Amituofo
From your letter, I learned that in recent days you have engaged in earnest cultivation, examining yourself, mending your ways and following the path of the sages, with no desire for empty fame. I am very happy indeed! To follow in the footsteps of the Buddhas and sages and escape Birth and Death, you should Read More …
From your letter, I can see that you are concentrating on reciting the Buddha’s name, bowing to the Lotus Sutra and trying to reduce your transgressions, but you have not yet achieved success. You are thinking of following a special method to review your progress day by day. All of these actions demonstrate that your Read More …
It is very difficult to respond to the important questions raised in your letter. Why? It is because your aspirations are lofty while my knowledge is limited and meager. Loftiness and meagerness cannot meet; therefore, my teaching will not be appropriate to your needs! However, in the True Mark Single Vehicle, the marks of loftiness Read More …
How delighted I was to receive and read your letter! The sage Ch’u Po-yu, upon reaching his fiftieth birthday, looked back and realized the errors he was still committing at age forty-nine. When nearing seventy, Confucius expressed the wish to survive much longer in order to study the Book of Changes in depth and thus Read More …
Since we last met, six years have gone by in a flash. During that time, not only have the snow and dew undergone change, the destiny of our nation has been profoundly transformed as well. The evanescence of life is truly something we all deeply mourn. I am pleased to learn from your letter that Read More …
Faith is an important component of Pure Land Buddhism. However, wisdom or Mind also plays a crucial, if less visible, role. This interrelationship is clearly illustrated in the Meditation Sutra: the worst sinner, guilty of matricide and parricide, etc. may still achieve rebirth in the Pure Land if, on the verge of death, he recites Read More …
Central to the Pure Land tradition is the figure of the Bodhisattva Dharmakara, the future Amitabha Buddha, who came to exemplify the Bodhisattva ideal and the doctrine of dedication of merit. This merit transference is the source of the vow-power, or other-power, in Pure Land Buddhism. The Mahayana idea of the Buddha being able to Read More …
These three factors are the cornerstones of Pure Land Buddhism. If they are present, rebirth in the Pure Land is achieved. Faith means faith in Amitabha Buddha’s Vow to rescue all who recite His name, as we as faith in one’s own Self-Nature, which is intrinsically the same as His (to recite the Buddha’s name Read More …
Pure Land, like all Mahayana schools, requires first and foremost the development of the Bodhi Mind, the aspiration to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. From this starting point, the main tenants of the school can be understood at two main levels, the transcendental and the popular — depending on the background Read More …
Throughout history, the Patriarchs have elaborated various systems to categorize Dharma methods and the sutras in which they are expounded. One convenient division is into methods based on self-effort (self-power) and those that rely on the assistance of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas (other-power). Traditionally, most Buddhist schools and methods take the self-power approach: progress along Read More …