Miscellaneous Discussions on Buddhism (Part One)
Chapter One: The Land of Bliss (Sukhāvatī)
I. The Three Grades and Nine Ranks of Rebirth in the Buddha's Contemplation Sutra on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life
In the Contemplation Sutra, the World-Honored One taught sentient beings that rebirth in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī) has three grades—higher, middle, and lower—comprising nine ranks. Among these, rebirth in the higher grade means generating the aspiration to cultivate and study the Great Vehicle, walking the great bodhi path, vowing to see the mind and realize one's nature, and broadly benefiting immeasurable sentient beings; rebirth in the middle grade is with the Small Vehicle aspiration, seeking only one's own liberation from the suffering of birth and death; rebirth in the lower grade is for those who have committed great evil karma, whose wholesome roots manifest at the end of life, and who are certain to be reborn in the land of bliss.
Those born in the highest rank of the higher grade, upon being born in the land of bliss, need not dwell inside a lotus flower; they directly see Amitābha Buddha and hear the Buddha preach the Dharma. Because such a person has already seen the mind and realized their nature in the Sahā world, having already eradicated beginningless ignorance within the mind and eradicated the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), they need not undergo gradual cultivation of the Great Vehicle inside a lotus palace. When seeing the Buddha, they can understand the profound Great Vehicle Dharma that Amitābha Buddha teaches, and can immediately attain the patience of non-arising (anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti) and enter the Tathāgata's family, becoming a bhūmi-level bodhisattva endowed with vast and profound wisdom. They then manifest bodies throughout the worlds of the ten directions, freely making offerings to the Buddhas of the ten directions, and delivering sentient beings according to conditions in the worlds of the ten directions.
Those born in the middle rank of the higher grade have not seen the mind and realized their nature, but they can read and recite the Great Vehicle vaipulya sūtras. After arriving in the land of bliss in the snap of a finger, they must dwell inside a lotus flower in the land of bliss. One night in the land of bliss equals half a great kalpa in the Sahā world; then they emerge from the lotus flower, and after seven days in the land of bliss they see the Buddha and hear the Dharma, become enlightened and become non-retrogressing bodhisattvas. After another one small kalpa in the land of bliss, they become first-bhūmi bodhisattvas and enter the Tathāgata's family. One day in the land of bliss equals one great kalpa in the Sahā world—that is, a duration of 16.8 million years multiplied by 80.
Those born in the lowest rank of the higher grade dwell inside the lotus flower for one day and one night in the land of bliss, which is one great kalpa in the Sahā world. Then they emerge from the lotus flower, and after seven days in the land of bliss they see the Buddha, though they still cannot see the Buddha's image clearly. After another twenty-one days in the land of bliss, they hear the Buddha preach the Dharma and become enlightened, seeing the mind. After another three small kalpas in the land of bliss, they become first-bhūmi bodhisattvas and enter the Tathāgata's family.
Rebirth in the middle grade generally involves people of Small Vehicle disposition, who have not generated the Great Vehicle bodhi mind and need not recite Great Vehicle sūtras. Those born in the highest rank of the middle grade directly see the Buddha upon arriving in the land of bliss, and upon hearing the Dharma immediately become great arhats with the three knowledges and six superknowledges, equal in rank to Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and others. Those born in the middle rank of the middle grade dwell in the lotus flower for seven days in the land of bliss; after emerging from the lotus flower, they attain the first fruit, and after another half a kalpa in the land of bliss, they become arhats of the fourth fruit. Those born in the lowest rank of the middle grade dwell in the lotus flower for twenty-one days in the land of bliss; after emerging from the lotus flower, they hear the Dharma and attain the first fruit, and after another one small kalpa in the land of bliss, they attain the fourth fruit of arhatship. By the Buddha's blessing power, they never enter nirvāṇa without remainder, but turn their minds toward cultivating the Great Vehicle Dharma.
Those reborn in the lower grade are all committers of great evil karma; the time they dwell inside the lotus flowers of the land of bliss is extremely long—as long as twelve great kalpas of the land of bliss.
II. The Situation of Study and Cultivation in the Land of Bliss
The World-Honored One said in the Amitābha Sūtra that after sentient beings are reborn in the land of bliss, they hear the Dharma of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self inside the lotus flowers—the Four Noble Truths of suffering, its origin, cessation, and the path. Flowers, birds, trees—all simultaneously proclaim the Dharma of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self. Why must one also study the Four Noble Truths in the land of bliss? Is it the same content as the Four Noble Truths taught by Śākyamuni Buddha in our Sahā world? Of course it is the same, because the Way of all Buddhas is identical, and the Dharma is not two. The Dharma of the Four Noble Truths is the most fundamental in the Buddha's teachings, the entryway Dharma; all students of Buddhism must cultivate and realize it, in order to subdue the self and eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and self-grasping.
Inside the lotus flowers of the land of bliss, being steeped in the truth of suffering so that sentient beings feel the suffering of their own five aggregates (pañca-skandha) is not at all easy, because the land of bliss is entirely blissful—so blessed with enjoyment that it is difficult to experience the suffering of the five aggregates. In the Sahā world, suffering and joy are roughly half and half, yet sentient beings still cannot experience suffering or generate the mind to escape the cycle of birth and death—let alone in the land of bliss, where being steeped in the truth of suffering, in the Dharma of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self, makes it even harder to feel suffering and even less easy to generate the mind of renunciation. Therefore one must dwell inside the lotus flower for a very, very long time, gradually being steeped in it. Only when the steeping succeeds, when the mark of warmth (ūṣma-gata) appears, when the afflictions and afflictive obstructions (kleśāvaraṇa) in the mind have been somewhat subdued, and when one no longer creates evil karma, can one emerge from the lotus flower, hear the Dharma preached by the Buddha, or by bodhisattvas, or by transformed Buddhas and transformed bodhisattvas, and only afterward attain enlightenment and realize the fruits.
One day in the land of bliss equals one great kalpa in the Sahā world. Those born in the middle rank of the middle grade dwell for seven days and cannot come out of the lotus flower, cannot freely go everywhere to see the Dharma and the bodhisattvas. Why can they not move about freely? Because the recollectors of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) in the Sahā world have not yet subdued their afflictive obstructions (kleśāvaraṇa) and afflictions; if they were to move about freely in the land of bliss, they would create evil karma everywhere, and before long they would turn the land of bliss into something just like the Sahā world—that would be terrible. Therefore those who have not subdued their afflictions cannot move about freely; they dwell in the lotus palace being steeped in the Four Noble Truths. Only when their afflictions are subdued can they come out to the worlds of the ten directions and make offerings to the Buddhas of the ten directions.
The subduing of afflictions requires seven to twenty-one days in the land of bliss, or even twelve great kalpas. By the time one day has passed in the land of bliss, the Sahā world has already completed one full cycle of formation, abiding, destruction, and voidness. Only after emerging from the lotus flower and hearing the Dharma preached by Amitābha Buddha or by the Buddha's emanations can one attain the Small Vehicle fruits from the first to the fourth. But here in the Sahā world, if we study the Four Noble Truths diligently, we can realize the fruits within just a few years, and subduing afflictions is also very fast. If one only recollects the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) and studies no Dharma at all, going to the land of bliss to study there—how long would it take to learn well? If in the Sahā world one cultivates the bodhisattva's six perfections, even cultivating for thirty years, once the conditions are fulfilled one can see the mind and realize one's nature; then going to the land of bliss, one is already a great bhūmi-level bodhisattva, and then, without leaving the land of bliss, one returns to the Sahā world.
Studying and cultivating the Buddha-Dharma in the various worlds has both advantages and disadvantages. In blissful worlds, the kalpa is long; in suffering worlds, the kalpa is short. In the Sahā world, if one has not subdued one's afflictions, a moment of carelessness leads to creating karma and falling into the three evil destinies to suffer. But if we study the correct Buddha-Dharma, we can understand the principles quickly; after understanding the principles, it becomes easy to subdue afflictions; once afflictions are subdued, we are relaxed and at ease, and can be free and at ease wherever we go. Having faith in and accepting cause and effect is very important. Every day, every moment, our bodily, verbal, and mental actions—while being performed—are simultaneously stored by the eighth consciousness; in the future, when the principle of cause and effect is to be realized, there will be karmic retribution. One who understands cause and effect and has meditative concentration (samādhi) can subdue afflictions and cultivate very quickly. And by studying the correct Great Vehicle Dharma—especially the Dharma of seeing the mind and realizing one's nature—one can discern causes and comprehend effects, and dare not create evil actions again. Therefore we should strive to study the Dharma; after seeing the mind and realizing our nature, we can be reborn at will in the worlds of the ten directions!
III. Comparing the Difficulty of Rebirth in the Land of Bliss and Realizing the First Fruit
Rebirth in the land of bliss may be even more difficult than realizing the Small Vehicle first fruit. Because rebirth has conditions: one must be endowed with the three provisions of deep faith, aspiration, and practice; one must have merit (puṇya) complete, conditions complete, the three acts of pure karma accomplished, a mind at the end of life that is not scattered and not inverted—accomplishing these is truly not easy. Sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age have meager merit (alpa-puṇya) and shallow meditative concentration (samādhi); their afflictions, habitual tendencies, and karmic defilements are all heavy, and their minds are scattered. In modern society, the five desires blaze fiercely; sentient beings' manas clings too heavily to worldly dharmas, and no matter how one recollects the Buddha, the mind does not leave defilement. Usually, even while recollecting the Buddha, the mind is scattered—let alone at the end of life, when the four great elements decompose, as painful as a live turtle being peeled from its shell. Even those who foreknow the time of their death—if, just as Amitābha Buddha is about to come receive them, a single thought suddenly turns to the Sahā world, then the mind is locked in the Sahā world, and the land of bliss is out of reach.
For example, there was a female lay practitioner who foreknew the time of her death, in her fifties. The Buddha told her He would come receive her at twelve noon on a certain day. After she learned this, she told the master at the monastery that she wished to attain rebirth at the monastery, as a demonstration of the Dharma, so that sentient beings would all believe and accept it. On the day of her rebirth, many lay practitioners came to the monastery to watch her attain rebirth, and everyone recollected the Buddha for her to send her off to rebirth. But in order to demonstrate the Dharma, she had already become distracted with scattered thoughts, no longer recollecting the Buddha single-mindedly. As a result, at twelve o'clock the Buddha did not come. She continued recollecting the Buddha for a long time, but the Buddha still did not come to receive her. So she had no choice but to pack up her belongings and go home to continue recollecting the Buddha and cultivating in the Sahā world. This is a true case, absolutely not fabricated.
Therefore, being able at the end of life to be single-minded without confusion, to let go of worldly affairs—without having realized the third fruit and departed from craving and attachment, this is very hard to achieve. If one usually only recollects the Buddha, not knowing the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) are false, not knowing all dharmas are false, not having subdued afflictions, with craving and attachment still blazing in the mind, with very many things one cannot let go of, then at the end of life one is even less able to let go of the conditions of the Sahā world and single-mindedly seek rebirth. It is plainly evident that many recollectors of the Buddha, the older they get, the more they cling to family members and possessions, even when gravely ill. If you tell them: "Let go and seek rebirth!" they say, "I haven't finished cultivating yet; when I've finished cultivating, then I'll seek rebirth." Or they say, "I still have matters not yet settled; once they're settled, then I'll seek rebirth"—all kinds of excuses, very many. In that case, at the end of life, the mind is entirely filled with the Sahā world—how could one possibly be reborn in the land of bliss?
Whereas in the Sahā world, studying the Āgama sūtras and cultivating the Four Noble Truths, eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) and becoming a Small Vehicle first-fruit srotāpanna is comparatively easier. Because realizing the Small Vehicle arhat fruit does not require much merit (puṇya); meditative concentration (samādhi) only needs to be preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) or even shallower; one need only keep the five precepts well, and need not eradicate craving and attachment—one only needs to generate a mind of weariness toward the five aggregates, and contemplate the falsity of the five aggregates and eighteen realms, their impermanent, non-self nature. A few years is enough; a bit longer, twenty years is also sufficient. After realizing the first fruit, rebirth in the land of bliss would be in the highest rank of the middle grade: arriving in the land of bliss, one directly sees the Buddha, not wrapped inside a lotus palace, and immediately becomes a great arhat of the fourth fruit with the three knowledges and six superknowledges, equal to Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana. Then, under the Buddha's blessing, one never enters nirvāṇa, cultivates the Great Vehicle, roams freely through the worlds of the ten directions, makes offerings to the Buddhas of the ten directions, and studies the Buddha-Dharma with the Buddhas of the ten directions.
Therefore, in studying Buddhism and cultivating, we must look at what the Buddha taught when He was in the world, and specifically how He wanted us to cultivate. Do not listen only to one person's views, do not read only one sūtra; look comprehensively and holistically at how the Buddha ultimately wants us to cultivate. The Tripitaka and twelve divisions of scriptures the World-Honored One left us suit the capacities of sentient beings throughout the twelve thousand years of the Sahā world; through effort we can cultivate them well. We should have confidence in ourselves and confidence in the Three Jewels. Cultivate the three untaught studies of precepts, meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom; accumulate the provisions of merit (puṇya); in accordance with the Four Great Vows we have made, cultivate diligently without violating our vows; broadly practice immeasurable wholesome dharmas, benefiting both self and others. With the supreme merit (puṇya-bala) of cultivation and pure great vows, attain rebirth in the land of bliss at a high rank, and then, without leaving the land of bliss, return to the Sahā world to broadly deliver sentient beings, so that together we may attain buddhahood soon.
IV. Only Contemplative Practice (Vipaśyanā-Caryā) According to the Method of the Contemplation Sutra Guarantees Rebirth
In the Dharma-ending age, if one cultivates according to the contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) of the Contemplation Sutra, one's attainment is fast and secure. If there is a relatively detailed treasure map of the land of bliss to serve as a guide for contemplation, we can all contemplate from the first contemplation all the way to the sixteenth. When the third contemplation is accomplished, rebirth in the land of bliss is guaranteed—far more reliable and secure than foreknowing the time of death—and moreover, meditative concentration (dhyāna) is never lost, and the Buddha's power blesses forever. When the third contemplation is accomplished, meditative concentration is excellent, the karma of the three evil destinies is eliminated, and one will no longer fall into the three evil destinies due to karmic obstructions; the meditative concentration will not regress either, and therefore rebirth is certain.
By the seventh contemplation, one will certainly see the mind and attain realization. With the Buddha's power blessing, mere intellectual understanding is impossible—only realization is possible. Upon arriving in the land of bliss, one's retribution will be supremely extraordinary. The meditative concentration one cultivates oneself, because of karma and ignorance, will regress when encountering conditions. Meditative concentration blessed by the Buddha's power will never regress. From the third contemplation onward, it is like this.
V. What Is the Lifestyle Like in the Pure Lands of the Buddha-Countries?
In a pure land similar to the land of bliss, if there were still daily life, still work, then it would be a worldly country of laypeople like the Sahā world, and would not be a pure land; sentient beings would inevitably have the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion, and would inevitably be divided into two large groups—monastics and laypeople—no different from the Sahā world.
Because in a pure Buddha-country, everything exists by transformation; there is no need to toil, no need for livelihood and work—only then can people's minds be tranquil (praśama) and undefiled, without selfish desire, without male and female, without family, incomparably pure—and thus there is no distinction between monastic and lay; everyone is a cultivator. Only in a world similar to the Sahā world, with the division of male and female, the burden of family, and the need to work and live, is there the distinction between monastic and lay. Therefore the Buddha ordained that in the Sahā world, the monastic saṅgha takes the lead, guiding the multitude in cultivating the Buddha-Dharma; Buddhism is upheld by the monastic saṅgha, and the Buddha-Dharma is propagated by the monastic saṅgha. When the Buddha was about to enter parinirvāṇa, the great lay bodhisattvas requested to inherit the treasury of the Dharma and propagate the Dharma on behalf of the Buddha, but the Buddha did not permit it, instead commanding the monastic saṅgha to propagate the Dharma on His behalf and to protect the Tripitaka and twelve divisions of the Buddha-Dharma.
In pure Buddha-countries and in the heavens, sentient beings are not divided into male and female, and have no families; therefore they are all monastic cultivators and need not "leave home" (become monastics). Without a home, how could there be leaving home? The sentient beings in the pure lands and the great bodhisattvas, all the way up to the bodhisattvas of equal enlightenment, have no families; the forms they manifest are not divided into male and female; therefore they all need not leave home, need not manifest the monastic form—they are all monastics, and moreover bodhisattva-monastics. Therefore they all need not shave their heads bald, need not wear monastic robes, and need not receive and keep the monastic precepts.
VI. Why Is Rebirth Said to Be Even Harder Than Eradicating the View of Self?
If one's mind has not been subdued in ordinary times, with thoughts of greed unceasing and thoughts of anger unending, can one at the end of life let go of everything, not stained by a single thread, taking away not a single leaf, cleanly and without any attachments, and be reborn in the land of bliss? Is that possible?
To tell everyone the truth: rebirth in the land of bliss is even harder than eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi). At the end of life, a single thought of the Sahā world, a single thought of attachment, a single thought of unwillingness to part, a single thought of inability to bear it, a single thought of anger—and this whole lifetime's cultivation amounts merely to planting a wholesome root; don't even think about the land of bliss; one continues transmigrating through birth and death in the Sahā world—and even continuing to transmigrate in a human body is difficult. Is the mind of the devas in the heaven of neither perception nor non-perception pure or not? When evil karma ripens at the end of life, they still fall into hell—let alone in the human realm of the desire realm, where evil conditions are so many; at the end of life, much is decided by karmic conditions and karmic power, not by one's usual subjective thoughts. Even those who foreknow the time of their death still remain in the Sahā world—still because of a single thought for sentient beings, for demonstrating the Dharma, not for themselves. How much more so in other situations: creditors and karmic creditors entangle one after another in all kinds of ways, inextricably tangled, impossible to untangle; both wholesome and unwholesome conditions appear—who can escape?
When we say rebirth in the land of bliss is not easy, some people are unconvinced. Look at how people today recollect the Buddha, with what mind they recollect the Buddha, what aspirations they hold in their hearts, with what purpose they head for the land of bliss—and you will understand whether today's recollectors of the Buddha can actually reach the land of bliss at the end of life. Open the Records of the Sages and Worthies of the Pure Land and see how the ancients recollected the Buddha; make a comparison, and you will know whether today's recollectors of the Buddha can be reborn in the land of bliss. Never mind that those seeking rebirth in the land of bliss have poor spiritual faculties (indriya)—what kind of faculties do even those who practice Chan seeking to see the mind and attain enlightenment have? They find it so difficult just to keep the five precepts, they lack even the conditions to eat vegetarian—let alone speak of anything else.
If everything relied on Amitābha Buddha's receiving and guiding, wouldn't things be much simpler? One Buddha alone could deliver all sentient beings under heaven, without needing the Buddhas of the ten directions. Is there such a bargain? Recite the Buddha's name and reach the land of bliss, then just wait to become a Buddha—at the end of life, one hand holding Amitābha Buddha of the land of bliss, the other hand dragging along the karmic creditors of the Sahā world—and that's how one becomes a Buddha? This is impossible.
