Tonight we continue to talk about “The Buddha Speaks of Amitabha Sutra.” Let us first recite the scripture:
Upon reading this scripture passage, many people feel elated, because one only needs to recite the Buddha’s name for one day.
Some say it is written here that at most recitation for seven days is all that is needed.
Actually Grandmaster knows, this scripture passage is very deep and furthermore very difficult. Upon reading this sutra passage, many people think that going to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is so simple. Recite for one day, or two days, or one week and it is possible to be reborn there.
There are several difficulties involved in this, let me first explain them.
Firstly he said, “if there is a good man or good woman,” this is very difficult.
Like what Master Lianzhu said just now, he had an agreement with the deity to steal the deity’s gold plaque.
Do you think he is a good person?
When he talked to the Bodhisattva, he said, “I have told the Bodhisattva before! This is borrowing.”
He said clearly it was borrowing. Moreover, originally, stealing one gold plaque and then when he made more money he would return two, it should be a meritorious act. But we know that this is not proper.
There used to be a sentence in the Bible that said:
Since there is not even half a good man, where are all these good men and good women going to come from?
According to what the Bible said, people are going to hell, let alone be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Jesus also said this before:
At that time, no one dared to stone her. So this first sentence “good man or good woman,” is already very difficult to achieve.
The “good” here doesn’t necessarily mean doing good deeds, but rather having a very bright, very peaceful, and pure heart, without any feeling of definitely needing to go to heaven or any feeling of definitely needing to go to hell, understanding all the principles.
In short, it’s not about praying for anything, but about being completely in a state of light and purity. This is the true good man and good woman.
Next, “hears of Amitabha Buddha”, this verse is also very difficult.
Everyone think about it.
Grandmaster is reciting Amitabha Buddha’s name every day, to everyone, how could it be difficult?
Well, now, we live in this beautiful United States of America, a very beautiful place.
Go ask Westerners, how many of them know Amitabha Buddha?
Even if they’ve heard of it, they might not know what it means. As I’ve mentioned before, when people chant “Namo Amitabha Buddha,” many Easterners interpret it as “There is no Amitabha Buddha in the South” [Note this is based upon a double meaning of the Chinese characters for “namo” which can be read as “no southern”].
Many Westerners haven’t heard of Amitabha Buddha either, so this verse is also difficult.
Today, we are transmitting this sutra in the West, hoping that Western disciples can chant this Buddha’s name and have the power to go there.
I believe many people, at the moment of their death, don’t chant “Amitabha Buddha.”
Westerners often exclaim “My God,” sometimes “Boy,” while Easterners often like to recite “Oh my Mother!”
At the moment of death, even chanting the phrase “Amitabha Buddha” becomes difficult.
If a person doesn’t have a long-standing foundation in chanting the Buddha’s name, they won’t be able to remember this name. At that moment, they won’t even be able to utter the “Ah” of “Amitabha Buddha”!
I can also tell you all that at the moment of death, sometimes they won’t even be able to say their own first or last name.
I once learned something, when a person is very ill, sometimes when you take a child to see the patient and ask, “Look who came to see you?” the patient can’t recall the person’s name, calling out many names but getting them wrong each time. This shows that they are already confused and unclear at that time, and it’s even more difficult to get them to recite “Amitabha Buddha.” If they haven’t recited it regularly, if the seed of Buddha hasn’t been planted in their hearts, they won’t be able to recite it then.
Why is there this scripture passage?
It’s to let all disciples know that this method is very simple and convenient, to encourage everyone, and to say that reciting the Buddha’s name can lead to rebirth in the Pure Land. So when it says here [in the sutra], “if for one day,” in truth, it is not merely that one cannot recite for a whole day; at the crucial moment, one may not even be able to recite a single phrase.
Finally he said, “when the end comes”, when one is at the moment of death “his mind will not be utterly confused”, this “his mind will not be utterly confused” is also difficult.
When someone is at the moment of death, what is he actually thinking?
He is thinking about the pain of his body and mind being torn apart. The body is being split up, like a landslide and earth wrenching!
At that time it is very painful, only thinking of the pain, one won’t be able to think of Amitabha Buddha. Surrounding you are many relatives. When everyone is very sad, you only think of the relatives, and can’t bear to separate from your family. At that time you would only think of your relatives, not Amitabha Buddha.
Many people, when they are dying, don’t think about their relatives, there are no more cries, no more hope, no more pain, but sometimes they will think about their secret stash of money, the place where it was hidden, what to do if no one knows about it, no one uses it?
This does happen.
We have one such example.
There was one disciple, he was a wealthy man, he was flying from the US to Japan and then back to Taiwan when he collapsed at the airport due to a heart attack. He was rushed to the hospital and underwent emergency treatment to be saved.
After being in a coma for nearly ten days, he finally woke up.
The first thing he said to his family was, “Do we have insurance at this hospital?”
This wealthy man’s first question was, “Do we have insurance?”
Upon hearing there was no insurance, he immediately scolded his relatives, demanding to be discharged and be sent to a hospital with insurance.
So a disciple like this, at the moment of death, do you think he will think of Amitabha Buddha? Even on the verge of death, he was still thinking about whether there was insurance!
So if you have a secret stash of savings or are hiding money, first tell Grandmaster the safe deposit box code, secretly tell Grandmaster where you hide it. Grandmaster will not go and take it.
This is called “mind is utterly confused”
Actually, regarding this wealthy disciple, from what I knew seven years ago, not speaking about the present, his assets already exceeded eight billion New Taiwan dollars. When he was at the peak of his earnings, he earned 100 million NT dollars a month.
However, according to him, at his worst, he lost 20 million NT dollars a month.
In fact, even such a wealthy person, at the moment of his death, was still thinking about insurance.
I had another disciple who used to be a Vice Minister.
On his deathbed, he called his family together and only uttered two syllables as his last words: “Minister.”
His son listened for a long time, thinking he was going to say some precious words, but all he said was the word “Minister.”
Grandmaster knew this. Why?
Because this Vice Minister often told Grandmaster that his biggest regret in life was not being a Minister. He believed that being a Vice Minister was far below the highest-ranking official, below a Minister. If he had been a Minister, he would have been completely satisfied, he would have been the highest-ranking official in the department. Therefore, not becoming a minister was the most unforgettable thing in his life.
Do you think this Vice Minister will think of Amitabha Buddha on his deathbed?
He didn’t even utter a single “Amitabha Buddha”!
Then what about Grandmaster?
This is not pulling out “Amitabha Buddha”, it has become a habit, doing anything is “Amitabha Buddha”.
Sometimes when I go to the toilet I want to recite it out too, but then realize this venue is not suitable, and recite it in my heart.
When we have flu, it is actually very painful, or when our tooth is aching, that’s also very painful, then we keep on reciting “Amitabha Buddha”. When we have a toothache, of course, we can but only recite it, even when we’re in pain, we also recite “Amitabha Buddha”.
Everytime Grandmaster goes to the dentist, when I close my eyes I keep on reciting, reciting non-stop. Anyway he scrapes my teeth as he wishes, when he scrapes once, I use one “Amitabha Buddha” recitation to resist him. When it hurts, I’ll visualize Amitabha shining light on me, making me feel cool, so that the dentist’s scraper won’t scrape my flesh.
Grandmaster believes that I will definitely be able to be reborn in the Pure Land in the future, because I didn’t just recite the name for seven days!
I hope everyone can frequently recite the name of “Amitabha Buddha” and not just wait until the last day to recite it!
And don’t just recite it for seven days!
Because when the time really comes, like a sudden heart attack, it only takes a few seconds or minutes, and there is not enough time for one day!
No one is so lucky as to be sick for a long time.
In fact, there are some people who, when they become ill, know they should recite the Buddha’s name, so they keep reciting continuously. Yet even after reciting for a year, they still have not “passed on.” Many people keep reciting, starting when they get sick, and continue for four or five years without dying. Then they get angry and stop reciting, and they die in those three hours of not reciting. This is because their minds are utterly confused, they couldn’t persist for the last three hours and their minds were utterly confused. In fact, the “mind will not be utterly confused” is the most difficult thing.
Just now, we were all meditating.
Who among you truly had no thoughts, not even a single thought, with only your heart being alive?
Who is it? Raise your hand!
While you were meditating, think about what you were thinking about?
The one who didn’t have any random thoughts while meditating is the first to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. The one who had absolutely no thoughts, a completely blank mind, who became blank the moment they meditated, thinking of nothing at all, will definitely be reborn there.
The second one, the one who, while meditating, always kept Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in their heart, entering the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Samadhi, will also definitely be reborn there. Apart from these two, no one else will be reborn there.
The meditation time just now was very short, only four minutes. Grandmaster also cannot be reborn there because I noticed the time. Think about it, in just four minutes of meditation, it is not possible to control the thoughts, thinking all kinds of things.
Do you think you’ll be able to recite the Buddha’s name at the moment of death?
So this “mind will not be utterly confused” is very difficult. Especially at the moment of death when one’s will is not entirely under one’s control, that is most difficult.
Those who regularly recite the Buddha’s name, or those who enter samadhi, who can enter this state of “emptiness” and “oneness”, that is the state of mind can unite, all can be reborn in the Pure Land.
Because you frequently enter a state of emptiness, uniting with the Buddha and becoming one, your body develops magnetism.
The scripture says:
The so-called “before him will appear” is saying, the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss itself is [created from] a very great vow, which is a type of big magnetic field. He himself is attracting sentient beings and you are also magnetic. He is a very huge magnetic field, and because of you aligning with him, the magnetism from both sides is attracting the other. With a single pull, you are immediately drawn to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
If you don’t have that magnetic quality normally, and you simply recite “Amitabha Buddha” at the time of death, but that magnetic quality hasn’t been generated, it’s like being an insulator. Only that phrase itself has magnetic quality, the magnetic strength is not enough, there is no way it can attract you there, therefore you will still reincarnate within the six realms.
We can’t wait until the last day or the last week to single-mindedly recite the Buddha’s name.
We have to recite it frequently, enter into meditation and enter samadhi, achieving emptiness of the body and uniting with the mind to become one. Only then will there be power, when there is attraction power then it is possible to go there.
Therefore, this passage mutually echoes the previous passage, the previous passage said, “if one has few good roots, blessings, and virtues, one cannot be born in that land.”
However, Grandmaster believes that if a person can still recite a Buddha’s name at the moment of death, that is, in the instant before death, it means there is still hope. Because that Buddha’s name is equivalent to a seed, planted in the heart, when reincarnating within the six realms there will still be this affinity with Buddhism, the ability to hear the dharma, and the capacity for rebirth in the Pure Land.
During those four minutes of meditation, did anyone truly attain emptiness?
Did anyone have no thoughts at all, no distracting thoughts?
Did anyone truly have the thought of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in their mind?
And didn’t think of anything else, was there anyone?
If there is, that person is a “Buddha,” a real buddha. Four minutes is not easy, because in the cultivation process of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, often it is just between one thought and another thought, a thought of space arises.
Therefore, I hope everyone can grasp intuitively the meaning of that scripture passage and cherish this rare karmic affinity with the buddha. We should constantly recite the buddha’s name.
Om Mani Padme Hum