reborn in a Buddha pure land.

How to reborn in the pure land?

We read Buddha Expounding Amitabha Sutra very often, Buddha Sakyamuni persuaded us to leave the Saha world and seeking the way to reborn in the Western ultimate bliss pure land; however, it is impossible to be born in that land with only a few good dispositions, meritorious and moral causes and conditions. In this Sutra, Buddha asked all beings to have faith, great vow and execution.

Faith means to believe that our heart or our self-nature is Buddha-nature, believe Amitabha is real existing, believe in karma and believe we can reborn to the Western ultimate bliss pure land by reciting Amitabha’s name.

Vow means to make the great vow that to reborn in the Amitabha pure land and go to tame all beings, which, is the expectation of life, the mission of cultivation. All living beings are countless; I vow to save them all; all afflictions are endless, I vow to cut them all; Dharma gate is countless, I vow to learn them all; the Buddha’s enlightenment is so unsurpassed, and I vow to attain it. With such great vow-power, we can cultivate decidedly and attain the enlightenment by oneself, help others to attain the enlightenment also.

Execution contains Sammy-Charitra and auxiliary actions.

Sammy-Charitra means reciting the name of Amitabha while auxiliary actions paramita and so on.

The faith, great vow and execution are the supplies for our way to Western ultimate bliss pure land. The supplies here means, like we have a journey to go somewhere then we have to prepare some food and a traveller’s check. The way we try to reborn to the Western ultimate bliss pure land is the most magnificent journey of our life. Therefore we have to prepare some food and a traveller’s check by ourselves. The faith, great vow and execution is your food and a traveller’s check very carefully.

Since we understood that the faith, great vow and execution is so important, how can we practice it in our cultivation?

I would like to read a sutra for you; first, it is from the Shurangma Mantra: Dharma Prince together with fifty-two Bodhisattvas of the same congener of his arose from his seat, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, and said to the Buddha: “I remember when, as many aeons ago as there are sands in the Ganges, a Buddha called Limitless Light appeared in the world. In that same aeon, there were twelve Tathagatas; the last was called Light Surpassing the Sun and Moon. That Buddha taught me the Buddha-Mindfulness Samadhi ( Buddha-recitation Samadhi).

“Suppose there was a person who always remembers someone else, but then someone else he remembers has entirely forgotten about him. If two of such people were to meet, even if they were to see each other, it would be the same as not meeting or seeing each other.

 “If two people remember each other until they develop deep memories for one another, thuswise, up to life afterlife, they will be the same as a form and a shadow, and they will never be inimical or separated.

 “Out of pity for the sentient beings, the Tathagatas of the ten directions are tenderly mindful of them just like a mother remembering her child. If the child runs away, of what use is the mother’s concern? But if the child remembers his mother in the same way that the mother also remembers the child, then in life afterlife, the mother and the child will not be far apart or against their will.

 “If the sentient beings bear the Buddha in mind and are mindful of the Buddha, they will be certain to see the Buddha at present or in the future. “They will never be far from the Buddha, and without the aid of expedients, their minds will awaken by themselves. “Such as perfumed by the fragrance, a person carries incense on his body. Such is called an adornment of fragrant Light. “On the causal ground, I used the Buddha-Mind to enter into the Dharmas Tolerance of the Non-birth. Now in this world, I gather in all those who are mindful of the Buddha and bring them back to the Pure Land. “The Buddha asks about perfect penetration. I would select none other than gathering in the six organs through continuous pure mindfulness to obtain Samadhi. This is the foremost method.”

We say reciting Buddha’s name is thought afterthought is genuine and sincere, thought after thought penetrates. The first “thought” refers to the thought produced from the mind. The second thought comes from the mouth. It originates in the mind and takes form in the mouth. If we only keep the secondary thought of the mouth, it doesn’t count as a thought of true sincerity or reciting Buddha’s name. Therefore, the mind and the mouth must both be sincere in reciting the name of the Buddha or Bodhisattva. When we were reciting Buddha’s name, we have to take Buddha as the dearest one, as our mother who lost for a long time. Therefore, we won’t recite casually or recite with a scattered mind or entertain idle thoughts. Our body our mind is both correspond to the Buddha, our pure mindfulness continuous, at that moment, our heart is the pure land. If we cultivate Buddhism with this method, with the bestowing of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, we can see our perfect self-nature eventually. In modern languages, it’s like making a phone call: nothing changed in your world when you dial a number, the sincere of reciting Buddha’s name is the electric signal, the one that picks up your call, which is Amitabha heard your desire and he will show his Buddha’s power to help you, to pick you up to the Western ultimate bliss pure land. With this simple “phone call”, we practised the faith, the great vow and execution, it’s amazing, isn’t it?

Besides, according to the Sutra on Contemplation of Amitayus, Buddha Sakyamuni taught Queen Vaidehi: “Whoever wishes to be born there should practice three acts of merit: first, caring for one’s parents, attending to one’s teachers and elders, compassionately refraining from killing, and doing the ten good deeds; second, taking the three refuges, keeping the various precepts and refraining from breaking the rules of conduct; and third, awakening aspiration for enlightenment, believing deeply in the law of causality, chanting the Mahayana sutras and encouraging people to follow their teachings. These three are called the pure karma.” After that Buddha Shakyamuni introduced 16 kinds of method to cultivate, we are going to explain that today, if you are interested in it, please find the Sutra and read it, penetrate to the sutras and you will find your own wisdom as deep as the ocean.

 thank you for the listening!