Repenting to Attain Birth in the Pure Land
From Amitabha Buddha’s Great Vow 21
Repenting to Attain Birth in the Pure Land
Amitabha Buddha’s Great Vow 21
Sakyamuni Buddha speaks of the monk Dharmakara, his practice, and his forty-eight vows before he became Amitabha Buddha. Excerpted from the Infinite Life Sutra:
When I become a Buddha, beings in the ten directions who hear my name and are constantly mindful of my land, awaken the bodhi mind, remain steadfast with no regression, cultivate the fundamental root of myriad virtues, dedicate the merits with the utmost sincere mind, and aspire to be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss will all have their wish fulfilled. If those who committed evil deeds over innumerable lifetimes, upon hearing my name, repent their wrongs immediately, practice the Way, cultivate beneficial deeds, uphold the teachings in the sutras, and vow to be born in my land, then at the end of their lives, they will not again fall into the three evil paths and will instantly be born in my land. If this is not so, I will not attain perfect enlightenment.
- Vow 21. Repent to attain birth [in the Pure Land].
There are two groups of ordinary beings who are born in the Western Pure Land.
The first group includes beings who practice according to the sutras, correct their erroneous thoughts and wrongdoings, and accumulate merits and virtues. Their level of cultivation will determine their level of birth.
Beings in the second group who are born in the Pure Land are those who, after committing grave transgressions during their lifetime, repent at the end of their lives. The sincerity of their repentance will determine the level they are born in. If the being’s repentance is pure and complete, their level will be very high.
In the Visualization Sutra, we read about King Ajatasatru who committed the grave offenses of killing his father, harming his mother, and causing dissension in the sangha. But due to his good roots from the past, when he was about to die, he repented and chanted the buddha-name and was born in the Pure Land. Sakyamuni Buddha told the monastics that King Ajatasatru was born at a high level.
No matter how grave one’s offense is, if one is willing to sincerely and wholeheartedly repent, one can still achieve a high level of birth. It is, however, extremely difficult to repent when one is dying. So, one should correct one’s wrongdoings and repent daily and not put it off only to realize it is too late.
In the twenty-first vow, we read the phrase “hear my name, and are constantly mindful of my land.” This has two very important words. The word “hear” is definitely imbued with belief and understanding. This is wisdom derived from learning, which is one of the three wisdoms of the bodhisattvas. The word “mindful” is imbued with vow and practice. Therefore, this phrase is replete with the three requisites of belief, vow, and practice.
“Awaken the bodhi mind, remain steadfast with no regression” refers to the unwavering aspiration and determination to be born in the Western Pure Land. One is constantly thinking of the Pure Land in every thought.
In the Pure Land method, “cultivate the fundamental root of myriad virtues” means upholding and chanting the buddha-name. At all times and in all places, Amitabha Buddha is constantly in one’s mind. This is the true fundamental root of virtue.
The merits and virtues of this Buddha’s name are unimaginable. This name contains not only all the teachings taught by Sakyamuni Buddha in his forty-nine years of teaching but also all the teachings given by all Buddhas in the ten directions. Just two words — Amitabha Buddha — encompass the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha and all the Buddhas. Indeed, nothing is left out. Therefore, the merits and virtues of this buddha-name are inconceivable.
The foundation of all merits and virtues is in Amitabha Buddha’s name. Although there are many people who chant the buddha-name, not many truly know the merits and virtues of the name, and so they have doubts as they chant. If they truly know the merits and virtues of the buddha-name, they will no longer doubt and will receive the true benefits from their chanting.
The next phrase is “dedicate the merits with the utmost sincere mind, and aspire to be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.” All of our understanding, our practice, and our cultivation are dedicated to only one aspiration: to be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Everyone who dedicates their merits and aspires to birth in the Pure Land will “all have their wish fulfilled.” They will definitely be born in the Pure Land.
The first sentence of this vow is the Buddha’s teaching and clearly explains how most beings practice to be born in the Pure Land.
The second sentence talks of “those who committed evil deeds over innumerable lifetimes.” “Evil deeds over innumerable lifetimes” refer to the evil karmas we committed in the past, from all our previous lives over incalculable kalpas through this current life. Past evil deeds include those committed before we learned this Dharma door. Such evil karmas will become karmic obstacles and prevent us from being born in the Pure Land.
So, we must eradicate our bad karmas by repenting and reforming. Do not think that repentance means recalling our bad karmas and feeling bad. In fact, do not spend time feeling guilty over past wrongs. Doing so will plant more bad seeds for such in the future.
When we think about a wrong again, we are committing it again. And if we think about it every day, we will be committing it every day. We will never be able to eradicate our bad karmas!
Also, we should not keep going to an image of a Buddha, voicing our transgressions, and appealing to Buddhas and bodhisattvas to forgive us. Each time we do this, we are adding to the imprints of the transgression in our store consciousness. Furthermore, by saying it once a day, we are committing it once a day. Our evil karmas will never be eradicated. This is not repentance.
How do we repent then?
We chant the name of Amitabha Buddha!
We think only of his name, and evil thoughts are absent. This is true repentance, and we need to know this principle.
Hence, the Buddha teaches us not to linger on our past evil transgressions. We should not keep them in our hearts and minds. This way, impressions from bad transgressions will lessen, slowly fading away until they are gone.
We should be constantly mindful of Amitabha Buddha. To be mindful of Amitabha Buddha is to “cultivate the fundamental root of myriad virtues.”
Additionally, Amitabha Buddha and all the Buddhas in the ten directions provide us with powerful support. These benefits are so great and infinite. We must know to strive for them — there are no greater benefits!
In this Dharma door, we are upholding buddha-name chanting. Many practitioners who practiced the Pure Land method and achieved results in their cultivation have been born in the Pure Land. Their accounts provide proof.
In one example, we learn of Li Jihua. He was around eighty years old when he knew two or three months in advance of when he was going to the Pure Land. He was a student of Great Master Yinguang. On February 25, 1962, he was in a rickshaw with his wife on the way to his lecture. He told his wife that he was going to the Pure Land. Would she feel lonely? His wife was happy for him, saying that going to the Pure Land would be wonderful and that he was not to worry about her. After arriving at the lecture venue, he lectured for one and a half hours, and sat down on a sofa in the meditation position. He then passed away. He left the world just as he had said he would. He was not sick and spoke for an hour and a half with a strong energetic voice before his birth in the Pure Land.
The phrase “practice the Way, cultivate beneficial deeds” means that from now on, we eradicate all wrongdoings and cultivate goodness. We need to know the standards for good and evil. The Buddha’s teaching is the standard. This sutra teaches us what are good deeds and what are evil deeds. It urges us to learn and practice good deeds and to avoid committing evil ones. This has been spoken of extensively in this sutra.
Precepts are the standards for good and evil. But among all the standards, there is one main principle, which is the true guiding principle. As we learned earlier, the Buddha taught us, “Do nothing that is evil, do all that is good.” This is the main principle for precepts. What is the benchmark for good and evil? Anything that benefits the self and is selfish is evil. Anything that benefits beings is good. This is the benchmark for good and evil.
The phrase “uphold the teachings in the sutras” advises us that we need to read and recite the sutra. When we read and recite it every day, we receive the Buddha’s teachings every day. In our every thought, we cherish the Buddha’s teachings and adopt them so that they become our daily views and behavior. This is learning to be like the Buddhas.
Next, “vow to be born in my land” means that one needs to vow to be born in the Pure Land.
The next phrase is “at the end of their lives, they will not again fall into the three evil paths.” This tells us that those who commit the transgressions that lead to the three evil paths will not go there if they sincerely repent. They will definitely be born in the Pure Land.
Therefore, this vow teaches us how crucial it is “to repent to attain birth in the Pure Land.”
>> Learn more: The Initiation, Amitabha Buddha’s Forty-eight Vows
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Dedication of Merit
May the merits and virtues accrued from this work
adorn the Buddha’s pure land,
repay the four kinds of kindness above,
and relieve the sufferings of those in the three paths below.
May all those who see and hear of this
bring forth the bodhi mind
and at the end of this life,
be born together in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Note: The above is excerpted from the book “Awakening the Bodhi Mind: Amitabha Buddha’s Forty-Eight Vows”, which is available for download at eLibrary collection, Amitabha Gallery.
The Amitabha Buddha’s forty-eight vows is derived from the Chinese verses of the Infinite Life Sutra, that we are immensely grateful to the compilation efforts by Mr Xia Lianju. Translation credits go to The Pure Land Translation Team, Pure Land College Press.
