Perfect Pure Land Practice

by Master Tsung-pen

Zen Master Yen-shou of Yung-ming said: 

The phenomenon of meditative concentration samadhi is the basis of the four forms of eloquence and the six supernatural powers. It is the causal basis for reforming ordinary habits and following in the footsteps of the sages. Gathering in mindfulness even for a short time is therefore acclaimed as a great good. 

Nevertheless, you must recognize when you are lost in oblivion. The scripture says: 

If you are sitting in meditation and you begin to black out, you must get up and recite the buddha-name while walking, or do ablutions and perform sincere repentance in order to remove the heavy barriers [of bad karma]. Arouse your body and mind. You should not cling to one method and consider it the ultimate. 

Some have attained salvation by reciting the buddha-name and chanting scriptures. 

Some have been saved by upholding the precepts and preaching the Dharma. 

Some have gotten deliverance by earnestly practicing austerities. 

Some have been saved by bowing to Buddha and repenting their sins. 

Some have attained salvation by seeing the light of Buddha. 

Some have been saved by making offerings to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. 

Some have been delivered by decorating and sculpting statues of Buddha. 

Some have been delivered by painting and drawing images of Buddha. 

Some have attained salvation by giving charity and practicing virtue. 

Some have been saved by urging people to recite the buddha-name. 

Some have attained deliverance by warning against killing living beings and by releasing animals. 

Some have been saved by wholeheartedly listening to the Dharma. 

Thus we know that if we comprehend the boundless net of the teachings, we return to reality. If we enter the countless gates of salvation, we are all liberated. 

It is like making a long journey - the objective is to arrive at the destination. Do not seize upon the journey and arbitrarily divide it into hard and easy sections. Thus the Lotus Sutra says: 

Even if you recite the buddha-name with a scattered mind or praise Buddha in a low voice, or scratch out a picture of buddha with your fingernail, or make a stupa out of a pile of sand, and thus gradually accumulate merit, all of you have achieved enlightenment. (44) 

So if you understand the One Mind and cultivate the myriad practices, how could you not achieve enlightenment? 

related post:  Correct Mindfulness When Facing Death
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44. This passage expresses a crucial Mahayana teaching. We all have the buddha nature within us, but it is hidden by delusion. If, through a good action (reciting the buddha-name, drawing an image of the Buddha in the sand, etc.) a cultivator has calmed the turbid waters of his mind, he has, in effect, recovered his Buddhahood - he has achieved Buddhahood for that moment. 

Even if little boys in play/ should use a piece of grass or wood or a brush,/ or perhaps a fingernail/ to draw an image of the Buddha,/ such persons as these . . ./ all have attained the Buddha Way. (Burton Watson, tr. The Lotus Sutra, p. 39.) 

This, of course, does not mean that he has the same spiritual powers as the Buddha, but that his mind is now the mind of a Buddha - and that is the first step. If he can achieve this, then although he may dwell in the realm of birth and death, he no longer fears birth and death; birth and death can no longer pollute his mind. 

Source Of Information:
《Pure Land Pure Mind 心净佛土净》, by Master Chu-hung and Tsung-pen, translated by J.C.Cleary, distributed by: Persatuan Penganut Agama Buddha Amitabha Malaysia, 90 & 92, Jalan Pahang, Gombak, 53000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.)
*** The information provided above does not contain personal opinion of this blog.