Chapter 8 - Evidence for External Empowerment

I once heard some Esoteric masters criticizing some Exoteric master: "Could you become Buddhas just by reciting the name of the Buddha and singing? Still a long way to go!" Some Exoteric masters criticized Esoteric masters: "You practice all sorts of strange and bizarre ways. You say you radiate lights. Is that true?" As the Exoteric and Esoteric teachings advocate different ways of practice, there is inevitably misunderstanding between the two schools, and rejection and criticism are unavoidable among masters who do not know the true meaning of the other.

I would make the following distinction between the two schools, in terms of internal power and external power.

For Esoteric practice, you become a Buddha in the present life, mostly by internal power plus a minor portion of external power.

For Exoteric practice, you get a rebirth in the Buddha land mostly by external power, plus a minor portion of internal power.

Moreover, Buddhist teachings have always regarded Taoist teachings as heretic (worshipping gods and ghosts), which is not a correct attitude. Taoist practitioners also have rank distinctions. The highest in rank are gold celestial beings, next below are heavenly celestial beings, further down are Earth immortals, and then below that are ghost immortals. Gold celestials rank equal with the Four Nobles, also out of the cyclic realms of existence. Buddhism and Taoism have comparable realms. The Heavenly celestial beings are the various gods in Heaven; the Earth Immortals are gods in this world of endurance, while the ghost immortals are gods in all the realms.

In whatever way you practice, as long as the right thought dominates and the concentrated mind can emit lights, your meditation will in due course get blessed by external power, so as to achieve realization. Practice in keeping with the teachings will certainly produce responses. This is what I make bold to tell my readers here. The reason is that all the Buddhas are kind and compassionate; if they do not bless and embrace those who practice honestly, how could they claim to have the greatest kindness and the greatest compassion?

Esoteric masters say that "to become a Buddha in the present life" is direct, whereas "to get rebirth with you karma" in the Pure Land teachings is indirect. However, in practicing Esoteric teachings, we also need external force for empowerment. I shall write about this in the next chapter. What follows is a discussion on empowerment by external force in the Pure Land.

The Pure Land teachings were brought to China by the Indian monk Buddhacinga (232-348) during the East Jin Dynasty and the Northern and Southern Dynasties. He first taught the doctrine to Tao An, and later Master Hui Yuan (334-416) established a school. When Master Hui Yuan was reading sutras in the Sutra Attic, he found a short version of the Amitabha Sutra. (The original was too long: Sutra protected by all Buddhas who praise the inconceivable merit of the Pure Land.) The sutra talked about birth into the Pure Land by reciting the Buddha's name. Master Hui Yuan believed that this was very easy, and set up the Pure Land School for its practice.

The Amitabha Sutra says:

"Sariputra, if a kind man or kind woman hears about Amitabha, and recites his name for one day, for two days, for three days, four, five, six or seven days, without distraction of the mind, when that person passed away, Amitabha and other Buddhas will appear before that person; if the person's mind is not confused, he/she will be born into Amitabha's Land of Great Bliss."

This paragraph from the Amitabha Sutra makes practitioners believe that the Pure Land Way was very easy, and for this reason, the Pure Land Sect thrived. A second reason was that the Pure Land Way could be practices by anybody, at any time, and at any place, relying on the blessing by other powers rather than one's own. This made it extremely convenient.

However, I would believe that it is also very difficult to practice the Pure Land teachings. The difficulty lies in "the mind is not confused" and "without distraction of mind". When we are passing away, the six types of deceased relatives will surely come to meet us, devils produced by our karma will also come to fetch us, and on top of that, our family members will be crying and wailing. Under such circumstances, very few people could keep their mind unconfused and get rid of all distractions. Though we say this Dharma gate is convenient, it is not so easy to be born in the Buddha's Pure Land without great concentration power.

What is the power we need in order not to be distracted or confused? It is no other than meditation power. That is why I say that if you have not practiced meditation power, your mind will be confused and distracted, making it difficult to go to the Western Paradise.

In fact, in the Western Paradise, there are three hundred sixty trillion, one hundred nineteen thousand and five hundred Amitabhas by the same name. In the Buddha lands, there are four lands and nine grades, corresponding to the nine grades of aspirants to Amida's Pure Land. The highest is the Land of External, Tranquil Light, where those with Perfect Enlightenment (rank 13), and Wondrous Enlightenment (rank 12) live--that is the land for Buddhas. The next highest is the "Land of Non-Hindrance as the true reward for the performance of meditation practice", where those of Equal Enlightenment live (ranks 8, 9, 10, 11). Next is the "Land temporarily established for those who have destroyed major evil passions, thereby attaining emancipation from delusions to be dealt with". These are Bodhisattvas and arhants from rank one to rank seven, considered as the highest birth of the highest class. The lowest is the land where ordinary people and sages live together. From the middle birth of the highest class, down to the lowest birth of the lowest class is the Realm that Dharma Kara created by his great vows of compassion, for transformation bodies. All those still with karma live in this land. This is not a high state. The transformation bodies need practice, meditation and reciting the name of Buddha, need to visit the various Buddha lands, and need to make offerings to Buddhas in the ten directions. To put it simply, the Land for ordinary people and sages is a "preperatory class" for Buddhahood and Bodhisattvahood.

I feel that if Pure Land practitioners also learn to practice meditation, then they can practice visualization, in addition to recitation of Amida's name, thought of Amida, and looking at Amida's statue. The self-power from meditation and Amida's embracing power will merge to take the practitioner to the Western Paradise without any doubt. Meditation for luminosity in particular is very effective, and, if Pure Land practitioners also practice meditation, they will certainly go tho the Western Paradise. This is: "Meditation without Pure Land teachings will go astray in nine cases our to ten. Meditation plus Pure Land teachings will be like a tiger with horns." This is to say that both of them are important.

Here is how I describe how to do visualization:

Visualize yourself as Amitabha, standing on a lotus seat in red clothing, holding a golden lotus in the left hand, right hand downward with fingers straight together to form the Mudra of compassion. On your right stands Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Kuan Yin), in white, with the left hand hanging down, and the right hand holding a white lotus in full bloom. On your left stands Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, in pink, with the right hand hanging down, and the left hand holding a bell. Visualize further that over your own Amitabha, there are auspicious clouds, in which a Buddha is sitting on a lotus seat which, is the Bodhicitta of your own Nature. The lotus stem under the flower goes from your crown to your pubic region.

Recite four times the fourfold refuge mantra:

"Namo Guru bei, Namo Buddha ye, Namo Dharma ye, Namo Sangha ye."

Recite the text for Bodhicitta generation, according to your own vows.

Now recite: "Hum" nine times, and say it loudly just once, to show that the crown is smashed open and is emitting the five-colored lights of the Buddha.In the lights appear the incarnations of the Three Nobles in the Western Paradise (Amitabha Buddha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva), and the auspicious clouds begin to illuminate. The stem of the lotus seat for the self-Nature Bodhicitta is also radiating strong white light, going right to the pubic region through the crown.

At this stage, one moment the five-color Buddha lights go up; the next moment the white lights go down to the pubic region, until they become a kind of circulation. This will happen seven times.

When this is completed, recite the mantra in concentration:

"Om, Y-ma, loh-nee, ze-din-deeh-ye, sa-he". Recite this mantra 108 or 1000 times.

Now, recite the verse of Merit Transference:

"When I am about to pass away, may all hindrances be eradicated. May I go and see the Buddha, and transcend life and death, and may I, like Buddha, deliver all beings from suffering."

This brings the session to a finish.

The present writer knows, however, that the most important thing about practice is to do it every day without interruption. Don't do it every tenth day! Take the practice for your daily official homework. What is particularly important is your single-mindedness; don't follow your inclinations. If your thoughts are kept away from worldly affairs, you will naturally develop an affinity with the Buddhas and celestial beings. A combination of the Pure Land teachings and meditation is the most wondrous method. Daily perserverance will sooner or later bring forth responses and blessing from the Buddhas and celestial beings.

If Esoteric masters criticize the Exoteric masters, the former is to blame. If Exoteric masters criticize Esoteric masters, it is the former that is to blame. If Buddhist criticize Taoists, the Buddhists are to blame. The reason for all this is that, although cultivation methods are different, the difference lies only in the amount of self-power and other power. The Esoteric practitioners also use external force for empowerment, and have no reason to laugh at Exoteric cultivators. Nor is the reverse acceptable.

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