Buddhism of Wisdom & Faith ( by Dharma Master Thich Thien Tam)

Buddhism of Wisdom & Faith
( by Dharma Master Thich Thien Tam )

It is good that a notion came upon me yesterday night after watching Ajahn Brahmavamso's video lectures on U-Tube. I have decided to enter buddhism dharma text from the Book " Buddhism of Wisdom & Faith" by Dharma Master Thich Thien Tam on my Blog.This is a good book that I have read for some time and it discusses on Pureland Principles & Practice. The buddhism text that I am entering here is purely from the above mentioned book and is not from my personal viewpoint . Glad to be able to share it here with everyone.


Chapter (1) Birth & Death

Pure Land , a Buddhism Approach for Today
1) Mahayana Buddhism and the Pure Land School

Traditionally , in Mahayana temples and pagodas, monks and nuns recite the Amitabha Sutra in their evening prayer session , followed by the sacred names of the three Pureland Sages: Amitabha Buddha and the Bodhisattvas Avolokitesvara ( Kuan Yin/Kannon ) and Mahasthamaprapta ( Shih Chih/ Seishi ). Moreover, Buddhist followers, whether clergy or laymen , usually greet fellow cultivators with palms joined and the words " Amitabha Buddha "


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Pure Land teaching effectively suits today's times and the Buddhas' intentions and penetrated the psyche of Buddhists. Wherever Buddhism is practiced , the majority of followers always have the sacred words "Amitabha Buddha" in their mind. Japanese Buddhism has the following sayings: "the Esoteric School and the T'ien T'ai Schook are reserved for the nobility . Zen practice is the domain of the samurai, and Pure Land is for ordinary people " And, ordinary people always form the majority.

It follows, therefore that in Mahayana countries, those who practice Buddha Recitation ( i.e recite Amitabha Buddha's name ) represent the majority.

2) Predictions concerning the Pure Land

In the Longer Amitabha Sutra , Buddha Sakyamuni made the following predictions :

In the days to come, the paths of the sutras will come to extinction. I , with compassion and mercy, will purposely make this sutra survive for a hundred years. Anybody who encounters this sutra will according to his wish surely attain Enlightenment .

In the Great Heap Sutra , Buddha Sakyamuni predicted :

In the Dharma-Ending Age , among the multitude of practitioners, very few will attain the Way. The most they can expect is to rely on the Pureland method to escape Birth & Death.

Elder Zen Master T'ien Ju also admonished:

In the Dharma-Ending Age , all sutras will disappear , and only the words " Amitabha Buddha " will remain to bring liberation to sentient beings.

This is because [ in the distance future ] deep in the Degeneration Age , when all sutras have disappeared and the people's capacities are at a low level , they will not be aware of any method other than the Buddha Recitation . If they do not believe in and practice Pure land, they will certainly remain mired in the cycle of Birth and Death. Within that cycle , good actions are difficult to perform while bad deeds are easy to commit. Thus, sooner or later they are bound to sink into the hellish realms.

The Patriarch Yin Kuang , a Chinese Pure Land Master of recent times , also said:

In the current Dharma-Ending Age , sentient beings bear heavy karma and their minds are deluded. If they practice other methods , rather than Buddha Recitation, they can expect to sow the seeds of merit , virtue and wisdom but not to escape from the cycle of Birth & Death in their present lifetimes. Although there are a few instances of great monks exhibiting extraordinary achievement , they are in reality transformation Boddhisatvas. In accordance with their vows, they act as examples for sentient beings in the Dharma-Ending Age , as is taught in the Surangama Sutra , [ a key Zen text ] . Even then , these Boddhisatvas , adapting themselves to the people's capacities , can take the expedient appearance of having awakened to the Way. Ih the specific case of Pureland , very few sentient beings can achieve the Buddha Recitation Samadhi these days , compared to earlier times. However , through Buddha Recitation , they can "take their residual karma along with them" to the Pureland -- relying on their own vows and those of Amitabha Buddha. Once there , they have escaped Birth & Death , achieve non-retrogression , and can progress in cultivation.

These predictions show clearly that the Pureland method is well accepted to the causes and conditions of the current period and the capacities of today's people. For this reason , buddha Sakyamuni made the compassionate vow to preserve and disseminate the Longer Amitabha Sutra , to teach Buddha Recitation to sentient beings. This is also true of the Bodhisatvas and Patriarchs, who, through their compassionate vows and in accord with the current times, also teach the Pureland method.

It is due to the power of those vows that the Pureland method has become popular among the majority of Buddhists.