As I mentioned earlier, the five senses of samsaric beings (seeing,
hearing, touching, tasting, smelling) lead to delusion, attachment,
dissatisfaction and suffering, but when the inhabitants of the Pure Land
see, hear, touch, smell or taste things belonging to that realm, - because
those are enlightened manifestations and their own minds and sense organs are
also enlightened, - the states of mind they experience are themselves
enlightened and pure.
ANY
element in samsara can be both useful or an obstacle to our life and practice,
but in the Pure Land EVERYTHING there is conducive to perfect Enlightenment and
is a manifestation of perfect Enlightenment.
We
already talked about the effects of seeing the Bodhi Tree or hearing the Dharma
sounds produced by the gentle breeze which
wafts through its branches and leaves.
However, Dharma sounds are not limited to the Bodhi Tree. They are also
produced by the seven jeweled trees:
“when a fresh breeze wafts
through them, exquisite sounds of the pentatonic scales, such as gong and shang, spontaneously arise
and make symphonic music”,
by the ripples of the water in the ponds:
“the rippling water forms
meandering streams, which join and flow into each other. Their movement is
peaceful and quiet, neither too fast nor too slow, and their ripples
spontaneously produce innumerable wonderful sounds. One can hear whatever sound
one wishes. For example, some hear the sound ‘Buddha, some hear the sound
‘Dharma,’ some ‘Sangha’, others hear
‘tranquility,’ ‘emptiness and no-self[1],’ ‘great compassion,’ ‘paramita,’ ‘ten powers,’
‘fearlessness,’ ‘special qualities,’ ‘supernatural powers,’ ‘non-activity,’ ‘neither arising nor perishing,’
‘insight into the nonarising of all dharmas,’ and so on until the various sounds of the wonderful Dharma,
such as ‘the sprinkling of nectar upon the head of a Bodhisattva,’ are reached.
As one hears those sounds, one attains immeasurable joy and accords with the
principles of purity, absence of desires, extinction, and reality. One is in
harmony with the Three Treasures, the Buddha’s powers, fearlessness, and
special qualities, and also with supernatural powers and other methods of
practice for Bodhisattvas and sravakas. Not even the names of the three realms of suffering are
heard there, but only nirvanic sounds of bliss. For this reason, that land is
called ‘Peace and Bliss.”
by
the “breeze of virtue” which wafts
over the innumerable jewelled nets:
“when the breeze wafts over the
nets and the various jewelled trees, countless excellent sounds of the Dharma
are heard, and ten thousand kinds of delicate fragrances of virtue are
diffused.”
and
are found everywhere in the Pure Land:
“in that land there are thousands
of varieties of spontaneous music, which are
all, without exception, sounds of the Dharma”.
Comparing
the sounds of the Pure Land with those of higher samsaric planes of existence,
Shakyamuni said:
“A king of this world possesses a
hundred thousand kinds of music. From the realm ruled by a wheel-turning
monarch up to the sixth heaven [of the world of desire], the sounds of the
music produced in each higher realm are ten million koṭis of times superior to
those of a lower one. The thousands of varieties of musical sound produced in
the sixth heaven are a thousand koṭis of times inferior to one sound produced by the seven-jeweled
trees in the land of Amitayus. Again, in that land, there are thousands of
varieties of spontaneous music, which are all, without exception, sounds of the
Dharma. They are clear and serene, full of depth and resonance, delicate, and
harmonious; they are the most excellent
sounds in all the worlds of the ten directions.”
How the sense of smell helps us in samsara? It is useful to
detect poisonous things or if the food is old or expired but it can also
support our greed for luxurious perfumes and fragrances which lead to more
attachments. However, in the Pure Land the fragrances are pure and virtuous,
automatically destroying the seeds of blind passions:
“When the breeze wafts over the
nets and the various jeweled trees,[...] ten thousand kinds of delicate
fragrances of virtue are diffused. If one smells those fragrances one’s
impurities and passions spontaneously cease to arise.”
Also
related with seeing, smelling or touching, which in samsaric realms give rise
to blind passions and attachments, in the Pure Land they express enlightened states
and activities:
“If touched by the breeze itself,
one enjoys the same pleasure as a monk who has entered the samadhi of extinction.”
Here
“extinction” does NOT mean
annihilation, but the extinction of delusion and blind passions.
Shakyamuni
said:
“Again, as the breeze blows,
flowers are scattered throughout the Buddha land; they spontaneously divide
into different colors, not mixed together. They are soft and pleasant to touch,
glow brilliantly, and diffuse rich fragrances. When one’s foot is placed on
them they sink down four inches, but when the foot is lifted they rise to their
former level. When the flowers have served their purpose the earth opens up and
they vanish, leaving the ground clean and without trace of them. At the right
moment, six times a day, the breeze wafts, scattering the flowers in this way.
Moreover, lotus flowers of various jewels fill the land; each has a hundred
thousand koṭis of petals with lights of numerous colors - green lotuses glow
with a green light; white ones with a white light; and likewise dark blue,
yellow, red, and purple lotuses glow with lights of their respective colors.
The brilliance of these lights is so magnificent that it outshines the sun and
moon. Each flower emits thirty-six hundred thousand koṭis of rays of light,
each sending forth thirty-six hundred thousand koṭis of Buddhas. The bodies of these Buddhas are purple gold, and
their physical characteristics and marks are superb beyond compare.
Each Buddha emits a hundred
thousand rays of light and expounds the wonderful Dharma to beings in the ten
directions, thus setting innumerable beings on the right path of the Buddha.”
In
samsara some flowers may have thorns or be poisoned. Even the most beautiful
and harmless of them do not last long and when they wither their perfume
becomes a rotten stench. Also, if not thrown away quickly they dirty the place
which they previously decorated. However, the flowers emanated in the Pure Land
harmoniously co-exist with the inhabitants and the rest of the realm.
More
than this, they emit uncountable rays of light, each ray manifesting
innumerable Buddhas who are active in helping sentient beings in the ten
directions to encounter and follow “the
right path of the Buddha”, which
means the Dharma that all Buddhas praise - Amida Dharma.
About the taste of the Pure Land we find bathing ponds of
various length, breadth and depth which, “are
full to the brim with the water that possesses the eight excellent qualities,
clear, fragrant, and tasting like nectar”.
This
water adapts to the forms manifested by the inhabitants of the Pure Land:
“ if Bodhisattvas and sravakas in that land enter
the jeweled ponds and wish the water to rise to their ankles, it rises to their
ankles. If they wish it to rise to their knees, it rises to their knees. If
they wish it to rise to their waists, it rises to their waists. If they wish it
to rise to their necks, it rises to their necks. If they wish it to pour over
their bodies, it spontaneously pours over their bodies. If they wish it to
recede, it recedes.”
and,
“its temperature is moderate,
cool, or warm according to their wishes. The water comforts the body and
refreshes the mind, washing away their mental defilements. Clear and pure, the
water is so transparent that it seems formless. The jewel sand shines so
brightly that even the depth of the water cannot prevent its brilliance from
being seen. The rippling water forms
meandering streams, which join and flow into each other. Their movement is
peaceful and quiet, neither too fast nor too slow, and their ripples
spontaneously produce innumerable wonderful sounds.”
How
is water in samsara? It clears away thirst and gives comfort, but it may often
become an obstacle when it rains too much. Water here in samsara can be muddy,
or too deep, possessing turbulent streams or dangerous creatures may live in
it.
In
the Pure Land every element, including water, is in perfect harmony with the
inhabitants, never going against them, but adjusting to their form or the
Dharma activity they wish to perform. Thus, water is “peaceful and quiet, neither too fast nor too slow”, refreshing not
only for the body but also for the mind. The enlightened beings in the Pure
Land do not need to have their minds refreshed or cleaned from mental
defilements, but these qualities of the water are mentioned to show that it is
not ordinary water like we have here in samsara. On the contrary, the water in
the Pure Land is “clear and pure” that
is, not produced by the karma of unenlightened beings and it is “so transparent that it seems formless”
which means its nature is ultimate Dharmakaya beyond form.
Also, the food in the Pure Land, unlike in samsara, leads to
freedom from the attachment to the sense of taste:
“At mealtimes, plates made of the
seven kinds of jewels - gold, silver, beryl, agate, ruby, coral, and amber, and
also of moonbright pearl - spontaneously appear, filled with food and drink of
a hundred tastes according to one’s wishes. Although the food is offered no one
actually eats it. Once it has been seen and smelled, one naturally feels that
it has been eaten and so is satisfied; thus one feels relaxed in mind and body,
free from attachment to the sense of taste.
When the meal is over everything disappears, but it reappears at the next
mealtime.”
As
it is clear from the above passage, no one actually needs food in the Pure Land
– “although the food is offered no one
actually eats it” because no one ever gets hungry. This is the meaning of “once it has been seen and smelled, one
naturally feels that it has been eaten and so is satisfied; thus one feels
relaxed in mind and body, free from attachment to the sense of taste”. Food
which leads to non-desire for food “free from attachment to the sense of taste”
is actually NOT food in the samsaric sense of the word, but a Nirvanic manifestation
which appears spontaneously and without a need for it.
Not
only the food, but everything in the Pure Land is a spontaneous apparition,
including the houses and various adornments:
“Again, the halls, monasteries,
palaces, and pavilions are spontaneous apparitions, all adorned with the seven
kinds of jewels and hung with curtains of various other jewels, such as pearls
and moonbright maṇi-gems.”
“Ananda, those born in that
Buddha land are endowed with such bodies of purity and provided with various
exquisite sounds, supernatural powers and virtues. The palaces in which they
dwell; their clothing, food, and drink; the wonderful flowers; and the various
kinds of incense and adornments are like those naturally provided in the sixth
heaven of the world of desire.”
Again
a comparison is made here with a samsaric element in order to show an even
greater and better aspect of the Pure Land. The sixth gods
realm of the world of desire[2]
is the Heaven of Free Enjoyment of Manifestations by Others
(Paranirmitavasavartin). There too, everything appears naturally for the enjoyment of the dwellers,
but unlike the Pure Land, that god realm and its inhabitants are subject to
impermanence and the things they receive increase their attachments and blind
passions. The comparison is made only to show that the mechanism of appearance
is the same - naturally provided, but this does NOT
mean that the things in the Pure Land are similar with those in the sixth
heaven. As we have seen until now, all elements of the Pure Land are
enlightened and automatically destroy all delusions and blind passions in those
who enter into contact with them. The inhabitants of the Pure Land who enjoy
such “naturally provided” elements
have “bodies of purity” that is, they
are Enlightened and have enlightened bodies (Sambhogakayas) in the Pure Land
which surpass the beautiful yet samsaric and impermanent bodies of those born
among the sixth heaven in the world of desire or in any god realm.
The
fact that beings born in the Pure Land are enlightened and that any comparison
with other beings and realms is only for the sake of description and for a
better understanding, is also supported by the next passage which comes
immediately after that with the meals[3]:
“That Buddha land, like the realm
of unconditioned Nirvana, is pure and serene, resplendent and blissful. The sravakas, Bodhisattvas,
heavenly beings, and humans there have lofty and brilliant wisdom and are
masters of the supernatural powers. They are all of one form, without any
differences, but are called ‘heavenly beings’ and ‘humans’ simply by analogy
with states of
existence in other worlds. They
are of noble and majestic countenance, unequalled in all the worlds, and their
appearance is superb, unmatched by any being, heavenly or human. They are all
endowed with bodies of naturalness, emptiness, and infinity.”
“That Buddha land, like the realm
of unconditioned Nirvana, is pure and serene, resplendent and blissful” - the fact that the Pure Land is Nirvanic in its essence was also stated by
Dharmakara, before proclaiming His 48th vows in section 5 of the Larger
Sutra, and before becoming Amida:
My land, being like
Nirvana itself,
Will be beyond
comparison.”[4]
This means that
all the manifestations of the Pure Land are grounded in the perfect
Enlightenment of Amida Buddha, and are conducive to Enlightenment. We ourselves
will attain Enlightenment when we are born in the Pure Land, because the
essence of the Pure Land is Enlightenment/Nirvana/ultimate Dharmakaya itself.
Otherwise, if the Pure Land was not an enlightened realm, it would produce only
sensorial attachments, like other samsaric realms do, but Shakyamuni Buddha[5]
and our Masters[6]
were very clear that this is not the case.
Also,
Bodhisattva Vasubandhu stated in his Jodoron[7]:
"The
adornments of the Land of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life are the wondrous
manifestations of the ultimate reality".
And in the Essentials
of Faith Alone, Master Seikaku said:
“The Land of
Bliss is the realm of Nirvana, the uncreated”.
The “uncreated”
refers to ultimate Dharmakaya beyond forms, which is the essence of all Buddhas
and their lands. From this Dharmakaya emerge all the manifestations for the
sake of saving sentient beings in accordance with the specific vows of
different Buddhas. In our case, the Pure Land appeared when Dharmakara attained
perfect Enlightenment (became Amida Buddha) and thus brought His 48 vows to fulfilment. In
that moment, His land took the form and manifestations described in the sutra
and especially in His 31st and 32nd Vows, while also
maintaining its formless Dharmakaya essence.
The
fact that all the inhabitants of the Pure Land “are of one form, without any differences” shows that the analogies
made by Shakyamuni with other beings or realms were only for the sake of a
better description: ‘they are all of one
form, without any differences, but are called ‘heavenly beings’ and ‘humans’ simply by analogy with states of existence
in other worlds”.
In
truth, those born in the Pure Land are “unequalled
in all the worlds, and their appearance is superb, unmatched by any being,
heavenly or human”, and are “endowed
with bodies of naturalness, emptiness, and infinity” which again shows that
they are Enlightened Persons whose essence is ultimate Dharmakaya beyond form.
There
is a comparison made in section 18th and 19th to
emphasize even more the difference between samsaric beings and those born in
the Pure Land. Shakyamuni asked Ananda:
“If a beggar in extreme poverty
sits by the side of a king, how can their appearances be compared?”
Then
Ananda replied by showing the huge differences between the two and the karmic
causes which lead to birth as a “beggar
in extreme poverty - being at the lowest social level, with barely enough
clothes to cover his body, scarcely enough food to sustain his life, with
hunger and cold always tormenting him and
having almost lost human contact” and birth as a king who “is the most honored of all men, having “dignified and majestic demeanour” which
“commands the respect of his people”,
and for whom “superb clothes and
sumptuous food are prepared and served to him as he pleases”.
If
the condition of the beggar is “the
result of his misdeeds in former lives”, of not cultivating roots of virtue,
but instead “accumulating riches without
giving anything to others”, desiring more as his wealth increased, the
condition of the king “is the reward for
virtues accumulated in former lives, in which he, with a compassionate heart,
gave generously to many, saved people from suffering through kindness and
benevolence, performed good deeds with sincerity, and never disputed with
others”.
After
a life of avarice the actual beggar “fell
into one of the evil realms, where he suffered pain for a long period. When his
karmic retributions ended, he was able to escape but was reborn into a lower
class; being foolish, base, and inferior, he barely maintains the appearance of
a human being.” After a life of generosity, the actual king “was rewarded with rebirth into a higher
state. Born in a heavenly realm, he enjoyed bliss and happiness. His
accumulated virtues produced such a surplus of good that when he was reborn as
a man in this life his birth was, deservedly, into a royal family.”
Thus,
as Ananda said, because of their
different karmas, “if such a man (a
beggar) sits by the side of a king, his emaciated, mean, and ragged appearance
cannot be compared with the king’s. His appearance is a thousand million koṭis or even incalculable
times inferior to the king’s”.
Then
Shakyamuni continued with the comparison even further:
“‘What you say is true. Even
though a king is the noblest of all men and has a regal countenance, if he is
compared with a wheel-turning monarch he will appear as base and inferior as a
beggar beside a king. Likewise, however excellent and unrivalled the majestic
appearance of such a monarch may be, if he is compared with the lord of the
Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods, he will also appear incomparably inferior,
even ten thousand koṭis of times more so. Again, if this heavenly lord is compared
with the lord of the sixth heaven, he will appear a hundred thousand koṭis of times inferior.”
This
is how the higher you climb on the scale of samsaric realms, the better and glorious
becomes the condition of the inhabitants. However, because they are free from
samsara, those born in the Pure Land go beyond even the highest gods in any
unenlightened realm:
“If the lord of the sixth heaven
is compared with a Bodhisattva or a sravaka
dwelling in the land of Amitayus
(Amida), his countenance and appearance will be far from equal to that of the
Bodhisattva or sravaka, being a thousand million koṭis of times or even incalculable times inferior.’
The Buddha said to Ananda, ‘Devas and humans in the
land of Amitayus are each provided with robes, food and drink, flowers,
perfume, ornaments, silken canopies, and banners, and are surrounded by
exquisite sounds. Their abodes, palaces, and pavilions are exactly in
accordance with the size of their bodies. One, two, or even innumerable jewels
appear before them, as soon
as they wish. In addition,
beautiful jewelled fabric covers the ground where all the devas and humans walk.”
Again,
as I said at the beginning of this chapter, every manifestation of the Pure
Land is in perfect harmony with the
beings born there - “their abodes, palaces, and pavilions are exactly in accordance with the size of their bodies”, unlike
in samsara where everything, even the most beautiful element might become an
obstacle sooner or later, and where things never fit perfectly to the needs of
the inhabitants.
For
those born in the enlightened realm of Amida, everything is the manifestation
of enlightenment and supports the enlightened activities performed there or who
start there and are continued in the various realms of samsaric existence.
to be continued
[1]All elements of samsara,
because they appear according to causes and conditions, are considered empty and
having no real self or no inherent existence. Contrary to this, the Buddha nature
is truly existent as it is neither created nor dependent on causes and conditions.
[2] The
realms of the gods are divided into three: 1) gods of the Realm of Desire, 2)
gods of the Realm of Form and 3) gods of the Realm of Non-form. For a detailed explanation
see my book The Four Profound Thoughts
Which Turn the Mind Towards Amida Dharma, pages 146-160.
[3] It is not accidentally that the fragment
related with food is preceded and followed by passages explaining the
enlightened nature of the Pure Land and its inhabitants.
[4] The
Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study and Translation from Chinese by
Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and
Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.9-10
[5] For example, when He explained the role
and origin of the wonderful birds of the Pure Land, Shakyamuni said:
“Shariputra,
you should not assume that these birds are born as retribution of their evil
karma. The reason is that none of the three evil realms exists in that
Buddha-land. Shariputra, even the names of the three evil realms do not exist
there; how much less the realms themselves? These birds are manifested by Amida
Buddha so that their singing can proclaim and spread the Dharma”.
[6] For example, Master T’ao-ch’o said in his An
Le Chi, „The streams, birds, and forests all expound the Dharma, which
awaken people to the principle of non-arising.”
[7] Treatise on the Pure Land, in The Pure Land Writings, vol I – the
Indian Masters, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 2012, p. 57
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