安樂集

A Collection on Peace and Bliss

The entire contents of A Collection on Peace and Bliss comprise twelve chapters, all citing sutras and treatises as evidence to encourage people to arouse faith, make vows, and seek rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Chapter One

1. The Reason for Establishing the Teaching

This concerns the time and the capacities appropriate for practitioners of the Pure Land teaching. Whatever one undertakes, if it accords with the conditions of the time, it will be easy to accomplish. If a teaching accords with the conditions of the time, practitioners will find it easier to cultivate and attain awakening.

Conversely, cultivation and realization will be difficult. Therefore, the Sutra of Mindfulness of the True Dharma says: “When practitioners single-mindedly seek the Way, they must discern the proper time and skillful means. If the time is not right and there are no appropriate skillful means, all benefit will be lost.” Why is this so?

If one uses wet wood to kindle a fire, the fire cannot burn because the time is not right. If one strikes dry wood in search of water, no water can be obtained. Those who do not know how to act according to the proper time are without wisdom.

The Great Collection Sutra of the Moon Treasury says: “The Buddha left this instruction: During the first five hundred years after my nirvana, my disciples will be steadfast in the cultivation of wisdom; during the second five hundred years, they will be steadfast in the cultivation of concentration; during the third five hundred years, they will be steadfast in extensive learning, reading, and recitation; during the fourth five hundred years, they will be steadfast in erecting stupas and images, cultivating merit, and practicing repentance;

during the fifth five hundred years, worldly teachings will obstruct the Dharma, most people will devote themselves to contention, and only minor good deeds will remain firmly established.” The Great Collection Sutra of the Moon Treasury also says: “When Buddhas appear in the world, they employ four methods to liberate sentient beings: 1—They personally expound the twelve divisions of the scriptures, liberating beings through the gift of the Dharma. 2—The Buddhas possess immeasurable excellent marks and radiance; all sentient beings who merely direct their minds to contemplate them receive benefit.

This is liberation through bodily action. 3—They possess immeasurable virtuous functions, spiritual powers, the power of the Way, and all manner of transformations. This is liberation of sentient beings through spiritual powers. 4—The Buddha-Tathagatas possess immeasurable names, whether shared titles or individual names. Any sentient beings who concentrate their minds and invoke these names can remove their hindrances, receive benefit, and be born in the presence of a Buddha.

This is liberation of sentient beings through the names.” By now, more than two thousand years have passed since the Buddha’s time. This is precisely the time for repentance and the cultivation of merit, and the time when it is necessary to invoke the Buddha’s name. Those who single-mindedly invoke the name of Amitabha Buddha can eliminate the grave offenses of birth and death accumulated throughout eight billion kalpas.

If even a single thought can accomplish this, how much more so for practitioners who remain constantly mindful and continually repent? Thus, during the two thousand years following the Buddha’s nirvana, practitioners in the earlier period regarded the cultivation of concentration and wisdom as their principal study. After two thousand years, however, beings are far removed from the Buddha; therefore, upholding the Name should be regarded as the principal practice and principal study.

Why? In truth, because sentient beings are far removed from the Buddha, their capacities and understanding are shallow and dull. Therefore, Vaidehi, a great being who compassionately regarded sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age of the five turbidities, wandering through samsara for many kalpas and enduring manifold sufferings, used the circumstances of her suffering to open a path of supplication, so that the Buddha, moved by compassion, would exhort beings to seek the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

If one wishes to remain in this world, sever delusions, realize the truth, and advance to buddhahood, the ascent is exceedingly difficult. Only the Pure Land Dharma-gate enables one to proceed directly by “using a thorn to remove a thorn.” For those who wish to understand clearly, the sutras contain extensive teachings, whose true and explicit words aid cultivation. Those who wish to end the cycle of birth and death and its unceasing transmigration must single-mindedly praise and invoke the Buddha of Infinite Life.

2. The Rules for Teaching and Listening According to the Mahayana Sutras

The Great Collection Sutra says: “One should regard the Dharma teacher as a king of physicians and as one who rescues beings from suffering. One should regard the Dharma taught as amrita and as the finest clarified essence. Those who hear the Dharma should think that their supreme understanding is increasing and that their illness is being cured. If both teacher and listener maintain such perceptions, they can perpetuate and cause the Buddha’s lineage to flourish, and they will always be born in the presence of a Buddha.”

The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom says: Listeners should be like thirsty people receiving drink. They should single-mindedly penetrate the meaning and words, and their minds should be vigorous and joyful upon hearing the Dharma. The Dharma should be taught to people such as these.

Two kinds of people obtain immeasurable and boundless merit: 1—Those who delight in teaching the Dharma. 2—Those who delight in hearing the Dharma. Therefore, Ananda asked the Buddha: “Why are Venerable Sariputra and Venerable Maudgalyayana called foremost respectively in wisdom and spiritual powers, and the Buddha’s most excellent disciples?” The Buddha told Ananda: “When cultivating the causes in former lives, these two would travel a thousand miles for the causes and conditions of teaching the Dharma, heedless of hardship and fatigue.

Therefore, today they have obtained exceedingly excellent fruits.”

The Sutra of Infinite Life says: Those without roots of goodness cannot hear this sutra. Only the pure and those who uphold the precepts can hear the true Dharma. Only those who have formerly seen the World-Honored One can believe this matter; having served hundreds of millions of Tathagatas, they delight in hearing such teachings.

The Sutra of the Explanation of Infinite Purity says: When good men and good women hear the Pure Land Dharma-gate taught and joy arises in their hearts, so that all the hairs on their bodies stand on end as though being pulled out, one should know that they cultivated the Buddha Way in past lives. If people hear the Pure Land Dharma-gate explained yet do not give rise to faith, one should know that they have only recently emerged from the three evil realms and that the retribution of their calamities has not yet been exhausted; therefore, they lack faith. I say that such people cannot attain liberation. Thus, the Sutra of Infinite Life says: “Those who are arrogant, obstructed, and indolent find it difficult to believe this Dharma.”

3. Understanding, According to the Mahayana Scriptural Teachings, How Long Sentient Beings Have Aroused the Aspiration and How Many Offerings They Have Made

The Nirvana Sutra says: The Buddha told Bodhisattva Kasyapa: “Sentient beings who have aroused bodhicitta in the presence of Buddhas as numerous as the sands of half the Ganges will later, in an evil age, hear the Mahayana scriptures without slandering them. Sentient beings who have aroused bodhicitta in the presence of Buddhas as numerous as the sands of one Ganges will later be able to hear the sutras in an evil age, refrain from slandering them, and give rise to joyful delight.

Sentient beings who have aroused bodhicitta in the presence of Buddhas as numerous as the sands of two Ganges will later, in an evil age, refrain from disparaging this Pure Land Dharma-gate, clearly understand it, believe in and delight in it, accept and uphold it, and read and recite it. Those who have aroused bodhicitta in the presence of Buddhas as numerous as the sands of three Ganges will later, in an evil age, refrain from disparaging this method and will transcribe the scriptures; although they explain them to others, they will not yet understand their profound meaning.” Why is this so?

This comparison is necessary to reveal that those now sitting beneath the Dharma seat and hearing the sutra have previously aroused the aspiration and made offerings to many Buddhas. It also reveals the inconceivable awe-inspiring power of the Mahayana sutras. Therefore, the sutra says: “If sentient beings hear this scripture, they will not fall into the evil realms for hundreds of thousands of millions of kalpas.” Why?

Wherever this scripture circulates, one should know that the ground there is vajra and that all the people there are likewise vajra. One should therefore know that the inconceivable benefit is obtained by hearing the sutra and giving rise to faith.

4. A Discussion of the Different Tenets of the Various Schools

If one relies on the Nirvana Sutra, one takes Buddha-nature as its central tenet; if one relies on the Vimalakirti Sutra, one takes inconceivable liberation as its central tenet; when hearing the Prajnaparamita Sutras, one takes the wisdom of emptiness as their central tenet; when hearing the Mahasamnipata Sutra, one takes dharani as its central tenet. This Contemplation Sutra takes the Samadhi of Contemplating the Buddha as its central tenet.

As for the objects contemplated, they are the dependent and primary recompenses, and each contemplation is clearly explained in detail. The Sutra on the Samadhi of Contemplating the Buddha says: The Buddha told his royal father, “When the Buddhas appear in the world, they bring three kinds of benefit to sentient beings. 1. With their mouths they expound the twelve divisions of the scriptures.

This is the benefit of giving the Dharma, which can dispel the dark obstruction of ignorance in sentient beings, open their eyes of wisdom, cause them to be born in the presence of a Buddha, and enable them swiftly to attain unsurpassed bodhi. 2. The bodies of the Buddhas, the Tathagatas, are adorned with marks and radiant light and possess immeasurable wondrous characteristics. If sentient beings invoke and recollect them and contemplate either their general marks or their individual marks, without forgetting the bodies of the Buddhas of the present and the past, they can eliminate the offenses of the four grave transgressions and the five heinous acts, forever escape the three evil destinies, and, according to their aspirations, always be born in a Pure Land,

ultimately attaining Buddhahood. 3.

They exhort beings to practice the Samadhi of Recollecting the Buddha.” The Buddha exhorted his royal father to practice the Samadhi of Recollecting the Buddha. King Suddhodana said to the Buddha: “Why do you not teach your disciples to practice such methods as the fruition and virtues of the Buddha-ground, true suchness and the true mark of reality, and the emptiness of ultimate truth?” The Buddha replied: “Royal Father!

The fruition and virtues of the Buddha-ground encompass immeasurable profound and wondrous states, spiritual powers, and liberations. They are not fields of practice accessible to ordinary beings. Therefore, I exhort you, Royal Father, to practice the Samadhi of Recollecting the Buddha.” The royal father said to the Buddha: “What is the nature and efficacy of recollecting the Buddha?” The Buddha replied: “Royal Father!

In an iranda forest forty yojanas in circumference, before a gosirsa-sandalwood tree appears, the entire region is foul and devoid of fragrance. Anyone who mistakenly eats the flowers or fruit of the iranda trees becomes deranged and dies. When a gosirsa-sandalwood tree appears, its powerful fragrance pervades everywhere and can transform the entire iranda forest, making it sweetly fragrant.

All who encounter it give rise to a sense of extraordinary wonder.” The Buddha said: “Royal Father! The recollection of the Buddha in the minds of all sentient beings within samsara is likewise. They need only continue their mindful recollection without interruption, and they will certainly be born in the presence of a Buddha.

Once they have attained rebirth there, all their evil can immediately be transformed into great loving-kindness and compassion, just as the sandalwood tree transforms the iranda forest. The iranda forest is an analogy for the three poisons, the three obstructions, and boundless grave offenses within the bodies of sentient beings. The sandalwood is an analogy for the minds of sentient beings recollecting the Buddha.

If sentient beings recollect the Buddha without interruption, their cultivation of the path will certainly be accomplished.

Someone asks: “If the collective merit of all sentient beings recollecting the Buddha could conceivably produce such an effect, how can the power of a single person’s recollection eliminate every obstruction, just as a sandalwood tree can transform an iranda forest forty yojanas in extent and make it fragrant?” According to the Mahayana scriptures, the efficacy of the Samadhi of Recollecting the Buddha is inconceivable.

The Avatamsaka Sutra says: If someone uses a lion’s sinew as a lute string, then when that string is plucked once, all the other strings snap. If a person brings forth the resolve for bodhi and practices the Samadhi of Recollecting the Buddha, all afflictions and all obstructive difficulties are destroyed. It is also like someone placing the milk of various cows, goats, donkeys, and horses in a single vessel: if one drop of lioness’s milk is added, all the other milk turns into water.

In the same way, if a person brings forth the resolve for bodhi and practices the Samadhi of Recollecting the Buddha, that person overcomes all evil maras and every obstruction without hindrance or difficulty. It is like a person who carries a medicine that conceals the body and travels from place to place unseen by anyone. If a person brings forth the resolve for bodhi and cultivates the Samadhi of Recollecting the Buddha, no evil spirit or hostile bandit can see that person.

The person may travel freely and will encounter no calamity. Why is this so? Because the Samadhi of Recollecting the Buddha is the king of all samadhis.

5. A Brief Explanation of the Meaning of the Three Bodies and the Three Lands

Question: What body does the present Buddha Amitabha possess, and what kind of land is the Land of Ultimate Bliss?

Answer: The present Buddha Amitabha is a Buddha in his reward body, and the Land of Ultimate Bliss, adorned with precious treasures, is a reward land. Nevertheless, traditions handed down from the past have all said that Buddha Amitabha is a transformation body and that the Land of Ultimate Bliss is likewise a transformation land. This is a grave error!

If the defiled land is the dwelling place of a transformation body and the Pure Land is also the dwelling place of a transformation body, then in what land does the Tathagata’s reward body dwell? Here, following the Mahayana Sutra of the Identity of All Buddhas, we shall clearly distinguish the reward body from the transformation body and the pure land from the defiled land. The sutra says: “One who attains Buddhahood in a Pure Land is a reward body; those who attain Buddhahood in defiled lands are all transformation bodies.” It further says: “Such Tathagatas as Amitabha Tathagata, Lotus-Blossom-Opening Constellation-King Tathagata, Dragon-Lord-King Tathagata, and Precious-Virtue Tathagata manifest the attainment of the path in pure lands.

All such ones are Buddhas in their reward bodies. Why are certain Tathagatas called transformation bodies? Such Tathagatas as the present Courageous-Step Tathagata and Mara-Terrifying Tathagata manifest the attainment of Buddhahood in a defiled age.

Whether they are about to attain Buddhahood or descend from the Tusita Heaven, and whether they abide throughout the periods of the true Dharma, semblance Dharma, or final Dharma, all such deeds of transformation belong to Buddhas in their transformation bodies. As for the Tathagata’s Dharma-body, it is without color or form, neither manifest nor attached; it cannot be seen or expressed in words; it has no abiding place, neither arises nor ceases, and is called the true Dharma-body.”

Question: If the Tathagata’s reward body abides eternally, why does the Sutra of Avalokitesvara’s Prediction of Buddhahood say that after Buddha Amitabha enters nirvana, Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara will occupy the position of succession and become the next Buddha?

Answer: This is a manifestation of appearing or becoming hidden; it is not extinction. The Mahayana Sutra of the Identity of All Buddhas says: “After Buddha Amitabha enters nirvana, sentient beings with deep and abundant roots of goodness will still see the Buddha just as before.” This proves that the Buddha does not cease to exist. The Ratnagotravibhaga says: “The reward body has five characteristics: it teaches the Dharma, can be seen, its activities never cease, it becomes hidden, and its manifestations have no intrinsic reality.” This can explain how, when Great Master Zhizhe suddenly attained great awakening, he saw that the Buddha was still teaching the Dharma on Vulture Peak and that the Dharma assembly had not yet dispersed.

Question: In which direction are Buddha Sakyamuni’s reward body and reward land located?

Answer: The Nirvana Sutra says: “To the west, beyond Buddha lands as numerous as the sands of forty-two Ganges Rivers, there is a world called Unsurpassed. The adornments of that land are like those of the Land of Ultimate Bliss. I appeared in that world, but, wishing to transform and liberate sentient beings, I divided my body and came to this Saha world; it is not that I departed from that land. All Tathagatas are likewise.”

Question: The Drum-Sound Sutra says, “Buddha Amitabha has a father and mother.” Does this not prove that his is neither a reward Buddha nor a reward land?

Answer: You have merely heard the name without seeking the purport of the sutra, and thus you have raised this doubt. This is truly a grave error—a deviation by a hair’s breadth leading one a thousand miles astray! Amitabha Buddha also possesses the three bodies, and the body that appears in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is the reward body.

When the sutra says that he had a father and mother, it refers to the parents of the transformation body manifested within a transformed realm. Similarly, Shakyamuni Buddha perfected his reward body in the Unsurpassed Pure Land, yet manifested responsively in this Saha world, where he had parents and became a Transformation Buddha. Amitabha Buddha is likewise.

As the Drum-Sound Sutra says: “At that time, Amitabha Buddha and the assembly of shravakas dwelt in a land called Serene Purity, in the abode of a holy king. Its city extended ten thousand yojanas. Amitabha Buddha’s father was a wheel-turning sage-king named Moon Above.

His mother was named Supremely Excellent Wondrous Countenance; the Mara king was named Unsurpassed; the Buddha’s son was named Moonlight; Devadatta was named Tranquil Mind; and his attendant disciple was named Stainless Renown.” Everything cited above describes the characteristics of a transformation body. If this were a Pure Land, how could a wheel-turning king and women dwell there? The meaning of the sutra text is already perfectly clear; what further distinction need be made?

It is only because you have failed to understand it properly that you have become confused by names and formed this attachment.

Question: If it is said that a reward body may disappear and cease, then does the Pure Land also undergo formation and destruction? How should this be understood?

Answer: Many people have also asked this question. Here I shall cite the scriptures as proof so that we may understand it clearly. Although the Buddha’s body abides eternally, sentient beings see the Buddha enter nirvana.

The Pure Land is likewise: in essence, it neither forms nor perishes, yet according to the perceptions of sentient beings, it appears to form and perish. The Avatamsaka Sutra says: “Just as people behold the Guiding Teacher in immeasurably varied forms, so too, according to the mental dispositions and practices of sentient beings, do they behold the Buddha lands.” The Treatise on the Pure Land says: “A single substance cannot establish them, for purity and defilement differ in fullness and deficiency; different substances cannot establish them, for if the root is base, the branches are dark;

no substance cannot establish them, for dependent arising has myriad forms.” Therefore, one should know that, from the standpoint of the Pure Land of Dharma-nature, there is no discussion of clarity or turbidity.

From the standpoint of the reward lands and transformation lands manifested through great compassion, however, there are purity and defilement. One should know that Buddha lands differ according to the varying capacities of beings and their corresponding responses, and are of three kinds: 1- A reward remains from the True, and is therefore called a reward land, just as the light of the sun illuminates the four continents beneath heaven.

The Dharma-body is like the sun, while the reward and transformation bodies are like its light. 2- That which suddenly appears from nonexistence is called a transformation. As the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya says: “The Tathagata Dipankara transformed into the cities of Deva and Bhadra, situated close to one another and maintaining intimate relations. After some time, he conjured a fire that burned them completely, causing sentient beings who witnessed impermanence to become disenchanted and turn toward the Buddha’s path.” A sutra says: “At times he manifests the conflagration at the end of a kalpa, when heaven and earth are entirely consumed.

Sentient beings imagine heaven and earth to be everlasting, so by witnessing this they come to understand the principle of impermanence. At times, to relieve poverty and hunger, he establishes an inexhaustible treasury; according to conditions, he widely opens the path, causing sentient beings to arouse the bodhicitta.” 3- Concealing the Defiled Land and revealing the Pure Land: As in the Vimalakirti Sutra, when the Buddha pressed the earth with his toe, the three-thousandfold world-system became a Pure Land.

The land of the Buddha of Infinite Life belongs to the reward land remaining from the True. How do we know this? According to the Sutra of the Prophecy Bestowed upon Avalokiteshvara: “In a future age, Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara will attain Buddhahood and succeed Amitabha Buddha.” From this we know that the Land of Ultimate Bliss is a reward land.

6. In the Land of Ultimate Bliss, ordinary beings and sages dwell together.

This land of the Buddha of Infinite Life is a reward land accomplished through the fulfillment of the Buddha’s vows, and it embraces beings of both higher and lower capacities. Among those of lower capacity, even ordinary beings who have cultivated inferior goodness may attain rebirth there. Among those of higher capacity, bodhisattvas who have reached the bhumis, such as Vasubandhu and Nagarjuna, also vowed to be born there.

In the Larger Amitabha Sutra, Bodhisattva Maitreya asked the Buddha: “I do not know how many non-retrogressing bodhisattvas from this land will be born in that land?” The Buddha replied: “From this Saha world, six billion seven hundred million non-retrogressing bodhisattvas will all attain rebirth there. Were I to explain this extensively, the same would be true of all other directions.”

Question: The Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha embraces beings of both higher and lower capacities. Those of higher capacity cultivate signlessness and thereby attain rebirth there, but what of ordinary beings who cultivate by relying on signs?

Answer: Ordinary beings possess shallow wisdom and for the most part seek rebirth by relying on signs; they will certainly attain rebirth. Nevertheless, because the power of their wholesome signs is weak, they are born only in a land with signs, where they behold only the Buddha’s reward body and transformation body. Therefore, the Chapter on the Bodhisattva’s Original Practice in the Sutra on the Samadhi of Contemplating the Buddha says: “Manjushri said to the Buddha: ‘I recall that immeasurable kalpas ago in the past, when I was still an ordinary being, there was in that land a Buddha named Tathagata Jeweled Majesty, Supreme King.

When that Buddha appeared in the world, it was no different from the present. That Buddha was also sixteen feet tall, his body golden-purple in color, and he taught the Dharma of the Three Vehicles just as Shakyamuni does now. At that time, in that land there was a great elder named Omniscience.

The elder had a son named Precept-Guardian. While the child was still in his mother’s womb, his mother reverently placed her faith in the Three Jewels and therefore received the Three Refuges on his behalf. When the child was born and had reached eight years of age, his parents invited the Buddha to their home and made offerings to him.

Upon seeing the Buddha, the boy immediately bowed in homage. His heart was filled with reverence, and his eyes never left the Buddha even for a moment. Through seeing the Buddha and recollecting the Buddha, he eradicated grave offenses accumulated through birth and death during hundreds of thousands of millions of nayutas of kalpas.

Thereafter, he was always born in Pure Lands and thus encountered hundreds of millions of nayutas of Buddhas, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. These World-Honored Ones also used their excellent marks and characteristics to liberate sentient beings. At that time, the boy served them wholeheartedly and without fault, bowed and made offerings, joined his palms, and contemplated the Buddhas.

Through the power of these causes and conditions, he again encountered hundreds of thousands of asamkhyeyas of Buddhas. Those Buddhas likewise used the excellent marks and characteristics of their physical bodies to transform and liberate sentient beings. Thereafter, he attained hundreds of thousands of millions of samadhis of Buddha-recollection and also attained asamkhyeyas of dharanis.

After he had attained these, the Buddhas appeared before him and taught the Dharma of signlessness. In but an instant, he attained the Shurangama Samadhi. At that time, that boy had merely received the Three Refuges, bowed to the Buddha, and steadfastly contemplated the Buddha’s body without weariness of mind.

Through these causes and conditions, he encountered countless Buddhas. How much more so would this be true of one who remains mindful, protects this practice, and fully applies contemplative thought to the Buddha’s physical body! That boy of that time was no one else; he was I myself.’ At that time, the World-Honored One praised Manjushri, saying: ‘Excellent, excellent!

Because you bowed to the Buddha, you were able to encounter countless Buddhas. How much more will this be true of my disciples in later ages who diligently contemplate and recollect the Buddha!’ The Buddha told Ananda: ‘Remember the words of Manjushri and proclaim them widely among the great assembly and to sentient beings in future ages. Whoever is able to bow to the Buddha, recollect the Buddha, and contemplate the Buddha should be known to possess merit no different from that of Manjushri.

When such a person relinquishes this body and enters another life, Manjushri and the other bodhisattvas will serve as that person’s preceptors.’”

The passage above proves that the Pure Land includes lands with signs as well; there is therefore no reason whatsoever to doubt certain rebirth there.

If one understands the absence of characteristics and freedom from thought to be the essence, and, relying upon this, seeks rebirth there, one will for the most part attain the highest grade. Therefore, Vasubandhu's Treatise on Rebirth teaches: "If one is able to contemplate the twenty-nine kinds of pure adornments, one immediately enters the single phrase. This single Dharma phrase is called the phrase of purity; the phrase of purity is the pure, unconditioned Dharma-body.

Why must it be explained that one enters through characteristics? A bodhisattva has two kinds of Dharma-body: 1. the Dharma-nature Dharma-body; 2. the skillful-means Dharma-body. From the Dharma-nature Dharma-body arises the skillful-means Dharma-body.

Through the skillful-means Dharma-body, the Dharma-nature Dharma-body is revealed. Although these two Dharmas are said to be different, they cannot be divided; although they are one, they are not identical. Therefore, one enters through the doctrine of characteristics.

If one does not understand characteristics in their breadth and narrowness, one cannot enter the unconditioned Dharma-body that benefits oneself and others. The unconditioned Dharma-body is precisely the body of Dharma-nature. Because Dharma-nature is quiescent and extinguished, the Dharma-body has no characteristics.

Although the Dharma-body has no characteristics, it manifests characteristics; therefore, the adornments of excellent marks are precisely the Dharma-body. Although the Dharma-body is without cognition, it possesses cognition; therefore, the Wisdom of All Modes is true wisdom. Though one speaks of what is common and what is distinct, all are the true characteristic.

By knowing the true characteristic, one knows the illusory characteristics of sentient beings in the three realms. By knowing that sentient beings in the three realms are illusory, true compassion arises; by knowing true compassion, true refuge arises." Today, regardless of whether practitioners are householders or monastics, if only they understand that birth and non-birth do not depart from the principle of the two truths, they will for the most part be reborn in the highest grade.

7. Is Amitabha Buddha's Pure Land within or beyond the three realms?

Question: To which of the three realms does the Land of Peace and Bliss belong?

Answer: The supreme and wondrous Pure Land is, in its essence, beyond the mundane world. These three realms are the dark house of ordinary beings bound to birth and death. Although suffering and pleasure differ within them, viewed as a whole, everything remains within the cycle of outflows.

Beings revolve upward and downward without limit; birth and death are confused and their endurance of suffering is unending. They are surrounded by the four inversions, and from cause to effect falsehoods accumulate. This is truly wearisome; therefore, the Pure Land does not belong to the three realms.

The Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom says: "The fruition in the Pure Land is free from sensual desire and therefore is not the desire realm. Because it rests upon the ground, it is not the form realm; because it possesses visible form, it is not the formless realm. Although it is said to rest upon the ground, that land is supremely extraordinary." The Treatise on Rebirth says: "Contemplate the characteristics of that world: it surpasses the three realms; ultimately, it is like empty space, vast and without bounds." The Great Amitabha Sutra says: "The wondrous land is vast beyond measure; naturally formed from the union of the seven treasures, it is splendidly adorned through the Buddha's original vows.

Reverently, we beseech the Pure One to accept and gather us in. That world is radiant and exquisitely beautiful, harmonious and blissful, without the four seasons. Benefit for oneself and others is fully perfected; we take refuge in the supremely adorned Land of Ultimate Bliss."

Chapter Two

This chapter addresses three principal themes: arousing the mind of bodhi, refuting divergent views and false attachments, and resolving doubts through questions and answers.

1. Arousing the Mind of Bodhi:

This means arousing the mind directed toward the most exalted goal, namely the fruit of unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment. When practitioners have a definite goal, their efforts will assuredly not be wasted.

Concerning the function of arousing the mind of bodhi, the Great Sutra says: "Whoever wishes to be reborn in the Pure Land must take the arousing of the mind of bodhi as the foundation. Why? Because bodhi is the name of the fruit of the unsurpassed Buddha path.

It means precisely arousing the aspiration to become a Buddha. This mind is vast and universally encompasses the Dharma realm; ultimately, it is as vast as empty space; it extends throughout all future ages; and in essence it is originally complete and free from the two obstructions. If one can arouse this mind, one severs the stream of birth and death continuing from beginningless time.

All merits directed toward bodhi can lead to the fruit of Buddhahood and can never be lost. It is like gathering flowers of fivefold purity, which do not wither even when blown by the wind all day; or dwelling at the source of a river of numinous water, which does not run dry even during a lifelong drought."

The designation and essence of bodhi comprise three kinds:

a- Dharma-body bodhi refers to suchness, the true characteristic, the emptiness of the ultimate truth, and the intrinsic purity whose essence is undefiled. Its principle transcends devas and humans and is not brought into being through cultivation; it is called the Dharma-body. The fundamental essence of the Buddha path is called bodhi.

b- Reward-body bodhi means that the complete cultivation of the myriad practices brings about the fruition of Buddhahood. Because the fruit arises in response to the cause, it is called the reward-body; because it is perfectly penetrating and unobstructed, it is called bodhi.

c- Transformation-body bodhi means that, from the reward-body, transformative functions arise to liberate beings of every capacity; therefore, it is called the transformation-body. Because its benefit to beings is perfectly penetrating, it is called bodhi.

The ways of arousing the mind of bodhi are shown to differ because practitioners cultivating the causes of bodhi must possess three things:

a- It is essential to understand clearly existence and nonexistence, and that intrinsic nature has been fundamentally pure since the beginning.

b- One must cultivate the myriad practices in accordance with conditions and the eighty-four thousand gates of the paramitas.

c- One must take great compassion as the foundation and constantly cherish the aspiration to guide and liberate others.

These three can accord with great bodhi and are therefore called the arousing of the mind of bodhi. The Treatise on the Pure Land says: "The arousing of the mind of bodhi spoken of here is the aspiration to become a Buddha. The aspiration to become a Buddha is the aspiration to liberate sentient beings. The aspiration to liberate sentient beings is the aspiration to embrace and gather in sentient beings who wish to be reborn in the Buddha-land." Since we now aspire to be reborn in the Pure Land, we must first arouse the mind of bodhi.

Question: If cultivating the myriad practices completely can bring about the fruit of bodhi and the attainment of Buddhahood, why does the Sutra on the Non-Practice of All Dharmas say: "If a person seeks bodhi, then there is no bodhi; that person is as far from bodhi as heaven is from earth"?

Answer: The true essence of bodhi is, in principle, without characteristics and cannot be sought. If one now seeks it by means of characteristics, this does not accord with the true principle; therefore, it is said to be far removed. Thus, the sutra says: "Bodhi cannot be attained by means of the mind, nor can it be attained by means of the body." It is now said that although practitioners know that cultivation involves seeking through phenomena, they understand in principle that its essence cannot be sought.

Thus, they do not destroy provisional designations, and by fully cultivating the myriad practices they can bring about a corresponding response. The Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom says: "If a person clings to the existence of prajna, that person is bound; if one does not cling to the existence of prajna, one is also bound. If a person sees prajna, that is liberation; if one does not see prajna, that too is liberation." Therefore, Bodhisattva Nagarjuna said: "Within this, not departing from the four propositions is bondage; departing from the four propositions is liberation." In seeking bodhi now, one should cultivate only in this manner: acting without acting and not acting while acting.

This does not contradict the principle of the two truths. According to the Treatise on Rebirth: "Whoever wishes to arouse a mind that accords with unsurpassed bodhi must understand two points: first, one must abandon the three things opposed to bodhi, and one must know the three things accordant with bodhi.

"Why must one abandon the three things opposed to bodhi? Relying upon wisdom, practitioners do not seek happiness for themselves and abandon attachment to their own bodies. Relying upon compassion, practitioners remove all suffering from sentient beings and abandon actions that make the minds of sentient beings uneasy. Relying upon skillful means, practitioners cherish and pity all sentient beings and abandon the desire to receive reverence and offerings for themselves. These are called the three things opposed to the mind of bodhi.

"What accords with bodhi? When bodhisattvas abandon the three things opposed to bodhi described above, they immediately attain the three things accordant with bodhi. What are these three?

a- The pure, undefiled mind means not seeking various forms of personal happiness for oneself. Bodhi is the state of purity and non-defilement. If one seeks various forms of happiness for oneself, one opposes bodhi; therefore, the pure, undefiled mind accords with bodhi."

b- The mind of peaceful purity seeks to uproot all the sufferings of sentient beings. Bodhi is the place of purity and peace for all sentient beings. If one does not have the resolve to uproot the sufferings of all sentient beings and free them from the suffering of birth and death, one is opposed to bodhi. Therefore, uprooting all the sufferings of sentient beings accords with bodhi.

c- The mind of joyful purity desires to enable sentient beings to attain great bodhi and embraces and guides them to be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Bodhi is the ultimate state of eternal bliss. If one does not enable all sentient beings to attain ultimate eternal bliss, one is opposed to bodhi. On what does the attainment of this ultimate eternal bliss depend? It must rely upon the Gate of Great Meaning. The Gate of Great Meaning refers to that Land of Peace and Bliss. Therefore, one should single-mindedly concentrate and aspire to be born in that land, so as to attain unsurpassed bodhi swiftly.

2. Refuting divergent views and false attachments:

The Great Vehicle teachings invariably transcend the understanding of ordinary beings and those of the Two Vehicles, utterly sever all dualistic oppositions, and enter directly into the principle of the Middle Way. Every sentence and every word contains distinctive profound meanings. Consequently, many people give rise to false attachments. Therefore, this chapter sets forth the essential points and cites scriptures as proof to dispel all doubts. Once doubt has dissolved, faith will naturally arise.

a.- Refuting the deluded attachment to the signlessness of the Great Vehicle.

Question: Some people say that the Great Vehicle is fundamentally signless and that one should not think in terms of here and there. If one aspires to be born in the Pure Land, this is precisely grasping at signs and increasing the bonds of outflow. What purpose, then, is there in seeking it?

Answer: Such reasoning is mistaken, because whenever all Buddhas teach the Dharma, they essentially provide two kinds of conditions. The first is reliance upon the true principle of the Dharma-nature. The second is accordance with ultimate truth and conventional truth.

The question above, following the Great Vehicle teaching of non-thought, relies only upon the Dharma-nature and further disparages conditioned seeking; it therefore does not accord with the principle of the two truths. If one holds such an attachment, one falls into annihilationist emptiness. Thus the Sutra of Supreme Reliance says: “The Buddha told Ananda: ‘If any sentient being gives rise to an attachment to self as great as Mount Sumeru, I am still not afraid.

Why? Although that person has not yet attained liberation, he does not ordinarily destroy the principle of cause and effect, and therefore karmic recompense is not lost. But if one gives rise to an attachment to emptiness as small as a mustard seed, I do not permit it.

Why? Because that attachment destroys cause and effect. For many kalpas one will fall into the evil destinies, and wherever one is born in future lives, one will certainly violate my teachings.’” Therefore, practitioners are now advised that although the principle is unborn, the principle of the two truths must still be engaged as conditions, and all must attain rebirth there.

Thus the Vimalakirti Sutra says: “Although one contemplates that the lands of the Buddhas and sentient beings are fundamentally empty, one constantly cultivates the Pure Land and teaches and transforms the multitude of beings. Although one practices non-action, one manifests the assumption of a body. This is the bodhisattva practice.

Although one practices non-arising, one gives rise to every wholesome practice. Bodhisattvas who practice in this way truly realize reality.”

Question: In the world there are people who practice the signlessness of the Great Vehicle, do not cling to here or there, and altogether fail to observe the outward forms of the precepts. What of this?

Answer: Those who hold such a view suffer very great harm. Why? As the Great Vaipulya Sutra says: “The Buddha established precepts for laymen: they must not go to the homes of widows or women; they must not go to wine shops, dye houses, oil presses, or tanneries.

They must not frequent any such places. The Venerable Ananda asked the Buddha: ‘Why were these precepts established?’ The Buddha replied: ‘Ananda, practitioners are of two kinds: those living in the world and those who have gone forth. I did not establish the foregoing matters solely for those living in the world.

I now establish them because all sentient beings are my children, and the Buddha is the father and mother of all sentient beings. These prohibitions are established so that all may quickly leave the world and enter nirvana.’

b- Clearly explaining the bodhisattva’s great compassion associated with views born of attachment:

Question: According to the sacred teachings of the Great Vehicle, if a bodhisattva gives rise toward sentient beings to great compassion associated with views born of attachment, he must immediately relinquish it. Yet now sentient beings are exhorted to be born together in the Pure Land. Is this not defiled attachment and grasping at signs? How can one avoid sinking into bondage?

Answer: The functioning of a bodhisattva’s practice has two aspects: realization of the prajnaparamita wisdom of emptiness and fulfillment of great compassion. What is realization of the prajnaparamita wisdom of emptiness? Through cultivating the power of the prajnaparamita wisdom of emptiness, although one enters birth and death in the six realms, one is not bound by the defilements of sensory objects.

What is fulfillment of great compassion? Because a bodhisattva, through great compassion, remembers and cherishes sentient beings, he does not abide in nirvana. Although a bodhisattva abides within the principle of the two truths, he is always able wondrously to relinquish both existence and nonexistence, entering the Middle Way amid acceptance and rejection, without contradicting the teachings of the Buddha’s path.

Thus the Vimalakirti Sutra says: “It is like a person who builds a palace upon open ground: he may do so according to his wishes without obstruction. But if he builds it in empty space, it can never be completed. A bodhisattva is likewise.

Wishing to bring sentient beings to fulfillment, he aspires to a Buddha-land. A Buddha-land is not in empty space.”

c- Refuting the view that there are no dharmas outside the mind.

Question: Some say that the pure realm contemplated arises from the inner mind; the Pure Land is perfectly interfused, and purity of mind is what matters. Since there are no dharmas outside the mind, why seek rebirth in the West?

Answer: As for the Pure Land of the Dharma-nature, its principle is empty, all-pervading, neither partial nor confined. This is birth within non-birth. Only those of the highest capacity can enter it.

Thus the Sutra of the Jeweled Raft Without Words says: “Good man! There is yet another Dharma awakened to by the Buddha. It may be said that all dharmas neither recede nor come, have neither causes nor conditions, neither arise nor cease, are neither conceived nor unconceived, and neither increase nor diminish.

The Buddha said to Rahula: ‘Should you now accept and uphold what I have just taught as the meaning of the true Dharma?’ At that time, nine hundred million bodhisattvas throughout the ten directions immediately addressed the Buddha, saying: ‘We are all able to uphold this Dharma-gate and shall propagate it among sentient beings without interruption.’ The Blessed One said: ‘These good men are bearers of the path to bodhi.

They will immediately attain unobstructed eloquence and reach the pure worlds of the Buddhas. At the end of their lives, they will immediately see Amitabha Buddha and the assembly of sages before them and attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.’” Those who know themselves to be of middling or lower capacity and not yet able to break through appearances must rely upon causes and conditions, believe in the Buddha, and seek birth in the Pure Land.

Although they reach that land and dwell in a realm with appearances, if conditions are traced back to their source, there are no dharmas outside the mind. If the two truths are distinguished, their meaning is perfectly clear, and there is no contradiction for Pure Land practitioners between this mind and external dharmas.

Question: You say that birth within non-birth can be entered only by those of the highest capacity, while those of middling and lower capacity cannot bear it. If the teaching is classified in this way, in which scripture is this stated?

Answer: According to the Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom: "Bodhisattvas who have newly brought forth the aspiration possess very tender and weak faculties and understanding. Although they are said to have brought forth the aspiration, most of them vow to be born in a Pure Land." The meaning here is illustrated by a newborn child: unless the child remains close to its parents and receives their care, it will surely be in danger of falling into a pit or well, perishing in a fire, being bitten by a snake, or dying from lack of milk.

Only by relying upon the care of its parents can it grow to maturity and inherit the family estate. Bodhisattvas are likewise. After bringing forth the aspiration for bodhi, most vow to be born in a Pure Land and draw near to the Buddhas, so that their Dharma-body may grow and they may then carry on the bodhisattvas’ family legacy.

Because the bodhisattvas throughout the ten directions wish to bring benefit to sentient beings, most of them vow to be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. The Treatise also says: "It is like a fledgling whose feathers and wings are not yet fully grown and which cannot fly far. It must first depend upon the forest, moving from tree to tree.

Once its feathers and wings are fully grown and its strength is abundant, it can leave the forest and soar freely through the sky." A bodhisattva who has newly brought forth the aspiration is likewise. Such a bodhisattva must first rely upon the power of vows and seek birth in the presence of a Buddha. Once the Dharma-body has grown great, the bodhisattva can respond wherever sentient beings invoke them and bring them many benefits.

Ananda addressed the Buddha, saying: "Where is this Markless Paramita taught?" The Buddha said: "This Dharma gate is taught during the exposition on avaivartika. Why? Because at that time, when a bodhisattva who had newly brought forth the aspiration heard this Dharma of Markless Paramita, the six faculties immediately became pure and all afflictions vanished." Therefore, once a person has reached the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, everything is completely accomplished, and that person advances successively toward Buddhahood.

What need is there to dispute whether the principle is shallow or profound?

d- Refuting the notion of vowing to be born in a defiled land and not vowing to be born in a Pure Land.

Question: Some people say that they vow to be born in a defiled land to teach and transform sentient beings and do not vow to attain rebirth in a Pure Land. What should be understood about this? Please explain.

Answer: These people cling to the same view as those mentioned above. Why? If one has personally reached the stage of non-retrogression, then even while teaching sentient beings of mixed and evil dispositions, one will remain undefiled despite dwelling amid defilement and will not change upon encountering evil, just as a duck enters water without the water being able to soak it.

Such people may dwell in a defiled land to relieve the suffering of sentient beings. But if one is an ordinary being, one should fear that one’s own steps are not yet steady and that one will change when encountering suffering. Wishing to rescue someone else while not knowing how to swim oneself, one jumps into the water, becomes soaked, and both people drown.

It is like putting a chicken into water—how could it avoid becoming wet? Therefore, the Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom says: "If an ordinary being who has only just brought forth the aspiration immediately vows to remain in a defiled land to rescue sentient beings, the Buddha does not permit it. Why?" In Bodhisattva Nagarjuna’s Commentary Treatise it is said: "Suppose there were a mass of ice forty li across, and a person tried to melt it by burning a bundle of firewood.

At that moment there might seem to be a little warmth, but after a single night, by dawn, even many bundles of firewood would have turned into ice." An ordinary being who brings forth the aspiration to relieve suffering is no different from a bundle of firewood burning upon that great mass of ice. Because an ordinary being dwells amid circumstances of greed and anger, with very many adverse and favorable conditions, that person gives rise to afflictions and then falls into the evil realms.

e- Refuting the claim that those born in a Pure Land are mostly attached to pleasure.

Question: Some people maintain that the Land of Ultimate Bliss contains only happiness and that attachment to and delight in happiness obstructs cultivation. Why, then, should one vow to attain rebirth there?

Answer: It has already been said that a Pure Land contains no defilements. If attachment to happiness were the affliction of craving, how could it be called pure? Therefore, the Great Sutra says: "The humans and devas of that land come and go without emotional attachment or lingering affection." Among the Forty-eight Great Vows it is also said: "If the humans and devas of the ten directions who have come to my land should still give rise to thoughts of craving and concern for their bodies and lives, may I not abide in perfect enlightenment." The Great Sutra also says: "The humans and devas of that land have no attachment or fondness." Thus, how could there be any reason for the inhabitants of the Land of Ultimate Bliss to become attached to pleasure? This is entirely nonexistent.

f- Refuting the notion that seeking birth in a Pure Land belongs to the Lesser Vehicle:

Question: Some people maintain that seeking birth in a Pure Land belongs to the Lesser Vehicle. Is this correct?

Answer: It is entirely mistaken, for the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle neither speak of nor accept birth in a Pure Land.

g- Clarifying birth in Tusita and encouraging birth in the Pure Land:

Question: Some people maintain that one should be born in Tusita and should not vow to be born in the Western Land. What should be understood about this?

Answer: Maitreya’s Inner Court in Tusita is also called a Pure Land. Although it bears some resemblance to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, in their essential nature they differ greatly:

– The World-Honored Maitreya turns the non-retrogressing Dharma wheel for the assembly of devas. Those who hear the Dharma and give rise to faith obtain great benefit; this is called sharing joy through common faith. Yet there are also many who do not believe. Furthermore, although one is born in the Pure Land of Tusita, one’s stage remains subject to retrogression. Therefore, the Sutra says: "The three realms are without peace, like a burning house."

– One who attains rebirth in Tusita has a lifespan of four thousand years, but after life ends, one still cannot avoid falling into lower states.

– Although the heaven of Tusita contains waters, birds, trees, and forests that blend together in refined and harmonious sounds, they merely cause the devas to experience pleasure in accordance with the five desires and do not accord with the noble path. By comparison, once one is born in Amitabha Buddha’s Pure Land, one immediately attains the stage of non-retrogression and does not dwell together with those who are subject to retrogression. The fruition attained in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is undefiled, transcends the three realms, and does not return to samsara. As for lifespan, the inhabitants of the Land of Ultimate Bliss live as long as the Buddha, beyond all calculation. In that land there are also waters, birds, trees, and forests, all of which can expound the Dharma, enabling those who hear it to awaken and realize the stage of non-arising.

– According to the Great Sutra, a comparison can be made using just the single matter of music. The Sutra praises the music of the Land of Ultimate Bliss in this way: "If the music of worldly emperors and kings is compared with the music of the heavens of the six desire realms, the music of the heavens of the six desire realms is hundreds of millions of times more excellent. If the music of the heavens of the six desire realms is compared with the music emitted by the jeweled trees in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, the music of the jeweled trees is hundreds of millions of times more excellent than the music of the heavens of the six desire realms. Moreover, there are Dharma sounds and wondrous, refined, and elegant instrumental music surpassing all music throughout the ten directions; therefore, one should cultivate their influence with utmost sincerity."

h- Comparing vows for birth in the various Pure Lands with the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss: Question: Some people maintain that vowing to be born in the Pure Lands of the ten directions is superior to vowing to be born in the Western Land. What does this mean?

Answer: This view is incorrect. There are three points by which to explain this.

– The Buddha lands of the ten directions are all Pure Lands, but when the sphere is broad, the mind becomes obscured and confused before many divergent paths; when the sphere is narrow, the intention becomes focused. Therefore, the Sutra says: "Bodhisattva Puguang addressed the Buddha, the World-Honored One, saying: ‘The Buddha lands of the ten directions are all adorned and pure. Why, then, do the sutras especially praise Amitabha Buddha’s Land of Ultimate Bliss and exhort beings to attain rebirth there?’ The Buddha told Bodhisattva Puguang: ‘Among all sentient beings, those who are defiled and confused are many, while those who possess right mindfulness are few. Wishing to cause sentient beings to direct their resolve toward a single place, the sutras praise that Land of Ultimate Bliss as an especially extraordinary place. All who cultivate in accordance with their vow to attain rebirth there will achieve results.’"

– The Pure Lands of the ten directions are all pure lands, but their relative shallowness and profundity are difficult to understand. Amitabha Buddha’s Pure Land is a Pure Land newly established through the transforming power of his Great Vows. How is this known? According to the Avatamsaka Sutra: “One kalpa in the Saha world is equal to one day and one night in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. One kalpa in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is equal to one day and one night in the Kāsāya Banner World. Moreover, it has been more than ten kalpas since Amitabha Buddha first attained enlightenment.” Because the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss has only recently been adorned and combines all the excellent qualities of the other Pure Lands, the Buddhas especially exhort sentient beings to aspire to be born there. The Pure Lands of the other directions cannot compare with the Land of Ultimate Bliss; therefore, all who have faith aspire to attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

– Amitabha Buddha’s land is a newly adorned Pure Land, whereas the Saha world is the last of the defiled lands. How is this known? The Sutra of Contemplation of the True Dharma says: “Northeast of here is a world called Siha, whose fields consist entirely of white sand. It rains only three times a year, and each rainfall soaks the ground to a depth of about forty-five inches. The sentient beings of that land eat only fruit and use tree bark for clothing. They seek to live but cannot, and seek to die but cannot. There is also a world inhabited by tigers, wolves, birds, beasts, snakes, centipedes, and other creatures, all of which can fly. Whenever they encounter people, they devour them, making no distinction between good and evil.” These two lands are called the initial stages of defiled lands. Yet the Saha world is the circumstantial recompense shared by sages and ordinary beings, which shows that it is the final defiled land. The final defiled land adjoins the newly adorned Pure Land. Because these two lands are contiguous, rebirth there is very easy. Why, then, would one not swiftly aspire to attain rebirth there?

i- Discerning the Meaning of “Another Time.”

In the Contemplation Sutra, the Buddha taught: “A person destined for birth in the lowest grade who presently commits grave offenses, upon approaching the end of life, encounters a good spiritual friend and accomplishes ten recitations, whereupon that person immediately attains rebirth.” According to the Mahayana-samgraha: “These words express an intention concerning another time.” The commentators hold: “The ten recitations at the end of life merely plant the cause for rebirth; one does not immediately attain birth there.

Why? The Treatise says: ‘It is like a person who, with a single coin, wishes to purchase an object worth a thousand pieces of gold; one cannot obtain a thousand pieces of gold in a single day.’ Thus, one should understand that accomplishing ten recitations merely plants the cause for rebirth and does not bring immediate birth; hence it is called an intention concerning another time.” This explanation is not correct. Why?

Whenever bodhisattvas compose treatises explaining the meaning of sutras, they seek to preserve the Buddha’s true intent and accord with the Buddha’s mind. It would therefore be entirely unreasonable for a treatise to contradict a sutra.

The meaning of “an intention concerning another time” may now be explained as follows. Ordinarily, when the Buddha taught the Dharma, he clearly taught the cause first and the result afterward; this principle is evident. Yet in this Contemplation Sutra, it is said that one who commits offenses throughout an entire lifetime and, at the end of life, accomplishes ten recitations immediately attains rebirth, without discussing whether that person possessed causes from the past.

They fail to understand that the Blessed One receives and guides those who are presently committing evil, enabling those who are approaching death to abandon evil and return to goodness, and, through mindfulness of the Buddha, to attain rebirth. Here, the causes from previous lives are concealed. The Blessed One wished to conceal what came before and reveal what came afterward; concealing the cause and speaking of the result is called expressing an intention concerning another time.

How is this known? It is because those who are taught to accomplish ten recitations all possess causes from the past. As the Nirvana Sutra says: “If, in the past, a person has made offerings to Buddhas as numerous as half the sands of the Ganges and has previously aroused the aspiration for bodhi, then, upon hearing the Mahayana sutra teachings in an evil age, that person will merely refrain from disparaging them, but will not yet perform any other meritorious deeds.

If a person has made offerings to Buddhas as numerous as the sands of one Ganges and has previously aroused the aspiration for bodhi, then, upon later hearing the Mahayana sutra teachings, that person will not only refrain from disparaging them but will also give rise to delight in them.”

The passage above sufficiently demonstrates that those who accomplish the ten recitations undoubtedly possess causes from the past. If such persons had planted no causes in the past, it would be difficult even for them to encounter a good spiritual friend, much less accomplish the ten recitations.

The Treatise says: “With a single gold coin, one cannot purchase an object worth a thousand pieces of gold in a single day.” According to the Buddha’s intent, in order to cause sentient beings to accumulate abundant wholesome causes, they must rely upon mindfulness of the Buddha and aspire to attain rebirth. If the treatise master’s statement is understood as referring to causes from the past, its principle is likewise not mistaken. If this meaning is understood, it accords above with the Buddha’s intent and below with the intent of the Treatise. Thus, the Sutra and the Treatise support one another and open an unobstructed path to rebirth. What cause could there be for doubt?

k- Resolving and Dispelling Doubts.

Question: Since beginningless kalpas, all sentient beings have created every kind of contaminated karma binding them to the three realms. How can they, without severing the karma that binds them to the three realms, merely be mindful of Amitabha Buddha for a short time and immediately attain rebirth beyond the three realms? How, then, can they escape the binding karma of the three realms?

Answer: To explain this clearly, we must refute the objection by means of Dharma principles and employ analogies to elucidate them.

– Refuting the objection by means of Dharma principles: All Buddha-Tathagatas possess inconceivable wisdom, the great wisdom of the Mahayana, and supreme, peerless, unsurpassed wisdom. Through the inconceivable power of this wisdom, they can make the few into many and the many into few; make the distant near and the near distant; make the light heavy and the heavy light. Such forms of wisdom are immeasurable, boundless, and inconceivable. Some analogies will now be used to demonstrate this:

– Suppose one hundred strong men spend a hundred years cutting firewood, piling it a thousand fathoms high. Once a single flame is applied, it can all be consumed within a few days. Could one say that because the firewood was accumulated over a hundred years, it could not be completely burned within a few days?

– Suppose a boatman carries cargo aboard his boat. With the sails fully spread and the current favorable, he can travel more than a thousand miles in a single day. Could one say that the boatman cannot travel a thousand miles in one day?

– Suppose a poor person finds an object belonging to the king and presents it to him. The king, delighted to recover it, bestows many generous rewards, and in a mere instant the person acquires wealth and renown. Could one say that because a scholar, after ten years of studying by lamplight and enduring hardship, still did not attain such renown, wealth and honor cannot be obtained and could never be bestowed by the king?

– Suppose a weak man cannot climb onto the back of a donkey by his own strength, yet if he accompanies a wheel-turning king, he may fly freely through the sky. Could one say that a weak man, relying upon the power of the wheel-turning king, cannot fly through the sky?

– Suppose ten ropes bind one hundred people. Though all one hundred struggle with all their strength, it is to no avail. A single youth, merely wielding a sword and striking once, severs all ten ropes. Could one say that a youth lacks the power to cut the ten ropes and rescue the one hundred people?

All the myriad dharmas involve self-power and other-power, self-sustaining and other-sustaining power, and a thousand openings and ten thousand closures, immeasurable and boundless. How can you use your obstructed understanding to doubt those unobstructed dharmas? Moreover, among the five kinds of inconceivability, the Buddha-Dharma is the highest inconceivability. You regard the karma binding beings to the three realms as heavy and doubt that mindfulness of the Buddha for a short time, which you regard as light, can enable one to attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss and enter the group assured of right determination. This is entirely incorrect.

Question: A Mahayana sutra says: “The course of karma is like a scale: whichever side is heavier draws one there first.” Since beginningless time, sentient beings, whether for a hundred years, ten years, or even a single day, have committed every kind of evil deed without exception. Why, then, is it said that at the end of life, upon encountering a good spiritual friend, they need only complete ten continuous recitations to attain rebirth? If so, how can the teaching that whichever side is heavier draws one there first be believed?

Answer: You say that committing evil karma throughout an entire lifetime is weighty, whereas the good cultivated in ten recollections by one of the lowest grade of the lowest birth is light. Here I shall explain the meaning of weight and light. In truth, weight and light are determined by the mind, by the conditions, or by decisiveness, rather than by the length or brevity of time or the quantity involved.

Why is it said that they are determined by the mind? Those people who committed offenses did so by relying upon their own inwardly false and inverted minds, whereas these ten recollections arise through reliance upon a good spiritual friend and the skillful consolation by which they hear and awaken to the true nature of reality. One is true and the other false; how could they be compared?

Why? It is like a house that has been dark for a thousand years: as soon as light shines into it, it immediately becomes illuminated. How could one say that because darkness had occupied it for a thousand years, it would not disperse?

Therefore, the Sūtra of the Sun-Maṇi Jewel says: “The Buddha told Bodhisattva Kāśyapa: Although sentient beings have been submerged in sensual desire for a thousand koṭis of kalpas and completely covered by sinful karma, if they hear the Buddha’s sūtra and give rise to a single wholesome thought, their offenses are immediately extinguished.” Therefore, one should know that weight and light are determined by the mind.

Why is it said that they are determined by conditions? When that person committed offenses, they arose through reliance upon deluded thoughts and upon the afflictions and karmic retribution of sentient beings. These ten recollections, however, arise through reliance upon the unsurpassed mind of faith and upon the name of Amitābha Tathagata, which possesses immeasurable and pure merit.

It is like a person struck by a poisoned arrow that has penetrated nearly to the bone. If that person hears the sound of the medicinal drum that eliminates poison, the arrow is extracted by itself and the poison is removed. How could one say that because the poisoned arrow was deeply embedded and the poison in the medicine was potent, hearing the sound of the poison-removing drum would not extract the arrow or remove the poison?

Thus it is said that weight and light are determined by conditions.

Why is it said that they are determined by decisiveness? When that person committed offenses, they arose through reliance upon a contaminated mind and an interrupted mind. These ten recollections, however, arise through reliance upon an uncontaminated mind and an uninterrupted mind; this is clearly decisive.

The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom says: “As all sentient beings approach death, their pain is like a knife-wind slicing their flesh. Oppressed by the suffering of death, their hearts are filled with great fear. Therefore, when they encounter a good spiritual friend, their minds give rise to intense faith, with each thought following the next through ten recollections.

These then become superior roots of goodness, and they immediately attain rebirth in the Pure Land.” It is like a person trapped under siege who must confront the enemy and break through the encirclement. Summoning all the strength of a lifetime, that person single-handedly wields a blade, desperately breaks through, and escapes the enclosure. A person who employs the superior roots of goodness of the ten recollections is likewise.

Similarly, if at the time of death a person gives rise to a single thought of wrong view, causing an evil mind to become predominant, that person’s karmic merit within the three realms is immediately overwhelmed, and they proceed directly into an evil destiny.

Question: It has been said that the goodness of the ten recollections at the time of death outweighs the evil karma of an entire lifetime and enables one to be born in the Pure Land. It is not yet known, however, how much time the ten recollections comprise.

Answer: As a sūtra says: “One hundred instances of arising and ceasing constitute one kṣaṇa, and sixty kṣaṇas constitute one thought.” This explains a thought according to the sūtras and treatises. In the present explanation, however, a recollection is not defined by whether the time is long or short. One simply recollects Amitābha Buddha, either through his general characteristics or his particular characteristics.

According to the object contemplated, one directly maintains ten recollections without any other, intermingled thoughts; these are called the ten recollections. For ease of understanding, let us take recitation of the honored Name as the standard. The practitioner recites “Namo Amitābha Buddha” for the duration of a single breath.

Regardless of whether many or few recitations are made, each complete breath constitutes one recollection. To speak of ten continuous recollections is merely to indicate a number. In reality, it is enough simply to recollect without distraction, without engaging with any other matter, so that the karmic path is accomplished.

Why must one be concerned with recording the full number? Those who have practiced recitation for a long time need not count, while for beginners it is also good to record the number, because this accords with the Buddha’s teaching.

Question: A person who wishes to practice the samādhi of Buddha-recollection may not know what the characteristic of concentrated, tranquil recollection is. What is it like?

Answer: Suppose a person is walking across an open plain and suddenly encounters a band of enemies in pursuit, drawing their swords and rushing forward to kill them. Terrified, this person runs swiftly and sees a great river ahead. Although not yet at the riverbank, the person constantly thinks: “How shall I cross the river?

If I wade across with my clothes on, they will float up and reveal me to others. If I remove my clothes before crossing, I shall be endangered by thorns and by fish biting me; it will be extremely perilous.” At that moment, the pursued person is single-mindedly seeking a means to cross the river and has no other thought whatsoever. The practitioner is likewise.

When recollecting Amitābha Buddha, one should be like that person who has only the single thought of crossing the river, with each thought following the next and no intermingled thought intruding. At that time, whether one recollects the Buddha’s Dharma-body, the Buddha’s spiritual powers, the Buddha’s wisdom, the Buddha’s excellent marks, the Buddha’s fundamental vows, or the Buddha’s name, one need only remain single-mindedly focused in uninterrupted continuity, and one will certainly be born in the presence of the Buddha.

I now exhort all beginners who are not yet able to transcend characteristics: simply rely upon characteristics and focus single-mindedly, and all of you will attain rebirth. There is no reason for doubt.

Question: The Sūtra of Immeasurable Life says: “If sentient beings in the ten directions sincerely entrust themselves, joyfully aspire to be born in my land, and accomplish even ten recollections, then, should they not be born there, may I not attain Perfect Enlightenment.” Today, some people in the world hear this teaching but never recollect the Buddha throughout their lives, thinking that they will practice Buddha-recollection only when death approaches. What of this?

Answer: This is not correct. Why? The sūtra teaches: “Ten continuous recollections may appear not to be difficult.

Yet the minds of ordinary beings are like wild horses, and their consciousness is like an ape leaping from branch to branch; they race among the six sense objects and have never once stopped to rest. Therefore, everyone should give rise to faith, discipline themselves in recollection, allow habitual practice to become second nature, and make the wholesome mind firm. The Buddha said: ‘Great King!

A person who accumulates wholesome karma will have no evil thoughts at death, just as an uprooted tree falls in the direction toward which it was already leaning.’” When death approaches, the knife-wind has already arrived and a hundred sufferings bind the body. If one’s previous habits are not established within the mind, how can one then recollect the Buddha? Therefore, at the time of death, five or three fellow practitioners should be prepared to assist in recollection.

When life is about to end, they should speak words of Dharma, recite the name of Amitābha Buddha, and vow to be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. As each utterance follows the next, the ten recollections are thereby completed. It is like impressing a wax seal into clay: the seal itself is destroyed, but the inscription is formed.

When this life ends, one is immediately born in the Land of Peace and Bliss. Once one has entered the group assured of right concentration, what more is there to fear? Since everyone clearly knows of this great benefit, how could they fail to prepare by practicing recollection until it becomes proficient?

If they wait until death approaches, how could they be assured of completing the ten recollections?

Question: The Mahāyāna sūtras and treatises often say that ultimately all sentient beings are unborn, like empty space. Why, then, did bodhisattvas such as Nāgārjuna and Vasubandhu all vow to attain rebirth there?

Answer: The statement that ultimately sentient beings are unborn, like empty space, has two meanings:

a- Ordinary beings cling to the existence of real sentient beings and real birth and death. Yet from the perspective of a bodhisattva’s rebirth, ultimately these are like empty space or the horns of a hare.

b- Here, what is called birth is birth through causes and conditions. Yet birth through causes and conditions is merely a provisional designation. The birth spoken of through a provisional designation is precisely non-birth and does not contradict the principle of the Way. It is not like the assertion of ordinary beings that there are real sentient beings and real birth and death.

Question: Birth is the root of suffering and affliction. If one recognizes this fault, one should abandon birth and seek non-birth, and only then may one hope for liberation. Yet you now exhort people to be born in the Pure Land. Is this not abandoning birth merely to seek another birth? When will it ever come to an end?

Answer: You truly do not understand that the Pure Land is brought into being by the pure fundamental vows of Tathagata Amitabha. Although there is birth there, it is unborn; it is not like the birth of beings within the three realms, which arises from defiled craving, delusion, and attachment. Why is this? Because the Dharma-nature is pure, ultimately unborn; to speak of birth is merely to speak in accordance with emotional attachment.

Question: As stated above, birth in the Pure Land is birth that is unborn. This applies to those of superior capacity, but do those of inferior capacity who rely upon ten recollections to attain rebirth not cling to it as actual birth? If it is said to be actual birth, one falls into two doubts:

a- It is feared that rebirth cannot be attained.

b- This wholesome characteristic cannot serve as a cause of the unborn. How should this matter be understood?

Answer: This question may be explained in three ways:

a- It is like placing a clear, pure mani jewel in turbid water: through the majestic power of the jewel, the muddy water becomes clear. Although sentient beings possess the immeasurable defilements and transgressions of birth and death, if they hear the name of Tathagata Amitabha—the precious jewel that is pure and ultimately unborn—and place it within their defiled minds, then with each thought their transgressions are extinguished and their minds purified, and they immediately attain rebirth.

b- It is like wrapping a pure mani jewel in black or red cloth and immersing it in water; the water immediately takes on a yellow or black color according to the cloth in which the jewel is wrapped. That pure Buddha-land possesses the name of Tathagata Amitabha, the unsurpassed precious jewel, enveloped in the adornments of immeasurable merit and virtue. When placed in the place of rebirth, within the water of the mind, how could it fail to transform the cognition of birth into the cognition of the unborn?

c- It is also like kindling a fire upon ice. When the fire is strong, the ice melts; when the ice has melted, the fire goes out. Although those of the lowest grade who attain rebirth do not understand the unborn nature of the Dharma, they rely solely upon the power of reciting the Buddha’s name, direct their minds toward rebirth, and vow to be born in that land. Once they have reached the realm of the unborn, the fire of their remaining attachment to birth is naturally extinguished.

Question: With reference to the body, how is rebirth explained?

Answer: Within the conventionally designated body, a person practices the various Dharma-gates. The preceding thought and the following thought serve as causes that produce a person with a conventionally designated body in the defiled land. They cannot definitively be said to be one, nor can they definitively be said to be different. The preceding mind and the following mind are likewise so. Why? If they were definitively one, there would be no cause and effect; if they were definitively different, there would be no continuity. Because the meaning is thus, although the horizontal and the vertical differ, the preceding and the following belong to the same practice.

Question: If those who recite and recollect the Buddha’s name can eliminate all obstructions, then is this not like someone pointing at the moon with a finger? Can that finger dispel the darkness of night?

Answer: All dharmas possess differences and cannot be regarded as a single kind. Why? Some names are themselves the dharma, as with a royal seal, while other names are distinct from the dharma.

Why is it said that a name is the dharma? Examples include the names of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, the sounds uttered in reciting mantras, and the sentences and words in scriptures. For example, when someone who has been bitten by a dog recites a sacred spell, the practitioner recites the spell with the mouth while holding a tiger bone in the hand and passing it across the wound, whereupon the wound is healed.

If no tiger bone is at hand, the practitioner touches the wound with the hand and says, “The tiger has come,” and the illness is likewise cured. When someone suffers from a cramped tendon in the leg, a mantra practitioner touches the afflicted place with a nail or a wooden ruler, and it is immediately healed. Or, if neither a nail nor a piece of wood is available, the practitioner touches it with the hand and says, “nail” or “wood,” and the illness is likewise cured.

Through the spoken name reaching the sick person, efficacy is produced in that person’s own body. Likewise, one who learns the art of rendering the body invulnerable need only recite the spell, and a blade cannot cut through the body. Why is this?

Because the name that is uttered is the Dharma. Why are some names distinct from the Dharma? It is like someone pointing at the moon with a finger: the two designations are different, and the finger itself has no such efficacy.

Question: Those who recollect the Buddha can eliminate ignorance and attain rebirth. Why, then, do some people recollect the Buddha while ignorance still remains and their aspiration is not fulfilled? What does this mean?

Answer: Because practitioners do not cultivate in accordance with reality, they cannot attain correspondence. Why? Because they do not understand the Tathagata—whether he is the body of true suchness or an ordinary body—they have three kinds of non-correspondence. a- Their faith is not firm, sometimes present and sometimes absent.

b- Their faith is not single-minded, so they are irresolute in whatever they do.

c- Their faith is not continuous, allowing other thoughts to intrude. In recollecting the Buddha, one must gather in both body and mind. Each thought must continue without interruption, with no other thoughts; then the mind becomes single. Once the mind is single, faith becomes deep and firm. If one possesses these three kinds of mind, it is utterly impossible that one should fail to attain rebirth.

Chapter Three

This chapter seeks to resolve the following topics. 1- Clarifying the difficult path and the easy path. 2- Explaining that kalpas differ in being great or small. 3- Explaining how, since beginningless time, sentient beings have created karma, undergone suffering, and wandered through samsara. 4- Citing the Buddha’s teachings to exhort beings to have faith, aspire, and seek rebirth.

1. Clarifying the difficult path and the easy path.

All sentient beings presently dwell within the burning house; merely contemplating this is truly terrifying. Therefore, the Great Sage used the three vehicles to entice them out of the burning house. The goat cart and deer cart carry only a few people and are provisionally said not to reach the ultimate result.

The Buddha reproved them as mistaken attachments that obstruct the quest for unsurpassed bodhi; even if one wishes to turn toward it, it remains far away. If the white ox cart alone were directly revealed, it is feared that beings presently at the stage of retrogression would find the road ahead still distant; because their own virtue is not yet firm, it would be difficult for them to advance directly. Therefore, Bodhisattva Nagarjuna said: “Bodhisattvas who seek the stage of non-retrogression have two paths: the easy path and the difficult path.

What is the difficult path? The difficult path is that, during an evil age of the five defilements when no Buddha is present, it is truly difficult for practitioners to seek the stage of non-retrogression. This difficulty has many aspects; five essential points are briefly set forth:

a- Non-Buddhist teachings abound and disrupt the Dharma practices of bodhisattvas.

b- Sravakas, intent solely upon their own benefit, obstruct the mind of great compassion.

c- Evil people brazenly destroy the virtues of others.

d- Devas and humans confound wholesome fruits and ruin the pure conduct of practitioners.

e- One relies solely upon one’s own power, without the aid of other-power.

Such things are encountered at every turn. It is like traveling overland, where every step is laborious and arduous; therefore, it is called the difficult path.

What is the easy path? Those who believe the Buddha’s teachings, vow to attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, awaken faith, perform meritorious deeds, and cultivate various practices and karmic acts attain rebirth through the power of the Buddha’s great vows. Sustained by the Buddha’s power, they immediately enter the Mahayana’s right concentration; this is the stage of non-retrogression. It is like traveling by water, resting peacefully aboard a boat and swiftly reaching one’s destination; therefore, it is called the easy path.

Question: The fruit of bodhi is one, and the causes cultivated are likewise not two. Why, then, is it called difficult for those who cultivate these causes to advance toward Buddhahood, while rebirth in the Pure Land is called easy?

Answer: The Mahayana sutras all make this distinction clearly. Every method of practice involves self-power and other-power, or self-support and support by another. What is called self-power?

Suppose a person, fearing birth and death, resolves to leave the household life, develops supernormal powers, and travels throughout the four continents under heaven; this is called self-power. What is called other-power? Suppose a person is so weak that he does not have the strength to bind a chicken.

If he accompanies a wheel-turning sage-king, he can immediately fly through the air and travel throughout the four continents under heaven. This is entirely due to the majestic power of the Wheel-Turning Sage-King and is called other-power. The same is true of sentient beings.

When they arouse the aspiration, establish their practice, and vow to be born in the Pure Land, this is called self-power. When such a person is about to die, Amitabha Buddha emits light, holds a golden dais in his hand, and comes to welcome and guide that person, who then attains rebirth there; this is called other-power. Therefore, the Great Amitabha Sutra says: “If humans and devas throughout the ten directions wish to be born in my land and recite my name, even as few as ten times, yet I do not welcome and guide them to my land, may I not abide in Perfect Enlightenment.” Thus, all those who attain rebirth as described above do so because the power of the great vows of Amitabha Tathagata serves as the predominant condition enabling their rebirth.

Practitioners of the Pure Land have the self-power of single-minded recitation and also receive the assistance of other-power. If one relies on having a pair of strong arms and attempts to swim across the river without seeking a boat or raft, one may easily remain trapped within the burning house.

2. Explaining how kalpas differ in being great or small.

As for the duration of kalpas, they are great or small according to the karmic power of sentient beings. For example, one human kalpa is equal to thirty-six thousand kalpas for a moth. The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states: Kalpas are of three kinds: small kalpas, intermediate kalpas, and great kalpas.

A kalpa in the Heaven of Long Life is extremely long and may be illustrated as follows: suppose there were a city forty miles square filled with mustard seeds. Once every three years, reckoned according to years in the Saha world, one mustard seed were removed. When the city contained no mustard seeds at all, that would be called one Small Kalpa.

Suppose there were a city eighty miles square filled with mustard seeds, and once every three years one seed were removed. When the city contained no mustard seeds at all, that would be called an Intermediate Kalpa. Suppose there were a city one hundred and twenty miles square filled with mustard seeds, and once every three years one seed were removed.

When no seed remained in the city, that would be called a Great Kalpa.

Suppose there were a block of stone eighty miles square, and a deity from the Heaven of Long Life used a celestial garment weighing only about three zhu to brush across that stone once every three years. When the stone had been completely worn away, that would be called an Intermediate Kalpa. The celestial garment would likewise brush the smaller forty-mile stone and the larger one-hundred-and-twenty-mile stone in the same manner as in the kalpas described above. Thus, the duration of kalpas can never be fully described.

3. Explaining how, since beginningless time, sentient beings have created karma, undergone suffering, and revolved in samsara.

The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states: “Since beginningless kalpas, people of the world have revolved endlessly in samsara and assumed countless bodies. Even during a single human kalpa, one might die in the Wang family and be born into the Zhang family, then die in the Zhang family and be born into the Li family. In this way, one circles throughout Jambudvipa without end, sometimes being born into a different family and sometimes into the same family.

Or one might die in Southern Jambudvipa and be born in Western Godaniya; among the other three continents as well, beings are born and die in turn without end. Then one may be born from the human realm into the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings, and so forth. One may die in the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings and be born in the Trayastrimsa Heaven, or die in the Trayastrimsa Heaven and be born in another of the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings.

The realm of form has eighteen levels of heavens, and the formless realm has four levels of heavens. One dies here and is born there, all in succession in this manner. At times, one may die in the realm of form and be born in the Avici hell.

After dying in the Avici hell, one may be born in a less severe hell; after dying in a hell, one may be born among hungry ghosts; after dying as a hungry ghost, one may be born as an animal; and after dying among animals, one may be born among devas or humans. In this way, beings continually revolve through the six destinies, undergoing endlessly the karmic retributions of suffering and happiness. Such is the case with womb-born beings, and it is likewise so with egg-born, moisture-born, and spontaneously born beings.”

The Sutra of Mindfulness of the True Dharma states: “A transformation-born bodhisattva instructed the assemblies of devas:

‘Human beings pass through many thousands of kalpas,

Deluded by pleasure and heedlessly failing to cultivate the Path.

Unaware that the merit of former times is now exhausted,

They fall into the three evil destinies and undergo suffering.’”

The Nirvana Sutra also states: “The body is an accumulation of suffering; it is entirely impure, filled with decay and foulness, and truly without any meaningful substance. Even the bodies of devas are likewise. Therefore, those who wish to escape this defiled body must cultivate the practice of heedfulness. Why? Because heedlessness is the root of every evil, while heedfulness is the source of wholesome deeds. Just as, in dispelling darkness, the light of the sun and moon is supreme, so among all wholesome dharmas, the Dharma of heedfulness is supreme. Just as Mount Sumeru is the highest of all mountains, so too is the Dharma of heedfulness the highest among all wholesome dharmas. Why? Because all evil dharmas arise from negligence, while all wholesome dharmas arise from heedfulness.

Question: It is said that since beginningless kalpas, beings have revolved through the six destinies without boundary or limit. How many bodies must one assume within a single kalpa?

Answer: The Nirvana Sutra states: “If all the grasses and trees throughout the trichiliocosm were made to grow tall and then counted one by one, their number would still be insufficient to equal the number of bodies received from parents during a single kalpa.” It may be said that, during a single kalpa, the milk one drinks from one’s mothers exceeds the waters of the four seas. During a single kalpa, the bones from one’s bodies would form a heap as vast as Mount Vipula. Thus, throughout the distant past, beings have undergone birth and death and assumed the bodies of ordinary beings beyond all reckoning. How truly lamentable!

Question: Throughout vast and great kalpas, beings have assumed countless bodies. Is there any scriptural passage that proves this?

Answer: This is all based on the scriptures taught by the Buddha. The Lotus Sutra states: In an exceedingly remote great kalpa of the past, beyond all telling, a Buddha appeared in the world named Great Universal Wisdom Excellence Tathagata. He had sixteen royal sons, all of whom ascended Dharma seats and taught sentient beings.

Each royal son taught six hundred myriads of kotis of nayutas of sentient beings, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Since that Buddha entered nirvana, an exceedingly long time has passed, beyond calculation. Suppose someone ground the earth throughout the trichiliocosm entirely into ink.

Then, after passing through one thousand lands, he placed one dot of ink, about the size of a speck of dust, and continued in this manner until all the ink made from the earth of that trichiliocosm was exhausted. Whether or not a speck had been placed in each of the lands through which this person passed, suppose all the earth in those lands were ground into dust. If each speck of dust were counted as one kalpa, the time since Great Universal Wisdom Excellence Tathagata entered nirvana would exceed even the number of those specks of dust.

All sentient beings of the present age are those who once received the teachings of those sixteen royal sons. Therefore, the sutra says that, because of these causes and conditions, the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and the Nirvana Sutra were expounded. Of the sixteen royal sons who taught throughout the ten directions, the sixteenth is the present Buddha Sakyamuni, while the sentient beings taught by those sixteen are precisely the sentient beings who hear the Dharma today.

Question: It was said above that sentient beings have wandered through many kalpas. How can so many bodies be contained within the narrow confines of the three realms?

Answer: Although transmigration is spoken of, beings take birth in the three evil paths in exceedingly great numbers. As the sutra says: “Suppose that throughout space, from the earth up to the Heaven of Ultimate Form, square compartments were stacked in measureless number. Within that expanse, the bodies that sentient beings have assumed as devas and humans would amount to many trichiliocosms.

One should therefore know that bodies in the evil paths are even more numerous. Why is this? Because evil dharmas easily arise, while wholesome intentions are difficult to engender.

In the present age, we see that when sentient beings attain wealth, they merely pursue indulgence and violate the precepts, while devas mostly pursue the pleasures of the five desires.” Thus, the sutra says: “All sentient beings constantly transmigrate, always taking the three evil paths as their home. They come briefly to the realms of devas and humans and then depart; therefore, they are called only guests.” In the Treatise on the Great Adornment, all sentient beings are exhorted constantly to cultivate present mindfulness.

There is a verse:

While young and free from illness,

One is indolent and lacks diligence,

Greedily engaging in worldly affairs,

Not cultivating Giving, Precepts, or Meditation.

When the spirit of death arrives,

One regrets and hastily cultivates the Good.

The wise should contemplate carefully

And eliminate thoughts of the five desires.

Diligently strive to cultivate the mind,

And in the end there will be no regret.

When the mind and intention are concentrated,

There will be no confused thoughts.

The wise must apply their minds,

So that at life’s end their awareness is not lost.

Those who do not train in right mindfulness

Will surely be distracted at life’s end.

If the mind becomes distracted,

It is like training horses with a whip;

When they gallop wildly in every direction,

How can they reach their destination?”

Question: All sentient beings possess Buddha-nature and, since beginningless distant kalpas, should have encountered very many Buddhas. Why, then, are they still revolving in birth and death to this day, unable to escape the burning house?

Answer: According to the sacred teachings of the Mahayana, there are two excellent methods for escaping the burning house: cultivating the Holy Path and cultivating birth in the Pure Land. In the present age, those who cultivate the Holy Path find realization difficult, because we are far removed from the Buddha, while the sacred principle is subtle and difficult to enter. Thus, in the Great Collection Sutra of the Moon Treasury, the Buddha said: “In the age of the final Dharma, though billions upon billions of sentient beings arouse practice and cultivate the Holy Path, not one has attained the Way.” The present age is indeed the final age, when the five defilements run rampant.

Only the Pure Land Dharma-gate can bring success. Therefore, the Great Sutra says: “If there are sentient beings who, even though they have committed evil throughout an entire lifetime, at the time of death recite my name continuously for ten thoughts, then, should they not be born in my land, may I not abide in Perfect Enlightenment.”

Most sentient beings do not know how to assess their own capacities. As for the true suchness, true mark, and emptiness of the ultimate meaning taught in the Mahayana scriptures, they have never given them any thought. Even if we speak of the Hinayana practitioners of the four fruits, who eliminate the delusions of views and the delusions of thought, how many among monastics and laypeople have attained any share in them?

Even the karmic rewards of birth among humans and devas are brought about through the five precepts and ten wholesome deeds, yet very few people are able to uphold them. As for arousing evil and committing offenses, it is like adding a great wind to burning dry firewood. Precisely for this reason, moved by Great Compassion, the Buddhas exhort beings to cultivate the Pure Land.

Even if one has committed evil throughout an entire lifetime, one need only devote one’s mind with focused diligence and constantly be mindful of the Buddha; all obstructions will then be extinguished, and one will certainly attain birth there. Why not reflect carefully and seek a way to free oneself?

4. Citing the Sutras in Which the Buddha Exhorts Beings to Have Faith and Aspire for Birth in the Pure Land.

The Sutra on the Samadhi of Contemplating the Buddha says: “At that time, in the assembly, the Bodhisattva Treasury of Wealth addressed the Buddha, saying: ‘World-Honored One! I recall that immeasurable kalpas ago in the past, a Buddha appeared in the world who was also called Buddha Shakyamuni. After that Buddha entered parinirvana, there was a prince named Golden Banner, who was arrogant, held wrong views, and did not believe in the true Dharma.

A spiritual friend, the bhiksu Mastery in Samadhi, said to the prince: “In the world there is an exceedingly beautiful and pleasing image of the Buddha. You may enter the stupa and contemplate the Buddha’s image.” The prince followed the advice of his good friend, entered the stupa, and contemplated the Buddha. Seeing the Buddha’s excellent marks, he said to the bhiksu: “If even the Buddha’s image is so dignified and magnificent, how much more so must his true body be!” The bhiksu said: “Now that you have seen the Buddha’s image, even if you cannot bow in worship, you should recite, ‘Namo Buddha.’ Then return to the palace, concentrate your thoughts, and recollect the image in the stupa.” The prince returned and did as instructed.

In the middle of that night, he saw the Buddha’s image and was filled with great joy. He abandoned his wrong views and took refuge in the Three Jewels. When his life ended, through the causes and conditions of entering the stupa and praising the Buddha’s virtues, he encountered nine hundred kotis of nayutas of Buddhas.

In the presence of those Buddhas, he was always diligent and vigorous and continually attained the power of the Samadhi of Mindfulness of the Buddha. Therefore, every Buddha who appeared before him bestowed a prediction of Buddhahood upon him. From that time onward, throughout hundreds of thousands of asamkhyeya kalpas, he never fell into an evil path, and to this day he has attained the Shurangama Samadhi.

The prince of that time was none other than I myself today.’

“At that time, in the assembly were immeasurable numbers of great bodhisattvas from the ten directions. Each clearly recounted the causes and conditions of his own past and said that, by relying upon mindfulness of the Buddha, he had attained the Samadhi of Mindfulness of the Buddha. The Buddha said: ‘Ananda!

This Samadhi of Contemplating the Buddha is the medicine that heals all sentient beings who have committed offenses; the armor that safeguards the precepts of those who have broken them; the guiding master who leads those who have lost their way; bright eyes for the blind; wisdom for the foolish; a brilliant lamp in the dark night; the valiant general who destroys the thieves of affliction; the place where all Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, disport themselves; and the source from which the great Shurangama Samadhi and all the other great samadhis arise.’ The Buddha further said: ‘Ananda!

You must preserve it well and not allow it to be forgotten. All Buddhas of the three times—past, present, and future—teach this Samadhi of Mindfulness of the Buddha. I, together with the Buddhas of the ten directions and the thousand Buddhas of the preceding kalpa, when we first aroused the aspiration for enlightenment, all relied upon the power of this Samadhi of Mindfulness of the Buddha to attain the Wisdom of All Modes.’

In the Sutra of Questions Asked by Maudgalyayana, the Buddha told Maudgalyayana: “It is as when a river flows toward the sea: trees and grasses floating upon its surface neither look ahead nor behind, yet all reach the great sea. People in the world are likewise. Although some are wealthy and honored while others are poor and destitute, none can escape birth, aging, illness, and death.

Yet because they do not believe in the Buddha’s sutras, in future lives, even when born as humans, they will have nowhere to rely upon and will not attain birth in the lands of the Buddhas. Therefore, I say that the immeasurable Buddha-lands are easy to reach and that the practice is easy to perform. Yet people are unwilling to cultivate birth there and instead venerate the ninety-five kinds of wrong paths.

I say that such people are without eyes and are called people without ears. The sutras teach this clearly; why do they not abandon what is difficult and follow what is easy?”