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| Rev Kosho Arana at Amidaji |
I would like to ask some questions:
Was Amitabha Buddha actually preached by
Shakyamuni Buddha or was he later invented as an Upaya by the Mahayana saints? Are
Amitabha Buddha and The Pure Land literally real or an archetype? Buddha-Dharma
says that all dharmas (phenomena) are sealed with three realities: pain,
impermanence and selflessness. How can Sukhavati be an eternal realm now?
Sincerely, A-Mi-To-Fo
*
Thank you for your questions. They are
very important.
I will answer them as best I can.
The teachings about Amida Buddha (Amitabha Buddha) are an essential part of more than 290 Sutras in the Mahayana Canon, especially the Sukavativyuha or the Larger Sutra on the Buddha of Infinite Life which was preached by Shakyamuni Buddha. This teaching has been praised by many Mahayana masters including but not limited to Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, Bodhisattva Vasubandhu, Bodhisattva Asanga, Master Tan Luan, Master Tao Ch’o, Master Shantao, Master Honen and Master Shinran. Shakyamuni Buddha Himself taught in many sutras the existence of innumerable Enlightened Realms outside Samsara, called Pure Lands which are created by different Buddhas according to their specific vows.
We can also add to this list many
Vajrayana Masters who have praised Amida Buddha in verses and have taught their
disciples about the reality of Amida Buddha and His Pure Land, these include
but are not limited to Master Padmasambhava, Marpa, Milarepa, Master Dolpopa,
Several of the Karmapas and Master Tsongkhapa. The list goes on and on in
India, China, Tibet and Japan (and many other countries in which there have
been great Buddhist teachers who have had faith in Amida Buddha). The tantras
and shastras that mention Amida Buddha are many. (Must be also near the
thousands actually). Just based on this simple point, saying that Amida Buddha
was mysteriously added by later disciples makes no sense, especially when we
consider the dozens of great Bodhisattvas and Enlightened beings who have praised
Amida Buddha throughout many centuries in Buddhist history.
Shakyamuni Buddha gave us a precise direction in the universe to locate Amida Buddha’s Pure Land. He is NOT talking
about a metaphor but about another Buddha, just as as real as Him, only that
this Buddha is not in a samsaric plane of existence preaching in a Nirmanakaya
Body (body of accommodation) but a Living Buddha in Sambhogakaya form outside
Samsara in His respective Pure Land, in this case, Amida Buddha’s Land of
Utmost Bliss and Peace - Sukhavati in Sanskrit.
Samsara is emanated by the three poisons
of anger, greed and delusion, whereas the Realms of the Buddhas are created by
enlightened minds filled with compassion and wisdom. In the Mahayana Nirvana
Sutra, Lotus Sutra and many other sutras and tantras Shakyamuni Buddha taught
that beyond the three marks of samsaric phenomena (no-self, suffering and
impermanence) there is a Buddha Nature all beings have within which is True
Self, True Bliss and permanent, which is everything that samsara is not. This
Buddha Nature is what Buddhas awaken to and since they dwell in the natural
compassion and wisdom of Buddha Nature they are constantly and eternally active
for the benefit of all sentient beings. Buddha Nature is not empty of itself, it is only empty of samsaric phenomena, empty of greed, anger and delusion and
filled with innumerable virtues, powers, qualities and splendor, just like a
jewel shines once you remove the dust that covers it. It is from this Buddha
Nature that Buddhas emanate Enlightened Realms called Pure Lands for the
benefit of sentient beings. Sukhavati is the most important of this Pure Lands
as this was the Pure Land Shakyamuni preached the most about in the sutras
simply because it is the one Pure Land all beings can go to regardless of their
spiritual capacities by just relying on the power of Amida Buddha to be born
there and then attain Buddhahood.
Shakyamuni Buddha said about Amida Buddha:
“The Buddha then said to Elder Sariputra:
‘If you travel westward from here, passing a hundred thousand kotis of
Buddha-lands, you will come to the land called Utmost Bliss, where there is a
Buddha named Amitayus. He is living there NOW, teaching the Dharma”.
So Amida Buddha is preaching the Dharma
there in Sukhavati right NOW. This is NOT a metaphor but the truth according to
Shakyamuni Buddha.
He also said:
“For what reason, Sariputra, do you think
that Buddha is called Amitabha? Sariputra, the Buddha’s light shines
boundlessly and without hindrance over all the worlds of the ten directions. It
is for this reason that He is called Amitabha. Again, Sariputra, the lives of
the Buddha and the people of His land last for innumerable, unlimited, and
incalculable kalpas. It is for this reason that the Buddha is called Amitayus.”
“The Buddha said to Ananda, ‘Rise to your
feet, rearrange your robes, put your palms together, and respectfully revere
and worship Amitayus (Amida). Buddha Tathagatas in the lands of the ten
directions always praise with one accord that Buddha’s virtue of non-attachment
and unimpeded activity.’”
“Ananda stood up, rearranged his robes,
assumed the correct posture, faced westward, and, demonstrating his sincere
reverence, joined his palms together, prostrated himself on the ground, and
worshiped Amitayus. Then he said to Śhakyamuni Buddha, ‘World-honoured One, I
wish to see that Buddha, His Land of Peace and Bliss, and its hosts of
bodhisattvas and sravakas’
As soon as he had said this, Amitayus
emitted a great light, which illuminated all the Buddha-lands. The Encircling
Adamantine Mountains, Mount Sumeru, together with large and small mountains and
everything else shone with the same [golden] colour. That light was like the
flood at the end of the period of cosmic change that fills the whole world,
when myriads of things aresubmerged, and as far as the eye can see there is
nothing but the vast expanse of water. Even so, was the flood of light
emanating from Amitayus. All the lights of sravakas and bodhisattvas were
outshone and surpassed, and only the Buddha’s light remained shining bright and
glorious. At that time Ananda saw the splendour and majesty of Amitayus
resembling Mount Sumeru, which rises above the whole world. There was no place
that was not illuminated by the light emanating from His body of glory
[Sambhogakaya or Dharmakaya as compassionate means – Amida’s transcendent
body]. The four groups of followers of the Buddha in the assembly saw all this
at the same time. Likewise, those of the Pure Land saw everything in this
world.”
Shakyamuni Buddha is very interested in us
accepting Amida Buddha as a real and living Enlightened being. He asked Ananda three
times about what everybody in the audience had seen:
“Then the Buddha said to Ananda and
Bodhisattva Maitreya, ‘Have you seen that land filled with excellent and
glorious manifestations, all spontaneously produced from the ground to the
Heaven of Pure Abode?’
Ananda replied (in his name and in the
name of Maitreya and all the audience),‘Yes, I have’.
The Buddha asked, ‘Have you also heard the
great voice of Amitayus expound the Dharma to all the worlds, guiding sentient
beings to the Way of the Buddha?’
Ananda replied, ‘Yes, I have’.
The Buddha further asked, ‘Have you also
seen the inhabitants of that land move freely, riding in seven-jewelled
airborne palaces as large as a hundred thousand yojanas, to worship the Buddhas
of the lands in the ten directions?’
‘Yes, I have’, replied Ananda.
Shakyamuni Buddha made it very clear to us
that the Pure Land is a real enlightened place in which we can aspire to be
reborn after death. He said:
“However hard you may practice in this life,
it can only be for a short while. In the life to come, you will be born in the
land of Amitayus (Amida) and enjoy endless bliss there. Being forever in accord
with the Way, you will no longer be subject to birth and death and be free of
the afflictions caused by greed, anger, and ignorance”
Not only this but being born in the Pure
Land also implies attaining lots of spiritual powers that are not found in our
current samsaric bodies:
“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.”
In many other sections of the Sutra,
Shakyamuni Buddha said that those born in the Pure Land possess limitless compassion and wisdom and they also possess innumerable spiritual powers such
as remembering all their past lives and also reading the minds of all beings in
the universe without any effort. There are so many more things to be said about
this, but you can see by now that being in Amida Buddha’s Pure Land is VERY
different than being in samsara.
So in conclusion
1. Amida Buddha is not a symbol or
archetype but a true, real living Buddha who is NOW teaching the Buddha Dharma
in His Pure Land. This was taught by Shakyamuni Buddha in the Larger
Sukhavativyuha Sutra and in many many other sutras.
2. Amida Buddha’s Pure Land is a real
enlightened realm where we can (and should) aspire to be born into after death
and this was also preached by Shakyamuni Buddha Himself in many sutras and this
was also a very famous, relevant and important teaching that was supported and
promoted by many Mahayana and Vajrayana Masters.
I hope this answer helps you.
May all living beings Entrust Themselves
to Amida Buddha, Say His Name and Wish to be born in His Pure Land.
Namo Amida Bu,
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