Miscellaneous Discourses on the Dharma (Part II)
Chapter One: The Land of Bliss (Sukhāvatī)
I. The Conditions for Rebirth in the Amitābha Sūtra
Original text: 若有善男子、善女人。闻说阿弥陀佛。执持名号。若一日。若二日。若三日。若四日。若五日。若六日。若七日。一心不乱。其人临命终时。阿弥陀佛与诸圣众。现在其前。是人终时。心不颠倒。即得往生阿弥陀佛极乐国土。舍利弗。我见是利。故说此言。若有众生。闻是说者。应当发愿。生彼国土。
Explanation: If there are good men or good women who hear that there is Amitābha Buddha in the land of bliss, and, for the sake of rebirth, recite Amitābha Buddha's name—reciting for one day and reaching the state of single-mindedness without confusion, or reciting for two, three, four, five, six, or seven days respectively and reaching that state—then when such a person is on the verge of death, Amitābha Buddha together with the assembly of noble ones will appear before this person. If at the moment of death this person's mind is not inverted, not from the Buddha, to correspond with the Buddha, to seek the Buddha's blessing, His outstretched hand to rescue, draw out, and liberate. The two methods of recitation are in themselves no different, but with two extra characters the mind's recitation winds about; it is not as direct as reciting "Amitābha Buddha," the thought simpler, and samādhi more easily attained.
Reciting the Buddha's name is not purely for the sake of reciting; it is to gather in the mind, to sincerely take refuge in Amitābha Buddha, and to attain the recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi. Only within that samādhi can one invoke a response from Amitābha Buddha and correspond with Him, and only then have assurance of rebirth. So in reciting, one should also try to settle the mind, making it single-pointed; when reciting the name, the Buddha should be in the heart, reciting with reverence. To gather the mind and attain concentration, the voice should not be too raised when reciting, for that consumes vital energy and the mind easily scatters, hard to gather in. With the voice lower and more gathered, the energy collects, the mind is at peace, focused and without distracting thoughts; concentration comes easily, as does the recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi and the Buddha's blessing.
For the mind to recollect the Buddha and attain the samādhi, one may try reciting thus: slowly sound out the syllable "A," drawing out its sound, without reciting "mituofo" (Amitābha), while in the mind holding the principal deity Amitābha Buddha—the syllable "A" displayed outwardly, the three characters "Amituofo" hidden in the depths of the heart, one syllable standing for the whole Buddha, the mind without distracting thoughts, all of it the Buddha. Reciting thus, samādhi comes easily.
XIV. How to Recite the Buddha's Name with the Manas?
Reciting the Buddha with the manas means reciting with genuine sincerity, not perfunctory, slogan-style recitation with the mouth but not the heart. To achieve this, one's understanding of recitation must be in place, one's thinking thoroughly transformed, with deep faith and earnest vows, all conduct directed toward the Buddha, the Buddha filling one's body-and-mind world, letting go of Sahā-world conditions, every thought on the land of bliss. With the mental gate and the gate of practice both complete, rebirth in the land of bliss at death is certain.
The practice of any dharma gate in the Buddhadharma has two levels: one is the inner gate of mind, the other the outer gate of practice. The gate of mind is the gate of cultivating the mind and nurturing the nature, also called the Way (dao); it is the gate of the manas. The gate of practice is the gate of skill, also called technique (shu); it is the gate of the six consciousnesses. Of course, the mind consciousness is not only the gate of practice but also the gate of mind; only its wisdom is shallow and easily obtained, so it is not the focus. The Way is the root, the inner driving force; technique is the branch-tip, governed by the Way and assisting it; only with the two combined can the dharma gate succeed.
The dharma gate of Buddha recollection is the same: overall it cultivates the three provisions of faith, vows, and practice; faith and vows belong to the Way, practice is the technique. For recitation to succeed, first the mind of the Way must succeed—understanding must transform, the awakened mind arise, the great vow be made—supplemented by diligent skill in the practice gate of recitation; then the hope of rebirth is great. The practice gate includes the cultivation of precepts, samādhi, and wisdom, the bodhisattva's six pāramitās, and the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment. The gate of mind is the gate of reciting the Buddha with the manas. To make the manas recollect the Buddha, one should let the manas know the Buddha's immeasurable merit, know the Buddha's countless great deeds, know the Buddha's four immeasurable minds of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, know the Buddha's vast power of vows, know the Buddha's course of practice through three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas. Once all this is known, profound reverence and yearning for the Buddha will arise spontaneously, and diligent recitation will follow naturally; the practice gate will easily succeed, and finally every thought will be of the Buddha, culminating in the recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi.
After faith and vows are complete, the manas is subdued, no longer recollecting worldly dharmas; the mind is gathered in and meditative concentration gradually appears. At this point the mind consciousness's recitation perfumes the manas, gradually shifting from the mind consciousness's recitation with language, words, and sound—with form and marks—to the manas's formless recitation without language, words, or sound, and the skill gradually succeeds. If the manas is not gathered in, He grasps everywhere, craving worldly dharmas, the mind scattered, unable to recite single-pointedly, and the recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi will not appear.
If one does not cultivate the gate of mind but only takes the path of the practice gate, mechanically reciting and pursuing quantity, winning by numbers, then when the skill deepens it perfumes the manas; quantitative change reaches qualitative change, transforming the manas's ideas and views until every thought is of the Buddha, and samādhi is achieved. This way of practice is extremely difficult and rarely succeeds, yet the vast majority of reciters practice this way. It merely requires spending much time reciting over the long term until the recitation is extremely fluent—no need to think; encountering any situation, "Amitābha Buddha" pops out of the mouth like an automated robot. Yet afflictions remain afflictions, distraction remains distraction—what substantial benefit does such recitation have? Many monasteries and groups hold seven-day recitation retreats, a million Buddha-names in a week; the sounds of the Buddha's name enter the ear without interruption, but worldly affairs also enter the mind without much delay; the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion are all present, no karmic obstacles visibly eliminated, and the recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi not even a shadow.
All dharma gates are gates of mind, and the recitation gate is also a gate of mind; without cultivating the mind, achievement is difficult. Cultivating the mind means cultivating the manas—practicing with the manas as the focus; when the manas is well cultivated, all dharma gates can succeed. Only this mind, heavily defiled since beginningless kalpas, with blazing afflictions, is hard to grasp and not easy to subdue. Yet for the sake of escaping the sea of suffering, however difficult, one must find a way to turn it around and tame it; otherwise one will remain submerged in the bitter sea of birth and death, unable to extricate oneself.
XV. Why Don't the Buddha and the Noble Ones Use Supernatural Powers to Forcefully Take Sentient Beings Away?
The Buddha is the Buddha within the mind; the sages are the sages within the mind. When the mind holds the Buddha, the Buddha appears; when the mind holds the sages, the sages manifest. If the mind holds neither Buddha nor sages, that the Buddha and sages do not appear is the fault of the mind.
XVI. When the Mind Is Not Pure, the Marks Are Not Pure
The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: 随其心净则佛国土净。When the mind is not pure, the buddha-land is also not pure, because when the view is not pure, the marks are not pure—how could the land be pure? If the mind is impure, how can there be a pure buddha-land? Indeed, only when the mind is pure can the view be pure; only when the view is pure can the marks be pure. Ordinary beings' minds are impure, so their views are impure, and the marks they see cannot be pure. Therefore when sentient beings see the Buddha, they will regard Him as having the same greed, hatred, and delusion afflictions as themselves, will pick out all sorts of faults in the Buddha, and will see the Buddha's pure conduct as defiled conduct.
For example, a non-Buddhist woman attended the dharma assemblies to hear the dharma, always leaving last and arriving first the next morning, leading everyone to suspect that this woman lived together with the Buddha. Several months later she placed a wooden basin on her belly, pretending to be pregnant. Seeing this, everyone believed the Buddha had indeed had an affair with this woman, and there was much talk. Later the Four Heavenly Kings could not bear to watch; they transformed into a rat that gnawed the basin apart, and it fell out; only then did everyone suddenly understand. If sentient beings truly understood the Buddha and believed in the Buddha, could they harbor divergent thoughts and suspect the Buddha? In the end it is still that sentient beings' minds are filthy and defiled, believing the Buddha would do such a thing. Those disciples with pure minds would never have any objection or disrespect toward the Buddha; they would completely and thoroughly trust the Buddha's purity.
Whatever sentient beings' minds are like, they will recognize marks accordingly, never exceeding the scope of their own minds' cognition. So people with defiled minds do not believe anyone could be extremely pure of heart, differing from their own conduct and views; hence at the slightest occasion they become suspicious—indeed they need not even become suspicious, but directly confirm the other's fault. From this example one can see that sentient beings' minds are indeed filthy and defiled, lacking correct view and knowledge. When people with pure minds encounter matters, they let them pass without a trace, giving them no thought; people with impure minds harbor all sorts of speculations, views, and doubts lodged in their chests, unwilling to let go—winds of gossip arise, conflicts abound. That is why the secular world is in chaos every day, without a day of peace. From families to society, groups large and small are all like this; the reason is that sentient beings' minds are too filthy, the defilement too severe, the misunderstandings too many, and so the gossip and disputes are extremely many.
XVII. Only a Pure Mind Makes a Pure Land
All dharmas arise and cease, are impermanent, suffering, and empty; all dharmas are like illusions and conjurations; all dharmas are like dreams and dew; all dharmas are like wind and shadows; all dharmas are like bubbles and foam. However you grasp and cling, in the end it is still empty—empty, empty; apart from emptiness there is only emptiness. Better to sit quietly in a still courtyard and watch the winds and clouds arise: watch all dharmas come, observe all dharmas go; watch all dharmas arise, observe all dharmas fall; watch all dharmas be born, observe all dharmas perish. But let your mind not arise with dharmas nor perish with them, not come with them nor go with them; do not grasp or cling to any dharma. All dharmas are all dharmas; you are you; all dharmas are originally not all dharmas—therefore you should empty your mind.
Wherever there are people in the Sahā world, there are affairs; where there are affairs, there are disputes. Affairs and disputes are normal for ordinary beings; if you feel they are abnormal, that there should be no affairs and disputes, then you are no longer an ordinary being. To ordinary beings, affairs and disputes are just affairs and disputes. To a person with an emptied mind, seeing affairs and disputes, they are not affairs and disputes: he may see their arising, ceasing, change, impermanence, suffering, and emptiness; or see them as illusions and conjurations; or see them as shadows and echoes; or see them as dreams and dew; or see that affairs and disputes are themselves bodhi; or see that they are themselves the Way; or see that they are themselves suchness (tathatā); or see that they are themselves buddha-nature. In that case, where are the affairs and disputes? Where is the calamity and chaos?
The world is originally at peace; it is your mind that is not at peace, and then all dharmas are not at peace. The world's great chaos arises from your mind, so you must take responsibility for it; yet having stirred up the world's great chaos, you fundamentally cannot bear that responsibility—what to do? Practice! Purify the mind! Extinguish the mind's greed, hatred, and delusion; extinguish the mind's meddling; extinguish the mind's gossip; extinguish the marks on the mind; extinguish the mind's grasping (upādāna). Then what affairs and disputes remain? Is the world not quiet? At peace? Empty? Purify your mind, and you purify all dharmas, purify the world, purify sentient beings—is this not liberating sentient beings? Is this not accomplishing a Pure Land? This is practice; this is the result of practice; this is the merit of practice. What more is there to seek? What to grasp? What to cling to?
