Do Not Reject or Deny Any Dharma Door; All Dharma Doors Are Equal
I once came across a saying: “The Pure Land encompasses all dharma doors.” Because I had studied more of the theories of Zen and Vajrayana, I thought to myself, “Isn’t this too arrogant? How can they say that?” Dharma doors are equal. I went to chant the Buddha’s name and practice the Pure Land dharma door simply because I wanted to see how this method differed from Zen and Vajrayana. When my chanting reached a state of “chanting without chanting”—an effortless flow—I visualized Amitabha Buddha entering through my heart chakra. In a flash, I merged into one with Amitabha Buddha, and there was absolutely no distinction or difference between the Buddha and me. In that very instant, I understood that this world is originally characterized by permanence, joy, true self, and purity. The reason the world appears as suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path, is simply because our own minds are impure and imperfect. Also in that instant, I realized that the “Pure Land” in the phrase “The Pure Land encompasses all dharma doors” does not refer to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, but rather to the pure lands of all Buddhas, the pure land of our own self-nature. And this is no different from “illuminating the mind and seeing one’s true nature” in Zen, or merging one’s body, speech, and mind with the chosen deity in Vajrayana. All of these are about understanding the truth of our unborn, undying, and eternal nature at the very moment self-nature manifests—that is, when temporarily abiding in the state of a Buddha. Through this, one realizes the tolerance of the non-arising of dharmas, transforms afflictions into bodhi, and peacefully settles the mind in the pure land of self-nature. Therefore, Zen, Vajrayana, and Pure Land can all be called dharma doors for attaining realization in this very lifetime.