Sounds a Lot like Christianity

Questions: I hope you can clarify my question on the Pure Land practice - an eternal realm of bliss and peace after passing on, a godhead like figure full of compassion and wisdom, a practice based on faith, devotion and "other power", I don't know but it sure sounds a lot like the Christian faith to me. Am I wrong? If it's not and different, can I know in what ways is it different besides the naming of the place and the head figure?

Response: Thank you for the opportunity to try to clarify further the difference between Christianity and Pure Land Buddhism.

Buddhas were ordinary beings—just like us—who have awakened and no longer have attachments, wandering thoughts, or discriminations. Since any being can awaken, and innumerable beings have, there are innumerable Buddhas. In Christianity, there is one God who is omniscient and all powerful. Buddhas (for whom the boundaries of past, present, and future no longer exist) know “everything” but have no power to change what we have destined for ourselves through our past karmas (thoughts, speech, and actions). So Buddhas, although they are filled with compassion and wisdom, are not “godhead-like figures” since they do not have the power to save us.

So Buddhas are not gods. Buddhas are teachers.

Our “faith” is not of a religious nature but more of a sense of unwavering belief. Master Ouyi wrote in his commentary on the Amitabha Sutra that we were to have belief in:

Self, believing that our self-nature is the same as the Buddhas
The Buddhas and that their teachings are true and abide by them
Cause and effect and that in mindfulness of Buddha, we will be born in the Western Pure Land and become Buddhas
The existence of the Western Pure Land, that it is true and not a tale
The principle that everything arises from the true mind

 

So our faith is not of a religious nature. Faith for us is unwavering belief.

Since there are innumerable Buddhas, Amitabha is one of those Buddhas. His Pure Land is not a place for the enjoyment of bliss but rather an ideal learning environment—the perfect university with the best teachers (Amitabha Buddha and all the bodhisattvas who are there) with perfect learning conditions (no tuition, no need to prepare meals, no feeling tired, no illness, etc.) for us to learn all we need to in order to fulfill our vows to help all sentient beings.

So we go to the Pure Land not for our own benefit but for the sake of all beings.

Merriam-Webster’s Third Edition Unabridged dictionary defines devotion as “earnestness and zeal in the performance of religious duties and observations: religious fervor.” But since the Buddha himself asserted that he was not a god but an awakened being, Buddhism is not a religion. What the Buddha taught was the Way, which was the principles, methods, and states of awakening.

So there is no “devotion.” There is utmost respect and gratitude.

Yes, there is “other power” but not in a godlike way. Pure Land practice is the coupling of both “other power” and “self power.” Think of the Buddha as a facilitator, not as a savior. His other power is to teach and to have created the Pure Land that is sustained by his virtues and the virtues of all the beings who dwell there. But without our “Self power” he cannot help us to the Pure Land. We have to form the connection with him through our chanting. To form this connection we must have been the “good men and good women” spoken of in the Amitabha Sutra.

So there is not “other power” in the sense of a savior. There is both other power and self power.

We must reach out to Amitabha Buddha before he can reach back to us.

His Father's Last Words

 

After a disagreement among some of the monks, the Buddha once told the monks about a series of events that took place long ago.

King Brahmadata ruled a large kingdom and commanded a strong army. King Dighiti, who ruled a smaller kingdom, heard that Brahmadata was about to invade his kingdom. Knowing he could never defeat Brahmadata’s army and that many of his soldiers would lose their lives in a futile battle, King Dighiti felt it would be best if he and his queen fled. So they went into hiding in another city. A short time later, the queen gave birth to Prince Dighavu. When the prince was older, King Dighiti began to fear what would happen if King Brahmadata found all three of them. As a result, arrangements were made for the prince to live elsewhere.

One day, the king and queen were recognized, cap­tured, and taken to be executed. By chance, Prince Dighavu was on his way to see his parents, whom he had not seen in a long time. He was about to rush to them when his father cried out, “Do not, my dear Dighavu, be far-sighted. Do not be near-sighted. For vengeance is not settled through vengeance. Vengeance is settled through non-vengeance.” The King repeated his warning two more times, adding that he was not deranged, and said that those with heart would under­stand what he meant.

None of the villagers knew who Dighavu was or what the king was talking about. Heeding his father’s warning, Dighavu managed to restrain himself. He watched his parents being executed and dismembered. That night he bought wine and gave it to the guards, who soon became drunk. He then made a pyre, gathered his parent’s remains, placed them on the pyre, and set fire to it. After paying his final respects to his parents, he went into the forest to mourn their death.

A while later, after coming out of hiding, Dighavu managed to obtain a job as an apprentice at an elephant stable next to the palace. One day, when King Brahmadata heard Dighavu singing and playing the lute, he was moved by the sound and arranged for Dighavu to work in his palace. Serving the king and always acting to please him, Dighavu gradually won the king’s trust.

One day, while King Brahmadata was out hunting, Dighavu, who was driving the king’s chariot, deliberately drove the chariot away from the rest of the hunting party. Not long after, the king said he wished to take a nap and soon went to sleep, using Dighavu’s lap for a pillow. Dighavu’s moment of revenge had come. He took out his sword, but suddenly his father’s words came back to him and he put the sword away. A second time, he drew and then sheathed his sword.

After Dighavu drew his sword for the third time, his father’s words—simple and gentle—hit home. They touched Dighavu’s heart that was full of hatred and consumed by a desire for vengeance. His heart knew the truth of his father’s words and understood their import. Heeding his father's words, Dighavu awakened at last to the compassion and wisdom extant in that selfsame heart. He was able to put not only his sword down but his hatred and his desire for vengeance as well.

Suddenly, the king awoke in great alarm. He told Dighavu that he dreamed that Prince Dighavu was about to kill him! Instinctively, Dighavu drew his sword yet again and announced that he was Prince Dighavu. The king immediately begged Dighavu not to kill him. With his compassion and wisdom overcoming his hatred and desire for vengeance, Dighavu was able to put away his sword. Then, in turn, he begged for the king’s for­giveness . The king and the prince spared each other’s lives, and each vowed never to harm the other. They then returned to the castle.

Back at the palace, the king asked his ministers what they would do if they could find Prince Dighavu. After hearing their brutal descriptions of what they would do, the king told them what had just transpired. He then turned to Dighavu and asked the meaning of his father’s last words.

Dighavu explained that do not be far-sighted meant one should not hold on to a wish for retaliation. Do not be near-sighted meant one should not readily break one’s friendship with another. Additionally, vengeance is not settled through vengeance. Vengeance is set­tled through non-vengeance enabled Dighavu to realize that if he sought revenge for the deaths of his parents by killing the king, the king’s supporters would retaliate by killing him. Then Dighavu’s supporters would in turn kill the king’s supporters. This is why vengeance never ends through vengeance. In sparing each other’s lives, both the king and the prince ended vengeance by letting go of it.

Free from Hostility

 

If in small everyday situations we can start responding from the mind that is not swayed by emotions—the mind of sympathy and love that is free of hatred and bitterness—we will be planting good seeds. These good seeds will mature into good condi­tions. With good conditions, we can continue to practice. Our practice of morality and of respecting and not harming others will further increase our good conditions. With such conditions, the bad seeds will not have the opportunity to mature , and we will not find ourselves in violent situations.

Following the Buddha’s advice, we should strive to never lose our calm, clear mind and never utter harsh or evil words but instead treat others with a mind of sympathy and compassion. Letting go of our anger, we will permeate the entire world with an awareness imbued with concern—unreserved, infinite, and free from hostility and ill will.

Three Jewels

The Three Jewels are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. They are called jewels because they are of immeasurable value.

All Buddhas strive to teach us universal truths that will enable us to awaken—to uncover the true nature within each of us and escape suffering and attain happiness. Their determination to help us as well as their patience in teaching us is infinite. While our love for others is transitory, the Buddhas’ love for all beings is endless. Our love is conditional and discriminatory, but the Buddhas’ love is unconditional and held equally for all beings.

Buddhas help us by teaching us the principles of reality, principles such as causality; the impermanence of all conditioned phenomena; the non-existence of a permanent, independent self; and the interconnectedness of everything that exists. In other words, they teach us the universal, eternal laws of the cosmos—the Dharma. When we truly comprehend these teachings, we will then be able to eliminate our mistaken views and, instead, have right views and correct understanding. When we do not have such understanding, we will continue to wander aimlessly throughout countless lifetimes, immersed in our ignorance and delusion.

We improve our understanding and practice the teachings with the support of the Sangha, the community of those who practice the teachings. With the help of good friends on the path, we strive to attain purity of mind and to live lives of harmony. The pure mind is the mind that has no wandering thoughts and discriminations. It has no worries, no attach­ments, no thoughts of like or dislike. To live lives of harmony is to be gentle and caring in our thoughts and behavior.

We express our gratitude to the Three Jewels by endeavoring to practice as the Buddhas have taught us. How? By being content with the circumstances we find ourselves in. By listening to what the other person is saying, instead of being pre-occupied with our own self-interest. By empathizing with the pain and disappointment in the lives of those we encounter. Ultimately, we express our gratitude by awakening to correct views and understanding, and attaining purity of mind and living in harmony with all beings. In this way, we will begin to repay our immense debt to the Three Jewels for all their patience and help.

Hearing Its Own Sound

When your mind is in a state of torpor or when delusive thoughts arise unchecked, compose yourself and recite the Buddha's name aloud a few hundred times. You will then naturally experience a pure, peaceful state. This is because the faculty of hearing is very keen and therefore people are easily influenced by external factors which disturb the mind and lead to errant, delusive thoughts. Thus, you need to recite aloud to control the faculty of hearing and enlighten the mind. When the mind hears only its own sounds, each sound in its totality following upon the one before, all thoughts of right and wrong, what should and should not be done, are naturally abandoned.

~ Taming the Monkey Mind,