Those who engage in the [dual practice] of Buddha Recitation and Zen should take the name of Amitabha Buddha as a hua-t'ou. During Buddha Recitation, you should ask "who is it that recites the Buddha's name?” If you ask again and again, there will come a time when all false thoughts suddenly cease. No such thoughts can arise, or if they do, they will be quickly suppressed. You will have only a single, clear thought, like a bright sun in the sky, and never engender false thoughts. The confused mind will reign no more. Rather, you will experience stillness and awareness. The Great Master Yung-Chia said:
Stillness with awareness is right, but stillness without mindfulness is wrong. Awareness with stillness is right, but awareness with confused thinking is wrong.
If stillness does not lead to confusion and lack of mindfulness and awareness does not lead to confused thinking, then awareness and stillness will flow together. You let go of both "sinking" and “floating” until not a single thought arises in mind, not of past, present or future; then, suddenly the pitch blackness cracks and you see your Original Face. Body, mind and world are immediately at peace. Then the flowers in the sky [i.e.,this illusory world] disappear, and everything in the ten directions is bright because a great light is shining everywhere.
When you arrive at this stage, this complete brightness is always present in your daily life and you will no longer have any doubts. You will believe your own mind, which is intrinsically thus. Then you are no different from the Buddhas and Patriarchs. When you reach this level, you will no longer grasp at Emptiness. If you grasp at Emptiness, you will fall into the evil of heterodox views. Nor will you grasp at Existence or at the Wonderful. If you grasp at Existence, you will also fall into evil ways.
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If during practice, you find some realm appearing in the mind, you must not grasp at it but just let it be. Then the realm will vanish. You should neither fear evil realms nor take delight in auspicious realms when they appear, for this is the action of demons. If worry or joy arise, these are also the views of demons [see Glossary]. A practitioner should understand that these realms come from his own mind and not from outside. You must understand that our minds are intrinsically clean and pure, without a single thought, neither confused nor enlightened. We belong neither to the world nor to the realm of the holy, nor to any other realm. But, because we are at present confused, we must practice to reduce ignorance and bad habits.
If anyone could open up his own mind -- originally bright, all-encompassing, clean and pure -- that would be Wonderful Suchness and there would be no need for practice. However, because today's cultivators have not yet seen their Self-Nature (Mind), they must practice diligently in order to reach the highest stage and end the cycle of Birth and Death.
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Buddha Sakyamuni taught the Dharma of Mind. There are countless Dharma methods, but they are all for the purpose of enlightening the mind. The very important method of Zen has been established by some Patriarchs, but enlightenment of the mind and Buddha Recitation have been taught by the Buddhas and by numerous Bodhisattvas of the ten stages. In short, you must practice Buddha Recitation (mindfulness of the Buddha) to become a Buddha. Even the Bodhisattvas who have already attained the level of True Thusness (Bhutatathata) and Enlightenment can never depart from mindfulness of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.
[In the Avatamsaka Sutra,] the youth Sudhana visited fifty-three Good Spiritual Advisors. The first was the monk Cloud of Virtue, who taught him the salvation Dharma of Buddha Recitation. The last one he visited was the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, wno taught him that to attain Wonderful Enlightenment, he need only turn towards the Western Pure Land, behold the Tathagata of Infinite Light (Amitabha Buddha) and receive a prediction of Enlightenment. Take note of this: even the supreme vehicle of Hua-Yen (Avatamsaka school), which encompasses the entire Dharma realm, also promotes Buddha Recitation. The Bodhisattvas of the ten stages, even those who have already attained Enlightenment, still practice mindfulness of the Buddha (Buddha Recitation).
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There are those in this Dharma-Ending Age who dare to deprecate Buddha Recitation as an inferior practice. But why should they have doubts concerning differences between Zen and Pure Land? Such people lack knowledge and fail to understand the intent of the Buddhas. They are creating a false dichotomy. According to Mind-Only Pure Land, if the mind is pure, the land is pure. Therefore, anyone who practices Zen but cannot rein in his mind should engage in Buddha Recitation to still his mind. The Pure Mind is the enlightened mind.
Even Bodhisattvas who are already enlightened still practice Buddha Recitation, because without Buddha Recitation (mindfulness of the Buddha) they cannot attain complete Enlightenment. We know that all the Patriarchs attained Enlightenment through mindfulness of the Buddha (Buddha Recitation). Anyone who practices Buddha Recitation singlemindedly and without distraction will find that all defilement vanishes. With their minds thus pure, they are called enlightened. Look at it this way: Buddha Recitation is Zen. No Bodhisattva abandons mindfulness of the Buddha after Enlightenment. All Patriarchs have achieved rebirth in the Pure Land [of their minds]. Thus, Buddha Recitation is Zen, Zen is Buddha Recitation.
Since ancient times, this question has remained unsettled; I want to speak out now and shatter the view that Pure Land and Zen are different. If all the Buddhas were to appear in the world, they would say the same thing. To abandon this Dharma and embrace false words is the work of demons and not the true Dharma.
related post: Pure Land Can Save All Sentient Beings in the Ocean of Suffering
Source Of Information:
《Pure Land of The Patriarchs》, by Zen master Han-Shan Te-Ch'ing, translated by Dharma Master Lok To, Sutra Translation Committee of The United States and Canada, New York - San Francisco - Toronto, published in March, 2001, distributed by Amitabha Buddhist Society Malaysia (92, Jalan Pahang, 53300 Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
*** The information provided above does not contain personal opinion of this blog.
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