Pointing the Way to the Pure Land

by Master Tsung-pen

Enlightened teachers who have pointed the way to the Pure Land are numerous as atoms of dust. Here I will briefly quote some of them to offer their testimony. 

Master T'ien-ju said: 

I often see those who study Zen these days but do not investigate the final meaning of the Tathagata [in the sutras] and do not know the mystic device of Bodhidharma [in Zen]. With empty bellies and proud hearts, they study how to be crazy and false. When they see people who cultivate the Pure Land, they laugh at them and say, "That study is done by ignorant men and women. How vulgar!" 

I say that it is not [only] ignorant men and women whom they are calling vulgar. [In fact] they are calling vulgar [some of the greatest figures in Buddhist lore, who also sanctioned Pure Land practice, like] Manjushri and Samantabhadra, Ashvaghosa and Nagarjuna, and so on. 

This type [who reject Pure Land as vulgar] are not only deluded themselves about the correct path; they are cutting off the seed of enlightenment within themselves and creating the [bad] karma of slandering the Dharma. They are also bringing upon themselves the disaster that comes from denigrating the sages. Can we not warn them? 

By the other methods, it is hard to escape birth and death. By cultivating buddha-remembrance through recitation of the buddha-name it is easy to be liberated from the cycle of birth and death. [Shakyamuni Buddha] left us the name of Amitabha Buddha to rescue sentient beings. Those who do not believe in it and who slander it will surely fall into hell and suffer all kinds of pain. 

Dharma Teacher Ling-chih said: 

The ordinary people who fill the earth are bound by karma and delusion and revolve in the five planes of existence, subject to all kinds of pain and affliction for thousands and thousands of eons. Suddenly they hear of the Pure Land and aspire to seek birth there: one day they invoke the buddha-name and immediately transcend the world. This can be called something that is hard to encounter in ten thousand ages, something that is met with once in a thousand births. 

If people are willing to recite "Amitabha Buddha," this surpasses all the roots of goodness. Even if they are able to practice giving and uphold discipline and meditate and chant the sutras, these practices are not as meritorious as reciting the buddha-name. Why? If they cultivate all sorts of meritorious karma, without correct faith to seek birth in the Pure Land, these are all minor roots of goodness. To recite "Amitabha Buddha" and vow to seek birth in the Pure Land is called the great root of goodness. 

Dharma Teacher Ku-shan said: 

To seek birth in the Pure Land is to depend on "other power": Amitabha's vows gather you in, Shakyamuni encourages and praises you, and all the buddhas protect you and are mindful of you. All three [kinds of 'other power'] are present. 

If you have the mind of faith, being born in the Pure Land is extremely easy. It is like crossing the sea when you already have a great ship, a skillful pilot, and a favorable wind: you are sure to arrive quickly on the other shore. If you do not consent to board the boat, and hesitate and tarry on dangerous paths, whose fault is this? 

Legal Supervisor Yang said: 

Among the buddhas, Shakyamuni was the great guide and teacher: he pointed out the Pure Land, the Land of Peace and Bliss. Amitabha is the teacher of the Pure Land. If sentient beings are born in that land, they are free from suffering. 

Those who have not heard of the Pure Land are certainly to be pitied. Especially to be lamented are those good people who develop the attitude that they will not seek birth in the Pure Land. One group says, "We must go beyond the buddhas and patriarchs; the Pure Land is not worth being born in." A second group says, "The Pure Land is everywhere; it is not necessary to be born in the west." A third group says, "The Pure Land is a holy realm; we are ordinary people and cannot be born there." 

Now Samantabhadra, with his ocean of practices beyond measure, vowed to see the land of Amitabha Buddha. Vimalakirti always cultivated the Pure Land. All the Tathagatas of the ten directions praised the Pure Land. All the bodhisattvas of the ten directions had the same intent to go to the Pure Land. Try to decide for yourself: how do you compare with these sages? If you think that the Pure Land is not worth being born in, how you are deceiving yourself! 

In the Lankavatara Sutra there is the prediction that the ancestral teacher Lung Meng [would be born in the Pure Land]. Ashvaghosa, the great philosopher, in his Treatise on the Immeasurable, had a verse on seeking birth in the Pure Land. Tz'u-en began his eulogies by acclaiming the ten excellences [of the Pure Land]. [The T'ien-t'ai Patriarch] Chih-i analyzed the principles [of the Pure Land] clearly in his Treatise on the Ten Doubts. All these great sages enthusiastically progressed towards the Pure Land. If you think it is not necessary to be born in the Pure Land, how arrogant you are being! 

A burning cart can be destroyed, but a boat filled with stones does not sink. [Even the greatest sinners] have been reborn in the Pure Land. The transgressions of worldly people cannot be compared to them. If you think you cannot be born in the Pure Land, how you are abandoning yourself! 

Zen master Chung-feng said: 

Our world "Endurance" is painful. Who can count its sufferings? But worldly people think suffering is happiness and willingly dwell in it. Many lose their place. They emerge from a stinking bag of skin, (42) to constantly nurture their disease of ignorance until it becomes a fetid poison. Suddenly, the vital energy in their hearts dissipates and they die. They turn into cold ashes and are buried underground. They flow on in the five planes of existence without a moment's rest. For a hundred eons, through a thousand births, they endure bitter pain. 

Good people, wouldn't it be better to start right away to recite Amitabha's name and abandon the sufferings of this world? 

The bliss of the Western Paradise: who can awaken to it? The people and the land are all of special excellence. There is no cold or hot season. There is no evil. The people there emerge from a lotus flower womb to listen to the sound of the Dharma and celestial music. The crystalline ground sparkles with light: there is no trace of dust. There are towers made of gold and silver and pearls and jewels. Splendid food and clothing appears spontaneously by magic. The lifespan is measureless, incalculable. 

Good people, wouldn't it be better to start to recite Amitabha's name right away and gain the bliss of the Western Paradise? 

Vinaya Master Pien-hsiu said: 

I specialize in the vinaya, the codes of monastic conduct, and I recite the buddha-name. I consider the Pure Land as the refuge of peaceful nurturance. 

People who have not fully comprehended the Zen school sometimes say that reciting the buddha-name is a provisional method, a minor teaching; sometimes they say that it is a formalistic version of the Great Vehicle. This is twisted talk by confused minds; it is not a penetrating comment that is lofty and illuminated. Why? [On the absolute level] whatever is uttered is reality-nature and whatever is thought is thusness; all forms and all scents are the Middle Path. How much the more so, for my correct mindfulness [engendered by reciting the buddha-name] ! 


Zen Master Chen-hsieh Liao said: 

The only quick shortcut method is reciting the buddha-name. Reciting the buddha-name is the most effective and is the easiest to make progress in. If you seek to escape [from birth and death] without reciting the buddha-name, you will never get anywhere. I urge everyone to recite the buddha-name with pure faith and a unified mind, and vow to seek birth in the Pure Land. You certainly won't go wrong. 

Zen Master Ku-yin said: 

The phrase "Amitabha Buddha" is the first meditation case of the Zen school. It is like a staff to help you mount a horse. It is a means to hold fast to the living shore. 

No matter whether monks or nuns or laymen or laywomen recite it, they all will get results. In their present life they will increase their good fortune and dispel disaster, and for future lives they will forever remove all bad karma. If people recite it right where they are, everything will go as they wish and their hopes will be fulfilled. They will be fortunate enough to be reborn in the central land as human beings. 

[Living a human life] is like ascending a mountain of jewels: you must not go in vain and return in vain. [Reciting the buddha-name] is an urgent duty: you should take care of it soon. 

Yama the King of Death does not value gold and jewels: all that impresses him is the phrase "Amitabha Buddha." A lifetime of wealth and high rank passes like the clouds. A hundred years of time is as brief as a flash of lightning. Those who know the sound of the Dharma must not delay. You must make the transformation soon. Buddha is the ship for the ocean of suffering. You should cross over to the other shore soon. 

First, it is most important to maintain a vegetarian diet and uphold the precepts. 

Second, you must change your bad habits and go toward virtue. 

Third, you need enlightened teachers and spiritual friends. 

Fourth, you need to correct vows to be liberated. 

Fifth, you must recognize cause and effect. 

Sixth, you must have skillful means. 

Seventh, you must accumulate merit and virtue. 

Eighth, you must increase your meritorious affinities. 

Whether you are walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, you must recite the phrase "Amitabha Buddha" without a break. You must believe that if the causal basis is profound, the result will be profound. 

Do not pay attention to your own thoughts. If you can go from moment to moment [mindful of buddha], I guarantee that your mindfulness will become unified. If as you are mindful [of buddha] you can recognize the person who is mindful, Amitabha appears together with you, and you enter the samadhi of buddha-name recitation. You personally experience the inner court of ultimate bliss, and your name is inscribed on a lotus womb [from which you will be in Amitabha's Pure Land] . 

Those with the highest accomplishment see themselves and see Amitabha up close. They receive his prediction of enlightenment, and as companions of the bodhisattvas [in the Pure Land] continue on to supreme enlightenment. 

Layman Wu-chin said: 

I lament for those whose bodies dwell in the world of form, and whose minds take the pleasure in the emptiness. I consider that in this world the five corruptions confuse their minds and the multitude of evils mix with their natures. Since they lack the power of correct contemplation, and do not have the power to comprehend causes, they cannot awaken to the Amitabha of inherent nature and the Pure Land of mind-only. 

People should carefully follow the teachings from the golden mouth of the World Honored One Shakyamuni and concentrate their thoughts on Amitabha Buddha and his Paradise in the west. They should seek the protection of the great power of Amitabha's great vows. Then when this lifetime is over, going to be born in the land of ultimate bliss will be as easy as riding a boat with the current: they will arrive without exerting their own strength. 

Pure Land Patriarch Hui-yuan said: 

People in the Zen school see people reciting the buddha-name and cultivating the Pure Land and they all say that this is cultivating practice with attachment to form, that this is not to be considered subtle and wondrous, and is not as good as seeing reality-nature and suddenly awakening to eternal reality by studying Zen. 

Those of shallow faculties believe this confused idea. They do not recite the buddha-name, and they do not read the scriptures: in the midst of lives devoted to serving the senses, they give lip service to studying Zen. Their minds do not practice the Path, but they denigrate the Pure Land and do not believe in birth there. 

This is a great mistake. They do not realize that Amitabha Buddha is the highest most profound Zen. These people have not plumbed the great true principle, and so they falsely differentiate [between Zen and Pure Land] . 

If you want to study Zen and see reality-nature, it is not necessary to take up any other meditation topic: just recite the phrase "Amitabha Buddha." Study it, recite it, investigate it, doubt it. After a long time, you will have some attainment. Even if you do not awaken at this time, when your life is over, you will be born in the highest class in the Pure Land. [Once you are born there] what worry is there that you will not achieve great enlightenment? 

                *** 

Take the example of Zen Master Pai-chang Huai-hai. He was the true heir to whom Ma-tsu of Chiang-tzu transmitted the Dharma. All the Zen communities in the country have followed the precedents he established, and from ancient times until now no one has dared to suggest that he was wrong. The "Pure Rules" for monastic communities all over China are based on his standards, and from start to finish, no one has dared to transgress against his teaching on any point. 

We observe that Pai-chang's guidelines for chanting on behalf of a sick monk say: "Gather together the congregation and join in reciting a verse praising Amitabha Buddha. Then all together chant 'Hail to Amitabha Buddha' a hundred or a thousand times. Dedicate the merit [to the sick monk] and express this humble hope: 'If his causal connections are not yet ended, may he quickly recover. If his fate is impossible to escape, may he quickly ascend to the Pure Land.'" Isn't Pai-chang pointing the way to the Pure Land? 

We also observe Pai-chang's guidelines for seeing off a dead monk. "At night chant the sutras and dedicate the merit [to the dead man]. Humbly express this wish: 'May his spirit quickly rise to the realm of purity and may his karma leave behind the afflictions of the sense-objects. May the lotus open out a flower of the highest class [for him to be born in] and may the Buddha give him a prediction of enlightenment in one lifetime.'" Isn't this pointing the way to the Pure Land? 

At the time of cremation, the duty distributor is directed to lead in ten repetitions of a loud chant of "Hail to the Land of Ultimate Bliss in the west and to the great compassionate Amitabha Buddha." The whole congregation joins in. The whole thing is called the ten invocations. After the chanting is finished, the merit is transferred [to the dead monk] and [the duty distributor] says, "These ten invocations we have just made are to help [the dead man] go to the Pure Land." Isn't this pointing the way to the Pure Land? 

Ever since Pai-chang, wherever they have a funeral for a dead monk, they always follow this model. Thus it may be said that all the Five Houses of Zen, and all the Zen monks in the country, all return to the Pure Land. 

I observe that the words of the adepts all point the way to the Pure Land. When today's Zen students falsely claim that enlightened people do not vow to be born in the Pure Land, they do not understand the intent of the Zen masters, and they themselves have no insight or awakening. They will not escape regretting this later. 

related post: Pure Land references in the scriptures

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.