The fourth point in explaining “The Buddha Speaks of Amitabha Sutra” is ”discussing the function”. This is about what can this sutra do for us? This sutra is spoken by Shakyamuni Buddha, but what purpose does this sutra have? What can it be used for? The function of this sutra is that it is to enable you to be reborn in the Western Pure Land without regression. The most important purpose of this sutra is “rebirth in the Pure Land”.
In the past, in Buddhist scriptures, it was often mentioned that many sects rely on their own power to practice. Tantric Buddhism for example, relies a lot on one’s own power, and Zen Buddhism also advocates practicing with one’s own power. However, the “Amitabha Sutra” says: You need to rely on your own power, but you also on the power of the Buddha.
In general, Zen Buddhism relies entirely on one’s own meditation until one’s own inner light shines through, and then interacts with the universe. It is about using the power of one’s mind to attain Buddhahood, which is “taking no-thought as the principle,” and using one’s own spiritual power to achieve Buddhahood.
Although Tantric Buddhism itself involves visualization, first visualizing the Buddha, one then uses your own power (also relying on your own Dantian inner fire), to cultivate the seven chakras, opening the crown, and then directly becoming a Buddha. Therefore, the three treasures of Tantric Buddhism are: “Qi, channels, and drops“.
What about “Qi“? First, you should circulate the Qi throughout your body. This means guiding your qi to flow through all the meridians and channels. Then gather the purest Qi into a light drop.
What about this drop?
It goes through the seven chakras, from the dantian all the way up to the navel chakra, to the heart chakra, the throat, the third eye, to the crown chakra, and then out. Tantric Buddhism focuses on the practice of these “qi channels and drops,” circulating the qi until it merges with the universe.
Therefore, practicing Tantric Buddhism and Zen Buddhism are both relatively difficult, but practicing Pure Land Buddhism is the easiest, because you only need to rely on your own chanting. You don’t need to practice any “qi, channels and drops”, or practice “no thoughts without thoughts”, “no action without action”, or “no mind without mind”, you don’t need to practice these.
Actually, Pure Land Buddhism is like saying, I usually chant the Buddha’s name, chant “Amitabha Buddha of the Western Paradise [commonly spoken in Chinese as xīfāng jílè shìjiè amítuófó]”. Because you chant for a long time, and you become familiar with it. It’s like praying every day, if you pray every day, the Buddha will hear your prayer every day in the void. Someone once asked me: If I pray to him every day, will he be annoyed? Actually, he won’t, because his heart capacity is very vast, he is not like you, his big heart is expansive.
Just like when I was in Taiwan, I opened the door wide in the morning, three hundred over people would rush in just like that, flowing in just like seawater, flowing into my living room. Everyone had to queue up, get papers, register, quarrel with each other and fight. In the past when I was in Taiwan, when I opened the door at eight o’clock I started to do consultations, up until twelve noon, sometimes I couldn’t even eat lunch. At that time I stipulated that everyone had three minutes, however many when they came had prepared several sheets of questions to ask.
Actually using my own strength to handle so many people is of course a big headache, very troubling, you know there are questions here and questions there, non-stop. However there is something very miraculous. As long as I sit on the consultation chair, continuously for seven hours, eight hours I don’t need to use the toilet, not even once! It is like turning off the faucet.
It is like there is a net of light enveloping you from the sky, and whatever people ask you, you answer immediately, and you never feel tired. It is strange. But sometimes I feel that repeating this every day is quite a troubling thing.
So, if we often recite the Buddha’s name and think of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas, isn’t the Buddha troubled too? Actually, no! Why? Because humans are only a very small part of this world, but the light of the universe itself is countless times greater than humans. How many billions of humans are there now? I know that there are ten billion in mainland China, and I heard that it is probably the most!
However, there are 36 trillion Amitabha Buddhas in the Western Paradise. Therefore, if we call upon Amitabha Buddha, just one of them will appear, and some might not even hear us! So in the eyes of Amitabha Buddha, our Earth is as insignificant as a speck of sand. For them to save us is very simple, and it is not troublesome for them. You can shout as loud as you want, if you can summon three Amitabha Buddhas, that is even better.
This scripture says, hope you can pray and call out to the Buddha everyday.
Last week I said:
At least when you are reciting the Buddha’s name you will not be scolding people.
At least when you are reciting the Buddha’s name your mind will not have skewed thoughts.
At least when you are reciting the Buddha’s name your hands will not be doing bad things.
In fact, when you recite the Buddha’s name, you are reciting a mantra with your mouth. When you recite the Buddha’s name, you will also think of the image of the Buddha in your mind. When you bring your palms together, you are forming mudra. When you are thinking of the Buddha in your mind, you are visualizing. Therefore, in the end, the Pure Land school’s recitation of the Buddha’s name generates brainwaves that vibrate upwards. Once these brainwaves are generated, all Amitabha Buddhas of the Western Pure Land receive your brainwaves.
One day, when your chanting is mature, keep on chanting, chant until it is ripe, your brainwaves power is very big, it produces a kind of attraction, a kind of calling attraction force. When this house of yours, your body, is about to break down, at that moment you abandon that house, as soon as the power of your remaining thoughts of chanting arises, as soon as it arises from the brainwaves, the Buddha merges with you, the two streams of light merge. With one puff you will be transported to Western Pureland.
This sect is a sect that will never retreat after death. That is, you chant the Buddha’s name until your mind generates magnetic force, when it attracts Amitabha Buddha down, then he will bring you up, and you will be reborn in this way. This power has its own magnetisation power, as well as the power descended from the Buddha himself. The two sides attract each other like two magnets. When they get close, they come together with a “click” sound.
However, Zen and Tantric Buddhism are different. The Buddha of Zen and Tantric Buddhism is standing. You have to cultivate yourself until you have your own strength to approach him. It’s not a two-way process. Therefore, Pure Land Buddhism is easier, while Zen and Tantric Buddhism are more difficult.
Now, everyone think about this! Oh! Why should we learn Tantric Buddhism then? We should just learn Pure Land Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism has a saying that it accepts both high wisdom and low wisdom people. Since we are all highly intelligent here, we want to learn Tantra, because no-one wants to be considered as low intelligence.
However, because many of us have low wisdom and cannot reach the level of powers needed to cultivate Tantra, our sect also has the practice of chanting Buddha’s name. Although we practice Tantric Buddhism, we put the Pure Land’s method in it. Like the realm of Amitabha Buddha in the Western Paradise, this is your own realm.
So now you practice Tantric Buddhism, wow! You’re going upwards, but you can’t climb any higher, you’re stuck here. Then, we later recite the Buddha’s name, and it brings you closer! “Click!”
Therefore, all those who believe in our sect, not even one less, all go to the Western Pureland. Those who are able can take the spaceship, those who are not take the aeroplane. We don’t have people riding bicycles here, this is a metaphor. It is like saying that since we didn’t catch the express train, then we can take the slow train like in Taiwan, going slowly, so that everyone, the fast and the slow will all reach the same place, and no one will lose out.
I think the fast ones don’t need to be proud, and the slow ones don’t need to be sad, because there is an advantage for the slow ones, the slow ones can eat a few more bowls of rice in the world, right? They can also have more romantic relationships. Going to heaven too early may not be very fun.
Om Mani Padme Hum.