Question 8 （Doubts and Questions about Pure Land）

by Elder Zen Master T'ien Ju

Question 8

I understand that Sudhana is a Bodhisattva of high capacity who attained perfect, sudden enlightenment in one lifetime. Why is it that the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra did not urge him to seek rebirth in the Flower Store World rather than the Western Pure Land?（84）

Answer

That question was raised in the Avatamsaka Treatise, which offers the following answer:

   “Samantabhadra’s advice derives from various reasons, some of them not readily apparent: 1) because of causes and conditions; 2) in order to focus Mind and thought; 3) because [rebirth in the Pure Land] does not mean leaving the Flower Store World; 4) because Amitabha is Sudhana’s original teacher.”

The first two reasons are easy to understand and require no elaboration.
   
The third reason is that the Buddha lands within the Flower Store World are as numerous as motes of dust; the Western Pure Land, ten billion Buddha lands away from here, is but one of these countless lands.
    
With respect to the fourth reason, it is taught in one of the sutras:

   “Vairocana Tathagata is the teacher of the Flower Store World; Since Buddha Amitabha is the transformation body of Vairocana Buddha, He is no different from Vairocana Buddha — therefore, it is said that [Amitabha Buddha is Sudhana’s] original teacher.”

It is also stated in the same sutra:

   “The Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, in conclusion, exhorted Sudhana and the Ocean-Wide Assembly to seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land because Sudhana believed in and understood the perfect Dharma Door, had penetrated the wisdom of Manjusri and practiced the deeds of Samantabhadra, and his blessings and wisdom, as well as his understanding of noumenon and phenomena, were consonant with the Dharma Realm. Although he was a sage with a great Mind who had become enlightened to the nature of original wisdom and reached the level of the saints, his powers and capacities were not yet perfected. Therefore, he could not yet enter this evil world and benefit all sentient beings, as the Buddhas could.
       
    “For this reason, the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra exhorted him, along with the Ocean-Wide Assembly, to rely on the Pure Land and draw close to Buddha Amitabha, so as to achieve Buddhahood swiftly.”
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84. The youth Sudhana and the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra (along with the Bodhisattva Manjusri and the Buddha Vairocana) are the main protagonists of the Avatamsaka Sutra (See Glossary.) The Flower Store World (see Glossary) represents the Buddhist cosmos within which the Western Pure Land is found.
     
The question is why Samantabhadra would urge his disciple Sudhana to seek rebirth in a limited realm (Western Pure Land) rather than in the larger realm of the Flower Store World. This is, of course, a typical question at the phenomenal level. At the noumenon level, there is no difference between these realms, as they are all empty and Mind-created. 

related post:  Question 9 （Doubts and Questions about Pure Land）

Source Of Information:
《Pure Land Buddhism (Dialogues with Ancient Masters)》, by Elder Zen Master T'ien Ju, 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.