Saturday, 12/07/2024
Articles
Great Master Ham Son Explaining about Pure Land Sect
Update: 31/08/2007
Meditator Hai Dương came to Lo Son from afar, prayed to practice Dharmadhatu or Dharma-elements, was named Tham Ngu as a Buddhist, then offered flowers to plead for Dharma, ‘I take an oath of praying to be born in the Pure Land. Therefore, I contract with thousands of Disciples of the Dharma who converge to one place and diligently practice the Dharma. I commit myself to be merciful and preach the Dharma.’ The elders because of that claimed that the Buddha preaches the Dharma of cultivation that helps exterminate life-and-death, and that there are plenty of assisting means and methods, but the most optimal and shortest one is chanting the Buddha’s name and praying to be born in the Pure Land. Avatamsaka, Saddharma-puadarika (Lotus), wonderful Dharmaparyayas, Samantabhara Sect are finally aimed at Pure Land Sect. Asvaghosa, Nagarjuna together with progenitors in this realm such as Sanahosa, and Madhyavayu maintain Pure Land Sect with all their might. This method preached by the Buddha inherently, which covers three sensory Karmas and enlightens four realms not for the sake of the inferior.
As said in the Sutra, ‘If we want to be restful in the Buddha’s land, keep our mind peaceful. Nowadays, as practicing Pure Cultivation, set a peaceful body as the foundation. In order to be peaceful in the mind, first remain peaceful in the senses. Since ten cruel doings induced by body, mouth and mind are the cores of the three evil paths, we ought to adopt the Buddhist commandments, making the three senses clean, and the mind would be whereby tranquil. If the body does not kill, steal, have promiscuous sex or tell lies, the body Karma is clean. If the mouth does not tell lies, talk equivocally, utter cruel words or fabricate stories, the mouth Karma is clean. If the mind is not greedy, revengeful, infatuated with anything, the mind Karma is not dirty. These ten evil doings will be interminably terminated, and the three Karmas will be peaceful, which becomes essential to a peaceful mind. During the process of refining the mind, stir the thrill of getting bored with sorrows in the human world, but take an oath of dying onto the nursing domain instead; establish the virtue of chanting the Buddha’s name; the mind that is chanting the Buddha’s name must be completely eagerly heading for life-and-death matter. First, cut off external causation. then, be internal thought to be raised. Use one chant of Amitabha as a source of life. Keep chanting with an unperturbed mind.
During day and night, even when walking or standing, lying or sitting, moving the body, turning around or folding the body, put mind every thought. At each moment, do not be dim-headed and blind with mundane passions. Practicing the mind that way we will become so skillful that we cannot forget to do it even in dreams. If there is no difference between being awaken and asleep, it means kungfu is continuous. If we can weave a plank, kungfu proves efficient. If we chant to a state of a unanimously steady mind, at the point of death, the scenery of the Pure Land will emerge conspicuously; automatically not being captured by life-and-death; then, we will be led by the light emitted from touched Amitabha.
This is to verify the decision to die onto the Pure Land. Wholeheartedly chanting the Buddha’s name in a right virtue, we have to use our observations in order to carry out a thorough contemplation. In the old days, the Buddha owing to the Queen Vaidehi preached 16 ways of spectacular contemplations, thus solving a life. Today, Sutra Pondering is still extant. When joining in wedlock with those who are all keen on learning the Dharma, anyone with any wishes should pick up one of 16 ways of contemplations: Either only chanting the Buddha’s name as well as Bodhisattva’s generals’ or focusing on the imagination of the scenic Pure Land at their will, just as Amitabha Sutra preaches about Precious Area of Lotus. If we have a clear contemplation, we would be living as in the Pure Land within day-and night’s spans. Even if walking or standing, lying or sitting, we feel like we are still. If we can contemplate so successfully, at the point of death, we will immediately be born in the Pure Land at one chant. Hence, saying being born means deciding to be born, but not passing away for reality. This is a miraculous spirit of Pure Land Idealism. Such endeavor together with diligent practice of the Buddhist Commandments will refine 6 senses as well as the mind and extirpate affiliations forever. Continuous practice will easily result in virtuous achievements. There is no other way to the righteous nucleus of dying onto the Pure Land. If we chant the Buddha’s name, praying to be born in the Pure Land without practicing the commandments, our affiliations cannot be eliminated, so the mind is still stained, which is said by Buddha that these people will never be able to gain spiritual achievements.
Accordingly, the most crucial thing as a human is to practice the commandments; swear an oath as a supporting bond; chant the Buddha’s name and contemplate as a right virtue. With such a cultivation like that, if we are not able to die onto the Pure Land, the Buddha will be banished to the tongue sin.
Translated into English by Nguyen Minh Thuy Tien.
(Extracted from ‘Clouds in Dreamy Realm’ adapted by Thich Hang Dat & Nguyen Phong)