Zen, T'ien T'ai and Pure Land are among the best known schools of Buddhism in East Asia. Pure Land, in particular, has the widest appeal.(1) However, unlike Zen and the Tantric School, which have many exponents in the West, Pure Land is little known to Westerners, except, perhaps, in scholarly circles.
This book presents the teachings and major tenets of Pure Land, as seen from the perspective of two major sister schools: Zen and T'ien T'ai (Lotus School).(2) Further insights, from the viewpoint of a contemporary Pure Land Master, are included in the Appendix. The principal teachings of the Pure Land School are summarized below, for the benefit of readers.
The goal espoused by all Buddhist schools is for the practitioner to achieve Buddhahood, i.e., to become an 'Enlightened Being." Thus, to practice Buddhism is to cultivate enlightenment, to attain Wisdom.
Although there are many paths to reach this goal, they all involve severing greed, anger and delusion, thus perfecting the qualities of the Mind ("paramitas"). Traditionally, Buddhist sutras enumerate six or ten paramitas, but they may be reduced to three: Discipline, Concentration and Wisdom (the second, fifth and sixth paramitas, respectively)(3).
Pure Land, or Buddha Recitation, is a Mahayana approach that employs, inter alia, the techniques of meditation/visualization (of the Pure Land, Amitabha Buddha ...) and of oral recitation of the Buddha's name, to realize these paramitas.(4)
That is, when a practitioner is busy visualizing the Buddha(5) or reciting the Buddha's name, he cannot commit transgressions or violate the Buddhist precepts. Therefore, he has effectively fulfilled the paramita of Discipline. Likewise, reciting the Buddha's name with a completely focussed Mind is nothing less than fulfilling the paramita of Concentration. Once Concentration is achieved, the practitioner's Mind becomes empty and still, leading to the emergence of his innate wisdom - the Wisdom of the Buddhas.(6)
Thus, a Buddha Recitation practitioner, by dint of his own effort, effectively attains Buddhahood. This is a simple, straightforward alternative(7) to strict monastic ascetism (Theravada School),(8) deep and extensive study of the Buddhist Canon (Sutra Studies School), esoteric yogic practices, ceremonies and services (Tantric School)(9) or intensive meditation under the personal instruction of highly competent mentors (Zen).(10)
According to Pure Land doctrine, however, most practitioners in this Degenerate Age(11) find the "self-power," self-help approach too difficult and arduous; therefore, in their Pure Land teachings, the Buddhas and Sages compassionately emphasized the additional element of "other-power."(12) This involves reliance on the Vows of Amitabha Buddha, made countless eons ago, to welcome and escort all sentient beings to his Land of Ultimate Bliss(13) -- an ideal training ground, an ideal environment.(14) Once this "Land" is reached and training completed, the practitioner will naturally discover that "training is no training" and that the training ground, the Pure Land, is Mind-Only. Rebirth at the time of death is rebirth within our own Mind.(15)
Thus, to the Pure Land advocate, this approach, grounded in wisdom and faith, is profound yet simple, and can be practiced at any time, anywhere, under any circumstances, with no special training or guidance. It is, therefore, infinitely adaptable to practitioners at all levels of intellectual and spiritual development.(16)
When earlier drafts of this manuscript were circulated for comments, the editor was asked a number of pointed questions. The answers gleaned from the book are summarized below.
i) Is not Pure Land teaching too close to traditional Western beliefs in a personal God, saints, sinners and Paradise?
Answer. A person asleep and dreaming finds the scenes in his dreams very real; these scenes exist for him. Likewise, the Pure Land, saints, sinners, everything “exists” at the mundane level, albeit in an illusory, dream-like way.(17) At the absolute level, however, everything, including the Pure Land and Amitabha Buddha, is Mind-Only, a product of our Mind.(18) This key Mahayana teaching is reflected in the paradox “True Emptiness Wonderful Existence!”(19)
ii) Is not Pure Land teaching contrary to the fundamental principle of Buddhism, the Law of Karma?
Answer. The Law of Cause and Effect underlies all of our actions and thoughts. However, in Mahayana thinking, cause, effect, karma…, all phenomena are intrinsically empty and devoid of true nature.(20) Therefore, they are infinitely subject to change. Just as a small flame can destroy a pile of wood as high as a mountain, a perfect thought of Buddha Recitation can destroy eons of bad karma, resulting in the practitioner’s rebirth in the Pure Land.
iii) Pure Land is practiced with a grasping Mind, unlike Zen or cultivation of the paramitas.
Answer. When Buddha Recitation is practiced with one-pointedness of Mind, at that moment, there is “no practitioner, no Buddha, no practice.” (21) It is therefore identical to Zen or the practice of the paramitas.(22)
iv) Pure Land is so boring!
Answer. The Buddha taught 84,000 Dharma Doors.(23) Each of them is a medicine for a given sickness at a given time, and each, as a first signpost of success, provides the practitioner with a sense of well-being and joy…(24) Pure Land is obviously not for you. You might try Theravada or Zen!
Through the teachings of Pure Land, the words of the Buddha may become more relevant to an even wider spectrum of Western society; particularly the average man in the street.(25) The latter, while not averse to the intellectual-self-power dimension (26) of Zen and other meditational approaches, may also long for the comfort of such “quasi-establishment” beliefs as Amitabha Buddha — not as creator God, but as benevolent teacher,(27) or the Pure Land — not as Paradise, but as a stepping stone toward Ultimate Enlightenment. Thus, in the words of Elder Zen Master T’ien Ju, “There are no dharmas outside Mind, no Mind outside of dharmas. You should make no mistake about this!”(28)
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1. "The Pure Land School is presently the school of Buddhism in China and Japan that has the most followers." (The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen, p. 174. and J.C. Cleary, Pure Land, Pure Mind)
Pure Land Buddhism as presented here, based on the three elements of Faith, Vows and Practice, is currently practiced in China, Vietnam, Korea and other countries. In the case of Japan, Pure Land is mainly divided into two branches, the Jodo (Pure Land) School and the Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land) School. The teachings of the Jodo School (founded by Honen, 1133-1212) are substantially the same as the teachings presented here. In the case of Jodo Shinshu (founded by Honen’s best known disciple, Shinran Shonin, 1173-1262, and represented in the United States by the Buddhist Churches of America) major emphasis is placed on faith (which may be defined as Mind).
“The nembutsu [recitation of the Buddha’s name] then becomes an expression of gratitude to Amida for the gift of faith that leads to birth in the Pure Land, rather than a meritorious act that can affect rebirth.” (Pure Land Buddhist Painting, Elizabeth ten Grootenhuis, tr., p.23). See Note 59 for a discussion on faith.
2. The Buddha taught countless schools or Dharma methods. Among these methods, Zen, T’ien T’ai, etc. lead to Buddhahood through the Door of Emptiness, while Pure Land and, to a large extent, the Avatamsaka School enter through the Door of Existence. (The Avatamsaka Sutra, of course, being encyclopedic and expressing the totality of Buddhism, also contains the Dharma of Emptiness of the Zen school.) See also Thích Thièˆn Tâm, Buddhism of Wisdom and Faith, Preface.
“Two important facts inherent in Chinese Buddhism are (1) that major doctrinal efforts to understand and classify the Pure Lands were made by thinkers not included [emphasis added] in the lineage of Pure Land devotionalism in China, and (2) that the main scriptural sources for those thinkers frequently were not the classical Pure land texts…. Interestingly, it was the Vimalakirtinirdesa-sutra [Vimalakirti Sutra] which evoked… analysis and which also served as the platform for the expression of the Pure Land doctrines of Chih-i.” (Michael Saso and David W. Chappell, ed., Buddhist and Taoist Studies I, p.26.)
3.“In Buddhism, there is no cultivation without discipline, concentration and wisdom, and also there is no Dharma without discipline, concentration and wisdom.” (Hsu Heng Chi, What’s Buddhism?, p.39. See also p. 16-17.)
4.“The Pure Land sutras exhort both monks and laity who aspire for rebirth in Amitabha’s Sukhavati to engage in a broad range of practices that include meditation, observances of precepts, virtuous acts, building of stupas, and contemplation.” (Kenneth K. Tanaka, The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhist Doctrine, p.1.) See also this book, p.55-66 (T’ien Ju, Question 7).
The first Pure Land practitioners, such as Lu-shan Hui-yuan, were actually meditators:
“Hui-yuan… a fervent devotee of Amitabha Buddha, was fond of using pictures and visual aids for his meditation. His followers are said to have formed the so-called White Lotus Society. ‘On the basis of such traditions Hui-yuan is regarded as the founder of the Pure Land School and its First Patriarch.’ Meditation was practiced assiduously in his circle of followers in the hope of catching a glimpse of the glory of Amitabha and the other-worldly Pure Land through visions and ecstasy.” (Heinrich Dumoulin, Zen Buddhism: A History, p.67.)
5. The scriptural basis for Pure Land visualization can be found in the Meditation Sutra. (See Glossary, “Three Pure Land Sutras.”
“Out of concern for future beings who will be without the benefit of the Buddha’s revelation, Vaidehi [the Queen to whom the Buddha preached the Meditation Sutra] inquires about the way for their rebirth. In response, the Buddha instructs her in the sixteen kinds of contemplations, beginning with contemplation of the setting sun in this Saha world and moving on to the physical dimensions of Sukhavati, such as the ground, trees, and lakes, and to the features of Buddha Amitabha and the Bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta. The last three contemplations have as their object the nine grades of rebirth that detail people of varying ability and attainment. The instruction on the contemplations constitute the primary subject of the main body of the Sutra.” (Kotatsu Fujita, The Textual Origin of the Kuan Wu-liang-shou Ching, translated by Kenneth K. Tanaka, p.150.)
6.“We must also recognize that this discipline, concentration, and wisdom are equivalent to the Dharma-gate of buddha-remembrance. How so? Discipline [precept keeping] means preventing wrongdoing. If you can wholeheartedly practice buddha-remembrance, evil will not dare to enter: this is discipline. Concentration means eliminating the scattering characteristic of ordinary mind. If you wholeheartedly practice buddha-remembrance, mind does not have any other object: this is concentration. Wisdom means clear perception. If you contemplate the sound of the buddha’s name with each syllable distinct, and also contemplate that the one who is mindful and the object of this mindfulness are both unattainable, this is wisdom.” (Elder Master Zhuhong, 16th century, in Pure Land, Pure Mind, translated by J.C. Cleary.)
7. The key word here is “alternative.”
“We may take up any Dharma for practice as long as it is agreeable to our interest and inclination, and since every Dharma is perfect and complete, therefore in the course of cultivation, we should not think of changing from one Dharma to another, nor should we think that a certain Dharma may be superior or inferior to the others. As no medicine may be called good or bad as long as it can cure, likewise, no Dharma may be said to be high or low as long as it is adaptable to its followers.” (Hsu Heng Chi, What’s Buddhism?, p.62.)
8. Some of the twelve ascetic practices for monks and nuns, designed to purify body and Mind, are: to survive on alms; to eat only one main meal a day and refrain from eating after noon time; to wear garments made of rags; to live in cemeteries; to live under trees. Among these practices, the best known are not to eat after noon time and to survive on alms.
9. See the following excerpts:
“In the case of [the Tantric School], the matter is far more serious, since one is bound by certain commitments once the master/disciple link is formed. Even the receiving of a simple initiation puts one under these commitments, so great care must be taken to assess the qualities of a teacher before attending such ceremonies. One is allowed up to twelve years [emphasis added] to observe the conduct and examine the qualities of a potential teacher before establishing a master/ disciple relationship…. The value of keeping the precepts is self-evident here.” (Karma Lekshe Tsomo, ed., Daughters of the Buddha. Report of the International Conference on Buddhist Nuns, held in February 1987 under the auspices of the Dalai Lama, p.325.)
10. See the following comments on this point:
“There is no doubt that this [koan] system is largely artificial and harbors great pitfalls, but the life of Zen runs through it when it is properly handled. To those who pursue it judiciously under a really competent master, Zen-experience is possible and a state of satori will surely come.” (D.T. Suzuki, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, p.110.)
“Concerning Zen Buddhism, no one can deny its great contribution in bringing thousands to direct realization. Zen is emptiness in action, the living prajnaparamita. It is hard to find words to praise Zen adequately. The more one studies and practices Dharma, the more one appreciates and admires Zen. However, without proper guidance and sufficient preparation, Zen can also be dangerous and futile. By misconstruing a pseudo-experience as true enlightenment, one may develop an unwarranted self-conceit. Zen can also induce a devil-may-care attitude and one may eventually lose all ground in one’s Dharmic efforts.” (Garma C.C. Chang, ed., A Treasury of Mahayana Sutras, p.xi.)
“The Pure Land school accepted the Zen perspective [on Enlightenment] as valid in principle, but questioned how many people could get results by using Zen methods. Pure Land teachers granted that Zen might indeed be the ‘supreme vehicle,’ but insisted that for most people it was too rigorous and demanding to be practical. The Pure Land method of Buddha-name recitation was offered as a simpler method by which average people could make progress toward enlightenment…” (J.C. Cleary, Pure Land, Pure Mind.)
11. Degenerate Age. See Glossary, “Dharma-Ending Age.”
12. Other-power/self-power. (See also Note 42.)
The issue of other-power (Buddha’s power) is often misunderstood and glossed over by many Buddhists. However, it
must be pointed out that, in Buddhism, other-power is absolutely necessary if a Bodhisattva is to attain Ultimate Enlightenment. The Lankavatara Sutra (the only sutra recommended by Bodhidharma) and the Avatamsaka Sutra (described by D.T. Suzuki as the epitome of Buddhist thought) are emphatically clear on this point:
“As long as [conversion] is an experience and not mere understanding, it is evident that self-discipline plays an important role in the Buddhist life… but… we must not forget the fact that the Lanka [Lankavatara Sutra] also emphasizes the necessity of the Buddha’s power being added to the Bodhisattvas’, in their upward course of spiritual development and in the accomplishment of their great task of world salvation.” (Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, tr., The Lankavatara Sutra, p.xviii.)
The Avatamsaka Sutra states:
“Having purified wisdom and means in the seventh stage…The great sages attain acceptance of non-origination…
On the basis of their previous resolution,
the buddhas further exhort them…:
‘Though you have extinguished the burning of the fire of affliction,
Having seen the world still afflicted, remember your past vows;
Having thought of the welfare of the world, work in quest
Of the cause of knowledge, for the liberation of the world.”
(T. Cleary, tr. The Flower Ornament Sutra, Vol II, p.86)
For an explanation of the stages of Bodhisattvahood, see Glossary, “Ten Stages.”
13. This welcoming and escorting aspect has been compared to an iron being drawn to a powerful magnet.
14. “Pure Land Buddhism refers to a set of beliefs and practices that espouses for its aspirants the realization of the stage of non-retrogression either in the present life or through rebirth in a Buddha land or realm called ‘Sukhavati’ (Land of Bliss). According to the Pure Land sutras… Sukhavati lies billions of Buddha lands away in the western direction from this world, the Saha world-realm. The Buddha Amitabha is the transcendent Buddha who presides over the Sukhavati world-realm…
“According to the Larger Sukhavativyuha [Amitabha] Sutra, Amitabha established through his compassionate vows Sukhavati in order to lead sentient beings to Buddhahood. He made the vows as a Bodhisattva, named Dharmakara, and after five Kalpas (aeons of contemplation followed by innumerable Kalpas of cultivation his vows were consummated. For the past ten Kalpas, Buddha Amitabha has dwelled in Sukhavati and has continuously preached the Dharma….” (Kenneth K. Tanaka, The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land – Buddhist Doctrine, p.1.)
15. See the Avatamsaka Sutra, Ch. 20, particularly the “Stanza that Destroys Hell”:
“If people want to really know
All Buddhas of all time,
They should contemplate the nature of the cosmos:
All is but mental construction.”
[i.e., Everything is made from Mind alone.]
(Thomas Cleary, tr. The Flower Ornament Sutra, Vol I, p.452.)
See also this book, T’ien Ju, Question 4, as well as Note 77.
16. Unlike certain other schools of Buddhism (Zen, Tantric), Pure Land does not stress the role of gurus, roshi or mentors. Rather, the emphasis is on recitation of the Buddha’s name and the sutras as well as direct contact and communion with Buddha Amitabha — Buddha Amitabha being understood as an expression of emptiness or ultimate wisdom.
“Kumarajiva (the famous translator of sutras from Indic languages to Chinese] interpreted Amida Buddha as an expression of sunyata [emptiness] and recommended nembutsu [Buddha Recitation] as a means of realizing sunyata or ultimate wisdom, prajna.” (Allen A. Andrews, “Nembutsu in Chinese Pure Land Tradition,” in The Eastern Buddhist, October 1970, p.20.)
17. On the subject of existence and emptiness, an ancient Zen Master has said:
“If we refer to existence, then
Everything from the smallest mote of dust exists;
If we refer to emptiness,
This whole, wide world and everything in it are empty.”
See also a related comment:
“All phenomena are like bubbles in an ocean. They have no genuine existence…. Everything, including samsara and nirvana and sentient beings and Buddhas, is illusory. All sages, Bodhisattvas and Buddhas are like flashes of lightning. You can see lightning, just as you can witness the power of and functions of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas, but if try to grasp lightning, or attach to the idea that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have concrete existence or self-nature, then you are wasting your time.” (Master Sheng-yen, The Sword of Wisdom, p.225.).
*See also this book, Chih I, Question 8.
18. On the meaning of Amitabha Buddha as Mind Only, see the following:
“From the ultimate standpoint, the Pure Land is not to be taken as an existent place, in the way ordinary beings are predisposed to understand it. The admonition against such a view of the Pure Land is found in the following passage: ‘A foolish person in hearing birth in the Pure Land understands it as birth and in hearing non-birth understands it as non-birth. He thus fails to realize the identity of birth and non-birth and of non-birth and birth’…. Having said that, however, the Pure Land proponents acknowledge that the capacity of ordinary, unenlightened people is such that they have no choice but to regard the Pure Land as ontically existent…. The objective presentation of the Pure Land accords with the emotional and intellectual make-up of ordinary beings whose capacity affords only a literal understanding of the sutra description…. Only through their relationship with the Pure Land of form can the ultimate reality be realized.
“But the question remains as to how beings are able to realize enlightenment through grasping at forms of Pure Land, which strikes as being antithetical to the fundamental Buddhist practice. T’ao-Ch’o [a Pure Land Patriarch] argues: ‘Although this is grasping onto form, such grasping does not constitute binding attachment. In addition, the form of the Pure Land being discussed here is identical to form without defilements, form that is true form…. It is like lighting fire on top of ice. As the fire intensifies, the ice melts. When the ice melts, then the fire goes out….’ According to this explanation, an ordinary being is able to engage the ultimate realm without that person fully understanding the ultimate nature. This process skillfully uses the form (rooted in truth) to transcend form in order to enter the formless. When the formless is attained, the previous attachment to form disappears….” (Kenneth K Tanaka, Where is the Pure Land?’ in Pacific World, Fall 1987.)
19. As stated in the Heart Sutra:
“O Sariputra, form does not differ from the Void, and the Void does not differ from form. Form is the Void, and Void is form; the same is true for feelings, conceptions, impulses and consciousness.” (Sutra Translation Committee of the United States and Canada, tr., The Buddhist Liturgy, p.45.)
20. See this book, T’ien Ju, Question 17.
21. The operative word here is one-pointedness of Mind, or singlemindedness. See also the following passage:
“All the training of the monk in the zendo, in practice as well as in theory, is based on this principle of ‘meritless deed.’ (D.T. Suzuki, Introduction to Zen Buddhism, p.132.)
22. Buddha Recitation, like the use of kung an in Zen, is a poison to destroy the poison of false thinking…. It is like fighting a war to end all wars. According to the Pure Land School, however, recitation of the Buddha’s name contains an additional element: the practitioner by association absorbs some of the merit of the Buddha himself. See the following passage, with reference to the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Kuan Yin), one of the Three Pure Land Sages:
“Some of us may ask whether the effect of [evil] karma can be…[changed] by repeating the name of Kuan-Yin. This question is tied up with that of rebirth in Sukhavati [the Pure Land] and it may be answered by saying that invocation of Kuan-Yin’s name forms another cause which will right away offset the previous karma. We know, for example, that if there is a dark, heavy cloud above, the chances are that it will rain. But we also know that if a strong wind should blow, the cloud will be carried away somewhere else and we will not feel the rain. Similarly, the addition of one big factor can alter the whole course of karma…
“It is only by accepting the idea of life as one whole that both Theravadins and Mahayanists can advocate the practice of transference of merit to others. With the case of Kuan-Yin then, by calling on Her name we identify ourselves with Her and as a result of this identification Her merits flow over to us. These merits which are now ours then counterbalance our bad karma and save us from calamity. The law of cause and effect still stands good. All that has happened is that a powerful and immensely good karma has foreshadowed the weaker one…
“If we want to go deeper, we may say that this identification with a Bodhisattva also means that a Bodhisattva identifies Himself with us. When this occurs, there is not only the mere transference of merit, but the non-discriminate, infinite, unqualifiable Compassion of all the Bodhisattvas coming into us, lifting us, as it were, right up into Nirvana.” (Lecture on Kuan-Yin by Tech Eng Soon — Penang Buddhist Association, c.1960. Pamphlet.)
23.“In principle, all canonical texts are able to satisfy the spiritual needs of all Buddhists, whether Eastern or Western, but, in practice some texts appeal more strongly to Buddhists of one kind of temperament, or one kind of spiritual aspiration, than they do to those of another. This is the main reason for the vast extent of the canonical literature, which may be regarded as one and the same Dharma in varying degrees of expansion and contraction, concentration and dilution, rather than as a collection of separate teachings. The canonical literature is like the pharmacopoeia. All the different drugs and medicinal preparations which are listed in the pharmacopoeia have one and the same object, the restoration of the sick person to health, but some drugs and medicinal preparations are suited to the cure of one kind of disease and some to the cure of another.
“The sick person does not have to swallow the entire contents of the pharmacopoeia. In the same way, it is not necessary for the individual Western Buddhist, any more than for the individual Eastern Buddhist, to study and put into practice the entire contents of the Buddhist canonical literature. What he has to do is to find out which canonical text, or which collection or selection of texts, is best suited to his individual spiritual needs, and then devote himself to the concentrated and intensive practice of the teachings contained in those texts — of course, without any diminution of his reverence for the canonical literature as a whole.” (Sangharakshita, The Eternal Legacy, p.277-278.)
24. An interesting parallel can be found in the fact that the first of the Ten Stages of Bodhisattvahood (see Glossary) is the Stage of Extreme Joy.
“Here, standing on the stage of extreme joy of [Bodhisattvas], one is filled with extreme joy, filled with calm, filled with happiness, filled with ebullience…. One becomes extremely joyful thinking of the buddha [reciting the Buddha’s name], of the buddha’s teaching…. Thus thinking, the [Bodhisattva] gives rise to extreme Joy. Why? Because that is what happens to all fears with the [Bodhisattva’s] attainment of the stage of joy — fears such as fear of not surviving, fear of ill-repute, fear of death, fear of states of misery, fear of intimidation by groups … thus all fears and terrors are removed.” (Thomas Cleary, tr. The Flower Ornament Sutra, Vol II, p.15.)
25. It would appear that there is a need for Buddhism to broaden its appeal and be of benefit to all classes of society, while adhering closely to its core teaching (do not what is evil, do what is good, keep your Mind pure). Buddhism is not merely intellectual; it is, above all, practical — it is praxis. See also the following passage, which expresses the Pure Land position, albeit to a somewhat extreme extent:
“First, we are householders, who work to survive, provide, and live. Our main concern is to support and maintain the family. We are deeply bound to all the problems of human existence. Rather than cutting away or limiting attachments, we make them grow continuously. We cannot help but make attachments grow. Second, to hear the teaching is really a limited possibility. In this kind of life, it is not really possible for us to escape or understand the bonds of life …. Because of our lifestyle, it becomes impossible [sic] to conceive of Enlightenment in this life. Our life condition is such that the cause and effect of Enlightenment cannot be fulfilled by our own efforts ….” (H. Yamaoka, Jodo Shinshu. An Introduction, p.36.)
26. “In later popular Buddhist religion, which consisted mainly of the Amida… [School], Zen — by nature somewhat elitist — was able to carry on only at the cost of denying some of its elements.” (Heinrich Dumoulin, Zen Buddhism: A History, p.287.)
27. Even when the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are depicted as providing material assistance to the believer, this is always viewed as an “expedient means” — the ultimate goal is to lead the believer to Enlightenment.
28. “Making a vow to attain birth in the Pure Land signifies a fundamental reorientation of the believer’s motivations and will. No longer is the purpose brute survival, or fulfillment of a social role, or the struggle to wrest some satisfaction from a frustrating, taxing environment. By vowing to be reborn in the Pure Land, believers shift their focus. The joys and sorrows of this world become incidental, inconsequential. The present life takes on value chiefly as an opportunity to concentrate one’s awareness on Amitabha, and purify one’s mind accordingly.” (J.C. Cleary, tr., Pure Land, Pure Mind.)
related post: Note On the Text
Source Of Information:
《Pure Land Buddhism (Dialogues with Ancient Masters)》, by Tien Tai Patriarch Chih I, translated with annotations by Master Thich Thien Tam, printed and donated for free distribution by: The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation (11F, 55, Hang Chow South Road Sec 1, Taipei, Taiwan), printed in February 2023.
*** The information provided above does not contain personal opinion of this blog.
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