DHARMA IN EVERYDAY LIFE

By Nhat Quan

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The phrase Amitabha's self-nature, to say it enough, is Amitabha's self-nature, the self-mind is the pure land

First of all, we talk about Amitabha's self-nature. To understand this issue clearly, you must first determine Amitabha's self-nature. In Sanskrit Amitabha is Amita or Amitabha. Amita means infinite light source, infinite life. His own radiant light shines in all ten directions, nothing can block it. Wherever that light shines, sentient beings are enlightened and liberated. In the Sukhavativyuha Sutra, the properties of that light source are mentioned:

- Appamanabha: That light of wisdom cannot be measured.

- Anantaprabha: That light source is limitless, wherever it shines, sentient beings can attain enlightenment.

- Unhindered light: That light is as free as space, not blocked by anything.

- Unequalled light: That light is pure, nothing can compare.

- Majestical Flaming Light: The king of all light sources.

- Purification Brightness: That light source is transparent, without a trace of dust.

- Light of joy: The light source of liberation, everyone who sees it will be at peace.

- Light of wisdom: The aura of wisdom, shining wherever it goes, dispels the shadows of desire and ignorance.

- Unceasing light: That light source is never interrupted.

- Inconceivable Light: This light source cannot be considered with a normal mind.

- Brightness of Non-Proclamation: That light source cannot be known by name and form.

- Light Outshining the Sun and the Moon: That light source is brighter than the sun and moon.

Those are some of the intrinsic properties of the enlightened light of Amitabha Buddha. That halo can shine throughout the universe, and nothing can stop it. From the lofty heavens to the dark hells, everywhere sentient beings feel the light of Amitabha Buddha's enlightenment and compassion, and feel His infinite generosity. He is an infinite life, so talking about the life of Amitabha Buddha and the saints in the Western world of ecstasy is infinite. You cannot measure the world's time units, because:

- That life is eternal, a manifestation of enlightenment. Once enlightened, you will no longer be damned back to the six paths of samsara. Just like gold, once refined, never returns to earth ore.

- That life shows its constant presence everywhere and at any time. You can reincarnate for thousands of millions of lives, and in those thousands of millions of lives, Amitabha Buddha will always be present to help you.

- That life represents the dynamic life source of the true mind, the permanent nature of wisdom. Even though you are obscured by ignorance, the pure nature of the true mind is always evident, like a diamond obscured by dust but the diamond's ability to shine is always present, when dust is wiped away. That clarity is fully revealed.

- That life is a source of boundless vitality, expressing the boundless compassion of Amitabha Buddha.

- That life is endless energy, representing the infinite salvation vow of Amitabha Buddha.

- Life means growth. That represents the constant transformation, the continuous progress of practice. And the growth of the original mind of loving-kindness, the wish to practice liberates yourself, and with an altruistic mind you help others escape suffering. That life represents the transforming power of Amitabha Buddha.

Whoever has practiced and discovered in his mind those outstanding virtues, then that person is already somewhat imbued with the virtues, or in other words, in his mind, he already has Amitabha's self-nature.

As for the Pure Land of self-mind, according to Shakyamuni Buddha, he described the scene of the Western Pure Land:

- The people in that country no longer know to suffer, they only enjoy joy.

- In the Western Pure Land there is a lake of seven treasures, containing water of eight types of merit. At the bottom of the lake there is golden sand, on all four sides there are paths made of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and pearls. There are many temples built with jewels such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, mother-of-pearl, red pearls, agate, coral, amber, and pearls. There are large lotus flowers of all colors blue, red, white, and yellow. Which color lotus radiates that color's aura and radiates a wonderful, pure fragrance.

- Six times a day it rains mandala flowers, maha-mandala.

- There are birds of all colors such as white cranes, peacocks, orangutan, Egrets, Kalavinka birds or An Indian cuckoo, etc. day and night, singing wonderful sounds, praising the dharmas of the five senses, five powers, Seven parts of Bodhi, and the Noble Eightfold Path. When people hear these Dharma sounds, they all turn their minds to revere the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

- Every time there is a gentle breeze, the rows of seven precious trees vibrate, emitting wonderful sounds like hundreds of thousands of musical instruments playing at the same time. When people in that country heard those sounds, they all single-mindedly recited Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

- All sentient beings should vow to be born in that realm because they can often meet Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and hear their teachings.

- When sentient beings hear the name of Amitabha Buddha, they should develop a mind to recite it, with one mind undisturbed from one day to seven days. When they die, their mind will not go crazy and they will be accompanied by Amitabha Buddha and the Holy Assembly will take that person to the Western Pure Land.

- If someone makes a vow to be born in the Pure Land, then that person, while making the vow, has achieved the highest, irreversible enlightenment and is present in the Western Pure Land, although his body is still in the Saha world.

That is an outline of the good basic points about the realm of the Western Pure Land. This is a pure realm where the land and houses are all built with the precious brilliant colors of pearls. The sentient beings whose minds are pure and good, no longer suffer from physical or mental suffering. The sounds of trees, leaves, and birds are all wonderful Dharma teachings to support sentient beings on their path of practice. Therefore, when reborn in the Western world of bliss, practice is quickly accomplished and enlightenment is obvious.

According to the opinion of this article, it says Amitabha's self-nature and self-mind are the pure land, letting you know that Amitabha Sutra is an important sutra in inner transformation. When the mind is directed towards the pure realm, afflictions do not arise and good roots are developed. That is:

- Amitabha's self-nature.

And when your mind thinks about the world of bliss, the realm you are living in is also the Pure Land. The practice is the gradual training to transform afflictions into Bodhi, transforming Saha into Pure Land. That is:

- Self-mind is pure land

Those are the profound meanings expressed in the infinite life of Amitabha Buddha. His endless source of life is an endless source of inspiration for spiritual vibrations, a direction for boats floating on the sea of suffering Because Amitabha Buddha:

1. He is boundless compassion:

Since he was a Bhikkhu Jewel Treasury, he made great vows to save all sentient beings. That is forty-eight prayers. In those prayers, he developed the courage to use all means to help sentient beings escape all suffering. From material suffering such as lack of food, clothing, and medicine, to mental suffering such as ambition, hatred, and confusion. As well as the sufferings of wandering in the three evil realms such as hell, hungry ghosts, and animals. The suffering caused by the distinction between men and women, rich and poor... In His country, everything is complete, body, mind and place are pure. Everyone adorns their body and mind with virtue and diligently practices until the day of enlightenment.

Deeply reflecting on the suffering in the six paths of samsara, and understanding the spiritual weakness of sentient beings, out of infinite compassion to save sentient beings, Amitabha Buddha had the means to establish the Western Extremes Bliss is the intermediate realm between the world of samsara and Nirvana. All sentient beings who know him and think of him, even if they have a small capacity that is only strong enough to chant Buddha's name for a short time, even though those beings still have heavy karma, also vow to save them all. All those sentient beings return to the world of bliss. That's when:

- You can be reborn but you can still bring karma with you.

In the Western Pure Land, those sentient beings continue to practice until the day of complete liberation. Practice in the Pure Land only progresses, not regresses. Because sentient beings here can hear the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas preach the Dharma every day. With the pure and solemn scenery of the world of bliss, and with the encouragement of the saints, enlightenment will certainly be completed in the future.

2. He is a pure lotus:

The symbol of Amitabha Buddha is a pure, fragrant lotus. He appeared in the impure world determined to practice until complete enlightenment, like a lotus flower born in mud but rising from the mud and transforming the muddy material into pure lotus flowers. He also established the Pure Land for the suffering of the Saha world, and for the suffering of sentient beings, he entered the impure world to manifest salvation.

In the Dvachatvarimshat-khanda-Sutra, Buddha Shakyamuni taught:

- Monks who engage in this impure life must be careful like a lotus flower growing in the mud without being contaminated.

In the seven-jeweled pond in the Pure Land, there are four types of lotus: green, yellow, red, and white. Whichever color flower shines with its aura radiates its pure fragrance. When practitioners return to that realm, they are born on the lotus flower, transforming your greedy and angry person into a pure person of the nine levels of lotus flowers. It is a beautiful image that describes the crystallization of the merit of practice. Diligence is like the substance that transforms suffering into pure land like a lotus transforms mud into flowers. From then on, Sukhavati sector, or Ch'ing-t'u Tsung was also named The Lotus Sect or Lotus School.

In the Sukhavati Sector teachings, Amitabha Buddha is the leader of the Western Pure Land and is also the dharmakaya, the light source of enlightenment. That dharmakaya is present throughout the universe and is also present in the mind of every sentient being. Like the bright moon in the sky and appearing in all ponds, lakes, rivers, and seas. Amitabha Buddha is present everywhere and in the mind of every living being, so every living has Amitabha Buddha nature. Amitabha's Self-Nature is the manifestation of Buddha's Nature so that each sentient being can feel that within their own mind, Amitabha Buddha is hidden. That Self-nature is each person's ability to become enlightened. Enlightenment is a source of boundless light, infinite life, boundless compassion, and a pure lotus in a polluted world. That ability is present in every living being with all the qualities of Amitabha Buddha. Therefore, the image of Amitabha Buddha is the manifestation of the enlightened nature of Buddhas and sentient beings throughout space and time. Therefore, it is important that you converge the following factors:

- Great good roots (i.e. freedom from greed, anger, ignorance),

- Have great merit (i.e. enter the world and do meritorious deeds),

- Create great good conditions (opening the ashram for everyone to practice together),

- Great Dharma Sound Contemplation (using Saha data to build the current Pure Land), and

- One mind without chaos, which is the core of mindfulness and concentration in the eightfold path.

According to Venerable's teachings, a person who wants to be reborn in the pure land must have three factors:

- Trust, Vow, and perform.

However, making a vow is a small application of compassion. Making a vow is to show your concern for suffering sentient beings and unhappy lives. Dedicating merit is also a small application of compassion, which means:

- Looking back, caring about the suffering and pain of others.

Making vows leads to dedication of merit. Dedicating merit leads to making vows. Vows and dedication are a pair of cards that support each other.

The application of compassion according to the Buddha is to create specific acts of service, as the Buddha asked the first sixty Arhats:

- Bhikkhus, each person should go his own way, two people should not go in the same direction to bring happiness and peace to sentient beings, to gods and humans.

Buddha determined that his mission was to serve humanity. Therefore if you want to practice meaningfully, you must know two sets of Sutras: 2. He is a pure lotus:

The symbol of Amitabha Buddha is a pure, fragrant lotus. He appeared in the impure world determined to practice until complete enlightenment, like a lotus flower born in mud but rising from the mud and transforming the muddy material into pure lotus flowers. He also established the Pure Land for the suffering of the Saha world, and for the suffering of sentient beings, he entered the impure world to manifest salvation.

In the Dvachatvarimshat-khanda-Sutra, Buddha Shakyamuni taught:

- Monks who engage in this impure life must be careful like a lotus flower growing in the mud without being contaminated.

In the seven-jeweled pond in the Pure Land, there are four types of lotus: green, yellow, red, and white. Whichever color flower shines with its aura radiates its pure fragrance. When practitioners return to that realm, they are born on the lotus flower, transforming your greedy and angry person into a pure person of the nine levels of lotus flowers. It is a beautiful image that describes the crystallization of the merit of practice. Diligence is like the substance that transforms suffering into pure land like a lotus transforms mud into flowers. From then on, Sukhavati sector, or Ch'ing-t'u Tsung was also named The Lotus Sect or Lotus School.

In the Sukhavati Sector teachings, Amitabha Buddha is the leader of the Western Pure Land and is also the dharmakaya, the light source of enlightenment. That dharmakaya is present throughout the universe and is also present in the mind of every sentient being. Like the bright moon in the sky and appearing in all ponds, lakes, rivers, and seas. Amitabha Buddha is present everywhere and in the mind of every living being, so every living has Amitabha Buddha nature. Amitabha's Self-Nature is the manifestation of Buddha's Nature so that each sentient being can feel that within their own mind, Amitabha Buddha is hidden. That Self-nature is each person's ability to become enlightened. Enlightenment is a source of boundless light, infinite life, boundless compassion, and a pure lotus in a polluted world. That ability is present in every living being with all the qualities of Amitabha Buddha. Therefore, the image of Amitabha Buddha is the manifestation of the enlightened nature of Buddhas and sentient beings throughout space and time. Therefore, it is important that you converge the following factors:

- Great good roots (i.e. freedom from greed, anger, ignorance),

- Have great merit (i.e. enter the world and do meritorious deeds),

- Create great good conditions (opening the ashram for everyone to practice together),

- Great Dharma Sound Contemplation (using Saha data to build the current Pure Land), and

- One mind without chaos, which is the core of mindfulness and concentration in the eightfold path.

According to Venerable's teachings, a person who wants to be reborn in the pure land must have three factors:

- Trust, Vow, and perform.

However, making a vow is a small application of compassion. Making a vow is to show your concern for suffering sentient beings and unhappy lives. Dedicating merit is also a small application of compassion, which means:

- Looking back, caring about the suffering and pain of others.

Making vows leads to dedication of merit. Dedicating merit leads to making vows. Vows and dedication are a pair of cards that support each other.

The application of compassion according to the Buddha is to create specific acts of service, as the Buddha asked the first sixty Arhats:

- Bhikkhus, each person should go his own way, two people should not go in the same direction to bring happiness and peace to sentient beings, to gods and humans.

Buddha determined that his mission was to serve humanity. Therefore if you want to practice meaningfully, you must know two sets of Sutras:

The first is the Amitabha Sutra, which focuses on the five criteria for rebirth in the West, as mentioned above, and the second is the Paramita Buddha Recitation Sutra, because this sutra, in addition to the chapter on mantras, was compiled after that, the remaining content contains the philosophies of Mahayana Buddhism.

Following these two sutras, those who follow the Pure Land method will not eat bread made of pictures, nor will they place emphasis on prayer. Those who practice the Pure Land method become intellectually developed, and active, and enter the world to build the Pure Land in every home and workplace. It is a Pure Land of Humanity

Regarding this, the Buddha gave the metaphor of the road to the castle. Like a castle hidden in the deep forest for many years, He was lucky to find the way to that castle. He opened the doors, went inside, and saw the treasures. In this metaphor, the treasures are understood as the four noble truths, the eightfold path, and the twelve causes, and conditions... The Buddha passed on those treasures by drawing the path, that is, recording Tripitaka and giving them away for free to sentient beings. Buddha said that he was not the author of truth. Buddha is just a discoverer of truth. The truth is already available. Buddha showed everyone the path of truth. The Buddhas of the past, the Buddhas of the present, and the Buddhas of the future are just people who show the way. The Noble Eightfold Path is the path. Proclaiming the Noble Eightfold Path is spreading the path to liberate suffering.

The philosophy of Pure Land Buddhism lies in the fact that when one achieves great merit, great good roots, great causes, great contemplation of the Dharma, and a single mind without disturbance, that person becomes a saint in the present. So say:

- Wherever the saint is, there is ultimate bliss and nirvana.

In short, the pure land of humanity encourages the spirit to make your own efforts, light your own torch, and go. Human nature is easy to be lazy, easy to rely on, not wanting to do much but wanting great results. It is the mind of laziness combined with the mind of greed and is dominated by the mind of ignorance. You can follow many forms of practice and end up disadvantaged and become victims of practices that are not in accordance with the eightfold path. Therefore, in the Majjhima Nikaya, the Buddha gave the metaphor of milking a cow at horns, back, legs, and everywhere else. Even if you have a sincere wish, you cannot have cow's milk. If you want milk, you have to milk the cow's udder to get milk. What the Buddha meant was that a wish is just a psychological factor, helping you firmly believe in the path you have been taking. Superstitious people think that by praying, by making a vow, you get this or that... which is not true. You have to do it and have wisdom, effort, and uninterrupted diligence to get results. The same problem, people who understand Buddhism correctly will explain it in terms of cause and effect, while people who do not understand the Dharma will explain it in terms of mystery and blessings. You must understand that everything depends on your mind, so say:

- Amitabha's self-nature, self-mind is Pure Land.

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