If we truly understand emptiness (śūnyatā), we can free ourselves from the constraints and suffering imposed by materialism and objective idealism. We can take our destiny into our own hands—and this can be done while we are still alive. Of course, only with a profoundly deep sense of renunciation and bodhicitta can one genuinely transform one’s destiny.
Nowadays, there are many so-called Buddhists who are Buddhists in name only, not in essence. They are unwilling to let go of anything, unwilling to make any real effort, yet they complain: “I’ve already recited Om Mani Padme Hum thirty times—why hasn’t it worked? I’ve practiced for three whole months—why don’t I feel anything at all? So this must be fake!” This attitude is extremely frivolous and careless. Only with a great deal of focused and sustained effort will results ever appear.
Precisely because such extensive effort is required, we emphasize the necessity of renunciation. Transforming the mental continuum is not easy at all—our habitual attachments of mind are extremely solid. Take this cup, for example. In essence, it is nothing other than dharmatā—the nature of phenomena—yet we forcibly cling to it as a solid “material object.” Although through study and contemplation, we may already know that it has no true substance in a conceptual way, and may even visualize it as dreamlike and illusory, can we really experience it as such? If you insist it is, then come over here—I’ll knock you on the head with it, and then you’ll know exactly what “dreamlike and illusory” means. Of course, if you were in a Chan encounter of sharp insight, and ended up with a huge bump on your head, you could still say, “This too is dreamlike and illusory.” Pain is also dreamlike and illusory—but it is still pain that you won’t be able to endure.
It is precisely because phenomena are dreamlike and illusory that we are able to experience happiness and suffering. If even this dreamlike quality were to disappear—if both pain and joy vanished altogether—only a single state would remain, and that state is called “ultimate bliss.” This is the true meaning of the Western Pure Land.
When we talk about the Western Pure Land, we usually imagine it as being trillions of Buddha-lands away from Earth—a distant realm established by Amitābha Buddha, unimaginably wondrous and beautiful. If that were really the case, then there would be no need to study Buddhism at all—we could just turn to science. Modern science talks about “folding space”: what was once a vast distance becomes very short. This is also known as a “wormhole. If such a Western Pure Land truly existed somewhere out there, then once science advances far enough, we could simply fold space, jump through a wormhole, and arrive instantly in the Western Pure Land—flesh and body flying straight to the Buddha-land! That is absolutely not the case. Such thinking reflects an extremely mistaken worldview.
So what is the real situation? In truth, the Pure Land is nowhere else—it is right here. It is only because of our grasping that the Pure Land has been distorted into what we call the Saha World. If one practices the generation stage and completion stage (utpannakrama and niṣpannakrama) to a profound level, one will directly perceive that everything around them is changing. At that point, it will not scare you to death—it will overwhelm you with beauty!
Likewise, we can also “practice” greed and hatred—and direct perception will change accordingly. For example, someone who is extremely greedy keeps taking things in nonstop. and the needs of the ego are like a funnel—never satisfied. Once things go in, they never come back out. When acquiring something, they are overjoyed; but when asking them to give even a little in generosity, it is like cutting their flesh with a dull knife—excruciatingly painful. Over time, they too will feel that the world around them is changing. This is especially evident in old age: they become increasingly ugly and distorted in appearance, and all sense of happiness gradually disappears.
This is exactly how many people end up becoming what they are today. When we were young, we were lively, radiant, full of youth and vitality. But if one’s mindset is poor, what will they become in their fifties or sixties? Their face looks so bitter you could almost wring suffering right out of it—rigidly attached, mentally extremely inflexible. This is all created by those frightening states of mind.
The Buddhadharma tells us that we can absolutely change—there is definite hope—and that after death it is not the case that “everything simply ends.” Because the mind-stream has continuity, if we can create the world we are experiencing now, then we can also construct another world. This involves rebirth: during the intermediate state (antarābhava), by what kind of force does the world we are to be born into arise? If, in ordinary times, we recite the Buddha’s name, relying on our faith and aspiration toward the Pure Land, and further supported by the vow-power of Amitābha Buddha, then the Pure Land appears immediately! That is why the Pure Land teachings say, “Birth is assured, yet there is in truth nowhere to go.” It is not that there is literally a place one travels to; rather, the Pure Land truly arises within one’s own experiential realm. Hence, the Pure Land is not ‘located’ anywhere.
Rebirth in the Pure Land occurs through faith and aspiration. When the power of our mind resonating with Amitābha Buddha becomes extremely firm, once the karmic force sustaining human existence dissolves—and at that moment, when the power of recollecting Amitābha is at its strongest—the world of Amitābha manifests instantly. That is what is meant by rebirth in the Pure Land.
In order to maximize the force for rebirth in the Pure Land during the intermediate state, we recite daily, “Namo Amitābha, Namo Amitābha …” The purpose of this practice is to allow that force to become Mahāsthāmaprāpta. What does “Mahāsthāmaprāpta” mean? It means the single greatest force within the mind continuum.
In our present era, what is the Mahāsthāmaprāpta within our mind-stream? It is greed. The moment we see money, our eyes light up. If, in the intermediate state, one sees money, out of habitual tendency one instinctively reaches out to grab it—and instantly falls into the hungry ghost realm. Those attached to sensual desire: upon seeing a woman, they rush to embrace her, and immediately fall into hell. But if, at that moment, your mind’s greatest force manifests Amitābha Buddha—if you are able to recite the Buddha’s name—then instantly, it is the Pure Land.
Therefore, for the Pure Land path to be fully established, the Three Holy Ones of the West must be present. First, Amitābha Buddha represents the nature itself—when our aggregate of perception becomes purified, it is precisely the essence of Amitābha. Second, because this is a Mahāyāna path that responds to suffering through sound, allowing practice through vocalization, Avalokiteśvara must be established. Finally, at the moment of death, the faith and aspiration toward the Pure Land must become the strongest force within our mental continuum—hence the necessity of Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva.
This is how The Three Sages of the West came to be. It is not like worldly organizations where leaders appoint subordinates—certainly not that Śākyamuni Buddha first assigned Amitābha to hold the fort, then dispatched Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta as attendants. The Land of Ultimate Bliss is a natural result that arises once our consciousness becomes purified.
—Excerpted and compiled from The Buddhist Worldview
This article is a preliminary translation draft and has not yet been reviewed or proofread by the speaker.
