Faith｜05 Practical Advice for Pure Land Practitioners｜By Dharma Master Huijing

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Faith｜05 Practical Advice for Pure Land Practitioners｜By Dharma Master Huijing

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淨土宗澳洲 Pure Land Buddhism Australia
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净土宗官方網站
The official website of the Pure Land Buddhism：

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05 Practical Advice for Pure Land Practitioners
By Dharma Master Huijing

Pure Land Buddhism speaks of “faith, aspiration and practice.” What is faith? If we only believe that “there exists a Land of Bliss” and “there is Amitabha Buddha,” such a belief isn’t adequate. What is? It is, as mentioned earlier, to believe that Amitabha Buddha exists for our sake; that he undertook his vows and practice on our behalf; and that he accomplished the Land of Bliss for us and even registered ownership and usage rights in our name. So to be reborn there is like returning home natural and with no conditions. To believe this is to have sufficient, true faith.

What is aspiration? It has two implications: to wish for and to be willing. Generally speaking, to wish for something is to hope for a certain outcome. For instance, I wish in the future that I will be a government minister or a scientist. I have such an aspiration, but it is uncertain whether I can realize it. We rely on our best efforts. But however hard we work, we cannot be certain of success.

Willingness means if something is offered to me, I am prepared to accept it. Amitabha Buddha’s deliverance is like that. He asks and pleads with us, sentient beings of the ten directions, to accept his deliverance and awaits our assent.

So the words “wishing for” and “willing” have quite different meanings and degrees of difficulty. One refers to a future that requires hard work and is uncertain. The other indicates something that’s already accomplished, requiring no painstaking effort. All we need do is say “yes,” and all its merit is ours. This is what “aspiration” means in Pure Land Buddhism. By being willing to accept the deliverance of Amitabha Buddha, we receive all the merit and virtues he accomplished and accumulated.

The Land of Bliss is Amitabha Buddha’s gift to us. He has also dedicated to us, free of charge, the merit and virtues needed for rebirth there. For ten kalpas, he has been waiting for us to accept them. If we do, even by silently nodding our assent, we would at once become denizens of his Pure Land, no longer iniquitous beings trapped in the Saha world’s cycle of rebirth.

Thank you
Namo Amitabha Buddha

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