Editors' Glossary

Amitabha (Amida, Amita, Amitayus). 
Amitabha is the most commonly used name for the Buddha of Infinite Light and Infinite Life. A transhistorical Buddha venerated by all Mahayana schools (Tien T'ai, Esoteric, Zen ..) and, particularly, Pure Land. Presides over the Western Pure Land (Land of Ultimate Bliss), where anyone can be reborn with ten utterly sincere recitations of His name at the time of death.

Amitabha Buddha at the highest or noumenon level represents the Mind of the Buddhas and sentient beings, all-encompassing and all-inclusive. This deeper understanding provides the rationale for the harmonization of Zen and Pure Land, two popular schools of Mahayana Buddhism.

Avatamsaka Sutra. 
The basic text of the Avatamsaka School. It is one of the longest sutras in the Buddhist Canon and records the highest teaching of Buddha Sakyamuni, immediately after Enlightenment. It is traditionally believed that the Sutra was taught to the Bodhisattvas and other high spiritual beings while the Buddha was in samadhi. The Sutra has been described as the epitome of Buddhist thought, Buddhist sentiment and Buddhist experience and is quoted by all schools of Mahayana Buddhism, in particular, Pure Land and Zen.

Awakening of the Faith (Treatise). 
A major commentary by the Patriarch Asvaghosha (1st/2nd cent.), which presents the fundamental principles of Mahayana Buddhism. Several translations exist in English.

The text deals with the doctrine of One Mind ... and the idea of the two aspects of One Mind: the absolute, or noumenal, and the relative, or phenomenal. (Sung-peng Hsu.)

Buddha Recitation. 
General term for a number of practices, such as oral recitation of Amitabha Buddha's name and visualization or contemplation of His auspicious marks and those of the Pure Land. When used in a broad sense, it also includes such sundry practices as cultivating the Ten Great Vows of Samantabhadra, building temples and reciting sutras.

Reciting the buddha-name proceeds from the mind. The mind remembers Buddha and does not forget. That's why it is called buddha remembrance, or reciting the buddha-name mindfully. (Cited in J.C.Cleary, Pure Land, Pure Mind.)

Conditioned (compounded). 
Describes all the various phenomena in the world -- made up of separate, discrete elements, with no intrinsic nature of their own. Conditioned merits and virtues, for example, are subject to Birth and Death, whereas unconditioned merits and virtues are beyond Birth and Death. See also "Unconditioned."

Demons. 
Evil influences which hinder cultivation. These can take an infinite number of forms, including evil beings or hallucinations. The three poisons of greed, anger and delusion are also equated to demons, as they disturb the mind. See the following passage:

Thus, when you are practicing Zen, all thoughts other than the method [koan] should be considered as demons, even if it feels like you have entered a “heavenly’ state. Some people, as they are sitting, may suddenly enter a completely new world which is very beautiful and comfortable. Afterwards, they want to return to it in each meditation. They may be able to get into that state again, but nonetheless it is an attachment. There are also other states that are terrifying. Such visions, good and bad, are generally manifestations of our own mental realms. (Master Sheng-Yen.)

The Self-Nature has been described in Mahayana sutras as a house full of gold and jewelry. To preserve the riches, i.e., to keep the mind calm, empty and still, we should shut the doors to the three thieves of greed, anger and delusion. Letting the mind move opens the house to "demons," that is, hallucinations and harm. Thus, Zen practitioners are taught that, while in meditation, “Encountering demons, kill the demons, encountering Buddhas, kill the Buddhas.” Both demons and Buddhas are mind-made, Mind-Only.

Even if a buddha or bodhisattva should suddenly appear before you, there's no need for reverence. This mind of ours is empty and contains no such form. Those who hold onto appearances are devils. They fall from the path. Why worship illusions born of the mind? Those who worship don't know, and those who know don't worship. By worshipping you come under the spell of devils ... At the appearance of spirits, demons, or divine beings, conceive neither respect nor fear. Your mind is basically empty. All appearances are illusions. Don't hold on to appearances. (The Patriarch Bodhidharma.)

For a detailed discussion of demons, see Master Thich Thién Tam, Buddhism of Wisdom and Faith, sect. 51, p.204ff.

Dharma. 
a) Duty, law, doctrinc. 
b) Things, events, phenomena, everything.
c) The teachings of the Buddhas (generally capitalized in English).

Dharma-Ending Age, Degenerate Age. 
The present spiritually degenerate era.

The concept of decline, dissension and schism within the Dharma after the passing of Buddha Sakyamuni is a general teaching of Buddhism and a corollary to the Truth of impermanence. See, for example, the Diamond Sutra (sect. 6 in the translation by A.F. Price and Wong Mou-lam).

The modern reader, unfamiliar with the concept of the Dharma-Ending Age may wish to recall the famous story of Hui K'o, the second Chinese Patriarch of Zen, who, according to tradition, knelt in the snow behind Bodhidharma for a whole night before being accepted as a disciple. Contrast this with the contemporary situation when even the holiest of all Buddhist holidays, Vesak (Birthday of Sakyamuni Buddha), must be held on the week-end to ensure adequate attendance.

Dharma Realm (Cosmos, Dharmadhatu, realm of reality, realm of truth). 
The term has several meanings in the sutras: 
i) the nature or essence of all things, 
ii) the infinite universe, consisting of worlds upon worlds ad infinitum; 
iii) the Mind.


Emptiness (Void, Sunyata). 
Connotes “first, Void in the sense of antithesis of being; second, the state of being ‘devoid’ of specific character, third, Void in the highest sense, or Transcendental Void, 1e., all oppositions synthesized ...; and fourth, the Absolute Void or the Unconditioned." (Vergilius Ferm, ed. An Encyclopedia of Religion).

Contrasted with "hollow emptiness," or "stubborn emptiness,” which is one-sided and leads to nihilism (the belief that nothing exists after death). Thus, we have the Mahayana expression, "True Emptiness, Wonderful Existence." True Emptiness is not empty!

Evil Paths. 
Hells, hungry ghosts, animality.

Expedient means (Skillful means, Skill-in-means).
Refers to strategies, methods, devices, targetted to the capacities, circumstances, likes and dislikes of each sentient being, so as to rescue him and lead him to enlightenment. "Thus, all particular formulations of the Teaching are just provisional expedients to communicate the Truth (Dharma) in specific contexts." (J.C. Cleary). "The Buddha's words were medicines for a given sickness at a given time,” always infinitely adaptable to the conditions of the audience.

Good Spiritual Advisor. 
Guru, virtuous friend, wise person, Bodhisattva, Buddha -- anyone who can help the practitioner progress along the path to Enlightenment. This notwithstanding, wisdom should be the primary factor in the selection of such an advisor: the advisor must have wisdom, and both advisor and practitioner must exercise wisdom in selecting one another.

Lotus Grades. 
Refer allegorically to nine possible degrees of rebirth in the Pure Land. The more merits and virtues the practitioner accumulates, the higher the grade. The highest grade is achieved by cultivators who have attained samadhi.

Lotus Sutra. 
A major Buddhist text and one of the most widely read sutras in the present day.

One of the earliest and most richly descriptive of the Mahayana sutras of Indian origin. It became important for the shaping of the Buddhist tradition in East Asia, in particular because of its teaching of the One Vehicle under which is subsumed the usual Hinayana [Theravada] and Mahayana divisions. It is the main text of the Tendai [T'ien T'ai] school. (Joji Okazaki).

This School has a historically close relationship with the Pure Land School, so much so that Elder Master T'ai Hsu taught that the Lotus Sutra is the Longer Amitabha Sutra in expanded form, while the Longer Amitabha Sutra is a summary of the Lotus Sutra.

Mahasthamaprapta
One of the Three Pure Land Sages, along with Amitabha Buddha and the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Kuan Yin). Literally, “one who has gained great power.”

Maitreya
The future Buddha of this Saha World. One of the few transhistorical Buddhas (i.c., Buddhas with no basis in human history) recognized by the Theravada School.

Manjusri
The Bodhisattva who represents the Ultimate Wisdom of the Buddhas. (The Elder Sariputra exemplifies the wisdom of the Arhats.) See also "Sariputra."


Meditation Sutra
See "Three Pure Land Sutras" and "Vaidehi.”

Middle Way (Madhyamika)
The way between and above all extremes, such as hedonism or ascetism, existence or emptiness, eternalism or nihilism, samsara or Nirvana, etc. The Middle Way is a basic tenet of Buddhism. See also “Nagarjuna.”

Mind
Key concept in all Buddhist teaching.

Frequent term in Zen, used in two senses: (1) the mind-ground, the One Mind ... the buddha-mind, the mind of thusness ... (2) false mind, the ordinary mind dominated by conditioning, desire, aversion, ignorance, and false sense of self, the mind of delusion ... (J.C. Cleary, A Buddha from Korea.)

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

Nagarjuna (2nd/3rd cent.) 
“One of the most important philosophers of Buddhism and the founder of the Madhyamika school. Nagarjuna's major accomplishment was his systematization ... of the teaching presented in the Prajnaparamita Sutras. Nagarjuna's methodological approach of rejecting all opposites is the basis of the Middle Way ..." (Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen.) See also "Middle Way."

Nihilism
The belief that everything disappears upon death. Nothing remains, not body or mind, good or bad karma, and there is no rebirth.

Pure Land 
Generic term for the realms of the Buddhas. In this text it denotes the Land of Ultimate Bliss or Western Land of Amitabha Buddha, It is “a paradise realm of the spirit world" (Raoul Birnbaum), an ideal place of cultivation, beyond the Triple Realm and samsara, where those who are reborn are no longer subject to retrogression. This is the key distinction between the Western Pure Land and such realms as the Tusita Heaven. There are two conceptions of the Pure Land: as different and apart from the Saha World and as one with and the same as the Saha World. When the mind is pure and undefiled, any land or environment becomes a pure land (Vimalakirti, Lotus, Avatamsaka Sutras ...). At the noumenal level, everything, the Pure Land included, is Mind-Only, a product of the mind. See also "Triple Realm."

Pure Land Sutras
See "Three Pure Land Sutras."

Saha World
World of Endurance. Refers to this world of ours, filled with suffering and afflictions, yet gladly endured by its inhabitants.

Samadhi
Meditative absorption. "Usually denotes the particular final stage of pure concentration." There are many degrees and types of samadhi (Buddha Remembrance, Ocean Seal ...)

Samantabhadra
Also called Universal Worthy or, in Japanese, Fugen. A major Bodhisattva, who personifies the transcendental practices and vows of the Buddhas (as compared to the Bodhisattva Manjusri, who represents transcendental wisdom). Usually depicted seated on an elephant with six tusks (six paramitas). Best known for his "Ten Great Vows."

Sudhana
The main protagonist in the next-to-last and longest chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra. Seeking Enlightenment, he visited and studied with fifty-three spiritual advisors and became the equal of the Buddhas in one lifetime. When he was born, myriad treasures suddenly appeared in his father's home. Thus the name "Sudhana" or "Good Wealth."

Ten Great Vows
The famous vows of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra in the Avatamsaka Sutra. These vows represent the quintessence of this Sutra and are the basis of all Mahayana practice. Studying the Vows and putting them into practice is tantamount to studying the Avatamsaka Sutra and practicing its teachings. See also "Samantabhadra."

Third Lifetime
In the first lifetime, the practitioner engages in mundane good deeds which bring ephemeral worldly blessings (wealth, power, authority, etc.) in the second lifetime. Since power tends to corrupt, he is likely to create evil karma, resulting in retribution in the third lifetime. Thus, good deeds in the first lifetime are potential "enemies" of the third lifetime.

To ensure that mundane good deeds do not become "enemies," the practitioner should dedicate all merits to a transcendental goal, i.e., to become Bodhisattvas or Buddhas or, in popular Pure Land teaching, to achieve rebirth in the Pure Land -- a Buddha land beyond Birth and Death.

Three Pure Land Sutras
Pure Land Buddhism is based on three basic texts:
a) Amitabha Sutra (or Shorter Amitabha Sutra, or Smaller Sukhavati-Vyuha, or the Sutra of Amida);
b) Longer Amitabha Sutra (or Larger Sukhavati-Vyuha, or the Teaching of Infinite Life);
c) Meditation Sutra (or the Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life, or the Amitayur Dyana Sutra).

Sometimes the last chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra ("The Practices and Vows of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra") is considered the fourth basic sutra of the Pure Land tradition.

Triple Realm (Three Realms, Three Worlds). 
The realms of desire (our world), form (realms of the lesser deities) and formlessness (realms of the higher deities). The Western Pure Land is outside the Triple Realm, beyond samsara and retrogression. See also "Pure Land."

Unconditioned (Transcendental)
Anything free of the three marks of greed, anger and delusion. See also "Conditioned."

Vaidehi
The Queen of King Bimbisara of Magadha. It was in response to her entreaties that Buddha Sakyamuni preached the Meditation Sutra, which teaches a series of sixteen visualizations (of Amitabha Buddha, the Pure Land ...) leading to rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Yung Ming
A well-known Sung Dynasty Zen Master (904-975). He was most influential in fostering the harmonization of Zen and Pure Land practice.

Source Of Information:
《Pure Land of The Patriarchs》, Zen Master Han-Shan Te-Ch'ing, translated by Dharma Master Lok To,  March 2001 edition, distributed by: Persatuan Penganut Agama Buddha Amitabha Malaysia, 90 & 92, Jalan Pahang, Gombak, 53000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.)
*** The information provided above does not contain personal opinion of this blog.

Appendix II: The Youth Sudhana Meets his First Teacher (Avatamsaka Sutra, ch. 39)

 The Avatamsaka Sutra, the basic text of the Avatamsaka School, is one of the longest sutras in the Buddhist Canon and records the highest teaching of Buddha Sakyamuni, immediately after Enlightenment. It is traditionally believed that the Sutra was taught to the Bodhisattvas and other high spiritual beings while the Buddha was in samadhi. The Sutra has been described as the epitome of Buddhist thought, Buddhist sentiment and Buddhist experience and is quoted by all schools of Mahayana Buddhism, in particular, Pure Land and Zen.

The main protagonist in the next-to-last and longest chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra is the youth Sudhana. Seeking Enlightenment, he visited and studied with fifty-three spiritual advisors and became the equal of the Buddhas in one lifetime. When he was born, myriad treasures suddenly appeared in his father's home. Thus the name "Sudhana" or "Good Wealth.

Below are excerpts from the Flower Adornment Sutra [Avatamsaka Sutra], ch. 39, Part II, p. 1ff. (Translation by Master Hsuan Hua.)

        ◉◉◉◉◉

At that time, Manjusri Bodhisattva, after speaking the verses, told Sudhana, “Good indeed! Good Indeed! Good man. You have already brought forth the resolve for Supreme Enlightenment to seek the conduct of a Bodhisattva. Good man, if sentient beings can bring forth the resolve for Supreme Enlightenment, this is a difficult thing indeed. Moreover upon bringing forth the resolve, if they further wish to seek the Bodhisattva conduct, this is twice as hard.

“Good man, if one wishes to accomplish the wisdom of all wisdom, then one must decisively seek a true good knowing [spiritual] advisor. Good man, in seeking for a good knowing advisor, do not become weary or lax. And upon seeing a good knowing advisor, do not become satiated. As to a good knowing advisor and all his teachings, you must follow and accord. As to expedient devices employed by a good knowing advisor, do not find faults.

"Good man, south of here is a kingdom called Supreme Bliss. Within that kingdom is a mountain called Wonderful Summit, and on that mountain is a Bhiksu named Cloud of Virtue.

"Go to where he is and ask him how a Bodhisattva studies the Bodhisattva conduct, how a Bodhisattva cultivates the Bodhisattva conduct, up to and including how a Bodhisattva can swiftly perfect the conducts of Samantabhadra. The Bhikshu Cloud of Virtue will explain all of this to you."

At that time upon hearing this, the youth Sudhana was overjoyed. He bowed at [Manjusri's] feet, circumambulated him countless times, and gazed up at him with longing admiration. He sorrowfully wept. Bidding farewell, he took his leave and went south.

He went towards the kingdom of Supreme Bliss, and ascended Wonderful Summit Mountain. To the east, west, south, north, the four intermediate directions, above and below, he looked around and sought with thirsty aspirations, wishing to see the Bhikshu Cloud of Virtue. After seven days, he saw the Bhikshu on another mountain, leisurely taking a stroll.(29) Upon seeing this, he went to bow at his feet, ircumambulated him three times to the right and then stopped before him and said,

"Sagely One, I have already brought forth the resolve tor Supreme Enlightenment, but I do not know yet how a Bodhisattva studies the Bodhisattva conduct, how he cultivates the Bodhisattva conduct up to and including how he can swiftly perfect the conduct of Samantabhadra. I heard that the Sagely One is skilled at guiding and teaching. I only hope you will compassionately proclaim how it is that a Bodhisattva accomplishes Supreme Enlightenment."

At that time the Bhikshu Cloud of Virtue told Sudhana, "Good indeed! Good indeed! Good man, you have already brought forth the resolve for Supreme Enlightenment. Moreover you can inquire about the Bodhisattva conduct. To do such a thing is difficult within the difficult ...

"Good man, I have only obtained this Dharma-door of Recollecting All the Buddhas' States of Wisdom Light and Universal Vision [i.e., mindfulness of the Buddha or Buddha Recitation]. But how could I possibly know the doors of the conduct of all great Bodhisattvas' boundless, pure wisdom? ...

"There is the Door of Causing all Beings to be Mindful of the Buddha whereby one accords with what pleases living beings' minds and causes them to obtain purity from seeing the Buddhas ... There is the Door of Mindfulness of the Buddha of Dwelling throughout All Times, whereby in every time, one always sees the Thus Come Ones, draws near to them, without leaving them ... There is the Door of Mindfulness of the Buddha of Dwelling in Subtlety, whereby on a single hairtip ineffable Thus Come Ones appear, and one can go to all their places and serve them ... There is the Door of Mindfulness of the Buddha of Dwelling in the Comfortable Mind ...(30)

"And how can I possibly know or speak of such conduct of merit and virtue?

"Good man, south of here is a kingdom called Gate of the Sea, there is a Bhikshu known as Sea Cloud. Go to where he is and ask him how a Bodhisattva studies the Bodhisattva conduct, and how he cultivates the Bodhisattva path. The Bhikshu Sea Cloud can speak discriminately the causal conditions of bringing forth vast, great good roots ...

At that time the youth Sudhana bowed to the Bhikshu Cloud of Virtue, circumbulated him to the right, gazed up at him, bade farewell and took his leave.

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(29) See Master Hsuan Hua's explanation:

The Bhikshu was slowly taking a walk. Here the seven days refer to the seven limbs of enlightenment. The Bhikshu is leisurely taking a stroll. Leisurely refers to "stopping" (samatha); while strolling refers to “contemplation” (vipasyana). The Bhikshu dwells neither in confused thought nor does he linger in quiescence. He is cultivating the Pratyutpanna Samadhi in which the Buddhas of the ten directions are clearly revealed before one's eyes.

(30) Important point: everything is made from the mind.

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

related post: Appendix II: The Youth Sudhana Meets his First Teacher (Avatamsaka Sutra, ch. 39)
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(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.