There are two very important texts from the Amitabha Sutra, which are often misunderstood. These two texts are as follow:
Sariputra! One cannot attain birth in that land with few virtuous roots and meritorious blessings as causal conditions.
Sariputra! If a good man or woman, who hears of Amitabha Buddha and holds fast to his name for one day, for two days, for three days, for four days, for five days, for six days, or for seven days, single-mindedly without deviation……
One Should Resolve and Aspire to be Reborn in the Land of Bliss
The theme of Amitabha Sutra is to urge us to attain rebirth in the Land of Bliss. Amitabha Buddha has been extending his hands, and pleading us for accepting His deliverance for ten kalpas. Shakyamuni Buddha also exhorted us in several sutras to resolve and aspire to be reborn in the Land of Bliss. Take this sutra for example, He earnestly exhorted us three times. The first passage of exhortation is:
Sentient beings who hear this teaching should resolve and aspire to be reborn in that land.
The second passage is:
Those who have heard this teaching should aspire to be reborn in that land.
The third passage is:
If one believes, they should aspire to be reborn in that land.
We can see here that Shakyamuni Buddha exhorted earnestly like a kind grandmother, repeatedly stressed, persuaded and wanted us to try our best to gain rebirth in the Land of Bliss.
Common Misunderstanding of “Few Virtuous Root and Meritorious Blessings as Causal Conditions”
What is the meaning of the text “one cannot attain birth in that land with few virtuous roots and meritorious blessings as causal conditions”? According to common understanding, virtuous roots refer to Bodhi Mind (Sanskrit: Bodhicitta, meaning perfect enlightenment for the sake of living beings), while meritorious blessings refer to the Six Perfections (i.e. giving, holding precepts, patience, vigor, concentration, and wisdom) and Ten Thousand Practices. In this analysis, the cause is the virtuous roots of Bodhicitta and the conditions are the meritorious blessings of the Six Perfections and Ten Thousand Practices. When the cause and the conditions are converged in harmony, one can be reborn in the Land of Bliss. Moreover, the virtuous roots cannot be too few; they must be abundant. The so-called “abundant in virtuous roots” implies a commitment to achieve supreme Bodhicitta.
How do you know it is few or abundant? Taking the Arhat status as an example, its acquisition is seen as the result of few virtuous roots, because he did not aspire to Bodhicitta and practice the Bodhisattva Way. So, he cannot become a Buddha. The purpose of attaining rebirth in the Land of Bliss is to become a buddha. The ordinary explanation insists that one has to resolve to achieve supreme Bodhicitta as the cause of rebirth in the Land of Bliss. Once having resolved to achieve Bodhicitta, one has to practice according to the Bodhisattva Way. That is called meritorious blessings. With the convergence of cause and condition in harmony, one is then able to attain rebirth in the Land of Bliss.
But there is a question that we should consider: Are the accumulated blessings and the virtuous practices accomplished by us sentient beings? Or by Amitabha Buddha on our behalf? That is the point.
What Does It Mean by “Good Men or Women”?
Next sentence “Sariputra! If a good man or woman, who hears of Amitabha Buddha and holds fast to his name”. This is an answer to the question about “good men or women”–which include the monastics and householders, good or wicked man, or even all sentient beings in the Six Realms. As long as they hear the Name of Amitabha Buddha and recite the Name single-mindedly since then, all can be called “good men or women”, which means “all sentient beings of the ten directions” who inspired to attain rebirth in His land as stated in Amitabha Buddha’s Eighteenth Vow.
Abundant Virtuous Roots and Meritorious Blessings Means Hearing of Amitabha Buddha and Holding Fast to His Name
Sentient beings in the ten directions hear of Amitabha Buddha. This text “hears of Amitabha Buddha” doesn’t mean hearing the voice of other people’s single recitation of Amitabha’s name. It is not like that. It means listening to a good knowing advisor who explains and teaches about Amitabha Buddha’s Eighteenth Vow that resolved to deliver sentient beings of the ten directions, as well as about the details of deliverance, the principle of causal karma, and also having faith in and acceptance of the deliverance wholeheartedly. This is the true meaning of “hears of Amitabha Buddha” . The meaning of “having faith in and acceptance wholeheartedly” is to believe and accept Amitabha Buddha’s deliverance, comply with Amitabha’s order, aspire to be reborn in the Land of Bliss, and thereafter recite the Buddha’s Name exclusively. That’s the meaning of having faith in and acceptance wholeheartedly. That’s the same as “holding fast to the Name”. “Holding fast” means to stay firm, not to waver, vanish, or regress. It means that this principle is accepted in one’s heart with faith, never changed or having doubt. It also means: completely having faith in, and acceptance of, Amitabha’s deliverance, aspiration to rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land, and single-minded recitation of Amitabha’s name. This is “holding fast”.
When people have faith in Amitabha’s deliverance in heart, they will naturally recite the name “Namo Amituofo”. Rebirth in the Land of Bliss must be fully endowed with abundant virtuous roots and meritorious blessings, which have all been accomplished for us by Amitabha Buddha and embedded in the name of Amituofo. From this point of view, the virtuous roots and merits in abundance are not accumulated by us, but by Amitabha Buddha. What we need to do is just recite His Name and aspire to be reborn in the Land of Bliss.
Master Lianchi (1535-1615) said, “Reciting Amitabha’s name is the best of the best deeds, and the richest of the richest blessings.”, and also said: “Holding fast to the Name and vowing to meet Amitabha are abundant, supreme, and inconceivable good roots.” That is Master Lianchi’s explanation.
Master Ou Yi (1599-1655) also explained it as: “So long as one has faith in and accept Amitabha Buddha, aspires to be reborn in the Land of Bliss, and holds fast to the Name, then each and every single recitation of the Name is replete with abundant virtuous roots and meritorious blessings”. Hence, we know that the so-called abundance in virtuous roots and meritorious blessings is just a way of urging us to recite Amitabha Buddha’s name.
The text “One cannot attain birth in that land with few virtuous roots and meritorious blessings as causal conditions” is based on the Chinese version of Amitabha Sutra translated by Kumarajiva about 402 AD, which is the most accepted. The Sanskrit versions were rediscovered again in the 19th Century. Please listen carefully to the new text directly translated from Sanskrit by scholars, which read as follow:
Beings are not born in that Buddha country of the Tathagata Amitayus as a reward and result of good works performed in this present life.
[Note: This English version was translated by Friedrich Max Muler in 1883. The new Chinese translation has 14 Chinese words, literally, “Sentient beings, not because in this life they do good deeds, attain birth in that land”.]
That is to say, sentient beings of the ten directions who want to be reborn in the Land of Bliss must rely on Amitabha Buddha’s meritorious virtues, not rely on the good deeds that we have done here. The text that Kumarajiva translated into “virtuous Roots, meritorious blessings as causal conditions” only has two words in Sanskrit: “good deeds”. The phrase “good deeds” includes virtuous roots and meritorious blessings.
What we are really emphasizing here is that our good deeds in this world such as caring for parents and teachers, and practicing Six Paramitas are not the fundamental cause of attaining rebirth in the Western Pure Land. Rather it is the Name of Amitabha that carries all the merits for rebirth. So, to attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land, we have to rely on the power of Amitabha’s meritorious merits and exclusively reciting Namo Amitoufo as stated in His fundamental vow, i.e. the eighteenth vow. The pristine and authentic land of Bliss that we aspire to be reborn was accomplished by Amitabha Buddha. This realm is a state of nirvana without oneself and nothing will be produced nor extinguished. How would an ordinary person full of greed, anger and ignorance be allowed to enter this realm? This does not accord with the law of cause and effect. Only by relying on Amitabha Buddha’s perfect virtuous roots and meritorious blessings can one enter into the Land of Bliss. Therefore, the Amitabha Sutra states that once we have heard of Amitabha Buddha, we have to “hold fast to his name”. That is the reason. Why is that? Building the Land of Bliss, Amitabha Buddha has to accomplish all the merits for our rebirth and then transfer them to us. Therefore, the Infinite Life Sutra says,
If I should not become a great benefactor
In lives to come for immeasurable kalpas
To save the poor and the afflicted everywhere
May I not attain perfect enlightenment.
This is the vow of Amitabha Buddha. He resolved to be a great benefactor throughout immeasurable kalpas. So, He is also named as the “Great Benefactor”, who equally and universally delivers the destitute and afflicted living beings of the ten directions. Our bodies exist in this world, suffering from all kinds of poverty and afflictions, and, after death, still continually reincarnate in the six realms. The sufferings are unspeakable, and only Amitabha Buddha will come to deliver us. The meritorious virtues for rebirth in the Land of Bliss are derived from Amitabha Buddha, the Buddha’s Power.
In another passage in the scripture, Amitabha Buddha said,
I will open the Dharma-store for the multitudes
And endow them all with treasures of merits.
Amitabha Buddha has developed the Dharma-store for us sentient beings of the ten directions. So, comes the text “I will open the Dharma-store for the multitudes and endow them all with treasures of merits”. He gives us a great amount of the treasures of merits, enabling us to leave the Saha world and attain rebirth in the Land of Bliss, where we will attain perfect Enlightenment to become a Buddha. Another passage of the Infinite Life Sutra states:
He enabled sentient beings to partake of a great store of merits.
It is Amitabha Buddha who enables us sentient beings of the ten directions to gain the merits required for attainment of Buddhahood. The Infinite Life Sutra also stated in another passage as follow:
Buddha bestows the Dharma on sentient beings without their request.
Amitabha Buddha gives us the Dharma of Rebirth–a dharma that we do not know we should accept. So, this Dharma door expounds the teachings on Amitabha’s deliverance, the teachings on our faith in and acceptance of Amitabha’s deliverance, as well as the teachings on single-minded and exclusive recitation of Amitabha’s Name.
Single-Mindedly Without Deviation
Now I would like to continue, to explain “single-mindedly without deviation”. Many publications interpret it differently, stressing that sentient beings should make efforts to invoke the Buddha/recite His Name and skillfully achieve a state of concentrated mind without being disturbed (or distracted). For Instance, to reach “a state of undisturbed mind in practice”, or even able to keep “a state of undisturbed mind on the truth/suchness”, which is said to be the highest level. Otherwise, one should at least reach “an extensive skills level, keep the oneness no matter dreaming or waking, or recite continuously without being distracted by the senses”. That is called an undisturbed mind. Actually, those interpretations are totally wrong, incorrect. They applied general doctrines to interpret the Pure Land principles. The meaning of “single-mindedly without deviation” is really simple–just as we have mentioned above that we hear of Amitabha, (p. 59) have faith in and accept the deliverance of the Buddha in our mind, and recite the name Amituofo with our mouth for one day…… to seven days. The number of days refers to our remaining lifetime. We recite the name single-mindedly and exclusively as long as we are still alive. If one only has one day remaining, then just recites for one day; seven days remaining , recites for seven days; the same applies to seven months, seven years, or seventy years. We devote our entire life to reciting this Name, and relying on other meritorious practices are unnecessary. Although we have accumulated other virtuous roots and merits, we don’t rely on these virtuous roots and merits for attainment of rebirth in the Land of Bliss, because those are not qualified. To be reborn there is to totally rely on the name “Amituofo”.
Name recitation is conducted according to our basic abilities, which vary individually. Scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants can recite the Buddha’s Name according to their occupation and aptitude. No matter if one is able to recite ten thousand times, or down to one thousand, just recite the Buddha’s name whenever time is available, regardless of the mind being distracted. It is because attaining rebirth does not depend on our efforts or skill level. It has nothing to do with mixed thoughts, or concentration of the mind. Do we need to worry about whether one can keep the focused, concentrated mind on the verge of death in order to attain rebirth? Should one need to have fellow Buddhists reciting the Name for them at the point of death in order to attain rebirth? All these questions are irrelevant, (p. 60) because rebirth in the Land of Bliss relies completely on the power of Amitabha Buddha. As long as we aspire to be reborn in the Land of Bliss, do not change our mind for our lifetime, and recite the Buddha’s name exclusively, Amitabha Buddha will, on the verge of our death, automatically appear and receive us for rebirth in the Land of Bliss. Absolutely there should not be a question about whether or not one can keep a concentrated and undisturbed mind.
Therefore, the text “single mindedly and without deviation” here refers to our faith in Amitabha Buddha and exclusively reciting His name. This mind does not change, nor mix with other thoughts. This is the single and undeviated mind. If someone tells you, “So and so, there is a special and excellent dharma door! Do come and learn about it!” We would not be curious. We always feel that there is no other dharma door comparable to the Name of Amitabha Buddha. With this Buddha’s Name alone, we are endowed with everything. The fate to be reborn is realized immediately, no need to rely on any others. So, we don’t need to be curious about other teachings–curiosity kills the cat; just keep our faith in and acceptance of Amitabha Buddha, holding fast to the Name. That’s what “single mindedly and without deviation”means. When afflictions arise, or when we have delusions and distracting thoughts, we still have nothing to worry about like saying, “Oh! Too bad! I aspire to be reborn in the Land of Bliss, but my mind is filled with distracted thoughts, how could Amitabha Buddha deliver a being like me? I’m afraid the Buddha will abandon me!” No. Absolutely not. Don’t worry, it will never happen.
I would like to ask you: Do you have greed, anger, or ignorance? Do you have illusions or mixed thoughts? If you don’t, you should be an Arhat! For the sake of delivering Arhats, Amitabha Buddha had gone through five kalpas of deliberations and made the vows. He then took another long period of time, innumerable kalpas, for cultivation [to realize the vows and create the Land of Bliss]. Would that be worthless? If Arhats could break away from the karmic rebirth in the Six Realms, or the Three Realms, with their own efforts, why do they still need Amitabha’s deliverance? So, what Amitabha Buddha wants to deliver are all beings in the Five Turbidities. The Five Turbidites are referred to as “the Kalpa Turbidity, the View Turbidity, the Affliction Turbidity, the Living Beings Turbidity, and the Life Turbidity”. Because we sentient beings are born with the turbidites of view and affliction, so we are ordinary living beings. If we don’t have those turbidites, nor greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt, we are not ordinary beings. If that is the case, we are not the targeted beings that Amitabha Buddha wants to deliver!
On one hand, we feel ashamed because we have afflictions and therefore like to recite Amitabha’s name; at the same time, because we are suffering from afflictions, we are more appreciative of Amitabha’s deliverance. Hence, for all lotus friends who want to gain rebirth in the Land of Bliss by reciting the Buddha’s name, please don’t feel afraid and retreat because of the afflictions and mixed thoughts we have had. Please don’t have doubt in the Buddha because of your feeling that you’re not qualified for rebirth in His Land. If you do so, it would be like stabbing in Amitabha’s chest, and sadden Him. Amitabha Buddha has never despised and abandoned us; so he made the Vows for us, cultivate for us, and deliver us. Hence, what we need to do is to rely on the Buddha’s deliverance, and to recite the Buddha’s name. We don’t have to care whether our mind is lucid or not, or whether we have the ability to keep focus on the single mind or not. Just recite the Name.
Repeatedly Reciting Amitabha Buddha’s Name with Confession
Being a Buddhist, we admire the serenity and happiness of the Western Land of Bliss, and disdain the filthy environment of the Saha world. So, when filthy thoughts arise in our mind, we should not be complacent about ourselves, but feel ashamed– I am a Buddhist, why do I have such thoughts? Even though feeling ashamed, we should not have doubt in Amitabha Buddha’s deliverance. Hence, Master Shan Dao said:
Repeatedly reciting the Buddha’s Name with Confession always
To many people’s surprise, sentient beings like us are accepted and delivered by Amitabha Buddha without any condition or screening. On one hand we should be grateful and happy; but on the other hand, we should feel ashamed too. Because of feeling shameful, we will naturally soften our hearts and become more tolerant. Why? Amitabha Buddha does tolerate us, never haggle with us, or despise and abandon us; rather, He comes to deliver us. When we sense the great compassion and the great affection of the Buddha, we will naturally be tolerant to others, just like the way the Buddha has treated us. At the same time, unlike before, we will no longer be tough-minded, and haggle about everything. Because we have felt that the deliverance of Amitabha lets go of our wrongdoings, we will naturally let go of other’s. Although we do not have enough virtuous roots and meritorious blessings, we do, by reciting Namo Amituofo, unknowingly want to cultivate ourselves for more virtuous roots and meritorious blessings. It is all owing to Amitabha Buddha’s power and virtuous merits, which undergoes fermentation in our mind and brings about effects. Our mind is naturally transformed, and our personality modified. Our behavior looks more close to a Buddhist.
Namo Amituofo!
Delivered at the “Earth Pure Land” program, AM990 Radio Station, Auckland, New Zealand in the Evening of November, 15, 2001.
Link to original Chinese version《慧淨法師講演集》「 四、《阿彌陀經》兩文解釋」