The cause of birth in the Pure Land
by Hisao Inagaki
from the introduction to The Three Pure Land
Sutras,
3rd edition 2000
Karmic energy
Amida's saving power is available here and
now, and no one is excluded from his salvation.
But unless one is awakened to it, this power
is as good as non-existent. For those who
are deeply attached to themselves and their
ways of living in Samsara, it is extremely
difficult to aspire for the Pure Land. Their
karmic tendencies tie them fast to the vicious
circle of delusion, evil karma and suffering.
Any attempt to escape from such a condition
is bound to face strong resistance from within.
To leave, as it were, the present orbit of
one's karmic activity and reach the Pure
Land requires a special karmic energy, as
when a powerful rocket is launched into space.
One needs to concentrate mind and body on
Amida and direct to the Pure Land all the
merits (good karmic energy) which one acquires
by doing various meritorious deeds. Then
at a certain point, one encounters the Buddha's
power and is brought to his Land of Bliss.
Three vows of salvation
Of the forty-eight vows of Dharmakara, the
18th, 19th and 20th vows are especially relevant
to the salvation of beings. The essential
part of each vow is as follows:
1. The 18th Vow: those who sincerely and joyfully entrust
themselves to Amida, aspire to be born in his land, and call his
Name even ten times, will be born there.
2. The 19th Vow: those who awaken
aspiration for Enlightenment, do various
deeds of merit and sincerely aspire to be
born in the Pure Land, will at their death
see Amida and a multitude of sages appear
before them.
3. The 20th Vow: those who,
having heard the Name of Amida, concentrate
their thoughts on his land, do various deeds
of merit and sincerely transfer them to that
land with a desire to be born there, will
eventually fulfill their aspiration.
18th Vow
The eminent Pure Land masters in China and
Japan all paid special attention to the 18th
Vow and found in it the simple but most effective
way of salvation -- ten times' recitation
of the Name (nien-fo or nembutsu) with a
sincere, trusting heart. Here, what amounts
to the cause of birth in the Pure Land appears
only to be saying the Name. From the Sanskrit
text we see that the word 'nien' (or 'nen' in Japanese) should be taken as a mental
act of 'thinking' or 'mindfulness' rather
than a verbal act of 'reciting', but there
is no rigid line of demarcation between the
two. In actual experience, the aspirant's
mindful thinking of Amida is usually accompanied
by uttering his Name, and so a mere verbal
repetition without involving a mindfulness
is inconceivable. Indeed, in the Contemplation
Sutra's section on birth in the lowest level
of the lowest grade (chap. 30), the dying
person sincerely and continually says "Na-mo-o-mi-t'o-fo" (Namuamidabutsu).
The 18th Vow does not explain
what makes one sincerely and joyfully entrust
oneself to Amida, but, as is clear from other
Chinese translations and the Sanskrit text,
'hearing the Name' awakens the joyful faith.
This is evidenced by the passage in the Second
Part of the Larger Sutra describing how this vow has been fulfilled
(chap. 22): "All sentient beings who,
having heard his Name, rejoice in faith,
are mindful of him even once and sincerely
transfer the merit of virtuous practices
to that land, aspiring to be born there,
will attain birth and dwell in the Stage
of Non-retrogression...." 'Hearing the
Name' means more than merely hearing the
Name pronounced Na-mo-o-mi-t'o-fo or Namuamidabutsu or Namo 'mitabhaya. This means encountering Amida through the
Name. 'Rejoicing in faith' implies wholehearted
acceptance of Amida's message of salvation
and awakening to his Wisdom and Compassion.
19th Vow and three grades of aspirants
Devout aspirant will see Amida and holy sages
appear before him on the death-bed and lead
him into the Pure Land. When this vow has
been fulfilled, the three kinds of aspirants
attain three different ways of birth in the
Pure Land.
The higher grade of aspirants
(chap. 23) leave their homes to become mendicants,
awaken aspiration for Enlightenment, single-mindedly
contemplate Amida and do meritorious deeds.
At their death, they will see Amida and holy
sages, who guide them safely to the Pure
Land.
The middle grade of aspirants
(chap. 24) do not become monks, nor cultivate
great merit, but awaken aspiration for Enlightenment,
single-mindedly contemplate Amida, and do
some good deeds, such as building stupas
and donating Buddhist statues. Such aspirants
at their death will see a transformed body
of Amida, accompanied by many holy sages,
who will guide them to the Pure Land.
The lower grade of aspirants (chap. 25), although unable to
do many meritorious deeds, awaken aspiration for Enlightenment and single-mindedly
contemplate Amida even ten times with a desire to be born in his land.
At their death, they will see Amida as in a dream and then attain birth
in his land.
Nine grades of aspirants
highest level Mahayanists
highest grade middle level Mahayanists
lowest level Mahayanists
highest
level
Hinayanists
middle grade middle level Hinayanists
lowest level
moralists
highest level evildoers
lowest grade middle level evildoers
lowest level evildoers
The Contemplation Sutra classifies aspirants into nine grades. (1)
the three highest follow the Mahayana Path
and transfer the acquired merits to the Pure
Land; at their death, they will be welcomed
to the Pure Land by Amida himself or his
transformed body and a host of sages (chap.
22-24); (2) the next two are Hinayanists,
who observe the precepts and seek birth in
the Pure Land with the merits which they
have acquired; when they die, they will be
escorted there by Amida and a host of sages
(chap. 25,26); (3) next are those who do
secular moral good (chap. 27); and (4) the
last three are those who commit various evils;
if, at their death, they hear Mahayana teachings,
especially of Amida's virtuous Name, and
repeat it, they will be welcomed to the Pure
Land by a transformed Buddha and Bodhisattvas
or led there by a lotus-flower (chap. 28-30).
The higher the quality of merits they acquire, the greater
the benefits they receive. The time required before becoming a Buddha is
also dependent upon the qualities of the meritorious deeds performed. Evildoers,
however, are not excluded from salvation. They can be born in the Pure
Land by reciting Amida's Name with mindfulness.
Holding fast to the Name
The only practice mentioned in the Smaller Sutra as the cause of birth in the Pure Land is
the single-minded recitation of the Name
from one to seven days. We read in this sutra
(chap. 6):
"Shariputra, if a good man or
woman who hears of Amida holds fast to his
name even for one day, two days, three, four,
five, six or seven days with a concentrated
and undistracted mind, then at the hour of
death, Amida will appear with a host of holy
ones. Consequently, when life comes to an
end, his mind will not fall into confusion
and so he will be born in the Land of Utmost
Bliss of Amida."
Return to Nembutsu-Index; Index.