We have seen clearly that no matter what Amitabha Buddha said in his great vow, or what Shakyamuni Buddha said, sentient beings admire, think of the merits of Amitabha Buddha with joy in their hearts; all they think about are the merits of Amitabha Buddha and the Pure Land he built. In the “Shurangama Sutra”, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva said that sentient beings, like mothers who long to see their children, even if the children run away, her thoughts of them will not help the situation. But if the children also miss the mother as keenly, they then are not separated by transmigration, bound to meet Buddhas in his present or future incarnation. It means Buddhas are thinking of sentient beings tirelessly, like mother remembering her lost child. If the children are hiding away, and not for a moment think of their mothers to the same degree, even if mother recollects endlessly, they cannot see each other. If sentient beings think of Buddhas the same way, like mother thinks of children, and children to mother, no matter how far the distance between them, how long the children have been lost, mother’s heart will always be with children; they will eventually meet again. If sentient beings think of Buddha, recite Buddha’s name, they will see Buddha one day.
Imagine if now in this world you were separated from your mother who loves you so dearly; when you think of her, will you remember her voice, her face, her words and behaviour, and all she has done for you? Even if you are distressed now, you may tear up while feeling loved deep down in your heart. When you know that your mother has never given up on you, you too will not give up looking for her and are confident that you will see her again. But when we are reciting the name of Amitabha, we should be a little mindful that what we are thinking may not be Amitabha, not what Amitabha has done for us, not his great vows which benefit us or his immeasurable merit, his penetrating wisdom, not the extraordinary beauty of the Pure Land. May be all we are thinking about is how Amitabha could save us from the suffering of this world: our unhappy marriage, unsuccessful career, destitute status and illnesses. This world is not fun at all; therefore having the desire to be reborn in the Pure Land sooner to avoid the suffering of this world. If you think like this, you are not thinking of Amitabha; you are just thinking about yourself, thinking about the bitterness and happiness in the world. How can you see Buddha? What you see at present and during the intermediate existence must be the scenes of bitterness and happiness you have been through, because the scenes in intermediate existence are naturally presented according to the traces left in our hearts.
Someone says: I think of nothing while reciting the name of Amitabha; can I go to the Pure Land successfully? If you have eaten apples many times, when you say apple, even you think about nothing, even you have Alzheimer, you would not picture apple as table or chair legs. When you keep saying apple, even though you feel like you are thinking of nothing, sentient beings with supernatural power will see the apple’s shape, colour, smell naturally appear in your heart. When we are reciting Amitabha, our brain and mind go blank; only the name of Amitabha appears spontaneously in our mind, because we know nothing about the power of Buddha’s vow, its merits and benefits which the vows carry. We don’t have the merit of Amitabha and the knowledge and traces of the Pure Land in our heart. In intermediate existence, the act of reciting the name can easily be ignored by us.
Let’s think about it carefully again: in this world, what truly inspires us may not be the wisdom, merit, the generosity of Amitabha and the extraordinary view of the Pure Land. In human realm, all we worry about are our sensations, feelings and interests. The Buddha’s name is like a life-saving straw for us to escape from suffering and attain happiness, and it is a straw in the long distance; the merit inside it we can’t immediately experience and benefit from it. So that the name of Amitabha can easily become a rhyme, incapable of entering your heart.
For human beings, the things that can’t be remembered in the heart, never once thought of, learned and imitated, and leave no traces in the heart, can’t appear spontaneously in intermediate existence. During the intermediate existence, people haven’t reincarnated, so it still counts as this life; the scenes that appear in consciousness are still the life, habits and desires of humans when they were alive. When human is alive and dreaming, because breathing hasn’t stopped, in this state, dreams are influenced by the flow of prana as well as ego’s perceptions; one can recall plans and ideas of the day in one’s dream. But during intermediate existence, the breathing have stopped; the flow of prana no longer impacts on consciousness. So in intermediate existence, what surfaces are the deep traces and memories of the heart, and things that have been done are naturally presented in various scenes. During intermediate existence, most people see the bitterness and happiness they experienced in their lives in front of them, and the dark secrets buried in the bottom of the heart. Because there is no trace of Amitabha and the Pure Land in their hearts, in the state of intermediate existence they forget the name of Amitabha, and their wish to be reborn in the Pure Land.
Even if the sound of recitation from this world could enter into their intermediate existence, it’s like him roaming on the street and inadvertently hear the sound of people bargaining in the market; he heard it, but couldn’t relate to it. Therefore, many who have practiced recitation for years and still could not be reborn in the Pure Land. However there are people who hear Amitabha’s name and his Pure Land when they come to the end of their life; they rejoice in their heart and longing to be born in Amitabha’s land, therefore go on to recite his name with utmost piety; they instead end up going to the Pure Land without hindrance. This is not to say that the more we recite, the easier it is to become lost in the state of intermediate existence. This is to remind everybody that other than vowing to be reborn and develop trust, by reciting Amitabha’s name, our thoughts and traces of our mental functions are important to the process of rebirth as well.
Therefore, if we are ignorant to the merit of this Buddha’s name, this could result in us not hearing the name faithfully; even when chanting, it is lack of faithfulness. However in our daily life, if someone truly longs for Amitabha’s blessing, the solemness and the beauty of Pure Land, one definitely will purify one’s body and mind and observe the five precepts thoroughly, with a purified six faculties and serene equanimity, and one relishes in holding up virtues. Even if one is not capable of fully dedicating oneself to the benefit of others, one will rejoice in gratitude and promote the merit of others, and never will be jealous and create obstructions. We could also simply reflect on this ourselves and see if we do remember and have longings for Amitabha who is known for his meritorious deeds.
In this sutra, according to Amitabha’s nineteenth vow: sentient beings in the worlds of ten directions who have determined to achieve perfect supreme enlightenment and accumulate various merits, make a vow with sincerity to be reborn in the Pure Land, when he is nearing the end of his life, I will welcome him respectfully with the Bodhisattvas of the Pure Land; we surround and appear in front of him. In this sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha also talked to the heavenly beings: if a person has determined to achieve supreme enlightenment and cultivate a bodhicitta to benefit oneself and others, accumulate good deeds and merits, vowing to be reborn in the Pure Land, although at the Pure Land, in the presence of great bodhisattvas, Amitabha still extremely appreciates the bodhicitta of bodhisattvas from other worlds and will welcome them with a special ceremony to induct them into the Pure Land. The process is known as the rebirth of three kinds of disciples.
Therefore, if one will like to be reborn in the Pure Land from this world, and worried that one might not recall Amitabha’s name during their intermediate existence, then other than making a vow to be reborn as well as remembering Amitabha’s name, they should also cultivate the heart to attain the supreme enlightenment, a heart to benefit oneself and others. Accumulating all kinds of good deeds and merits are the best assurance of going to the Pure Land. Meritorious bodhisattvas, near the end of their life, vowing to be reborn in the Pure Land, shall be received with splendor by Amitabha and fellow pure land bodhisattvas. Therefore, in this world, all bodhisattvas who aspire to develop bodhicitta, six transcendent practices and accumulate merits as such should have the confidence to know that they are to be received by Amitabha and could be reborn without hindrance.
In the “Immeasurable Life Sutra”, Amitabha made the forty-eight vows and built the Pure Land to benefit sentient beings. There are eleven vows that were made with the intention to carry the name Amitabha to show the sentient beings of the worlds of the ten directions that hearing Amitabha’s name could bring them merits and benefits. More importantly, we can acquire these benefits even without going to the Pure Land; sentient beings can benefit from Amitabha’s name in the world that they live in.
- In the thirty-fourth vow, Amitabha said: all sentient beings who heard my name, they gain fortitude of the non-arising of phenomena, and the ability to hold to the good. Fortitude of the non-arising of phenomena refers to the nature of neither arising nor ceasing of all phenomena; hold to the good refers to the ability to use all kinds of expedient means to illustrate the truth of dharmas.
- In the thirty-fifth vow, Amitabha said: women in all Buddha-realms who hear my name, should they be delighted and rejoice in it and are determined to achieve perfect supreme enlightenment, if they dislike female body, they would not be reborn as woman in their next life.
- In the thirty-sixth vow, Amitabha said: Bodhisattvas in all Buddha-realms who hear my name, their pure practice will not be interrupted after death till the day they achieve full enlightenment.
- In the thirty-seventh vow, Amitabha said: humans and heavenly beings who hear my name, bow down to the Buddha’s feet in a blissful manner, believe in and delight in Buddha’s teaching, perform the practices of the bodhisattva, because of it, they will be respected by people in the world.
- In the forty-first vow, Amitabha said: bodhisattvas in other worlds who hear my name, on their path of becoming a Buddha, they will not be born mutilated, ugly, physically and mentally defective.
- In the forty-second vow, Amitabha said: bodhisattvas in other realms who hear my name, they can all attain meditative concentration of pure liberation and abide in meditative concentration. With just one single thought, they can make offerings to countless inconceivable Buddhas at the same time without losing right concentration.
- In the forty-third vow, Amitabha said: Bodhisattvas in other realms who hear my name, they can be reborn in noble houses.
- In the forty-fourth vow, Amitabha said: bodhisattvas in other realms who hear my name, they rejoice in cultivating bodhisattva practices diligently to perfect their virtues.
- In the forty-fifth vow, Amitabha said: bodhisattvas in other realms who hear my name, can attain samadhi of universal equality and abide in samadhi of universal equality until they become Buddhas, being able to see the infinite numbers of inconceivable Buddhas. The samadhi of universal equality is the meditative realm where all things are equal.
- In the forty-seventh vow, Amitabha said: bodhisattvas in other realms who hear my name, will immediately attain non-retrogression on their Bodhi paths.
- In the forty-eighth vow, Amitabha said: bodhisattvas in other realms who hear my name, can immediately attain the first, second and third Dharma patience, and achieve immediate non-retrogression to the variety of dharma they have learnt in the practice of their bodhisattva path.
For bodhisattvas, the attainment of the first, second, and third grounds (bhumi) is called the firm belief; the attainment of the fourth, fifth, and sixth ground is called the obedient patience; for the seventh, eighth, ninth grounds it is called the patient belief in the truth of no birth; the tenth ground is the marvelous enlightenment, that is called the patience that leads to complete Nirvana; obedient patience, and patient belief in the truth of no birth.
Above, we listed eleven benefits that Amitabha gives to the sentient beings who hear his name. If we truly believe in the majestic power and virtue of Amitabha, we will then think of how we can deserve such a great blessing in gratitude. In the infinite sound of the universe, all of a sudden, we hear the sound of his name, feeling blissful and rejoice. It does not only come from hearing the name, but also for our clear understanding of the benefits it brings to us. Moreover, when someone hears of the benefits of his name, will immediately develop a bodhicitta of attaining the supreme enlightenment; they benefit both themselves and others. For we can see that these benefits are always given directly to the bodhisattvas of the worlds of the ten directions.
If we are already a bodhisattva who wish to attain the perfect supreme enlightenment and wish to improve ourselves while bringing benefits to others, and have accumulated extensive merits on their bodhisattva path, by hearing the benefits and receiving the blessing of the name, which amplifies the strength of our bodhisattva practice, we are confident of achieving Buddhahood in all times and places. This is how we truly hear the name of Amitabha.
But if our mind is really as Mahasthamaprapta said: Buddhas of the ten directions recall sentient beings like mothers recall their children. If the child flees, what is the use of recalling? Do we not have the Buddhas in mind, and rather follow our habituated tendencies and desires, clinging to the illusion of our six faculties, just like the child who have fled without a trace? Even Buddhas who think of us at all times, yet we still fail to see each other. Although Amitabha had conferred countless blessings and virtues onto the name, we still have no confidence or are unwilling to cultivate the mind of bodhicitta to achieve the ultimate enlightenment which benefits oneself and also the other at the same time; the unwillingness to walk the path of bodhisattva and to acquire the merits and benefits of this name. Even if someone says they have developed the mind of bodhicitta, but still be attached to all kinds of grudges of this world, indulge themselves in their habituated tendencies and desires, doing whatever they want; when it comes to challenges, only concerns with self interest, reluctant to give, eager to take. They do not take the great vows, merits and virtues of the Buddhas as their role models. Therefore, in the actual practice of the bodhisattva path, their thought and actions are not like a bodhisattva, so they could not connect with the Buddhas and therefore are unable to manifest the benefits of Amitabha, as if the Buddha’s name was unheard of.
In this Sutra, Amitabha is also translated as the Buddha of Immeasurable Light and Immeasurable Life. Shakyamuni Buddha introduced and praised him by saying: the majestic power of Amitabha’s light is the most exalted among all Buddhas; the light of other Buddhas could not compare to his. If any sentient being encounters the light of the Immeasurable Life Buddha, their three pollutions of craving, ill-will, and ignorance will vanish immediately; the body and mind will soften, and inexhaustible bliss will arise within. Based on these, the good mind emerges. If the sentient being encounter the light of the Immeasurable Life Buddha, even among the most painful places in samsara, the feeling of suffering will disappear right away, and they will no longer be compelled by anguish and distress, and attain liberation after their current lives end. If there are sentient beings who hear of the majestic powers and meritorious virtues of his light, reciting his name all day and all night, with total concentration, they will attain rebirth in pure land. T
he majestic power and radiance of the Amitabha, his extraordinary achievement and sublime quality, is also unique within worlds of the ten directions. We shall think more about this light of Amitabha’s virtue and long for it. This radiance surpasses the light of the sun and moon, and all light within the universe; it makes all Buddhas praise; sentient beings rejoice when they see it, and all receive great benefit.
Amitabha is known as Buddha of immeasurable life as he has an immeasurable lifespan, so as the disciples of Sravaka vehicle, the bodhisattvas, the celestial beings and humans, their lifespan too is as long; it is not knowable through counting or analogy. When we read such a scripture text, we might say: we could not see the limitless light or immeasurable life of Amitabha, so we can not obtain its empowerment. In fact, the light of Amitabha never ceases; it illuminates all worlds universally without hindrance, empowering all the bodhisattvas of worlds of the ten directions, guiding the sentient beings who wish to be reborn in the Pure Land. Such achievement of Amitabha’s radiance is due to his attainment of the Buddhahood had given enormous benefits to countless and limitless beings. That radiance is the unlimited meritorious light which illuminates everything everywhere without any obstructions.