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

Translated by Master Th ich Thi `en Tam, et al Forrest G !mith, consulting editor !"T#$ T#$%!L$T&'% ('MM&TT)) 'F T*) "%&T)+ !T$T)! $%+ ($%$+$ %e, Yor-

.!an Francisco .Toronto

%ote to the reader This is an electronic /ersion of the boo0Pure.Land 1en, 1en Pure.Land2 3second edition 455678, ,hich is a translation of selected 9assages from the letters of )lder Master Yin Kuang, the Thirteenth Patriarch of Pure Land The original (hinese titles are Yin Kuang Fa

!hih :en (h;ao and Yin Kuang Ta !hih (hia Yen Lu )<ce9t for the t,o 9ictures of Master Yin Kuang, nothing has been added or changed *o,e/er, the notes to the letters and the Glossary 9re9ared by the =an *ien !tudy Grou9 as ,ell as the $99endi< 3The Practices

and =o,s of the >odhisatt/a !amantabhadra8 ,ere left out, but ,ill ho9efully be added later on TG , May ?@@A 7re9rinted and donated for free distribution by The (or9orate >ody of the >uddha )ducational Foundation, Tai9ei, Tai,an, #'( (ontents 9 6 9 A 9

B $bout the author Preface &ntroduction The Pure Land Tradition 9 4C Translations Letters from Patriarch Yin Kuang ?A letters on General >uddhism, 1en and Pure Land, Pure Land Practice

The su9reme and endless blessings of !amantabhadra;s deeds, & no, uni/ersally transfer May e/ery li/ing being, dro,ning and adrift, !oon return to the Land of Limitless LightD The =o,s of !amantabhadra

$bout the author The life of the Pure Land Patriarch Yin Kuang 34BE4.45F@8 co/ers a most e/entful 9eriod for )ast $sia and 9arallels the !ino.Ga9anese :ar, the (hinese #e/olution of 4544 and t,o ,orld ,ars The re/olution of 4544 that to99led the Manchu dynasty

and established the #e9ublic of (hina also brought in its ,a-e a number of 9roblems for the >uddhist sangha HclergyI Follo,ing the 9olitical re/olution, an intellectual climate ,as ushered in that ,as unfriendly to the interests of >uddhism The attacand criticism against >uddhism resulted in a

number of discriminatory measures, such as s9ecial ta<es and contributions being le/ied on tem9les, monasteries being a99ro9riated for use as barrac-s and 9olice stations, tenants on tem9le lands being encouraged not to 9ay rent, and >uddhist images being destroyed 3Kenneth (h;en, >uddhism in (hina, 9 FAAff 8

$gainst this bac-dro9, t,o eminent mon-s rose to lead the resurgence of >uddhismJ Master T;ai *su, ,ho ,as instrumental in the re/i/al of the Mind.'nly school and Master Yin Kuang, later to become the Thirteenth Patriarch of Pure Land The monmainly res9onsible for instilling ne, life

and meaning to Hthe 9ractice of >uddha #ecitation and chanting of sutras ,as MasterI Yin Kuang ,ho, after his con/ersion to Pure Land 9ietism, concentrated on li/ing a 9ure religious life based on faith, de/otion and holiness HMasterI Yin Kuang carried on his teachings mainly in

the 9ro/inces of Kiangsu and (he-iang, ,here he gained numerous follo,ers and disci9les These efforts by HMasterI Yin Kuang and his follo,ers brought about an e<tensi/e re/i/al of the Pure Land school Lotus !ocieties, %ien.fo H>uddha #ecitationI !ocieties, and others of a similar nature s9rang u9 all o/er

(hina 3&bid 8 The com9endium of Master Yin Kuang;s letters K e<cer9ts of ,hich are translated in this booK re9resents a broad cross.section of the Master;s thought and forms a 9riLed collection of ins9irational ,ritings cherished throughout the Mahayana ,orld !carcely a (hinese tem9le can be found

any,here ,ithout se/eral different editions of these letters +ieu Phung Minh Th` anh P+ Leigh Festi/al of $mitabha >uddha !he9herd Par*artford, (TJ 455? 6

Patriarch Yin Kuang 34BE4.45F@8 F

Preface $fter the demise of the historical >uddha, *is teachings s9read in t,o main directions, south,ard 3Thera/ada tradition8 and east,ard into (hina, =ietnam, Korea, Ga9an 3Mahayana tradition8 &n )ast $sia, these teachings de/elo9ed into ten different schools, se/eral of ,hich remained im9ortant to this dayJ 1en,

Tantric and Pure Land Pure Land is by far the most ,ides9read form of >uddhism in )ast $sia $ll these schools teach the same basic truthJ 0+o not ,hat is e/il, do ,hat is good, -ee9 the mind 9ure 2 True to this s9irit, the Pure Land a99roach

is sim9le and straightfor,ard Through mindfulness of the >uddha 3i e >uddha #ecitation8, the 9ractitioner can calm his mind and achie/e samadhi and ,isdom Thus reborn in the Pure Land 3i e , in his 9ure Mind8, he ,ill e/entually attain >uddhahood This is also the core teaching, the /ery essence, of

1en and all other Mahayana schools $s +T !uLu-i has 9ointed out, 0the 9sychological effects of the re9etition of the holy name are close to the effects of 1en meditation 2 This not,ithstanding, the main em9hasis of the Pure Land school lies else,here Pure Land 9ro/ides a safety

net, a refuge of last resort for e/eryone, through the com9assion of $mitabha >uddha K through *is =o,s Ta-en together, these t,o conce9ts of the Pure Land K as Mind and as a transcendental land K 0effecti/ely brought ,ithin the reach of all men the deli/erance taught by

!a-yamuni2 3$llan $ $ndre,s8 >ut ,hy do ,e ha/e to 9urify the mind and seedeli/eranceM &t is because in the ,asteland of >irth and +eath, subNect to the three 9oisons of greed, anger and delusion, ,e all undergo suffering K the ultimate suffering being, of course,

death )choing this conclusion, a ,ell.-no,n $merican 9rofessor made this obser/ation about the moti/ation of :estern >uddhistsJ Probably the maNority of non.'rientals ,ho become 9racticing >uddhists do so because of an o/erriding need for relief from suffering !ometimes the suffering is 9hysical, but more often it is

emotional and often 9sychosomatic The indi/idual 9racticing meditation, chanting, or any -ind of >uddhist 0self.culti/ation2 is moti/ated by a need for sym9tomatic relief, mitigation of an<iety and de9ression, reduction of hostility 3)mma Mc(loy Layman, >uddhism in $merica, 9 ?E58 This is 9recisely ,hy >uddha !a-yamuni, ,hen

9reaching the Four %oble Truths to Kaundinya and his friends, taught them first the Truth of !uffering The letters of Master Yin Kuang address this issue sOuarely &f you are suffering and if you realistically disco/er that you ha/e only a/erage moti/ation, fortitude and self.disci9line, then Pure Land is

for you Pure Land is about suffering and the liberation from suffering A

This booconsists of e<cer9ts of selected letters by the Patriarch Yin Kuang H I )ach letter can be considered a unit in itself H I Please note that in this te<t, the e<9ressions 0>uddha #ecitation2 and 0>uddha;s name2 refer s9ecifically to $mitabha >uddha H I

*ere, then, are the letters of the Patriarch Yin Kuang :e ho9e the :estern reader ,ill enNoy and benefit from them, as se/eral generations of )astern readers ha/e $s a 1en Master has ,ritten in another conte<t, 0read them once, read them t,ice and loofor the same thing

that >odhidharma brought to (hinaJ loofor the 9rint of the Mind 2 =an *ien !tudy Grou9 Festi/al of !amantabhadra %e, Yor-J 455? E

There shall be no distinction, no regard to male or female, good or bad, e<alted or lo,lyP none shall fail to be in his Land of Purity after ha/ing called, ,ith com9lete faith, on $mida >uddha *onen !honin 3as Ouoted in 0Pure Land >uddhist Painting28

&ntroduction The Pure Land Tradition The goal of all >uddhist 9ractice is to achie/e )nlightenment and transcend the cycle of >irth and +eath K that is, to attain >uddhahood &n the Mahayana tradition, the 9recondition for >uddhahood is the >odhi Mind, the as9iration to

achie/e )nlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, oneself included 4 !ince sentient beings are of different s9iritual ca9acities and inclinations, many le/els of teaching and numerous methods ,ere de/ised in order to reach e/eryone Traditionally, the sutras s9eaof BF,@@@, ie, an infinite number of methods,

de9ending on the circumstances, the times and the target audience $ll these methods are e<9edients K different medicines for different indi/iduals ,ith different illnesses at different times K but all are intrinsically 9erfect and com9lete ? :ithin each method, the success or failure of an indi/idual;s culti/ation de9ends on

his de9th of 9ractice and understanding, that is, on his mind $8 !elf.9o,er, other.9o,er Throughout history, the Patriarchs ha/e elaborated /arious systems to categoriLe +harma methods and the sutras in ,hich they are e<9ounded 'ne con/enient di/ision is into methods based on self.effort 3self.9o,er8 and

those that rely on the assistance of the >uddhas and >odhisatt/as 3other.9o,er8 6 Traditionally, most >uddhist schools and methods ta-e the self.9o,er a99roachJ 9rogress along the 9ath of )nlightenment is achie/ed only through intense and sustained 9ersonal effort F >ecause of the dedication and effort in/ol/ed, schools of this

self.9o,er, self.effort tradition all ha/e a distinct monastic bias The laity has generally 9layed only a su99orti/e role, ,ith the most s9iritually ad/anced ideally Noining the 'rder of mon-s and nuns >est -no,n of these traditions are Thera/ada and 1en Parallel to this, 9articularly follo,ing the de/elo9ment

of Mahayana thought and the rise of lay >uddhism, a more fle<ible tradition e/entually arose, combining self.9o,er ,ith other.9o,er K the assistance and su99ort 9ro/ided by the >uddhas and >odhisatt/as to sincere see-ers of the :ay Most re9resentati/e of this tradition are the )soteric and Pure Land schools *o,e/er,

unli-e the former 3or 1en8, Pure Land does not stress the master.disci9le relationshi9 and de.em9hasiLes the role of sub.schools, roshisQgurus and rituals Moreo/er, the main aim of Pure Land K rebirth in the Land of "ltimate >liss through the 9o,er of $mitabha >uddha;s B

=o,s K is a realistic goal, though to be understood at se/eral le/els Therein lies the a99eal and strength of Pure Land A >8 Pure Land in a %utshell Pure Land, li-e all Mahayana schools, reOuires first and foremost the de/elo9ment of the >odhi Mind,E

the as9iration to attain >uddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings From this starting 9oint, the main tenets of the school can be understood at t,o main le/els, the transcendental and the 9o9ular K de9ending on the bac-ground and the ca9acities of the culti/ator i8 &n

its 9o9ular form, ie, for ordinary 9ractitioners in this s9iritually +egenerate $ge, some t,enty.si< centuries after the demise of the historical >uddha, Pure Land in/ol/es see-ing rebirth in the Land of $mitabha >uddha This is achie/ed ,ithin one lifetime through the 9ractice of >uddha #ecitation ,ith sincere faith and

/o,s, leading to one.9ointedness of mind or samadhi The de/otees of this school /enerated $mitabha >uddha and sought not outright %ir/ana but rebirth in the 0Pure Land2 of $mitabha, also called !u-ha/ati &n that idyllic en/ironment, no ne, negati/e -armic accumulations ,ould be created and all

e<isting ones ,ould e/a9orate %ir/ana ,ould be therefore Nust a short ste9 a,ay 3G !nelling, The >uddhist *andboo-, 9 466.F 8 Thus, at the 9o9ular le/el, the Pure Land of $mitabha >uddha is an ideal training ground, an ideal en/ironment ,here the 9ractitioner is reborn than-s both to

his o,n efforts and the 9o,er of $mitabha >uddha;s /o,s 3other.9o,er8 C %o longer subNect to retrogression, ha/ing left >irth and +eath behind fore/er, the culti/ator can no, focus all his efforts to,ard the ultimate aim of >uddhahood This as9ect of Pure Land is the form under ,hich the school

is 9o9ularly -no,n B ii8 $t the ad/anced le/el, ie, for culti/ators of high s9iritual ca9acity, the Pure Land method, li-e other methods, re/erts the ordinary, deluded mind to the !elf. %ature True Mind 5 &n the 9rocess, ,isdom and >uddhahood are e/entually attained This is e<em9lified by the

follo,ing ad/ice of the eminent 1en master (hu *ung 3Ga9 !hu-o8, one of the three 0+ragon.)le9hants2 of 4Eth.4Cth century (hinaJ #ight no, you sim9ly must recite the buddha.name ,ith 9urity and illumination Purity means reciting the buddha.name ,ithout any other thoughts &llumination means reflecting bacas you

recite the buddha.name Purity is sammata, 0sto99ing 2 &llumination is /i9asyana, 0obser/ing 2 "nify your mindfulness of buddha through buddha.name recitation, and sto99ing and obser/ing are both 9resent 3G ( (leary, Pure Land, Pure Mind 8 $s stated in >uddhism of :isdom and Faith 3!ection 4B8J &f ,e ha/e

the roots and the tem9erament of Mahayana follo,ers, ,e should naturally understand that the goal of >uddha #ecitation is to achie/e >uddha. hood :hy is it that the goal of >uddha #ecitation is to become a >uddhaM 5

&t is because, as ,e begin reciting, the 9ast, 9resent and future ha/e lost their distinction, mar-s e<ist but they ha/e been left behind, form is em9tiness, thought is the same as %o.Thought, the realm of the 'riginal %ature 0a9art from thought2 of the Tathagata has been 9enetrated

This state is >uddha. hoodP ,hat else could it beM This high.le/el form of Pure Land is 9racticed by those of dee9 s9iritual ca9acitiesJ 0,hen the mind is 9ure, the >uddha land is 9ure to recite the >uddha;s name is to recite the Mind 2 Thus, at

the ad/anced le/el, Pure Land is 1en, 1en is Pure Land 4@ &n its totality, Pure Land reflects the highest teaching of >uddhism as e<9ressed in the $/atamsa-a !utraJ mutual identity and inter9enetration, the sim9lest method contains the ultimate and the ultimate is found in the sim9lest 44

(8 Faith, =o,s and Practice These three factors are the cornerstones of Pure Land >uddhism &f they are 9resent, rebirth in the Pure Land is achie/ed Faith means faith in $mitabha >uddha;s =o, to rescue all ,ho recite *is name, as ,ell as faith in one;s

o,n !elf.%ature, ,hich is intrinsically the same as *is 3to recite the >uddha;s name is to recite the Mind8 =o,s are the determination to be reborn in the Pure Land K in one;s 9ure Mind K so as to be in the 9osition to sa/e oneself and others Practice

generally means reciting the >uddha;s name to the 9oint ,here one;s Mind and that of $mitabha >uddha are in unison K ie, to the 9oint of singlemindedness !amadhi and ,isdom are then achie/ed Please note that all >uddhist teachings are e<9edients, di/iding the one and indi/isible Truth

into many 9arts Faith, =o,s and Practice, although three, are really one Thus, it can be said that rebirth in the Pure Land de9ends on three conditions or t,o conditions 3Faith and =o,s8 or e/en one condition 3Faith8, as the one contains all and all is contained in the

one The formula to be used de9ends on the audience and the times The aim is to enable sentient beings to achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land as a ste99ingstone to,ard >uddhahood +8 Transference of Merit (entral to the Pure Land tradition is the figure

of the >odhisatt/a +harma-ara, the future $mitabha >uddha, ,ho came to e<em9lify the >odhisatt/a ideal and the doctrine of dedication of merit 4? This merit transference is the source of the /o,.9o,er, or other.9o,er, in Pure Land >uddhism The Mahayana idea of the >uddha being able to im9art

his 9o,er to others mar-s one of those e9och.ma-ing de/iations ,hich set off the Mahayana from so.called original >uddhism The Mahayanists accumulate stoc-s of merit not only for the material of their o,n enlightenment but for the general 4@

culti/ation of merit ,hich can be shared eOually by their fello,.beings, animate and inanimate This is the true meaning of Parinamana, that is, turning one;s merit o/er to others for their s9iritual interest 3+ T !uLu-i, tr , The Lan-a/atara !utra, 9 <i< 8 The rationale for such conduct,

,hich on the surface a99ears to run counter to the la, of (ause and )ffect, may be e<9lained in the follo,ing 9assage concerning one of the three Pure Land sages, the >odhisatt/a $/alo-ites/ara 3Kuan Yin8J !ome of us may as,hether the effect of -arma can be

re/erted by re9eating the name of Kuan.Yin This Ouestion is tied u9 ,ith that of rebirth in !u-ha/ati Hthe Pure LandI and it may be ans,ered by saying that in/ocation of Kuan.Yin;s name forms another cause ,hich ,ill right a,ay offset the 9re/ious -arma :e -no,, for e<am9le, that

if there is a dar-, hea/y cloud abo/e, the chances are that it ,ill rain >ut ,e also -no, that if a strong ,ind should blo,, the cloud ,ill be carried a,ay some,here else and ,e ,ill not feel the rain !imilarly, the addition of one big factor can

alter the ,hole course of -arma

&t is only by acce9ting the idea of life as one ,hole that both Thera/adins and Mahayanists can ad/ocate the 9ractice of transference of merit to others :ith the case of Kuan.Yin then, by calling on *er name ,e identify

oursel/es ,ith *er and as a result of this identification *er merits flo, o/er to us These merits ,hich are no, ours then counterbalance our bad -arma and sa/e us from calamity The la, of cause and effect still stands good $ll that has ha99ened is that a 9o,erful

and immensely good -arma has o/ershado,ed the ,ea-er one 3Lecture on Kuan Yin by Tech )ng !oon K Penang >uddhist $ssociation, c 45E@ Pam9hlet 8 This conce9t of transference of merit, ,hich 9resu99oses a rece9ti/e mind on the 9art of the culti/ator, is em9hasiLed in Pure Land

*o,e/er, the conce9t also e<ists, albeit in embryonic form, in the Thera/ada tradition, as e<em9lified in the beautiful story of the =enerable $ngulimala 46 )8 Faith and Mind Faith is an im9ortant com9onent of Pure Land >uddhism 4F *o,e/er, ,isdom or Mind also 9lays a crucial, if

less /isible, role This interrelationshi9 is clearly illustrated in the Meditation !utraJ the ,orst sinner, guilty of matricide and 9arricide, etc may still achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land if, on the /erge of death, he concentrates on the >uddha;s name one to ten times ,ith utmost faith and

sincerity This 9assage can be understood at t,o le/els $t the le/el of e/eryday life, Nust as the ,orst criminal once genuinely reformed is no longer a threat to society and may be 9ardoned, the sinner once truly re9entant may, through the /o,.9o,er of $mitabha >uddha, achie/e

rebirth in the Pure Land K albeit at the lo,est grade Thus, Pure Land offers ho9e to e/eryoneP yet at the same time, the la, of (ause 44

and )ffect remains /alid $t the le/el of 9rinci9le or Mind, as the !i<th Patriarch taught in the Platform !utraJ $ foolish 9assing thought ma-es one an ordinary man, ,hile an enlightened second thought ma-es one a >uddha Therefore, once the sinner

re9ents and concentrates on the >uddha;s name ,ith utmost sincerity and one.9ointedness of mind, for that moment he becomes an a,a-ened 9erson silently merging into the stream of the !ages K can )nlightenment and >uddhahood then be that far a,ayM4A $s the Meditation !utra statesJ 0the Land of $mitabha

>uddha is not far from hereD24E =an *ien !tudy Grou9 Q 455? Festi/al of the >odhisatt/a Kuan.Yin 348 !ee the follo,ing 9assage, by the late founder of the >uddhist Lodge and >uddhist !ociety 3London8, on the true goal of all >uddhist 9racticeJ &n the :est,

the need for some guidance in mind.de/elo9ment ,as made acute by a sudden s9ate of boo-s ,hich ,ere, ,hate/er the moti/e of their authors, dangerous in the e<treme %o ,ord ,as said in them of the sole right moti/e for mind.de/elo9ment, the enlightenment of the meditator for the

benefit of all man-ind, and the reader ,as led to belie/e that it ,as Ouite legitimate to study and 9ractice mindfulness, and the higher stages ,hich ensue, for the benefit of business efficiency and the ad/ancement of 9ersonal 9restige &n these circumstances, (oncentration and Meditation, ,as com9iled and

9ublished by the H>ritishI >uddhist !ociety, ,ith constant stress on the im9ortance of right moti/e, and am9le ,arning of the dangers, from a headache to insanity, ,hich lie in ,ait for those ,ho trifle ,ith the greatest force on earth, the human mind 3(hristmas *um9hreys, The >uddhist :ay of

Life, 9 4@@ 8 3?8 !ince e/ery method is an e<9edient, ada9ted to a 9articular target audience, each one is 9erfect and com9lete for a gi/en 9erson or grou9 at a gi/en time !ee also the follo,ing 9assage from +T !uLu-iJ >uddhist theology has a fine com9rehensi/e theory

to e<9lain the manifold ty9es of e<9erience in >uddhism, ,hich looso contradictory to each other &n fact the history of (hinese >uddhism is a series of attem9ts to reconcile the di/erse schools =arious ,ays of classification and reconciliation ,ere offered, and their conclusion ,as thisJ >uddhism

su99lies us ,ith so many gates to enter into the truth because of such a /ariety of human characters and tem9eraments and en/ironments due to di/ersities of -arma This is 9lainly de9icted and taught by the >uddha himself ,hen he says that the same ,ater 4?

drunby the co, and the cobra turns in one case into nourishing miland in the other into deadly 9oison, and that medicine is to be gi/en according to disease This is called the doctrine of Hs-illfulI means 3The )astern >uddhist, =ol F, %o ?, 9

4?4 8 368 The crucial role of other.9o,er in >uddhist culti/ation is em9hasiLed in the Lan-a/atara and $/atamsa-a !utras, among others 3F8 !ee the follo,ing 9assage from +T !uLu-iJ Giri-i 3self.9o,er8 is the H,isdomI as9ect of enlightenment and tari-i 3other9o,er8 is the HGreat (om9assionI as9ect of

the same >y H,isdomI ,e transcend the 9rinci9le of indi/iduation, and by HGreat (om9assionI ,e descend into a ,orld of 9articulars The one goes u9,ards ,hile the other comes do,n,ards, but this is our intellectual ,ay of understanding and inter9reting enlightenment, in ,hose mo/ement ho,e/er there is no such

t,ofold direction discernible 3The )astern >uddhist, =ol 6 %o F, 9 64F 8 3A8 *istorically, the roots of Pure Land go bacto $ncient &ndia, albeit the tradition ,as not em9hasiLed thereJ $lthough a cult dedicated to $mitabha >uddha ,orshi9 did arise in &ndia, 9iety to,ard this >uddha

seems to ha/e been merely one of many 9ractices of early Mahayana >uddhism 3)liLabeth ten Grotenhuis, in GoNi '-aLa-i, Pure Land >uddhist Painting, 9 4F 8 %oteJ $n early form of >uddha #ecitation can be found in the %i-ayas of the Pali (anonJ &n the %i-ayas,

the >uddha ad/ised his disci9les to thinof him and his /irtues as if they sa, his body before their eyes, ,hereby they ,ould be enabled to accumulate merit and attain %ir/ana or be sa/ed from transmigrating in the e/il 9aths 3+ T !uLu-i, The )astern >uddhist, =ol

6, %o F, 9 64C 8 For details, see Glossary, 0Pure Land !chool 2 3E8 !ee the follo,ing 9assage on >odhisatt/a 9ractice, from the 0Practices and =o,s of the >odhisatt/a !amantabhadra2J >ecause of li/ing beings, they bring forth great com9assion From great com9assion the >odhi Mind is

bornP and because of the >odhi Mind, they accom9lish !u9reme, Perfect )nlightenment 3$/atamsa-a !utra, ch F@ !ee $99endi< 8 3C8 The te<t of the Primal 3)ighteenth8 =o, is as follo,sJ &f, after my obtaining >uddhahood, all beings in the ten Ouarters should desire in sincerity and trustfulness to

be born in my country, and if they should not be born by only thin-ing of me for ten times may & not attain the highest )nlightenment 3Meditation !utra, Ouoted by )liLabeth ten Grotenhuis, o9 cit , 9 4A 8 46

3B8 Professor $llan $ $ndre,s has noted that there are t,o le/els of the Pure Land 9ractice, ,hich ha/e co.e<isted in (hina since the fourth century, beginning ,ith the first t,o PatriarchsJ *ui.yan used H>uddha #ecitationI to achie/e 9raNna ,isdom by his o,n self. efforts T;an.luan considered H>uddha

#ecitationI the best 9ractice for sal/ation, that is, for rebirth, because HitI is the easiest 9ractice through the 9o,er of $mida;s com9assionate /o,s 30%embutsu in the (hinese Pure Land tradition 2 &n The )astern >uddhist, =ol 6, %o ?, 9 F@ 8 Please note that understanding the dual nature

of the Pure Land, as Mind.'nly and as a se9arate entity, reOuires meditation and recitation K not intellectual reasoning &n secular ,estern thought, a,areness of 9sychological 9roNection as a source of su9ernatural being has ser/ed to demythologiLe demons, goblins, angels and saints and rob them of their

9o,er The >ardo Thodol HTibetan >ooof the +eadI, ho,e/er, s9ea-s of the deities as 09roNections2 but ne/er as 0mere 9roNections 2 The deities are 9resent and must be dealt ,ith religiously not Nust by intellectual insight 3+ G +a,e in The Perennial +ictionary of :orld #eligions, 9 56 8

358 For details, see >uddhism of :isdom and Faith, section ?5 The ordinary, deluded mind 3thought8 includes feelings, im9ressions, conce9tions, consciousness, etc The True Mind is the fundamental nature, the 'riginal Face, #eality, the >uddha %ature, etc The True Mind is to the ordinary mind ,hat ,ater is

to ,a/es K the t,o cannot be dissociated They are the same but they are also different $ll methods of culti/ation aim at calming the ,a/es, restoring the ,ater to its original stillness The surface then becomes a mirror, reflecting e/erything This is ,isdom or )nlightenment The

9ractice of meditation 3samathaQ/i9asyana8, in one form or another, is the basis of culti/ation in all >uddhist traditions, including Pure Land 34@8 !ee the follo,ing 9assage from +T !uLu-iJ :e obser/e that e/en the e<tremely de/otional form of >uddhist life as re/ealed in the HPure LandI begins

in its last stage of 0s9iritual rest2 to a99roach the 1en ty9e &ndeed here lies the unity of >uddhist e<9erience throughout its /aried e<9ressions 3+ T !uLu-i, The )astern >uddhist, =ol F, %o ?, 9 4?4 8 3448 The $/atamsa-a !utra teaches the inter9enetration of all dharmas K

the smallest dharma contains the largest and /ice /ersa $s a modern e<am9le, a single com9uter chi9 can contain numerous boo-s This teaching is clearly e<9ressed in cha9ter ?E of the sutra, ,hich describes the last 9hases of 9ractice of a >odhisatt/a before final >uddhahood &n that cha9ter, it

is taught that at each and e/ery stage, the actions of the >odhisatt/a 0ne/er go beyond >uddha #ecitation2J 4F

This is a summary of the tenth stage of enlightening beings, called (loud of Teaching :hate/er acts they underta-e, ,hether through gi/ing, or -ind s9eech, of beneficial action, or coo9eration, it is all ne/er a9art from thoughts of >uddha H>uddha #ecitationI, the Teaching, the (ommunity 3Thomas

(leary, tr , The Flo,er 'rnament !cri9ture H$/atamsa-a !utraI, =ol &&, 9 444 8 34?8 !ee the follo,ing 9assageJ The HLonger $mitabha !utraI ,hich ,as in e<istence before ad ?@@, describes a discourse offered by the >uddha !a-yamuni in res9onse to Ouestions of his disci9le $nanda !a-yamuni

tells the story of the >odhisatt/a +harma-ara, ,ho had for eons 9ast been dee9ly mo/ed by the suffering of sentient beings and ,ho had determined to establish a Land of >liss ,here all beings could e<9erience emanci9ation from their 9ain &n the 9resence of the eighty.first >uddha of

the 9ast, Lo-es/araraNa, +harma-ara made forty.eight /o,s relating to this Paradise, and 9romised that he ,ould not acce9t enlightenment if he could not achie/e his goals :hen, after countless ages, +harma-ara achie/ed enlightenment and became a >uddha, the conditions of his H4BthI /o, ,ere fulfilledJ he became the

Lord of !u-ha/ati, the :estern Paradise, ,here the faithful ,ill be reborn in bliss, there to 9rogress through stages of increasing a,areness until they finally achie/e enlightenment 3)liLabeth ten Grotenhuis, in GoNi '-aLa-i, Pure Land >uddhist Painting, 9 4F.4A 8 3468 The life story of the =enerable $ngulimala

is one of the most mo/ing accounts in the Thera/ada canon $fter -illing ninety.nine 9ersons, $ngulimala ,as con/erted by the >uddha, re9ented his e/il ,ays and Noined the 'rderJ 'ne day as he ,ent on his round for alms he sa, a ,oman in labor Mo/ed by com9assion, he

re9orted this 9athetic ,oman;s suffering to the >uddha *e then ad/ised him to 9ronounce the follo,ing ,ords of truth, ,hich later became -no,n as the $ngulimala Paritta 3Mantra8 0!ister, since my birth in the $rya clan Hi e , since my ordinationI & -no, not that & consciously destroyed the

life of any li/ing being >y this truth may you be ,hole and may your child be ,hole 2 *e ,ent to the 9resence of the suffering sister and uttered these ,ords &nstantly, she deli/ered the child ,ith ease 3%arada Maha Thera, The >uddha and *is Teaching,

9 4?F 8 34F8 Faith is an im9ortant element in all >uddhist traditions, but it is 9articularly so in Pure Land !ee the follo,ing 9assage from the $/atamsa-a !utraJ Faith is the basis of the 9ath, the mother of /irtues, %ourishing and gro,ing all good ,ays Faith

can increase -no,ledge and /irtueP Faith can assure arri/al at enlightenment 3Thomas (leary, tr , The Flo,er 'rnament !cri9ture, /ol 4, 9 664 8 4A

34A8 This is true at the le/el of noumenon or 9rinci9le $t the le/el of 9henomena, there are infinite degrees of )nlightenment, from those of the sages to the !u9reme, Perfect )nlightenment of the >uddhas 3$ >uddha is one ,ho is com9letely enlightened at all times 8 34E8 The

strength and 9er/asi/eness of Pure Land teaching are such that its main 9ractice, >uddha #ecitation, is found in other schools, including the Tantric and 1en schools &n Pure Land, >uddha #ecitation is 9racticed for the 9ur9ose of achie/ing rebirth in the Land of $mitabha >uddha &n the Tantric school,

the immediate aim is to destroy e/il -arma and afflictions and generate blessings and ,isdom in the current lifetime &n 1en, the -oan of >uddha #ecitation is meant to se/er delusi/e thought and realiLe the !elf.%ature True Mind The ultimate goal of all three schools is, of course, the

sameJ to achie/e )nlightenment and >uddhahood 4E

Letters from Patriarch Yin Kuang

From all delusions, -arma, and demon.states, $mid all ,orldly 9aths, & ,ill be freed, $s the lotus does not touch the ,ater, $s sun and moon do not sto9 in s9ace The =o,s of !amantabhadra

Letter 4 Turn $fflictions into >odhi4 !ince ,e last met, si< years ha/e gone by in a flash +uring that time, not only ha/e the sno, and de, undergone change, the destiny of our nation has been 9rofoundly transformed as ,ell The e/anescence of

life is truly something ,e all dee9ly mournD & am 9leased to learn from your letter that you ha/e not neglected your Pure Land 9ractice *o,e/er, you indicated that you are not at 9eace in body and mind (ould this be the result of financial difficulties or

chronic illnessM &f you suffer financial hardshi9, & suggest you retreat a ste9 You should reflect thusJ 0although there are many in this ,orld more fortunate than &, those ,ho are less ,ell off are hardly fe, in number & should seeonly to esca9e hunger and

coldP ,hy dream of riches and honorM2 Moreo/er, if you are content and at 9eace ,ith your circumstances and surroundings, you can e/en turn afflictions into >odhi 3)nlightenment8, not to mention grief into 9eace and NoyD &f you suffer chronic illness, you should reflect dee9ly

that this body is the /ery source of suffering, de/elo9 a re/ulsion to,ard it and stri/e to culti/ate the Pure Land 9ath, determined to achie/e rebirth in the Land of "ltimate >liss The >uddhas /ie, suffering as their teacher, thus achie/ing "ltimate )nlightenment Li-e,ise, you should consider illness as

medicine, to esca9e >irth and +eath You should realiLe that human beings are bound by all -inds of -armic afflictions :ithout the sufferings of 9o/erty and illness, they ,ill, by nature, 9ursue the ,orld of sight and sound, fame and 9rofit, finding it difficult to let go

:ho ,ould then ,illingly turn around to ,atch and 9onder the state of 9erdition to comeM The sage Mencius once saidJ Those ,ho ,ill be entrusted ,ith great tas-s should first endure hardshi9 both in body and mind, suffering hunger and destitution or failure in

their underta-ings 'nly then ,ill they be able to forge their character, de/elo9 9atience and endurance and attain outstanding abilities, beyond the -en of the multitude 4Letter to Teng Po.ch;eng 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 6C8 45

Therefore, you should realiLe that human character is usually forged in ad/ersity &f ad/ersity cannot be a/oided, you should remain at 9eace and 9ractice forbearance Moreo/er, in s9ea-ing of great tas-s, the sage Mencius ,as referring merely to mundane underta-ings )/en so, enduring hardshi9 is necessary

for success K ho, much more so ,hen lo,ly beings such as oursel/es underta-e the great dual tasof achie/ing >uddhahood and rescuing sentient beingsD &f you are not tested to a certain e<tent by financial hardshi9 and disease, your ,orldly delusions ,ill -no, no bounds and your Pure

Land 9ractice ,ill be difficult to 9erfect :ith your Mind.mirror clouded, you ,ill re/ol/e for many eons in the e/il realms K not -no,ing ,hen you ,ill e/er achie/e liberationD The ancients ha/e saidJ &f it ,ere not for a 9eriod of 9enetrating cold, the

9lum blossom could ne/er de/elo9 its e<Ouisite 9erfumeD This is the meaning of ,hat & said earlier

You should 9erse/ere in reciting the >uddha;s name, to eradicate 9ast -arma s,iftly and a/oid de/elo9ing a mind of afflictions, resenting the *ea/ens,

blaming your fello, beings, considering the la, of (ause and )ffect as a fairy tale and reNecting the >uddhas and their teachings as ineffecti/e You should -no, that from time immemorial, ,e ha/e all created immeasurable e/il -arma $s the $/atamsa-a !utra statesJ &f e/il -arma had

9hysical form, the em9ty s9ace of the ten directions could not contain it Thus, ho, can ha9haLard, intermittent culti/ation 9ossibly annihilate all afflictions and obstructionsM !a-yamuni >uddha and $mitabha >uddha, out of com9assion for sentient beings ,ho lacthe strength to rid themsel/es

of e/il -arma, s9ecifically taught the method of 0relying on the >uddha;s 9o,er to ta-e their residual -arma along to the Pure Land 2 !uch com9assionate action is all.encom9assingP e/en our obligations to the *ea/ens or to our 9arents cannot be com9ared to it K not e/en on a scale

of ten thousand to one Therefore, you should engage in earnest re9entance, see-ing the >uddhas; assistance in eradicating 9ast -arma and achie/ing 9eace and tranOuility of body and mind

?@

&f illness and suffering become unbearable, in addition to reciting the >uddha;s name morning and night and dedicating the merits to,ard rebirth in the Pure Land, you should call ,holeheartedly u9on the >odhisatt/a Kuan Yin 3$/alo-ites/ara8 :ith *er silent /o, to rescue sentient beings, the >odhisatt/a a99ears throughout

the ,orlds of the ten directions &f in time of crisis, a 9erson can -ee9 reciting *er name and re/ere *er, !he ,ill res9ond according to the circumstances, enabling him to esca9e suffering and achie/e ha99iness

$lthough >uddha #ecitation is sim9le, it is /ery

dee9 and encom9assing The most im9ortant thing is to be utterly sincere and earnest, for only then ,ill your thoughts merge ,ith those of $mitabha >uddha and ,ill you rea9 true benefits in this /ery life &f you are laLy and la<, lac-ing e/en the least bit of re/erence

and a,e, you may so, the seeds of future liberation but you must still bear the inconcei/able e/il -arma stemming from disres9ect and o/er.familiarity )/en if, than-s to residual merits, you esca9e the e/il realms, you ,ill still find it difficult to Noin the 'cean.:ide Lotus $ssemblyD

%o,adays, there are Ouite a number of scholars ,ho study >uddhism *o,e/er, almost all of them sim9ly read the ,ords of the sutras and commentaries see-ing arguments and rationaliLations to 9ro/e that they are /ersed in the +harma Those ,ith the sincerity and de/otion to culti/ate according to the

+harma are fe, indeedD & ha/e al,ays said that to rea9 the real benefit of the +harma, you should a99roach it ,ith a truly re/erent mind 'ne.tenth of re/erence and de/otion annihilates one.tenth of afflictions and e/il -arma, and increases merit and ,isdom by one.tenth K and this a99lies

to t,o.tenths, three.tenths or total re/erence and de/otion (on/ersely, the more la< and disres9ectful you are, the more obstructions and e/il -arma you de/elo9, resulting in a corres9onding decrease in merit and ,isdom *o, sad it isD :hen you meet ,ith other laymen, you should counsel them

along these lines This ,ould be a great +harma gift

&f you can 9enetrate the 9rofound, subtle meaning of the Pure Land method, so much the better *o,e/er, e/en if you are not entirely clear about certain as9ects of it, you should still belie/e

firmly in the ,ords of the >uddhas and the Patriarchs You must not harbor doubts To doubt is to turn your bacon >uddha $mitabha, distancing yourself from *im, ma-ing it difficult to be in communion ,ith *im and be 0recei/ed and guided2 at the time of death The

ancients ha/e taughtJ ?4

'nly the >uddhas can truly fathom the ultimate meaning of Pure LandP e/en those >odhisatt/as ,ho ha/e achie/ed near eOuality ,ith the >uddhas cannot gras9 it com9letely &f e/en the highest le/el >odhisatt/as cannot fully understand the Pure Land method, ho, can

,e e<9ect to assess it ,ith our o,n limited minds and ca9acities ,ithout falling into errorM &ntelligent 9ersons, these days, may study the +harma, but since they ha/e not been in the com9any of fully enlightened sages, they almost al,ays em9hasiLe theory and noumenon 39rinci9le8 ,hile reNecting 09henomenal2 culti/ation

as ,ell as the la, of (ause and )ffect Little do they realiLe that ,ithout 9henomenal culti/ation and belief in (ause and )ffect, theory and noumenon cease to e<ist There are also certain indi/iduals of great talent and ability, ,hose ,ritings can astound the gods *o,e/er, their

actions are no different from those of the dullards in the mar-et9lace The root cause is their reNection of 9henomenal culti/ation and (ause and )ffect This gra/e error is re9eated by other 9eo9leP it is a case of betraying the +harma ,ith one;s body 3actions8 The de9th of such

offenses and transgressions is immeasurableD :itnessing this, those endo,ed ,ith 9rofound ,isdom can only sigh in 9ity and com9assion

$n )lder Master once saidJ Those ,ho s-illfully discourse on Mind and !elf.%ature surely can ne/er reNect (ause and )ffectP those ,ho belie/e

dee9ly in (ause and )ffect naturally understand the Mind and !elf.%ature in de9th This is a natural de/elo9ment The Master;s ,ords are a truth that has ,ithstood the test of time, a needle 9ric-ing the heads of those ,ith delusi/e ,isdom Last autumn,

during your esteemed brother;s /isit to P;u T;o Mountain, & brought u9 these 0sincere, res9ectful2 9oints *o,e/er, & ,onder ,hether he has ta-en them as the sincere, earnest ,ords they ,ere meant to beM ??

Letter ? $ Pure Mind in a Pure Land? *o, delighted & ,as to recei/e and read your letterD The sage (h;u Po.yu, u9on reaching his fiftieth birthday, loo-ed bacand realiLed the errors he ,as still committing at age forty.nine :hen nearing se/enty,

(onfucius e<9ressed the ,ish to sur/i/e much longer in order to study the >ooof (hanges in de9th and thus a/oid maNor transgressions The scholarshi9 of these sages had reached the highest le/el of mind and thought Today;s scholars li-e to study cha9ter by cha9ter, ,ith fe,

sho,ing concern for the issue of rectifying mind and thought Thus, they 9eruse boo-s all day long ,ithout understanding the true intent of the sages, their ,ords and actions differing from those of the sages as greatly as day from night or sOuare from round There is no 9ossible

corres9ondence :e are not e/en s9ea-ing here of the transgressions of mind and thoughtP if these transgressions ,ere enumerated, the list ,ould be endlessD

>uddhist sutras teach follo,ers to 9ractice re9entance constantly in order to transcend delusion and achie/e >uddhahood Thus, e/en the >odhisatt/a

Maitreya, ,ho has attained the le/el of )Oual )nlightenment, still 9ays res9ect to the >uddhas of the ten directions during the si< 9eriods of the day, so as to ,i9e out delusion and attain the +harma >ody &f this is true for the >odhisatt/a Maitreya, ,hat can ,e say

of common beings filled ,ith hea/y -armic afflictionsM &f you do not feel shame and remorse, your !elf.%ature may be the same as the >uddhas;, but it is hidden by afflictions and e/il -arma and cannot manifest itself Gust li-e a 9recious mirror ,hich has been co/ered

,ith dust for eons, not only does it not reflect light, e/en its reflecting nature is hidden &f you realiLe that the mirror already 9ossesses the nature of brightness and stri/e ceaselessly to clean it, the light reflected ,ill gradually increase until it reaches ma<imum radiance The mirror can

then become, once more, something of /alue in the ,orld ?$nother letter to Teng Po.ch;eng 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 F48 ?6

You should realiLe that the 9otential for reflection is inherent in the mirror and is not the result of 9olishing &f it ,ere not so, a bric,ould also shine brightly ,hen 9olished Yet, you should also realiLe that although the brightness is inherent in the mirror, ,ithout

9olishing, the day ,ould ne/er come ,hen it ,ould gleam The Mind.%ature of sentient beings is similar $lthough it is intrinsically identical to that of the >uddhas, Hit is cloudedI Thus, if sentient beings do not mend their ,ays, from e/il to ,holesome, and turn their bac-s

on ,orldly dusts 0to merge ,ith )nlightenment,2 their inherently /irtuous nature cannot a99ear !uch a mind.consciousness, inherently 9ossessing the >uddha %ature in full but busily creating e/il -arma and suffering K mired in >irth and +eath for many eons K is no different from a darhouse filled ,ith

treasures You not only cannot ma-e use of the treasures, you may, in fact, suffer further loss &s this not lamentableM

Pure Land is 9recisely the sublime method enabling the 9ractitioner to turn his bacon ,orldly dusts to merge ,ith )nlightenment and return

to the source 3the Mind8 Laymen bound u9 in mundane affairs cannot easily find the time to attend retreats, 9ractice meditation and recite the sutras This method is, therefore, /ery suitable for 9ersons such as yourself )ach one can 9ay res9ect to the >uddhas and recite sutras or >uddha

$mitabha;s name according to indi/idual circumstances and ca9acities, dedicating the merits thus accrued to rebirth in the Pure Land &n addition to your regular culti/ation sessions, you should 9ractice >uddha #ecitation ,hen ,al-ing or standing, reclining or sitting, s9ea-ing or remaining silent, eating or dressing, throughout the day, ,here/er

you may be :hen /enerating the >uddhas in clean 9laces, you may recite either aloud or silently &n dirty 9laces 3such as ,ashrooms8 or in circumstances that do not call for re/erence 3such as slee9ing or bathing8 you should Nust recite silently To recite aloud ,hen reclining

is not only disres9ectful, it is also fatiguing and may lead in time to illness !ilent recitation brings the same blessings and /irtues as oral recitation, as long as it is distinct, earnest and not subNect to distractions

You already -no, that you must

confess your transgressions and 9ractice re9entance This is /ery much in accord ,ith the Pure Land method because 0,hen the mind is 9ure, the >uddha land is 9ure 2 *o,e/er, once ha/ing re9ented, you should change your ,ays and 9ractice ,holesome deeds, lest your re9entance consist of em9ty ,ords bringing

no real benefit This is also true if you ,ish to be free of e<ternal attachments in order to concentrate on >uddha #ecitation and reach ?F

one.9ointedness of mind %o e<traordinary method is reOuiredJ you should 9aste the single ,ord 0death2 on your forehead or dangle it from your eyebro,s, al,ays -ee9ing the follo,ing thoughts in mindJ !ince time immemorial & ha/e created untold, immeasurable e/il -armaP if such -arma had form,

the em9ty s9ace of the ten directions could not contain it Than-s to good conditions, & ha/e been reborn in a human body and ha/e, in addition, had the o99ortunity to hear the +harma *o,e/er, gi/en my e/il -arma, & must no, recite the >uddha;s name singlemindedly, see-ing rebirth

in the Pure Land 'ther,ise, ,hen my breath has ceased, H& am bound to endure the sufferings of hells, hungry ghosts and animalityI $fter reco/ering a human body, & ,ould lacintelligence and be deluded, 9rone to create e/il -arma, unable to 9erform good deeds readily &n no time,

& ,ould sindee9er into the e/il realms :ith my residual bad -arma from 9re/ious li/es still not re9aid, & ,ould commit ne, e/il -arma, constantly re/ol/ing along the !i< Paths throughout eons as numerous as motes of dust K ho9elessly lost in the immense sea of suffering, not

-no,ing ho, to reach liberation &f you al,ays reflect on these 9oints, your culti/ation ,ill be focussed Ta-e the e<am9le of the t,o notorious men ,ho K on the /erge of death K ,itnessed the mar-s of hell a99ear, ,hereu9on they recited the >uddha;s name se/eral times

,ith utmost sincerity and de/otion &mmediately, they sa, $mitabha >uddha coming to 0recei/e and guide2 them bacto the Pure Land This beneficial feature e<ists only in the Pure Land method, out of all the countless methods taught by !a-yamuni >uddha throughout *is teaching career Therefore, & ha/e al,ays

said that 0if the %ine #ealms of sentient beings do not 9ractice this method, they cannot easily 9erfect the fruits of )nlightenment, ,hile if the >uddhas of the ten directions abandon this method, they cannot benefit the masses far and ,ide 2 &f you ha/e utmost Faith and

culti/ate earnestly, see-ing esca9e from >irth and +eath, then e/en though you still ha/e not left the e/il, deluded ,orld, you ,ill not remain long in the !aha :orld either :hile you may not ha/e reached the Pure Land yet, you ,ill soon be a ne, guest in the

Land of "ltimate >liss From no, on, ,hen you meet /irtuous 9ersons, do your utmost to emulate themP ,hen you encounter an o99ortunity to 9ractice good deeds, do not hesitate *o, can you ha/e the heart to 9rocrastinate, lest the error of one moment lead to ten

thousand lifetimes of regretM !urely those ,ith high as9irations cannot tolerate being 0,al-ing cor9ses,2 running aimlessly ,hile ali/e and sim9ly decaying after death, along ,ith the grass and trees #edouble your efforts and e<ert yourselfD

Finally, ,hile the -ey to rebirth in the Pure

Land is singlemindedness, you, as a layman, still ha/e your 9arents and your family $lthough you should not unduly see,ealth and honor, you should still fulfill your family obligations K ?A

for to culti/ate the +harma is not to abandon e/erything &f you could let go of e/erything and still manage to 9ro/ide for your 9arents and family, that ,ould be all to the good 'ther,ise, it ,ould be contrary not only to human morality but also to the

+harma This is something you should also realiLe $s a filial son, you should counsel your 9arents concerning culti/ation, so that they may 9ractice >uddha #ecitation and seerebirth in the Pure Land &f they can 9ractice ,ith faith, they ,ill surely achie/e rebirth 'nce reborn, they

,ill transcend the mundane and enter sagehood, esca9e >irth and +eath, Noin the 'cean.,ide $ssembly, be close to $mitabha >uddha and e/entually achie/e >uddhahood Mundane filiality cannot be com9ared ,ith such an achie/ementD &f anyone ,ere to ad/ise others to culti/ate the Pure Land method, the merits

and /irtues from such teaching ,ould be entirely his &n the future, he ,ould surely be reborn in the u99er lotus grades ?E

Letter 6 The True Mar=ehicle has no Mar-s6 &t is /ery difficult indeed to res9ond to the im9ortant Ouestions raised in your letter :hyM &t is because your as9irations are lofty ,hile my -no,ledge is limited and meager Loftiness and meagerness cannot meetP

therefore, my teaching ,ill not be a99ro9riate to your needsD *o,e/er, in the True Mar!ingle =ehicle, the mar-s of loftiness and meagerness cannot be found :ithin this =ehicle, ,hether the mar-s are lofty or limited de9ends on ho, they are concei/ed Loftiness and meagerness al,ays 9ossess

in full the nature of the +harma #ealm Moreo/er, the meagerness to ,hich & refer encom9asses all the dharmas of the Ten #ealms The Pure Land Patriarch !han Tao has saidJ &f you ,ish to study 0meaning,2 Hunderstand the +harmaI you should study all dharmas,

from the mundane le/el to the le/el of the >uddhas *o,e/er, if you ,ant to engage in 09ractice,2 you should choose a method com9atible ,ith the Truth as ,ell as your o,n ca9acities and le/el and then concentrate on it earnestly 'nly then can you rea9 benefits s,iftly 'ther,ise,

e/en if you s9end many eons, you ,ill not be able to esca9e >irth and +eath This being so, there is no better method than to recite the >uddha;s name ,ith a mind of Faith an =o,s, see-ing rebirth in the Pure Land &f you ,ish to

go dee9er, you should carefully 9eruse the (ommentary on the )ssential Points of the $mitabha !utra and other Pure Land sutras and treatises

>uddhism is an o9en method ,ithin the ten +harma #ealms K e/eryone should 9ractice it and anyone can 9ractice it >ecause

they do not fully understand its true nature, some (onfucian scholars blindly criticiLe >uddhism *o,e/er, the e/il -arma resulting from maligning the +harma 9ales before the -arma of /ilifying it ,ith one;s o,n bodyD These days, some indi/iduals, mouthing Mahayana teachings, 6Letter to the layman Teng

*sin.an 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 FF8 ?C

consider themsel/es a,a-ened to the :ay They sayJ 0& am HintrinsicallyI a >uddha, ,hy recite the >uddha;s nameM $fflictions are >odhi, ,hat is the need to se/er themM Lust, anger and delusion are 9rece9ts, concentration and ,isdom, ,hy se/er lust, anger and delusionM2 Their ,ords are

as lofty as the hea/enly clouds, but their actions, u9on close e<amination, are as lo, as the under,orldD !uch 9ersons may be considered the enemies of >uddhism Their e/il -arma is ten thousand times ,orse than that of 9ersons ,ho malign >uddhism through mere ignorance of the +harma :hile

their efforts in studying the +harma are not entirely ,asted, these can only constitute the seeds of liberation in the future Their transgressions, on the other hand K the /ilification of the +harma ,ith their bodies K ,ill assuredly result in retribution along the )/il Paths for countless eons

to come You should study Mahayana sutras and commentaries to ensure that your understanding is broad and com9lete $s far as culti/ation is concerned, you should concentrate on Faith, =o,s and recitation of the >uddha;s name ?B

Letter F The Ge,elled %et of &ndraF From your letter, & can see that you are concentrating on reciting the >uddha;s name, bo,ing to the Lotus !utra and trying to reduce your transgressions, but you ha/e not yet achie/ed success You are thin-ing of

follo,ing a s9ecial method to re/ie, your 9rogress day by day $ll these actions demonstrate that your culti/ation in recent days is truly aimed at self.im9ro/ement, unli-e those ,ho attem9t to decei/e others ,ith e<ternal dis9lays to achie/e reno,n This being so, nothing could be better & truly reNoice

in your actions

$ mind of sincerity and res9ect is the -ey to Pure Land culti/ation :ith utter sincerity and res9ect, e/en though you are only an ordinary being ,hose /irtues are not yet 9erfected, you ,ill achie/e unimaginable resultsD (on/ersely, ,ithout

sincerity, bo,ing and reciting are no different from 9erforming on stage, singing and 9rancing $lthough you may be dis9laying the e<ternal signs of suffering, Noy, com9assion and other emotions, they are all ma-e.belie/e because they do not s9ring from the de9th of your mind $ny blessings or /irtues that

may result are but deluded merits of the human and celestial realms, and these are 9recisely the basis of e/il -arma and the seeds of immense suffering in the future You should e<9lain this to all your friends and colleagues, enNoining them to culti/ate sincerely, so as to s9read

the benefits ,idely

You should not thinthat the merits and /irtues of reciting the name of, or /isualiLing one >uddha are less encom9assing than those recei/ed from reciting the name of, or /isualiLing many >uddhas You should realiLe that $mitabha >uddha is the +harma #ealm

Treasure >ody $ll the /irtues of the >uddhas in the ten directions of the +harma #ealm are fully encom9assed in $mitabha >uddha This is li-e the Ne,elled net of &ndra, ,hose thousands and thousands of Ne,els are fully reflected in one Ne,el, the image of one Ne,el is reflected

in thousands and thousands of Ne,els, and each and e/ery Ne,el encom9asses e/ery other, in 9erfect, unim9eded fashion FLetter to the layman Kao !hao.lin 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 F58 ?5

To great sages ,ho ha/e culti/ated for a long time, ,idely /arying conditions and en/ironments do not matterP in fact, the more di/erse they are, the more focussed the minds of these sages become For beginners, on the other hand, if conditions and en/ironments are

/aried, the mind.consciousness gro,s confused and unfocussed Those ,ith hea/y obstructions and shallo, ,isdom may e/en, at times, be afflicted by demons For this reason, >uddha !a-yamuni and the Patriarchs all enNoined us to recite the >uddha;s name singlemindedly until achie/ing samadhi K at ,hich time hundreds of thousands

of +harma methods and countless sublime meanings ,ill manifest themsel/es in full To e<em9lify this Truth, the ancients ha/e saidJ To bathe in the great ocean is to use the ,aters of hundreds of ri/ers 6@

Letter A The Ten Thousand +harmas ha/e no True %atureA From your letter, & learned that in recent days you ha/e engaged in earnest culti/ation, e<amining yourself, mending your ,ays and follo,ing the 9ath of the sages, ,ith no desire for em9ty fame &

am /ery ha99y indeedD To follo, in the footste9s of the >uddhas and sages and esca9e >irth and +eath, you should first de/elo9 an attitude of shame and re9entance, abandon e/il ,ays, 9erform ,holesome deeds, -ee9 the 9rece9ts and 9ractice self.restraint You should aim for the Truth

and 9ractice to your utmost ability 'ther,ise there is deceit ,ithin deceit Thus, understanding the +harma is not difficultP 9ractice is the real difficultyD Many intelligent 9ersons merely /erbaliLe but fail to 9ractice They therefore ,aste an entire lifetime, s9oiling a /isit to the Ne,elled mountain and returning em9ty.handed

:hat a great 9ityD Their deluded thoughts flare u9 unchec-ed because they are not earnest in maintaining correct thought &f they ,ould only concentrate on one realm, deluded thoughts ,ould be con/erted into 0correct ,isdom 2 Therefore, as the saying goesJ &f the -ing rules ,isely, rebels and

bandits ,ill become li-e his o,n sonsP if he rules un,isely, e/en his closest friends ,ill turn into enemies

$s common beings, ,ho among us is not afflicted by delusion and e/il -armaM *o,e/er, if you ta-e 9recautions in your daily life,

afflictions ,ill not flare u9 ,hene/er you meet ,ith ad/erse circumstances )/en if they do arise, you ,ill be a,are of and eradicate them The conditions leading to afflictions are numerous Most 9o,erful among them are ,ealth, lust and unusual ad/ersities &f you realiLe that ill.gotten gains

are more dangerous than /enemous sna-es, you ,ill not desire them ,hen you see them 'n the other hand, to assist fello, beings is 9recisely to lay the foundation for our o,n future merit and /irtue Kno,ing this, ,hene/er those in need seeyour hel9, you should not be

stingy and refuse, de/elo9ing afflictions in the 9rocess A$nother letter to the layman Kao !hao.lin 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 AA8 64

$s for lustful thoughts, ,hen you come across ,omen as beautiful as flo,ers or 9recious gems, e/en ,omen of 9leasure and courtesans, you should /ie, them as your o,n sisters and, ,ith a com9assionate mind, seeto rescue them &n this ,ay, you ,ill not be mo/ed by

beautiful forms or s,ayed by lustful thoughts :ithin the family, husbands and ,i/es should res9ect one another as guests

:hen encountering ad/erse circumstances, you should de/elo9 thoughts of com9assion, forgi/ing those ,ho do not realiLe their mista-es and a/oiding dis9utes You should thin-J 0in my 9re/ious

li/es, & ha/e caused suffering and hurt sentient beings on many occasions &f & meet ,ith ad/ersity today, it is merely the re9ayment of 9re/ious debts 2 Thin-ing thus, you become naturally content and do not de/elo9 a mind of anger and /engefulness *o,e/er, these methods are for

those of lo, ca9acities &n the case of sages ,ho ha/e culti/ated for a long time, all afflictions become the 0illuminating Mind !tore2 K the ten thousand dharmas ha/e al,ays been ,ithout self, the ad/erse or beneficial conseOuences of all actions de9end on the indi/idual alone

Faith, =o,s and Practice form the cornerstone of Pure Land &f these three conditions are fulfilled, rebirth in the Land of "ltimate >liss ,ill be achie/ed You should 9ay 9articular attention to Faith and =o,s, and ,ish ,holeheartedly to achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land Hand

not as a celestial being or a +harma Master, ho,e/er a,a-ened, as these are still ,ithin the realm of >irth and +eathI 'nly then ,ill your Faith and =o,s reach $mitabha >uddha so that *is (om9assionate =o, may embrace you &n this connection, )lder Master 'u & has saidJ

$chie/ing rebirth in the Pure Land de9ends entirely on Faith and =o,s, ,hile the le/el of rebirth de9ends on the de9th of 9ractice This is a truth as solid as steel K e/en if a thousand >uddhas ,ere to a99ear on earth, it

,ould not change 'nly by firmly belie/ing in this truth ,ill you ha/e a destiny in the :estern Pure Land

&f you e<9erience difficulty in reaching one.9ointedness of mind, you should focus your mind and recite ,ith care The main criteria of such concentration

are utter sincerity and earnestness &t is /ery difficult to achie/e one.9ointedness of mind ,ithout utter sincerity *o,e/er, sincerity is not enough You should ne<t listen attenti/ely to the recitation :hether or not recitation is 9erformed aloud, it should originate from the mind &t then 9roceeds from the mouth

and enters the ears 3e/en 6?

if you recite silently, the mar-s of oral recitation still e<ist in the mind8 :ith mind and mouth reciting clearly, the ears hearing clearly and the mind thus concentrated, deluded thoughts ,ill cease by themsel/es

You ha/e no, reached your fifties &f you

,ish to attain liberation in this /ery life, you should concentrate on the Pure Land method The +iamond !utra and the Lotus !utra should be tem9orarily set aside, until such time as you fully 9ossess the Pure Land 9rinci9les and achie/e one.9ointedness of mind through >uddha #ecitation &f you

s9end time studying ,hile you are trying to engage in culti/ation, you may not ha/e the time or energy Thus, you ,ill achie/e neither and lose the benefits of both 66

Letter E Faith, =o,s and PracticeE The true intention of >uddha !a-yamuni, ,hen *e a99eared in the ,orld to 9reach the +harma and rescue sentient beings, ,as for all beings to esca9e >irth and +eath and attain )nlightenment immediately *o,e/er, because sentient beings ,ere

all of differing ca9acities and thus could not entirely meet *is transcendental e<9ectations, the $ll.(om9assionate >eing resorted to one e<9edient teaching after another, all of them ada9ted to the indi/idual ca9acities of sentient beings To those of the highest ca9acities, the Great !age taught the 9ath of

the >uddhas, sho,ing them the !elf.%ature directly so that they might attain >uddhahood in one lifetime K as in the case of !udhana in the $/atamsa-a !utra or the +ragon Princess in the Lotus !utra To those of more modest ca9acities, the >uddha taught the >odhisatt/a, Pratye-a >uddha and

$rhat 9aths, so that they might reach >uddhahood through ste9.by.ste9 culti/ation To those of still lo,er ca9acities, the >uddha taught the Fi/e Prece9ts and the Ten =irtues

These methods, high or lo,, some leading to s,ift liberation, others to gradual liberation, are all different

*o,e/er, they all reOuire self.9o,er and dee9 culti/ation to esca9e from the cycle of >irth and +eath and reach the !elf.%ature &f e/en a trace delusion of /ie,s or delusion of thought remains, the roots of >irth and +eath cannot be e<tir9ated This being the case, e/en if the

culti/ator;s 9o,ers of concentration and ,isdom are 9rofound, he ,ill continue to re/ol/e in the cycle of >irth and +eath 'nly at the le/el of the $rhats are the roots of >irth and +eath com9letely se/ered *o,e/er, transcending >irth and +eath is merely the small fruit of

the $rhatsP the culti/ator must still aim for the 9ath of Great >odhi, relying on his =o, to be reborn in the ,orlds of the ten directions *e may then culti/ate the si< 9aramitas and the ten thousand conducts, in order to achie/e >uddhahood and rescue sentient beings

H&n this manner, he ,ill gradually achie/e the A? different stages of >odhisatt/ahood, u9 to the le/el of :onderful )nlightenment, before finally reaching >uddhahood I ELetter to the layman (h;en *si.chou 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 A58 6F

$lthough >uddha !a-yamuni e<9ounded countless methods throughout *is teaching career, they are all based u9on the /arious stages of >odhisatt/ahood mentioned abo/e Thus, the 1en tradition 9oints directly to the !elf.Mind, seeing one;s %ature and achie/ing >uddhahood This is a 9erfect, direct shortcut

*o,e/er, ,e are s9ea-ing here from the /ie,9oint of the inherent +harma >ody 3that is, 9rinci9le or noumenon8, by9assing 9henomenal culti/ation and attainment grounded in the la, of (ause and )ffect &f ,e ,ere to consider the different le/els of culti/ation and achie/ement, there ,ould be no difference bet,een

1en and the !utra !tudies method *o,e/er, in the midst of this +harma.)nding $ge, there are /ery fe, good s9iritual ad/isors, ,hile the ca9acities of sentient beings are limited &t is difficult enough to find someone ,ho is a,a-ened to the :ay, not to mention one ,ho

has truly attained )nlightenment D Thus, -no,ing that sentient beings ,ould find it e<tremely difficult to achie/e liberation by relying on self.9o,er alone, !a-yamuni >uddha taught, in addition to other methods, the s9ecial a99roach of Pure Land :ith this method, as long as their Faith and =o,s are true

and earnest, e/en those ,ho ha/e committed the Fi/e Gra/e 'ffenses or the Ten )/il $cts, may, on the /erge of death, ,hen the mar-s of the hells a99ear, follo, the ad/ice of a good s9iritual ad/isor and recite the >uddha;s name one to ten times Then, than-s to

the com9assionate 9o,er of $mitabha >uddha, e/en they ,ill be recei/ed and guided to the Pure Land K not to mention those ,ho 9ractice ,holesome deeds and do not commit transgressionsD The more diligently the culti/ator engages in ,holesome conduct and the dee9er his 9o,er of concentration,

the higher his le/el of rebirth ,ill be *e ,ill see $mitabha >uddha soon after rebirth and be able to hear the ,onderful +harma Therefore, e/en those ,ho ha/e a,a-ened to the :ay, se/ered delusion and attained the Truth should dedicate all merits to,ard rebirth in the Pure Land,

see-ing 9erfect attainment of the +harma >ody and s,ift attainment of >uddhahood

'ther methods de9end on the ca9acities of the 9ractitioner &f they lead only to limited attainment Hsuch as $rhatshi9I, those of high ca9acities need not 9ractice them &f they lead to great

attainment, those of limited ca9acities cannot culti/ate them 'nly the Pure Land method embraces 9ractitioners of all three ca9acities, high, moderate and lo, !u9remely lofty beings, such as the >odhisatt/as $/alo-ites/ara, Mahasthama9ra9ta, ManNusri and !amantabhadra, cannot transcend 6A

it, ,hile those of lo, ca9acities, ,ho ha/e committed the Fi/e Gra/e 'ffenses or the Ten )/il +eeds and ha/e so,n the seeds of the %e/er.)nding *ell, can still 9artici9ate in it &f !a-yamuni >uddha had not taught this method, the maNority of sentient beings in the +harma.)nding

$ge could not ho9e to esca9e the cycle of >irth and +eath

+es9ite its loftiness, the Pure Land +harma +oor is a /ery easy method of culti/ation For this reason, not only do ordinary beings find it difficult to belie/e, but culti/ators of the

T,o =ehicles 3Thera/ada follo,ers8 also harbor doubts This a99lies e/en to >odhisatt/as at the 0e<9edient le/el 2 'nly those ,ho ha/e so,n the ,holesome seeds of Pure Land in 9re/ious li/es as ,ell as the higher le/el >odhisatt/as can truly ha/e firm and dee9 Faith in it $

ne,born 9rince, ,ho has not yet 9ro/en his talents and /irtues, is still abo/e the ministers in nobility and honor, than-s to the 9o,er of his royal lineage Li-e,ise, those ,ho 9ractice >uddha #ecitation ,ith full Faith and =o,s, though they may be ordinary beings, belong to a lineage

su9erior to that of the disci9les of the T,o =ehicles This is because they ha/e learned to cast their earthly minds into the sea of )nlightenment K silently in tune ,ith the ,onderful :ay Than-s to $mitabha >uddha;s 9o,er, they ,ill s,iftly attain the le/el of non.retrogression

&n discussing the Pure Land method, you should ma-e a general com9arison of the ease and difficulty of other.9o,er /s self.9o,er, as em9loyed in this and other methods, res9ecti/ely 'ther,ise, e/en if you do not doubt the +harma, you ,ill doubt yourself, and e/en a trace of doubt becomes

an obstacle &n such a case, e/en if you engage in culti/ation you ,ill not rea9 the full benefit K not to mention ,hat ,ill ha99en if you do not culti/ate For this reason, Faith is the first criterion You should firmly belie/e that the !aha :orld is a

9lace of suffering, the :estern Pure Land a realm of bliss $s is said in the !maller $mitabha !utraJ !hari9utraJ :hy is that land called "tmost *a99inessM The beings of that land e<9erience no sufferingP they only -no, e/ery -ind of NoyP therefore it

is called "tmost *a99iness 3*oLen !e-i, $mida.-yo, 9 4B 8 You should be ,ary and not attem9t to reason ,ith the mind of an ordinary being, lest you mista-enly thinthat 0all the ,onderful, e<traordinary e/ents beyond common understanding that occur in the :estern Pure Land

are myths re9resenting the Mind +harma, rather than a true en/ironment 2 :ith this misunderstanding, you lose the benefit of rebirth in the Pure Land This is a maNor error, so be carefulD

6E

'nce you realiLe that the !aha :orld is a 9lace of suffering ,hile the Pure Land is a 9lace of Noy, you should de/elo9 true, earnest =o,s, resol/ing to lea/e the !aha :orld and return to the Land of "ltimate >liss !uch =o,s are no different from those

of a 9erson ,ho has fallen into an e<crement 9it and see-s to esca9e s,iftly, or of a 9risoner ,ho yearns for his nati/e /illage !uch ho9es and desires should be utterly sincere, because your o,n strength cannot free you from your 9redicament !entient beings in the

!aha :orld, facing circumstances that accord or fail to accord ,ith their ,ishes, often de/elo9 the mind of greed, anger and delusion, create the -arma of -illing, stealing and lust, and tarnish their bright, s9otless !elf.%ature K this is a filthy bottomless 9it *a/ing created e/il -arma,

they must endure suffering through many lifetimes along the )/il Paths K this is a dra,n out im9risonment "ntold eons ago, $mitabha >uddha made forty.eight =o,s to rescue sentient beings 'ne of the =o,s Hthe eighteenthI statedJ &f, after my obtaining >uddhahood, all beings in the ten

Ouarters should desire in sincerity and trustfulness to be born in my country, and if they should not be born by only thin-ing of me ten times , may & not attain the highest )nlightenment 3G '-aLa-i, Pure Land >uddhist Painting, 9 4A 8 $lthough $mitabha >uddha, the

(om9assionate 'ne, made such a =o,, if sentient beings do not see*is hel9, there is little *e can do *o,e/er, anyone ,ho recites his name ,ith utter sincerity, /o,ing to lea/e the !aha :orld behind, ,ill be ,elcomed and escorted to the Pure Land $mitabha >uddha has great

9o,erP *e can rescue sentient beings from the e<crement 9it and the 9rison of the defiled ,orld, guide them to the Land of "ltimate >liss, and hel9 them enter the realms of the >uddhas to assume the 9rerogati/es and functions of the Tathagatas 3>uddhas8

#ebirth in the :estern Land thus reOuires, first of all, dee9 Faith and fer/ent =o,s :ithout these conditions, e/en if you ,ere to culti/ate, you could not obtain a res9onse from $mitabha >uddha You ,ould merely rea9 the blessings of the human and celestial realms and so, the seeds

of liberation in the future $nyone ,ho fulfills the conditions of Faith and =o,s is assured of rebirth in the Pure Land :hen )lder Master Yung Ming stated that 0out of ten thousand ,ho culti/ate Pure Land, ten thousand ,ill achie/e rebirth,2 he ,as referring to those ,ith full

Faith and =o,s 'nce you ha/e dee9 Faith and earnest =o,s, you should 9ractice >uddha #ecitation as your 9rinci9al method, guided by your Faith and =o,s These three com9onents HFaith, =o,s, PracticeI are 9recisely the main tenets of Pure Land K lacof any one of these conditions ,ill

9re/ent you from achie/ing rebirth in the Land of "ltimate >liss 6C

The form of >uddha #ecitation Practice de9ends on the circumstances of each indi/idual K there is no single set ,ay &f the culti/ator is /ery busy, ha/ing no free time, he should set aside a s9ecific 9eriod in the early morning $fter ,ashing u9,

he should bo, three times to the >uddha in front of his altar 3if he has one8 Then, standing erect, he should Noin his 9alms and singlemindedly recite the ,ords 0%a Mo $mitabha >uddha2 as many times as he can in one stretch, each stretch counting as one recitation

*e should recite thus for ten stretches, and then utter the follo,ing stanLaJ & /o, that, along ,ith other Pure Land culti/ators, & ,ill be reborn in the Land of "ltimate >liss, !ee $mitabha >uddha, esca9e >irth and +eath, $nd rescue

all, as the >uddha does $fter reciting this stanLa, he should bo, three times before retiring &f he does not ha/e an altar, he can face ,est ,ith 9alms Noined, reciting according to the abo/e method This is the Ten #ecitations Method ,hich )lder Master

TLu :en established for rulers and officials ,ho are too busy ,ith affairs of state to engage in culti/ation :hy recite in one stretchM &t is because sentient beings ha/e scattered, unsettled minds and are thus unable to 9ractice assiduously This recitation method relies on the breath to concentrate

the mind *o,e/er, the number of utterances is de9endent on the length of the breath s9an There should be no effort or constraint, as this ,ould lead to fatigue !ince recitation ,ith a scattered mind cannot easily lead to rebirth in the Pure Land, this method is useful

for focussing the mind :hile the recitations are fe, in number, the /irtues accrued are 9rofound and rebirth is assured

Moreo/er, the 9ractitioner should maintain a /irtuous and forgi/ing mind in all circumstances, guard against mista-es in each of his thoughts, be ,illing to

recogniLe mista-es, correct his transgressions and gladly 9erform good actions K only then ,ill he be in accord ,ith >uddha $mitabha Failure to do so indicates that his mind is still obstructed and thus not consonant ,ith the mind of the >uddha This ma-es it difficult for the t,o

to interact Furthermore, ,hen bo,ing, reciting Mahayana sutras or accom9lishing /arious ,holesome deeds, he should dedicate all the resulting merits to rebirth in the Pure Land *e should not dedicate only the merits of >uddha #ecitation itself, ,hile transferring incidental merits to,ard ,orldly blessings &n the latter case he

,ould not be singleminded, ma-ing rebirth in the Pure Land /ery difficult to achie/e 6B

The Pure Land method is e<tolled in numerous Mahayana sutras Thera/ada sutras, on the other hand, do not mention it at all Those ,ho are not /ersed in the +harma and reNect >uddha #ecitation as a 0self.benefit2 method are s9ea-ing thoughtlessly +o not listen to

them 65

Letter C The >rahma %et !utra and the Prece9tsC & ha/e made my home on P;u T;o Mountain for some t,enty years no,, and during the entire time ha/e not engaged in 9ersonal contact ,ith lay 9eo9le #ecently, ,hen Master Fu Yen /isited our

mountain, he a99roached me in the meditation hut on se/eral occasions ,ithin the s9ace of ten days to talabout your fidelity and moral integrity, e<hibiting dee9 concern each time 'n these occasions, & ad/anced the o9inion that although your integrity is 9raise,orthy, you do not -no, ho, to

culti/ate 9ro9erly & also said that, time 9ermitting, & ,ould ,rite a letter of ad/ice to you e<9laining the main lines of the Pure Land method, so that you could, according to your strength and conditions, ste9 onto the Pure Land 9ath "9on hearing this, Master Yu

Fen e<9ressed his a99ro/al and ,holeheartedly reOuested me to do so This is the genesis of my letter to you today

The +harma already e<ists in full in the minds of all sentient beings K both clergy and lay 9ersons can u9hold it *o,e/er,

,omen;s li/es entail many restrictions &f you lea/e your nati/e /illage to tra/el afar, you may ,ell be subNected to o99ression and assault Therefore, you had better stay home, -ee9 the 9rece9ts and recite the >uddha;s name, determined to seerebirth in the :estern Pure Land There is no

need to lea/e your nati/e 9lace to become a nun )<tensi/e tra/el to /arious tem9les and other holy 9laces to seeout great masters ,ith ,hom to study the sutras in de9th should be left to men For ,omen to follo, this course is not ad/isable You should stri/e

to 9ractice the Pure Land method, reciting the >uddha;s name assiduously &f you succeed in gathering your si< faculties together and engage in 9ure recitation ,ithout interru9tion, you can attain samadhi as a matter of course, in this /ery life :hy, then, ,orry about not reaching the higher lotus

grades at the time of deathM )/en if you do not reach samadhi, you ,ill still achie/e rebirth Hin a lo,er lotus gradeI, be 9art of the 'cean.:ide $ssembly, close to $mitabha >uddha You ,ill CLetter to the lay,oman *su Fu.hsien 3(hinese ed =ol &,

9 44A8 F@

gradually return to the True !elf.%ature and naturally understand the /arious teachings Then, Nust li-e an image in a mirror, you ,ill a99ear in the !aha :orld ,ithout lea/ing the Pure Land, to rescue sentient beings throughout countless e<9edients, hel9ing them all to reach the Pure Land and

attain the Tolerance of %on.>irth 3insight into the non.origination of all things8 This ,ill not be turning your bacon your 9resent firm determination to culti/ate &n fact, you ,ill deser/e to be called a green lotus blossom, born amid fire, a true ,oman of characterD

The basis of Pure Land is the determination to be reborn in the Land of "ltimate >liss Therefore, the motto of the school is 0Faith, =o,s and Practice 2 0Faith2 means belie/ing that the !aha :orld is filled ,ith the )ight !ufferings, ,hile the Pure Land is a

realm of boundless NoyD 'nce you ha/e firm Faith, you should /o, to lea/e the !aha :orld, li-e a 9risoner des9erate to lea/e his Nail, and resol/e to achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land, li-e a tra/eller longing for his nati/e 9lace $s someone ,ho

has not achie/ed rebirth in the Pure Land, e/en if you ,ere 9resented ,ith the Ne,elled throne of the god.-ing >rahma, you should consider it as a cause and condition of 9erdition, ,ithout a single thought of longing Li-e,ise, ,ishes such as 0rebirth as a male, entering the clergy

early in life, attaining great intelligence, great s9iritual 9o,ers 2 should all be considered tortuous 9aths of culti/ation ,hich can only bring you bacto your starting 9oint $bandon all these thoughts and seeonly to achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land at the time of death 'nce reborn,

you ,ill naturally esca9e the cycle of >irth and +eath, transcend the human ,orld, enter the realm of the sages, reach the stage of non.retrogression and attain the stage of %on.>irth $t that time, ,hen you loobac-, you ,ill disco/er that the royal throne in the human and

celestial realms, e/en rebirth as a high.ran-ing mon-, are but tiresome occurrences that last for many eons ,ith no liberation in sight You ,ill then realiLe that com9ared to your 9resent lotus grade, those as9irations are no different from a flic-ering flame /ersus a rainbo,, or an anthill /ersus

a mountainD Thus, the Pure Land 9ractitioner certainly should not seethe blessings and merits of the celestial and human realms, not e/en rebirth as a high.ran-ing monGust a trace of such thin-ing constitutes a lacof dee9 Faith and earnest =o,s !uch thoughts 9lace a

barrier bet,een you and the =o,s of $mitabha >uddha K 9re/enting you from achie/ing rebirth in the Pure Land This is a great 9ity, a great ,aste, indeedD *o, could you ha/e the heart to e<change the unimaginably sublime Pure Land for mundane ha99iness K so that ,hen all

the blessings ha/e been e<hausted, you ,ould continue to re/ol/e in the cycle of >irth and +eath, dragged by the current of -armic delusion, subNect to untold sufferingM F4

&f 9oison is mi<ed ,ith butter, the delicious butter becomes lethal Practicing Pure Land ,ithout the right frame of mind brings similar harm You must e<tir9ate such ,rong thoughts in order to enNoy fully the benefits of the Pure Land method

'nce ha/ing

de/elo9ed dee9 Faith and earnest =o,s, you should hold fast to the ,ords 0$mitabha >uddha 2 #egardless of the occasion, ,hether ,al-ing or standing, sitting or reclining, s9ea-ing or remaining silent, mo/ing about, meditating, dressing, eating, e/en ,hen in the 9ri/y, you should -ee9 the ,ords 0$mitabha >uddha2 firmly in

mind You should e<ert yourself until the recitations are constantly before you, the ,hole >uddha is Mind, Mind and >uddha are one K reciting to the ultimate 9oint ,here all mundane feelings are forgotten $t that time, the mind being em9ty, the >uddha a99ears +uring this life

you can attain the >uddha #emembrance !amadhi and at the time of death achie/e rebirth in the u99er lotus grades (ulti/ation in this ,ay may be considered as e<ercising your abilities to the utmost &n daily life, the merits accrued from the smallest ,holesome deeds, as ,ell as the

/irtues garnered from >uddha #ecitation and !utra #ecital, should all be dedicated to rebirth in the Pure Land $ll actions then become 9ractices ,hich facilitate rebirth K not unli-e deri/ing soil from dust and sand or the oceans from the ri/ers and streams The de9th and breadth of such

>uddha #ecitation is immense You should, furthermore, de/elo9 the >odhi Mind, /o, to rescue sentient beings and dedicate the merits and /irtues of culti/ation to re9ayment of the four great debts in the Tri9le #ealm, as ,ell as to sentient beings in the +harma #ealm This creates

a far.reaching +harma affinity ,ith all sentient beings, li-e oil 9oured on fire or rain falling on ne, seedlings, so that you ,ill achie/e early success in your Mahayana 9ractice &f you miss this 9oint, your Pure Land 9ractice ,ill become the gras9ing, self.benefit a99roach common to humans and

lo,er le/el sages H$rhats and Pratye-a >uddhasI :hile your method of culti/ation may be sublime, the benefits recei/ed ,ill be e<tremely lo, le/el and limited

:hen reciting the >uddha;s name, you should gather your thoughts together #ecitation originates in the mind and is channelled

through the mouth, each 9hrase, each ,ord, clearly enunciated You should also listen clearly, im9ressing the ,ords in your mind &f the faculty of hearing is under control, the other faculties are also held in checand cannot chase after e<ternal dusts $s a result, one.9ointedness F?

of mind is s,iftly achie/ed Thus, the >odhisatt/a Mahasthama9ra9ta said in the !urangama !utraJ To gather the si< senses together, 9ure recitation follo,ing u9on 9ure reci tation ,ithout interru9tion, thus attaining samadhi K this is u99ermost Li-e,ise, the >odhisatt/a ManNusri taughtJ

0*earing2 ,ithin, hearing one;s %ature K one;s %ature becomes the !u9reme Path You certainly should not thinthat oral recitation H*olding the %ameI is shallo,, and follo, other methods, such as =isualiLation, (ontem9lation of an &mage or #eal Mar>uddha #ecitation 'f the four

>uddha #ecitation methods, only oral recitation is ,ell.ada9ted to the ca9acities of sentient beings &f one.9ointedness of mind is maintained, the sublime Truth of #eal Mar,ill be fully re/ealed and the e<traordinary realm of the :estern Pure Land ,ill a99ear clearly Therefore, you can achie/e #eal

Marthrough oral recitationP you can see the :estern Pure Land ,ithout engaging in /isualiLation This method of recitation is 9recisely the ,onderful door to the :ay, the most e<9edient 9ath to >uddhahood Peo9le today generally do not understand the teachings underlying the =isualiLation or #eal Mar-

methods &f they follo, these methods, they may at times be subNect to demons Thus, the best a99roach is to select the easiest 9ractice ,hich still leads to the ,onderful fruit of )nlightenment You should not attem9t a shortcut and end u9 losing the :ay, see-ing liberation but ,inding

u9 in 9erdition That ,ould be regrettable indeedD H$fter summariLing se/eral Pure Land commentaries to reinforce these 9oints, the Master continued I 'nce you ha/e read these boo-s, you ,ill ha/e a com9lete understanding of the tenets of Pure Land &t does not matter that you

ha/e not read the sutras ,idely :ithout fully understanding Pure Land teachings, e/en if you dee9ly understand the entire >uddhist canon and ha/e a,a-ened com9letely to !elf.Mind, it ,ill ta-e you untold eons to fulfill your original =o, to esca9e the cycle of >irth and +eath >uddha #ecitation is

the 9anacea for all diseases To miss -no,ing about such a ,onderful remedy ,ould be a cause for great suffering and regretD To be a,are of but not 9ractice it, or to 9ractice it but not in earnest, is to ha/e e/en greater cause for suffering and regretD

$s far as recei/ing the lay 9rece9ts is concerned, you can /isit this tem9le if you ha/e the means and the ca9acity to do so 'ther,ise, ,hy get so fi<ated on F6

tra/elM $ll you need is to ha/e an earnest, sincere mind, re9ent your transgressions before your home altar for se/en consecuti/e days and e<9ress the ,ish to recei/e the 9rece9ts by yourself 'n the se/enth day, you should -neel before a >uddha image and say aloudJ

0Your disci9le, by the name of K K, /o,s to recei/e the fi/e 9rece9ts and fulfill the obligations of a lay,oman & /o, that for the rest of my life, & ,ill not ta-e the li/es of sentient beings, steal, indulge in se<ual misconduct, lie or ta-e into<icants 2

#e9eating these /o,s three times constitutes recei/ing the 9rece9ts The most im9ortant thing is to do so in an utterly sincere frame of mind K in ,hich case, the benefits and /irtues of recei/ing the 9rece9ts are the same ,hether you do so by yourself or through a

monor nun You should not thinthat recei/ing the 9rece9ts in such a manner is not in accord ,ith the +harma You should -no, that the method described abo/e follo,s the ,ise teaching of !a-yamuni >uddha in the >rahma %et !utra 'n P;u T;o

Mountain, there are no 9rece9t transmission ceremonies in the autumn, but only during a se/en.,ee9eriod follo,ing the lunar %e, Year *o,e/er, & sincerely ,ish that you ,ould stay 9ut at home 9racticing >uddha #ecitation, rather than struggling through fog and sno, to reach P;u T;o Mountain

&f you sticto your fi<ed ideas ,ithout changing your mind, you ,ill miss distinguishing the good from the bad, damaging your o,n 9ure culti/ation and dis9laying ingratitude to,ard the sincere, earnest ,ords of this old mon& ,ant you to attain the goal of your culti/ation ,ithin this

lifetime and certainly do not ha/e the least intention of hindering your de/elo9ment in the +harma &f you thinit o/er carefully, you ,ill see so yourself

$s for your intention to commit suicide because you cannot become a nun, such determination, ho,e/er 9o,erful

and intense, is deluded and insane &n the midst of this +harma.)nding $ge, ho, many mon-s and nuns are ,orthy of being teachersM $s a ,oman, es9ecially, you may be subNected to o/erbearing masters, insulted or dra,n into intrigues You only thinthat to 0lea/e home2

and become a nun is liberation, but you do not yet -no, the many difficulties and obstacles ,hich mon-s and nuns face +o not thin-, furthermore, that to commit suicide is to free yourself of the cares and ,orries of this lifeD 'nce dead, your soul ,ill

be led a,ay by the 9o,er of -arma to be reborn in another body K not to mention that, gi/en your angry state FF

of mind, you may ,ell be reborn in the animal realm "nder such circumstances, it ,ill be difficult e/en to regain a female body !hould you succeed in being reborn as a ,oman or a man, or e/en as a ruler in the human or celestial realms, there

is still no assurance that you ,ill encounter the +harma and engage in culti/ationD )/en if you are so fortunate, ,ho -no,s if you ,ill be in the good 9osition to disco/er the Pure Land method K a method that enables each and e/ery one to esca9e >irth and

+eath in one lifetime Moreo/er, e/en if you ,ere fortunate enough to encounter the Pure Land method then, is it not much better to go on li/ing and culti/ating 9atiently right no,, so that ,hen this retribution body comes to an end, you ,ill immediately achie/e rebirth

in the Land of "ltimate >lissM & ha/e e<hausted my ,ords in ad/ising and counselling you Let me asyouJ did anyone e/er go o/er these Ouestions ,ith yourself in mind to the e<tent that & ha/eM &f you do not follo, the ,ords of this old

mon-, you ha/e sho,n ingratitude to,ard his teachingP moreo/er, & fear your suffering in the future ,ill be infinitely greater than it is no,D FA

Letter B Let "s Part :aysB 3'riginal Letter to )lder Master Yin Kuang8 &t toosome ten years of >uddha #ecitation for me to -no, something of its ,onderful meaning & /enture to thinthat the Pure Land method, as taught in

such ,ritings as your Pure Land letters, is, in general, an e<9edient for ordinary 9eo9le of limited ca9acities *o,e/er, if 9eo9le li-e oursel/es, ,ho are fully literate and accustomed to e<ercising our minds, follo, this method, ,e certainly cannot be reborn in the Pure LandD $ccording to my limited

understanding, those ,ho recite the >uddha;s name see-ing rebirth in the Pure Land should first understand 0,ho is reciting the >uddha;s name,2 because only ,hen ,e disco/er the real Master ,ill >uddha #ecitation ha/e meaning and rebirth be assured This does not a99ly only to >uddha #ecitation $nyone ,ho

recites sutras or recites mantras should also follo, this 9ath %o,adays, those ,ho teach >uddha #ecitation say that ,e should recite in a mature ,ay ,ith an utterly focussed, 0as if dead2 mind in order to achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land +o they not realiLe that

if ,e are not clear as to 0,ho is reciting the >uddha;s name,2 ,e cannot recite in a mature ,ay ,ith an 0as if dead2 mindM )/en if ,e ,ere to recite one hundred thousand times each day, such recitation ,ould ha/e no relationshi9 to the issue of >irth

and +eath !ome 9eo9le e/en add that 0ancient Masters generally concentrate on oral recitation rather than meditation on the >uddha;s name 2 &, on the contrary, ,ould sayJ 0 the ancients 9racticed oral recitation only after they had achie/ed success in meditation K those of limited ca9acities should

not try to emulate them 2 &t is really too bad that, these days, nine out of ten 9ractitioners fail to understand this 9oint & al,ays do my utmost to caution 9eo9le about this, but some laymen e/en thinthat & ha/e ,rong /ie,s "nderstanding the subtle meaning of the

+harma has sunto such de9ths that ,e can only lament and de9lore the situationD & am baring my heart to you today, and ,ould beg you, Master, to certify my understanding and e<9and on this truth This is for the benefit of e/eryone, and certainly not

this ,riter alone BLetter to the layman :ang Yu.mu 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 45E88 FE

$ns,erJ & cannot e<haust my 9raise nor commend you and your friends enough for the thoughts behind your letterD You ha/e /ery good intentions, ,ishing e/eryone to see his 'riginal %ature so as to achie/e rebirth in the u99er lotus grades The Meditation !utra teachesJ

#ecite the Mahayana sutras, understand the !u9reme Meaning, de/elo9 the >odhi Mind, counsel and e<hort others to culti/ate This must certainly be your intention %e/ertheless, the +harma should be ada9ted to the le/el of the listener &f through failure to e<amine his

le/el, you administer the ,rong remedy, you ,ill be no different from an incom9etent 9hysician ,ho -ills his 9atients ,ith the ,rong medicine You should -no, that although the t,o +harma methods, Pure Land and 1en, ha/e the same root and the same source, their methods of culti/ation are

different The main tenet of 1en is to see one;s 'riginal %ature, ,hile the teachings of Pure Land are Faith, =o,s and #eciting the >uddha;s name to achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land &f most 9eo9le today ,ere of high ca9acities, your ,ords ,ould indeed be e<tremely

beneficial *o,e/er, on close e<amination, those of high ca9acities are fe, and far bet,een, ,hile those of moderate and lo, ca9acities form the /ast maNority This being the case, failing to teach 9eo9le to de/elo9 Faith and =o,s see-ing rebirth in the Pure Land, ,hile ad/ising them to meditate

on the >uddha;s name Has a -oanI is utterly detrimental This is because, ,hile a,a-ening to the :ay through meditation on the >uddha;s name ,ould be a fortunate de/elo9ment, an utterly sincere =o, for rebirth in the Pure Land ,ould still be necessary Mean,hile, if

meditation is unsuccessful and the mind constantly gras9s at the -oan 0,ho is reciting the >uddha;s name,2 corres9ondence bet,een the 9ractitioner and the >uddha ,ill be e<tremely difficult to realiLe and the benefit of the 0,elcoming and escorting2 =o, ,ill be lost Those ,ho really -no, 0,ho

is reciting the >uddha;s name2 are 9recisely those ,ho ha/e already a,a-ened and clearly seen their True %ature %o,adays, ho, many 9ractitioners can meditate to the 9oint of a,a-ening to the :ay 3Great $,a-ening8M *o,e/er, let us not s9eaabout others )/en you and your friends ha/e

not reached that le/el *o, do & -no,M &t is because if you had, you ,ould ne/er ha/e dared to ma-e such statements as these in your letterJ 0the Pure Land method is an e<9edient for ordinary 9eo9le of limited ca9acities P not -no,ing ,ho is reciting the >uddha;s

name is not reciting in a mature ,ay ,ith an as.if.dead mind P reciting a hundred thousand times a day has no relationshi9 to the issue of >irth FC

and +eath P the ancients 9racticed oral recitation only after they had achie/ed success in meditation K those of limited ca9acities should not try to emulate them 2 &n truth, ,hile your intention is to benefit yourself and others eOually, through your ,ords you ha/e not

only erred yourself, you ha/e led others astray as ,ell From no, on, 9lease desist from such tal'ther,ise, you ,ill slam the door on and bury the all.embracing method of the >uddhas to rescue sentient beings e/ery,here K 9re/enting this method from being -no,n far and

,ide !uch a transgression is tantamount to /ilifying the >uddhas, the +harma and the !angha You should be careful indeedD !ince your understanding of the +harma is not s-illfully ada9ted to 9eo9le;s ca9acities, in that you attem9t to bring a high.le/el +harma to e/eryone, it is, in the end,

a one.sided 3biased8 attachment K and a great mista-eD %ot realiLing this, you thinthat you ha/e correctly understood the subtle meaning of the +harma and therefore seemy certification This mon-, although lo,ly and not erudite, ,ould not dare to commend, acOuiesce in and su99ort such a reOuest,

,hich ,ould cause all of us to fall into the error of /ilifying the Three TreasuresD &f you do not belie/e the ,ords of this old mon-, let us 9art ,ays once and for all & ,ould not dare try forcing others to abandon their o,n ideas

and understanding to follo, my lo,ly thoughts &t is only because of your letter that & ha/e reluctantly offered some franthough limited /ie,s & ho9e that you ,ill reflect dee9ly on this letter FB

Letter 5 $mitabha >uddha K the >oundless !elf.%ature of Light and Life5 !ince ,e 9arted in mid.s9ring, time has flo,n by, and it is no, summer The light of s9ringtime has 9assed s,iftly K a frightening reminder indeedD )ach time & thin-

of the t,o of you, & recall that des9ite your true and sincere faith, you lacsufficient understanding of the +harma, to the 9oint ,here you ha/e abandoned the lofty ground to follo, lo,ly, dar9aths %ot only ha/e you lost correct /ie,s and become yoursel/es a to9ic of

ridicule, e/en this old monis embarrassed by the bad re9utation he has acOuired for being an acOuaintance of yoursD &n your letter, you mentioned the 9ossibility of ha/ing me correct some of your future ,ritings *o,e/er, ,ith my ,eaeyes and bad health, & do not

normally ta-e to ,riting )/en if my ad/ice is needed, ,hate/er & 9ut do,n is nothing but a hea9 of em9ty ,ords :hat is there ,hich is ,orth readingM !till, lest & seem ungrateful for your trust, & am tentati/ely setting forth some lefto/er sou9 and stale rice &f

you do not obNect to the smell, 9erha9s they can tem9orarily assuage your hunger until the time ,hen you can taste the e<Ouisite food of the !elf.%ature

The /erse 0Four '9tions2 is /ery 9rofound and ,orthy of attention You should 9onder it carefully >y

all means do not ta-e it lightly on the basis of the shallo, e<9lanations of a fe, 9ersons, or you ,ill fail to a99reciate the great com9assionate mind of Master Yung Ming, ,ho has e<hausted ,ords and counsel The treatise The >enefits of #eciting the !utras +e9end on 'ne;s

Mind ,as ,ritten because 9eo9le today recite the sutras ,ithout the least bit of re/erence The true benefit of the >uddha +harma is found in a re/erent mind !uch a state of mind can e/en lead to s,ift !u9reme )nlightenment K not to mention the lo,er le/els of sagehood

3$rhats and Pratye-a >uddhas8D 5Letter to t,o brothers in Yungchia 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 BA8 F5

The Pure Land Patriarch !han Tao, traditionally considered a Transformation >ody of $mitabha >uddha, ,as endo,ed ,ith great s9iritual 9o,ers and ,isdom *o,e/er, in teaching Pure Land, he did not ad/ocate the mystical and sublime but merely em9hasiLed e/eryday, ordinary realities *is teachings on )<clusi/e

Practice and !undry Practices are e<tremely useful )<clusi/e Practice consists of the body bo,ing e<clusi/ely to $mitabha >uddha, the mouth e<clusi/ely re9eating the >uddha;s name, and the mind focussing e<clusi/ely on the >uddha;s name 'ut of ten thousand culti/ators ,ho 9ractice in such a manner, ten thousand

are assured of rebirth in the Pure Land !undry Practices entail engaging in /arious methods of culti/ation ,hile dedicating the merits accrued to,ard rebirth in the :estern Land !ince the 9ractitioner;s mind is not focussed or singleminded, it is difficult to accumulate merits Thus, only three or

four out of hundreds of thousands can ho9e to achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land These are true, golden ,ords of ad/ice, immutable throughout the ages >oth of you should follo, them for your o,n benefit and in counselling e/eryone else #eciting mantras, too, should be considered

an ancillary 9ractice, rather than a 9rinci9al method along ,ith >uddha #ecitation The merits deri/ed from mantra recitation are indeed inconcei/able *o,e/er, ordinary 9eo9le ,ho achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land o,e it entirely to utterly sincere Faith and =o,s, as these corres9ond to the lofty =o,s of $mitabha

>uddha &f you are not clear about this truth, thin-ing that all +harmas are unfathomable and therefore it does not matter ,hich method you culti/ate, you ,ill end u9 9racticing neither 1en nor Pure Land This ,ill lead to eons of ,andering in the ,asteland of >irth and +eath

K ,hom, then, could you rely on for hel9M You should realiLe that as a common being full of -armic obstructions, you ,ill certainly find it difficult to esca9e >irth and +eath in this /ery life unless you rely on the =o,s of $mitabha >uddha 'nly then

,ill you disco/er that the Pure Land method sur9asses other +harma methods in 9o,er and utilityD #eciting mantras and sutras for the 9ur9ose of so,ing merits and ,isdom and eliminating e/il -arma and transgressions is all to the good *o,e/er, to be deluded and sees9iritual 9o,ers

is to abandon the roots for the branches K an error in Nudgement &f, furthermore, your mind is gras9ing, your understanding of the +harma nebulous, your 9rece9t.-ee9ing la<, your >odhi Mind unde/elo9ed and your discriminatory, ,in.lose mind raging unchec-ed, you ,ill be e<9osed one day to demons that may

dri/e you insaneD &f you ,ant to obtain s9iritual 9o,ers, you should first attain )nlightenment and >uddhahood 'nce >uddhahood is attained, you ,ill naturally ha/e full s9iritual A@

9o,ers &f you do not stri/e for the :ay but merely sees9iritual 9o,ers, let us not e/en s9eaabout ,hether anything can be gained &f you should obtain anything, it ,ould become an im9ediment to the :ay For this reason, the >uddhas and Patriarchs ha/e strictly 9rohibited

this erroneous form of culti/ation >ecause such ideas are common, & ha/e ta-en the o99ortunity to mention them in 9assing

>oth of you still ha/e your 9arents at home Therefore, you should -ee9 e<9laining the Pure Land method and the accounts of rebirth to

them, so that they may de/elo9 the mind of Noy, belie/e in the accounts and follo, the e<am9les therein &f you do not re9ay your filial debts in this ,ay, e/en if you are filial in the mundane sense, ,hat good ,ill it do your 9arents at the end

of their li/esM You should ,a-e u9 and hasten to ensure that, at death, your 9arents ,ill 9artici9ate in the Lotus $ssembly They ,ill then be close to $mitabha >uddha and achie/e the boundless !elf.%ature of light and life The sufferings of the !aha :orld are

endless )/en in time of 9eace, sentient beings are Nostling one another in an atmos9here of sorro, and affliction *o,e/er, because they ha/e endured it for so long, they ha/e gro,n accustomed to it and are no longer a,are of it &n (hina recently, insurrection and strife ha/e become

daily e/entsP the sufferings of the 9eo9le are beyond descri9tionD $broad, a great ,ar has been raging for three years :ith casualties already legion, the ,orld conflict goes on ,ith no end in sight This tragic situation is caused by the -arma of sentient beings and is the 9recursor

of an e<tended 9eriod of disturbances to come &t is truly frightening to thinof the sufferings of the futureD & ho9e that both of you ,ill de/elo9 the >odhi Mind and seerebirth in the Pure Land, to achie/e the fruits of >uddhahood s,iftly before returning

to the !aha :orld to rescue sentient beings The sutras teachJ >odhisatt/as fear causes, sentient beings fear effects and results >odhisatt/as, being ,ary of e/il results, eliminate e/il causes !entient beings all too often /ie to create e/il causes and then ha/e to endure e/il

results :hen enduring suffering, they do not -no, enough to 9ractice re9entance, but create more e/il -arma in the ho9e of esca9ing retribution Thus, inNustice and retribution follo, u9on one another continuously, ,ithout end &t is so 9itiful and frightening to thinabout itD Kno,ing this truth,

those ,ho do not seerebirth in the Pure Land are not yet truly among the ,iseD A4

Letter 4@ The Pure Mind is >odhi4@ From your letter, & see that you are diligently fighting bad habits but ha/e not yet obtained results This is because you are not truly concerned about the issue of >irth and +eath, nor ha/e you internaliLed

the method that hel9s 9eo9le to 0transcend the human realm for that of the saints,2 se/er delusi/e -arma and achie/e 9ure thoughts That is ,hy you ha/e failed to achie/e true results You should al,ays 9onder this truthJ 0&t is difficult to be reborn as a human

being, it is difficult to learn of the >uddha +harma, it is difficult to encounter the Pure Land method & am fortunate today to ha/e been reborn as a human being and am in the fa/orable 9osition of ha/ing learned about the Pure Land method *o, dare & ,aste

this limited lifes9an on e/anescent form, fragrance, fame and fortuneM *o, can & resign myself to an em9ty life and useless death, ,allo,ing along the !i< Paths K ,ith no end in sightM2 You should 9aste the ,ord 0death2 on your forehead, so that ,hen you meet

,ith /arious circumstances un,orthy of attachment, you ,ill immediately recogniLe them as boiling cauldrons and fire9its that can only harm you &n this ,ay, you ,ill not be li-e a moth, freely choosing to fly into the flame and burning to death

You should

realiLe that ,orth,hile acti/ities are a boat of com9assion to rescue you from suffering Thus, you ,ill no longer shy a,ay from o99ortunities for charity and Nustice nor be dilatory on the 9ath of culti/ation &n this manner, mundane circumstances can also become conditions for entering the :ay, as

culti/ation is not synonymous ,ith abandoning all ,orldly acti/ities &f the mind is firm and not s,ayed by circumstances, 0mundane concerns are 9recisely liberation 2 Therefore, the +iamond !utra al,ays teaches 0non.attachment to form 2 $lthough true culti/ators de/elo9 the as9iration to rescue all sentient beings, they do not see themsel/es

as the rescuers or sentient beings as the rescued )/en ,hen !u9reme )nlightenment is attained, there is no marof ,ho has attained the fruits of "ltimate %ir/ana This is true culti/ation of the >odhisatt/a 9ath 4@Letter to a layman in %ing9o 3(hinese ed =ol &&, 9

?FF8 A?

'n the other hand, e/en rescuing sentient beings or culti/ating the ten thousand /irtues cannot be in accord ,ith the True Mar!u9reme =ehicle unless 9ractitioners realiLe that sentient beings are, in their nature and essence, >uddhas $mid )Oual %ature, sentient beings erroneously de/elo9 the mind of discrimination,

turning 0unconditioned2 benefits or merits into 0conditioned2 merits *o,, then, can they esca9e the binding cycle of form, fame and fortuneM

Li/ing in this ,orld, 9eo9le all ha/e obligations *o,e/er, you should not ta-e on unnecessary acti/ities beyond your normal duties &nstead, use your

free time, according to your ca9acities and circumstances, to recite sutras and the >uddha;s name, determined to achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land You can generate merits and /irtues by contributing financially to ,orth,hile acti/ities or by 9raising those ,ho engage in them You can also accrue merits by

de/elo9ing a mind of Noy and contentment at their accom9lishment by others $ll such merits and /irtues should be dedicated as additional aids to rebirth in the Pure Land &t is li-e a boat ,hich not only sails ,ith the ,ind but also has oarsmen to s9eed

it on its ,ay *o, can it fail to return s,iftly to the shoreM

The last day of the t,elfth month is the end of the year &f by that day you ha/e not made ad/ance 9re9arations, ho, can you a/oid your creditorsM The

time of death is 9recisely the last day of the t,elfth month of a lifeP if you are not ready ,ith the 9ersonal 9ro/isions of Faith, =o,s and Practice, and are still filled ,ith the e/il -arma of greed, anger and delusion, those ,hom you ha/e ,ronged, your creditors

from time immemorial, ,ill come 9ushing and sho/ing one another for re9ayment Those ,ho are una,are of the Pure Land method can do nothing but follo, their e/il -arma, ,hile e/en Pure Land 9ractitioners ,ho do not culti/ate truly and earnestly sininto e/il realms, mired in the cycle

of >irth and +eath for eons and eons The -ey to esca9ing suffering is to de/elo9, in each and e/ery thought, a fear of death and of 9erdition along the )/il Paths after death >uddha #ecitation then naturally gro,s more earnest, rebirth in the Pure Land is

assured and no ,orldly dusts can 09lunder2 correct thought The *eart !utra statesJ The >odhisatt/a $/alo-ites/ara clearly 9ercei/ed that the fi/e s-andas 3encom9assing body and mind8 are all em9ty and thus o/ercame all suffering A6

The fi/e s-andas encom9ass body and mind as ,ell as the e<ternal en/ironment &f ,e truly realiLe that they are em9ty, ,e are already free of them K e/en ,hile remaining 9art of them :hat, then, is not the Great Liberation method, the realm of Great %ir/anaM

AF

Letter 44 $,a-ening is !till ,ithin the #ealm of >irth and +eath44 To recei/e true benefits in this /ery life, the 9ractitioner should follo, the Pure Land method, reciting the >uddha;s name ,ith Faith and =o,s, see-ing rebirth in the Land of "ltimate >liss

)sca9e from the ,asteland of >irth and +eath ,ill then be assured 'ther,ise, not only ,ill those ,ho ha/e not recei/ed the true transmission of the +harma fail to achie/e liberation, e/en those ,ho ha/e recei/ed it ,ill ha/e no ho9e of achie/ing liberationD This is because to recei/e

the transmission of the +harma is to a,a-en to the :ay but not to attain )nlightenment 'nly by attaining )nlightenment Hat the $rhat le/el or abo/eI ,ill you esca9e the cycle of >irth and +eath $,a-ening to the :ay is still ,ithin that cycle (ulti/ating other methods

reOuires se/erance of -armic obstructions and attainment of the Truth before you can esca9e >irth and +eath :ith the Pure Land method, you need only recite the >uddha;s name ,ith dee9 Faith and earnest =o,s, ,hile ceasing transgressions and 9erforming good deeds K thus engaging simultaneously in the main

and subsidiary 9ractices K in order to be assured of rebirth in the :estern Land &n fact, the highest le/el of rebirth ,ill be achie/ed

%ot only are those ,ho ha/e 9erfected Pure Land 9ractice assured of rebirth, e/en those guilty of the Fi/e

Gra/e 'ffenses and the Ten )/il $cts can also achie/e it 3as long as, on the /erge of death, they a,a-en, become utterly ashamed of their transgressions, gro, frightened and recite the >uddha;s name in utmost sincerity8 This is because $mitabha >uddha has great, all.embracing com9assion and considers it

*is calling to rescue sentient beings $nyone ,ho sincerely see-s *is assistance ,ill be gathered in and rescued This is called 0ta-ing one;s -arma along to the Pure Land, through the 9o,er of $mitabha >uddha 2 44Letter to the layman Yueh *sien.ch;iao 3(hinese ed =ol &&, 9 ?FC8

AA

&n this +harma.)nding $ge, if you culti/ate other methods, abandoning the +harma +oor of Pure Land, you can only rea9 merits and blessings in the celestial and human realms or so, the causes and conditions of liberation in future eons This is because fe, in this day and

age truly ha/e the strength to se/er all -armic obstructions Therefore the roots of >irth and +eath continue to e<ist "nder these circumstances, ho, can you 9re/ent the dream.li-e seeds of >irth and +eath from s9routing ane,M AE

Letter 4? Pure Land and Mind.'nly4? Ruestion 'neJ $re the Mind.'nly Pure Land and the !elf.%ature $mitabha the same as or different from the :estern Pure Land and $mitabha in the Pure LandM $ns,erJ &t is because the Mind.'nly Pure Land e<ists

that ,e are reborn in the Pure Land of the :est &f the mind is not 9ure, it is im9ossible to achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land )/en ,hen those ,ho ha/e committed cardinal transgressions achie/e rebirth through ten recitations, such rebirth is due to their reciting the >uddha;s

name ,ith a 9ure mind, thus eliciting a res9onse from $mitabha >uddha 'rdinary 9eo9le generally thinthat if the Pure Land is Mind.'nly, then it does not e<ist This is the understanding of demons and e<ternalists !uch a deluded /ie,, ,hich a99ears correct but is in reality

,rong, affects more than half of all 9eo9le and causes 9ractitioners to forfeit true benefits &t is 9recisely because of the !elf.%ature $mitabha that the 9ractitioner must recite the name of >uddha $mitabha of the :est see-ing rebirth in the Pure Land K so as

to achie/e the !elf.%ature $mitabha through gradual culti/ation &f he merely gras9s at the >uddha $mitabha of the :est, he cannot achie/e immediate esca9e from >irth and +eath K not e/en if he is truly a,a-ened, much less if 3li-e most 9eo9le ,ho asthis Ouestion8 he is 9retentious

and Nust indulges in em9ty tal,ithout engaging in 9ractice Thus, the ans,er to your Ouestion Hare the Mind.'nly Pure Land and the !elf.%ature $mitabha the same as or different from the :estern Pure Land and $mitabha in the Pure LandMI is that they are one yet t,o before

>uddhahood is attained, t,o yet one after >uddhahood is attained Ruestion T,oJ :hat is the meaning of the statementJ 0birth Hin the Pure LandI is certainly birth, but returning Hto the Pure LandI is, in fact, not returning2M $ns,erJ 0>irth is certainly birth2 is from

the /ie,9oint of 9henomenaP 0#eturning is, in fact, not returning2 is from the /ie,9oint of 9rinci9le or noumenon 4?Letter to the layman (h;u 3=% ed , 9 4F@8 AC

*o,e/er, those ,ho ha/e not yet 9enetrated the subtle difference bet,een noumenon and 9henomena should Nust follo, 9henomena and mar-s, and recite the >uddha;s name in an accom9lished manner &n this ,ay, they ,ill achie/e results 'ther,ise, they ,ill ma-e the mista-e, common to e<ternalists and demons, of

gras9ing at noumenon and abandoning 9henomena Ruestion ThreeJ !ome 9eo9le sayJ 0To see the >uddha is to see the >uddha of the !elf.Mind, not the >uddha of the :estern Pure Land 2 This being the case, at the time of death, is it the >uddha of the !elf.Mind

,ho a99ears, or is it >uddha $mitabha ,ho comes to recei/e and guide usM $ns,erJ !eeing the >uddha at the time of death is due to our o,n !elf.Mind, ,hich has elicited a res9onse from $mitabha >uddha You should not re/ert e/erything to the !elf.Mind and thin-

that there is no >uddha $mitabha arri/ing to recei/e and guide youD AB

Letter 46 '9en Letter to (ulti/ators46 The follo,ing lines are sim9le and unadorned, yet their teachings are based on the sutras $nyone ,ho acts accordingly ,ill recei/e truly immense benefits 3Patriarch Yin Kuang 8

&8 The Pure Land method embraces

9eo9le of all ca9acities, gathering in those of high as ,ell as lo, ca9acities &t is the great +harma of the Tathagata, ,hereby *e 9ro/ides an e<9edient enabling both sages and ordinary beings to achie/e liberation from >irth and +eath and reach the stage of non.retrogression in this /ery

lifetime %ot to belie/e in and 9ractice this sublime, s9ecial +harma is truly regrettable, a great 9ity indeedD

The main tenets of Pure Land are Faith, =o,s and Practice FaithJ You should belie/e that the !aha :orld is filled ,ith

the )ight !ufferingsP belie/e that the :estern Pure Land is filled ,ith immense NoyP belie/e that as ordinary beings full of e/il -arma, you cannot, realistically, rely on your o,n strength 3self.9o,er8 alone to eliminate delusion com9letely, realiLe the Truth and esca9e >irth and +eath in this /ery lifetimeP

belie/e that $mitabha >uddha has made a 9rofound and lofty =o, K any sentient being ,ho recites *is name H,ith utmost faith and sincerityI see-ing rebirth in *is land ,ill, at the time of death, be recei/ed and guided to the Pure Land =o,sJ You should as9ire

to transcend this ,orld and achie/e rebirth in that blissful Land as soon as 9ossible 46Letter to all follo,ers 3=% ed , 9 4FA8 A5

PracticeJ You should 9ractice >uddha #ecitation in all earnestness and sincerity, ,ithout a moment;s la9se, 9aying res9ect and reciting morning and e/ening before your altar You can establish an intensi/e or a leisurely schedule de9ending on your o,n circumstances 'utside of these sessions, you should constantly

recite the >uddha;s name ,hile ,al-ing, standing, sitting, reclining or engaging in other actions that do not reOuire intense intellectual acti/ity :hen resting, you should recite silently, uttering only the t,o ,ords 0$mitabha >uddha2 to facilitate concentration You should also recite silently ,hen not 9ro9erly dressed or ,hen doing

household chores, bathing, urinating or defecating, or ,hen ,al-ing to and from unclean 9laces This silent recitation brings the same benefits as reciting aloud &n the latter circumstances, loud recitation is im9ro9er and could reflect disres9ect :hether reciting loudly or softly or engaging in 0diamond recitation2 or silent recitation,

you should be attenti/e and -ee9 each utterance clearly and distinctly in mind, the mouth reciting clearly and distinctly and the ears hearing clearly and distinctly :hen you recite in this ,ay, the mind is no longer chasing after e<ternal realms, deluded thoughts cease and recitation gradually

becomes 9ure and focussed K the /irtues accrued are thus immense &&8 >uddha #ecitation 9ractitioners should dedicate all /irtues to,ard rebirth in the Pure Land, ,hether they are earned through reciting sutras and mantras, 9aying res9ect to the >uddhas, 9racticing re9entance, rescuing /ictims of accidents or disasters,

or hel9ing the needy You should not seethe merits and blessings of the human and celestial realms either in this lifetime or the ne<t &f you ha/e such thoughts, you ,ill lose the benefit of rebirth in the Pure Land and dro,n in the sea of >irth and

+eath You should -no, that the more blessings you enNoy, the greater the e/il -arma you are li-ely to create, ma-ing it e<ceedingly difficult to a/oid the 9ath of hells, hungry ghosts and animality in the third lifetime $t that 9oint, it ,ill be more difficult to

reco/er the human form and hear the Pure Land +harma of liberation in one lifetime than to achie/e rebirth as a celestialD !a-yamuni >uddha taught the method of reciting $mitabha >uddha;s name, see-ing rebirth in the :estern Pure Land, in order to hel9 sentient beings resol/e the

9roblem of >irth and +eath in this /ery lifetime &f you as9ire to gain the blessings of the celestial and human realms in the ne<t lifetime, you are going counter to the teachings of the >uddhas &t is li-e e<changing a 9riceless 9earl for a 9iece of candy K

ho, truly regrettableD &&&8 Pure Land culti/ators should not follo, 1en meditation 9ractices This is because most 1en follo,ers fail to stress the issue of rebirth in the Pure Land through Faith and =o,s )/en if they 9ractice >uddha #ecitation, they merely stress the -oan 0,ho is

reciting the >uddha;s nameM2 see-ing an $,a-ening Pure Land 9ractitioners should recite $mitabha >uddha;s name for the sole 9ur9ose E@

of achie/ing rebirth in the Pure Land 'nce ha/ing seen $mitabha >uddha, ,hy ,orry about not ha/ing e<9erienced an $,a-eningM &n this !aha :orld, it may be 9ossible to esca9e >irth and +eath through meditation if all delusi/e -arma is eliminated &f, ho,e/er, all delusi/e -arma

is not eliminated, the 1en follo,er not only cannot rely on his o,n strength 3self.9o,er8 to achie/e liberation, he cannot K lac-ing Faith and =o,s K rely on the >uddha;s 9o,er 3other.9o,er8 to esca9e >irth and +eath either "nable to rely either on self.9o,er or on other.9o,er, ho, can

he esca9e the sufferings of this ,orldM You should -no, that e/en the +harma >ody >odhisatt/as Hi e , the higher le/el >odhisatt/asI must rely on the 9o,er of the >uddhas K not to mention ordinary beings such as oursel/es, ,ho are full of -armic obstructions :ho are ,e

to -ee9 ,eighing the 9ros and cons of our o,n strength, ,hile failing to seethe >uddhas; hel9M 'ur ,ords may be lofty, but u9on reflection, the accom9anying actions are lo, and ,antingD The difference bet,een other.9o,er and self.9o,er is as great as the hea/ens and the abyssD &

ho9e fello,.culti/ators ,ill carefully e<amine and forgi/e my straightfor,ard ,ords &=8 From the age of t,el/e or thirteen, until they reach forty.eight or forty.nine, ,omen all ha/e menstrual 9eriods !ome 9eo9le teach that ,omen should not bo, or engage in >uddha and !utra #ecitation during those times

!uch ad/ice is certainly not consonant ,ith feelings or reason The 9eriods may last from a minimum of t,o or three days to about si< or se/en >uddha #ecitation 9ractitioners need to culti/ate ,ithout interru9tion, so ho, can they abandon their culti/ation o/er a little bit of natural discomfortM

+uring those times, ,omen should merely shorten the bo,ing 9art of the sessions but -ee9 to their regular schedule of !utra and >uddha #ecitation They should change their 9rotecti/e clothing and ,ash their hands often, so that they do not finger the rosary, turn the 9ages of sutras or

light incense ,ith dirty hands :ithin the +harma, each and e/ery method is 9erfect and unim9eded )<ternalists, on the other hand, gras9 one.sidedly at theory and noumenon 'rdinary 9eo9le tend to belie/e their ,ords, are unclear about the true teachings of >uddhism and thus cannot saturate themsel/es

,ith the benefits of the +harma

This ordinary monhas gro,n old and feeble lately, ,hile his mind and s9irit deteriorate ,ith each 9assing day *e therefore regrets being unable to ans,er all of the many letters he has recei/ed &t is

only because of easy means of communication that 9eo9le near and far hear of my little bit of em9ty fame and send me too many letters, see-ing the +harma &f E4

& fail to ans,er the letters, & ha/e, to some e<tent, turned my bacon the senders *o,e/er, in truth, & do not ha/e the energy to re9ly to each and e/ery one of them Therefore, & had this letter 9rinted to ans,er e/eryone, far and ,ide

$s time goes by, ,hene/er someone ,rites to asabout the +harma, & al,ays re9ly ,ith this letter &f there are s9ecific 9oints to be addressed, & may add a fe, lines here and there on the original letter &n this ,ay, ,e can communicate in thought ,hile

& minimiLe fatigue $nyone ,ho ,ishes to com9rehend fully the meaning behind the sutras should direct his inOuiries to those +harma Masters ,ho ha/e raised the +harma 9latform high and are thoroughly /ersed in the /arious methods and teachings *o,e/er, you should realiLe that e/en if you

ha/e fathomed the sutras and the +harma, it is not certain that you ,ill be able to esca9e the cycle of >irth and +eath To esca9e >irth, +eath and transmigration, you should focus on Faith, =o,s and reciting $mitabha >uddha;s name see-ing rebirth in the Pure LandD

E?

Letter 4F $ll (onditioned +harmas are Li-e +reams, Phantoms, >ubbles, !hado,sD4F Many years ha/e 9assed since ,e last met but & ha/e thought of you often Last autumn, ,hen your esteemed brother toothe regional ci/il ser/ice e<amination, he brought your letter to P;u

T;o Mountain 'nly then did & learn about your culti/ation in recent years & recall that you had met ,ith great misfortune, ha/ing lost your belo/ed son, and that you ,ere grie/ing day in and day out, seldom at 9eace & ,anted to ,rite you in detail

about (ause and )ffect at that time, but, because of time constraints, & could only send you a short letter Today being the last full moon of the year, Master (h;e (h;uan /isited our mountain +uring our con/ersation, he discussed your 9lights, as ,ell as the deluded

comments of some ignorant 9eo9le ,ho claim that ,holesome deeds bring only misfortune ,hile culti/ation brings no benefits *earing this, & could not hel9 feeling dee9ly grie/ed, lest as a result of your e<9erience, the intelligent gro, la< in their culti/ation ,hile the dull and ignorant lose all Oualms

about committing transgressions & therefore decided to 9ut aside the reser/ations stemming from my humble bac-ground to share some 9lain, straightfor,ard thoughts ,ith you &n the sutras, the >uddhas al,ays teach that a8 the conseOuencesQreOuital of our actions encom9ass three lifetimes, ,hile b8 the birth of a

child is generally associated ,ith four causes a8 The conseOuencesQreOuital areJ K current reOuitalP K birth Hne<t lifetimeI reOuitalP K future reOuital 0(urrent reOuital2 refers to the misfortunes and blessings ,e recei/e in this /ery lifetime from the transgressions ,e commit and the ,holesome deeds

,e 9erform $s an e<am9le, ,e ha/e candidates for the ci/il ser/ice ,ho study hard, 9ass their e<aminations and are a99ointed to high 9ositions !uch occurrences can be seen by our ordinary human eyes 4FLetter to the layman Lin (hieh.sheng 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 CF8

E6

0>irth reOuital2 means committing transgressions and 9erforming ,holesome deeds in this lifetime but only obtaining the results, good or bad, of such actions in the ne<t lifetime Ta-e the case of a family 9atriarch ,ho stresses education and refinement but ,ho only achie/es success through his children and

grandchildren !uch occurrences cannot Hal,aysI be seen ,ith our human eyes, but those endo,ed ,ith the (elestial )ye can 9ercei/e them 0Future reOuital2 means committing transgressions or 9erforming ,holesome deeds in this lifetime but not obtaining the results until the third, fourth or thousandth lifetime, or, indeed

untold eons in the future This is the case of some royal dynasties ,hich only flourish and reach their a9ogee se/eral generations do,n the line

The (elestial )ye can see e/ents three or four lifetimes a,ay but is 9o,erless ,ith res9ect to e/ents se/eral hundred thousand

lifetimes a,ay The )ye of the $rhat, ho,e/er, can see them clearly $s to e/ents occurring untold eons ago or hence, only the 9erfectly enlightened Tathagata )ye can see them clearly !uch realms are not e/en in the domain of the $rhat;s )ye, much less those of celestial or

human beings Kno,ing that reOuital s9ans three generations, you should realiLe that the ,ords of the sages concerning (ause and )ffect ha/e ne/er been ,rong and that ,ealth and 9o/erty, honor and disgrace, longe/ity and early death are all the results of 9ast actions K ,here is

the discre9ancy bet,een cause and effectM $ mirror reflects beauty and ugliness as they are The ,ise -no, that it is the obNect before the mirror that should be changed ,hile the dull and ignorant ,aste time and effort hating and resenting the image in the mirrorD To bear

ad/ersity is to -no, your limitations 'nly by not resenting hea/en and earth can you succeed in life

b8 (hildren are born from four causesJ K re9aying 9ast -indnessP K re9aying 9ast ,rongsP K re9aying 9ast debtsP K claiming 9ast debts 0#e9aying

9ast -indness2 means that the child incurred a debt of gratitude to the 9arents in a 9re/ious lifetime To re9ay it, he or she has come to be born in the 9arents; household and ,ill attend 9ainsta-ingly to their needs throughout life *e ,ill ensure that they are ,ell

9ro/ided for ,hile ali/e and recei/e decent burials and offerings after death The child may e/en 9erform great 9ublic ser/ice, hel9ing the country and the 9eo9le, his name being remembered in history Thus, ,hen EF

future generations honor him, they ,ill e<tend their res9ect and admiration to his 9arents +e/oted children and /irtuous grandchildren, no,adays, generally belong to this category 0#e9aying 9ast ,rongs2 means that in a 9ast lifetime, the 9arents committed some ,rong to,ard their 9resent children Therefore, the children

ha/e come to be born in their household see-ing retribution Thus, ,hen still young, the children ,ill be unruly and ,hen gro,n, they ,ill create misfortune and calamities im9licating their 9arents &n old age the 9arents ,ill be left in ,ant, ,hile their treatment after death ,ill not only

dishonor them, the shame ,ill e<tend to the ancestors as ,ell $t times, ,hen holding -ey go/ernment 9ositions, the children may e/en engage in criminal acts, causing the family;s assets to be seiLed, the lineage e<terminated and the gra/es of the ancestors dug u9 and desecrated Thus, ,hen future

generations abuse and re/ile them, they ,ill also hate and des9ise their 9arents 0#e9aying 9ast debts2 means that the child has come to be reborn in his 9arents; household because, in a 9re/ious lifetime, he incurred a debt to,ard them &f it is a great debt, re9ayment

can ta-e the 9arents; entire lifetime &f the debt is modest, re9ayment can co/er 9art of the 9arents; lifetime Thus, for e<am9le, some children assist their 9arents in business, only to die suddenly as the enter9rise becomes 9rofitable 0(laiming 9ast debts2 means that, in a 9ast

lifetime, the 9arents incurred some obligation to,ard their child, ,ho has no, been born in their household in order to claim 9ayment &f the debt is small, the 9arents ,ill merely ha/e to s9end money to feed and clothe him, attend to his health and education, find him a

s9ouse and train him to establish himself in the community 'nce the debt is 9aid, the child ,ill die suddenly &f the debt is siLeable, the child may sometimes de9lete all of the 9arents; assets before dying &t ,ould seem to me that your son comes under

the last category Fortunately, because your debt is modest, he has 9assed a,ay suddenly at an early age You should therefore re9ent your 9re/ious bad -arma and stri/e to culti/ate earnestly )/en the great sage (onfucius lost his only son ,hen the latter ,as in mid.life The great sage

Yen Yuan had but a short life $nother ancient sage ,as destitute, al,ays in ,ant, ,hile yet another died a martyr +o you 9erha9s thinthat sages and saints are 9unished by the hea/ens for culti/ating /irtuesM 'r is it because life and death, ,ealth and honor are

determined by 9ast -armaM Thus, you should only de9lore the fact that your /irtues are still ,anting and not ,aste time 9ondering misfortunes and blessingsD &f you are re9entant and stri/e to culti/ate earnestly, the god of blessings ,ill come your ,ay ,hile misfortune and calamity ,ill

by9ass you K naturally

EA

+uring their li/es, 9eo9le are subNect to all the )ight !ufferings )/en if they are reborn in the hea/ens, they cannot esca9e the Fi/e !igns of +ecay 'nly the :estern Land of "ltimate >liss is all Noy and no suffering :ho -no,s, 9erha9s it is 9recisely than-s to

your ,orin s9reading the Pure Land +harma that the deities used the 9remature 9assing of your belo/ed son as an a,a-ening needle to 9ricthe to9 of your head You may thus clearly realiLe that the Tri9le #ealm -no,s no 9eaceP it is li-e a burning house, filled

,ith frightful suffering The lot of humans is subNect to the god of im9ermanence, as ,e are born and die in the s9ace of a bolt of lightning :hen our time has come, no one can sa/e anyone else

$ll conditioned dharmas are li-e

dreams, 9hantoms, bubbles, shado,s &f, e/en no,, you ha/e not a,a-ened and do not stri/e earnestly to 9ractice Pure Land, you are no more ali/e than ,ood and stonesD *o, can anyone ,ith grit and determination bear to be a mere mass of flesh running hither and yon, a

,al-ing cor9se ,hile ali/e, and once dead, decaying along ,ith the ,eeds and the treesD *o, can you ha/e the heart to consign yourself to the ,orld of the ordinary and the deluded ,hile al,ays e<tolling the realm of the saintsM &f after encountering such an eye.o9ening circumstance Has

the death of your sonI, you still do not redouble your efforts, if after hearing the True +harma, you still do not follo, it, are the >uddhas turning their bac-s on sentient beings, or are sentient beings turning their bac-s on the >uddhasM $s you are someone

of intelligence and ,isdom, & ho9e you ,ill thincarefully about ,hat & ha/e Nust said EE

Letter 4A $ Little >it of Kno,ledge is &gnorance4A #ecei/ing your 9oetic letter from afar, & cannot but feel embarrassedD From an early age, this old monhas lac-ed education My -no,ledge is uncertain and nebulous *a/ing drifted here and there for many years,

far a,ay from my nati/e /illage, & am no, soNourning on P;u T;o Mountain %e/er did & e<9ect that such a remar-able 9erson as yourself, a scholar /ersed in the Mind.+harma of (onfucianism and >uddhism, ,ho has studied at the feet of masters far and ,ide and made their

outstanding 9ractices his o,n, ,ould condescend to seead/ice from me Moreo/er, you ha/e 9raised me so e<cessi/ely that my mind is 9er9le<ed and uneasy & /enture to thinthat ,ith your broad, ,ell.rounded education and your lofty, far.reaching -no,ledge, you surely cannot ha/e doubts about such

ordinary matters as those raised in your letter &t must be that your intention is to act as an e<am9le, to sho, the :ay to those ,ho culti/ate alongside you *o,e/er, since you ha/e 9resented -no,ledge as ignorance, there is nothing to 9re/ent me from 9resenting ignorance

as -no,ledge and & ,ill try to ans,er your Ouestions in the order raised & certainly ,ould ne/er dare imitate the old mandarin ,ho sits as a Nudge but is in reality an aging student submitting his e<amination 9a9ers Therefore, if the follo,ing e<9lanations contain errors, 9lease re/ise and

amend them

48 $lthough the mind is ,hat matters most in >uddha #ecitation, oral recitation should not be dis9araged This is because body, s9eech and mind reinforce one another $lthough the mind may be focussed on $mitabha >uddha, if the body does not bo,

res9ectfully and the mouth does not recite, it is difficult to recei/e benefits For e<am9le, e/en ,hen lifting hea/y obNects, ordinary 9eo9le assist themsel/es by shouting aloudP ho, can you not do at least as much ,hen trying to concentrate the mind and attain samadhiD Thus, the Great *ea9

!utra teachesJ To recite loudly is to see a tall >uddha, to recite softly is to see a small >uddha 4ALetter to the layman P;u Ta.fan 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 648 EC

The ancient masters ha/e also saidJ #eciting loudly, ,e see a large, tall body of the >uddhaP reciting softly, ,e see a small, short body of the >uddha 'rdinary beings often ha/e lethargic, scattered minds &f they are not 0assisted2 by their

bodies and mouths, it is difficult for them to achie/e one.9ointedness of mind

?8 'nly at the le/el of "ltimate Truth is there no longer birth and e<tinction )<ce9t for that, ,hat >uddhist 9ractice is not ,ithin the realm of birth and e<tinctionM )/en

the 9ractices of the >odhisatt/as at the )Oual )nlightenment stage 3,ho ha/e achie/ed /irtual eOuality ,ith the >uddhas, destroyed the forty.one 9arts of ignorance and attained the forty.one 9arts of the !ecret !tore8 are not beyond gras9ing and reNection, birth and e<tinction K not to mention >uddha #ecitation as

9racticed by ordinary beings *o,e/er, ,hile birth and e<tinction are the roots of >irth and +eath, they are also the /ery roots of )nlightenment >irth and e<tinction de9end entirely on the indi/idual To gather the si< senses together in 9ure, uninterru9ted recitation is 9recisely to con/ert the

birth and e<tinction ,hich abandons )nlightenment for ,orldly dusts into the birth and e<tinction ,hich abandons ,orldly dusts for )nlightenment K as you stri/e to attain the True Thusness >uddha.%ature free of birth and e<tinction

68 0'nly if thought after thought is on the

Pure Land can rebirth be achie/ed,2 refers to the condition of those ,ho ,ill be reborn in the u99er lotus grades &f ,e hold onto this truth and seethe highest grade of rebirth for oursel/es, nothing could be better *o,e/er, if ,e hold onto it to teach those

of moderate and lo, ca9acities, ,e ,ill greatly hinder their 9rogress :hy is this soM &t is because they may find this method too lofty, resign themsel/es to their lo,ly condition and refuse to culti/ate Moreo/er, although >uddha #ecitation centers on the mind.consciousness, it encom9asses

all other consciousnesses as ,ell +o the sutras not mention 0gathering the si< senses together2M &f the si< senses are gathered together, the si< consciousnesses ,ill also be gathered together )/en registering the ,ords EB

0$mitabha >uddha2 in the $laya (onsciousness must be achie/ed through the si< consciousnesses

F8 The comment 0recite the >uddha;s name ,ithout a brea-, so that a -nife cannot cut through2 should not gi/e rise to any doubts *o,e/er, such doubts arise sim9ly because

you ha/e not yet clearly delineated the boundaries bet,een 1en and Pure Land and bet,een self.9o,er and other.9o,er The >uddha #ecitation 9ractitioner relies on the =o,.9o,er of $mitabha >uddha to esca9e the Tri9le #ealm and achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land &f you do not /o, to

achie/e rebirth, you certainly cannot ha/e Faith either Merely reciting the >uddha;s name, ,ithout Faith and =o,s, falls in the category of self.9o,er :ithout Faith and =o,s, the 9ractitioner cannot merge ,ith the =o,.9o,er of $mitabha >uddha &f you can se/er all delusions of /ie,s and delusions

of thought, you may achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land *o,e/er, if you ha/e not se/ered them, or you ha/e failed to se/er them com9letely, the roots of e/il -arma remain and you are still subNect to >irth and +eath You should -no, that ignoring Faith and =o,s

,hile reciting the >uddha;s name is no different from 1en meditation 9ractice &f you ,ere to achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land under such circumstances, ho, could (ause and )ffect be reconciledM )lder Master 'u & has saidJ To achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land or not

de9ends entirely u9on Faith and =o,sP the grade of rebirth 3high or lo,8 de9ends on ,hether one;s 9ractice of >uddha #ecitation is dee9 or shallo, This is a true statement not subNect to change

A8 #elying on self.9o,er

alone, you cannot esca9e the cycle of rebirth as long as you still ha/e e/en a trace of -armic delusion at the time of death K not to mention if you ha/e a great deal #eciting the >uddha;s name to the le/el of one.9ointedness of mind ,ithout

Faith and =o,s K 9erha9s a fe, out of countless indi/iduals may achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land Thus, you should by no means teach this a99roach and sOuander the good Pure Land roots of future generations This is because it is difficult to find e/en a fe, culti/ators

in this ,hole ,orld ,ho can recite to the 9oint of 0e<tinction E5

of -arma and em9tiness of desire2 and attain the Tolerance of %on.>irth, by relying on self.9o,er alone Therefore, if e/eryone follo,ed this a99roach in culti/ation and failed to stress Faith and =o,s, countless sentient beings ,ould dro,n in the sea of suffering K their esca9e route

bloc-ed $ single statement can cause so much harm %ot realiLing ho, arrogant they are, those ,ho ad/ocate such doctrines consider themsel/es /ery 9erce9ti/e and 9rofound Little do they realiLe that their ,ords are deluded and insane K se/ering the 0,isdom.life2 of the >uddhas and leading sentient

beings to err and harbor doubts :hat a great 9ity indeedD The Pure Land method should be considered a s9ecial +harma method, not to be com9ared ,ith other general teachings of the >uddhas C@

Letter 4E >odhisatt/as Fear (auses, !entient >eings Fear #esults4E 3$ layman;s house ,as burned to the ground and e/erything ,as lost *is ,ife, distraught, became seriously ill The man then lost all his sense of right and ,rong, as though insane Master Yin Kuang

sent this letter to console and counsel him 8

The Lotus !utra 3(ha9ter 68 statesJ There is no 9eace in the Tri9le #ealm &t is li-e a burning house, full of suffering &t is frightening indeed %e/ertheless, indi/iduals at times achie/e

a,a-ening through such circumstances as misfortune or blessings, conflict or harmony, suffering or Noy, etc The means of achie/ing a,a-ening are not fi<ed To the ,ise, ,ho -no, ho, to ada9t fle<ibly to circumstances and are at 9eace ,ith their lot, there is no suffering that is not

Noy, no conflict that is not harmony, no misfortune that is not a blessing Therefore, the ,ise man is at 9eace ,ith himself and others, understands human destiny, does not resent the hea/ens or blame his fello, beings and is al,ays e/en. tem9ered, 9eaceful and calm, regardless

of circumstances The ancients had a sayingJ &n circumstances of ,ealth and nobility, he is at 9eace ,ith ,ealth and nobilityP in circumstances of 9o/erty and de9ri/ation, he is at 9eace ,ith 9o/erty and de9ri/ationP in circumstances of rudeness and /ulgarity, he is at 9eace ,ith rudeness

and /ulgarityP in circumstances of ad/ersity and misfortune, he is at 9eace ,ith ad/ersity and misfortune

$lthough you enNoy 9erforming good deeds, you do not yet understand the essence of (onfucianism and >uddhism and are thus confused and frightened after a single instance of ad/ersity Let

me cite a fe, e<am9les to clarify your understanding 4ELetter to the layman :ei (h;in.chou 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 EC8 C4

There is nothing in the uni/erse /aster, higher or brighter than *ea/en and )arth, the sun and the moon *o,e/er, once the sun has reached its Lenith, it begins to setP once the moon is full, it ,anes )/en the high mountains ,ill in time

gi/e ,ay to dee9 ra/ines and the /ast oceans ,ill be re9laced by fields of mulberry The human condition is the sameJ the ad/ance and decline of our fortunes, as ,ell as other changes, are merely the norm From ancient times to the 9resent, ,ho could sur9ass

(onfucius in morality and /irtueM %e/ertheless, e/en he ,as once surrounded by enemies, his life threatened 'n another occasion, he ,as do,n to his last reser/es ,hile at yet another 9oint he ,as getting no,here in his efforts to tra/el and disseminate his teachings throughout the /arious -ingdoms :orse,

his only son died suddenly at the age of fifty (onfucius and others li-e him ,ere great sages and saints, yet they could not esca9e ad/ersity *o,e/er, they -ne, ho, to li/e in harmony ,ith their circumstances and so managed to -ee9 their minds calm and at

9eace

+uring our li/es, ,e ma-e all -inds of 9lans and 9erform all -inds of tas-s but, in retros9ect, they essentially re/ol/e around the issues of food, clothing and the desire to lea/e some legacy behind for our children Yet, as far as food

is concerned, a bo,l of sou9 and some fresh /egetables should sufficeP ,hy seee<Ouisite seafood and mountain delicaciesM $s for clothing, a fe, sim9le garments should am9ly co/er our bodiesP ,hat is the use of a ,ardrobe filled ,ith brocade and satinM $s for our children, they can

study, till the fields or engage in small businessP ,hat is the use of ,ealth running into the millionsM >esides, ,ho in the history of (hina can sur9ass the )m9eror (h;in !hih *uang in scheming for fame and fortune for his descendantsM This brutal ruler subdued the

si< -ingdoms, burned boo-s, buried scholars ali/e and confiscated all ,ea9ons con/erting them into bells, all for the 9ur9ose of -ee9ing the 9o9ulace ignorant and 9o,erless and thus 9re/enting insurrection *o,e/er, ,ith the u9rising of (h;en !he, heroes s9rang u9 e/ery,here The )m9eror;s unification scheme did not last e/en

thirteen years before colla9sing, and all his direct descendants ,ere 9ut to death The )m9eror intended that his children be honored, but, in the end, they ,ere defeated and lost e/erything Thinabout itJ ho, many can be as e<alted as the !on of *ea/en 3)m9eror8, his

,ealth e<tending o/er the four seasM Yet e/en he could not ensure lasting C?

,ealth and ha99iness for his family and clan K not to mention ordinary beings ,ho, throughout the eons, ha/e committed e/il -arma as thicas the earth;s crust and as dee9 as the oceansD *o, can they guarantee that their families ,ill flourish fore/er, al,ays blessed, ne/er encountering

setbac-sM

You should -no, that all things in life are intrinsically false, li-e dreams, illusions, bubbles, shado,s, de, or lightning, the moon reflected in a 9ond, flo,ers in the mirror, flic-ering mirages in the blaLing sun, Gandhar/a cities K nothing is true or real

'nly the Mind.%ature is e/erlasting and immutable, encom9assing all 9ast and 9resent $lthough it neither changes nor dies, it al,ays follo,s causes and conditions &f conditions are consonant ,ith a,a-ening and 9urity, ,e become $rhats, Pratye-a >uddhas, >odhisatt/as or >uddhas K the le/el of achie/ement de9ending on

the de9th of our /irtues &f conditions are consonant ,ith delusion and im9urity, ,e stray into the realms of gods, humans, asuras, animals, hungry ghosts and hells The length of our suffering or ha99iness de9ends on the ,eight of our transgressions or merits Those ,ho are una,are

of the >uddha +harma cannot be faulted, but as a de/out >uddhist, ,hy do you not 9rofit from this 9ainful e<9erience to see life clearly, abandon delusion for a,a-ening and singlemindedly recite the >uddha;s name see-ing rebirth in the Pure Land K thus esca9ing >irth and +eath and reaching

the four le/els of sagehoodM :ould that not be turning a small misfortune into a great blessingM The ,ay out of your 9redicament is as described :hy do yo remain troubled and confused, daydreaming as though you ha/e lost your mindM &f you lose your life through

e<cessi/e ,orry, you ,ill not only ,allo, in >irth and +eath for many lifetimes, your sic,ife and or9haned children ,ill ha/e no means of su99ort Thus, all you ,ill do is harm yourself ,hile hurting others at the same time *o, can you be so deludedM

The sutras teachJ >odhisatt/as fear causes, sentient beings fear results C6

To a/oid the result of suffering, >odhisatt/as destroy e/il causes in ad/ance Thus, e/il -arma is eliminated and /irtues are accrued in full, u9 to the time they become >uddhas !entient beings constantly create e/il causes but ,ish to esca9e the suffering that results They are no different

from those ,ho fear their o,n shado,s but continually run for co/er under the glare of the sun *o, can they esca9e their shado,sM Many 9ersons e<9ect huge blessings after 9erforming a fe, good deeds :hen they encounter ad/ersity, they immediately thinthat 0to do good is

to meet ,ith misfortuneP there is no la, of (ause and )ffect 2 From that 9oint on, they regress from their ne,ly a,a-ened state, turn around and /ilify the >uddha +harma These 9ersons do not understand the truths that 0(ause and )ffect encom9ass three lifetimes2 and 0the mind can change

the en/ironment for the better 2 *o, do (ause and )ffect encom9ass three lifetimesM $s an e<am9le, in this lifetime ,e may 9erform ,holesome or e/il deeds, as a result of ,hich ,e recei/e benefits or suffer /icissitudes This is a case of current reOuital &f

,e 9erform ,holesome or e/il deeds in this lifetime and recei/e benefits or suffer /icissitudes in the ne<t lifetime, it is a case of birth Hne<t lifetimeI reOuital &f ,e 9erform ,holesome or e/il deeds in this lifetime but only recei/e benefits or suffer /icissitudes in the

third or fourth lifetime, or e/en the tenth, hundredth, or thousandth lifetime, or countless eons in the future K it is a case of future reOuital The time frame of future reOuital is not fi<ed *o,e/er, to create 0causes2 is to create 0effects and conseOuences 2 This is

a natural occurrence &n ,hat ,ay can our minds change the en/ironment for the betterM Ta-e the case of a 9erson ,ho has 9erformed e/il deeds and should be condemned to the sufferings of the hells for untold eons !u99ose that indi/idual suddenly becomes e<tremely frightened and

utterly ashamed, de/elo9s the >odhi Mind, changes his ,ays, recites sutras and the >uddha;s name, culti/ates 9ersonally and enNoins others to do li-e,ise, see-ing rebirth in the Pure Land Than-s to this change of heart, the 9re/ious -arma of hell is dissi9ated and transmuted into a lesser -arma in

the current lifetime Thus, for e<am9le, he may be subNect to contem9t by others, suffer a bout of illness, become destitute or meet ,ith unha99y e/ents $fter enduring such minor retribution, that 9erson may esca9e >irth and +eath and enter the 0stream of the sages,2 transcending the ordinary ,orld

$s the +iamond !utra statesJ &f there is anyone ,ho recei/es and -ee9s this !utra but is maligned by others, such a 9erson has created e/il -arma in 9re/ious lifetimes and should ha/e descended u9on the )/il Paths $s a result of this calumny, ho,e/er, his 9ast

-arma is instantly e<tinguished and he ,ill attain !u9reme )nlightenment This is 9recisely the meaning of the mind changing life and the en/ironment for the better CF

:hen ordinary beings meet disaster, if they do not resent the hea/ens, they blame their fello,.beings =ery fe, thinof re9aying their -arma and de/elo9ing a mind of re9entance and reform You should -no, that 0if you 9lant melons, you rea9 melons, if you 9lant

beans, you rea9 beans 2 This is the natural course of e/ents *a/ing so,n thorns, do not e<9ect, ,hen the har/est comes, to ha/e ,heat and rice &f those ,ho create e/il still enNoy blessings, it is because in 9re/ious lifetimes they amassed great blessingsP if not for their transgressions,

their blessings ,ould ha/e been much greater &t is as if the scion of a ,ealthy family ,ere to lead a dissi9ated life, lusting and gambling, sOuandering money li-e so much dirt, ,ithout suffering hunger and cold immediately because of his great fortune Yet, if he ,ere

to continue in this manner day in and day out, e/en ,ith a family estate in the millions, one day he ,ould surely lose all his 9ro9erty and suffer an 9remature death &f those ,ho 9erform ,holesome deeds customarily meet ,ith misfortune, it is because they 9lanted

the seeds of transgression dee9ly in 9ast lifetimes &f not for their good deeds, their misfortunes ,ould ha/e been much ,orse This is similar to the case of a condemned 9risoner, ,ho manages to 9erform a small 9ublic ser/ice ,hile ,aiting for his sentence to be carried

out >ecause of the limited im9act of his contribution, he cannot yet be 9ardonedP therefore his sentence is merely commuted to a lighter one &f he continues to contribute to the 9ublic good and the sum total of such contributions becomes siLeable, not only ,ill his 9re/ious transgressions be

,i9ed a,ay, he may e/en recei/e honors, high 9osition and noble ran-, ,ith his descendants inheriting honors for generationsD

$ su9erior 9erson should transcend ordinary e/ents and not allo, e<ternal circumstances to damage his /ery life !u99ose his storeroom is o/erflo,ing ,ith gold and

Ne,elry :hen renegade soldiers and outla,s come to steal them, he should abandon his house and esca9e, rather than risdeath in order to hold on to his riches This is because gold and Ne,elry may be 9recious, but they cannot be com9ared to life &f ,e cannot safeguard

both, 9ro9erty should be abandoned and life 9reser/ed %o, that your ,ealth and 9ro9erty ha/e been reduced to ashes, it is useless to ,orry e<cessi/ely or cry o/er their loss You should ada9t to conditions, carry on and stri/e to recite the >uddha;s name, see-ing rebirth in

the Pure Land, so that you may be s9ared suffering and enNoy only ha99iness until the end of time Thus, CA

than-s to this catastro9he, you ,ill ultimately attain >uddhahood :hy continue in delusion K suffering and grie/ingM & ho9e that you ,ill consider my ,ords carefully You ,ill then get o/er your grief, clearing the s-y of darclouds and re/ealing its brightness, finding ha99iness in

calamity and e<changing intense heat for a cool, Noyous breeLe 'ther,ise, if you continue to d,ell on your loss and fail to a,a-en, you ,ill not esca9e insanity 'nce the !elf.Mind is lost, demons ,ill enter $t that time, e/en if a thousand >uddhas ,ere to a99ear on earth,

they ,ould ha/e no ,ay of sa/ing youD CE

Letter 4C The Fi/e !-andas are $ll )m9tyD4C &n !hanghai recently there ,ere many gatherings ,here re/elations and 9ro9hecies ,ere 9roclaimed Their messages about abandoning e/il ,ays and 9racticing ,holesome deeds, as ,ell as their 9ronouncements on >irth and +eath, (ause and )ffect, ,hile

su9erficial and limited, are /ery useful for e/eryday morality and the minds of ordinary 9ersons *o,e/er the 9oints they made concerning the future and the >uddha +harma are some,hat /ague and not free of error $s disci9les of the >uddhas, ,e should not o99ose or reNect those 9ronouncements, because

doing so may hinder the good actions of others $t the same time, ho,e/er, ,e should not re9eat or e<tol them, lest ,e be guilty of chimerical statements and conNectures that bring harm and disorder to the +harma and engender doubts among the 9eo9le This old mon-,

-no,ing himself to be beset ,ith many -armic obstructions, ,ould not dare abandon reason for emotion and thus cause others to err *e begs the reader to ta-e both emotion and reason into account ,hen follo,ing his ad/ice, in order to a/oid harmful actions

Thinthis o/erJ the ,ord 0samadhi2 is translated as correct concentration &t is the state of dissi9ation of delusion and emergence of the Truth K tranOuil and bright *o, can there be any realm or state ,ithin itM Therefore, the !urangama !utra statesJ Perfect attainment of the

fruit of )nlightenment is non.attainment of any thing The 1en 9ractitioner relies only on his o,n strength 3self.9o,er8 ,ithout see-ing the >uddhas; assistance Therefore, ,hen he e<erts himself to the limit in culti/ation, the true and the false assail each other, gi/ing rise to many

states and realms that suddenly a99ear and disa99ear 4CLetter to a layman in Yungchia 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 558 CC

&t is as though a hea/y rain is abating The darclouds dis9erse, the o/ercast s-y suddenly clearsP things change bacand forth ,ithout ,arning These states and realms are difficult for those ,ho do not 9ossess transcendental /ision to distinguish &f the culti/ator mista-enly considers these manifestations

to be true, he is immediately 9ossessed by 0demons,2 and becomes insane 'n the other hand, ,hen the Pure Land 9ractitioner earnestly recites >uddha $mitabha;s name and *is ten thousand /irtues, it is li-e the sun shining in the middle of em9ty s9ace or a ,alalong

a broad, straight 9ath %ot only are demons and e/il s9irits no,here in sight, but deluded thoughts disa99ear as ,ell

"ltimately, ,hen the 9ractitioner recites to the 9oint of 9ure, unmi<ed 9o,er, the totality of Mind is >uddha, the totality of >uddha is Mind,

Mind and >uddha are as one & am afraid that this 9rinci9le and 9ractice are not understood by e/eryone &t has al,ays been my desire to 9roclaim them and to disseminate the 'riginal =o,s of $mitabha >uddha to rescue all sentient beings *o, ,ould & dare conceal this truth,

transmitting it 9ri/ately to you aloneM &f there is any secret -no,ledge to be transmitted 9ri/ately in a hidden 9lace, it is an e<ternalist teaching, not a >uddhist teaching *a/ing said so, ho,e/er, this old mon-, in truth, does ha/e a ,onderful secret teaching, ,hich only he

9ossesses !ince you ha/e reOuested it today, & ha/e no Oualms about re/ealing it to all >uddhist follo,ers :hat is this ,onderful teachingM &t is utter sincerity and 9rofound res9ect This secret is -no,n to e/eryone, yet obscure to allD :ishing to eradicate dee9.seated -arma and re9ay

the -indness of the >uddhas, & ha/e endea/ored, day in and day out, to 9robe the shining culti/ation of the ancients & ha/e thus disco/ered that utter sincerity and 9rofound res9ect constitute a ,onderful 0secret2 method that lifts human beings to the realms of the saints, enabling them to

esca9e >irth and +eath Time and again & ha/e brought these 9oints to the attention of those ,ho ha/e the right conditions You should -no, that sincerity and res9ect are not reser/ed e<clusi/ely to students of the +harma, but form the basis of all acti/ities that you ,ant to

com9lete to 9erfection

You ha/e 9lanted ,holesome roots in 9re/ious lifetimes and belong to a family imbued ,ith >uddhism for many generations &n your youth, you ,ere ,ell brought u9 at home and later on, for some t,enty to thirty years, you attended school

and CB

e<9erienced the ,ays of the ,orld fully :hy ha/e you decided to abandon the lofty and sublime to stoo9 to the common and ordinary, 9lacing such /alue on my ,ritings and distributing them to othersM You should -no, that the most im9ortant criteria in dissemination of

the +harma for the benefit of sentient beings are 0timing2 and 0ca9acities 2 Those ,ho are ,ell./ersed in >uddhism ha/e failed to 9oint out the most rele/ant cure for today;s illnesses &nstead, all they do is discourse on lofty, sublime methods ,hich, generally s9ea-ing, are not the right

medicine !ometimes, this /ery medicine, ho,e/er /aluable, intensifies the illness This old monis li-e an ine<9erienced 9hysician K not only is he unclear about the roots of disease, he does not -no, the 9ro9erties of the medication either *e merely 9rescribes a 9anacea transmitted 0secretly2 by ancient sages

and saints and dis9enses it against each and e/ery sym9tom, such as falsity or truth, chills or fe/er $nyone ,ith faith in the medicine ,ho tries it ,ill reco/er )/en those afflicted ,ith 0incurable2 diseases, forsa-en by the greatest &mmortal 9hysicians, ,ill immediately regain strength and esca9e death as

soon as they ta-e this medicine Therefore, & ha/e no hesitation about hanging out my shingle for those ,ho ,ish to rescue sentient beings and benefit man-ind, ad/ertising this medicine to all ,ho are ill & do realiLe that the remedies 9rescribed by those &mmortal 9hysicians are

miraculous, but & do not ad/ise 9eo9le to ta-e them K as illnesses stem from 9ast -arma and cannot be cured by 9hysicians, ho,e/er di/ine

*ea/y -armic obstructions, e<cessi/e greed and anger, a ,eaand ailing body, a fearful, a99rehensi/e mind K these sym9toms

,ill, in time, disa99ear naturally if you singlemindedly recite the >uddha;s name The 0$/alo-ites/ara Ht,enty.fifthI (ha9ter2 of the Lotus !utra statesJ &f li/ing beings much gi/en to carnal 9assion -ee9 in mind and re/ere the >odhisatt/a #egarder of the (ries of the :orld, they ,ill be

set free from their 9assion &f HthoseI much gi/en to irascibility Hhatred and angerI -ee9 in mind and re/ere the >odhisatt/a #egarder of the (ries of the :orld, they ,ill be set free from their delusion 3> Kato, et al, The Threefold Lotus !utra, 9 6?@ 8 The

same is true of reciting the >uddha;s name *o,e/er, you should concentrate your mind to the utmost and 9ut a sto9 to 0sundry HdistractingI thoughts,2 doubts and uncertainties :hate/er you see,ill then materialiLe $s the >odhisatt/a $/alo-ites/ara has great affinities ,ith sentient beings in the !aha :orld, you

should, in addition to your regular Pure Land sessions, recite *er name $lternati/ely, you may also recite the !urangama Mantra or the Great (om9assion Mantra C5

&f you ,ish to be a +harma master, lecturing on the sutras in 9ublic, you should first read the original te<ts, then study the commentaries and subcommentaries *o,e/er, should you disco/er that your intellect is a/erage and your understanding not necessarily abo/e others, you should

concentrate on >uddha #ecitation rather than ,asting time and energy 9ursuing these non.essential endea/ors &f, on the other hand, you ,ould li-e to engage in !utra #ecital in accordance ,ith your limited ca9acities for the benefits it confers, you should -ee9 the three -armas of body, s9eech

and mind utterly 9ure, earnest and sincere, bo, to the >uddhas and sit erect concentrating your mind for a moment or t,o, before o9ening a sutra to read aloud or silently $t that time, you should sit u9 straight as though you ,ere facing the >uddhas, listening to their

9erfect /oices, ,ithout a single laLy, discriminating thought Then, ,ithout trying to find the meaning of the sutra, Nust recite it in one stretch from beginning to end >y reciting the sutras in such a manner, if you are of su9erior s9irituality, you can a,a-en to the

%on.+ual Truth and reach the +harma of True Mar)/en if you are dull and of lo, ca9acity, you ,ill gain increased merit and ,isdom, eradicating -armic obstructions in the 9rocess The !i<th Patriarch once saidJ :e can a,a-en our Mind and see our True %ature Nust

by reciting the +ia mond !utra This Ouote refers to the 9ractice of !utra #ecital as e<9lained abo/e &t is therefore called 0samatha2 3sto99ing or arresting mental 9rocesses8 &f you follo, these ste9s, reciting any Mahayana sutra can lead to the o9ening of the Mind,

the seeing of your True %ature This does not a99ly to the +iamond !utra alone You should not use the discriminating mind, trying to understand the meaning of this sentence, the idea behind that 9aragra9h, as all this belongs to the realm of deluded thought, reasoning and

com9aring !uch a mind cannot be in silent accord ,ith the >uddha Mind, lead to a thorough understanding of the essence of the sutras or 9ro/ide the causes and conditions for eradicating transgressions and creating blessings Practicing !utra #ecital ,ith a discriminating mind, if accom9anied by re/erential

thoughts, may lead to the so,ing of a fe, ,holesome -armic seeds &f, on the other hand, it is accom9anied by laLiness and arrogant thoughts, it cannot fail to generate e/il conseOuences from these /ery same seeds K the resulting suffering ,ill be immenseD 'nce, ,hile reciting

a sutra, the Patriarch (hih & Hfounder of the T;ien T;ai schoolI suddenly e<9erienced a Great $,a-ening and silently entered samadhi &f he had had a discriminating mind at that time, ho, could he 9ossibly ha/e B@

succeeded in such a mannerM $nother master ,as co9ying the Lotus !utra, com9letely obli/ious to the ten thousand conditions 3i e , e/erything8 *e ,as still at his des,riting long after the sun had set ,hen his disci9le ,al-ed in and saidJ 0&t is so late already, ho, can

you, Master, still be co9ying the sutraM2 The mon,as startled to disco/er that it ,as so darhe could not e/en see his handD :hether reciting the sutras, meditating, chanting mantras or reciting the >uddha;s name, as long as you do it ,ith this le/el of

concentration and 9erse/ere for a long time, one day you ,ill understand all and e/erything and e<9erience a Great $,a-ening 3a,a-en to the :ay8 Thus, during the Ming dynasty, there ,as a 1en monby the name of *sueh (h;iao *sin *e had entered the 'rder in

midlife and ,as com9letely illiterate %e/ertheless, than-s to his strict obser/ance of austerities, assiduous meditation, e<treme forbearance and other difficult 9ractices, before long he suddenly e<9erienced a Great $,a-ening :hate/er he said after that ,as in accordance ,ith the Perfect Teaching From then on, he gradually came to -no,

ho, to read and ,rite &n a relati/ely short time, he ,as transformed into a scholar fully at ease in the e<9osition of the +harma +uring the (h;ing 9eriod, his ,ritings ,ere incor9orated into the Mahayana canon !uch benefits all stem from a mind com9letely focussed on

meditation, ,ith no discriminating thoughts Those ,ho 9ractice !utra #ecital should ta-e these e<am9les as models Thus, ,hen engaging in !utra #ecital, you absolutely must a/oid the de/elo9ment of a discriminating mind &n this ,ay deluded thoughts ,ill settle themsel/es at the bottom, ,hile your transcendental 'riginal %ature ,ill

gradually re/eal itself

*o,e/er, if you ,ish to study the sutras to understand their 9rofound meaning or ,rite commentaries u9on them, you should reser/e a s9ecial 9eriod of time to concentrate e<clusi/ely on such acti/ity $t that time, it may not be necessary to

be as strict and res9ectful as during !utra #ecital, but you should not ado9t an irre/erent attitude K at most, you can be a little more rela<ed &f you ha/e not succeeded in e<tinguishing e/il -arma and de/elo9ing ,isdom, you should consider !utra #ecital as your main

obNecti/e and sutra study as secondary 'ther,ise, you ,ill ,aste months and years 9ursuing such studies )/en if you ,ere to understand the sutras to the 9oint of 9ushing a,ay the clouds and re/ealing the shining moon, sliding o9en the shutters and admiring the green mountains, it ,ould merely

increase your stocof rationaliLations and arguments at the 0edge of the li9s and the ti9 of the tongue 2 :hat relationshi9 does that bear to the issue of >irth and +eathM :hen the last day of the t,elfth month has B4

come and death is ,aiting, you could not use the least bit of such -no,ledgeD &f you can follo, the !utra #ecital method described abo/e, the /arious -armas of greed, anger and desireQgras9ing ,ill gradually disa99ear and you ,ill de/elo9 ,isdom 'ther,ise, not only ,ill you

fail to deri/e any true benefits, there is the 9ossibility that the 9o,er of e/il -arma accumulated from time immemorial ,ill lead you to de/elo9 ,rong /ie,s and reNect (ause and )ffect $ll the ,hile, the afflictions of lust, -illing, stealing and lying ,ill come to the fore one

after another li-e a raging fire You may e/en sometimes mista-e yourself for a Mahayana luminary, thin-ing that nothing should be an obstacle, using the !i<th Patriarch;s teaching 0if the mind is 9ure, ,hat need is there to -ee9 the 9rece9ts,2 to Nustify your actions, claiming that 0to brea-

the 9rece9ts ,ithout brea-ing the 9rece9ts is true -ee9ing of the 9rece9ts 2 There are many such haLards along the 9ath of culti/ation, ma-ing the True +harma /ery difficult to attainD For this reason, the /arious Patriarchs ha/e generally ad/ocated culti/ation of the Pure Land method, relying on

the com9assionate 9o,er of $mitabha >uddha to e<tinguish e/il -armic 9o,er, so that it ,ill not flare u9 You should therefore ta-e >uddha #ecitation as your 9rinci9al 9ractice and !utra #ecital as an au<iliary method You can recite the $/atamsa-a !utra, the Lotus !utra, the !urangama !utra,

the +iamond !utra, the Parinir/ana !utra, the !utra of (om9lete )nlightenment, etc one after another or you can limit yourself to one sutra &n either case, you should follo, the 9rinci9les & e<9lained earlier &f you are indifferent and lacrestraint and res9ect, discriminating feelings and /ie,s ,ill surely

rob you of great benefits Your e/il -arma ,ill then -no, no boundsD

& used to thinthat you and your friend ,ere thorough belie/ers in the Pure Land method *o,e/er, ,hen & sa, the draft of your letter see-ing ad/ice from *su (hun,

& learned of your intention to recite mantras and in/estigate the Prece9t.-ee9ing 3+isci9line8 method You also saidJ 0& ha/e not seen anything mentioned in Pure Land as lofty and sublime as the blessings and /irtues deri/ed from reciting mantrasP therefore, my mind is undecided and & do not -no,

,hether or not & should follo, Pure Land 2 Looat yourself and see ,hat your ca9acities are :hy do you ,ish to understand and 9enetrate all +harma methods in such a mannerM & only fear that such confusion and indecisi/eness ,ill, in time, unsettle and cloud your

mind $s for *su (hun, he has said that 0according to the Tantric method, ,here/er the 9o,er of mantras goes, be it on a ,is9 of air or a grain of dust, sentient beings B?

there ,ill all be liberated +oes the Pure Land method bring such benefitsM2 You should -no, that ,hile reciting mantras brings limitless blessings and /irtue, reciting the >uddha;s name also has unimaginable 9o,erD +o you not recall this 9assage from the Meditation !utraJ )/en

those ,ho ha/e committed the Fi/e Gra/e 'ffenses or the Ten )/il $cts, may, on the /erge of death, ,hen the mar-s of the hells a99ear, recite the >uddha;s name a fe, times, and be reborn immediately in the Pure Land +o you not also realiLe that

in the $/atamsa-a $ssembly, e/en those >odhisatt/as ,ho ha/e attained the )Oual )nlightenment stage 3i e , /irtual eOuality ,ith the >uddhas8 must still ma-e the Ten Great =o,s, dedicating the merits to rebirth in the Pure Land, so as to 9erfect the fruit of )nlightenmentM Moreo/er, if the Pure Land

,ere not a lofty, transcendental method, ,hy ,ould the >uddhas and Patriarchs, in countless sutras and commentaries, ha/e all carefully and earnestly recommended its culti/ationM &n truth, Mahayana methods are all com9lete, 9erfect and sublimeP it is only because sentient beings differ in conditions and ca9acities, some

high le/el and mature, others lo, le/el and ,anting, that the benefits deri/ed from these methods are different :hen the Patriarch !han Tao K belie/ed to be an incarnation of $mitabha >uddha K ,as teaching 0uninterru9ted 9ractice,2 he ,as concerned that culti/ators ,ere unsettled in mind and ,ill *e

therefore ,roteJ )/en if the sages of the Four Fruits, the >odhisatt/as at the stages of the Ten $bodes, Ten Practices, Ten +edications and Ten Grounds, as ,ell as the >uddhas of the ten directions ,ho fill the em9ty s9ace of the +harma #ealm, should all a99ear

K their bodies emitting rays of light K and reOuest you to abandon the Pure Land method, offering to transmit a loftier method to you, do not dare to follo, their ,ords This is because, ha/ing 9re/iously resol/ed ,ith utmost determination to follo, the Pure Land method, you cannot

go bacon your =o,s The Patriarch !han Tao uttered these ,ords because he antici9ated that those of future generations ,ould 0stand on one mountain ,hile dreaming of the other,2 ha/ing no true 9osition *o,e/er, these golden ,ords ,ere not follo,ed e/en by those ,ho /enerated him

as their direct teacher K much less by those ,ho ha/e not heard or understood themD To be e<9osed to a method so ,ell ada9ted to the conditions and ca9acities of sentient beings and yet to abandon it for the mur-y 9ath of -armic consciousness K 9racticing neither 1en

nor Pure Land K is this not incitement by e/il -arma accumulated from time immemorialM :hat a 9ity indeedD

The %on.+ual Truth re9resents %o.!elf and %o.+harma B6

%o.!elf 3em9tiness of self8 means true understanding that the fi/e s-andas, ,hich together re9resent body and mind, are all born of causes and conditions :hen these come a9art, body and mind immediately disa99ear There is no real 0self2 as master %o.+harma 3em9tiness of all 9henomena8 means

true understanding that the fi/e s-andas are em9ty Hnot only because they are aggregatesI but by their /ery nature Thus, the *eart !utra statesJ Thus, the >oddhisatt/a $/alo-ites/ara illumined the fi/e s-andas and sa, that they ,ere em9ty The truth of )m9tiness of

all +harmas is 9recisely the True Mar-, attained through eradication of delusion Therefore, the *eart !utra continuesJ Thus, the >oddhisatt/a $/alo-ites/ara o/ercame all ills and suffering Furthermore, the 9rinci9le that the +harma.body K ,hile being the basis of all mar-s K is com9letely a9art from

such mar-s as birth, e<tinction, im9ermanence, 9ermanence, e<istence and em9tiness, conforms /ery much to the Truth *ence the name 0True Mar- 2 This True Maris common to sentient beings and >uddhas, but ordinary humans, as ,ell as follo,ers of the T,o =ehicles, deludedly reNect it and therefore

cannot ta-e ad/antage of it &t is as though you had a diamond se,n into the hem of your shirt but, una,are of it, must endure 9o/erty and de9ri/ation To a,a-en to the :ay 3e<9erience a Great $,a-ening8 is to be in a state of thorough understanding,

li-e the clouds dissi9ating to e<9ose the moon, the shutters thro,n o9en to re/eal the mountain rangeP it is li-e someone ,ith clear /ision recogniLing the ,ay home, or a tram9 une<9ectedly disco/ering a treasure tro/e To achie/e )nlightenment is li-e follo,ing a ,ell.trodden 9ath home, dusting

off your feet and sitting do,n to restP it is li-e ta-ing treasures from the tro/e to s9end as you ,ish 'nce truly a,a-ened to the :ay, an ordinary being endo,ed ,ith the >odhi Mind achie/es a le/el of insight and understanding eOual to that of the

>uddhas $s far as attaining )nlightenment is concerned, the >odhisatt/as of the first 0ground2 do not -no, the comings and goings of those of the ne<t 0ground 2 "nderstanding the meaning of a,a-ening to the :ay and attainment of )nlightenment, you naturally do not become arrogant to,ard those at a

higher le/el, nor do you de/elo9 a mind of retrogression #ather, your determination to achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land cannot be restrained, not e/en by ten thousand buffaloesD

BF

Looat the times ,e are in The flames of ,ar are no, raging There is fighting bet,een north and south, insurrection and strife are s9reading ,ithin (hina and abroad, the number of dead o/er the last three or four years can be counted in the millions K

,e ha/e not heard of such tragedies throughout history Moreo/er, disasters such as ty9hoons, floods, earthOua-es and e9idemics occur ,ith alarming freOuency !ometimes drought and flooding both create ha/oc se/eral times ,ithin a single year >ecause of these e/ents, 9rices ha/e more than doubled $t times li-e

these, it is a feat Nust to remain ali/eP ho, dare you fail to redouble your efforts at uninterru9ted >uddha #ecitation, see-ing rebirth in the Pure LandM *o, can you ,aste this human body, so difficult to obtain, dreaming of methods ,hich are not suitable for the timesM &f

you do not stri/e to concentrate on this one method no,, & fear that in the future, you ,ill no longer ha/e the uniOue o99ortunity to encounter such a straightfor,ard, sublime shortcutD BA

Letter 4B >uddha #ecitation and Mantras4B The Pure Land 9ractitioner may recite mantras as ,ell as the >uddha;s name *o,e/er, he should ma-e a clear distinction bet,een the main and the subsidiary 9ractice K in ,hich case the subsidiary 9ractice naturally 9oints to the

main 9ractice &f, on the other hand, he is careless and considers the t,o 9ractices to be eOual, e/en the main 9ractice is no longer the main 9racticeD The Ten.Thousand.$rm $/alo-ites/ara Mantra 3(undi +harani8 is neither more nor less efficacious than the Great (om9assion Mantra &f the

mind is utterly sincere, each and e/ery +harma method elicits a ,onderful res9onseP if the mind is not utterly sincere, no method is effecti/e $ single recitation of the >uddha;s name encom9asses all the teachings of the Tri9ita-a &t includes all methods in full ,ithout omitting a

single method

'nly those ,ho are ,ell./ersed in all >uddhist traditions and teachings can be true >uddha #ecitation 9ractitioners 'n the other hand, the dull, ,ho are ignorant of e/erything but ho, to follo, instructions sincerely, can also become true 9ractitioners 'utside of these

t,o grou9s, the correctness of 9ractice de9ends on the culti/ator;s diligence and on ,hether or not he is 9racticing in accordance ,ith the teachings !ince you are already determined and ha/e no further doubts about Pure Land 9ractice, ,hy inOuire about the results that other 9ractitioners obtainM

)/en if no one else in the ,hole ,orld obtains results, you should not de/elo9 a single thought of doubt This is because the true ,ords of >uddha !a-yamuni and the Patriarchs should be 9roof enough &f you continually inOuire about the results other 9ractitioners obtain, it

means that you laccom9lete faith in the >uddha;s ,ords K and thus your 9ractice certainly cannot bring results The ,ise must not abandon the ,ords of the >uddhas to follo, those of human beings Those ,ho ha/e no firm 9osition and are only guided by the results of

others are greatly to be 9itiedD 4BLetter to another layman in Yungchia 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 46F8 BE

Letter 45 Mind.'nly Pure Land45 The main tenets of the Pure Land method are Faith, =o,s and Practice Li-e a three.legged incense burner, if it lac-s one leg, it cannot stand You ha/e diligently 9racticed >uddha #ecitation and ha/e no more doubts about the

first criterion of Faith *o,e/er, you seem to be attached to the idea that there is a dichotomy bet,een =o,s and Practice You therefore cannot ha/e com9lete understanding and synthesis Thus, ,ithin the unim9eded, 9erfect and ,onderful +harma, there suddenly arise numerous im9ediments and obstacles, causing the

bright moon, adorned ,ith ten thousand halos, of )lder Masters (h;e :u, (hien Mi and 'u & to 9ull a9art and di/ide $ll this is due sim9ly to a fine silthread before your eyes *o, regrettableD The true Pure Land 9ractitioner al,ays fully combines the three

criteria of Faith, =o,s and Practice during recitation *e is li-e an infant longing for his mother :hen, lonely and crying, he searches for her, he certainly ne/er lac-s Faith or the desire 3=o,8 to see her Therefore, ,hy do you as,hether 0=o,s and Practice come se9arately or

together2M :hy do you say such things as 0,ith =o,s, it is difficult to focus the mind com9letely,2 or 0in >uddha #ecitation, one can neither ha/e =o,s and Practice concurrently nor non.concurrently2M This is creating 9roblems ,here there are noneD From your letter, and from the line

of reasoning of the monHfrom *angchouI, it ,ould a99ear that neither of you really -no,s ho, to 9ractice >uddha #ecitation 9ro9erly You are Nust li-e someone ,ho has not begun his Nourney but is already thin-ing of ,hat it ,ill be li-e ,hen he returns home

Therefore, you ta-e the /ery +harma 9ronouncements of ancient masters K ,hich ,ere designed to counteract differentiation and discrimination K to create yet more differentiationD Let me asyou this OuestionJ (an you really reach the stage of 0no >uddha outside Mind, no Mind outside >uddha2 ,ithout utmost earnestnessM

(an you really reach that stage ,ithout Faith and =o,sM :hile )lder Masters (h;e :u and (hien Mi may differ in ,ords, their ideas actually reinforce and com9lement one another To reduce them to a Ouestion of 0,hether =o,s and Practice are se9arate or together2 is to lacthe

eye of discernment in the +harmaD 45Letter to a layman 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 4F58 BC

$s for the ,ords of )lder Master 'u &, they re9resent a +harma medicine intended for those culti/ators ,ho, follo,ing 1en 9ractice, meditate on the !elf.%ature $mitabha and the Mind.'nly Pure Land They are not culti/ating in accordance ,ith Pure Land tenets, but merely seean undisturbed mind

as the ultimate goal This aim is something e<ternal to the Pure Land methodP ,hy do you bring it u9 here and com9are it to the criteria of com9lete Faith and =o,s of genuine culti/ation K thus creating o99ortunities for confusionM

!o far, &

ha/e s9o-en in general, basing myself on 9rinci9le and noumenon 'n the le/el of 9ractice and 9henomena, the =o, for rebirth in the Pure Land should be made early in the morning and again at night after recitation is com9leted Husing one of the a/ailable =o, com9ositionsI You should

realiLe that reading the te<t of the =o, is to rely on that te<t to ma-e your o,n =o, K do not thinthat reading through the te<t once is eOui/alent to ma-ing the =o,D )<ce9t for morning and e/ening, ,hen you ma-e your =o, for rebirth

in the Pure Land, it is enough merely to recite the >uddha;s name ,ith utmost sincerity BB

Letter ?@ +o %ot Mista-e a Thief for Your !onD?@ & am delighted to learn from your letter that you are dee9ly de/oted to the :ay *o,e/er, because of numerous commitments, including the need to re/ie, a commentary, my ans,er to you has been

some,hat delayed Greed, anger and delusion are afflictions common to e/eryone *o,e/er, if you are a,are that they are diseases, their 9o,er should not be o/er,helming They are li-e thie/es ,ho ha/e bro-en into the house &f the o,ner mista-es them for members of the household, all

the /aluables in the house ,ill be stolen &f, on the other hand, he recogniLes the thie/es as such and immediately chases them a,ay, his /aluables ,ill be safeguarded and he ,ill be at 9eace &n this connection, the ancients ha/e saidJ Fear not the early arising

of thoughts Hgreed, anger, delusion, etc IP fear only the late a,areness of them as such :hen greed, anger and delusion arise, as long as you recogniLe them for ,hat they are, these thoughts ,ill immediately be destroyed &f, ho,e/er, you ta-e them for the true

masters of your household, it is no different from mista-ing a thief for your son *o, can your riches not be sOuandered and lostM

Your >uddha #ecitation is not earnest because you ha/e not learned to recogniLe the !aha :orld as a 9lace of

suffering and the :estern Pure Land as a realm of Noy You should thinthusJ 0&t is difficult to obtain a human rebirth, it is difficult to be reborn in a ;central land,; it is difficult to hear the +harma and e/en more difficult to encounter and learn about

the Pure Land method &f & do not recite the >uddha;s name singlemindedly no,, once the ghost of im9ermanence arri/es, & am bound to descend u9on the three )/il Paths in accordance ,ith the hea/y e/il -arma of this life or of 9ast li/es, subNect to long 9eriods of

suffering, ,ith no liberation in sight 2 &f you -ee9 these thoughts constantly in mind, you ,ill a,a-en and be earnest ?@Letter to (h;en *ui.ch;ao 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 4E48 B5

Moreo/er, you should thinabout the sufferings of the /arious hells and de/elo9 the >odhi Mind The >odhi Mind is the Mind stri/ing to benefit oneself and others 'nce this Mind de/elo9s, it is li-e a tool ,hich has been electrifiedP it acOuires tremendous 9o,er and s9eed %o

ordinary /irtues of good roots can com9are ,ith it in se/ering -armic obstructions and increasing merits and ,isdom

You are s,ayed by the en/ironment and e<ternal circumstances because your culti/ation is still shallo, Therefore, ,hene/er you are affected by feelings of anger or Noy,

or ha/e e/il or ,holesome thoughts, such states of mind sho, clearly on your face &f your mind is filled ,ith correct thoughts, all afflictions ,ill decrease naturally Therefore, although he may be d,elling in the 9rison of >irth and +eath, the true culti/ator al,ays trains himself strenuously $s

a result, afflictions and -armic habits are gradually eliminated This is true culti/ation &n this ,ay the mind becomes master of itself, thus esca9ing the influence and control of e<ternal circumstances

Laymen li-e yourself, residing at home Hunli-e mon-s and nunsI can 9ractice as

you ,ish You may recite the >uddha;s name sitting, standing, -neeling or circumambulating the altar, etc but you should not be attached to any set ,ays &f you become attached to a fi<ed 9osition, your body may tire easily and your mind may find it difficult to

merge ,ith the Mind of the >uddhas To rea9 benefits, you should ma-e allo,ances for your health or habits and s-illfully select the 9ractice that fits your circumstances Traditionally, Pure Land 9ractitioners circumambulate the altar at the beginning of a >uddha #ecitation session, then sit do,n and,

finally, -neel *o,e/er, if you feel tired ,hen circumambulating or -neeling, you should sit do,n and recite &f you become dro,sy ,hile seated, you can circumambulate the altar or recite standing u9, ,aiting for the dro,siness to go a,ay before sitting do,n again :hen reciting, it is better to

determine the length of the session ,ith a clocrather than fingering a rosary, as doing so may ma-e it difficult to focus the mind and -ee9 it em9ty and 9ure 5@

Letter ?4 >uddhism and the Tao?4 The Taoist Master 0'cean (or9se2 recently con/eyed your letter to me From reading it, & learned that you ha/e been 9racticing Taoism assiduously for a long time and that your achie/ements are 9rofound That you are no, inOuiring

into the Pure Land method, ,hich is the foremost 9ractice in >uddhism, demonstrates that in 9re/ious lifetimes, you 9lanted dee9, ,holesome roots in the >uddha +harma That is ,hy you ha/e not follo,ed the gras9ing /ie, of the God of :ater, but, out of the ocean of teachings, ha/e

learned to seethe shore of "ltimate Liberation !ince you are acOuainted ,ith Master 'cean (or9se, ,hy not seeinstruction from himP ,hy lea/e the lofty, bright ground he re9resents for a lo,, dar9laceM &s it not turning your bacon your ho9es and as9irationsM The

Taoist Master 'cean (or9se ,as originally ,ell./ersed in >uddhist teachings and schools, has 9racticed both 1en and Pure Land and is no less than the boat of Great =o,s in the sea of >irth and +eath >ecause of his modesty, he ado9ted the name 0(or9se 2 &n truth, anyone ,ho

encounters such a cor9se in the sea of >irth and +eath ,ill, ,ithout doubt, s9eedily reach the other shore and 9eacefully return home &s it not better to a99roach him than to asa lo,ly mon,ho lac-s full understanding of the +harmaM %e/ertheless, since you had

the 9oor Nudgement to ha/e inOuired of me, & shall, for my 9art, re9ly to you in accordance ,ith my shallo, o9inions *o9efully, my ans,ers may assuage some of your doubtsD

& /enture to thinthat, in their essence, >uddhism and Taoism s9ring from

the same source *o,e/er, their /arious schools differ greatly in their 9ractices today >uddhism teaches us, first of all, to 9ractice the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, that is, to contem9late the body as im9ure, all feelings as suffering, the HordinaryI mind as im9ermanent and all 9henomena as de/oid of

self :hen ,e realiLe that body, feelings, mind and 9henomena are im9ure, the source of suffering, im9ermanent, ,ithout self, false, dream.li-e and illusory, the True Thusness %ature ,ill manifest itself ?4Letter to Li Yin.sou 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 4E68 54

>uddhism encom9asses all methods and dharmas %ot only does it clearly e<9lain the issues of body, mind and life, it does not neglect the small issues of human morality, such as 0filiality, res9ect for elders, loyalty, faith, 9ro9riety, Nustice, decency and shame 2 $n e<ce9tion is the 9ractice of

0balancing energy currents,2 about ,hich not a single ,ord is said in the >uddha +harma %ot only that, >uddhism forbids the 9ractice entirely This is because ,hile Taoism regards the 9reser/ation of body and mind as an ideal, >uddhism, on the contrary, teaches that body and mind are intrinsically

false, born of conditions, disa99earing also through conditions They are not the !elf.%ature True Mind From your letter, it seems that you already -no, that 0&mmortals2 ha/e a definite life.s9an ,hile the >uddha;s life is ,ithout limit Therefore, no, that you are ad/anced in age, you should

diligently 9ractice the Pure Land method Kee9 your in/estigation of 1en and other teachings to a minimum, as these methods are broad and 9rofound and not easy to study )/en if you ,ere to reach the ultimate source, you ,ould still need to return to the Pure Land method

to resol/e the 9roblem of >irth and +eath in this /ery lifetime You should read the Pure Land sutras and commentaries ,ithout delay and 9ractice in accordance ,ith their teachings K ,ith dee9 faith in the ,ords of the >uddhas and Patriarchs +o not de/elo9 doubts ,hen

you encounter something you cannot yet understand &f you are utterly sincere in your Faith, =o,s and Practice, you ,ill naturally be able to rely on the com9assionate 9o,er of $mitabha >uddha to achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land 'nce reborn you ,ill be close to $mitabha >uddha, in

the com9any of the 'cean.:ide $ssembly and gradually attain the fruit of %on.>irth and the ranof a 'ne.Life >odhisatt/a $t that time, loo-ing bacat your original intention of becoming an &mmortal in the assembly of the Lord >rahma, and com9aring it to your current status, you ,ill

disco/er that the t,o are as different as a darra/ine from the blue yonderD

0!arira2 is a !ans-rit ,ord translated as 0relics2, 0remains of the body 2 &t also means 0miraculous remains,2 ,hich are the crystalliLation of the culti/ation of 9rece9ts, concentration and ,isdom

and not the result of 0balancing energy currents 2 &t is the symbolic marof the culti/ator ,ho has reached the state of union bet,een Mind and >uddha *o,e/er, >uddhist relics do not come only from the transformation of flesh, bones and hair during cremation, but also deri/e from many

other circumstances For e<am9le, once u9on a time, an )lder Master, ,hile bathing, suddenly obtained some relics $ 1en Master, ha/ing a tonsure, sa, his hair turn into a string of relics There are instances of relics emerging from the mouths of 9ractitioners earnestly reciting the >uddha;s

name $ 9rinter setting the te<t of a famous 5?

Pure Land commentary sa, relics among the ,ooden ty9efaces $ lay,oman embroidering >uddhist images and sutras found relics under her needle 9oint &n another case, a 9ractitioner ,ho had returned from afar and ,as ,holeheartedly 9aying res9ect before his altar, suddenly sa, relics emerging from one of the

statues These accounts demonstrate that relics are due to the 9o,er of culti/ation Hnot internal energy currentsI

The >odhisatt/a $/alo-ites/ara 3Kuan Yin8 has, since time ,ithout beginning, been a >uddha ,ith the name of True +harma Light :hile residing in the Land of )ternal

!tillness, because of *er boundless concern and com9assion, !he also a99ears in all lands and realms !tanding beside $mitabha >uddha, !he also manifests *erself e/ery,here, as >uddha, >odhisatt/a, $rhat, Pratye-a >uddha, or ta-es the form of /arious beings along the !i< Paths in the +harma #ealm of the ten

directions !he accom9lishes ,hate/er deeds are of benefit to sentient beings and ta-es ,hate/er form is necessary to rescue them and teach them the +harma P;u T;o Mountain is the 9lace associated ,ith this >odhisatt/a &n order to 9ro/ide sentient beings ,ith a focal 9oint to e<9ress

their sincerity, the >odhisatt/a manifested *er Parinir/ana 3earthly demise8 on this mountain This does not mean that the >odhisatt/a resides only on P;u T;o Mountain and not else,here $s an analogy, the single moon in the s-y a99ears in ten thousand ri/ers and la-es From the oceans

to the tiniest de,dro9s, ,here/er there is lim9id ,ater, the moon a99ears *o,e/er, if the ,ater is turbid or muddy, the image of the moon ,ill be blurred or hidden 'ur Mind.%ature is similar to the ,ater &f sentient beings concentrate singlemindedly on the >odhisatt/a $/alo-ites/ara, !he em9loys all

-inds of e<9edients, fa/orable or unfa/orable, hidden or o/ert, to bring them benefits &f, on the other hand, the culti/ator is not utterly sincere and singleminded in his recitation, his 0mind ,ater2 ,ill be turbid and it ,ill be difficult for him to obtain a res9onse The meaning of

this is /ery 9rofound &f you read the section on P;u T;o Mountain in my com9endium of letters you ,ill understand this yourself The >odhisatt/a, in the causal stage, 0/isualiLed2 3concentrated on8 the nature of hearing and thus attained 9erfect, all.9er/ading 9o,er &n the result stage 3as

a >odhisatt/a8, !he /isualiLes the /oices of sentient beings calling u9on *er and goes to their rescue K hence the name 0#egarder of the (ries of the :orld 2 Moreo/er, the >odhisatt/a;s methods are boundless and all.encom9assing !he 9reaches e/ery -ind of method to teach and transform sentient beings in

accordance ,ith their indi/idual ca9acities and nature, ,ithout insisting on any 9articular +harma method Therefore, *er a99roach is called 0all.sided 2 56

:hat & ha/e Nust discussed are some 0su9erficial2 issues, ,hich you are not familiar ,ith because you ha/e not e<amined them My ans,ers ha/e follo,ed the order of your Ouestions &n fact, these ans,ers do not co/er the Pure Land method, a teaching that can

bring you full benefits *o,e/er, if & ,ere to gi/e a more detailed e<9lanation, & fear it ,ould be lengthy and ,aste more 9a9er and inYou should obtain and read the Longer $mitabha !utra, the Meditation !utra, the >iogra9hies of Pure Land !ages and !aints These boo-s

9ro/ide a full e<9lanation of the theory and 9ractice of culti/ation and attainment 5F

Letter ?? (ulti/ate, +o %ot =erbaliLeD?? The tenets of the Pure Land method are Faith, =o,s and Practice 'nly ,ith true Faith and earnest =o,s can Practice be assiduous and 9ure The common disease of sentient beings is to be diligent and earnest ,hen

catastro9he stri-es but la< and remiss in normal times *o,e/er, li/ing in this current 9eriod is no different from lying 9eacefully on a huge 9ile of dried ,ood under ,hich a fire has already started Though it has not yet reached the body, in no time flames

and smo-e ,ill co/er e/erything, lea/ing no 9ossibility of esca9e &f you are indifferent or careless, remiss in see-ing hel9 through reciting the >uddha;s name, your understanding and 9erce9tion are shallo, indeedD

:hen culti/ating /arious +harma methods, you must reach the le/el of 0de/elo9ment

of true 9ractice, 9erfection of understanding2 before you can recei/e real benefits This is not uniOue to the =isualiLation Method of Pure Land &n 1en, a meaningless -oan 3-ung an8 becomes the 0/ery life and mind2 of the culti/atorP he 9uts his entire mind and thought into it, constantly

meditating on it, obli/ious to the 9assage of time, be it days or months, until he reaches the 9oint of e<tinguishing all discriminating, delusi/e /ie,s ,ith res9ect to internal and e<ternal realms 'nly then does he achie/e Great $,a-ening &s this not 0de/elo9ment of true 9ractice, 9erfection of understanding2M

The !i<th Patriarch of 1en has saidJ !im9ly by reading the +iamond !utra, ,e can illumine our Mind and see our True %ature &s this not also 0de/elo9ment of true 9ractice, 9erfection of understanding2M The ,ord 0de/elo9ment2 should be

understood here as 0Hde/elo9ing toI the utmost 2 'nly by stri/ing to the utmost can the culti/ator forget altogether about body, mind and the ,orld around him, remaining com9letely still and tranOuil, as though of one hue ??Letter to the layman Fan Ku.nung 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9

4CF8 5A

&f your culti/ation has not reached the highest le/el, you may 9ractice =isualiLation and #ecitation, but you ,ill still be ma-ing the distinction bet,een subNect and obNect 3yourself and the >uddhas8 You ,ill be engaged in an entirely mundane, ordinary acti/ity, entirely ,ithin the realm of discriminatory /ie,s

and understanding *o, can you, then, achie/e true benefitsM That is ,hy, ,hen the ancients ,ere in meditation, their mind and thoughts ,ere li-e ,ithered trees Thus, their lofty conduct ,as -no,n far and ,ide and later generations continue to admire and esteem them These benefits are all due

to the single ,ord 0utmost 2 Peo9le today 9refer em9ty tal-P fe, care to culti/ate Pure Land should include both theory and 9ractice, ,ith a definite em9hasis on 9ractice :hyM &t is because for the 9erson ,ho thoroughly com9rehends theory, all of 9ractice is theory K 9racticing all

day at the 9henomenal le/el is 9racticing at the noumenon le/el :hen those ,ho lacclear understanding of noumenon and 9henomena hear the ,ords 09ractice at the noumenal le/el,2 they consider the meaning to be 9rofound and sublime They also find it consonant ,ith their laLy, lethargic

minds, ,hich loathe the effort and difficulties of >uddha #ecitation Thus, they immediately gras9 at noumenon and abandon the 9henomenal Little do they realiLe that ,hen the 9henomenal as9ect is abandoned, noumenon becomes hollo, and meaningless as ,ellD & ho9e that you ,ill e<9lain culti/ation at both the 9henomenal

and noumenal le/els to e/eryone, counselling them accordingly The benefits ,ill be great indeedD 5E

Letter ?6 This Mind is the >uddha?6 There are, in general, four methods of Pure Land 9racticeJ oral recitation 3*olding the %ame8, contem9lation of a >uddha image, =isualiLation 3contem9lation by thought8 and True Mar#ecitation $mong the four methods, oral recitation has

the broadest a99eal &t is not only easy to 9ractice, it does not lead to 0demonic e/ents 2 &f you ,ish to 9ractice the =isualiLation method, you should carefully read the Meditation !utra and clearly understand such 9rinci9les as 0This Mind is the >uddha,2 0&f the mind is

9ure, the >uddha a99ears,2 0$ll realms and states are Mind.'nly, there should be no attachment to them 2 'nce you understand that realms and states do not come from the outside and a/oid de/elo9ing attachments to them, these states then become more sublime and the mind gro,s 9urer and more

focussed &f you reach that 9oint, the benefits of =isualiLation are significant 'n the other hand, if you are unfamiliar ,ith the realms /isualiLed and ha/e not com9rehended the essence of the +harma, but are o/er.eager to see Haus9iciousI realms, e/erything is delusion %ot only are you

not in communion ,ith the >uddhas, you e/en begin to create the causes of demonic e/ents 3hallucinate8 This is because the more eager you are to see realms, the more agitated and deluded your mind becomes !ince from the outset, you ha/e failed to a99ly your mind

correctly, you ,ill not be able to realiLe that these realms are demonic a99aritions Therefore, you are o/ercome ,ith NoyP your thoughts and feelings are not 9eaceful and calm Ta-ing ad/antage of this, demons ,ill cloud your mind and 9lunder your !elf.%ature $t that 9oint, e/en if a li/ing

>uddha ,ere to a99ear, *e ,ould ha/e no ,ay of rescuing youD

You should, therefore, ta-e your ca9acities and circumstances into consideration and not aim for ,hat is too lofty and beyond your reach K see-ing benefits only to recei/e harm The Patriarch !han

Tao has saidJ ?6Letter to the layman :u *si.chen 3(hinese ed =ol &, 9 4CC8 5C

0!entient beings in the +harma.)nding $ge ha/e agitated, in/erted minds =isualiLing lofty realms ,ith such coarse minds is certainly difficult to accom 9lishD2 Therefore, the Great !age H>uddha !a-yamuniI too9ity and s9ecifically recommended oral recitation because *e feared that those ,ho

,ere not s-illful in using their minds ,ould be lost in demonic realms (ulti/ation through oral recitation is /ery easy To achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land, you need only ensure that singleminded thought follo,s singleminded thought Moreo/er, utmost sincerity and earnestness are also ,onderful methods to

treat the deluded mind and demonic realms You should thinthis o/er carefully and stri/e ,ith all your mental strength to culti/ate 5B

Letter ?F The >odhi Mind?F & Nust recei/ed your letter and am glad to learn that you ha/e finally reco/ered from your long illnessD The great issue of >irth and +eath, the s,iftness ,ith ,hich the ghost of im9ermanence can stri-e K these are

things ,hich ,e ha/e all heard of and fear, but only ,hen ,e ha/e actually had a near.death e<9erience, do these realities truly hit home You should, therefore, de/elo9 the great >odhi Mind and refer to your o,n circumstances to counsel your family, your friends and all

,ho ha/e the right conditions 'nly in this manner can the benefits s9read far and ,ide

You ,rote that you suffered from o/ere<ertion as a result of reciting the >uddha;s name too ra9idly and hurriedly This is, of course, because your ,ere not s-illful

>uddha #ecitation should be 9racticed according to one;s strengthP it can be done silently or audibly, softly or loudly :hy did you insist on reciting in such a loud /oice that you became e<hausted and fell illM $lthough the immediate cause of your gra/e illness ,as shortness

of breath, if you loodee9er, the underlying cause must really ha/e been the force of e/il -arma accumulated from time immemorial Your diligent >uddha #ecitation must ha/e transformed future -arma into current -arma, hea/y -arma into light -arma You should not gro, discouraged or de/elo9 doubts :ho -no,s

ho, many eons of transgressions along the three )/il Paths ha/e been erased by this single illnessD The >uddhas; 9o,er is difficult to imagine, their com9assion is difficult to re9ayD You should reNoice, feel great remorse and de/elo9 stronger faith From no, on, you should culti/ate diligently

and counsel others to 9ractice >uddha #ecitation, so that those near and far may achie/e rebirth in the :estern Pure Land This is 9recisely the ,ay to a/oid ingratitude to,ard the >uddhas, ,ho, through your illness, ha/e a,a-ened you ?FLetter to the layman Liu (hih.-;ung 3(hinese ed

=ol &, 9 4B48 55

There is no need to come to P;u T;o Mountain, considering the tra/el e<9enses in/ol/ed #eciting the >uddha;s name at home ,ill bring 9rogress and results Nust as easily, ,hile sa/ing money and 9reser/ing your health &s it not better that ,ayM 4@@

Letter ?A !elf.9o,erQ'ther.9o,er?A & see from your letter that you ha/e de/elo9ed faith and ,ish to ta-e refuge in the >uddhas and their teachings :hen ta-ing refuge in the Tri9le Ge,el, ho,e/er, you should cease all e/il actions, 9erform ,holesome deeds, fulfill your moral

obligations, de/elo9 Faith and =o,s and 9ractice >uddha #ecitation, see-ing rebirth in the Pure Land You should also refrain from -illing, 9rotect sentient beings and be /egetarian se/eral days a month &f you cannot yet eat frugally all the time, at least do not be too demanding in your

diet &n this ,ay, you ,ill not go counter to the com9assionate Mind of the >uddhas !ince your name is 0Precious :ood,2 & shall gi/e you the +harma name 0=erdant :isdom 2 This is because the Mind.%ature is li-e a treeP ,hen consumed by the fire of afflictions,

it ,ithers and dries u9 'nce you ha/e ,isdom, afflictions ,ill not arise and the tree of the Mind.%ature gro,s naturally healthy and /erdant &f you ,ish to recei/e the fi/e lay 9rece9ts, you should, first of all, e<amine your mind &f you belie/e that you can

-ee9 the 9rece9ts ,ithout transgressing, you may asthe layman *ua !an about self.administration of the 9rece9ts before your altarP he ,ill be glad to instruct you *a/ing no, returned to the +harma, you should read my com9endium of letters carefully and follo, closely the teachings described

therein 'nly then ,ill you a/oid being decei/ed by misguided 9ersons into see-ing merits and blessings in future li/es or trying to become an &mmortal through the 9ractice of balancing energy currents &f you truly understand the teachings set out in my com9endium, no e<ternalist can cause you to

/acillate +o not doubt the ,ords in the com9endium You should realiLe that they are based on the essence of the sutras or the enlightened ,ords of the Patriarchs and other +harma teachers & did not in/ent these teachings &f you reflect carefully u9on ,hat & ha/e Nust said,

you ,ill recei/e great benefits

Your as9irations are as lofty as the hea/ens, ,hile your ,ill is as lo, as the ground $lthough you claim to follo, my teachings, you are, in fact, merely ?ALetter to the layman (hou (hih.mao 3(hinese ed

=ol &, 9 4B?8 4@4

9ursuing your o,n biased /ie,s Faith constitutes the /ery basic of Pure Land teaching :ith solid Faith, e/en those guilty of the Fi/e Transgressions and the Ten )/il +eeds can achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land :ithout solid Faith, e/en those fully /ersed in the /arious schools and

teachings ha/e no ho9e of esca9ing >irth and +eath K unless they ha/e se/ered all delusi/e -arma You are not yet /ersed in the /arious schools and teachings Therefore, you cannot rely on your o,n strength 3self.9o,er8 to eradicate -armic delusion and transcend >irth and +eath %o,,

if you do not belie/e that the 9o,er of the >uddhas and the /irtues of the !elf.%ature are boundless, ho, can you achie/e liberationM You should -no, that no one ,ho see-s rebirth in the Pure Land ,ith dee9 and earnest Faith and =o,s ,ill fail to

achie/e it >uddha #ecitation is the 9erfect shortcut to esca9e from the ,asteland of >irth and +eath You do not e/en realiLe the loftiness of this method, yet harbor the ambition to study the treatise $,a-ening of the Faith $lthough this treatise 9resents the essence of the +harma, it

is not too hel9ful for those of limited ca9acities and shallo, roots )/en if you study and understand it thoroughly, se/ering all doubts, once you begin 9racticing, you must still follo, the method of reciting the >uddha;s name see-ing rebirth in the Pure Land This is the only 9rudent,

safe course $s for the (onsciousness, 1en and !utra !tudies schools, ho, can you e<9ect to gras9 all their subtlety and 9rofundityM

Your mind has such high as9irations but you do not -no, ho, to adNust their loftiness to your ca9acitiesD Yet you also

thinthat 0,ith humble, limited ca9acities, it is difficult to achie/e rebirth in the Pure LandP to a/oid sin-ing into the Three )/il #ealms is enough cause for reNoicing 2 Little do you realiLe that ,ithout rebirth in the Pure Land, you ,ill, in the future, descend u9on the three

)/il Paths Hhells, hungry ghosts, animalityI &deas such as yours fail to conform to the teachings of the >uddhas and are contrary to my o,n ad/ice *o, can you then say that you are 0follo,ing my ,ords and singlemindedly reciting the >uddha;s name2M You are currently engaged

in an ordinary 9rofession and do not yet ha/e a lofty, magnanimous character Thus, such high determination ,ill only ma-e others sigh and laugh You should com9letely abandon your ambition to become a great scholar, concentrating instead on studying the Pure Land sutras #eread the letters & sent to

Kao !hao.lin and Miss *su and 9ractice accordingly You should not looat your humble, limited ca9acities and consider rebirth in the :estern Pure Land as too lofty and beyond your reach You should cling to the >uddha;s name as to your life and mind, holding fast all times

,ithout letting go Moreo/er, you should -ee9 your thoughts and actions in conformity ,ith the tenets of >uddhism, that is, 9ut 4@?

a sto9 to all e/il actions and 9ractice all ,holesome deeds &n addition, if you still ha/e s9are time, you may recite sutras and mantras, but al,ays -ee9 in mind the need for utter sincerity +o not rush to fathom meaning and substance &f you rush to understand

e/erything at the outset and do not concentrate on utterly sincere recitation of the >uddha;s name and the sutras, e/en thorough understanding ,ill bring no true benefits K not to mention that, to begin ,ith, understanding is difficult $s far as the (onsciousness, 1en and !utra !tudies

methods are concerned, e/en if you 9ursue them all your life, you ,ill find it difficult to gras9 their 9rofound essence )/en if you do, you ,ill still ha/e to se/er delusi/e -arma com9letely to esca9e >irth and +eath :hen s9ea-ing of this, & fear that your dream ,ill

not come true and ,ill remain Nust that K a dreamD You ha/e not read my com9endium carefully enough and, therefore, your ,ords rise as high as the Mil-y :ay and then descend to the de9ths of the ocean &n the com9endium, & freOuently refer to the

sutras and commentaries that should be read, ho, to go about reading them and the difficulty of benefitting from the (onsciousness, 1en and !utra !tudies methods This is because the Pure Land method calls u9on the com9assionate 9o,er of $mitabha >uddha 3other.9o,er8, ,hile other methods rely on self.9o,er, self.culti/ation

alone +harma doors other than Pure Land are ordinary methods They resemble the a99roach of a scholar in e/eryday life ,ho, through his o,n talents and /irtues, becomes an official of high or lo, ranThe Pure Land method is a s9ecial teaching K Nust

li-e a 9rince ,ho, right at birth, is more honored than courtiers or ministers Thus, methods based on self.9o,er and those based on other.9o,er cannot be com9ared !hould not ordinary beings, full of -armic afflictions, e<ercise caution in the selection of a method of culti/ationM You admit that human

beings ha/e a limited life.s9an and that your o,n real strength is limited :hy, then, continue to 9ursue such lofty ambitionsM &f you can become a great scholar, it ,ill be a great honor for >uddhism My only fear is that if you do not succeed and do not

ha/e firm faith in the Pure Land method either, you ,ill fail on both accounts Furthermore, if you do accrue some limited /irtues in this life, in the ne<t life you ,ill certainly be reborn ,ithin the cycle of ,orldly blessings and merits Thinthis o/erJ among the ,ealthy

and noble, ho, many can a/oid creating e/il -armaM Today the fate of the nation is in great 9eril and the 9eo9le are in misery This is all due to the influence of the merits and blessings of those, ,ho, in 9re/ious lifetimes, culti/ated ,ithout ,isdom 'nce

ha/ing gone astray and ha/ing been reborn in the Tri9le #ealm, ho, can you ensure that you ,ill not be deluded and descend u9on the three )/il PathsM &f you do not achie/e rebirth in the Pure Land, it may be 9ossible to esca9e 9erdition for one lifetime, but

to do so for t,o lifetimes is rare indeedD 4@6

!a-yamuni >uddha taught a great many sutras and mantras %o one can recite and u9hold them all Therefore, ancient masters selected only a fe, im9ortant ones for use in daily recitation H$mong these im9ortant sutras and mantras are the *eart !utra, the $mitabha !utra, the

Longer #e9entance Liturgy, the !urangama Mantra, the Great (om9assion Mantra, the Ten Mantras I #egardless of ,hich sutra or mantra is recited, to be in accord ,ith the tenets of Pure Land you should include recitation of the >uddha;s name and dedicate the merits to rebirth in the Pure Land

You should -no, that the /ery ,ords 0$mitabha >uddha,2 if recited to the le/el of one.9ointedness of mind, ha/e am9le 9o,er to lead sentient beings to >uddhahood +o you really thinthat reciting the $mitabha !utra and the >uddha;s name cannot eliminate 0fi<ed -arma2M The +harma

is li-e money &t is u9 to the indi/idual to use it ,isely To those ,ith money, many courses of action are o9en &f you can concentrate on culti/ating one method, ,hate/er you ,ish ,ill be fulfilled :hy insist u9on reciting this mantra or that sutra to accrue this

or that merit, but not other meritsM &f you follo, my instructions in a fle<ible ,ay, you ,ill naturally 0understand one thing and 9enetrate one hundred things 2 &f not, e/en if & s9eaat length, your mind ,ill not be focussed and you ,ill not obtain any benefitsD

&t is taught in the sutrasJ There are t,o ty9es of heroes in this ,orldJ those ,ho do not commit trans gressions and those ,ho, ha/ing done so, are ca9able of re9entance The ,ord 0re9entance2 should s9ring from the

de9th of the mind &f you do not truly re9ent and change your ,ays, ,hate/er you say is useless &t is li-e reading the label on a medicine bottle but refusing to ta-e the medicine *o, can your illness be curedM &f you ta-e the medicine according to instructions,

the disease ,ill certainly be cured K ,ith body and mind calm and at 9eace & only fear for those ,ho, lac-ing strong and determined ,ill, 9ut things out in the sun to ,arm for one day and then let them freeLe for ten days $ll they get is

em9ty fame and no true benefitsD 4@F

& /o, that ,hen my life a99roaches its end, all obstacles ,ill be s,e9t a,ayP & ,ill see $mitabha >uddha, $nd be born in his Land of "ltimate >liss and Peace :hen reborn in the :estern Land, & ,ill 9erfect and com9letely fulfill :ithout e<ce9tion these

Great =o,s, To delight and benefit all beings The =o,s of !amantabhadra #ealms of ,orlds in em9ty s9ace might reach an end, $nd li/ing beings, -arma and afflictions be e<tinguishedP >ut they ,ill ne/er be e<hausted, $nd neither ,ill my /o,s The =o,s

of !amantabhadra

+edication of Merit May the merit and /irtue accrued from this ,oradorn $mitabha >uddha;s Pure Land, re9ay the four great -indnesses abo/e, and relie/e the suffering of those on the three 9aths belo, May those ,ho see or hear of these efforts generate

>odhi.mind, s9end their li/es de/oted to the >uddha +harma, and finally be reborn together in the land of "ltimate >liss *omage to $mitabha >uddhaD %amo $mitabha