Understanding the chanting

[admin]

Hello everyone,

On the Power of Chanting Amitabha, from my understanding in the Dharma, Chanting "Namo Amitabha Buddha" is never considered as an alternative to meditation (bhavana). Indeed the chanting itself is meditation, a contemplation to a chosen single object of the practitioner. This is called samatha bhavana . Samantha means contemplating on a single object. In samantha contemplation, one can choose an object of various contemplation for focusing the mind which may leads to investigation of consciousness and to reach jhana. Jhana means meditative absorption or tranquility. When a practitioner is in a state of tranquility (Jhana), he/she reaches a state of strong concentration, devoid of sensuality or unskillful thoughts, focused on a single physical sensation or mental notion which is then expanded to fill the whole range of one's awareness. Jhana is synonymous with right concentration, the eighth factor in the noble eightfold path. There are many stages of Jhana. The stages usually called as “pin� in Chinese (Jiu pin lian hua- denotes 9 substages of tranquility, consistent to the abhidharma, analysis of the mind consciousness).

Many people misunderstood the concept of Amitabha. Amitabha Buddha is also known as Amitayus Buddha. Amitabha means Infinite light while Amitayus means Infinite Space. The infinity of light and space signifies the omniscience of Nirvana and the omniscience of the One who is awakened and who sees things and elements purely as they are. Please remember Amitabha Buddha is not another person who become a Buddha. That's purely metaphorical expression. A Samma Sambuddhassa (Samyak SamBuddha) can only be born one at a time in a single kalpa and in the cosmic system until  his dispensation (Buddha-sasana) diminished. You would notice that only Sakyamuni/Gautama Buddha (besides the past 28 lineage Buddhas) is the only Buddha named after his clan or surname while others are descriptive/metaphorical.

The practice of chanting Amitabha Buddha is not unique at all, according to the scripture, it is called Buddhanusanti kammatha-bhavana, which means tranquility meditation of the quality of the Buddha (nature). Such practice is widely practised in  every Buddhist tradition. The quality of the Buddha picked by the Pureland tradition is the Buddha's Omniscience- the wisdom of knowing everything... However, as in the doctrine clearly stated, Samantha meditation is only used to focus the mind and to sharpen the mind to a tranquil state. The tranquility achieved through samantha meditation would NOT deliver the person to deathlessness, Nirvana. This is in line with Pureland practice and all Buddhist tradition. In order to reach enlightenment, one person has to practise samantha ALONG with  vipassana, insight meditation which is the key of delivering to Nirvana, and not samantha along. Vipassana itself cannot be practised alone especially when  the  person is still deluded with delusions and unskillful thoughts, unless the person's paramita is fruitful throughout his/her many lives.

Even in the pureland literature statedly clearly , the chanting itself cannot deliver  one person directly to Nirvana, to enlightenment but only able to deliver the person to a state of tranquility, a state of pureland as a stepping stone to nirvana in the coming life. The practice itself is never easy compared to other dharma doors.  From my experience, it takes quite an effort to reach a peace of mind.

Cheers with metta,

Sheng


Additional infos: the word Amitayus is also known to be Infinite life where time is taken into consideration, rather than just space alone. Well,  space and time is also part of omniscience of Nirvana.. Super complicated... that's why Nirvana cannot be described but only can be experience.

Buddhanusanti (Pali),  Buddhanusmrti (Sanskrit.. both also mean stay mindful to the Buddha (the quality and the nature)

[vinlai]

Dear All,

Would just like to add a point of view on this topic. I agree with PS about chanting "Namo Amitabha" and meditation, for my understanding it's important in Pure Land Buddhism for one to archieve a high level of concentration as PS has described which is related to the 9 stages of which we will be born in the Pure Land.

In addition to the name Amitbaha, as PS has pointed out that it means infinite light, time, space... also Amitbaha has other names, quoted from 佛說無量壽經.

是故無量壽佛號無量光佛、無邊光佛、無礙光佛、無對光佛、炎王光佛、清淨光佛、歡喜光佛、智慧光佛、不斷光佛、難思光佛、無稱光佛、超日月光佛

sorry it's only in Chinese.

About "Please remember Amitabha Buddha is not another person who become a Buddha. That's purely metaphorical expression."  I'm not very sure about what you mean here. I think you will agree that there are many many Buddhas and Amitabha Buddha has become the Buddha for 10 Kalpa according to the Amitbaha Sutra. Here is a quote and explaination in Chinese.

Qutoed from http://book.bfnn.org/books/0871.htm
舍利弗，阿彌陀佛成佛以來，於今十劫。

此明極樂世界教主成就也。然法身無成無不成，不應論劫。報身因圓果滿名成，應身為物示生名成，皆可論劫。又法身因修德顯，亦可論成論劫。報身別無新得，應身如月印川，亦無成不成，不應論劫。但諸佛成道，各有本跡，本地並不可測。且約極樂示成之跡而言，即是三身一成一切成，亦是非成非不成而論成也。又佛壽無量，今僅十劫。則現在說法，時正未央。普勸三世眾生速求往生，同佛壽命，一生成辦也。又下文無數聲聞菩薩及與補處，皆十劫所成就。正顯十方三世往生不退者，多且易也。


Want talk a bit about the uniques of Pure Land Buddhism, it's the only method that rely both on ourself and the Buddha and the important is to be reborn in the Pure Land. If the aim is not to be reborn in the Pure Land, just reciting the name of Amitabha can not be considered as Pure Land Buddhism. That's why it's important to first believe, then wish / vows, then practice. It depends on the state we are in, but 信願 is the most important. Here is something written in Chinese which is much better than what I wrote.

生死了脫。是誠不易。惟念佛求生淨土法門。專仗彌陀願力。無論善根之熟否。惡業之輕重。乃至五逆十惡。但得生信發願。持佛名號。臨命終時。定蒙彌陀接引。往生淨土。善根成熟者。固頓圓佛果。即惡業深重者。亦得幸預聖流。較之仗自力者。其中難易得失。不待煩言而解。故此淨土法門。乃三世諸佛度生之要道。上聖下凡共修之妙法。諸大乘經。咸啟斯要。歷代祖師。莫不遵行。或以淨土法門。至簡至易。雖愚夫愚婦。亦能為之。遂藐視淨土。不知淨土一門。三根普被。十法齊收。

轉載自 印光大師全集問答擷錄 (繁體) (简体)


Here two pages that I put together on Pure Land Buddhism.

English: http://amtb.co.uk/pure-land-buddhism/remembering-buddha/

Chinese: http://amtb.co.uk/jing-tu-zong/


About reaching a peace of mind (一心不亂), I also think it's not easy, here a quote about 決定往生.

念佛法門。信、願、為先鋒。若無真信、切願。勿道不相應不能往生。即相應亦不能決定往生。一心不亂。念佛三昧。亦不易得。若有真信、切願。未得相應。亦可往生。況已相應乎。若只求相應。稍有相應氣分。便生歡喜讚歎之心。此亦是不相應之現象。由是故有怪相現。修行人。所最忌者。得少為足。得少為足。便生退惰。此必定之理也。但一心念。勿以不相應不得往生為疑懼。所有境界。皆不理會。也不問他好死壞死。除念佛外。不使起第二念。如此。方可得決定往生之益。

摘錄自 印光大師全集問答擷錄 (繁體) (简体)


Some interesting read:
Practice of the Six Perfections by Mindfulness of the Buddha
http://www.ulubuda.org.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=143
http://amtb.co.uk/jing-tu-zong/nian-fo-fa-men/


為何偏念彌陀佛? (淨土十疑論第四疑白話釋); 淨土法門—自力與佛力

What I am trying to say is that Pure Land Buddhism is not just about reciting Namo Amituofo, but the wish to be born in the Pure Land. And of course it's important to know what we want to be born there and how we can be born there. Please corrent me and add your point of view, thank you for reading.

Namo Amituofo,
Vincent

[admin]

Dear all,

Buddha said he merely pointed the way but we have to walk the path.  Discussions and arguments are a way to push us thinking and searching deeper, that’s always been the case on virtually any subjects between different schools of thoughts and schools of practices.  We therefore should look at them constructively.  If there IS a single path or way that is all embracing and above everything else EVERYONE would have followed and all other methods would perish according to the simple law of survival.  It just doesn’t fit the logic of reasoning so we must keep our mind open and experience Dharma directly through our own chosen way of cultivation.  A Dharma master once said, any method that leads to subduing of our unskilled thoughts (samatha) and seeing the true nature of existence (vipassana) is a transcendental practice, otherwise it is merely a skillful, intermediate practice.  Any method that was taught by the Buddha can be both (non-duality quality of a method pointing to the direct mind).  It depends on our attitude and understanding of Dharma, and how much we cling on the method itself.  It is not the method that is at fault, it is our deluded and imbalance mind that is obscuring the nature.  Pure land practice is not mere chanting the name of the Buddha.  We must keep our mind open and study the sutras and commentaries (abidhamma).  In fact the original ‘Nian’ used by the Pure Land patriarchs was not the ‘verbal’ chanting but the contemplation or mindfulness ‘Nian’.  Pure Land cultivations can contain both elements of Samatha and Vipassana if you look beyond the verbal chanting. It may also be just a skillful intermediate practice where unrealized practitioners can jump on the wagon of Amitabha Buddha’s great vows.  This is where the discussions really begins and can become interesting and may even be controversial.  However as Poon Sheng said, the path to true awakening is often overlooked and misunderstood.  This is the danger in the degenerating era where practitioners mistake the fingers for the moon.

Anyway this is just my personal experience and we can do a continuation of discussion in a separate forum.  Hope this is acceptable.

With metta,
KC

[vinlai]

Dear all,

I really like the point about transcendental and intermediate practice that KC pointed out:

A Dharma master once said, any method that leads to subduing of our unskilled thoughts (samatha) and seeing the true nature of existence (vipassana) is a transcendental practice, otherwise it is merely a skillful, intermediate practice.

It's a very good guide to find the right method for ourselves. Here I would like to add a bit about seeking birth in the Pure Land. This is a quote from Dharma Teacher Ku-shan:

To seek birth in the Pure Land is to depend on “other power”: Amitabha’s vows gather you in, Shakyamuni encourages and praises you, and all the Buddhas protect you and are mindful of you. All three [kinds of ‘other power’] are present.

If you have the mind of faith, being born in the Pure Land is extremely easy. It is like crossing the sea when you already have a great ship, a skillful pilot, and a favorable wind: you are sure to arrive quickly on the other shore. If you do not consent to board the boat, and hesitate and tarry on dangerous paths, whose fault is this?

More on this later. Interesting read: Pointing the Way to the Pure Land

Namo Amituofo
Vincent

[Han_Shan_De_Ching]

I do agree with both of you.  Nien-Fuo/Reciting the Buddha's name is not easy, but it is a lot easier than a lot of other forms of meditation and very flexible.  In saying that, it is both a simple and direct method, yet very effective.  You can do it quietly on your own, chant quietly in pairs, groups or allowed in chanting halls.  In modern life, we have to maximise what we can do with our time, so Nien-Fuo can be done in short spaces of time or if you choose, for hours.  The Pure Land path is ideal for modern lifestyles.

I recite everyday and I make time to do it.

Regards,

Jason

[vinlai]

Thanks Jason for sharing your experience. I just started reading a book called "Pure-Land Zen ,Zen Pure-Land, Letters from Patriarch Yin Kuang" which I got during Master Chin Kung's visit. There is a passage which I really like and it's related to this topic that I would like to share.

Are the Mind-only Pure Land and the Self-nature Amitabha the same as or different from the Western Pure Land and Amitabha in the Pure Land ?

It is because the Mind-only Pure Land exists that we are reborn in the Pure Land of the West. If the mind is not pure, it is impossible to achieve rebirth in the Pure Land. Even when those who have committed cardinal transgressions achieve rebirth through ten recitations, such rebirth is due to their reciting the Buddha's name with a pure mind, thus eliciting a response from Amitabha Buddha. Ordinary people generally think that if the Pure Land is Mind-Only, then it does not exist. This is the understanding of demons and externalists. Such a deluded view, which appears correct but is in reality wrong, affects more than half of all people and causes practitioners to forfeit true benefits.

It is precisely because of the Self-Nature Amitabha that the practitioner must recite the name of Buddha Amitabha of the West seeking rebirth in the Pure Land - so as to achieve the Self-Nature Amitabha through gradual cultivation. If he merely grasps at the Self-Nature Amitabha but does not recite the name of Buddha Amitabha of the West, he cannot achieve immediate escape from Birth and death - not even if he is truly awakened, much less if (like most people who ask this question) he is pretentious and just indulges in empty talk without engaging in practice.

Thus the answer to your question [are the mind-Only Pure Land and the Self-Nature Amitabha the same as or different from the Western Pure Land and Amitabha in the Pure Land?] is that they are one yet two before Buddhahood is attained, two yet one after Buddhahood is attained.

Quoted from Pure-Land Zen ,Zen Pure-Land, Letters from Patriarch Yin Kuang.

[Rob.lam]

I agree with the discription that Buddha taught many method of practice that can be suited for variety people and yet it will all lead to the same goal.

What also interest me into Pure is the idea of using "self effort" as well the "other power" of Amitabha to bring liberation. When Vincent mention about the importance of "faith", I agree with that. After all, Pure Land is based on the three principle of 'faith', 'vows' and 'practice'.

It is also important to understand that Pure Land welcomes all types of practitioner, including practitoners with 'low capacity' or 'high capacity'. Practitoners with high mental capacity are able to attain 'Samadhi paramita' through Nien Fo recitation as well as rebirth in Pure land with the 3 principles. Practitoners with lower capacity are still able to attain rebirth in Pureland with 'faith', 'vows' and 'practice'. The benefits are great. We also should be aware that Pure Land is a perfect training ground for us to cultivate towards attaining Nirvana.

I agree with KC that 'It is not the method that is at fault, it is our deluded and imbalance mind that is obscuring the nature'. Buddhism is about removing the mental afflictions of 'greed', 'anger', delusion', 'arrogance' and etc... and not adding more afflictions. We all should bring understanding, peace and harmony, and to avoid misunderstanding at this degenerating era. 

Namo Amitabha
_/l\_

[Rob.lam]

Thanks Jason for sharing your experience. I just started reading a book called "Pure-Land Zen ,Zen Pure-Land, Letters from Patriarch Yin Kuang" which I got during Master Chin Kung's visit. There is a passage which I really like and it's related to this topic that I would like to share.

Are the Mind-only Pure Land and the Self-nature Amitabha the same as or different from the Western Pure Land and Amitabha in the Pure Land ?

It is because the Mind-only Pure Land exists that we are reborn in the Pure Land of the West. If the mind is not pure, it is impossible to achieve rebirth in the Pure Land. Even when those who have committed cardinal transgressions achieve rebirth through ten recitations, such rebirth is due to their reciting the Buddha's name with a pure mind, thus eliciting a response from Amitabha Buddha. Ordinary people generally think that if the Pure Land is Mind-Only, then it does not exist. This is the understanding of demons and externalists. Such a deluded view, which appears correct but is in reality wrong, affects more than half of all people and causes practitioners to forfeit true benefits.

It is precisely because of the Self-Nature Amitabha that the practitioner must recite the name of Buddha Amitabha of the West seeking rebirth in the Pure Land - so as to achieve the Self-Nature Amitabha through gradual cultivation. If he merely grasps at the Self-Nature Amitabha but does not recite the name of Buddha Amitabha of the West, he cannot achieve immediate escape from Birth and death - not even if he is truly awakened, much less if (like most people who ask this question) he is pretentious and just indulges in empty talk without engaging in practice.

Thus the answer to your question [are the mind-Only Pure Land and the Self-Nature Amitabha the same as or different from the Western Pure Land and Amitabha in the Pure Land?] is that they are one yet two before Buddhahood is attained, two yet one after Buddhahood is attained.

Quoted from Pure-Land Zen ,Zen Pure-Land, Letters from Patriarch Yin Kuang.

Impressive quote Vincent. I remember having this conversation with another Pure Land practitoner before. I still remember, as he said, "Pure land is real as Earth". That means we should see Pure Land and Earth as both real. However, after we attain Buddhahood, then that's another story. For now, Pure Land is as real as earth 

What inspire me into Pure Land is the auspicious experience before departing this earth for rebirth in Pure Land.

Namo Amitabha
_/l\_