Among the five original translations of the "Amitabha Sutra", there are two sutras that teach the cause and effect of rebirth in the border area: one is the sutras of the three generations of rebirth, which shows that the causes and practices of rebirth in the middle and lower generations of rebirth, respectively, the situation of rebirth in the corresponding causes and practices of rebirth in the middle and lower generations of rebirth.See the Chinese and Wu translations for this.Second, in the second half of the "Amitabha Sutra", the Venerable Ananda bowed to the west and asked to see Amitabha Buddha under the instruction of the Buddha. At that time, Amitabha Buddha's world of happiness appeared in the void.At that time, the Buddha and Maitreya Bodhisattva had a conversation with the cause and action of those who were born and transformed in the Western Pure Land, explaining the causes of rebirth in the city of doubt.These two passages have great guiding value for the practice of our pure karma practitioners.I will record it here and also list it to give you a clear understanding of the rebirth of the border town.
1. The suspicion of the middle and lower generations of the city's birth
The causes and consequences of rebirth of middle and lower generations can obtain the following revelations:
1.Among the three generations of rebirth, only the middle generation and the lower generation have doubts about the birth of the fetus, which proves that the previous generations have strong faith.The middle and lower generations all have the root of doubt.wisdomIt is shallow, so that the viviparous originates.AllAll living beingsFaith, aspiration, and even chant the name for only one day and a night. I doubt that I regret and retreat in the middle of the journey, I do not believe in chanting Buddha's name and be reborn in the Pure Land, and I do not believe in good or evil.Cause and effect。Such sentient beings, when they are dying, will suffer from illness and suffering, and their own karma will lead to fall into the three evil realms.At that time, Amitabha BuddhaGreat compassion,Let him see Amitabha Buddha in his sleep and be happy land.He saw that,joyIf you are enthusiastic and confident, you will be reborn. Then you will repent and recite the Buddha's name to seek rebirth, continue the original good roots of reciting the Buddha's name, and be reborn in the Pure Land by Amitabha's power and divine vows.The seven treasure city that he suspected had appeared in the middle for only five hundred years.Amitabha Buddha shone light on the other person, making him realize that the sin of hindering the city of doubt is the root of doubt. Then he repented and eliminated the root of doubt and got to the place of Amitabha Buddha.It is sufficient to realize that Amitabha Buddha is compassionate and unwilling to give up suffering sentient beings from beginning to end, and wants to be reborn in the Pure Land until he achieves the Buddha's fruit.At the same time, we should also know that most of the sentient beings who have weak wisdom and poor blessings in the Dharma-Ending Age are those who have mixed faith and doubts and are prone to regress in the middle.Those who are born in the top grade of the "Amitabha Sutra" have some suspicion when they are reborn. Amitabha Buddha said, "I am here to welcome you" to make the practitioner feel at ease.It can be seen that for those who are unfaithed in the Dharma who are difficult to gain pure faith, Amitabha Buddha’s blessing and rescue at the time of death is actually a resurrection of his life and his grace is infinite.
2.Amitabha Buddha's compassionate wish is to refuse to give up a sentient being, so that he can all be reborn in the Pure Land.This passage of scripture shows that as long as we believe, aspire and recite the name, even if we only have one day and night, Amitabha Buddha will arrange the major event of our rebirth in advance.No matter what the practitioner of pure karma is at the end of his life, Amitabha Buddha decided to have a way to make him reborn.What a thrilling but true miracle this is! Mr. Huijian once told Master Yin Guang that a strange and uncommon anecdotes were revealed to Master Yin Guang.There was a bus, the driver accidentally fell into the river, and more than 40 passengers were all destroyed.At dawn the next day, when everyone went to rescue, there was a woman who was about thirty years old and was sitting next to the river bank road, feeling drunk.I asked what happened and replied that I arrived here by car yesterday evening.When I asked the whole car was in danger, why are you safe? The woman said, "I don't know.""When asked about the situation of the car accident at that time, it was impossible to understand.When Mr. Huijian talked about this, the people present were just amazed.After each returned to his dormitory, Master Yin ordered the attendant to hold a note to Mr. Huijian, saying, "This woman deserves to die, so she sits outside the car.When the car fell down the river, it was raised to the shore, so the clothes were not wet.The Buddha, the gods and ghosts are already in the process of saving them when they are in the car.It must be so."Although the number of words in the note of Master Yin shows a wonderful secret.Good people in the world can even obtain the predestined methods of Buddha, heaven, ghosts and gods, and avoid unavoidable disasters, not to mention the great event of being reborn in the Pure Land and being free from birth and death.Amitabha Buddha's five kalpas and his great deeds of countless kalpas will also provide a comprehensive way for those who recite the Buddha's name to be reborn safely.It can be seen that the rebirth is entirely based on the power of Buddha.If we have a little faith and understanding of this, we can gain great happiness at the moment. If we practice thousands of people, we will go there, and this is true.
3.If you suspect it is the basis of your sin, you will be discharged after repenting.Those who are sentient beings to the border of the Pure Land are also born in the treasure pond, lotus flowers, without any filth and evil, and enjoy all kinds of benefits, but at the age of 500 (Based on this land )You cannot see the Buddha, do not listen to the sutras, and do not know the Bodhisattva Dharma.Because of the obstruction of knowledge, the mind cannot be unresolved;troubleIf you have any problems, you will not be happy.Amitabha Buddha is compassionate and compassionate to sentient beings born in the city of womb, so that he can see the Buddha's light in the lotus womb.By eliminating the power of wisdom through the Buddha's light, practitioners deeply realize the reason why they cannot be free due to the lotus womb. Confusion is the basis of sin, so they develop a serious repentance and deeply blame themselves for their own confusion of doubting the Buddha's wisdom or doubting the good roots of their own nature.Through the power of repentance, the practitioners who are born with the fetus will get out of the city of doubt, see the Buddha and hear the Dharma, and practice it for a long time, and then they will be able to understand the mind and understand it with all kinds of things.Supernatural powers,He offered all Buddhas all over the world and eliminated the degree of confusion according to his merits and deeds, and also understood the three levels and nine levels.
The time to leave the city of doubt usually takes five hundred years.However, time is not fixed and cannot be restricted. It may be long or short. If you can regret it, you will be out. If you don’t regret it, you will be over 500 years old.Only when one can recognize one's sins and repentance at the end of the age of five hundred are the majority of those who have passed away from the border.It is the most important thing that can be found in five hundred years of repentance.
2. The dialogue between Buddha and Maitreya Bodhisattva
《In the Buddha's Sutra of Amitabha Sutra, facing the scene of the birth of the Western Paradise that appears in the void, Buddha and Maitreya Bodhisattva have an essential conversation:
At that time, Bodhisattva Ci said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, why is the cause and effect? The people of that country are born and transformed?" The Buddha told Ci: "If there are sentient beings, they should cultivate everything with doubts.Merit,May you be born in that country without understanding the wisdom of Buddha, inconceivable wisdom, and cannot be called wisdom, Mahayana broad wisdom, and the most supreme wisdom of incompatibility.I wondered about these wisdoms and did not believe them.However, I still believe in the blessings of sins and practice rare books, and wish to be born in the country.These sentient beings are born in that palace and live for 500 years. They often do not see Buddha, hear sutras, and do not see Bodhisattvas, Śrāvakas and holy people.Therefore, in that country, it is called birth of the fetus.If there are sentient beings who believe in the wisdom of Buddhism and even the wisdom of superiority, and do all the merits and faithDedication,These sentient beings are naturally born in the seven treasures, sitting cross-legged, and in a moment, they will be bright in their bodies and have wisdom and merits, just like the Bodhisattvas have achieved them.
The cause and effect of the two types of rebirth, which are summarized, can be seen. The main reason for the birth of the womb is that they cultivate all merits with doubtful minds, lack wisdom, and cannot believe in Amitabha Buddha's incredible power of power, or do not believe in the merits of self-nature.There are two types of subdivisions: one is to believe in oneself but not believe in oneself, and the other is to believe in oneself but not believe in oneself.Here are the following descriptions:
1.Believe in yourself or not
There is a type of practitioner who is attached to Amitabha, who is the Pure Land of Mind, and does not believe in the Western Paradise beyond the ten thousand billion lands, and does not believe in the ultimate and perfect wisdom of Amitabha Buddha.Ordinary sentient beings sufferFive aggregatesThe vast wisdom cannot appear in the boundary, so we cannot deeply believe in Buddhist wisdom.If you understand the wisdom of Buddha, you will know that it is neither pure nor filthy, and that it is pure and filthy, and there is no one or these, and you will be born in that country.Because of the inability to resolve, half believe and half doubt, and the violation is indecisive, which hinders the transformation.
(1)The incredible wisdom of the Buddha
The Buddha's wisdom is deep, and the sentient beings in the nine realms are unpredictable.The ten thoughts of Pure Land Buddhism will be born, transcend the three realms, and reborn in that land will achieve the three unretreatment, and sincerely call it the name and eliminate the serious sins of birth and death for eighty billion kalpas, which are all established by Amitabha Buddha's inconceivable wisdom.Some people suspect that ordinary sentient beings have created all kinds of defilements in the past countless karma. How can they continue to confuse the three realms by chanting Amitabha Buddha at a young age and then being able to escape from the three realms? This matter is definitely unreliable.Little do you know that it is like a thousand-year-old dark room, if the light arrives temporarily, it will be bright; it is also like someone is shot by a poisonous arrow, cutting off muscles and bones, and hearing the drum of the medicine to eliminate (There is a medicine called extermination. If two armies face each other, use this medicine to apply to the drum. )。Those who hear the sound of drums will be cured after the arrow is poisoned.The power of the Tathagata, the power of the gods and vows, the convenience of one's nature, the self-control, the others, the ever-changing, the infinite and boundless. How can the ordinary people know the hindrance of their feelings and doubt the wonderful Dharma of Amitabha Buddha?Most people who use ordinary people's consciousness or general teachings to guess the perfect and wonderful methods of the Pure Land School are difficult to pass this level.
(2)Unable to Buddha's wisdom
There are many wisdoms in Buddha, and it is impossible to speak.This wisdom is also called wonderful observation wisdom, and this wisdom cannot be called the realm.Be free from words and thoughts, and be free from harmony. Wisdom cannot be called, so the merits of chanting Buddha's name cannot be called.Rebirth by reciting the Buddha's name is achieved by incalculable wisdom.If you have any doubts about this, you cannot be called wisdom.
(3)Unable to understand the Buddha's Mahayana wisdom
The ultimate understanding of Buddha's wisdom is to understand everything, and the exhaustion of knowledge is called vast wisdom.This wisdom is also called equality wisdom. It is different from Hinayana. With the power of the same body wisdom, it can carry all sentient beings, and all of them will reach the supreme level.Bodhi,Therefore, it is called Mahayana's Great Wisdom.Some practitioners cannot understand the Buddha's Mahayana wisdom, doubt that the Buddha cannot truly save all sentient beings, and also doubt that all sentient beings chanting the Buddha's name can be reborn in the Pure Land? Therefore, they have made substantial thoughts about Amitabha Buddha.Amitabha Buddha’s great compassion and wisdom are carried into all sentient beings with a chance.Nirvana,The wonderful meaning of the mind is to become a Buddha, and the mind is the Buddha, so that all sentient beings can enter into no thoughts with thoughts. Because they are reborn and attain non-birth, they can enable all sentient beings who recite the Buddha to be reborn in the Pure Land and all of them will be able to achieve Buddhahood.Rebirth by reciting the Buddha's name is inspired by the vast wisdom of the Mahayana.If you have any doubts about this, you cannot name the Mahayana wisdom.
(4)The ultimate wisdom of the Buddha's incompatibility
The ultimate supreme wisdom of the Tathagata's great mirror wisdom.The essence of the self-nature is all perfect.This wisdom is the Dharma body, not shared by that person, so it is called inequality; this wisdom is only suddenly realized by Buddha, and different Bodhisattvas gradually gain the first three wisdoms, so it is called inequality; this wisdom exceeds inconceivable wisdom, so it is called the most; it is beyond the boundless wisdom, so it is called superior; it is broader than the Mahayana wisdom, so it is called victory.Therefore, the name is called "Incomparable and Incorruptible" and the most superior wisdom.This wisdom has great wisdom and is extremely skillful and convenient. It can explain the Dharma meanings as it should be understood by all sentient beings.The method of rebirth in reciting the Buddha's name is developed by the ultimate wisdom of incompatibility and incompatibility.If you have any doubts about this, you cannot name the ultimate wisdom of incompatibility.
If a practitioner of pure karma has doubts about the four wisdoms of the Buddha, he will not be able to develop correct faith in the Pure Land method of reciting the Buddha's name.If you cannot rely on your whole body and mind, even if you are born in that country, you will feel that your fetus will be born and you will be stuck in the border area and will be suspected of your city.This is because the benefit of practitioners of pure karma is to ride the power of Amitabha Buddha's vows and be reborn with confusion. If you doubt the power of Buddha's wisdom and Buddha, the effect of rebirth in vehicle vows and see the Buddha's vows will be reduced. Therefore, our practitioners of pure karma will be deeply alert to this.
Master Yuanxiao said: "If someone does not understand the four wisdoms as mentioned above, he can be humble, but his mind is not open, and he always respects the Tathagata, and he always trusts him. Such people will follow his actions and be reborn in that country, and are not in the border area.Those who are born with edges are different from one type, which is not taken by the ninth grade, so you should not have doubts.” (《The Amitabha Sutra" )It means that if a practitioner of pure karma can believe in the wisdom of the Tathagata, it is the highest and better wisdom; if he fails to believe in it, he is humble and humble, and believes in the wisdom of the Buddha, and is determined to be reborn in the Pure Land, and he will not fall into the city of doubt.Believing in the wisdom of Buddha can rely on Amitabha Buddha's wholeheartedness and firmly believe in all his sins. As for Amitabha Buddha's compassion and vows, it is insignificant and will not hinder the rebirth of Amitabha's land of retribution.On the contrary, if you hurt yourself deeply and have many doubts, and think that you are not qualified to be reborn, such an inferiority mentality may hinder rebirth; if you are lucky enough to be reborn, you will also be stuck in the border area.Here, it is very necessary to establish the correct faith and correct view of the Pure Land Buddhism.
2.Believe in him or not
This type of practitioners of pure karma deeply believe in the great compassion and vows of Amitabha Buddha and admire the Western Pure Land. However, they are difficult to believe in the good roots of their own nature, and always have a sense of inferiority. They dare not bear the principle of being a Buddha in their hearts and becoming a Buddha after reciting the Buddha.Some people say: I have deep obstacles and shallow wisdom, but my culture is not high, so I can’t practice other methods, so I can just recite the Buddha’s name every time.This type of practitioner of pure karma has short wisdom and weak faith and aspirations. Although he has diligently recited the Buddha's name, he has been born in that country, but he is stumbling on the border and cannot appear in the lotus.Mr. Yuan Hongdao said: "Because you do not believe in your own good roots, you will be a city of doubt because you have no faith.Those who believe in their own good roots will be relieved of their own mind and will not obtain it from others.Only by enlightenment can one get rid of doubt.Therefore, if you practice without realization, you will eventually be separated from the doubtful womb.The fetus is meant to be concealed.Those who have not realized all obstacles have not been fully understood and will be rewarded.” (《Western Combination )Prove that there isPrajnaOnly by being wise can one produce decisive faith, and only by being determined can one determine one produce decisive faith. Be careful not to lose great benefits with doubts.
To sum up, those who are born with a doubtful city can be reborn by practicing good power to recite the Buddha's name; those who are confused by doubtful and regretful hearts can stay in the border area and cannot see the Buddha and hear the Dharma.Although he is secretly silenced at the age of 500, he is still beyond the cycle of reincarnation in the three realms, and although it is not perfect, it is worthy of congratulation.The method of reciting the Buddha's name is established by Amitabha Buddha's supreme and ultimate wisdom, which can give sentient beings the ultimate benefit of transcending life and death and achieving Buddhahood.We should believe in the supreme wisdom of Amitabha Buddha and the whole body and mindConvertAmitabha.Although doubts and beliefs are in a single thought, the misfortunes and blessings that are gained are hanged across the sky.The Amitabha Sutra says: "If a Bodhisattva has doubts, he will lose great benefits, so he should clearly believe in the supreme wisdom of all Buddhas."Practitioners of pure karma need to eliminate doubts and believe in their faith, take the ship of Amitabha Buddha's great vows and enter the Western Nirvana City.
Section 2: End-of-life chanting
Death is a fearful and painful thing for ordinary people; but for practitioners of pure karma, it is a brilliant moment of the birth of the Dharma body and wisdom life. What can you do if you celebrate your life?
Modern medicine has developed a special department based on the care of death and human nature - hospice care (Hospice Peaceful care and good ending service )。Hospice care requires a lot of medical equipment and other hardware facilities, but its essence lies in spiritual care and care for the dying person, so that dying patients can obtain high quality of death, namely dignity and serene death, so that dying people have no mental and psychological concern, fear, and worry.Among all the hospice cares today, the Pure Land Buddhism method should be the most special.Faith, aspiration and chanting the name can make patients leave the world with a beautiful smile, say goodbye to this karma body with a happy life, and obtain the Vajra Dharma body transformed from the lotus in Pure Land. The text becomes a seal and the seal is damaged, and the wonderful virtue is hard to imagine.
If we know the inevitability of death, we should face death directly.Fortunately, in this life, the Tathagata saved all sentient beings.Pure Land Dharma,We must believe in and recite the Buddha's name and prepare for the merit of rebirth in order to escape the suffering of life and death, and obtain the true joy of Nirvana and eternal rebirth.If you have parents and brothers, and those who are seriously ill and have difficulty recovering, you should develop a filial and compassionate heart, encourage patients to chant Buddha's name and seek rebirth in the West, and help them chant.The method of chanting can be carried out in three steps according to the instructions of Master Yin:
First, skillfully enlighten and comfort, and create righteous faith.Encourage the patients to let go of everything and recite the Buddha's name with all their heart.If there is anything to be explained, please make an explanation as soon as possible.After the explanation, I put it aside and thought that I will follow the Buddha to rebirth in the Buddha's country.All the worlds of rich and happy relatives are all obstacles and cause harm, so you should not have a thought to be focused on.You must know that your true nature is not dead.The one who is said to die is to give up this body and receive another body.If you do not recite the Buddha's name, you will be born in the good and evil paths according to the good and evil karma.If you recite Namo Amitabha Buddha with all your heart at the time of death, and use this heart to recite the Buddha's name, you will definitely feel that the Buddha will be very compassionate and personally guide you to be reborn.Never be afraid of death. If you are afraid of death, you still cannot die, otherwise you will not be able to die. In the end, you will not be able to be reborn in the West.
Second, everyone changes shifts to chant Buddha’s name to help them purify their chants.If the patient has not yet died of his or her life, he or she should be divided into classes.There are a limited number of people per class.One class recited it out loud, and the other class held it silently.If there are small things, you should do it when you silently.When on duty, you must not walk.This cycle will begin again and again.If the patient is about to die of energy, it is advisable for both classes to recite together.Until the qi was cut off, I divided the shift and recited for three to eight hours.Then take a break to make cooking and placement.
Third, avoid moving and crying to prevent misleading.When the patient is about to die, it is the time when the mortal and saints and humans and ghosts are divided. It is extremely important to have a thousand tremendous moments.Only the Buddha's name can enlighten his spiritual consciousness, and he must not take a bath, change clothes or move his sleeping place.If you can sit and lie down, you can only follow the trend of the other person, not move slightly, nor do you feel sad or cry.Because the body is not independent at this time, and once you move, your hands, feet and bodies will be hurt by twisting and twisting. If you feel pain, you will feel angry and will often fall into poison.If you see grief and crying, love will arise, and the Buddha's chant will suffice, and will go with love, so that you will not be liberated for life.You should not find out where the heat will be cold afterwards, so as not to avoid the spiritual consciousness from being separated, and may be stimulated, causing the heart to feel restless, and will not be able to be reborn.The most beneficial thing at this time is to recite the Buddha's name with all your heart; the most harmful thing is to cry.If everyone sincerely chants, they can go straight to the West.
The following should be done to chant:
First, chanting people must be serious and responsible and must not be perfunctory.When going to the patient's home to chant, family members should be called to explain the importance of chanting at the end of life and to obey the guidance of the chant.
Second, the chanting person should be sincere in his attitude towards the patient and speak calmly, so that the patient can live a happy life.To this end, we must first praise the patient's daily good deeds; secondly, use various skillful means to make the patient feel happy and develop the right faith in seeking rebirth in the West.Chanting people should treat the patient as relatives, which will have better results.
Third, except for giving teachings to the patient, the chanting helper is not allowed to talk about anything else, and everyone is not allowed to chat in the ward, so as not to be distracted and forget about mindfulness.If the family can help chant, otherwise they should leave the ward to avoid emotional thoughts and hinder mindfulness.
Fourth, when chanting the Buddha's name, you can recite the six words of Namo Amitabha, or you can recite the four words of Amitabha.The patient's opinion should be sought first when the pitch of the pronunciation is high and fast.If the patient can’t speak, he should not recite too tightly or too slowly. Instead, he should be clear in every sentence and clear in every word.
Fifth, when the patient shows a "return to the light", he should continue to chant to avoid wasting all previous efforts.If the patient has just died of energy or has already died of energy, the chanting person will arrive. At this time, the chanting person should yell at the patient: "So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-So-SWe help you chant Buddha's name, and you must concentrate on listening.”Repeat twice.After the teachings, chant them immediately.The teachings of the Dharma always focus on the patient's full conversion to Amitabha Buddha. He praises the Buddha's compassionate vows, encourages him to let go of everything and recite the Buddha's name with all his heart. If the life of the world has not ended, he will be reborn in the West.You cannot ask for a quick recovery from the disease, you can only ask for a quick rebirth.If you seek to recover from the illness, you will not be able to be reborn if your life is over; if you seek to be reborn if your life is over, you will be able to be reborn if your life is over.If you have other thoughts, you should blame yourself: If I want to reborn in the West by relying on the power of Buddha, how can I have such thoughts to ruin my great affairs? If you do this in your mind, you will be able to quickly gain the great benefit of rebirth.
Lotus friends who chant according to the Dharma will definitely help those who die in the Pure Land.Helping a person to be reborn in the Pure Land is equivalent to achieving the Buddhahood. How can you be so happy? I hope all benevolent people will encourage each other.
Conclusion
The above seven chapters of the twenty chapters show the original end of the Pure Land Buddhism method. The profound meaning, simplicity of the method, and the profound benefits are all incredible. It is the wonderful method that the Buddha's teachings come to the bottom of the supreme teachings, and the compassionate sailing of sentient beings in the nine realms to escape from the sea of suffering.Fortunately, we have heard of the Pure Land Buddhism method, and we will have rare and difficult thoughts to encounter.The Pure Land Buddhism method is a sound beyond the kalpa. In a modern society with economy and technology as the main trunk, there are endless repercussions, challenges and opportunities coexist, and doubts and faith.Although modern utilitarianism and scientific doubt pose a severe challenge to the Pure Land Method, modern people’s internal needs and transcendent intentions for the spiritual nature in a high-material society also provide a rich social and psychological soil for the spread of the Pure Land Method of reciting Buddha.As the many disadvantages and difficulties of modern civilization become increasingly apparent, the cultural spirit of truth, goodness, beauty and wisdom in Pure Land Buddhism may have the prospect of widespread promotion as a good prescription for the treatment.With the compassion and wisdom of the same body, Amitabha Buddha is always caring about our sufferings and happiness, and is reluctant to give up any sentient beings. He takes the opportunity to comfort our hard and anxious hearts and gives us the best happiness.Through the Buddha's words and ancestors, we believe in and understand the reason why the Pure Land Buddhism chants is the way to appreciate the Buddha's kindness, sincerely submit, believe in and recite the name, be determined to be prosperous, and be dedicated to Amitabha Buddha, and be a guest at the Lotus Pond Sea Club.
Namo Amitabha!
May this merit be used to adorn the Buddha's Pure Land
Repay the four levels of kindness and the three paths of suffering
If anyone sees and hears, he will send itBodhicitta
All this reward body is born in the Pure Land
All Buddhas in the Ten Directions and Three Ages
All BodhisattvasMahaSa
Mahaprajna Paramita