Bodhisattva

As we drift closer to death, we will surrender unconditionally to the Compassion of Amida Buddha, relying on Him to carry us, regardless of our unworthiness, to the blessed shores of Sukhavati. Just imagine that after a life fraught with suffering, frustration and anguish, the heart in your bosom begins to falter, and each new breath requires a supreme effort. A minister of the Jodo Shin shu has been called to console you in your moment of extreme distress. He has brought with him to your bedside a beautiful painting or image of Amida Buddha, and he will place in your hand one end of a golden thread. The other end of the thread will be attached to the radiant figure of Amida Buddha, and symbolically you are united with him. As your consciousness leaves your worn out body, your eyes will linger for a moment on the painting or image of Amida, and then as your spirit rises from your discarded physical remains, the depiction of Amida will fade and be replaced by the real Amida Buddha, accompanied by Kwan Yin and Seishi, and surrounded by His heavenly host. Amid the rejoicing and celestial music of innumerable angels, you will be carried off to the Happy Land of Bliss, Sukhavati, the Western Paradise. Once there you will never again be subject to the law of karma and have to be reborn in one of the six realms of the wheel of transmigration. However, even at this point you will not retreat into the cool refuge of final Nirvana, detached from the world and all of its suffering creatures. Nothing will force you to return to the earth except your own overflowing compassion and intense desire to liberate other beings from suffering if and when the opportunity arises. Eventually, according to the inexorable will of Amida Buddha, all beings in one way or another will be led to Enlightenment.

Now let us look at the figures which I have brought for you to see. The main figure, naturally, represents Amitabha Buddha, looking in all respects exactly like Sakyamuni Buddha, because they are in essence the same. The hands are in the mudra which symbolizes Amida's vow to save all beings. To the left of Amitabha you see the representation of his son/daughter Avalokitesvara, called Kwan Yin in China and Kannon in Japan, a personification of the compassion of Amitabha. She holds in her hands a lotus blossom with a reliquary, in which she will carry the spirit of the deceased human back to the Western Paradise, where it will be reborn. On the other side of Amitabha, you see a representation of Mahastamprapta, which literally means One Who Has Gained Great Power, called Seishi Bosatsu in Japan, he can be thought of as a personification of great wisdom.

The other two figures I have placed on the altar, one on each side of the triad of deities, may at first glance, appear incongruous and inappropriate. Instead, they are touching depiction of the most humble devotees one could hope to find anywhere. To me they represent those millions of oppressed persons who possibly must wear rags and hardly have a crust of bread to eat or a place in which to sleep. These humble ones are worthy to stand beside Amitabha because they are not separated from him by a false sense of a permanent self or ego, which is the worst barrier that can prevent a person from receiving the transforming grace and abundant life energy that Amitabha eagerly sends to all his children. They see only beauty around them, reflected from the purity and benevolence of their own inner beings, and all outward unpleasantness fades into nothingness compared to the bliss and security they feel coming from Amitabha's limitless love for them.

I am sure that everyone here today, like the imaginary couple we have just discussed, would prefer to cast his/her cares aside and experience the peace and bliss of the Pure Land here and now in their own daily lives. It is as though each of us is a lightbulb, until the electricity which is Amitabha is turned on. As far as rebirth in the Pure Land is concerned, once we allow Amitabha Buddha to shine through us, we become like homing pigeons that instinctively will find our way home to Sukhavati, no matter what the distance, difficulty or danger of the flight.

So, what does Amitabha mean to my own life? I can state categorically that without the influence and inspiration of Amitabha I would not be here today. I accept the doctrine of Anatta or no permanent soul and realize that lacking any essence of my own, I only function as a channel through which Amitabha may send his healing, enhancing, nourishing energy to all other living beings. If there is any merit in my work, it is because Amitabha Buddha is expressing himself through me.

However, practically all of my training in Buddhism has been here at I.B.M.C., which considers itself to be a Zen temple. Therefore, in addition to my faith in Amitabha, I believe that every sincere Buddhist devotee should have a meditation practice if he is mentally equipped to do so. My channel through which Amitabha flows is partially obstructed and the flow of Amitabha's grace is impeded by the accumulated sludge of defilements which I have allowed through ignorance, anger and delusion to creep into my consciousness. I know of no better way to scour, cleanse and unblock my channel than by the daily practice of meditation. Is it possible to be both a Zen Buddhist and a Pure Land Buddhist at the same time? For the answer to this question I refer to the inspiring book Zen Philosophy, Zen Practice, by our esteemed founder Dr. Thich Thien-An. He states that certain eminent scholars who advocate the exclusive development of Zen style "self power" do not consider reliance on the "other power", meaning that they rely only on the Zen master who teaches them how to sit, discipline the mind , work with a koan and practice shikentaza. Dr. Thien-An asks the question, "Without the constant prodding of the master how many people would reach satori?"

This question leads to the inescapable conclusion that if a Zen master who has realized only a limited amount of wisdom and compassion can be of such enormous assistance to his students during their quest for enlightenment, then Amitabha Buddha who has reached a state of perfect wisdom and infinite compassion, undoubtedly can help them infinitely more.

Dr. Thien-An states categorically that belief in the "other power" of Amitabha Buddha helps us develop our "self-power". In fact, he strongly recommends a practice which combines the development of Zen-style "self power" with reliance on the "other power" of Amitabha Buddha. In other words, the student should combine formal meditation with the chanting of the mantra "Namo Amitabha Buddha." The meditator and the Buddha become fused together in a mystical union. No longer is there any distinction between Zen and Pure Land, self-power or other power, wisdom or compassion, for everything has become transformed into the brightness of Infinite Light. Samsara becomes Nirvana. All the bliss and purity of the Western Paradise are realized in the here and now of every day life. Here the Zen and Pure Land schools meet in that common center from which they both emanate, the One Mind of Buddha, which is our true and permanent Essence of Mind.

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