Claim OwnershipPure Land Buddhism in English
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Pure Land Buddhism under the lineage of Master Shandao, the de-factor founder of Pure Land Buddhism.
100 Episodes
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The Land of Ultimate Bliss beings to whom? TO US! Right! TheLand of Ultimate Bliss belongs to me, to us, to the sentient beings in the ten directions. It belongs to everyone. The Land of Ultimate Bliss is so solemn and wonderful and Amitabha Buddha has made it registered under our name. So, shouldwe go back? YES! It belongs to you, why not take it? Why not to be reborn if you can? It is mercy on you, don’t make people laugh at you, don’t make troubles. You may upset the Yama. So, you do need rebirth, you deserve it.
Think about it, if we are in the Three Realms, can we becomeBuddhas quickly? You are always encircling there, repeating without stopping. When you are in the Human path, you find a teacher with hardship and start to learn Buddhism. But if you don’t encounter the 18th vow, and if you can’t escape from the reincarnation, you will still stay in the cycle ofreincarnation. Maybe with your diligent cultivation you can go up to be aheavenly being, but after tens of thousands kalpas you may fall and become a human, a pig, a horse, a cow or goat again, or become the hell being, hungry ghost or other animal. Once you fall into hell, you have to wait for many kalpas to be human again, probably you are blind, deaf dumb. It is endless.
When Bhikku Dharmakara made his vows, he said, “On my attainment of the Buddha Path, my name is heard far-surpassing the Lands in the ten directions. If there arethose who do not hear it, I vow not to accomplish the Proper Enlightenment.”When he achieves Buddhahood, although the attainment he achieved is equal with other Buddhas, his light, spiritual power and power generated from cultivation is equal with other Buddhas. This Buddha’s name that he accomplished surpassed all Buddhas in the ten directions. Amitabha Buddha is a Buddha who saves ... ...
We talk about equality, for example, human rights equality.Where can you get equality? Only when you arrive at the Land of Ultimate Bliss.You are given the equality of rights when you were born by Amitabha Buddha. How can you get equality? If you were born in a poor family while others we born in rich families. You won’t have the same pleasures. Right? You can’t get theequality, because you don’t have the same starting line. When we talk about starting line, the first one is when you were born. We were different once we were born, so can we have the same starting line? Even we try to create equalityof opportunity and equality of environment, it is actually difficult to achieve. But it is different when we are in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Beings in the Land of Ultimate Bliss are born from the lotus. So, the live of the Buddha-reciters are born from the lotus.
The reason why Buddhism is considered as greatlycompassionate is because of the 18th vow. Without the 18th vow, is there great compassion? No! Without the 18th vow, there is no great compassion. The great compassion is just a saying – Namo Amitabha Buddha who has great compassion. The great compassion implies that we are pitiful. We have recited “great compassion” many times, but in our heart, we have not felt any compassion of the Buddha.
In Buddhism, the practice of other dharma schools to achievea level which allows one to break the cycle of birth and death is very difficult. Ancient prominent monastics said: “The aspiration of sentient beings to attain Buddhahood is more difficult than lifting the great chiliocosm.” However, forPure Land school, the conditions for rebirth in the Pure Land are so easy.Relying totally on the power of Amitabha Buddha’s vow, the understanding of profound doctrines and cultivation of the various arduous practices are not required. Sitting in meditation, the chanting of mantra and other practices arealso not necessary. Just by reciting Namo Amituofo, one ... ... ...
As the power of Amitabha Buddha’s vows and deliverance is the greatest and the method of deliverance the most convenient, therefore, Amitabha Buddha is acclaimed by all Buddhas as the “ King of Buddhas.” The Buddha Land that isbuilt by Amitabha Buddha is known as the “Land of Bliss”. The Land of Bliss is a world of magnificence, wonder and utmost joy. As mentioned in the Sutra, the Land of Bliss is vast, exquisite, boundless, with ground laid in gold. Palacesand pavilions adorned with gold, silver, beryl, tridacna and agate can be seen everywhere. Everything there naturally emits light. There is no night ordarkness.
In the novel “Journey to the West”, the Tang monk alwayssaid, Amituofo. In the drama “Ji Gong”, the tune “Namo Amituofo, is a light-hearted tune that hardly anyone cannot hum to. On the enclosing walls of most temples, the words “Namo Amituofo” are uniformly seen. The first wordsused by Buddhist when they meet are always Amituofo. Even for non-Buddhists, when escaping from dangers and calamities, or when lamenting upon worldly affairs, they would often involuntarily utter “Namo Amituofo.” When people think of Buddhism, Namo Amituofo are probably the first words that come to mind. Conversely, when people hear Namo Amituofo, it naturally reminds them of Buddhism. Namo Amituofo can be said to represent the entire Buddhism. Then, where does Namo Amituofo come from?
In the sutra, Buddha said: reciting “Namo Amituofo” caneliminate evil karma that would bind us to birth and death for eighty billion of kalpas Eighty billion kalpas! Can you imagine how long is one Maha Kalpa? The length of the time is simply immeasurable! When you recite Namo Amituofo name just once,eighty billion kalpas of sins are eliminated!
Why is the practice of Amitabha-recitation so easy? It is because “anyone who has faith, aspires to be reborn [in the Land of Bliss], and simply recites his name - up to a lifetime’s recitation, or ten recitations, or even just one - will be rebornthere.” Isn’t that easy to do? Everyone can do it. If you can speak, you can recite the name of the Buddha. Even a mute can recite “Namo Amituofo” with sign language.The power of Amituofo's vows and practice in hiscasual ground - the yuan - is in the name. So, ... ... ...
There is a passage from Master Shandao’s In Praise of the Rite of Rebirth that shows that the name of Amituofo surpasses those of other Buddhas. The passage goeslike this: All Buddhas’ attainments are the same. However, they differ in the vows they make and the practices they cultivate in their causal grounds, according to the different causes and the yuan (conducive circumstances) theyare destined for. Amitabha Buddha made a profound, weighty vow to embrace all beings of the ten directions with his light and transform them with his name.
“Believers will always believe, and non-believers will neverbelieve.” The stronger our faith in the deliverance of Amitabha Buddha and the greater our efforts to propagate it, the more profoundly we will experience thetruth of this old saying.When a tiger sees a cow eating grass, it still does notbelieve. “How can that cow fill its hunger by eating such trifles? How can any animal survive without eating meat?”
Great Master Hongyi has a saying which I found it to be verygood. He said. “I am different in handling matters as compare to others, I do not seek for success but only failure.” Think about it, having this mentality, would be say “Mayeverything go along with my wishes”? He would be very humble. He would say. “I ‘m not qualified to handle matters successfully. Failure is something I deserve.
Afflictions are like boat and arrogance are like water. Theboat of affliction floats on the water of arrogance. The greater the arrogance, the greater the afflictions would be. When the river rises, the boat floats high, Isn’t it?
A gentle and yielding heart is the foundation of all good deeds and kind words.It is also the beginning of a person’s spiritual and emotional progress. To become more yielding and gentler is the fundamental change in the disposition of Amitabha-reciters, and the most natural benefits experienced byAmitabha-reciters.
In the face of death, amidst worldly things, all are sofrail and vulnerable. When death comes, beloved ones, husband and wife, will eventually be separated. All fame and fortune, status, will disappear too. And in the end, we are left to face the painful death alone. As an old saying mentioned, Despite loving kindness from our parents, there will be aday we part ways. Life is like birds living in the same forest, going separateways near the end of life.
When disaster strikes, facing the power of mother nature, wediscovered that human beings are really tiny and nsignificant. This world is full of uncertainty, which makes us panicky and fearful. Only when facing with diseases and disasters alone, we realise what we have possessed, is powerless and meaningless. Regardless of our assets worth or social status, when facing diseases and illnesses, everyone is equal. Impermanence applies to everyone.
The ease of the easy path lies in putting ourselves and ourheavy load on the boat. Relying on the power of the boat, that is the other-power, thus the journey is relaxing, efficient and steady. The Pure Land practice is about reliance on thepower of Amitabha Buddha from the beginning till the end.
As we all know, there are 84,000 schools of Dharma practicein Buddhism. Some people will ask, among the many Dharma schools, is there a school that allows one to easily and steadily be liberated and attain Buddhahood in this present lifetime?
When you recite Amitabha. “Namo Amitabha Buddha is the sharp sword. When we recite once, all our offences are eradicated.” When you recite the Buddha’s name, Hisname would break you out of the “spider web”, making your mind simple and pure.Gathering us in His light without forsaking us, when we leave, it will be smooth and we would be elevated.
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