The Reason for Teaching the Dharma of Pure Land

There are three vehicles in the Dharma [vehicles of the Sravakas, Pratyeka Buddhas, Bodhisattvas] for people to study and practice. But my fear about all of them is that if the practitioner cannot achieve results in one lifetime, he may drown in the ocean of Birth and Death, unable to escape [for eons to come].(13)

Zen practitioners may end the cycle of Birth and Death in one lifetime. But too many false thoughts and deeply ingrained habits make it difficult to practice Zen.

If one has not attained Enlightenment in this life, he will continue to revolve in the cycle of Birth and Death. Therefore, Sakyamuni Buddha taught the Dharma of Pure Land. It does not matter if one is of superior, mediocre or low capacities. It does not matter if one is wealthy, in high position, or humble and destitute. As long as he practices this Dharma, he is assured of results in one lifetime. There is no other more expedient or wonderful Dharma than this shortcut of Buddha Recitation. Why? It is because when we remain in this Saha world, we are in a world filled with suffering. There is the suffering of birth, the suffering of old age, the suffering of disease, the suffering of death, the
suffering of unfulfilled wishes, the suffering of meeting with the uncongenial, and so forth; there are so many kinds of suffering. In short, these sufferings are indescribable. Even when a person of high position and wealth seems to find the joys of life, they are all the causes of future suffering.(13)

Because all this suffering in the Saha world is very difficult to escape, Sakyamuni Buddha taught the Dharma of Pure Land. In that land all beings live free from suffering and enjoy every bliss, and therefore it is called the Land of Utmost Bliss. Because that realm is without defilement, it is called the Pure Land. All beings are born from a lotus blossom. Therefore, there is no suffering of birth. All beings have infinite life. Therefore, there is no suffering of old age and death. Food and clothing are provided naturally. Therefore, there is no suffering of unfulfilled wishes. Because one is able to join the company of superior beings all gathered in one place, there is no suffering of meeting with the uncongenial. Because that Land is adorned with the seven treasures, it is not defiled by rubble or thorns. All this is stated in the sutras. Those who wish to be reborn in the Pure Land need only concentrate singlemindedly on reciting the Buddha's name.

For correct practice, during recitation visualize yourself seated on a lotus blossom. Then, in your final moment, you will see Amitabha Buddha and a great lotus emitting light appearing before you to lead you to rebirth in the Pure Land. You will never again retrogress or drown in the ocean of Birth and Death. This is the result of practicing Pure Land and obtaining the merits of Buddha Recitation.

One who sincerely recites the Buddha's name will not find it necessary to seek Enlightenment or to see his Self-Nature. It is necessary only to visualize Amitabha Buddha and recite His name. Making donations and offerings to the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha), as well as accruing other merits by adorning the Buddha lands, are supporting activities.

However, even if you practice Buddha Recitation and make a vow for rebirth in the Western Pure Land, you must still sever the roots of Birth and Death to ensure rebirth. What are the roots of Birth and Death? Greed and grasping at everything in the world. Many things that bring enjoyment, such as beautiful colors, pleasant sounds, flavors and bodily comforts are causes of suffering [because they disturb the mind]. Other causes are anger, hatred, grasping and the delusions of heterodox teachings. Do not believe in them at all. You need only concentrate on Buddha Recitation, recite the Amitabha Sutra twice a day and the Buddha's name a few thousand times or [if you are very fervent] more than ten thousand times, in thought after thought without interruption. This is the hua-t'ou and this is your Original Face.

You might ask, what is life and what comes after death? Those who creates evil causes in life will find the evil realms appearing before them after death. But those who recite the Buddha's name seeking rebirth in the Pure Land will, in their final moments, see the realm of Amitabha Buddha, the Pure Land, appearing before them. The Surangama Sutra states: "The thinking process made the continents."

To practice Zen, you must sever all false thoughts, and that is very difficult. To practice Pure Land is to use pure thoughts to transform impure thoughts. When the lotus appears, that is the perfection of your visualization.

There are countless expedient methods, but according to the Buddhas and Patriarchs, the Dharma of Pure Land is particularly important. It is not necessary to understand your own mind or to see your Self-Nature. It is only necessary to recite the Buddha's name. The word "Buddha" means Enlightened One. If you recite the Buddha's name in thought after thought, never forgetting Him for an instant, then, every thought is an enlightened thought. If your mind forgets Amitabha Buddha, that is not Enlightenment. If you can engage in Buddha Recitation in your dreams as you do in the daytime, that is constant awareness. If your mind is not confused in the present and is not confused in your final moments, then you will certainly be reborn in the Pure Land.
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(13) See the concept "Third lifetime" in Glossary.

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.

Pure Land Can Save All Sentient Beings in the Ocean of Suffering

Buddha Sakyamuni specially taught the Pure Land Dharma to rescue all sentient beings in the Saha world. He enjoined people to recite Amitabha Buddha's name and make a vow for rebirth in the Pure Land. This wonderful Dharma was taught in the Amitabha Sutra and extolled by all the Buddhas in the ten directions. Pure Land is a special teaching adapted to all sentient beings in this Dharma-Ending Age.

There are many different methods of Pure Land practice. If a group of people practice together in a temple, there is a procedure set forth in the Pure Land commentaries. An individual who practices the Dharma of Pure Land alone bows to the Buddhas and recites either the Amitabha or the Diamond Sutra once each session. He then recites Amitabha Buddha's name five to ten thousand times, after which he makes a vow to be reborn in the Pure Land, saying: "I wish to be reborn in the Western Pure Land, with the nine grades of lotus blossoms as my parents. When the lotuses are in full bloom, I shall see Buddha Amitabha and be enlightened to the Absolute Truth, with non-retrogressing Bodhisattvas as my companions." This is done in the morning and then in the same manner in the evening.

Apart from these sessions, during the entire day, the practitioner just recites the Buddha's name and keeps Buddha Amitabha in mind, in thought after thought, without interruption, holding the name of Amitabha as his very life. Whether walking, standing, sitting or reclining, he always recites Buddha Amitabha's name. If he should meet with adversity or favorable circumstances and is moved to anger or to happiness, he need only concentrate on reciting Buddha Amitabha's name for the anger, defilement [and other mind-disturbing states, such as happiness] to cease.

Since defilement is the root of Birth and Death, we recite the Buddha's name to rid ourselves of defilement and avert the suffering of Birth and Death. If one who recites the Buddha's name rids himself of defilement, he can end the cycle of Birth and Death. If he can overcome defilement during Buddha Recitation, he can overcome it in his dreams. If he can overcome it in his dreams, he can overcome it during illness as well. And if he can overcome defilement when ill, he can overcome it in his final moments. Thus it is very clear that he can be reborn in the Pure Land.

This is not difficult, but a sincere, earnest mind is necessary for ending the cycle of Birth and Death. In reciting Amitabha Buddha's name, think of nothing else over an extended period of time, and you will then obtain great bliss. All practitioners should understand this Dharma. Anyone who can recite the Buddha's name and practice this Dharma is a true practitioner. Anyone who abandons this method will find no better way to achieve this goal.

Do not listen to people with heterodox teachings, lest you develop wrong views. There is a wonderful method [in addition to the oral recitation method described above] that I would like to teach all of you: picture a great lotus, shaped like a wheel and colored blue, yellow, red or white. During meditation and Buddha Recitation, always contemplate this lotus blossom clearly. Also, think of yourself as sitting on this lotus seat. Think about Amitabha Buddha emitting light, illuminating your own body. While visualizing, do not be bound by walking, standing, sitting or reclining positions. Also, do not be bound by time. Just visualize the Pure Land clearly. Whether your eyes are open or closed, [the image] should never be blurred. Even in your dreams you should still see Amitabha Buddha, the Bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara) (Kuan Yin) and Mahasthamaprapta (Shih Chih) and all other Bodhisattvas sitting each on his own lotus blossom -- all radiant and clear.

If the practitioner can visualize the lotus with complete concentration until the final moment, he can end the cycle of Birth and Death. At the time of death, the lotus will appear before him and he will see himself seated upon it. He will also see Amitabha, Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta, all coming to lead him to rebirth in the Western Pure Land, never to return to the Saha world, never again to endure the suffering of Birth and Death.

Anyone who practices the Dharma of Pure Land will achieve rebirth in the Pure Land in one lifetime. It is stated many times in the sutras that this is a direct method and the shortest route to the Pure Land. One need only take the shortcut of reciting the Buddha's name. Anyone who abandons this wonderful Dharma has no better path to follow.

related post:  The Reason for Teaching the Dharma of Pure Land

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.

The Important Doctrines of Pure Land and Zen

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.

People Should Practice Pure Land

Buddha Sakyamuni said: "There are many expedient ways to practice, and each can lead to an end to the cycle of Birth and Death." Reciting the Buddha's name seeking rebirth in the Pure Land is a shortcut. The wonderful and complete teachings of the Avatamsaka and Lotus Sutras, as well as the sublime conduct of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, all point to and lead to the Pure Land. Similarly, from the Patriarchs Asvaghosa and Nagarjuna to the great masters Yung-Ming and Chung-Feng, all are in favor of Pure Land.

This Dharma can convert people of all three levels: superior, mediocre and inferior. It can be practiced to good effect by all people whether of dull or sharp capacities. It is not limited to those of shallow roots. It is taught in the sutras that if you want to purify the Buddha land, you should purify your own mind first. If you want to have pure karma, you must first purify your own mind. To purify your own mind, you should first maintain pure discipline (keep the precepts).(11) Given the three evils of the body, four evils of the mouth and three evils of the mind, there are altogether ten evil karmas. They are the causes of suffering in the Triple Realm.

From now on, you must maintain the rules of discipline and keep the three karmas af body, speech and mind pure and clean. Then the mind will be naturally pure. If you do not kill sentient beings, steal or commit adultery, then the karma of body will be pure. If you do not tell lies or use deceitful double meanings and do not indulge in coarse, filthy language, then the karma of speech will be pure. If you do not allow into mind feelings of covetousness and anger and do not hold perverted views, then the karma of mind will be pure. If you can sever the ten evil karmas forever, the Triple Realm will be cleansed and purified. This is very important for the purification of your own mind.

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Once you have a clean and pure mind and have developed an abhorrence for the sufferings of the Saha World, make a vow for rebirth in the Pure Land. Then, practice the right action of Buddha Recitation so as to end the cycle of Birth and Death. Block all distractions from outside and concentrate singlemindly on reciting Amitabha Buddha's name in thought after thought twenty-four hours a day without stopping. While you are walking, standing, sitting or reclining, whether you are moving or still, at leisure or busy, you must always be of clear mind without any confused thoughts and must not be affected by intruding conditions from outside. If you can practice over a long period of time, never forgetting Buddha Recitation even in dreams, reciting gently and continuously whether asleep or awake, without any distracting thoughts, and if you can recite the Buddha's name like this up until your final moment, the realm of the Pure Land will appear before you. Then, as a matter of course, you will no longer be bound by the cycle of Birth and Death. Amitabha Buddha will respond by emitting rays of light and lead you to rebirth in the Pure Land.

Singleminded recitation of the Buddha's name is correct action. However, for a deeper understanding, visualization is also required. Thus, the Meditation Sutra [a key Pure Land text] states:

Sakyamuni Buddha taught sixteen wonderful meditations and contemplations to Queen Vaidehi, so that she could attain rebirth in the Pure Land within one lifetime.

When cultivating alone or in the company of friends, choose one of the sixteen meditations, depending on your purpose and vows. You may visualize only Buddha Amitabha and the Bodhisattvas or else the realm of the Pure Land with its golden ground and wonderful lotus blossoms. If you keep the object of visualization clearly in mind twenty-fours hours a day, whether walking, sitting, standing, reclining, with eyes open or closed, the pure realm will always appear before you.

If you can pursue this meditation over a long period of time, you will suddenly become enlightened. The Pure Land is then everywhere.

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It has been said that "to be born is definitely to be born, but to return [to the Pure Land] is not really to return.” This is the wonderful doctrine of Mind-Only Pure Land.(12) If one is capable of maintaining discipline as indicated earlier, then the six organs will be clean and pure, and he will sever evil karma and defilements forever. If the mind-ground is clean as one practices visualization in thought after thought, then it is easy to accomplish this wonderful practice. This is the real cause of rebirth in the Pure Land.

Conversely, as Sakyamuni Buddha taught, if one only talks about Buddha Recitation and rebirth in the Pure Land but does not hold to the necessary discipline or sever defilements -- while constantly having defiled thoughts and an evil mind -- he can never attain the Way. For this reason, all practitioners should maintain discipline as the foundation, to assist them in the correct practice of visualization and Buddha Recitation. Anyone who practices in this manner is assured of rebirth in the Pure Land.
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(11) Discipline, ie., precepts. There are many sets of precepts, for monks, nuns and laymen. The five basic precepts for laymen are not to kill, steal, engage in illicit sex, lie or consume intoxicants. All of these numerous precepts, however, may be summarized by three vows: to avoid evil; to cultivate virtue; to benefit all sentient beings.

(12) Mind-Only Pure Land: see Buddhism of Wisdom and Faith, para. 27, "Buddha Recitation and the Four Realizations.”

related post:  The Important Doctrines of Pure Land and Zen

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.

The Important Dharma of Pure Land

This book is a translation of selected passages from the sermons and writings of Zen Master Han-shan Te-ch'ing, one of the three "dragon-elephants” of Ming Buddhism. These passages originally appeared in the Han-Shan Ta-Shih Meng-Yu Chi (Collection of Master Han-Shan's Dream Roamings).

The Dharma of Buddha Recitation is for the purpose of achieving rebirth in the Pure Land, thus ending the cycle of Birth and Death. This is a most crucial matter. Therefore, sentient beings are urged to practice Buddha Recitation. Unfortunately, people today understand only that Buddha Recitation can lead to the end of Birth and Death, without understanding where the root of Birth and Death lies. How should you practice Buddha Recitation so as to end the cycle of Birth and Death? If you do not sever the root of Birth and Death, how can you expect to end that cycle?

What is the root of Birth and Death? An ancient master said:

If your evil karma were not heavy, you would not have been born in the Saha world. If thoughts of love-attachment are not severed, you cannot be reborn in the Pure Land.

Therefore, we know that love-attachment is the root of Birth and Death. All sentient beings are subject to the suffering of Birth and Death because of the affliction of love-attachment. The root of this attachment does not come from this life alone, nor indeed from two, three or four previous lives. Rather it stems from time without beginning, birth after birth, death after death. Abandoning one life only to reappear in another life, we are always swayed by love-attachment, up to our present lifetime. Thinking back, when did you have a single thought not tied to this root of love-attachment?

The seeds of this love-attachment have accumulated over long kalpas and are planted very deep. Therefore, birth after birth, death after death, the cycle never stops. For now, you should direct your mind to Buddha Recitation, seeking only to be reborn in the Pure Land. If one part of your mind is geared to Buddha Recitation while the other is tied to Birth and Death, even if you continue this recitation until the final moment, you will only see that you are still rooted in love-attachment, still in the cycle of Birth and Death. At that time, you will see that such Buddha Recitation is useless. You may then complain that Buddha Recitation does not bring results, but it will be too late for regrets.

I urge those who practice Buddha Recitation to understand first that love-attachment is the root of Birth and Death. Buddha Recitation requires that you sever love-attachment in thought after thought. During recitation at home, when you see your son or daughter or grandchildren, or your material possessions, you are attached to all of them. But this is the root of Birth and Death. Everything around your body can bend your mind. You may recite the Buddha's name with your mouth, but if the root of love-attachment is in your mind and you never lose this for one moment, you need not wonder why you cannot concentrate on Buddha Recitation!

When the mind is filled with attachment to the Saha world, Buddha Recitation remains superficial. One part of the mind is practicing Buddha Recitation while the other is increasingly filled with love-attachment. If thoughts of children and grandchildren are in the forefront of your mind, the mind trying to recite the Buddha's name cannot resist the mind of love, and thus you cannot sever love-attachment. This being so, how can you expect to put an end to the cycle of Birth and Death?

Because this condition of attachment stems from many previous lifetimes, for fruitful Buddha Recitation, just start in the present, even though you are not yet wholly familiar with the method and do not have a fully sincere mind. If you have no power and no control over yourself now, you will have no control during the final moments of your life either.

Therefore, I would like to urge all of you: if you really want to recite the Buddha's name and bring an end to the cycle of Birth and Death, cut off the root of Birth and Death in thought after thought. It is not advisable to wait till the end of your life to do so. I urge you to do your best. Bear in mind that everything is Birth and Death. To end the cycle of Birth and Death in your current lifetime, concentrate on reciting the Buddha's name in thought after thought. If you can practice like this every moment and still do not end the cycle of Birth and Death, then all Buddhas are lying. So whether you are a monk or a layman, just keep Birth and Death at the forefront of your mind. This is the method for escaping Birth and Death and there is no more wonderful Dharma than this.

Practice Buddha Recitation with your own mind. To recite the Buddha's name is to recite your own mind, thought after thought, without interruption. Buddha and Mind are the same. With neither subject nor object, the mind is empty; both subject and object are still. This is called reciting one's own mind, reciting one's own Buddha. If you miss one thought, you will fall into the karma of demons.

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Many people following the current fashion of Zen think of it as the supreme Dharma. They look down on Pure Land and do not practice it. Because they delight in fame, they learn some words and sentences from ancient sages so that they can talk smoothly and eulogize one another. This is not real practice. The urge to enter the Dharma doors is in decline. These people also deprecate the Mahayana sutras, claiming that they are mere words and need not be read. Though such persons may have accrued some virtues, they cannot save themselves. It is really terrible. Most of them do not understand the Mahayana sutras, do not understand that there are many expedient methods for teaching sentient beings, do not know the meaning of the expression: "Everything returns to oneness, but there are many expedient methods that lead us to an understanding of the Truth." They only know the Patriarchs' teaching that the supreme way is Enlightenment. Yet the original meaning of Enlightenment is to end the cycle of Birth and Death. Is this not also the very purpose of Buddha Recitation?

Many Zen practitioners fail to escape the cycle of Birth and Death, while Pure Land followers find it easier to escape that cycle. What is the reason for this? It is because to practice Zen, you must stop the thought process, while to recite the Buddha's name, you must concentrate on thoughts. Since sentient beings have been mired in false thinking for untold eons, it is very difficult to detach themselves from it. Buddha Recitation changes impure thoughts to pure thoughts, fighting poison with poison to purify one's own thoughts.(10) Therefore, in Zen practice it is difficult to attain Enlightenment, while Buddha Recitation makes it easy to reach that goal. If you really want to end the cycle of Birth and Death and you concentrate on Buddha Recitation, there need be no further worry about ending the cycle.

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People today think of the Dharma of Pure Land as an expedient teaching. Little do they realize that it is also a wonderful Dharma. Take the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, whose Dharma body encompasses the whole Dharma Realm. He made ten Great Vows directed to the Pure Land. The Patriarch Asvaghosa relied on one hundred sections of the Mahayana sutras to write the Treatise on the Awakening of the Faith, showing sentient beings the way to the Pure Land. All patriarchs in the East [i.e., East Asia] are involved in Mind-to-Mind transmission. While they may not always refer to the Pure Land, if after becoming enlightened and bringing an end to the cycle of Birth and Death, they do not turn to the Pure Land, would that not be nihilism?

The Zen Master Yung-Ming collected passages from the entire Tripitaka demonstrating that to point to the Mind is to return to the Pure Land. During the Dharma-Ending Age, many Zen masters glorify the Western Pure Land. Moreover, the Pure Land Dharma was preached by Sakyamuni Buddha himself without being requested and is extolled by all Buddhas throughout the ten directions. Are not the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Patriarchs more worthy than a few ignorant, defiled sentient beings?

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One who really wants to practice Pure Land should not consult others. He should rely solely on his own mind if he really wants to end the cycle of Birth and Death. Just as if there were a fire in his own head, he cannot delay any longer.

For example, if a person becomes hopelessly ill, suffering greatly, and someone should find a panacea(10) that will treat this illness, and if this person is of the right frame of mind, believes in this medicine and takes it right away, letting the body sweat out its ills, he will recover quickly. He will then naturally believe that this is a wonderful medicine. Similarly, anyone who sincerely believes in the Dharma of Pure Land and practices Buddha Recitation until the final moment will discover that it is true and wonderful. It is not necessary to ask others.

I urge all of you to exert yourself.
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(10) Poison; panacea. Buddha Recitation is a poison at the ultimate level. It, too, is a false thought that should, ultimately, be discarded.
This Dharma-door [Pure Land] fights poison with poison. False thinking is like poison, and unless you counter it with poison, you will never cure it. Reciting the Buddha's name is fighting false thinking with false thinking. It is like sending out an army to defeat an army, to fight a battle to end all battles. (Master Hsuan Hua.)
Buddha Recitation is a panacea because it can heal the mind -- ultimately the source of all disease. It is also a remedy for persons of all capacities under all circumstances.

related post:  People Should Practice Pure Land

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.

Zen and Pure Land (Talk at the Lotus Society of Great Enlightenment)

This book is a translation of selected passages from the sermons and writings of Zen Master Han-shan Te-ch'ing, one of the three "dragon-elephants” of Ming Buddhism. These passages originally appeared in the Han-Shan Ta-Shih Meng-Yu Chi (Collection of Master Han-Shan's Dream Roamings).

After Buddha Sakyamuni attained Enlightenment, He spread the Dharma and converted sentient beings. The entire fourfold assembly(6) obtained the benefit of the Dharma. He taught people according to their capacities, using different expedient methods so that all could obtain happiness and wisdom. As when there are timely rains and all trees and grass receive moisture and thrive, so all sentient beings derive benefits and grow by themselves. There are different methods, but they all spring from the same source. Since sentient beings are all endowed with the same Buddha Nature, they can all be taught and transformed. Everyone should practice in accordance with his own capacities. But, sentient beings grow confused if they have no one to guide them. Without guidance, they drown in the ocean of suffering.

When Hui-Neng [the Sixth Patriarch of Zen] came to see the Fifth Patriarch, he was asked, "Where do you come from?" Hui-Neng replied, "I come from Ling-Nan (South China)." The Fifth Patriarch asked, "Do the southern barbarians also have the Buddha Nature? " Hui-Neng answered, "People distinguish between North and South, but the Buddha Nature has no North or South."

Since these words were uttered, as thunder to wake up all who hibernate, they have spread across the world. But not many people understand and very few are enlightened. It is more than a thousand years now since Zen came out of southern China and was spread across the land by the Sixth Patriarch, but many people ... still cannot understand it. Therefore, the Buddha Recitation Samadhi, singleminded concentration and visualization of Amitabha Buddha are also taught.
 
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To practice Pure Land, one must abhor the condition of suffering [in the Saha world] and seek to be
reborn in the Western Pure Land. One must practice Buddha Recitation every day, bow to Amitabha Buddha and recite the repentance sutras. Practitioners must be firm in their faith, reduce their evil karma day after day and make a vow to be reborn in the Western Pure Land. Anyone who can really practice in this manner, even though he may be living in this Saha world of Birth and Death, will have a meaningful goal for his practice.

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The word "Buddha" means Enlightened One. All sentient beings have the same Buddha Nature. Everyone can be enlightened. One who is confused about the Buddha Nature is a sentient being. One who is enlightened about the Buddha Nature is called Buddha. When one recites the Buddha's name, Buddha Amitabha is one's Self-Nature, the Pure Land is the pure land of one's own mind. Anyone who can singlemindedly recite the Buddha's name in thought after thought and concentrate deeper and deeper will always find Amitabha Buddha appearing in his own mind. It is not necessary to seek the Pure Land far away, one hundred thousand lands beyond.(7) Therefore, if the mind is pure, the land is pure. If the mind is defiled, the land is defiled. If an evil thought comes to mind, then many obstacles appear. It a good thought arises, peace is everywhere. Thus, heaven and hell are all in one's own mind.

All good men and women should think about their future and the great matter of Birth and Death. Time passes swiftly and once the human body is lost, it cannot be recovered even in ten thousand kalpas (eons). It is like the sun and moon passing across the sky as fast as the fingers of weavers at the loom. Time cannot wait for you. If you lose the human condition, you cannot have it back [for many eons].(8) When the final moment comes, it will be too late for regrets. They will do you no good. So you should all strive to avoid this unhappy state.

The sutras teach that ordinary people, sages and saints are all equal. There is no difference [in their intrinsic nature]. Only the defilement or purity of mind is different. For this reason, it is said that "the Mind, Buddhas and sentient beings are no different from one another." A Pure Mind is Buddha, a defiled mind is sentient being. Buddhas and sentient beings differ only in the birth or non-birth of [wholesome or deluded] thoughts.

The mind is inherently clean and pure, but it is obstructed by greed, hatred, stupidity, arrogance, the five desires and many kinds of delusions. Therefore, those with such minds are called sentient beings. If defilements are discarded and the mind becomes pure, that is Buddhahood. It is not necessary to depend on others.

However, all sentient beings bear heavy karma; since time immemorial, it has been difficult to purify their defilements. Most of them require practice, such as meditation, working on a hua-t'ou or Buddha Recitation, in order to do so. So you see, there are many expedient ways to practice, but all are medicines to treat the diseases of the mind. For example, a mirror, intrinsically bright, cannot reflect anything if it is covered with dust. To clean it, a remedy (cleaning agent) is required. Yet the remedy itself is also dust, though it can rid other things of dust. Once the mirror is bright, there is no further need for the remedy. This is like gold in its ore, covered with the dirt and dust of sand and stone. After it is smelted and pure gold appears, there is no need to smelt it again.

It is difficult to rid oneself of the defiled mind characteristic of sentient beings. However, it can be done through diligent practice. When this is accomplished, the bright and undefiled mind appears.
Therefore it is said that all sentient beings are inherently Buddhas. To call those who are full of defilements Buddhas is not wrong.

Practicing Zen and meditating on a hua-t'ou are important methods for attaining Enlightenment. Unfortunately, very few people nowadays practice diligently enough. This is because they have shallow roots and cannot concentrate on practice. Furthermore, without a good teacher to direct them, they are easily led astray.

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We should, therefore, practice both Buddha Recitation and Zen. This is a proper and safe Dharma. One who can practice Buddha Recitation and then observe where his Buddha comes from and where his Buddha goes will, over a period of time, come to understand what Buddhahood is. This will open his mind, allowing bright wisdom to flow forth from his own mind-ground. This is no different from meditating on a kung-an (koan) or hua-t'ou. But sincere practice and hard work are necessary.

If someone with false thoughts dismisses hard work, seeks leisure day in and day out and does not consider practice important, he will be confused until the Year of the Donkey. Anyone who thinks that laziness and false thoughts are enjoyable is not misleading himself in this life alone; even at the end of many kalpas he might still be in confusion.

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If you have the right conditions for Buddha Recitation, try to practice it. Though you may still be part of the defiled world in this time of defilement, once you practice Buddha Recitation, you can rid yourself of afflictions. As stated in the sutras: if you purify water by letting sand and mud settle to the bottom so that pure water appears, that is the first step toward overcoming "guest dust"(9) afflictions. When all sand and mud are removed and only pure water remains, that is the same as breaking away from all ignorance and defilement forever. “You can then practice Buddha Recitation silently by yourself without fear of the least mistake.

If you can really separate yourself from defilement or, as the sutras say, if the mind is pure and bright and you have arrived at the stage where you have no obstacles put in your way by "guest dust” afflictions, not only will Amitabha Buddha come to lead you to rebirth in the Pure Land, but all Buddhas throughout the ten directions will praise you.

-----------------------------
(6) Fourfold Assembly. Monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen.

(7) This passage refers to the noumenon (transcendental) aspect of Pure Land: "if the mind is pure, the land is pure. " See Appendix, section B. The phenomenal aspect of Pure Land is expressed in the following passage from the Amitabha Sutra:
The Buddha then said to Shariputra the Elder: "Westward from here and beyond ten billion Buddha-lands there is a world called Utmost Happiness. In that land there is a Buddha called Amida, who is right now preaching the Dharma." (Hozen Seki, tr., Buddha Tells of the Infinite: the "Amida-kyo,’ p. 13).
For further details, see Note 23 below.

(8) To illustrate the extreme difficulty of rebirth in the human realm, Sakyamuni Buddha compared it to the likelihood that a blind sea turtle, surfacing from the depths of the ocean only once every century, would encounter a tree trunk in which to nest.

(9) Afflictions may be termed "guest dusts." They are "guests" because they come and go, unlike our empty and still True Nature. They are "dusts" because they stick to and defile the True Mind, just like the dust which covers a bright mirror and prevents it from reflecting the objects before it.

related post:  The Important Dharma of Pure Land

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.

Introduction （Pure Land Of The Patriarchs)

All teachings in the Tripitaka (Buddhist Canon) are tools to induce sentient beings to sever attachments. To those attached to Emptiness, Buddha Sakyamuni taught Existence to break that grasp. To those attached to Existence, He taught Emptiness so as to loosen that grasp. To those grasping at both Emptiness and Existence, He taught "neither Emptiness nor Existence" to break that grasp. Lastly, to those grasping at “neither Emptiness nor Existence," He taught both Emptiness and Existence to break that attachment.(1)

In short, the purpose is to draw all sentient beings away from attachments. That is the Buddhist teaching of salvation. There is no other way to return to the source, though there are many different expedient methods. We Buddhist students and practitioners should not become attached to these methods. When thoughts arise in our mind discriminating between what is right and what is wrong, that is against the purpose of the Buddhas and is a deviation from the Buddhist path.

For example, when Buddha Sakyamuni taught the Dharma of Emptiness, His message was not that it was the opposite of Existence, but rather that it was Truth and Reality. What are Truth and Reality? Let me quote the T'ien T'ai Patriarch Chih I:

When there is Emptiness, then all is Emptiness; there is no separate Non-Emptiness. Without Non-Emptiness to contrast with Emptiness, Emptiness itself is unattainable [does not exist].

Similarly, when Buddha Sakyamuni taught Existence, this was not the opposite of Emptiness, but was rather to say: "When one exists, everything exists; there is no separate Non-Existence. Without
 Non-Existence to contrast with Existence, Existence itself is unattainable."

We should understand the true meaning of Emptiness and Existence. Nothing we say about Emptiness or Existence can be valid. And since this is so, why do we still grasp at them?

The Great Master Han-Shan thoroughly understood the goal of all the Buddhas. In tune with the minds of the Patriarchs, he spread the Dharma, grasping at neither Emptiness nor Existence, neither Non-Emptiness nor Non-Existence -- thereby manifesting the Middle Way. Thus, he promoted the cultivation of both Zen and Pure Land, pointing to the non-duality of Emptiness and Existence. That teaching is Wonderful Enlightenment.

When practicing Zen, at the beginning of cultivation the expedient of Emptiness is used. But Zen does not mean Emptiness, nor does it mean Existence. Pure Land uses the expedient of Existence at the start of practice, but Pure Land does not mean Existence nor does it mean Emptiness. When Sakyamuni Buddha spoke of Emptiness and Existence, it was to reach human beings of different capacities. The Dharma itself transcends Emptiness and Existence. All methods taught by Buddha Sakyamuni are like prescriptions. Since people suffer from different diseases, they need many kinds of prescriptions. It does not matter whether the medicine is expensive or cheap. As long as it is effective, it is a good medicine .

Those who practice Zen or Pure Land should all understand this truth: "all Dharma methods are equal and none is superior or inferior." No one who really understands the deep meaning of the Dharma can have the kind of obstinate prejudice that sees inferiority and superiority between the various Buddhist methods. No one with that kind of obstinate prejudice can gain any real benefit from the Dharma.

For example, the Zen school teaches meditation on a "hua-t'ou" (Jap. wato). Hua-t'ou means "before words," before a single thought rises up in one's mind.(2) What is there before a single thought rises up? It is no thought. No thought is one's own Pure Mind, one's own Buddha Nature, one's own Original Face. Meditating on a hua-t'ou does not mean reciting it, because the recitation of a hua-t'ou is also a great false thought. Rather, to recognize one's own Original Face is the purpose of a hua-t'ou.

The Pure Land school teaches Buddha Recitation -- the repetition of Amitabha Buddha's name. However, it does not teach merely to recite by mouth, like a parrot mindlessly sauawking out words. Buddha Recitation centered on the mind is real Buddha Recitation. This is because Mind is Buddha, Buddha is Mind. As the sutras state: "The Mind, Buddhas and Sentient Beings are undifferentiated and equal." Outside of Mind, there is no Buddha, outside of Buddha, there is no Mind. Buddha is Mind, Mind is Buddha. If a practitioner recites the Buddha's name in this manner, he will gradually arrive at the stage where there is neither Mind as subject nor Buddha as object. And there is neither a subject nor an object of recitation. This is the stage before the arising of a single thought. This is the hua-t'ou and this is one's own Original Face. If the practitioner can really understand the Dharma as transcending subject and object, what difference is there between Zen and Pure Land?

Ever since Sakyamuni Buddha held up a flower and the Elder Mahakasyapa smiled, the method of Mind-to-Mind transmission, "without a word and outside the Teachings [of the Tripitaka]," has been the traditional way to pass the succession from patriarch to patriarch in the Zen school.(3) Since Bodhidharma came from the West [i.e., India], there has been continuous transmission, up to and including the Sixth Patriarch, Hui-Neng. In later generations, each patriarch relied on his own Zen techniques to train his students and followers. There are many methods, such as using Mind to seal Mind or meditating on a hua-t'ou. One might also explore his Original Face, ponder "who is the one reciting the Buddha's name," or else meditate on the single word "Wu" ("no") or on any of the 1700 kung-ans (koans). However, the only purpose of all these teachings is to allow the practitioner to let go of everything, from body to mind, remove all false thought and rid himself of grasping and attachment. A practitioner who simply recites a hua-t'ou or meditates on a kung-an without understanding its significance would be wasting his time and energy.

The Dharma of Pure Land, taught by Sakyamuni Buddha without being requested,(4) expresses His great compassion. The magnificent realm and adornments of the Western Pure Land are described in detail in the Amitabha Sutra.(5) The Pure Land Dharma is extolled by all Buddhas in the ten directions and followed by Bodhisattvas and Patriarchs. For example, the great Bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara (Kuan-Yin), Mahasthamaprapta (Great Strength), Manjusri, and Samantabhadra all advocated and followed Pure Land. In ancient India, the Patriarchs Asvaghosa, Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu, among others, all promoted Pure Land teachings. After the Dharma was transmitted to China, many Zen masters and great patriarchs promoted Pure Land. How perfect and lofty is the wonderful Dharma of Pure Land, taught by Sakyamuni Buddha and extolled by all Buddhas throughout the ten directions! We, on the other hand, are merely ordinary beings who have not yet broken away from ignorance and defilement. Thus, astonishingly, there are arrogant and overbearing individuals who look down on this Dharma.

There is a very well-known story in the Avatamsaka Sutra, concerning the youth Sudhana who journeyed to visit fifty-three Virtuous Teachers. The first one he met, the monk Cloud of Virtue, introduced him to the very important Dharma of Pure Land. From there, Sudhana continued his visits until he had covered all fifty-three Teachers, the last of whom was the great Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. The latter also taught him the wonderful Pure Land Dharma door. Thus, we should understand that Pure Land is crucial for practitioners in this Dharma-Ending Age. As disciples of the Buddhas, we should begin practicing this Dharma as early as possible.

In summary, Zen and Pure Land are complementary. In the past, all Buddhas throughout the ten directions relied on these Dharma methods to practice and attain Buddhahood. All Buddhas in the
present are likewise dependent on them to practice and attain Buddhahood. The same is true for all Buddhas in the future. These two Dharma methods are specially set forth in the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Lotus Sutra and the Suramgama Sutra, along with many other sutras that exhort people to study and practice.

Master Lok To
New York: May 1993
_____________________________

(1) The reasoning in this paragraph follows the well-known Four Propositions of Buddhist logic: a) Existence; b) Emptiness; c) both; d) neither. These propositions represent four ascending levels of cultivation, "an ascending grasp of reality" (H. Dumoulin). These propositions are transcended
upon attainment of Enlightenment and Buddhahood.
In this formula, the philosophy of the Middle Way Madyamika and the metaphysics of the Avatamsaka School flow together. (H. Dumoulin, Zen Buddhism: A History, p. 219.)

(2) Hua-t'ou. The words hua-t'ou and kung-an (Jap. koan) are sometimes used interchangeably. (Hua-t'ou], lit., "word-head;” the point, punch line, or key line of a koan, the word or phrase in which the koan resolves itself when one struggles with it as a means of spiritual training .... In the famous koan Chao-chou, Dog, for example, mu is the [hua-t'ou]. Many longer koans have several [hua-t'ous]. (Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen, p. 246.)

(3) The Buddha holding up a flower.
The "special transmission outside the orthodox teaching” began with the famous discourse of Buddha Shakyamuni on Vulture Peak mountain. At that time, surrounded by a great host of disciples ... the Buddha is said only to have held up a flower without speaking. Only Kashyapa understood and smiled ... With this, the first transmission from heart-mind to heart-mind took place. The Buddha confirmed Mahakashyapa, as his enlightened student was called henceforth, as the first Indian patriarch in the lineage of [Zen] transmission. (Ibid., p. 261.)

(4) Almost all sutras in Buddhism were taught following a specific request from one of the leading disciples. A notable exception is the Shorter Amitabha Sutra, which Buddha Sakyamuni preached without being asked. According to Buddhist commentaries, this is because Pure Land teachings, while simple in appearance, can be understood in full only by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

(5) Amitabha Sutra. See Glossary, "Three Pure Land Sutras."

related post:  Zen and Pure Land (Talk at the Lotus Society of Great Enlightenment)

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.

Appendix I: The Pure Land Tradition (Orig. pub. in Pure-Land Zen, Zen Pure-Land.)

The goal of all Buddhist practice is to achieve Enlightenment and transcend the cycle of Birth and Death -- that is, to attain Buddhahood. In the Mahayana tradition, the precondition for Buddhahood is  the Bodhi Mind, the aspiration to achieve Enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, oneself included.（14）

Since sentient beings are of different spiritual  capacities and inclinations, many levels of teaching and  numerous methods were devised in order to reach everyone. Traditionally, the sutras speak of 84,000, i.e.,  an infinite number of methods, depending on the circumstances, the times and the target audience. All these methods are expedients -- different medicines for different individuals with different illnesses at different  times -- but all are intrinsically perfect and complete.(15)  Within each method, the success or failure of an individual's cultivation depends on his depth of practice  and understanding, that is, on his mind.


A) Self-power, other-power

Throughout history, the Patriarchs have elaborated various systems to categorize Dharma methods and the sutras in which they are expounded. One convenient division is into methods based on self-effort (self-power) and those that rely on the assistance of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas (other-power)(16) This distinction is, of course, merely for heuristic purposes, as the Truth is, ultimately, one and indivisible: Self-power is other-power, other-power is self-power.(17)

Traditionally, most Buddhist schools and methods take the self-power approach: progress along the path of Enlightenment is achieved only through intense and sustained personal effort. Because of the dedication and effort involved, schools of this self-power, self-effort tradition all have a distinct monastic bias. The laity has generally played only a supportive role, with the most spiritually advanced ideally joining the Order of monks and nuns. Best known of these traditions are Theravada and Zen.

Parallel to this, particularly following the  development of Mahayana thought and the rise of lay Buddhism, a more flexible tradition eventually arose, combining self-power with other-power -- the assistance and support provided by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to sincere seekers of the Way. Most representative of this tradition are the Esoteric and Pure Land schools. However, unlike the former (or for that matter, the Zen school), Pure Land does not stress the master-disciple relationship and de-emphasizes the role of sub-schools, roshis/gurus and rituals. Moreover, the main aim of Pure Land -- rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss through the power of Amitabha Buddha's Vows -- is a realistic goal, though to be understood at several levels. Therein lies the appeal and strength of Pure Land.(18)

B) Pure Land in a Nutshell

Pure Land, like all Mahayana schools, requires first and foremost the development of the Bodhi Mind,(19) the aspiration to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. From this starting point, the main tenets  of the school can be understood at two main levels, the transcendental and the popular -- depending on the background and the capacities of the cultivator.

i) At the transcendental level, i.e., for cultivators of  the highest spiritual capacity, the Pure Land method, like other methods, reverts the ordinary, deluded mind to the Self-Nature True Mind.(20) In the process, wisdom and Buddhahood are eventually attained. This is exemplified by the following advice of the eminent Zen Master Chu Hung (Jap. Shuko), one of the three "Dragon-Elephants" of Ming Buddhism:

Right now you simply must recite the buddha-name with purity and illumination. Purity means reciting the buddha-name without any other thoughts. Illumination means reflecting back as you recite the buddha-name. Purity is sammata, “stopping.” Illumination is vipasyana, “observing.” Unify your mindfulness of buddha through buddha-name recitation, and stopping and observing are both present. (J.C. Cleary, Pure Land, Pure Mind, unpub. manuscript.)

As stated in the treatise Buddhism of Wisdom and Faith:

If we have the roots and the temperament of Mahayana followers, we should naturally understand that the goal of Buddha Recitation is to achieve Buddhahood .... Why is it that the goal of Buddha Recitation is to become a Buddha? -- It is because, as we begin reciting, the past, present and future have lost their distinction, marks exist but they have been left behind, form is emptiness, thought is the same as No-Thought, the realm of the Original Nature "apart from thought" of the Tathagata has been penetrated. This state is Buddhahood. What else could it be?

This transcendent form of Pure Land is practiced by those of the highest spiritual capacities: "this Mind is the Buddha ... when the Mind is pure, the Buddha land is pure ... to recite the Buddha's name is to recite the Mind.” Thus, at the transcendental level, Pure Land is identical to Zen, Pure Land is Zen, Zen is Pure Land.(21)

ii) In its popular form, i.e., for ordinary practitioners in this Degenerate Age, some twenty-six centuries after the death of the historical Buddha, Pure Land involves seeking rebirth in the Land of Amitabha Buddha. This can be achieved within one lifetime through the practice of Buddha Recitation with sincere faith and vows, leading to one-pointedness of mind or samadhi.

The devotees of this school venerated Amitabha Buddha and sought not outright Nirvana but rebirth in the ... "Pure Land" of Amitabha, also called Sukhavati. In that idyllic environment, no new negative karmic accumulations would be created and all existing ones would evaporate. Nirvana would be therefore just a short step away. (J. Snelling, The Buddhist Handbook, p. 133-4.)

Thus, at the popular level, the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha is an ideal training ground, an ideal environment where the practitioner is reborn thanks to the power of Amitabha Buddha's Vows (other-power)(22)  No longer subject to retrogression, having left Birth and Death behind forever, the cultivator can now focus all his efforts toward the ultimate aim of Buddhahood. This aspect of Pure Land is the form under which the school is popularly known.(23)

In its totality, Pure Land reflects the highest teaching of Buddhism as expressed in the Avatamsaka Sutra: mutual identity and interpenetration of all and everything -- the simplest method contains the ultimate  and the ultimate is found in the simplest.(24)


C) Transference of Merit

Central to the Pure Land tradition is the figure of Amitabha Buddha, who came to exemplify the Bodhisattva ideal and the doctrine of transfer or dedication of merit. This is particularly apparent in the life story of the Bodhisattva Dharmakara,（25） the future Amitabha Buddha, as related in the sutras.

The Mahayana idea of the Buddha being able to impart his power to others marks one of those epoch-making deviations which set off the Mahayana from so-called ... original Buddhism ... The Mahayanists accumulate stocks of merit not only for the material of their own enlightenment but for the general cultivation of merit which can be shared equally by their fellow-beings, animate and inanimate. This is the true of meaning of Parinamana, that is, turning one's merit over to others for their spiritual interest. (D.T. Suzuki, tr., The Lankavatara Sutra, p. xix.)

The rationale for such conduct, which on the surface appears to run counter to the law of Cause and Effect, may be explained in the following passage concerning one of the three Pure Land sages, the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Kuan Yin):

Some of us may ask whether the effect of karma can be reverted by repeating the name of Kuan-Yin. This question is tied up with that of rebirth in Sukhavati [the Pure Land] and it may be answered by saying that invocation of Kuan-Yin's name forms another cause which will right away offset the previous karma. We know, for example, that if there is a dark, heavy cloud above, the chances are that it will rain. But we also know that if a strong wind should blow, the cloud will be carried away somewhere else and we will not feel the rain. Similarly, the addition of one big factor can alter the whole course of karma ...

It is only by accepting the idea of life as one whole that both Theravadins and Mahayanists can advocate the practice of transference of merit to others. With the case of Kuan-Yin then, by calling on Her name we identify ourselves with Her and as a result of this identification Her merits flow over to us. These merits which are now ours then counterbalance our bad karma and save us from
calamity. The law of cause and effect still stands good. All that has happened is that a powerful and immensely good karma has overshadowed the weaker one ... (Lecture on Kuan-Yin by Tech Eng Soon - Penang Buddhist Association, c. 1960. Pamphlet.)

This concept of transference of merit, which presupposes a receptive mind on the part of the cultivator, is emphasized in Pure Land. However, the concept also exists, albeit in embryonic form, in the Theravada tradition, as exemplified in the beautiful story of the Venerable Angulimala.(26)


D) Faith and Mind

Faith is an important component of Pure Land Buddhism.(27) However, wisdom or Mind also plays a crucial, if less visible, role. This interrelationship is clearly illustrated in the Meditation Sutra: the worst sinner, guilty of matricide and parricide, etc. may still achieve rebirth in the Pure Land if, on the verge of death, he recites the Buddha's name one to ten times with utmost faith and sincerity.

This passage can be understood at two levels. At the level of everyday life, just as the worst criminal once genuinely reformed is no longer a threat to society and may be pardoned, the sinner once truly repentant may, through the vow-power of Amitabha Buddha, achieve rebirth in the Pure Land -- albeit at the lowest possible grade. Thus, Pure Land offers hope to everyone; yet at the same time, the law of Cause and Effect remains valid.

At the higher level of principle or Mind, as the Sixth Patriarch taught in the Platform Sutra:

A foolish passing thought makes one an ordinary man, while an enlightened second thought makes one a Buddha.

Therefore, once the sinner repents and recites the Buddha's name with utmost sincerity and one-pointedness of mind, at that very moment he becomes an awakened person silently merging into the stream of the Sages -- can Buddhahood then be far away? As the Meditation Sutra states: "the Land of Amitabha Buddha is not far from here!"

        ◍◍◍◍◍

This, then, is the Pure Land tradition, harmonizing everyday practice and the transcendental, self-power and other-power. This tradition is, by all accounts, one of the pillars of the great Mahayana edifice, that lofty tradition of the great Bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara and Samantabhadra -- so much so that Pure Land has been,  for centuries, one of the most enduring and widespread forms of Buddhism in Asia.（28）

Van Hien Study Group
Autumn, 1992
———————————————————
(14) See the following passage, by the late founder of the Buddhist Lodge and Buddhist Society (London), on the true goal of all Buddhist practice:
In the West, the need for some guidance in mind-development was made acute ... by a sudden spate of books which were, whatever the motive of their authors, dangerous in the extreme. No word was said in them of the sole right motive for mind-development, the enlightenment of the meditator for the benefit of all mankind, and the reader was led to believe that it was quite legitimate to study and practice mindfulness, and the higher stages which ensue, for the benefit of business efficiency and the advancement of personal prestige. In these circumstances, Concentration and Meditation, ... was compiled and published by the [British] Buddhist Society, with constant stress on the importance of right motive, and ample warning of the dangers, from a headache to insanity, which lie in wait for those who trifle with the greatest force on earth, the human mind. (Christmas Humphreys, The Buddhist Way of Life, p.100.)

(15) See the following passage from D.T. Suzuki:
Buddhist theology has a fine comprehensive theory to explain the manifold types of experience in Buddhism, which look so contradictory to each other. In fact the history of Chinese Buddhism is a series of attempts to reconcile the diverse schools ... Various ways of classification and reconciliation were offered, and ... their conclusion was this:

Buddhism supplies us with so many gates to enter into the truth because of such a variety of human characters and temperaments and environments due to diversities of karma. This is plainly depicted and taught by the Buddha himself when he says that the same water drunk by the cow and the cobra turns in one case into nourishing milk and in the other into deadly poison, and that medicine is to be given according to disease. This is called the doctrine of [skillful] means ... (The Eastern Buddhist, Vol. 4, No. 2, p. 121.)

(16) Other-power: “Invisible assistance -- provided by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of Healing -- can be a potent aid in this process [of elimination of greed, anger and delusion].  This assistance often is described as stemming from the force of their fundamental vows." (Raoul Birnbaum, The Healing Buddha, p. xv.) This power, is, of course, common to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

(17) See the following passage from D.T. Suzuki:
Jiriki (self-power) is the ... [wisdom] aspect of enlightenment and tariki (other-power) is the ... [Great Compassion] aspect of the same. By [wisdom] we transcend the principle of individuation, and by [Great Compassion] we descend into a world of particulars. The one goes upwards while the other comes downwards, but this is our intellectual way of understanding and interpreting enlightenment, in whose movement however there is no such twofold direction discernible. (The Eastern Buddhist, Vol. 3. No. 4, p. 314.)

(18) As a historical perspective, the roots of Pure Land go back to Ancient India, albeit the tradition was not emphasized there:
Although a cult dedicated to Amitabha Buddha worship did arise in India, piety toward this Buddha seems to have been merely one of many practices of early Mahayana Buddhism. (Elizabeth ten Grotenhuis, in Joji Okazaki, Pure Land Buddhist Painting, p. 14.)
When Mahayana Buddhism spread to China, however, Pure Land ideas found fertile ground for development. In the fourth century, the movement crystallized with the formation of the Lotus Society, founded by Master Hui Yuan (334-416),  the first Pure Land Patriarch. The school was formalized under the Patriarchs T'an Luan (Jap. Donran) and Shan Tao (Jap. Zendo). Master Shan Tao's teachings, in particular,  greatly influenced the development of Japanese Pure Land,  associated with Honen Shonin (Jodo school) and his disciple, Shinran Shonin (Jodo Shinshu school) in the 12th and 13th centuries.
Note: An early form of Buddha Recitation can be found in the Nikayas of the Pali Canon:
In the Nikayas, the Buddha ... advised his disciples to think of him and his virtues as if they saw his body before their eyes, whereby they would be enabled to accumulate merit and attain Nirvana or be saved from transmigrating in the evil paths ... (D.T. Suzuki, The Eastern Buddhist, Vol. 3, No. 4, p. 317.)

(19) See the following passage on Bodhisattva practice, taken from the well-known “Practices and Vows of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra”:
Because of living beings, they bring forth great compassion. From great compassion the Bodhi Mind is born; and because of the Bodhi Mind, they accomplish Supreme, Perfect Enlightenment. (Avatamsaka Sutra,  ch. 40.)

(20) The ordinary, deluded mind (thought) includes feelings,  impressions, conceptions, consciousness, etc. The Self-Nature True Mind is the fundamental nature, the Original Face,  reality, the Buddha Nature, etc. As an example, the Self-Nature True Mind is to the ordinary mind what water is to waves -- the two cannot be dissociated. They are the same but they are also different.

(21) See the following passage from D.T. Suzuki:
We observe that even the extremely devotional form of Buddhist life as revealed in the [Pure Land] begins in its last stage of "spiritual rest"... to approach the Zen type. Indeed here lies the unity of Buddhist experience throughout its varied expressions. (D.T. Suzuki, The Eastern Buddhist, Vol. 4, No. 2, p. 121.)

(22) The text of the Primal (Eighteenth) Vow is as follows:
If, after my obtaining Buddhahood, all beings in the ten quarters should  desire in sincerity and trustfulness to be born in my country, and if they should not be born by only thinking of me for ten times ... may I not attain the highest enlightenment. (Meditation Sutra, quoted by Elizabeth ten Grotenhuis, op. cit., p. 15.)

(23) On the related question of whether the Pure Land exists or is Mind-Only, see the words of the eminent Zen Master Chu Hung (16th century):
Some people say that the Pure Land is nothing but mind, that there is no Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss beyond the trillions of worlds of the cosmos.  This talk of mind-only has its source in the words of the sutras, and it is true, not false. But those who quote it in this sense are misunderstanding its meaning.
Mind equals object: there are no objects beyond mind. Objects equal mind: there is no mind beyond objects. Since objects are wholly mind,  why must we cling to mind and dismiss objects? Those who dismiss objects when they talk of mind have not comprehended mind. (J.C. Cleary, Pure Land, Pure Mind.)
Please note that understanding the dual nature of the Pure Land, as Mind-Only and as a separate entity, requires practice -- not intellectual reasoning.
In secular western thought awareness of psychological projection as a source of supernatural being has served to demythologize demons, goblins, angels and saints and rob them of their power. The Bardo Thodol [Tibetan Book of the Dead], however, speaks of the deities as  "projections" but never as "mere projections." The deities are present and must be dealt with religiously ... not just by intellectual insight.” (D.G. Dawe in The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions, p. 93.)

(24) This is clearly shown in the Avatamsaka Sutra, particularly chapter 26 which describes the last phases of practice of a Bodhisattva before final Buddhahood. In that chapter, it is taught that in each and every single stage, the actions of the Bodhisattva "never go beyond Nien Fo" [Buddha Recitation]:
This is a summary of the tenth stage of enlightening beings, called Cloud of Teaching ... Whatever acts they undertake, whether through giving, or kind speech, or beneficial action, or cooperation, it is all never apart from thoughts of Buddha [Buddha Recitation], the Teaching, the Community ... (Thomas Cleary, tr., The Flower Ornament Scripture, Vol. II, p. 111.)

(25) See the following passage:
The [Longer Amitabha Sutra] ... which was in existence before a.d. 200, describes a discourse offered by the Buddha Sakyamuni ... in response to questions of his disciple Ananda. Sakyamuni tells the story of the Bodhisattva Dharmakara, who had for eons past been deeply moved by the suffering of sentient beings and who had determined to establish a Land of Bliss where all beings could experience emancipation from their pain ... In the presence of the eighty-first Buddha of the past, Lokesvararaja, Dharmakara made forty-eight vows relating to this Paradise, and promised that he would not accept enlightenment if he could not achieve his goals ... When, after countless ages, Dharmakara achieved enlightenment and became a Buddha, the conditions of his [18th] vow were fulfilled: he became the Lord of Sukhavati, the Western Paradise, where the faithful will be reborn in bliss, there to progress through stages of increasing awareness until they finally achieve enlightenment. (Elizabeth ten Grotenhuis, in Joji Okazaki, Pure Land Buddhist Painting, p. 14-15.)

(26) The life story of the Venerable Angulimala is one of the most moving accounts in the Theravada canon. After killing ninety-nine persons, Angulimala was converted by the Buddha, repented his evil ways and joined the Order:
One day as he went on his round for alms he saw a woman in labor.
Moved by compassion, he reported this pathetic woman's suffering to the Buddha. He then advised him to pronounce the following words of truth, which later became known as the Angulimala Paritta (Mantra) ...
"Sister, since my birth in the Arya clan [i,e., since my ordination] I know not that I consciously destroyed the life of any living being. By this truth may you be whole and may your child be whole."
He went to the presence of the suffering sister ... and uttered these words. Instantly, she delivered the child with ease. (Narada Maha Thera, The Buddha and His Teaching, p. 124.)

(27) Faith is an important element in all Buddhist traditions,  but it is particularly so in Pure Land. See the following  passage from the Avatamsaka Sutra:
Faith is the basis of the path, the mother of virtues, Nourishing and growing all good ways ... Faith can increase knowledge and virtue; Faith can assure arrival at enlightenment. (Thomas Cleary, tr. The Flower Ornament Scripture, vol.1, p. 331.)

(28) The pervasiveness of Pure Land teaching is such that its main practice, Buddha Recitation, is found in both the Esoteric and Zen schools. In Pure Land, Buddha Recitation is practiced for the purpose of achieving rebirth in the Land of Amitabha Buddha. In the Esoteric school, the aim is to destroy evil karma and afflictions, obtain protection against demons and generate blessings and wisdom in the current lifetime. In Zen, the koan of Buddha Recitation is meant to sever delusive thought and realize the Self-Nature True Mind. The ultimate goal of all three schools is, of course, the same: to achieve Enlightenment and Buddhahood.

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.

About the Author

Elder Master Han-Shan Te-Ch'ing (1546-1623) was one of the three "dragon-elephants," or most illustrious monks, during the final years of the Ming dynasty -- "an age of corruption, internal oppression and external weakness" (Sung-peng Hsu).

Originally trained in the Zen and Sutra Studies schools, he came to excel in other traditions as well, achieving great renown as a teacher and exponent of the Avatamsaka Sutra. He is particularly credited with reviving the Zen school in China.

Born to a humble family, he came to mingle with the greatest political figures of China through his acquaintance with the Empress Dowager. This master/disciple relationship led to his imprisonment, banishment and laicization. Only toward the end of his life was he rehabilitated.

In the following excerpts from his sermons and writings, Master Han-Shan recommends the dual practice of Pure Land and Zen, emphasizing self-cultivation and personal effort. Readers unfamiliar with the Pure Land school are referred to Appendix I for an overview of Pure Land teachings.

Minh Thanh & P.D. Leigh, editors
Van Hien Study Group
Rye Brook: May 1993

related post:  Introduction （Pure Land Of The Patriarchs)

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.