Primary practices and miscellaneous practices To establish faith in “context of person,” a Pure Land practitioner needs not ask or seek advice from anybody about
An effective yardstick for measuring faith The spiritual capacities, virtuous roots, and aptitudes of sentient beings vary greatly. No one is identical in his or
To seek refuge in Amitabha Buddha is to receive his “real” merits and virtues In our discussion of the Sincere Mind in my last three
Translating Pure Land Buddhism into an…
In the first part of our exploration of the Sincere Mind, we concluded that there was a problem. Apparently, to be reborn in the Land
The Sincere Mind is the Genuine Mind Let us look at Master Shandao’s explanation of the Threefold State of Mind in his Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra.
Since February this year, we have been discussing the importance of faith and its role in Pure Land Buddhism. In this instalment I hope to
A finger pointing at the moon The simple question of “What is a Buddha?” was raised in a casual discussion with a venerable Pure Land
Deliverance of sentient beings through the Name According to Buddhism, Buddhas have four different ways of delivering sentient beings in the Ten Directions: 1. Bodily
Is Amitabha truly existent? We know about Amitabha Buddha from the three Pure Land sutras spoken by the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni. However, just as Shakyamuni
The root of virtue can be inherited life after life In Buddhism, faith is the first of the Five Roots of Virtue—faith, zeal, mindfulness (invocation),
One must have previously cultivated deep roots of virtue in past lives in order to believe in the teachings of Pure Land Buddhism upon first
