Friday, November 21, 2008

Truth of Impermanence

On the truth of Impermanence, see the following passage by Red Pine:

Shakyamuni left home to find a way out of the endless round of life and death. Anyone who follows the Buddha must do the same. When it was time to transmit the robe and bowl of the Zen lineage, Hung-jen, the fifth Zen patriarch, called his disciples together and told them, "nothing is more important than life and death. But instead of looking for a way out of the Sea of Life and Death, you spend all your time looking for ways to earn merit. If you are blind to your own nature, what good is merit? Use your wisdom, the prajna-nature of your own mind. All of you, go write me a poem." (The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma, note 20)

Faith

Faith is an important element in all Buddhist traditions, but it is particularly so in Pure Land. See the following passage from the Avatamsaka Sutra:

Faith is the basis of the path, the mother of virtues,
Nourishing and growing all good ways...
Faith can increase knowledge and virtue;
Faith can assure arrival of enlightenment.

(Thomas Cleary, tr. The Flower Ornament Scripture, vol. 1, p.331.)

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Can the effect of karma be reverted?

Some of us may ask whether the effect of karma can be reverted by repeating the name of Kuan-Yin. This question is tied up with that of rebirth in [the Pure Land] and it may be answered by saying that invocation of Kuan-Yin's name forms another cause which will right away offset the previous karma. We know, for example, that if there is a dark, heavy cloud above, the chances are that it will rain. But we also know that if a strong wind should blow, the cloud will be carried away somewhere else and we will not feel the rain. Similarly, the addition of one big factor can alter the whole course of karma...

(Taken from Pure-Land Zen, Zen Pure-Land)

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Letters from Patriarch Yin Kuang: PURE-LAND ZEN, ZEN PURE-LAND

Untold eons ago, Amitabha Buddha made forty-eight Vows to rescue sentient beings. One of the Vows [the eighteenth] stated:

If, after my obtaining Buddhahood, all beings in the ten quarters should desire in sincerity and trustfulness to be born in my country, and if they should not be born by only thinking of me ten times..., may I not attain the highest Enlightenment.


Faith, Vows and Practice
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 well as faith in one's own Self-Nature, which is intrinsically the same as His (to recite the Buddha's name is to recite the Mind). Vows are the determination to be reborn in the Pure Land - in one's pure Mind - so as to be in the position to save oneself and others. Practice means reciting the Buddha's name to the point where one's Mind and that of Amitabha Buddha are in unison - i.e., to the point of singlemindedness. Samadhi and Wisdom are then achieved.
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I feel that this is a book that cannot be missed. Superb!