Pure Land references in the scriptures

by Master Tsung-pen

Pure Land scriptures are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Here I quote a few in brief in order to dispel doubts. 

The Sutra of Infinite Life (Longer Amitabha Sutra) says: 

[Shakyamuni] Buddha told Maitreya: "In this world there are seventy-two billion bodhisattvas beyond the stage of falling back who will go to be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Countless numbers of bodhisattvas of minor practice will all be born there. Not only in my land, but in all the worlds of the ten directions, countless multitudes of great bodhisattvas recite the name of Amitabha Buddha and vow to be born in Amitabha Buddha's land." 

The Amitabha Sutra says: 

If good men and good women hear of Amitabha Buddha and recite his name, because they invoke his name, all their bad karma will dissolve away. When these people are about to die, they will immediately go to be born in Amitabha Buddha's Land of Ultimate Bliss. 

Shakyamuni Buddha said, "All of you should believe what I say and what all the buddhas say. If sentient beings hear this, they should vow to be born in the Pure Land." 

The Sixteen Contemplations of Amitabha Sutra (Meditation Sutras) says: 

If good men and good women simply hear the name of Amitabha Buddha and the names of the two bodhisattvas [who accompany him, Kuan-yin and Shih-chih], it removes the sins of countless eons of birth and death. This is even more true if they keep them in mind. One repetition of "Hail to Amitabha Buddha" wipes away the serious bad karma of eight billions eons of birth and death. 

You must realize that those who recite the buddha-name are rare flowers among humans, and that the bodhisattvas Kuan-yin and Shih-chih are their excellent friends. 

In the Lotus Sutra chapter entitled "The Fundamental Mission of the Medicine King Bodhisattva" it says: 

If you hear this sutra and practice according to what it teaches, then at the end of this life you will go to the Land of Peaceful Bliss and your abode will be surrounded by Amitabha Buddha and a multitude of great bodhisattvas. You will be reborn in a lotus flower on a jewel throne. No more will you be afflicted by desire, by anger, by ignorance, by arrogance and jealousy, or by any other defilements. You will attain the supernatural powers of the bodhisattvas and the infinite forbearance that comes from recognizing that all phenomena are unborn (tolerance of no-birth). 

The Perfection of Wisdom Treatise says: 

Buddha is the supreme Dharma King. The great bodhisattvas are ministers to the Dharma. The one the ministers honor is Buddha, the Dharma King. 

The bodhisattvas think to themselves: "In the past we slandered transcendent wisdom and fell into evil paths. We received measureless suffering for countless ages. Even though we cultivated other practices, we were unable to emerge from the sea of suffering. Later we met enlightened teachers who taught us to recite 'Amitabha Buddha' and we managed to wipe away the barriers of bad karma and be born in the Pure Land. Now we must give thanks to Amitabha Buddha. Why so? Our parents and friends and the kings of humans and devas could not save us and bring us out of the sea of suffering. We escaped from the sea of suffering only because of the protection of the power of the vows of Amitabha Buddha." . . . 

The Precious Mirror of the Lotus School says: 

Of the countless multitude of Tathagatas, Amitabha is foremost. Of the innumerable buddha-lands in the ten directions, the Pure Land is the refuge. We must have deep faith that the Pure Land is the wondrous gate of true liberation. We must truly consider that Amitabha is the real compassionate father of sentient beings. 

Therefore, when mindfulness [of buddha] arises, the myriad luminous beings know. When the mind of faith is born, all the buddhas appear. As soon as we invoke the precious name [of Amitabha], we have already planted a seed in the lotus womb [in the Pure Land]. Once we generate enlightenment, our names are inscribed in the golden land. 

If you have an affinity and encounter this teaching, then you will awaken and cultivate it. If your faith is shallow and you do not recite [the buddha-name], then you are very foolish and very wrong. 

How lamentable! It is the last age and there are many misguided views. The deluded castigate Pure Land Buddhism as a provisional vehicle, and criticize reciting the buddha-name as a crude practice. Thus they sink down into the burning house and willingly accept endless ages of being submerged [in birth and death]. They go against their compassionate father [Amitabha] and suffer the deep pain of passing a lifetime in vain. 

You must believe that unless you rely on the power of Amitabha, you will have no way to cut off karmic delusion. If you do not encounter this teaching, you will have no way to escape from birth and death. 

Thus, those who despise Pure Land Buddhism are despising themselves, and those who attack it are attacking themselves. False sentiments are easy to learn; the correct Dharma is hard to hear of. If you go on and on revolving in the three evil planes of existence, you will never manage to get out. 

The Essential Gate for Contemplating the Pure Land says: 

The Pure Land teaching is, for sentient beings in the last age, the essential road out of birth and death and the boat to cut across the ocean of birth and death. 

Once they are born there, beings never fall back. With gold-colored bodies, they fly free. Food and clothing are received spontaneously. They see [Amitabha] Buddha and hear the Dharma and quickly enter the ranks of the sages . . . They are not tormented by thunder and wind and rain and cold and heat or harried by hunger and thirst. They are born by transformation in the lotus flower, and their lifespans are immeasurable. They are free from the pains of birth, old age, sickness, and death. Thus it is the world of ultimate bliss. 

Therefore our Tathagata Shakyamuni opened the door [to the Pure Land], so as to enable deluded sentient beings in this world to escape from the multitude of sufferings here. Amitabha, our compassionate father, showed the road to his protection. Thus they repeatedly instructed us and emphatically praised the Pure Land, and urged us all to be born there. 

Because of this, the worthy sages and clergy and laypeople who have recited the buddha-name and have gone to the Pure Land have been too numerous to count. 

How painful it is when low grade ordinary people are attached to sensory afflictions and do not seek to leave them behind, and willingly flow on in birth and death ! 

The Peace and Bliss Collection says: 

If you can recite the name of Amitabha Buddha, you immediately cut off all karmic obstructions, and you will get to be born in the Pure Land. 

Why so? It is like a man who uses lion's sinews for the strings on his zither: once they sound, all other strings break. If a person with the mind of enlightenment can recite "Amitabha Buddha," the heavy barriers of affliction are all broken and destroyed. It is also like a man who puts a drop of lion's milk into a bowl filled with the milk of cows, goats, donkeys and horses: all these types of milk turn to water. If a person within the mind of enlightenment can recite "Amitabha Buddha," all the barriers of evil delusion spontaneously dissolve, and he or she gets to be born in the Pure Land. 

The Treatise to Resolve Doubts says: 

It is hard to obtain a human body, but it is easy to be born in the Pure Land. What is the reason? 

If you do not uphold the five precepts, then the road of devas and humans is cut off. You get to be a human only if you uphold the five precepts. Because the five precepts are difficult to uphold, and you have no power of vows to protect you, a human body is hard to obtain. 

When you cultivate the Pure Land, it is not necessary to uphold the five precepts perfectly. Just recite the name of Amitabha Buddha. Even if you have bad karma, you are permitted to repent. When you are about to die, Amitabha Buddha and Kuan-yin and Shih-chih and an oceanic assembly of pure beings each with the power of vows will come together to receive you and protect you. Thus it is easy to be born in the Pure Land. 

The Dharma Gate of Pure Practice says: 

Repentance is like carefully polishing an ancient mirror to remove the obscuring dust that has accumulated through the ages. Reciting the buddha-name is like having a private audience with an enlightened lord, and securing his timely aid. 

Spring, summer, fall and winter, while walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, carefully contemplate the adornments of the Pure Land, and always be mindful of Amitabha Buddha. If you recite the buddha-name like this, then samadhi will appear before you, and you will be born in the Pure Land. There is no need to doubt this. 

The Moon Treasury Scripture says: 

In the last age of the Dharma, billions and billions of sentient beings practice and cultivate the Path, but scarcely one succeeds. This is because it is hard to succeed in the various schools, in the evil world of the five corruptions. The Pure Land gate is the only way to enter. 

You must realize that your own practice is hard to perfect, but it is easy to arrive through the "other power" [of Amitabha]. It is like a lowly man who adheres to the powers of a universal monarch, and so can fly all over the world. It is like an ordinary mortal who relies on the efficacy of the medicine of the immortals, and who ascends to the abode of the immortals. It is really an easy path, and you must hasten to get into accord with it. Inscribe this compassionate method on your bones. 

The Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra says: 

If a person recites the buddha-name with a scattered mind, she will still get away from suffering: the merit [of buddha-name recitation] does not end. How much the more so, if one recites the buddha-name with fixed attention. [The effectiveness of reciting the buddha-name] extends from [reciting it with] mind unified and undisturbed to [deathbed] recitation ten times. 

The Lotus Sutra says: 

If a person with his mind scattered and confused enters a shrine and chants "Hail to Buddha," he has already achieved the Buddha Path. 

The buddha-name is heard through the ten directions and brings vast benefits to sentient beings. It contains all the roots of goodness and helps promote the supreme mind [of enlightenment]. 

The Flower Ornament (Avatamsaka) Sutra says: 

Whatever you are doing, always be mindful of the merits of Buddha, day and night without interruption. You must act like this. 

Better to endure the sufferings of hell and hear the names of the buddhas than to receive all kinds of bliss and not hear the names of the buddhas. 

The Jewel Heap Sutra says: 

When the beings of other regions hear the name of the Tathagata Amitabha, they are able to generate pure faith and joyously accept all the roots of goodness. They transfer their merit [to the Pure Land] and vow to be born in Amitabha 's land. According to their vows, they are born there, and never turn back until they achieve buddhahood. 

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.