Lingmei's Second Visit to Amitabha-Buddha

A Second Visit to Amitabha-Buddha, Tour to the Hell, and a Sutra-lecturing Trip to the Heaven of Great Comfort

Cast away the small self, and we shall obtain the big self. Cast away the big self, and we shall have no self. Only the state of being no self is permanent, which is what I have been seeking for.
I’d note it down as long as it shall benefit the people so that you can all read it.
I traveled to the West as if in a dream.
“The heaven is as big as your mind is. The mind can take you to heaven. No Dharma is fixed. It is a tough journey. It takes as short a span to go through a thousand eons as to give rise to a single thought. The eon is not fixed but made by the mind. Whether something is difficult or not depends on the mind. A mind of the Way should be at peace, but yours is circled by external things. The true mind is like gold. If you can cling to the mind of the Way that is peaceful, you shall attain Buddhahood in the present life. Apply good efforts to cultivation! The Buddha is no Buddha!”
I did not quite the the point, and was wondering whether it was because I went there too often. By then, a voice spoke to my ears, " It takes only one thought for you to ascend to the heaven or drill down to the earth. Having tasted all the heavenly delicacies, you still need to find our true mind. Comprehend the Dharma with the knowledge that the Dharma is no Dharma. When you get enlightened to the Dharma, you shall know there is no Dharma. If you understand that there is in truth no Dharma, your mind is awakened to the Dharma. Not until then will you understand all is the same. There is no “self”, and it is not a ‘self’…Haw-haw!”

With the laughter, the voice became less and less audible. The other day, Master suggested that I visit the Hell. I said no because I was fearful of it, though not knowing for what. Having listened to the instruction of Amitabha Buddha, I decided to pay a visit to the Hell.

It seemed like a dream, but in truth was not. As if in a trance, I visited the Hell, and had a short stay there, during which, there was voice speaking to me along the way. Soon after I arrived, I heard “Life in the secular world is dream-like. Both ups and downs come and go quickly. Since you have come to the Hell, please exhort the people to practice cultivation.”

Whenever I passed a hell, I heard a saying describing it respectively. I now put them together, and it says, “ Those who are greedy end up in the Exoculation Hell; those who bully the elder and the underprivileged end up in the Hell of Boiling Oil; those who kill the living beings end up in the Hell of Iron Knives. If you still do not believe in karma and retribution, take a look at how crowded the Hell is. If you want to know the retributions of blessing and misfortune to befall you in the present life, turn the light and reflect within. The dust has all been settled.”

I also saw the Great Iron Ring Mountain, where the suffering was exactly as acute as Master had described when he was lecturing the Sutra of Longevity. I could not bear to see it. Why do the hell beings have to undergo such serious retributions? As I just thinking over it, I was told that these beings were impious and bad to there parents when they were alive. Being filial to our parents are the most meritorious. It is suggested that people should read the Filial Piety Sutra.”
After I returned, I thought of what Master had spoken to me, “We cultivators are walking on thin ice. We can either ascend the Heaven, or fall down to the Hell.” I do not want to fall into the Hell. I don’t want to suffer anymore from transmigration. I must cultivate wholeheartedly to get back to my true home.
I had decided not to roam around anymore. Some co-cultivators jokingly said to me the other day that I should pay a visit to the Medicine Buddha, and indeed my soul traveled to His Buddhaland. Soon after I arrived, the Buddha spoke to me, “ The Buddhalands of the ten directions are in fact empty. They manifest differently before different people. You have been well-travelled through the trips. Please tell the people not to try to discern the truth. The medicine of miracle lies right in your mind. Why bother to seek it externally? Hold on to single-mindfulness, set your mind at peace, and you shall sit on the lotus dais and get back to your true-self.”
Again, he said, “Be mindful of it! Always!” He then added, “Apply the medicine of miracle to your mind. Clean away the secular dust, and you shall be free from the self. Always be mindful of the fine words and hold on to your true self. Do not forget the trip and you shall transcend time and space”.As I was thinking what the real treasures are, a voice spoke to my ears, “Being-able-to-give-it-up Herb, the Cure-all.” Put it down, and it all gets smooth. Your mind shall be set at peace and free from afflictions.”
A Sister suggested that I recite the lines for Master when he got on-line. Master told me, “I won’t send you around any more.” He also told me that these verses could be very thought-provoking for our co-cultivators, so I wrote them down.
I was still thinking why not more traveling when Master spoke to me again, “Lingmei, you’d better not visit the Medicine Buddha. You may pay a visit to the Heaven of Great Comfort, though.” I always do what Master instructs me to. I know well that I can always make whatever Master wants to me do. By the way, let me share with you a secret: Miracles can happen anytime. We ourselves are a miracle.
Below is what happened when I was in the Heaven of Great Comfort. Miracles did take place when I followed Master’s instruction and treated them with equality and reverence.
It turned out exactly as Master had said, that I was lecturing the Sutra of Longevity for them. I won’t go into details about it, though. They liked it very much and many asked for a copy of the Sutra. Believe it or not, when in such a state, as soon as I gave to the thought on whether Master could send them a copy of the Sutra, they got the copy.
Below is what the King of the Heaven of the Great Comfort said to me after hearing me talk: “At great comfort our happiness is endless. In the twinkling of the eye, thousands of years are gone. We shall be turned on the wheel of transmigration. We now avail ourselves of the opportunity to practice cultivation. Those who can put it down are as at comfort as the immortals. It is never too late to practice cultivation. I used to feel it a pity but now it is solved. Let us meet again in our Homeland in the future.Please drink the glass of wine, as your presence brings to us warm breeze that pervades the whole Immortal Mountain. We shall keep in mind the precious sutra you send to me. Put it down, and we obtain true merits and virtues.”

Two days later, I paid a visit to the Heaven again while sitting in meditation, as I was not sure that I could really lecture the sutra for them. When I was there, I again requested that I talk the Sutra for them. I quoted the ending passage of the Sutra of Longevity, “As these livings do not realize their danger, which resembles that of burning eye-brows, so they greedily indulge in the benefits of wealth, love and sensual desires. Or they consume so much wine that their life span is at stake. There are also those who are jealous, deluded and arrogant. Most of them will sink in the seas of suffering with no chance for liberation. Only the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are able to cross over the seas of birth and death. The common sentient beings are sure to sink into them.”

Some heavenly beings got enlightened just when I was reciting it. I returned soon after I had finished saying it. I think I’d better not think too high of myself. I again was struck by secular thoughts. I thought I was out of myself with the bestowal of power by master. I was fearful. I feared I might just fall down.
When I was thinking about it, a voice spoke to me, “Nothing that you fear will happen if you are acting according to the Buddha Dharma and on the vow you’ve made!”
I am just too dull. I feel unhappy after returning from the Heaven of Great Comfort. I want to ask master why face to face, but master is just too busy. I think I need to find the answer myself, and the key is to work on my mind!

I seemed to find the answers as I was sitting in meditation this morning. Why was I fearful when in the Hell? Why did I enjoy the stay in the Buddhaland? Why did I feel uncomfortable while in the Heaven of the Great Comfort so much so that I did not stay there for longer than necessary? Why did I fail to hold back my tears when I heard some telling their past experience or complain that it was torturing for them? I have been quite tearful since I returned from the visit to the Heaven of the Great Comfort. I think I now know why. We have been cultivating for so many lives, and gone through, so to speak, numerous eons being turned on the wheel o the Six Paths. We are still being entangled in emotions. Not just emotions between man and woman. I am very much attached to friendship. I used to think I have put it down, but I have not yet.
In the Heaven of Great Comfort, there is no need to practice cultivation. They get whatever they want. Time flies by quickly as their life is fully of joy. As a result, they get lost. They had endured great hardships before being born in the heaven. Isn’t it a great pity that they now forget what they have gone through?
I think I am fully ready now. No matter how challenging it is, I will keep cultivation in the present life. I must find my way back home! Put all the burdens down! We won’t be able to take any of them along. There is always winning and losing. We need to let it go from our mind. Remove the obstacles in our mind by cultivating the mind. By the time we overcome ourselves, we shall find our true-self.
This is how I feel after I return from the trip. We cultivators need to apply real efforts as well as time to it. Time is the best touchstone. With the passage of time, everything comes, and everything goes. There is nothing to fear as long as we are equipped with a fearless mind. Besides, master is always with us when at critical junctures. Master is omnipresent!
Amitabha-Buddha!