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.

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(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
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(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.