Why Amitabha’s Pure Land?
The Inconceivable Appeal of Western Pure Land for Perfect Enlightenment
Sakyamuni Buddha, who came to this Sahā World about 2,500 years ago, introduced us to the Western Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha.
One notable fact — almost all of the teachings by Sakyamuni were the result of his being asked a question. Yet in a departure from the norm, and knowing when the time was right, Sakyamuni initiated the teaching that introduced Amitabha and his Pure Land. This spontaneity by Sakyamuni is what makes this teaching so special.
In this teaching, Sakyamuni recounted how Bodhisattva Dharmakara, after witnessing the suffering of sentient beings, spent five eons studying all the Buddha-lands. Dharmakara then made his forty-eight vows, the fulfillment of which would create the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Bodhisattva Dharmakara declared he would not attain Buddhahood unless his vows for a perfect pure land, where all beings would advance along the Buddha’s path and never again fall back into cycles of birth-and-death (samsara), were accomplished. Once accomplished, Dharmakara Bodhisattva became Amitabha Buddha!
Amitabha is now speaking the Dharma in his Pure Land and helping all who are truly sincere in their vows to be reborn there.
Sakyamuni Buddha knew that the Pure Land practice would be ideal in the Dharma-Ending Age (our current time). That’s why Sakyamuni introduced this teaching and urged all of us to make a vow to seek to reborn in the Western Pure Land.
With the help from Amitabha, we do not solely rely on ourselves to attain enlightenment as we would with other methods. In the Pure Land School, we rely on the compassionate Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Therefore, reliance on self and on other are combined as we request by way of mindful chanting of Amitabha Buddha, and through the power of his vows, help us to reborn in the Pure Land till we breathe our last breath in our present body.
Western Pure Land — the Ideal Place to Attain Buddhahood
Amitabha Buddha vowed that once we attain this rebirth, we will always progress in our practice and learning. Western Pure Land is the ideal learning environment because we would bring along our residual karmas — the karmas from our past that have yet to bear fruit — and be born in the Pure Land. Even with these karmas, once we are in the Pure Land, our greed, anger, and ignorance will not arise. Therefore, we will never regress — and thus benefit from non-retrogression — in our practice and cultivation.
How could this be? This is because in the Pure Land:
- Objects we wish or think of will appear in front of us immediately.
Abundance in the Pure Land eliminates any possible condition that the thought of desire to be quickly turned into greed. - Anyone dwelling in the Western Pure Land is a virtuous person. Even if we have not completely eradicated anger, anger will not arise there because there is no condition for anyone to become angry.
- As Amitabha the teacher will always be with everyone there, our senses will always encounter the Dharma. So will wisdom be nurtured. We will not fall to ignorance. There are no more constant distractions or obstacles to our cultivation as we experience in this Sahā World.
- We are no longer bound by such short human life span for learning all that we need to attain enlightenment.
These are the result of the deeds and virtues of Amitabha. He created the ideal conditions and a perfect land free from anger and intolerance for sentient beings to progress in learning and accumulate merits. With such purity, it is a land of peace, serenity, and equality. By contrast, our world is full of delusions, filled with endless worries and cycles of suffering. The choice that presents to us is obvious!
Pure Land Practice — the Most Convenient & Suitable Choice
For countless people in modern lifestyles, Pure Land practice would seem to be the most suitable choice for these reasons.
First, it is relatively easy to practice in almost any environment: alone, with like-minded practitioners, or even amid the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Anyone, regardless of age, can chant the Buddha-name. Chanting can also be practiced at anytime, anywhere. Anyone can practice without having to quit one’s job or stop working. One can chant aloud or chant silently at heart and lead their lives as usual.
Second, there are no difficult entry-level criteria. Even if one’s abilities and knowledge are modest, with belief, vows, and practice, one will be reborn in the Pure Land.
Belief means that we need to believe in the Buddhas and their teachings, and in the law of causality. We need to believe in ourselves and that we have the same true nature as the Buddha. We need to believe that by living a moral life and being mindful of Amitabha Buddha we will be born into the Western Pure Land and become a Buddha in one lifetime.
And third, due to the vows of Amitabha, achievement through this method can be attained more quickly and more easily than with other practices.
Here is an analogy to better explain it. We come to a river that we wish to cross. We can swim across but our baggage is very heavy and the water is treacherously deep.
Imagine we can get on a boat that will quickly and safely take us, and our baggage, to the other shore. Symbolically, “the other shore” is the achievement of enlightenment. The baggage we carry is our deep-seated bad habits and negative karmas accumulated over uncountable lifetimes, and the boat is Amitabha Buddha’s compassionate will.
The ticket to board the boat is Belief, the Sincere Vow to be reborn in the Pure Land, and Practice, which includes leading a moral life and mindfully chanting “Namo Amitabha” or “Amituofo”.
Check out a sample of Amitabha Mindful Chanting and start your chanting practice today! Single-mindedly chanting “Amitabha Buddha” day and night will gradually reduce our wandering thoughts into one thought of Amitabha. With prolonged practice, we will naturally be in constant mindfulness of Amitabha.
We are grateful to Amitabha Buddha for having spent five kalpas to create an ideal land for all beings to practice and advance with no retrogression. With his merits and virtues, and the goodness of all the beings there, Amitabha’s Pure Land has innumerable wonders and advantages, all of which arise from his forty-eight great vows, deeds, and purity for all the beings there to achieve Buddhahood.
Most importantly, once born in the Pure Land, we will be close to Amitabha Buddha and all the Bodhisattvas. We will surely be able to complete our learning and attain Supreme, Perfect Enlightenment there. We too will become a Buddha!
This is a remarkable opportunity one can encounter in this lifetime to transcend samsara. How could one pass up on this?
