Pure Land Cultivation Doctrines -- Shi Zhenlin (Master)

The Pure Land we often talk of refers to the Western Buddha Land of Ultimate Bliss. The Buddhalands are as numerous as the sand in the Ganges River, in the vast empty space, and it is one of them. The Buddha Land is called Happy Dwelling, and the Buddha Name is Amitabha-Buddha. The Land came into being as part of fruits of the forty-eight Great Vows that Dharmakara made before he ascended to Buddhahood.

Long ago, past limitless, boundless, and unconceivable, Asankheya aeons, there was a Buddha called Great-Penetrating-Wisdom-Victory, Thus Come One. The grandfather, the Wheel-Turning Sage King, had sixteen sons, including Amitabha-Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, etc. They took refuge in the Great-Penetrating-Wisdom-Victory, Thus Come One to cultivate the Buddha Path. All of them have attained Buddhahood and are now preaching the Buddha Dharma in the Buddhalands in the ten directions. Two have become Buddhas in the East: One is named Akshobhya, in the Land of Happiness. The other is named Sumeru Peak. Two have become Buddhas in the Southeast: One is named Lion Sound. The other is named Lion Sign. Two have become Buddhas in the South: One is named Space Dweller. The other is named Eternal Extinction. Two have become Buddhas in the Southwest: One is named Royal Sign. The other is named Brahma Sign. Two have become Buddhas in the West: One is named Amitayus. The other is named Savior of all Worlds from Suffering and Anguish. Two have become Buddhas in the Northwest. One is named Tamalapa-trachandana Fragrance and Spiritual Penetrations. The other is named Sumeru Sign. Two have become Buddhas in the North. One is named Cloud Self-Mastery. The other is named King of Cloud Self-Mastery. In the Northeast there is a Buddha by the name of Destroyer of All Worldly Fear. The other Buddha, the sixteenth, Shakyamuni Buddha, is here in the Saha World.

Therefore, Amitabha-Buddha has a great affinity with living beings in the Saha world. The scenes in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss are very wonderful. As it is created by the vow strength of Amitabha-Buddha, everything in the Buddhaland is transformed from thoughts. There is no revolving in the Six Path. You get reborn in Buddhaland only. The process of attaining Buddhahood is incremental and irreversible, unless you make a vow to ferry over the beings in other Buddhaland. Therefore, it is indescribably wonderful if one gets to cultivate the Dharma in this Buddhaland.

It takes three attributes to make it to be born in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss: 1-firmness of faith; 2-strength of vows; and 3-consistency in cultivation.
The firmness of faith is of utmost importance. You’ve go to place your faith in it, and believe in the existence of the Buddhaland. Should you harbour any doubt, you may only be reborn to land bordering it where the heavenly life-span is 500 years, and the blessings there are pretty much as huge as in the Heaven of Brahma and Heaven of Sound and Light. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that we firmly believe in the existence of such a Buddhaland.

Other than firmness of faith, you also need to make your vow to meet Amitabha-Buddha everyday and you shall be born in His land. With firmness of faith, and strength of your vows, together with the merits and virtues accumulated day by day, the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and the Great Strength Bodhisattva shall come to welcome you after you die, and lead you to attain rebirth in the Buddhaland. It is not easy to make it simply by having firm faith. We need to, therefore, choose a way of cultivation and practice it everyday so as to empower our faith and vows.

There are many ways of cultivation. All the eighty-four thousand Dharma doors are fine. However, you can only pick one of them. This is like choosing a road leading you to the Buddhaland. You can only walk upon one road. If you choose to cultivate in many different ways, it is like you want to walk along different roads. You won’t be able to move on if you do so, and shall achieve nothing. For example, if you choose to chant the Buddha name Amitabha-Buddha, you do it everyday. Remember to make your vows before the chanting and transferring the merits and virtues after it. If you choose to chant Namo Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, you have to have a singular focus in your cultivation make it efficacious. Surely you may also choose the Sutra of Infinite Life. If so, you cultivate as is written in the Sutra. Shakyamuni Buddha makes it clear how we should cultivate in the Sutra. The same holds true if one chooses the Sutra of Longevity, or the Former Deeds of Medicine King Bodhisattva of the Lotus Sutra. To put it in one word, you have to develop a singular focus in your cultivation. This is often referred to in Buddha Dharma as focusing on one Dharma door. Otherwise, you’d never get it. It would be like a crab, or a bird, or fish dragging a coach—the coach simply won’t budge.

Amitabha-Buddha has great affinity with we beings in the Saha World. As long as we do it in the right way, nothing is impossible. Ten thousand people make the vow, and ten thousand of them shall make it. It is my hope that all my fellow-cultivators, with firm faith, strong vows, and the right way of cultivation, shall all be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss and attain Bodhi.