Don’t allow a negative thought 
to become your new mantra.

Something is seen or heard and it bothers us, a lot. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t thoughtful. It’s not supposed to be that way.

Whatever the reason, we are incapable of just brushing the thought aside and getting on with our life.

It’s pretty ironic when you think of it.

What we want to do is focus on the thought of Amituofo, but our mind keeps slipping away from him. What we don’t want to do is keep thinking the negative thought, but our mind keeps returning to it as surely as chicks scurry back to the mother hen. We end up turning those irritating thoughts into our latest mantra; reviewing them like a favorite movie, refining them as if editing the next best-seller.

Maybe our returning is understandable: the irritation is right outside our window. Or perhaps we just can’t, actually won’t, forgive and forget. Well, we need to.

If you were to die right now, what would you want to be thinking of—Amituofo or that thought?

Buddhism is like an immense mountain with 84,000 paths leading to the peak. (Click image for video)

With every breath we take, 
we are one breath 
closer to the Pure Land.

Incredible! Our being born in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Joy is not a matter of “if”. It’s a question of “when.” Having stepped onto the Pure Land path, we can dawdle as we become distracted by all the phenomena we encounter. And by the way, since we’re still here in samsara, this is clearly what we’ve done for far too long. Or, we can leap ahead.

Since our goal has been determined—and our belief, vow, and practice assure us of reaching it—the only unknown is how long we will take to get there. It’s a matter of choice. We make the wrong choice every time we become distracted by daily events, every time we opt for short-lived enjoyment, or fall prey to old habits. Distracted every time we focus on where we’ve been instead of what lies ahead, of making that leap forward.

When in despair of reaching that goal, remember: with every breath, we’re closer to the Pure Land.