Note On the Text

Some people misunderstand the Pure Land method, believing  it to be entirely focussed on practice and devoid of philosophical  teaching. That is, in the Pure Land sutras, Sakyamuni Buddha simply describes and explains the Western Pure Land and exhorts everyone to recite the Buddha’s name, seeking rebirth in that Land — without reference to theoretical issues.
      
In truth, however, theory leads to practice, within practice is hidden the element of theory. Moreover, although the Buddha’s teachings are classified under different headings, such as the Door of Emptiness [Zen, etc.], the Door of Existence [Pure Land, etc.] , the “Open” Teaching, the “Secret” [Tantric, etc.] Teaching, they all lean toward, rely on and clarify one another.

Thus, there is the Zen School, in which a single meditation riddle (kung an) contains innumerable Dharma teachings. The same is true of Pure Land: the words “Amitabha Buddha” encompass the teachings of Zen, the Sutra Studies School, the Discipline School and the Esoteric School. * Therefore, the ancients have determined that the Pure Land method is a “Sudden Teaching.” Elder Master Ou I, a T’ien T’ai Master in the direct lineage of the Patriarchs, has said in this regard:

    “A single recitation of the Buddha’s name, if done correctly, contains the three thousand auspicious bearings and the eighty thousand subtle conducts. All the various Zen riddles and the most expeditious principles of the Sutra Studies method, are also included.”

To demonstrate that Buddha Recitation does indeed encompass wonderful, subtle principles and to clear up the doubts of those who seek to understand and follow Pure Land, this writer is taking the liberty to translate two ancient commentaries, by the Patriarch Chih I and Zen Master T’ien Ju, under the title Pure Land Buddhism: Dialogues with Ancient Masters.
     
This combined text deals, in general, with questions and doubts of a rather subtle nature. Thus, this writer should have added some more general questions. However, because of ill health and other commitments, he must try to do so at a later date.
     
The contents of this book, except for some clearly indicated additional comments, are the very thoughts and reasoning of renowned ancient Masters. Students of Buddhism can place their faith in these teachings and open up the Pure Land Mysterious Gate. **
Thich Thien Tam, Vesak, 2509
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* The statement that the Zen or Pure Land School, etc. encompasses all other teachings should not be construed as mere hyperbole, or at best, an expression of skillful means. Rather, it represents the core teaching of Mahayana Buddhism (every Dharma Door is perfect and complete). This is epitomized in the Avatamsaka School formula of “one in one, one in all, all in one, all in all,” or the metaphor of the Jewel Net of Indra:
     
     “Fa Tsang says, ‘the jewels reflect one another, so that in a single jewel there appear the images of all the rest … Thus they are multiplied to infinity, and the whole infinity … appears with vivid clarity in this one jewel.’ …The jewels here symbolize all the various phenomena of the universe, and the implication is that
every phenomenon, every single thing, in some sense, embodies the totality of phenomena, and so contains the whole of reality.” (A.J. Prince, “The World of Hua-yen Buddhism.”)

** This is a reference to the Ten Mysterious Gates (see Glossary).

related post:  Question 1 (Ten Doubts about Pure Land)

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.