眾生無邊誓願度
煩惱無盡誓願斷
法門無量誓願學
佛道無上誓願成

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Dharma Teachings

24 Nov 2023    Friday     1st Teach Total 4058

What Dharma does one perfumate within the lotus throne after rebirth?

Original text of the Amitābha Sūtra: 彼国常有种种奇妙杂色之鸟。白鹤孔雀。鹦鹉舍利。迦陵频伽。共命之鸟。是诸众鸟。昼夜六时。出和雅音。其音演畅。五根五力。七菩提分。八圣道分。如是等法。其土众生。闻是音已。皆悉念佛念法念僧。

Explanation: This passage describes the circumstances of sentient beings cultivating their practice in the land of ultimate bliss (sukhāvatī). In the Land of Bliss, there are constantly various kinds of birds of wondrous, mingled colors—white cranes, peacocks, parrots, śārī birds, and the kalaviṅka bird of shared life. These birds, throughout the six periods of day and night, produce harmonious and elegant sounds, and what they proclaim are the thirty-seven factors of the path. These harmonious and elegant sounds are sung for the sentient beings residing within the lotus platforms in the Land of Bliss to hear. After hearing them, the beings will recollect the kindness and merits of the Three Jewels.

Therefore, sentient beings who are reborn in the Land of Bliss must still cultivate the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths as well as the auxiliary practices; they must still first be habituated to the truth that the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) are without self, laying the foundation for the eradication of the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa), and laying the foundation for seeing the mind, seeing the nature, and the blossoming of the lotus to behold the Buddha. When we study Buddhism and cultivate practice in the Sahā world, if we do not study the Āgama sūtras, do not understand the Four Noble Truths, and do not cultivate the thirty-seven factors of the path, can that be acceptable? Cultivating a bit more Dharma and understanding a bit more principle will each add a bit more assurance for rebirth in the Land of Bliss, and after arriving there, one's cultivation will proceed even more rapidly. Sentient beings reborn in the Land of Bliss are divided into Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna practitioners according to their former vows, aspirations, and the Dharma they cultivated. However, whether Mahāyāna or Hīnayāna practitioners, all must be habituated, within the lotus platforms, to the Four Noble Truths and the thirty-seven factors of the path. Only after their afflictions have been subdued can they emerge from outside the lotus platform, see the Buddha and the bodhisattvas, and hear the Dharma; only then can they have the opportunity to realize the fruits of the path and to see the mind and see the nature.

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings
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The Conditions for Rebirth in the Amitabha Sutra

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