“But I want to help people now, 

not sometime in the future.”

Upon learning that our primary goal is to seek birth in the Pure Land in this lifetime and come back to help people afterward, we might protest “I want to help now!” While our wish is admirable, our abilities are limited. And so in trying to help, our efforts can prove mistake ridden and clumsy. We realize there isn’t much we can do to help others. A further complication is that our life can end at any moment.

As someone recently said, “If we don’t attain birth in our current lifetime—what a waste.” 

To not waste this life, we need to focus. How? 

We can ask ourselves: What is my ultimate goal? How much time will I devote to my practice and learning? Will this be enough to accomplish my goal? Am I honestly doing everything I can to progress? What inspires me to practice or study when I’d rather do something else? What is the one book or recorded talk that I can really get into by listening to or reading regularly? 

And perhaps the ultimate question: How much time do I have left in this lifetime? 

“What do you Buddhists believe?” 

When we get asked this, we often mention rebirth and karma. Rebirth can be a stretch for many people, so for them we may not want to linger too long on it. Cause and effect usually proves easier to discuss.

But wait, if the person isn’t comfortable with the concept of rebirth, how do we explain causality?

We could ask some questions, like what happens if she misses a deadline at work?

What happens after she goes out of her way to help another? As she ponders the questions, tell her that our action will set into motion a karmic train. She nods and tells you that she has gotten sullen looks from coworkers before. But also a grateful hug from someone she had helped.

Explain how, with awareness, patterns can be discerned. Acting in certain ways, certain things happen: adverse actions often result in distress while those that are positive most often lead to feelings of well-being. Then, with enough time and effort, we do more than just accept this truth. We look for opportunities to do what we know is right.

If Amitabha Buddha were to appear before you 

and say he was here 

to escort you to the Pure Land right now, 

what would your very first thought be? 

When I first started practicing Pure Land Buddhism in Dallas, Texas, I was sitting in the dining hall one Sunday afternoon with several other people. A long-time practitioner looked at us and asked the above question. We all started to think.

And therein lay the problem.

In our thinking, we had hesitated.

Clearly, and sadly, we weren’t ready. If we were, our first reaction would have been an instantaneous “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. Knowing that the time is right, Amitabha Buddha will come for us.

So I ask Pure Land practitioners reading this, “If Amitabha Buddha were to appear before you and say he was here to escort you to the Pure Land right now, what would your very first thought be?”

Sentient beings are innumerable . . . (Click image for video)