淨土論

CHAPTER VI

TESTIMONIES OF THOSE WHO ATTAINED REBIRTH

A brief account of twenty people, both monastics and laypeople, who attained rebirth (six bhikshus, four bhikshunis, five male lay practitioners, and five female lay practitioners).

– Question: The sutras and treatises cited above as evidence demonstrating the reality of rebirth are indeed excellent proofs. Yet beings of shallow wisdom cannot fathom the Buddha’s intent. It would be better if you cited accounts of people in recent times who attained rebirth, so as to inspire them, cause everyone immediately to believe and delight in what they hear, and encourage them to advance in cultivation.

– Answer: According to the sutras and treatises, a great many people who attained rebirth manifested extraordinary signs and radiant platforms. Here, however, I shall briefly cite twenty people to awaken faith in practitioners.

VI.1 BHIKSHU MONKS WHO ATTAINED REBIRTH:

There were six:

1) Dharma Master Fangqi: He was a native of Huayin. In the ninth year of the Zhenguan era ⁽⁶³⁵⁾, the Master and Dharma Master Xuanguo of Wuzhen Monastery in Lantian County recited the name of Amitabha Buddha together throughout the summer retreat. Afterward, the Master placed a willow branch in the hand of an image of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara and vowed: “If my recitation of the Buddha’s name will enable me to attain rebirth, may this willow branch remain unwithered for seven days.” His wish was fulfilled, and after seven days the willow branch had not withered.

On behalf of all beings, the Master further prayed: “The Mahayana-samgraha Treatise speaks of rebirth at another time, whereas the Contemplation Sutra speaks of immediate rebirth. May I see Amitabha Buddha in a dream and ask him to resolve this doubt.” That very night, the Master dreamed three times, all in the same place. First, he dreamed of a large pond with a lofty pavilion to its southwest.

The Master descended from the pavilion and went to the northeastern bank of the pond, where he saw a jeweled canopy more than two zhang high, with its entrance opening toward the east. The Master suddenly flew into the canopy; half his body entered it, but then he flew back out and alighted to its west. There stood a great hall, within which a venerable monk told him: “Anyone who cultivates the Pure Land practice will be born within this canopy.” At this point, the Master awoke.

He then dreamed again and saw the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara sitting with his legs extended on the northern bank of the pond, facing north. The Master raised the bodhisattva’s feet with his hands and placed them upon his head. He saw on the soles of the bodhisattva’s feet the marks of wheels with a thousand spokes, and the bodhisattva’s body was the color of Jambu River gold.

Suddenly, the Master awoke. He then dreamed again that he was standing on the southern bank of the pond, facing west. From the pond westward stretched a vast expanse of water densely filled with lotus flowers.

Suddenly, he saw Amitabha Buddha approaching from the west and coming before him. The Master bowed with his head touching the ground in homage to the Buddha. After paying homage, he knelt upright with palms joined before the Buddha and asked: “When beings in the Saha world practice according to the sutras, can they be born in the World-Honored One’s land?” The Buddha replied: “Good man!

All beings who cultivate the Pure Land practice will be born in my land. Harbor no doubt whatsoever!”

On another night, the Master again dreamed that he was in the Saha world. Looking westward, he saw Amitabha Buddha’s land as level as the surface of a mirror, while the Saha world appeared to consist entirely of mountains and rivers; east and west were utterly different. Looking southward, he saw level ground and fifteen jeweled canopies traveling westward over a river. All were made of the seven treasures, except for the one in the center, which was made of white silver. From beneath the canopies came the sounds of music, hymns, and praises. The Master asked: “What are these canopies?” The people beneath them replied: “All these are people who have attained rebirth.” Rejoicing, the Master leapt into the air, flew westward for a short while, and then came to a halt.

On yet another night, the Master dreamed that he was in a Buddha hall, standing before the Buddha. A monk named Dharmakara rode a carriage into the Buddha hall, welcomed the Master aboard, and carried him westward. Dharmakara was Amitabha Buddha himself, and the carriage was his forty-eight great vows.

On another night, the Master again dreamed that he himself was sitting with his legs extended upon a great lotus throne made of a hundred kinds of treasures, facing south, and attaining perfect enlightenment. One night, the Master dreamed that Shakyamuni Buddha and the bodhisattva Manjushri stood before him praising the Lotus Sutra. On another night, he dreamed of three roads leading straight westward. On the first road were only monks and nuns; the second was filled entirely with laypeople; and on the third there was only a single monk. All were traveling westward, and all were people attaining rebirth.

2) Dharma Master Tanluan (476–542): A native of Wenshui in Bingzhou, he lived during the late Northern Wei and early Northern Qi periods. The Master possessed a lofty and far-reaching mind, was renowned throughout the three kingdoms^[1], thoroughly understood the sutras, and possessed knowledge surpassing that of ordinary people. Emperor Wu of Liang, known as Prince Xiao, would often face north to pay homage to him and honor him with the title Bodhisattva Tanluan.

The Master composed a two-fascicle commentary on the bodhisattva Vasubandhu’s Treatise on Rebirth, as well as a one-fascicle anthology on the Infinite Life Sutra, accompanied by 195 lines of seven-character verse and a series of questions and answers. He circulated these works throughout the world to exhort both monastics and laypeople to resolve to seek rebirth and behold Amitabha Buddha. The Master often prayed that the bodhisattva Nagarjuna would come to instruct him at the time of death.

Just as he had wished, when the karmic recompense sustaining his present life in this realm came to an end, a holy monk appeared in the middle of the night, entered the Master’s room, and said:

– I am Nagarjuna, and I wish to tell you: “A fallen leaf can no longer cling to its branch; grain not yet harvested cannot be sought in the storehouse; the shadow of a colt passing a crack in the doorway cannot pause even briefly. The past does not return, the future has not yet arrived—where, then, is the present? The passing shadow cannot turn back.” The Dharma Master silently understood the meaning of these words and knew that his life was about to end.

In the middle of that very night, the Dharma Master sent word to more than two hundred lay disciples in the surrounding villages and to the monastic disciples in the monastery, instructing them all to assemble. The Dharma Master bathed, put on fresh, clean robes, held an incense burner in his hands, and sat upright facing west. He instructed his disciples to follow the Pure Land path.

Just as the sun began to rise, everyone recited the name of Amitabha Buddha in unison, and the Master passed away. Five li west of the monastery stood a nunnery whose bhikshunis were also the Master’s disciples. After day had fully dawned, while they were assembled in the dining hall eating rice gruel, all the bhikshunis heard exquisite music in the sky coming from the west and traveling eastward.

One among them who understood its meaning told the others:

– Throughout his life, our Dharma Master and preceptor taught people to cultivate the Pure Land path. Now this music is traveling eastward; it has surely come to welcome the Dharma Master.

When they had finished eating, they urged one another to go and see the Dharma Master off. While they were waiting for one another in the courtyard, before they had even left the nunnery, they again heard the music in the sky, now traveling westward. The bhikshunis hurried together to the Master’s dwelling and found that he had already entered final repose.

According to the sutras and treatises, this Dharma Master was certainly reborn in the Western Pure Land.

3) Dharma Master Shideng (?–592): The Master lived during the Sui dynasty at Xingguo Monastery in Bingzhou. He entered monastic life as a child, cultivated diligently, and possessed an exceptionally steadfast resolve for the Way. He once lectured on the entire Nirvana Sutra.

Those who came to study, whether monastics or laypeople, young or old, including novices and those of higher rank, were never permitted by the Master to stand while asking questions. Instead, he told them to sit down, then expounded the wondrous Dharma to them, orally transmitted the method of reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha, and encouraged them all to aspire together for rebirth in the Pure Land. Throughout his life, the Master maintained pure conduct and karma, frequently burned incense and recited scriptures, and cultivated abundant merit.

He was deeply compassionate; cuckoos, pigeons, and other birds would often fly down, eat from his hand, and then fly away. In the twelfth year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui dynasty ⁽⁵⁹²⁾, the Master passed away at the monastery. At that time, everyone perceived an extraordinary fragrance.

On the day his physical remains were taken for burial, a fragrant cloud came from the west to welcome him. Upon hearing that the Master had passed away, everyone in the city—old and young, men and women—accompanied him to the burial place.

Since such auspicious signs occurred, the Master must certainly have attained rebirth in the Pure Land.

4) Dharma Master Zhuhong (604–?): He lived during the Sui dynasty at the Han Prince’s Inner Practice Hall in Bingzhou. The Master was born in the fourth year of the Renshou era ⁽⁶⁰⁴⁾, entered monastic life as a child, and cultivated diligently throughout his life. He never handled money, made offerings to the Three Jewels, and taught those with whom he had karmic affinities.

The Master also devoted himself to cultivating the Pure Land path and aspired to behold Amitabha Buddha. As he approached death, his mind’s eye was lucid and serene. He saw celestial men and women come from Tusita Heaven to welcome him.

Drawing near, they took hold of his kasaya and said that the Dharma Master was about to be reborn in heaven. The Dharma Master rebuked them, saying, “I do not aspire to that place,” and refused to go. The disciples beside him immediately began reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha.

A short while later, he saw a manifested Buddha and bodhisattvas from the Western Pure Land arrive to welcome him. Only then did the Dharma Master tell everyone, “The bodhisattvas from the Pure Land to which I aspire have now arrived.” At that very moment, the Dharma Master passed away.

5) Dharma Master Sengyan (547–642): The Dharma Master was a native of Wenshui in Bingzhou. He entered monastic life as a child and devoted himself to cultivation and study. He became thoroughly proficient in lecturing on four scriptural and commentarial works: the Nirvana Sutra, the Mahayana-samgraha Treatise, the Treatise on the Ten Grounds, and the Bodhisattva-bhumi Sutra.

The Master lived to the age of ninety-six and passed away in the sixteenth year of the Zhenguan era ⁽⁶⁴²⁾. For five or six years, the Dharma Master devoted himself to reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha. When he first redirected his mind toward this practice, he maintained a daily and nightly practice of making five hundred prostrations to Amitabha Buddha.

Thereafter, he gradually increased the number. As death approached, he made one thousand prostrations each day and night and recited the name of Amitabha Buddha seventy or eighty thousand times, never once growing indolent or remiss. On the day of his death, the Master told his disciples: “Amitabha Buddha has come and bestowed a robe and incense upon me.

Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta, and the assembly of sages fill the sky. From here westward, everything is the Pure Land.” At that very moment, the Master passed away. During the earlier period of his cultivation, the Dharma Master paid no attention at all to the practice of the Pure Land.

After reaching the age of ninety, he encountered Dharma Master Daochuo lecturing on the Infinite Life Sutra. Only after hearing it did he redirect his mind toward this practice. Having cultivated for merely four or five years, at the time of death he experienced the state briefly described above.

6) Dharma Master Daochuo (?–645): The Dharma Master was also a native of Jinyang in Bingzhou and a third-generation disciple in the lineage of Dharma Master Tanluan. He once lectured on the entire Nirvana Sutra and often praised Dharma Master Tanluan’s lofty wisdom and virtue. He himself said: “His wisdom and virtue were as far above mine as heaven is above earth, yet he relinquished lecturing to cultivate the Pure Land path and attained rebirth there.

How much more should an ordinary person such as I, whose understanding amounts to so little, not regard it as a virtue?” From the fifth year of the Daye era ⁽⁶⁰⁸⁾ onward, the Master gave up lecturing and cultivated only the Pure Land practice. He single-mindedly devoted himself to reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha, continuously making prostrations and offerings without interruption. From the Zhenguan era ⁽⁶²⁷⁾ onward, in order to awaken those with whom he had karmic affinities, the Master frequently lectured on the single-fascicle Sutra on the Contemplation of Infinite Life.

He instructed monastics and laypeople throughout the three counties of Jinyang, Taiyuan, and Wenshui in Bingzhou. Everyone from the age of seven upward understood the Dharma-gate of Buddha-recollection. Those of the highest diligence who used beans to count their recitations of Amitabha Buddha’s name accumulated eighty or ninety shi; those of middling diligence accumulated fifty shi; and those of lesser diligence accumulated twenty shi.

Among those with karmic affinities who received the Master’s instruction, no one spat, blew their nose, or urinated while facing west, nor did anyone sit or lie with their back toward the west. The two-fascicle Collection on Peace and Bliss composed by the Master circulated throughout the world. On the twenty-fourth day of the fourth month in the nineteenth year of the Zhenguan era, the Yisi year ⁽⁶⁴⁵⁾, the Master bade farewell to both the monastic and lay communities.

Disciples from the three counties came continuously to bid farewell to him, so numerous that they could not be counted. On the twenty-seventh day, the Master passed away at Xuanzhong Monastery. At that time, a bank of white clouds came from the west and transformed into three streams of white light that shone directly into the center of the Master’s room.

They disappeared only after the Master had passed away. Later, when his cremation ceremony was held and a memorial stupa was erected for him, three rays of five-colored light again appeared in the sky and encircled the sun. The light disappeared only after the cremation was completed.

Thereafter, purple clouds appeared three times above the Master’s memorial stupa. All his disciples witnessed these auspicious signs.

According to the sutras, one may conclude that it was precisely the power of the Buddhas’ compassionate roots of virtue that enabled sentient beings to witness such events. Moreover, the Avatamsaka Sutra contains this verse:

Again, light is emitted, and the Buddha is seen;

This occurs only when an awakened person passes away.

Through the samadhi of Buddha-recollection, one will surely see the Buddha;

After passing away, one is born in the Buddha’s presence.

VI.2 BHIKSUNIS WHO ATTAINED REBIRTH

There were four:

1) Bhiksuni Fasheng (368–439): The nun’s original family name was Nie, and she was a native of Qinghe. In the tenth year of the Yuanjia era ⁽⁴³³⁾, she entered monastic life at Jianfu Monastery. The nun was highly accomplished in the Way and esteemed for her virtue, and she constantly vowed to be reborn in the Land of Peace and Nurture.

She told her two fellow students, Tanjing and Tan’ai: “Throughout my life and practice of the Way, I have always maintained the resolve to seek rebirth in the west.” On the twenty-seventh day of the ninth month in the sixteenth year of the Yuanjia era ⁽⁴³⁹⁾, after going to the stupa to pay homage to the Buddha, the nun fell ill, and her condition worsened with each passing day. Early in the night at the end of that month, while in a drowsy state resembling sleep, she saw the Tathagata descend from the sky and discuss the teachings with two great beings.

A moment later, the nun saw herself ascending with the assembly of sages to a place of luxuriant trees filled with pervasive fragrance. Upon awakening, her illness became grave. Suddenly, light radiated throughout her room, bright as torchlight.

Everyone in the monastery saw it and came together to ask what the light was. As soon as the nun had recounted everything, she passed away at the age of seventy-two. Zhang Bian of Wu Commandery, the governor of Yuzhang, had long revered the nun and therefore recorded this account.

2) Bhiksuni Fasheng of the Southern Monastery in Wu County: After entering monastic life, the nun immediately went to the capital to pursue further study of meditation and the Vinaya. She thoroughly understood the two disciplines of concentration and wisdom and investigated the most profound and subtle reaches of the teachings. Although she did not instruct her relatives sternly, they all attained accomplishment. The nun regularly practiced seated meditation and recollection of the Buddha. As she approached death, the Buddha emitted light to welcome her.

3) Nun Guangjing of Guangling Zhong Monastery: The nun’s family name was Hu, and she was a native of Wuxing. She left the household life while still a child, and even at a young age her observance of the precepts was lofty and pure. She constantly cultivated meditative wisdom and did not eat delicacies. More than a hundred people followed her to study meditation. She continually recollected the Buddha and maintained the precepts purely. As she approached death, a fragrance filled the air, and many wondrous signs appeared to welcome her.

4) Nun Great Bright Moon: The nun was a native of Pingyao in Jiezhou. She left the household life while still young and resided at Dutu Monastery. In the first year of the Zhenguan era ⁽⁶²⁷⁾, when she was nearly sixty years old, she heard Dharma Master Daochuo lecture on the Sutra of Infinite Life at Xuanzhong Monastery and teach the practice of recollecting the Buddha.

Before recollecting the Buddha, she would always put on clean robes, hold fragrant agarwood in her mouth, and burn various kinds of incense in her pure chamber. She continued this practice without interruption for three or four years. As she approached death, her physical strength did not decline.

Everyone saw a wondrous light, and within that radiance they also saw fragrant smoke scented with agarwood coming to welcome her. At that very moment, the nun passed away. At the time, she had a younger sister named Lesser Bright Moon, who, like her elder sister, made recollection of the Buddha her principal practice.

When impermanence overtook her, she too experienced auspicious signs too numerous to describe. Monastics and laypeople alike, upon hearing these accounts, all brought forth the resolve to recollect the Buddha.

VI.3 MALE LAY DEVOTEES WHO ATTAINED REBIRTH

There were five:

1) Tan Yuan: A native of Lujiang, he devotedly served the Buddha and observed the bodhisattva precepts. During the Yuanjia era of the Song dynasty (424–453), when he was only eighteen or nineteen years old, he had already turned his mind toward the Pure Land. Hoping to receive a spiritual response, Yuan would often invite several monks to his home to recite sutras.

He also took the opportunity to ask Master Senghan about the Dharma of repentance, for he feared that his transgressions might prevent his aspiration from reaching the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Master Senghan constantly encouraged him and exhorted him not to become indolent. On the night of the sixteenth day of the second month in the tenth year of Yuanjia ⁽⁴³³⁾, after the sutra recitation had ended and all the monks had gone to sleep, during the middle of the fourth watch Yuan suddenly cried aloud, “Chant!

Begin chanting!” Startled awake, Senghan asked him what had happened. Yuan said that he had seen the Buddha, whose body was the color of pure gold and whose form and stature resembled the image enshrined there. Golden light radiated around his body, while banners, canopies, and flowers filled the air.

He had come from the West and called upon Yuan to depart quickly. Yuan was habitually frail and ill, with rapid and labored breathing, yet that night he was strong and his countenance became utterly joyful. He rose and invited the monk to come.

Master Senghan then took incense and flowers and scattered them before the Buddha. Yuan’s mother said to him, “Can you bear to forget your mother and leave?” Yuan did not reply, and after a short while he suddenly lay down. Everyone in the household had heard of the miraculous signs, so they were joyful and composed, without sorrow or fear.

During the fifth watch, Yuan suddenly passed away. A fragrance remained throughout the house and did not fade for several days.

2) The Heir Apparent of the State of Wei: He was a native of Liang Commandery. The Xu Xiang Ji records that he and his two children all attained rebirth. He diligently cultivated and studied the Buddhadharma, and his children practiced along with him.

Only his wife remained deluded and did not believe in the Buddhist sutras. At the beginning of the Yuanjia era ⁽⁴²⁴⁾, his fourteen-year-old daughter fell ill and died. Seven days later, she suddenly returned to life and said to the Heir Apparent, “Father, please erect a high Dharma seat and obtain a copy of the Sutra of Infinite Life for me.” The Heir Apparent immediately had the seat erected and the sutra prepared.

Although the girl had previously observed a vegetarian diet, kept the precepts, and paid homage to the Buddha, she had never read the sutra. Nevertheless, she now ascended the seat and read the Sutra of Infinite Life in a clear and fluent voice, articulating every phrase and sentence distinctly. Afterward, she descended from the seat and told her father, “After I died, I attained rebirth in the land of the Buddha of Infinite Life.

I saw that the three of us—Father, Elder Brother, and I—each already had a great lotus flower prepared in the seven-jeweled pond, into which we shall later be born by transformation. Because Mother alone had no lotus flower, I could not bear it and returned to inform you.” After saying this, the girl passed away. From that time onward, the Heir Apparent’s wife reverently placed her faith in the Buddhadharma.

3) Zhang Yuanxiang: A native of Wannian County in Yongzhou, he was upright by nature, diligently observed the precepts, and regularly recited the Sutra of the Contemplation of the Buddha of Infinite Life and recollected Amitabha Buddha. Xiang became ill in the fifth month of the twentieth year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui dynasty ⁽⁶⁰⁸⁾. At the hour of the dragon on the third day of the sixth month, he wished to eat and said, “Bring me vegetarian food.” His family brought the food, and after Xiang had eaten, he lit incense and lamps, maintained right mindfulness, and passed away. Although his body was kept for more than two days before burial, his countenance remained exactly as it had been while he was alive. Everyone praised this marvel.

It was the power of wholesome merit that brought this about.

4) An elderly man of Fenyang County in Bingzhou: The narrator did not know his name or family name. In the fifth year of the Zhenguan era ⁽⁶³¹⁾, upon hearing of the merit of attaining rebirth in the Pure Land, the elderly man brought provisions to Faren Mountain Monastery and asked the monks to let him lodge in a room. There, day and night, he single-mindedly recollected Amitabha Buddha and did not once close his eyes in sleep for three or four years.

As he approached death, the monks sent someone to summon his daughter, named De’er, to visit him. The elderly man then told everyone, “Recently, every day countless monks have come from the West and traveled eastward, as though attending a meal offering to the Sangha.” He also told his daughter, “Tomorrow a light will shine upon my body. When that happens, do not be surprised!” The following day, when the appointed time arrived, a light indeed illuminated the entire room.

Facing west, the elderly man passed away, his posture appearing as though he were about to ascend to a high place.

5) A man whose name and family name are unknown: It was said that this man was cruel and vicious by nature. He did not believe in cause and effect and frequently hunted and killed wild animals. Later, he fell ill, and as death approached, he saw all the torments of the hells. The beings he had formerly killed came to demand his life. Regretting his deeds, he thought to himself, “Throughout my life I did not believe the words of the monks. What I see today is truly just as the sutras describe.” He then said to his family:

– You must save me.

His wife and children said:

– How can we save you?

– If you cannot save me, quickly send someone to a monastery and invite a monk here to save me.

Following his instructions, the family invited a monk to their home. Upon seeing the monk, the man was overwhelmed with grief and said while weeping:

– Master, please have compassion and quickly save this disciple.

– Throughout your life, benefactor, you did not believe in the Three Jewels. Now that you are about to die, I fear it will be difficult to save you!

– Is that truly so?! Master, in your reading of the Buddhist sutras, have you found any teaching about how a person burdened with transgressions like this disciple may be saved at the moment of death?

– The Contemplation Sutra contains a passage concerning this matter.

The man suddenly became delighted and said:

– The Buddha said that hells exist, and this has proven to be exactly as he taught; therefore, hells certainly exist. The Buddha also said that rebirth can be attained, so this disciple will assuredly attain rebirth.

The man then told his family:

– Bring incense and a lamp here.

His family brought him a lamp and an incense burner. He said:

– I am now about to enter hell and am already amid its fiery furnaces and boiling cauldrons. What need have I for an incense burner? Place the incense and lamp in my hands.

Thereupon, holding the lamp in his left hand and the incense in his right, he turned to face west and recollected the Buddha with utmost sincerity. Before he had completed even ten recollections, he told everyone:

– The Buddha has come from the West together with a great multitude of holy beings, all of whom radiate brilliant light. The Buddha has bestowed upon me a lotus seat.

Having said this, the man immediately passed away.

(This is the case of attaining rebirth through ten recollections of the Buddha.)

VI.4 FEMALE LAY DEVOTEES WHO ATTAINED REBIRTH

There were five:

1) The wife of District Commandant Wen Jingwen: She was from Jinyang, Bingzhou; her family name is unknown. For a long time, she had been afflicted with paralysis on one side of her body and had to remain constantly in bed. Her husband said:

– Since you lie in bed all day, why do you not recollect the Buddha?

The wife asked:

– Which Buddha should I recollect?

– Recollect Amitabha Buddha!

From then on, for two years the wife constantly recollected the Buddha. Consequently, her karmic obstructions were eradicated, and in this very life she beheld the land of Amitabha Buddha. Joyfully, she thanked her husband:

– I have suffered from this lingering illness for so long and have caused you much trouble. Now, thanks to your instruction to recollect Amitabha Buddha, I have been able to behold his Buddha-land. Tomorrow I shall depart. Therefore, please inform my parents and siblings, and prepare a vegetarian feast so that I may bid everyone farewell.

Her husband said:

– How could an ordinary person possibly behold the Buddha? Could it be that you have been afflicted by a malign wind and are seeing delusions?!

– I am certainly not afflicted by any malign wind!

Her husband immediately informed her parents and relatives. On the day of the vegetarian feast, she had five mats spread near the monks as seats for the Holy Assembly. When the appointed time came, she saw the Holy Assembly in the distance, suspended in the air and not descending. The wife then said:

– I suspect that these monks are impure, and therefore the holy ones are unwilling to sit together with them.

She immediately had mats spread on a level place upon the roof and had food taken there as an offering. When the monks had finished eating, she urged the entire household to gather and listen to a Dharma discourse. Afterward, she instructed them:

– Today I shall follow the holy ones and attain rebirth in the West. It is my wish that my parents and all my relatives will recollect the Buddha so that, in a future life, we may all reach the inconceivable Pure Land of the West.

Having spoken, the wife sat upright, facing west. Everyone recollected the Buddha together, and the wife of the District Commandant then passed away.

Truly, no one could equal such a person!

2) The elderly couple at Mount Gou: They lived during the Daye era (605–618) of the Sui dynasty. Their home was at Mount Gou in Wenshui County, Bingzhou. They had no children, only two or three servants.

The couple always kept enough provisions in reserve to last two years. Clearly understanding the principle that all dharmas are suffering and empty, on the twenty-ninth day of every month they invited two monks down from the mountain to expound the Dharma throughout the night. The village contained about sixty households, all of which gladly came to hear the Dharma and receive the precepts.

The following morning, the last day of the month, the couple would customarily hold a ceremonial offering of a monastic meal. This continued regularly. Whenever the day for offering the monastic meal arrived, the old woman bathed and cleansed herself, then personally performed every task.

The old man said:

– Your body is old and your strength is weak. You need only instruct the servants; why must you do everything yourself?

The old woman replied:

– I fear that I may die at any morning or evening and no longer be able to do these things. If I order the servants to perform them, the merit will belong only to them.

Thus, whenever a monastic meal was held, the old woman insisted on doing the work herself. For two or three consecutive years, she dedicated all the merit she created and all the virtuous practices of recitation and recollection to rebirth in the Pure Land. On the day she was approaching death, everyone in the village came to visit her. Just after nightfall, an auspicious sign appeared: everyone suddenly saw light stream into the house. Although no lamps had been lit, the entire house shone as brightly as day. After everyone had recollected the Buddha in unison for a short while, they beheld a vast Holy Assembly, with a bodhisattva holding a magnificent and wondrous jeweled parasol that overshadowed the courtyard. At that very moment, the old woman passed away.

3) The blind old woman: Her family name was Liang, and she lived in Panlong Village, eight li east of Yong'an County in Luozhou. During the Zhenguan era (627–649) of the Tang dynasty—the exact year and month are not remembered—because she possessed roots of goodness from previous lives, after a monk taught her just once to recollect Amitabha Buddha, she continuously recollected the Buddha. After three years, her eyes suddenly regained their sight.

Having recovered her sight, she exerted herself even more in recitation and recollection. Upon completing four full years, her karmic recompense in this world came to an end. On the day she passed away, the whole village saw Buddhas and bodhisattvas, accompanied by many banners, streamers, and jeweled parasols, descend to welcome her.

At that very moment, the old woman passed away. Everyone in the village revered her and regarded the event as extraordinary. They therefore did not bury her but together erected a stupa for her west of the village.

That stupa still stands by the roadside today, and whenever villagers pass before it, they show it the utmost reverence. Everyone in the village, from adults to children, brought forth the resolve to recollect the Buddha.

4) Madam Pei: She was from Jinyang, Bingzhou. During the Zhenguan era (627–649), after meeting a monk who taught her to count her recitations of the Buddha's name with beans, she single-mindedly recollected Amitabha Buddha, using thirteen shi of beans. When her karmic recompense came to an end, she knew beforehand where she would be reborn and bid farewell to the monks and laypeople. The following day, at the time of the monastic meal, she told her family: “Light the lamps and burn incense! Amitabha Buddha has brought two lotus pedestals, and he has bestowed one of them upon me.” As soon as she finished speaking, she passed away.

5) Madam Yao: She was from Liquan County, Yongzhou, and was taught by a monk how to recollect Amitabha Buddha. On the twentieth day of the seventh month in the twenty-second year of the Zhenguan era ⁽⁶⁴⁸⁾, when impermanence suddenly arrived, Amitabha Buddha, together with Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, and innumerable bodhisattvas, came to welcome her. Because she had not yet bid farewell to Madam Fan, her longtime spiritual friend, she asked the Buddha to wait briefly while she took her leave. The Buddha consented. Shortly afterward, Madam Fan arrived. Madam Yao bade her farewell and then passed away.

CHAPTER VII.

A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE WESTERN LAND AND TUSHITA HEAVEN

-Question: Tushita Heaven and Amitabha's Pure Land are both places praised by the Buddha in the sutras. I do not know which is superior and which is inferior. Please instruct me.

-Answer: Each of these two places may be considered under three aspects; I do not know which aspect you are asking about. The three aspects are: first, the transforming lord, namely the Buddha; second, the place, namely the world; and third, the beings who are transformed, namely those who attain rebirth there. Regarding the transforming lords, both are Dharma Kings, both are honored as Sugatas, and both possess bodies endowed with myriad virtues.

Regarding their lands, both places possess a great many excellent qualities. Regarding the beings, in both places they are beings born through transformation. If the two Buddhas are compared, there is no superiority or inferiority between their merits and virtues.

Regarding the lands, however, there are differences of superiority and inferiority: Tushita Heaven is established in empty space, while the Land of Ultimate Bliss is formed upon the ground. Thus, the two places differ as being in the sky and upon the earth, and the two paths of gods and humans are distinct. Considering these two realms in general terms, the heavenly realm is superior and the human realm inferior.

If considered in terms of impurity and purity, although Tushita is a heavenly palace, because women are present there, it is called an Impure Land; although the Land of Ultimate Bliss is upon the ground, because there are no women there, it is called a Pure Land.

VII.1 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE PURE AND IMPURE LANDS

These two lands, the Pure and the Impure, differ in ten respects:

1) The presence or absence of women: In Tushita Heaven, men and women dwell together; in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, there are only men and no women.

2) Sensual desire and absence of sensual desire: Beings in Tusita Heaven have active sensual desire and are therefore attached to sensory realms; beings in the Land of Ultimate Bliss have no active sensual desire and therefore constantly bring forth the bodhi-mind.

3) Retrogression and non-retrogression: Tusita Heaven is a place where there is retrogression; the Land of Ultimate Bliss is a place of non-retrogression.

4) Lifespan: The lifespan of beings in Tusita Heaven is 4,000 years, and they may also die prematurely; the lifespan of beings in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is an innumerable number of asamkhya kalpas, and they do not die prematurely.

5) The three moral natures of mind^[2]: In beings in Tusita Heaven, minds of the three moral natures arise alternately; therefore, when an unwholesome mind arises, they fall into hell. Beings in the Land of Ultimate Bliss have only wholesome minds and therefore are forever separated from the evil paths.

6) The three kinds of feeling^[3]: In beings in Tusita Heaven, the three kinds of feeling arise in alternation; beings in the Land of Ultimate Bliss experience only pleasant feeling.

7) The realms of the six sense objects: The six sense objects in Tusita Heaven cause everyone to become heedless and self-indulgent; the six sense objects in the Land of Ultimate Bliss cause everyone to bring forth the bodhi-mind.

8) Taking birth: A male in Tusita Heaven takes birth upon his father's knee, and a female takes birth upon her mother's knee. Beings in the Land of Ultimate Bliss take birth within lotus blossoms in ponds made of the seven treasures.

9) Teaching the Dharma: In Tusita Heaven, only Buddhas and bodhisattvas teach the Dharma; in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, the water, birds, and trees are all able to teach the Dharma.

10) Attainment of the fruit: Among those born in Tusita, some attain the fruit of sagehood and some do not. Those born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss will certainly attain the fruit of unsurpassed bodhi.

Thus, when considered in light of these principles, the Western Land is greatly superior, while Tusita Heaven is greatly inferior.

VII.2 WHETHER SEEKING REBIRTH IS EASY OR DIFFICULT

With regard to those who seek rebirth, reaching the Western Land is easy, whereas ascending to Tusita Heaven is difficult. This difference in difficulty and ease may also be considered in seven respects:

1) Difference in place: Beings in the Land of Ultimate Bliss are humans, while beings in Tusita Heaven are devas. Thus, becoming a being in Tusita Heaven is difficult, while becoming a being in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is easy.

2) Difference in causes: Merely observing the five precepts is sufficient to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, but one must fully practice the Ten Wholesome Deeds to be born in Tusita Heaven.

3) Difference in practices: Even if one accomplishes only ten recollections of the Buddha, one immediately attains rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss (according to the Contemplation Sutra). But one must fully practice the three practices of generosity, observance of the precepts, and cultivation of the Ten Wholesome Deeds to be born in Tusita Heaven (according to the Maitreya Sutra).

4) Difference between self-power and other-power: Through the other-power of Amitabha Buddha's forty-eight great vows, beings attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. There is no vow upon which to rely for rebirth in Tusita Heaven; one reaches it solely through self-power.

5) Having or not having spiritual friends: The Land of Ultimate Bliss has the two bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta, who frequently come into the world to encourage those seeking rebirth there. When such people approach death, the bodhisattvas bring vajra pedestals to welcome them, praising them in many ways and strengthening their resolve, whereupon they attain rebirth. Because Tusita Heaven does not have these two bodhisattvas, practitioners must advance in cultivation through their own efforts in order to be born in that heaven.

6) Difference in the number of sutras and treatises that exhort people to seek rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss and in Tusita Heaven: Regarding the Land of Ultimate Bliss, all the sutras praise it, and all the treatises exhort people to turn toward it. Regarding Tusita, not only are there few sutras that praise it, but there are also few treatises that exhort people to turn toward it.

7) Difference in the number of eminent masters, past and present, who have aspired toward these two realms: From ancient times to the present, a great many renowned monks of vast wisdom have sought rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. The number of eminent masters, past and present, who have sought rebirth in Tusita is very small.

For these reasons, seeking rebirth in the Western Land is relatively easy, while seeking birth in Tusita Heaven is very difficult.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE PERIOD FOR PROCLAIMING THE TEACHING

—Question: The path to Buddhahood is lofty and remote and must essentially be understood through wisdom. Nirvana is profound and subtle and surely can be reached only through the power of samadhi. Thus, samadhi and wisdom are the foundation of the myriad practices, and the myriad practices are the root of the Great Way. Yet people today revere only the practice of mindfulness of the Buddha and concentrate their thoughts upon the Western Land. Faced with this, I am truly uncertain. I ask you to explain it for me.

—Answer: The Buddha's teachings are vast, and there is more than one Dharma gate. Sentient beings are not alike, and their capacities and dispositions differ greatly. Therefore, not only is the Dharma differentiated according to people, with teachings that vary in depth, but people are also differentiated according to the age, with capacities that mature quickly or slowly.

Thus, the teachings reveal 84,000 Dharma gates and are divided into five periods. Therefore, practitioners cultivating the path must examine the period. If the period and the teaching accord with one another, Buddhahood is easily realized; if the period and the teaching are at variance, even bodhisattvas cannot attain the fruit.

Therefore, the Sutra on Mindfulness of the True Dharma states: “When practitioners single-mindedly seek the path, they should always examine the proper time and skillful means. If the time is not right and there are no skillful means, this is called ‘disadvantage,’ not ‘advantage.’”

The five periods: The Moon Treasury section of the Great Collection Sutra states:

—During the first five hundred years after the Buddha's parinirvana, the Buddha's disciples would remain steadfast in the study of wisdom while also cultivating other practices. During the second five hundred years, they would remain steadfast in the study of samadhi while also cultivating other practices. During the third five hundred years, they would remain steadfast in studying and reciting many sutras and treatises while also cultivating other practices.

During the fourth five hundred years, they would remain steadfast in building monasteries and stupas, cultivating merit, and practicing repentance, while also cultivating other practices. During the fifth five hundred years, the true Dharma would be obscured; disputes and litigation would abound, and few wholesome teachings would remain steadfast.

According to this sutra, we are now more than five hundred years into the fourth period. Since we no longer have a share in the cultivation of samadhi and wisdom, we should cultivate only merit and repentance; cultivating merit and repentance is the most essential task. Examining the sutras and treatises, bowing to the Buddha, being mindful of the Buddha, and contemplating the Buddha's excellent marks are the most supreme practices. Therefore, the Contemplation Sutra states: “If one can be sincerely mindful of Amitabha Buddha, then with each thought one extinguishes grave offenses of birth and death accumulated over eight billion kalpas.”

At present, when their capacities and the period are considered, practitioners no longer have a share in cultivating samadhi and wisdom. They need only single-mindedly be mindful of Amitabha Buddha and seek rebirth in the Pure Land; this is the essential path. Those who know that they have a share in samadhi and wisdom should cultivate the path in this Saha world and seek unsurpassed bodhi.

Those who know that they have no share in samadhi and wisdom should cultivate the Pure Land practice and, after reaching the Pure Land, seek unsurpassed bodhi. Therefore, the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states: “Practitioners seeking avaivartika have two paths: one is the difficult path and the other is the easy path, like the two routes by land and by water. Cultivating the path in this realm is difficult, like traveling by land; being born in the Pure Land makes cultivation of the path easy, like traveling by water.” Furthermore, the Buddha has four ways of liberating sentient beings, as stated in the Sutra on Mindfulness of the True Dharma: “The first is liberating sentient beings by teaching the Dharma;

the second is liberating sentient beings through radiance and excellent marks; the third is liberating sentient beings through spiritual powers and the power of the path; the fourth is liberating sentient beings through the name.” Among these four, liberating sentient beings through excellent marks and through the name are precisely the methods suited to the present age.

These are the contemplation of Amitabha Buddha's excellent marks and the recitation of his name.

The Infinite Life Sutra states: “Because sentient beings in future ages must undergo the Five Sufferings^[4], the Five Agonies, and the Five Burnings^[5], the Buddha wished sentient beings to cultivate the Pure Land practice.”

Again, as recorded in the Contemplation Sutra: “For the sake of all ordinary beings in the future who will be harassed by the bandits of affliction, I teach the Pure Land practice.”

The Amitabha Sutra (Shorter Version) records: “For the sake of sentient beings in the age of the Five Turbidities, I teach the Pure Land practice.”

The Sutra of Pure Enlightenment, the Sutra of the King of the Sound of the Drum, and the Great Collection Sutra all teach likewise. According to such sutras, the Buddha expounded these teachings entirely for sentient beings of future ages. Therefore, we know that the present age is the time for mindfulness of the Buddha and cultivation of the Pure Land practice. If one is born in the Pure Land, not only will one forever leave the evil destinies far behind, but one will also swiftly attain unsurpassed bodhi.

CHAPTER IX.

TEACHING PEOPLE TO LOATHE THE DEFILED LAND AND DELIGHT IN THE PURE LAND

– Question: We have now entered the fourth five-hundred-year period. Sentient beings have no capacity to cultivate concentration and wisdom; only repentance and mindfulness of the Buddha can be practiced steadfastly. How should people be taught to loathe the Defiled Land and delight in the Pure Land? How should sentient beings be encouraged so that they all loathe the defiled Saha world and attain birth in the Pure Land?

– Answer: I shall now cite sutras, treatises, and reasoned principles to teach everyone to loathe the Defiled Land and delight in the Pure Land. If sentient beings follow the Buddha’s exhortation, grow weary of the Saha world, and delight in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, they will be able to arouse the aspiration for bodhi, single-mindedly recollect Amitabha Buddha, and all attain rebirth in the Pure Land. If sentient beings neither believe in nor delight in this Dharma gate, they will be difficult to teach, difficult to awaken, difficult to liberate, and difficult to free; they cannot be saved. Therefore, the Sutra of Immeasurable Pure Enlightenment records: “If good men and good women hear this Pure Land Dharma gate taught and their minds are immediately moved so that the hairs on their bodies stand on end, one should know that in past lives they cultivated the Buddha Way. If people hear this Pure Land Dharma gate taught but feel not the slightest faith or delight, one should know that they have only recently emerged from the three evil destinies and that their offenses have not yet been exhausted. I say that such people cannot yet attain liberation.”

IX.1 LOATHING THE DEFILED LAND

Now, based on the Nirvana Sutra and other scriptures, I exhort later students to advance in cultivation. In the stillness of night, a discerning person should sit in the full lotus posture and reflect: “This body of mine is as fragile as a bubble on water, changing ceaselessly from thought to thought. Moreover, it dwells within a burning house, a place devoid of peace.

How can I remain unconcerned, failing to awaken myself and feeling not the slightest fear?” That person should further reflect: “What state is my body now in? What deeds are the karma of my body, speech, and mind constantly performing? When impermanence suddenly arrives, into which destiny will I be born?

Evil karma accumulated since beginningless time will contend to lead me to a place of rebirth; between morning and evening, I may become a denizen of hell. How much time is there to sleep peacefully upon my bed?! Immeasurable and boundless Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the past have appeared in the world to liberate sentient beings.

Where have I wandered that I was not transformed and liberated by a Buddha? It is entirely because, since beginningless time, I have failed to revere the Three Jewels, draw near to the virtuous, or follow the words of good spiritual friends that I have continually dwelt within the three evil destinies and failed to encounter a Buddha. The Pure Lands of the ten directions are free from suffering and affliction; why am I not born there, but instead continually remain in this Defiled Land, where suffering and distress abound?!

This human body that I now possess is difficult to obtain yet easy to lose. As the Nirvana Sutra states: “Obtaining a human body is as rare as the soil adhering to a fingernail, while bodies in the three evil destinies are as numerous as the soil covering the great earth.” Since beginningless time, the bodies I have assumed throughout countless kalpas cannot be enumerated; within each kalpa, the number of bodies cannot be fully counted; with each body, I created karma as numerous as dust motes, impossible to count; every evil deed brings its corresponding retribution, and the number of those retributions cannot be fully counted; every retribution causes me myriad forms of suffering, impossible to enumerate.

All such sufferings arise from ignorance and from failing to follow the counsel of good spiritual friends, with the result that I must continually dwell in hell. I suffered in the past, am suffering in the present, and will suffer in the future, without ever a moment’s respite. Furthermore, from the time this body was born until now, in seeking clothing and food, if one is a layperson, one provides for one’s wife and children; if one has renounced the household life, one pursues fame and gain.

In either case, one continually creates so much evil karma. Even light karma of this kind may bring retribution for five hundred lifetimes, while heavy karma may bring retribution for many kalpas. If, in regard to such evil karma, one does not arouse the aspiration for bodhi, feel shame, and repent, one must fall into the evil destinies with no day of release.

Between morning and evening, one may enter fiery furnaces, boiling cauldrons, forests of blades, and mountains of swords, enduring every kind of grave and prolonged suffering for hundreds or thousands of kalpas. Having undergone bodily and mental suffering in the past, one must also undergo immeasurable suffering in the future—difficult to cast off, difficult to escape—yet one still fails to awaken and understand. Ordinary beings such as these are truly pitiable!

A discerning person reflects: “I should give rise to apprehension and fear. How could I remain unconcerned, allowing body and mind to run wild without awakening and examining myself?” One further reflects: “My merit is now meager and my faculties dull, for I was born only after Shakyamuni Buddha and before Maitreya. Could this not be because, in the past, I was arrogant and indolent, failed to revere the Three Jewels, disparaged virtuous people, and did not heed the instructions of good spiritual friends?

If I continually dwell in the three evil destinies and the eight difficulties, remain foolish and ignorant, continue to slight the Three Jewels and disparage virtuous people, and refuse to heed good spiritual friends, then how will I encounter the Three Jewels and be born in a wholesome place in future lives? Moreover, even if I wish to cultivate the Way with this body, I cannot find peace, because in this Saha world human life is short and evil teachers and companions are numerous.

One is continually beset by anxiety: perhaps lacking clothing and food, perhaps oppressed by kings and officials, perhaps despised by others, or perhaps criticized by people. One is constantly harassed and cannot find peace; as soon as a wholesome thought begins to arise, it immediately declines and vanishes. Furthermore, this body is composed solely of thirty-six impure substances, with filth continually flowing from its nine orifices.

It resembles a latrine and cannot be cherished. It is also pursued by the sufferings of birth, aging, illness, death, separation from those one loves, encountering those one hates, failing to obtain what one seeks, and the flourishing of the five skandhas. A discerning person should contemplate this body as an enemy and a heap of excrement; contemplate houses, beds, and seats as tombs and external objects; contemplate food and drink as maggots and filthy water; and contemplate wife, children, and relatives as rakshasas and evil ghosts.

If the mind can examine and reflect in this way, one will feel the utmost disgust for this body and vow never again, throughout life after life and kalpa after kalpa, to assume such a body or dwell together with it. This body is truly my enemy, constantly leading me into the three evil destinies. What discerning person would cherish this body!

As recorded in the Sutra of the Bequeathed Teaching: “This is a blameworthy thing that ought to be cast away and is only provisionally called the body. It sinks into the great ocean of birth and death; what discerning person, upon destroying it, would not rejoice?!”

IX.2 DELIGHTING IN THE PURE LAND

A person of understanding further reflects thus: “This body of mine has now been born in the fourth five-hundred-year period, when none of the sages appears. Although I wish to cultivate the path, I have no share in the cultivation of concentration and wisdom, for this present age is precisely the time for repentance and mindfulness of the Buddha. The sutra states: Amitabha Buddha holds the oar of compassion and rides the vessel of his Great Vow, ceaselessly rescuing all suffering sentient beings.

If anyone single-mindedly recollects Amitabha Buddha, then with every thought that person will extinguish the offenses of birth and death accumulated over eight billion kalpas. At death, that person will certainly be born in the Pure Land, enjoy every bliss, attain the five superknowledges^[6], and reach the stage of non-retrogression. At will, that person will roam through jeweled realms and flowering forests and listen freely to the perfect voice proclaiming the true nature of reality, receiving a body the color of pure gold upon a lotus dais.

The Buddha, adorned with the thirty-two marks of a Great Man, sits upon the vajra throne. That person approaches the steps made of the seven treasures, kneels upright, and inquires about the Dharma gate of nonduality^[8]. Entering the pool of water possessing the eight virtues^[9], that person washes away the defilements of ignorance.

The garments are silks perfectly fitted to the body; the food consists of a hundred delicacies filling the bowls. When walking, one steps upon blue lotuses; when sitting, jeweled flowers support the body. There are forests of trees with beryl leaves and agate flowers, which sway and spread exquisite fragrances everywhere.

Fruits of brilliant colors cover the trees. There are balustrades intricately fashioned from the four treasures, and the ground, made of the seven treasures, shines radiantly. Flutes produce a thousand melodies, and towers and pavilions display myriad hues.

White cranes and peacocks constantly expound the Five Faculties, while parrots and śārikā birds continually proclaim the Noble Eightfold Path. Amitabha Buddha’s marks of a Great Man are distinctly manifest, and the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is endowed with every beautiful characteristic. Such things are inconceivable, and all who hear of them rejoice.

1- Question: You have taught us to loathe the defiled realm and delight in the Pure Land. Those of understanding have already awakened to this, but those of dull faculties remain bound by mistaken views and have not yet awakened. Please encourage those of dull faculties so that they too may attain rebirth in the Pure Land.

– Answer: The Shorter Amitabha Sutra states that all Buddhas throughout the ten directions display their broad and long tongues, covering the entire three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system, and exhort all sentient beings to attain rebirth in the Pure Land. Yet some sentient beings do not heed the Buddhas’ exhortation; they are difficult to teach, difficult to awaken, difficult to liberate, and difficult to deliver. What can be done? According to the Sutra of Infinite Pure Enlightenment, these sentient beings have only recently emerged from the hells, and their offenses have not yet been exhausted.

Therefore, the sutra states:

– If good men or good women hear the Pure Land Dharma gate and their hearts are deeply moved, so that the hairs on their bodies stand on end, know that in past lives they cultivated the Buddha path. If people hear the Pure Land Dharma gate but neither believe in nor delight in it, know that they have only recently come from the three evil destinies and that their offenses have not yet been exhausted; therefore, they do not believe and follow it. I say that such people cannot attain liberation.

The Sutra of Infinite Life states: “Those who are arrogant and indolent find it difficult to believe this Dharma.”

Both the Sutra of Infinite Life and the Sutra of Infinite Pure Enlightenment state: “The realm of the unsurpassed path is easy to reach, yet no one is there.” The Western Land is the realm of the unsurpassed path. If people single-mindedly recollect the Buddha for seven days and dedicate all the merit from their wholesome deeds toward the Western Land, they will all attain rebirth there, forever leave the three evil destinies far behind, and enter the stage of non-retrogression.

This is why it is said to be “easy to reach.” Yet some sentient beings refuse to believe and follow the Pure Land Dharma gate, remaining deluded by the five desires and delighting in entering the evil destinies, like maggots in a latrine. This is why it is said that “no one is there.” Moreover, Amitabha Buddha, together with the two bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta, rides the vessel of the Great Vow across the sea of birth and death to this Saha world, calling sentient beings and helping them board the vessel of the Great Vow so that they may be conveyed to the Western Land.

All sentient beings who board the vessel of the Great Vow will reach the Western Land. This is why it is said to be “easy to reach.” Shakyamuni Tathagata and all the Buddhas throughout the ten directions, as well as the bodhisattvas Samantabhadra and Manjushri, Vasubandhu, and Nagarjuna, either display the mark of the broad and long tongue, emit light from the mark of the white curl between the eyebrows, expound the profound gate of the Five Recollections^[11], or teach the Twelve Praises and Prostrations.

They all earnestly encourage sentient beings to be born in the Pure Land, yet those beings neither believe in nor delight in it and thus refuse to go to the Western Land. This is why it is said that “no one is there.”

Furthermore, since beginningless time, sentient beings have committed more evil karma than there are grains of sand in the Ganges, and every evil deed brings painful retributions beyond measure. If people can single-mindedly recollect the Buddha for seven or ten days, with each thought they will extinguish the grave offenses of birth and death accumulated over eight billion kalpas, cut directly across the current of suffering, and be born straightaway in the Pure Land.

This is why it is said to be “easy to reach.” Yet sentient beings ceaselessly pursue wealth and sensual pleasure and cling greedily to fame and gain. They do not resolve early to cultivate the path, and when impermanence suddenly arrives, they fall into the three evil destinies for millions of kalpas, with no day of escape. This is why it is said that “no one is there.” Again, sentient beings who believe the words of the Buddha, the bodhisattvas, and good spiritual friends, and who do not follow the words of evil spiritual friends—even sentient beings guilty of the Ten Evil Deeds and the Five Heinous Offenses—will attain rebirth immediately if, at the time of death, they successfully complete ten recollections of the Buddha.

This is why it is said to be “easy to reach.” Some sentient beings do not believe the words of the Buddha, the bodhisattvas, or good spiritual friends, but instead rely upon unlearned teachers or ignorant laypeople who falsely claim to understand the Mahayana Dharma and recklessly cite sutras and treatises. Such people may bring disorder to the Buddhadharma, deceive sentient beings, misconstrue the Buddha’s practices, lose their roots of goodness, fall into the three evil destinies, and fail to attain rebirth.

This is why it is said that “no one is there.” If people hear that single-mindedly recollecting Amitabha Buddha leads to rebirth, they immediately repent of their evil karma, cultivate roots of goodness, observe the precepts purely, and single-mindedly recite the Buddha’s honored name without distraction a million times or more. At death, right mindfulness will manifest before them, and the Buddha will immediately come to welcome them.

This is why it is said to be “easy to reach.” If sentient beings hear of Amitabha Buddha but still deliberately commit offenses, then although they may recite the Buddha’s name, their minds remain fixed upon the five desires, and their recitation is merely intermingled with thoughts of affliction. At death, their minds will become confused and inverted, and the Buddha will not come to welcome them. This is why it is said that “no one is there.”

2- Question: Although the sutra says that one who recollects the Buddha for seven days will attain rebirth, I do not yet know how many recitations of the Buddha’s name are required to attain rebirth.

– Answer: According to Chan Master Daochuo’s examination of the sutra text, one need only recollect the Buddha single-mindedly and without distraction a million times or more to attain rebirth with certainty. Based on the Shorter Amitabha Sutra, the Chan master further determined that recollecting the Buddha for seven days amounts to a million recitations. Therefore, the Great Collection Sutra, the Medicine Buddha Sutra, and the Shorter Amitabha Sutra all exhort people to recollect the Buddha for seven days.

3- Question: The karmic offenses accumulated by sentient beings over a very long time are as vast as a mountain. How can ten recollections extinguish so much sinful karma? Even a million recitations would be far too few; and if one’s offenses are not entirely extinguished, how can one attain rebirth?

– Answer: This matter has three meanings:

1. It is not necessary to extinguish all that sinful karma; one need only be able to attain rebirth in the Pure Land at the time of death: If, at the time of death, right mindfulness remains manifest, that mind can draw forth all the wholesome karma the person has created since beginningless time and throughout the present life, bringing it together in support, so that the person immediately attains rebirth.

2. The names of the Buddhas are formed by gathering together myriad virtues; yet one can recollect the Buddha in a single thought: that is, within that single thought, all the myriad virtues have been recollected together. Therefore, the Vimalakirti Sutra states: “As for the meaning of those three phrases,^[12] even if all the beings in the three-thousandfold world-system were foremost in great learning like the Venerable Ananda, and even if they lived for as long as a kalpa, they would still be unable to receive and retain it.”

3. Beginningless evil karma arises from the deluded mind, whereas the merit of recollecting the Buddha arises from the true mind: the true mind is like the sun, and the deluded mind is like darkness. As soon as the true mind arises, the deluded mind vanishes, just as darkness disappears when the sun first rises.

For these three reasons, even a person at the moment of death who succeeds in completing ten recollections of the Buddha will certainly attain rebirth there.

4. Question: The wondrously excellent Pure Land is precisely the dwelling place of the Dharma King; the lotus treasury dais is not a destination for ordinary beings. In principle, ordinary beings should dwell in an ordinary realm, while noble ones should abide in a noble realm. How, then, can lowly ordinary beings be reborn in that excellent place?

Answer: According to Amitabha Buddha’s forty-eight great vows, although the Pure Land is wondrous, it was originally established for the fulfillment of ordinary beings, and the lotus treasury dais is the place where they are born. If ordinary beings could not reach the Pure Land, then how could the Dharma King dwell in the realm of the Five Turbidities? Nevertheless, although the Buddha is the Dharma King, he enters the realm of the Five Turbidities because he wishes to teach and liberate sentient beings. In the same way, although they are ordinary beings, sentient beings are reborn in the Pure Land so that they may make offerings to the Buddha. This principle is perfectly clear.

Furthermore, that Pure Land is merely a realm without women and the Five Desires, specially established in one direction by the Buddhas through compassionate skillful means, so that the sentient beings there may cultivate the path. It is also a place where sentient beings are transformation-born, not an utterly wondrous realm. It is like a place specially set apart within a city to serve as a monastery, where secular affairs are put aside so that the Sangha may cultivate the path; whenever sentient beings enter the monastery, they all give rise to wholesome intentions.

That Pure Land is likewise. Even in the wondrous realms of the four dhyana heavens and the palaces of these six celestial realms,^[13] the dependent recompense consists entirely of rare and marvelous treasures, while the primary recompense consists entirely of splendid, radiant forms. Their garments are fine and light, their food has a hundred delicious flavors, their seats and couches are palaces of jeweled flowers, and the places where they wander for pleasure are beautiful gardens and groves.

Yet such places are not the dwelling places of the Dharma King; they are all realms brought forth in response to the wholesome causes of ordinary beings. This comparison is perfectly clear.

5. Question: Mahayana sutras and treatises all teach signlessness and non-arising. Why, then, does this sutra exhort sentient beings to contemplate forms and seek rebirth in the Pure Land?

Answer: This question is contrary to reason and ought not to be answered. If it is to be answered, one should first ask in return: “The Buddhas have 84,000 Dharma gates. Which Dharma gate are you asking about?

To which Dharma gate does the Western Pure Land belong? To which Dharma gate do signlessness and non-arising belong?” If that person replies that both are merely one Dharma gate, then he is foolish, and you should not speak with him. If he replies, “Signlessness and non-arising pertain to principle, while the possession of forms and arising pertain to phenomena,” then through his reply to me, you already understand for yourself; why would you need to ask me further?

Therefore, if you want me to answer, I shall answer as follows: “The Buddhas have 84,000 distinct Dharma gates, which are not confused with one another. If summarized together, they are precisely the ultimate truth and the conventional truth. Whether or not a Buddha appears, the nature and characteristics of these two truths always abide and are not created by anyone.

Therefore, the Madhyamaka Treatise states: ‘When the Buddhas teach the Dharma, they always rely upon the two truths,’^[14] and: ‘If anyone cannot distinguish the two truths, that person cannot comprehend the true meaning of the profound Buddhadharma.’”

The Western Pure Land is of three kinds:

1. The Dharma-body Pure Land is the realm of signlessness and non-arising.

2. The Reward-body Pure Land, in terms of principle, is also truly a realm of signlessness and non-arising; in terms of phenomena, however, it possesses forms and arising.

3. The Transformation-body Pure Land is likewise a realm possessing forms and arising.

Therefore, the Mahayana-samgraha states: “The transformation body constantly appears in the world and repeatedly enters extinction.” This refers to the Buddha being born in the royal palace and entering extinction in the grove of twin sala trees. The realm in which sentient beings are now exhorted to seek rebirth is the Transformation-body Land. If sentient beings wish to attain rebirth there, they need only contemplate the forms associated with that rebirth.

This contemplation comprises provisional contemplation and true contemplation: first, one must practice provisional contemplation until it becomes perfectly clear and distinct; only afterward may one practice true contemplation. Among the Sixteen Contemplations, the contemplations of the sun and water are provisional contemplations. From the contemplation of the ground onward, all must be accomplished through samadhi and are therefore called true contemplations.

This is because it is a place where sentient beings take birth; because it pertains to phenomenal dharmas, conventional truth, the Dharma of practice, and the place of reception; because sentient beings there possess bodies subject to segmented birth and death, dying here and being born there; because it is a conditioned dharma subject to outflows; because that place belongs to the Three Realms, where there is coming and going; and because the sentient beings there are all transformation-born.

If one contemplates signlessness and non-arising, one cannot attain rebirth there, because the principle of the Dharma body is unborn. When instructing others, one may say that there is birth, or one may also say that there is no birth. If one cultivates both phenomena and principle, one attains the highest grade of the highest level of rebirth.

6. Question: The Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra states: “If anyone sees me through form or seeks me through sound, that person practices a false path and cannot see the Tathagata.” The Buddha Treasury Sutra also states: “To say that one sees the Buddha is to possess a grave wrong view.” Why, then, does this text teach people to contemplate Amitabha Buddha as possessing 84,000 noble marks?

Answer: This has already been answered above. Sutras such as these are based upon the principle of the Dharma body. Therefore, the Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra states: “The wondrous essence of that Tathagata is precisely the Dharma body.

The Dharma bodies of the Buddhas cannot be seen, nor can consciousness know them.” The present contemplation of the 84,000 marks and excellent characteristics is precisely a contemplation of the response and transformation body. When contemplating these features, one must contemplate each mark distinctly and every excellent characteristic separately; they must not be merged into a single mark. If anyone says, “All dharmas are empty, so what can there be of phenomena and principle?” that person holds a grave wrong view, is ignorant and unlearned, and deceives the world.

Do not speak with such a person!

Therefore, the Madhyamaka Treatise states: “If anyone sees that the Tathagata exists, that person holds a subtle wrong view; if anyone says that the Tathagata does not exist, that person holds a coarse and grave wrong view. Both incur the two offenses of destroying worldly happiness and destroying the path to nirvana.” This treatise presents the matter solely in terms of principle. In terms of phenomena, whoever sees that the Tathagata exists possesses right view and will certainly attain rebirth there. Furthermore, the Bodhisattvabhumi Treatise states: “It is better to give rise to a view of existence^[15] as great as Mount Sumeru than to give rise to a view of emptiness^[16] as small as a mustard seed.”

Question: From which scriptural passage is the teaching derived that a person who recollects the Buddha can sever the stream of suffering and attain rebirth in the Pure Land?

Answer: From this passage in the Infinite Life Sutra: “...the five evil paths are severed, and the evil paths naturally close. The path of advancement is boundlessly open and expansive; it is easy to traverse, yet there are no travelers.”

7. Question: From which scriptural passage is the above teaching derived that a person who recollects the Buddha does not fall into the three evil paths?

– Answer: The Sutra on Reaching the Realms of the Buddhas states: “If sentient beings contemplate the Tathagata and perform wholesome practices, they will eliminate the karma leading to the hell, animal, and hungry ghost realms accumulated over countless kalpas. If any sentient being gives rise to a single thought of the Tathagata, that person will acquire immeasurable and incalculable merit; even the great bodhisattvas cannot fathom or know the limits of such merit.”

8- Question: From which scriptural passage is the aforementioned teaching that mindfulness of the Buddha eradicates offenses quoted?

– Answer: The Sutra on the Samadhi of Contemplating the Buddha states:

– If my disciples withdraw from places of commotion and, throughout the six periods of day and night, divide each period into many brief intervals, and in each brief interval are able to contemplate for a moment the Buddha’s white hair-mark, keeping the visualization clear and unmistakable and concentrating their thoughts—whether or not they actually behold the Buddha’s marks and excellent characteristics—then they will eliminate the offenses of birth and death accumulated over countless kalpas.

Furthermore, the Mahasamnipata Sutra records:

The Buddha said: “Ananda! Suppose a good man or good woman, for one kalpa or less than a kalpa, were respectfully to make offerings of every pleasing necessity to stream-enterers, once-returners, non-returners, and arhats filling the entire three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system. What do you think?

Would that person gain much merit?” Ananda replied: “World-Honored One, it would be exceedingly great.” The Buddha told Ananda: “If another person, in the presence of the Buddhas, were to join their palms even once and utter the Buddhas’ names even once, the merit of the former person, when compared with that person’s merit, would not equal one hundredth, one thousandth, one hundred-thousand-millionth, or even one kalā^[17] thereof.

Why? Because the field of merit of the Buddhas, the Tathagatas, is the greatest of all fields of merit.”

Moreover, the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra records:

– If anyone wishes to be born in a presently existing Pure Land in another direction, that person must single-mindedly recite and recollect the name of the Buddha of that world until attaining single-mindedness without distraction. That person will then certainly attain rebirth in that Buddha’s Pure Land, their roots of goodness will increase, and they will swiftly attain the stage of non-retrogression.

– The questioner said: The Pure Land is indeed the essential destination toward which Dharma Treasury, through skillful means, exhorted beings to cultivate; it is the wondrous method that Sakyamuni Buddha compassionately taught. Through it, beings of the six realms bring samsara to an end, and the four modes of birth rely upon it to attain rebirth. They abide forever in peace and bliss in the Pure Land and eternally depart far from the Saha world. Not only do those who cultivate the three meritorious deeds ascend to the highest grade, but those who give rise to ten recollections of the Buddha also enter birth in the lowest grade. It is the place where all sentient beings, without a single exception, gather together.

Now that you have used this essential method to awaken and instruct me, and have used a torch to illuminate the path for me, from this day forward I vow reverently to practice accordingly. Now, please hear this verse:

How dark and obscure are the three realms!

How vast and boundless the four modes of birth!

All are called the burning house,

And also named the host of the blind;

Deluded throughout the long night,

Deep in sleep, never awakening.

Through examination and exposure of faults,

The places of darkness are illuminated.

Dharma Treasury made the great vows,

Ever maintaining the resolve to propagate them,

Solely exalting the Pure Land,

And bearing the name Immeasurable Life.

He taught the sixteen contemplations,

And rebirth within the nine grades;

Their resonant influence spreads forever everywhere,

And after a thousand years will not perish.

Notes:

^[1] The three states: Liang, Eastern Wei, and Western Wei.

^[2] Namely, wholesome mind, unwholesome mind, and morally indeterminate mind.

^[3] Namely, a mind experiencing painful feeling, a mind experiencing pleasant feeling, and a mind experiencing neutral feeling.

^[4] The five kinds of affliction. According to the Sutra on the Verses Concerning the Obstacles of the Five Sufferings, these are the afflictions of heavenly beings, human beings, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings. According to fascicle 44 of the Yogacarabhumi Treatise, they are suffering caused by oppression, suffering caused by every kind of deprivation, suffering caused by the world’s inequalities, suffering caused by the deterioration of what one cherishes, and suffering caused by the coarse and weighty afflictions within the three realms.

According to fascicle 24 of the Numerical Compendium of the Dharma of the Great Ming Tripitaka, they are the suffering of birth, aging, illness, and death; the suffering of separation from loved ones; the suffering of encountering those one hates; the suffering of not obtaining what one seeks; and the suffering caused by the disharmony of the five skandhas constituting the body.

^[5] According to Huiyuan’s lower fascicle of the Commentary on the Meaning of the Sutra of Immeasurable Life, the “five pains” are the hardships of legal punishment that people must undergo for committing the five evils: killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech, and drinking intoxicants. The “five burnings” are the painful retributions, like being consumed by fire, experienced in the three realms of hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals in a future life.

^[6] The five powers acquired through the cultivation of meditative concentration, comprising the divine eye, the divine ear, supernatural locomotion, knowledge of past lives, and knowledge of others’ minds.

^[7] Sounds that expound the true character of all dharmas.

^[8] The Dharma teaching that reveals the truth of absolute equality, transcending all dualistic distinctions. The chapter “Dharma-Gate of Nonduality” in the Vimalakirti Sutra presents thirty-three Dharma-gates of nonduality.

^[9] The water in the seven-jeweled pools of the Pure Land possesses eight excellent qualities: it is clear, cool, sweet, light and soft, moistening, peaceful and harmonious, relieves hunger and thirst, and nourishes the faculties.

^[10] The five objects of human desire are wealth, beauty, fame, food and drink, and sleep.

^[11] The contemplative practice for aspiring to rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss established by Vasubandhu, comprising five gates: 1) Worship, 2) Praise, 3) Making vows, 4) Contemplation, and 5) Dedication of merit.

^[12] Namely, three epithets of the Buddha: Correctly and Universally Enlightened One, Tathagata, and Buddha. (See Chapter 11, “The Bodhisattva’s Practice,” in the Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra.)

^[13] The six heavens of the Desire Realm, in ascending order, are the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings, Trayastrimsa Heaven, Yama Heaven, Tusita Heaven, the Heaven of Delight in Transformations, and the Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Transformations.

^[14] Namely, conventional truth and ultimate truth.

^[15] (S: Astisva-ni’srita), also called the view of eternalism, is the view that all things in the world possess real, eternal, and immutable essences.

^[16] (S: Sūnyatā-dṛṣṭi) is the erroneous view that rejects the principle of cause and effect throughout the three times, or that completely denies the existence of all dharmas.

^[17] Kalā (S: kalā) is a unit of length equal to one percent of the width of a human hair.