Why I Chose Pure-Land Buddhism

Namo Amituofo!

To continue on my last posting, I would like to share on Venerable Wu Wen dharma talk which made me a strong Pure-Land follower today.

As I mentioned before of how I was confused at Mahayana Buddhism. I just couldn't take the idea of chanting a Buddha's or Boddhishatva's name, reading any particular sutta and becoming a vegetarian would bring any benefit to me as a person living in this world.

Although I like the mystical and out-of-the-ordinary side of Mahayana Buddhism, the practices just couldn't fit into my too-logical mind.

Before I listened to Ven. Wu Wen dharma talk, I was still practicing on Theravada tradition. I strongly believe in karma, the four-noble truth and re-birth. I used to go to a theravada temple once a week to practice meditation.

Then I had this thought in my mind, with my kind of practice and dedication towards this particular dharma door, will I reap results in this lifetime? Don't talk about escaping from re-birth, with my so little time of practice and hectic daily routines, I wouldn't even come close to reaching the first Jhana in my meditation practice.

So a friend told me we can re-born as human and keep on practicing until one day we reach enlightenment. That sounded acceptable, only there's no guarantee. Especially with the current society we are living in. All things and people around us only rise our greed, hatred and deepen our ignorance. It's difficult for us to keep all the five sila, no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying, no intoxicating drink and food.

No killing, also includes the smallest insects and bacteria. Don't talk about killing another human being, I believe most of us can avoid this easily. What about those annoying mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches, ants and many other. How many households don't stock up insecticide in their homes? Let's also not forget eating meat, although we don't directly kill the animal for their meat, but our appetite indirectly do the killing. We share the sin of killing with the killer.

No stealing, yes we can avoid stealing directly from somebody's purse or house, but there are other small stealing we don't even realise we do. The very obvious small stealing we often overlook are pirated software, music, games and movie. Although we are not the pirates who steal the product and distribute them for personal profit, we share the crime and sin by using.

No sexual misconduct, now this is a very very, I repeat, extremely difficult to avoid. There's no need for me to elaborate further.

No lying and false speech, we do this everyday naturally, most of the times without even noticing. Since we were young, we lie to avoid being scolded and punished. The proof speaks for itself, how many of us in this world have tounges which can reach our nose? According to Buddhist sutta, Sakyamuni Buddha had a tounge which could cover his entire face and the tip could reach his hair line. This is the results of countless lifes without uttering a single lie and false speech.

No intoxicating drink and food, many people smoke and get drunk everyday. Although this is the less serious sila from the other four, we still have to be careful not to break it.

No wonder it is said in the sutta that to get a human life is like a blind turtle from somewhere in the bottom of a vast sea floating up to the surface and hit a wooden plank floating somewhere on the surface of the vast sea. Why this simile? Because to get a human life, we must perform the five sila.

Now as you are reading this, means you have got a human life, so in the past countless of lifes you ever kept the five sila. So in this life if you don't keep it again, means you don't want to be re-born as human.

With this fact, how can I be sure to be re-born as human and continue my buddhist practice until I reach enlightenment? I started to feel down-hearted, I felt as if I lost the ground I'm standing on. My hope for salvation is diminishing.

So I started to look deeper into Pure-Land Buddhism. At first it was also difficult to accept, especially after my relative said this "if I believe in Pure-land and Amitabha, how do I differ from those god-centric believer?". Yes, he was right in saying so, in Pure-Land teaching, we believe in Amitabha's power and compassion to bring us to Sukhavati heaven.

Even Sakyamuni Buddha said this dharma door (Pure-Land teaching) is difficult to believe. He was not saying this to human beings, he was mentioning those Boddhisatvas who embarked from "Self-Power" method to reach enlightenment. If it's so difficult to believe even for Boddhisatvas, what about us?

I had doubt also once, but quickly casted it aside. I thought, if I can trust Sakyamuni Buddha like my own father, why can't I trust this Pure-Land and Amitabha? It all came out of his mouth when he was preaching "Amitabha Sutta" and he was a person who never lied.

In fact if you notice, this is the only topic that he preached without his disciple asking. Other sutta started because someone asked him about something. On top of that, it is also the only topic that he preached for more than once. He wanted to stress the importance of this particular dharma door.

In another sutta, Sakyamuni Buddha also mentioned that his teaching will last for 10,000 years. When the first 2000 years have past, Buddhism is starting to weaken, therefore the period we live in now is called Dharma-Ending period.

All of his sutta will be gone one by one starting with Shurangama Sutta. The last sutta to be gone is Amitabha Sutta. It is because of Sakyamuni Buddha's compassion that this sutta is kept to the last. By the end of the 10,000 years, when all of his teaching is totally gone, only the name "Amitabha" will last for another 100 years. It is also because of his compassion to save human beings before the world comes to a dark period where there's no salvation at all. If you miss this chance to be saved, then you must wait for millions of years till Maitreya Boddhisatva is born in this world to become the next Buddha.

When I read the above, it gave me a boost in confidence to learn more. Especially after watching some documentary videos on real people who practiced Pure-Land and really were picked-up by Amitabha Buddha to be born in Sukhavati heaven.

After listening to Ven. Wu Wen Dharma talk on Limitless Life Sutta, my faith in Pure-Land Buddhism was firmly established. I'd like to deeply thank him for his effort in elaborating this wonderful sutta to the subtlest details. Because of his talk, I finally fully understood the aim and meaning of Pure-Land and Amitabha Buddha. All my remaining confusions and doubts on Mahayana Buddhism have been totally cleared.

In essence, Pure-Land Buddhism is based on Amitabha Sutta, Limitless Life Sutta and Contemplation on Buddha Amitabha Sutta spoken directly by Sakyamuni Buddha. He said that in the western part of this universe, there is a Buddha named Amitabha. Before becoming a Buddha, Amitabha was a bikku named Dipamkara. Bikku Dipamkara made 48 vows to save all beings in the universe.

He promised if he couldn't realised all the 48 vows without exception, he wouldn't become a Buddha. The fact there is now a Buddha named Amitabha, it proofs that Bikku Dipamkara has become Amitabha Buddha and all his 48 vows have become realities.

One of the most important vows is the 18th vow. He says, "If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten quarters who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and call my Name, even ten times, should not be born there, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment. Excluded, however, are those who commit the five gravest offences and abuse the right Dharma.".

Just by this one vow alone, it gives us all the assurances of salvation for our next life. Isn't this vow a huge bargain for all of us? Other Dharma doors require us to cut clean all our desires and troubles with the mind, whereas Pure-Land only requires us to chant Amitabha name for at least ten times upon our death. Then Amitabha will pick us up to be re-born in his Sukhavati heaven.

By this doesn't mean that other Dharma Door are inferior. It's just which one is more suitable to us. Just like going to the pharmacy, there are many medicines there. Each one cures different illnesses. Before taking just any one of them, we must know what is our illness and what is the suitable medicine to cure it. By wrongly taking a medicine, the result is not good, even fatal. It's the same with our living condition today, we live in the Dharma-ending age where good deeds are little and bad deeds are everywhere. Our delusions are getting heavier and more complex.

The most suitable Dharma Door to cure our problems today is Pure-land method. We do not need to cut clean all our desires and troubled mind, we just need to control them and upon our death remember to call out Amitabha Name, then we will be reborn in Sukhavati.

It all sounds so easy, is it really that easy? Amitabha says that a person must not lack in good merit, good root and good fate to be born in Sukhavati heaven. It means we must have done countless of good deeds and been practicing Pure-Land Method in our past countless lifetimes in order for us to believe in it this life.

It is said that, it is difficult to get a human life, it is even more difficult to encounter Buddhist teachings, it is the most difficult to hear Pure-Land teaching and believe whole-heartedly in it. So today, if we can fully believe in Amitabha, do not waste this opportunity, we must be re-born in this lifetime. Because if we wait till the next, it is dangerous. We'll never know when we'll get a human life again.

So why do we need to be re-born in Sukhavati heaven? Let's look at some other vows Amitabha made. In essence, beings in Sukhavati have unlimited life-span and there is no bad realms, means we will life forever and will not be reborn as animals, hungry ghosts or hell beings. Beings there are all Boddhisatvas, there is no wrongdoings and Dharma teachings are available as wished. This is the perfect world, in which we will not retrogress in our practice towards Buddhahood.

I hope this posting is enough to introduce you to Pure-Land Buddhism. I am in no position to convince any reader to believe in this wonderful teachings. I would encourage you to search and read further from other sources widely available on the net or Buddhist Center near to you.

Below is the link to a nice commentary on Limitless Life Sutta by Venerable Master Jin Kong.
http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/passages.pdf

May the merit and virtues accrued from this work
Adorn the Buddha's Pure Land,
Repaying the four kind of kindness above,
And relieving the sufferings of those in the three paths below.

May those who see and hear of this,
All bring forth the heart of understanding,
And live the teachings for the rest of his life,
Then be born together in the land of ultimate bliss!

Homage to Amitabha Buddha!