Taking a Ship to the Other Shore

Our true nature is the same as that of Buddhas. But simply because we became deluded and violated this nature, we have been trapped in the endless cycle of reincarnation. The Buddhas took pity on us and taught us the Dharma according to sentient beings’ conditions so that we might all return to our true nature.  

There are many methods to practice; the two most important [for us] are Zen and the Pure Land. They offer us the easiest ways to transcend endless reincarnation. For the Zen method, one relies solely on one’s own effort. For the Pure Land method, one relies on both one’s own effort and Amitabha Buddha’s help. Comparing the two, the Pure Land method suits our characters the best.  

Just like a person who wishes to cross a sea must expediently and comfortably take a ship to the other side, sentient beings in the Dharma-ending stage will find the Pure Land method is the only reliable method. Other methods do not suit our characters and are difficult to succeed in.

One makes up one’s great Bodhi mind, establishes one’s sincere faith and vow, practices being mindful of Amitabha Buddha, and upholds it throughout one’s lifetime. When one practices this method this deeply, all attachments in one’s mind will drop. The exact and profound state of the Zen practice thus completely surfaces, as well.

At the end of one’s present life, one will be escorted by Amitabha Buddha to be reborn in the Pure Land in a high grade and with the attainment of no-birth and no-death. There is a key secret I want to advise sincerely, that is, to practice with one’s utmost sincerity and respect is immensely wondrous, tremendously wondrous.

~ Great Master Yin Guang

What Would You Think if . . .

When I first started practicing Pure Land, I was sitting in the dining hall one Sunday at the Dallas Buddhist Association with a group of other people. A senior practitioner looked at us and asked a very simple question:

If Amitabha Buddha appeared before you and said he had come to escort you to the Pure Land right now, what would your first thought be?

We all thought.

And that was the problem.

Because in our thinking, we were hesitating. Clearly, we weren't ready. Our first thought should have been an instant, "Yes!" No other thought should have arisen other than the thought to go immediately.

What if it isn't the right time?

But it is. That is why Amitabha Buddha comes for us. He knows the time is right.

So I ask Pure Land practitioners reading this, "If Amitabha Buddha appeared before you and said he had come to escort you to the Pure Land right now, what would your first thought be?"

Life and The Living of it

It's not about me.

It's about others.

Thoughts on Purity of Mind

• What is the difference between ordinary people and Bodhisattvas?  Bodhisattvas correct their faults every day until they become Buddhas.  Ordinary people do not yet realize their faults.

• Deep concentration is not being attached to external forms.  It is to remain in stillness and serenity.

• We all want to accumulate merits and virtues. Giving is to cultivate them and patience is to keep them. If we are not patient but give rise to resentment and anger we will constantly be burning up our merits and virtues.

• Our mind needs to remain in serenity.  Our body needs to continue in movement.

• To go along with our true nature, we need to give up trying to control and dominate others.  Then our purity of mind will increase and our afflictions will decrease.

• To be pure and tranquil is not to be separated from all phenomena, it is to not be attached to all phenomena.

• Purity and calmness are the greatest enjoyment of the mind pure.  Where do we start?  First, let go of selfishness, let go of thoughts of controlling others.  All sentient beings have thoughts on controlling others, our environment and infinite objects.  These wandering and discriminating thoughts and attachments block our purity of mind.

• Why is it called the Pure Land?  Because it reflects the qualities of all who live there; kindness, gentleness and purity.

 ~ Based on the teachings of Venerable Master Chin Kung



Curbing Bad Language

A few days ago we were watching a short documentary on Mr. Li Bingnan, one of Venerable Master Chin Kung’s teachers. In the documentary, several of Mr. Li’s students, now in their seventies and eighties, were being interviewed.

One gentleman recounted how he had once spoken to Mr. Li about the Buddhists he, the gentleman, saw who chanted “Amituofo” but whose behavior was far from exemplary. He asked Mr. Li if he didn’t have the urge to criticize these less than stellar Buddhists.

Pausing for just a second, Mr. Li had replied that at least while they were chanting, they weren’t using bad language. The gentleman telling this story laughed as did we who were watching the documentary.

Mr. Li's gentle, but very good reply underlines the reality that chanting "Amituofo" can benefit us on many levels. Ideally, it can enable us to be reborn in the Pure Land to transcend suffering.

At the least, it can keep us from saying words we should not speak.