The Mind Like Clear and Placid Water

All methods of practice as taught by the Buddha focus on the mind; when we practice we are also learning how to discipline our minds.

A well-composed mind resembles clear and placid water that truthfully reflects whatever appears above it. Likewise, when our minds attain absolute tranquility, we will be able to grasp the essence of everything.

The purpose of reciting the name of the Buddha is to help still our minds so that they may be as pure and tranquil as placid water. A restless and scattered mind resembles muddy water from which evil and discriminatory ideas easily arise.

When our minds are in such a state, we are prone to make distinctions of what we see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and think, thereby, indulge in the pursuit of sensual passions. Therefore, we must recite the name of the Buddha to the extent that our minds become absolutely clear and pure, neither defiled by nor attached to sense objects.

When we reach that stage, naturally we will not cling to the five skandhas (form, sensation, perception, volition, and consciousness). With our six organs untainted by the six causes of impurity, we can truly realize the emptiness of the five skandhas [and] thus be free of all vexations.

Then we can naturally help to relieve all sentient beings from their misery. And with the essence of our minds enlightened and our wisdom unfolded, we can easily comprehend even the most abtruse buddhadharma.

~ Analects of Master Kuang-ch'in

On Reciting the Name of the Buddha

Practice reciting the name of the Buddha to the extent that "flowers flourish and the Buddha comes into view."

We all have a Buddha immanent in our minds. When we practice recitation to the extent that our minds are pure and free of vexations, we will meet the buddha within ourselves. Therefore, only by the extinction of all vexations can we attain the stage where "flowers flourish and the Buddha comes into view."

We should practice compassion and forbearance in our daily lives while avoiding impulsiveness and petulance and controlling our temper. Be adroit and harmonious when dealing with people and handle everything with the help of reason.

Seek not the faults of others and do not be vexed by the rights or wrongs we perceive. Be gentle and kind to others, though not for the sake of building up connections. Treat everyone, be he/she moral or immoral, with equality and impartiality.

Do not turn others away with an icy face. With every move intended for the benefit of others and done with sympathetic compassion, not only will we foster good affinity with others but our minds will be purified and ourselves free of all vexations.

We are thereby attaining the stage where "flowers flourish and the Buddha comes into view."

~ The Analects of Master Kuang-ch'in

Four Lands in the Pure Land

In Rebirth in the Pure Land a comment of “quite a caste system” was made. It was a very helpful comment since to those new to Pure Land Buddhism, it might well seem like there is a separation of beings in the Pure Land. With further study, we will better understand the nine levels and four lands.

Think of the levels and lands not as physical places but rather as mental states. This mental state is the land we dwell in.

The awakening beings in the Pure Land all practice and learn together even as they dwell in different lands, different mental states.

In a similar way, we also live in different lands in our world. Some people live in what might be called the "Land of Ceaseless Craving" or the "Land of Recurring Anger." But others standing next to them could be living in the "Land of Compassion" or the "Land of Patience."

The land we live in, our mental state, is entirely up to us for it depends on our thoughts.

One day, a student asked the Buddha about the land he dwelled in. The Buddha touched the ground with his foot. When he did so, the student saw the land the Buddha dwelled in, a land very different from the student's. But although the two lands were different, the Buddha and the student were together in the same place and talking with one another.

It is our practice and subsequent level of meditative concentration that determine the "land" we are reborn into and dwell in, not the determination of someone else or of a societal system. As our meditative concentration becomes higher, our mental state becomes higher. And since our environment is a reflection of our thoughts (why the Buddha saw things differently from the student) as our thoughts attain higher levels, our land will change to reflect our thoughts.

Once we are in the Western Pure Land, regardless of our mental state, our land, we will continue to practice and to interact with and learn from Amitabha Buddha and all the bodhisattvas who also dwell in the Pure Land.

“[O]nce reborn there, living in an auspicious and peaceful environment, always in the company of Buddha Amitabha and the Bodhisattvas, the practitioner will swiftly achieve success in whatever Dharma method he chooses. He is like a log rolling down a high mountain, which just keeps going and never stops, even for a moment.

“In summary, Buddha Recitation is easy for three reasons: easy practice, easy achievement of rebirth in the Pure Land, easy attainment of Buddhahood. Therefore, the results achieved through Buddha Recitation from time immemorial can be compared to the clear and limpid sound of precious stones striking against genuine gold, or the sight of “smiling lotus blossoms with their fresh and fragrant grades of rebirth.” Within these levels and grades, the path from sentient being to Buddhahood contains many ranks, yet is also without rank.

“This is because, once reborn in the Pure Land, the practitioner has transcended Birth and Death—and to recite the Buddha’s name is to become Buddha. This is like the silkworm, the chrysalis and the butterfly, which are inseparable; there is very little difference between saying that a butterfly is originally a worm or that the worm is the butterfly.” (Seeker’s Glossary, p 618)

Rebirth in the Pure Land

Depending on our chanting efforts, we will be reborn in one of the nine grades [of the three classes] in one of the Four Lands of the Western Pure Land. We need to reflect on our effort. There is no need to consult with others, to tell the land we will be reborn into.

By chanting the Buddha’s name with deep faith and an earnest vow, yet with a scattered mind, we will be reborn in the lower grade of the lower class.

By chanting the Buddha’s name with deep faith and an earnest vow and with a diminishing scattered mind, we will be reborn in the middle grade of the lower class.

By chanting the Buddha’s name with deep faith and an earnest vow and with a concentrated mind, we will be reborn in the upper grade of the lower class.

By chanting with one mind undisturbed, and without being impacted by any greed, anger, and ignorance, we will be reborn in one of the middle three grades.

By chanting with one mind undisturbed, eradicating the afflictions from thoughts and external stimuli, and overcoming the afflictions from ignorance, we will be reborn in the upper three grades.

Therefore, faithful Buddha-name chanting with a sincere vow will enable us to be reborn in [one of] the nine grades.

Furthermore, if we faithfully chant with an earnest vow and overcome karmic obstructions, but still with delusion, we will be reborn in the Land Where Saints and Ordinary Beings Dwell Together;

If we faithfully chant with an earnest vow and eradicate the afflictions that arise from deluded thoughts, we will be reborn in the Land of Expedient Liberation;

If we faithfully chant with an earnest vow and are able to eradicate some levels of delusion, we will be reborn in the Land of Real Reward;

If we faithfully chant with an earnest vow and uphold the practice all the way to perfection such that delusion is eradicated, we will be reborn in the Land of Eternally Quiescent Light.

Therefore, upholding Buddha-name chanting will enable us to attain rebirth in one of the Four Lands.

~ Patriarch Ouyi

Update on June 19, 2009 by Venerable Wuling

Please see the entry on June 18th for an explanation of the four "lands."

What Can Buddhists do When a Beloved Animal Friend Dies?

Question: About two weeks ago my pet dog (14.5 yrs old) has passed on.We have conducted a basic chanting of Buddha Name for 8 hrs plus another 4 hrs of random chanting.The body was then sent for cremation at the 15th hour. Is that safe?After cremation the remains of ashes was then scattered into the sea (sea burial by ourselves).Hope i have done the right thing since so much of supportive prayers for human but nothing much mentioned for animals.Really pray and hope we have done sufficient for this little living being. May he also be liberated into the Land of The Ultimate Bliss.

Response: Your dog was extremely fortunate and yes, you did all the right things from the chanting to waiting fifteen hours before sending him to be cremated to the dispersing of the ashes on the sea.

Chanting for eight hours is recommended as necessary for humans, with longer being even better. Humans need this long because we are so attached to our bodies it takes a long time for our consciousness to completely leave the body. But animals do not have the ego we do. They are not nearly so attached to their bodies. So the consciousness of your dog was able to leave the body more quickly.

Just as the human consciousness can detect our chanting, your dog's consciousness could do the same. And wherever he is reborn all those seeds will be in that consciousness waiting for the right time to mature.

To take the ashes and scatter them on the sea shows there was much love between you. I, and the readers of this entry, know many people who sadly would not have done all you did for another human. Also, there was much respect that did not discriminate, but understood that your dog had a Buddha nature the same as your own.

All that remains to do now is for you to send out thoughts to your dog encouraging him to seek rebirth in the Pure Land. Just talk to him like the very special friend he was.

Your little friend was very fortunate in both his living and his dying. May your mind be at peace for you have done more than was necessary, and a portion of the merits from all your chanting will accrue to your dog, and he will receive the benefit from them.