Compilation of Daily Discourses
Chapter One: The Pure Land Section
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 and good women who hear that there is Amitābha Buddha in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī), and for the sake of rebirth they recite the name of Amitābha Buddha—whether they recite for one day and reach the state of single-mindedness without confusion, or recite for two, three, four, five, six, or seven days respectively and reach the state of single-mindedness without confusion—when this person is at the point of death, Amitābha Buddha together with the multitude of noble ones will appear before this person. If at the time 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 extended hand to draw one out and save one. The two methods of recitation originally have no difference, but with two more characters, the mind's thoughts wind around; it is not as direct as reciting "Amitābha Buddha," the from Amitābha Buddha and correspond with Him, and only then is there assurance of rebirth. Therefore, in reciting the Buddha's name one should also try to settle the mind; the mind must be focused. When reciting the name, there should be the Buddha in the mind, reciting with a reverent mind. To gather the mind and attain concentration, the voice when reciting should not be too raised, for this consumes qi and the mind easily scatters, hard to gather in. With the voice lower and more gathered, the qi collects, the mind and spirit are at peace, the mind is focused without stray thoughts, easily attaining concentration, attaining the samādhi of reciting the Buddha's name, attaining the Buddha's blessing.
In order for the mind to recite the Buddha and attain the samādhi of reciting the Buddha's name, one may try reciting like this: slowly sound out the syllable "A," drawing out its sound, not reciting "mituo fo," while at the same time holding Amitābha Buddha as the principal deity in the mind—the syllable "A" displayed outwardly, the three characters "Amituofo" hidden at the bottom of the heart, one syllable standing for the whole Buddha, the mind without stray thoughts, all Buddha. Reciting this way, it is easy to attain samādhi.
XI. 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 noble ones are the noble ones within the mind. When there is Buddha in the mind, the Buddha appears; when there are noble ones in the mind, the noble ones manifest. If there is no Buddha or noble ones in the mind, that the Buddha and noble ones do not appear is the fault of the mind.
XII. How to Recite the Buddha's Name with the Manas?
Reciting the Buddha's name with the manas means reciting with genuine sincerity, not perfunctory, slogan-style recitation with the mouth but not the mind. To achieve this, one must have a thorough understanding of reciting the Buddha's name, a complete transformation of one's thinking, deep faith and earnest vow, all actions directed toward the Buddha, the Buddha filling one's body and mind world, letting go of Sahā conditions, every thought being the land of bliss. With the mind-gate and practice-gate both complete, rebirth in the land of bliss at the end of life is certain.
The cultivation of any dharma gate in the Buddhadharma has two levels: one is the inner mind-gate, the other is the outer practice-gate. The mind-gate is the gate of cultivating the mind and nurturing the nature, also called the Way; it is the gate of the manas. The practice-gate is the gate of skill, also called technique; it is the gate of the six consciousnesses. Of course, the mind consciousness is not only the practice-gate but also the mind-gate; 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 the Way. Only with the two combined can the dharma gate be accomplished.
The dharma gate of reciting the Buddha's name is the same: overall it cultivates the three resources of faith, vow, and practice. Faith and vow belong to the Way; practice is technique. For reciting the Buddha's name to have accomplishment, first the mind of the Way must be accomplished: one's thinking and understanding must transform, the awakened mind must arise, the great vow must be made, and then supplemented with diligent skill in the practice-gate of reciting the Buddha's name—then the hope of rebirth is great. The practice-gate karma includes the cultivation of precepts, samādhi, and wisdom, the bodhisattva's six pāramitās, and the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment. The mind-gate is the gate of reciting the Buddha with the manas. To make the manas recite the Buddha, one should let the manas understand the Buddha's immeasurable merit, understand the Buddha's countless great deeds, understand the Buddha's four immeasurable minds of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, understand the Buddha's great power of vow, understand the Buddha's course of cultivation through three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas. After understanding all this, one will spontaneously give rise to immense reverence and yearning for the Buddha, and naturally one can diligently recite the Buddha's name; the practice-gate is easily accomplished, and finally every thought of the mind will be the Buddha, accomplishing the samādhi of reciting the Buddha's name.
After faith and vow are complete, the manas is subdued, no longer reciting worldly dharmas, the mind is gathered, and meditative concentration gradually appears. At this time the mind consciousness recites the Buddha and steeps the manas, gradually shifting from the mind consciousness's recitation with language, words, and sound—recitation with form—to the manas's recitation without language, words, and sound—formless recitation; the skill will gradually be accomplished. If the manas is not gathered in, He everywhere grasps at objects, craving worldly dharmas, the mind scattered, unable to recite the Buddha single-mindedly, and the samādhi of reciting the Buddha's name will not appear.
If one does not cultivate the mind-gate and only takes the path of the practice-gate, mechanically reciting the Buddha's name, pursuing quantity, winning by quantity, then when the skill deepens it steeps the manas; quantitative change reaches qualitative change, making the manas's thinking and views transform, the mind full of the Buddha, accomplishing samādhi. Cultivating this way is extremely difficult and rarely succeeds; the vast majority of reciters cultivate this way. One only needs to spend much time reciting the Buddha's name long-term; when the recitation becomes extremely fluent, without going through the brain, upon encountering any state, "Amitābha" comes out of the mouth as soon as one opens it, like an automated robot—yet afflictions remain afflictions as before, distraction remains distraction as before. What substantial benefit does such recitation have? Many monasteries and groups hold seven-day Buddha-recitation retreats, a million great names in one week; the sounds of the Buddha's name enter the ear sound after sound, thought after thought unbroken, but worldly miscellaneous affairs also enter the mind affair after affair without much delay; the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion are all present as ever, with no visible elimination of karmic obstructions, while the samādhi of reciting the Buddha's name does not even show a shadow.
All dharma gates are the mind-gate; the dharma gate of reciting the Buddha's name is also the mind-gate. Without cultivating the mind, accomplishment is difficult. Cultivating the mind is cultivating the manas; cultivating with the manas as the primary focus—when the manas is well cultivated, all dharma gates can be accomplished. Only this mind, heavily defiled since beginningless kalpas, with blazing afflictions, is very hard to grasp and not easy to subdue. Yet, in order to escape the sea of suffering, however difficult, one must find a way to turn it around and subdue it; otherwise one will still sink in the ocean of saṃsāra and karma, unable to extricate oneself.
