type
status
date
slug
summary
tags
category
icon
password
AI summary
People in the world chant the Buddha's name and seek rebirth in the West. If they succeed in being reborn there, they will become beings in the Pure Land. From then on, they will not only enjoy the extremely subtle and beautiful material environment of the Pure Land, but more importantly, they will also enjoy the extremely subtle and incomparably pure world of body and mind.
The living environment is called "dependent reward", and one's body and mind are called "true reward". The sentient beings in the Pure Land are dignified in both dependent reward and true reward, so their world is called "the Pure Land".
If you want to know what the human mind world is like after death, it is not difficult to get the outline based on the Buddha's forty-eight vows and the three Pure Land Sutras:
No longer falling into the three evil realms
No matter who you are, as long as you succeed in attaining rebirth, you will forever be free from birth and death, forever leave the Three Realms, and forever escape the cycle of reincarnation until you become a Buddha. You will never fall into the three evil paths again.
All of them are made of real purple gold
The bodies of all those who have passed away are the same as those of the Buddha, all of which are pure purple gold. This shows that there is no difference between living beings and Buddhas, and they are truly equal.
All of them have thirty-two characteristics of a great man.
The First Gate of the Stages of the Dharma Realm states: "The Tathagata manifests these thirty-two aspects in his manifestation, to show that the Dharmakaya is perfect in all virtues. This causes those who see him to love and respect him, and to know that he has superior virtues to be admired. He is the most respected among humans and gods, and the king of all saints, so he manifests the thirty-two aspects.
According to the Buddha's wish, those who are reborn there will reach the Pure Land in one lifetime. They will attain this state without waiting for the flowers to bloom.
Their appearances are the same as Buddha’s, with no difference in beauty or ugliness.
If there is a difference between beauty and ugliness in appearance, the beautiful ones will be easily arrogant, and the ugly ones will feel inferior, which will cause psychological imbalance and inevitably lead to disputes. Therefore, people in the Pure Land are all the same in appearance and there is no difference.
The life span is the same as that of Buddha, infinite and boundless.
Those who have passed away are all born from lotus flowers and have obtained pure and empty bodies, unlike the bodies of the Saha world which are a combination of the four elements and are subject to birth, aging, sickness and death, and are constantly changing. Therefore, their lifespans are the same as those of Buddhas.
Have the ability to see destiny
Those who have passed away have all received the blessings of Amitabha’s original vow, merit, and power, and have attained various supernatural powers.
The ability to know past lives is the ability to know the good and evil deeds done by oneself and others in past lives. The ability of an Arhat to know past lives can only know the events of the past 500 lives, but a deceased person can know the good and evil consequences of countless past lives.
Clairvoyance
The divine eye is a supersensory ability that can see everything, no matter how big or small, near or far. Arhats can only see the three thousand great worlds at most, but the deceased can see everything in the past, present and future of the infinite worlds, just like Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. They know everything and see everything.
Has clairvoyance
The divine ear is the ability to hear all sounds regardless of distance. Those who have passed away can not only hear the sounds of the ten directions, but also hear the teachings of the Buddhas in the ten directions.
Telepathy
Telepathy is the ability to know the thoughts of others. Those who have passed away can clearly know the thoughts of all living beings in the ten directions.
Have supernatural powers
The supernatural power of feet is also known as the power of divine wisdom and enlightenment, or the power of mind and will. It is a kind of ability to fly, split, arrive quickly, and change freely. The deceased can reach the infinite worlds in ten directions at the same time in a thought. Wherever you think of, you will be there immediately. With this supernatural power, it is easy to travel in space.
Offering to all Buddhas
Because the beings in the Pure Land have supernatural powers, they can reach the infinite Buddha lands in the ten directions in a very short time to offer sacrifices to the infinite Buddhas in the ten directions. This also shows that the beings in the Pure Land are all beyond time and space. They can reach the ten directions in a single thought to offer sacrifices to the Buddhas or to save all beings. They are incarnated and go away, but they themselves are still in the Pure Land, listening to the sutras and practicing the Way.
Away from discrimination, all the senses are quiet
Discrimination means distinguishing between self and others, right and wrong, love and hate, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, etc. These are the delusions of the deluded mind. Those who have passed away receive the blessings of Amitabha's power and are free from delusions, discriminations and attachments, and realize the true nature of all dharmas: "True Suchness is all dharmas, and all dharmas are True Suchness."
The six sense organs refer to the six sense organs of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. The six sense organs of ordinary people are often affected by the six sense objects of color, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma. For those who have passed away, the six sense organs are no longer affected by the six sense objects, so they are pure and unstained by any dust.
For a quiet person, the elimination of worries is called "quietness", and being free from pain is called "tranquility". In other words, without psychological worries, there is no physical pain, which is called "tranquility". For those who have passed away, there is no pain in both the psychological and physical aspects. This state is what Buddhism calls "Nirvana".
Attaining enlightenment and attaining great nirvana
To attain enlightenment means to attain Buddhahood. Mahānīrvāṇa refers to attaining Mahāyāna nirvāṇa. Mahāyāna nirvāṇa has the three virtues of dharmakāya, prajna and liberation, while Hināyāna nirvāṇa only has liberation among the three virtues. Therefore, Sakyamuni Buddha said that Hināyāna nirvāṇa is like a stopover, not the ultimate goal.
This is the twelfth of Amitabha Buddha’s forty-eight vows, “the vow to attain enlightenment for sure.” Master Jingkong said, “This vow is equivalent to Amitabha Buddha’s prediction for us, and it is also Amitabha Buddha’s guarantee for our attainment of Buddhahood.”
Female to Male
It is possible to change from a female body to a male body. Master Shandao explained: "Due to the power of Amitabha's original vow, when a woman chants the Buddha's name, she will be transformed from a female body to a male body at the end of her life. Amitabha will take her hand, and the Bodhisattva will throw herself into the body, sit on the precious lotus, and follow the Buddha to the afterlife."
When Shakyamuni Buddha was practicing the Bodhisattva path in the causal realm, he accumulated a great aeon of diligent practice before he gradually left his female body and became a male body. It can be seen that it is not easy for a woman to change her body into a male body. Now, as long as you hold the name of Amitabha, you can receive the Buddha's original vow and blessing, change from a female to a male, and be reborn in the Pure Land.
Lotus Rebirth
Those who are reborn in the Pure Land are naturally born in the lotus, pure and spotless, with supernatural powers and wisdom, radiating light, just like bodhisattvas.
Live in the right place
The right concentration group is one of the three groups. The word "group" means to group together. All sentient beings are divided into three categories, which are called the "three groups". The group that is sure to attain enlightenment is called the "right concentration group", and the group that will never attain enlightenment is called the "wrong concentration group". The group that is between the above two categories, who will attain enlightenment if there is a precondition, but will not attain enlightenment if there is no precondition, is called the "indeterminate group".
Those who have passed away all dwell in a state of right concentration and will definitely attain Buddhahood.
Stay away from heat and annoyance, and your mind will be cool. The happiness you experience is like that of a monk who has completely eliminated all defilements.
Heat annoyance means that the body is hot and the mind is annoyed. Those who have passed away “have no suffering, but only enjoy happiness”, so they are forever free from heat annoyance.
Coolness means purity and coolness, which is the opposite of heat and annoyance. Those who have passed away enter the great cool pool of the Pure Land (a metaphor for great nirvana), so their hearts are all cool.
Leakage is another name for afflictions. A leukaṇī is a bhikkhu who has completely eliminated afflictions, referring to an arhat. Because an arhat has completely eliminated all the afflictions of seeing and thinking, he does not cling to or be attached to worldly things. Although he enjoys happiness, his mind is not stained by it. "Like a leukaṇī" is to describe the pure mind of the sentient beings in the Pure Land, who enjoy happiness but are not stained by it.
Do not be greedy
Greedy and calculating the body means believing that people have a real self and being greedy and calculating, which is also ego-attachment. Ordinary people mistakenly regard the body of the four elements as themselves, greedy and calculating, and think about themselves everywhere. If they are in a favorable situation, they will feel love, and if they are not, they will feel anger, which will lead to karma and reincarnation. Those who have passed away have the blessings of Amitabha Buddha's original vows and merits, and have cut off their ego-attachment. The thought of ego-attachment will not arise again, just as the Diamond Sutra says: "There is no self-image, no person-image, no sentient beings-image, and no life-image." The four images are all gone.
Gain the body of Vajra Narayana
Diamond is diamond, which is extremely hard and sharp. It can break everything, and nothing can break it.
Narayana is the mighty god Narayana in heaven, whose power is incomparable. This is used to describe the deceased, whose body is as solid as diamond and whose power is as strong as Narayana, which is equal to the indestructible body of Tathagata.
The whole body is illuminated by light, achieving all wisdom and gaining boundless eloquence.
The deceased have a constant light on their heads. The light is a symbol of wisdom, showing that they have achieved all wisdom (the three wisdoms of all wisdom, the path wisdom and the all wisdom). They also "gained boundless eloquence". "Energy" refers to the ability to skillfully expound the Dharma. The eloquence of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas is called "the four unobstructed eloquence", or "the four unobstructed wisdom", or "the four unobstructed understanding", that is, the Dharma is unobstructed, the meaning is unobstructed, the words are unobstructed, and the eloquence is unobstructed.
Good at explaining the secrets of the Dharma
The secret is the mystery, and the essential is the essence. The deceased, because of their wisdom and eloquence, are able to skillfully expound the mysteries and essence of all Buddhist teachings.
One Life
One-life bodhisattva means that one can attain Buddhahood in this lifetime. It is the final bodhisattva who has attained the fruition of one-life bodhisattva. All those who have gone before can definitely attain Buddhahood in one lifetime.
Education is random
Those who have passed away will all ascend to the position of Buddha and attain enlightenment, but each Bodhisattva has his own vows when he becomes a Buddha. Some Bodhisattvas want to return to the impure land to benefit all living beings and teach sentient beings. Then they will be blessed by the Buddha's vows and return to the Saha world to save all living beings and come and go freely.
Food from home
When a person is reborn, food comes without any arrangement, clothes come without any sewing, and all utensils are provided as they wish. Westerners do not need food, but the reborn with karma in the common mortal and holy realms have not forgotten the habit of eating and drinking for many lifetimes and kalpas, so they have such facilities. The three higher realms (convenient, real, and quiet) do not have such things. Also, the way the beings in the Pure Land eat is different from that in this world. They are full after just one sniff, so there is no defecation or urine to pollute the pure land of the Pure Land.
Receiving offerings
As we all know, offering to Buddha is the most important way to cultivate merit. A person who has passed away can, in a single thought, make all the Buddhas in the ten directions accept his offerings. This skill is only available to Bodhisattvas of the eighth level, but even those who have passed away in the lowest level have it. It is truly incredible!
Proof of separation
Those who have passed away have all attained the state of being forever free from the cycle of birth and death in the six realms. Even if they appear in the three realms and six paths to save sentient beings according to circumstances, there will no longer be the cycle of birth and death.
Gather together with all the good people
The superior good people refer to the Bodhisattvas of Equal Enlightenment. Even if the people who have passed away are reborn in the lowest level, they can always be with the Bodhisattvas of Equal Enlightenment such as Guanyin, Shizhi, Wenshu, Samantabhadra, etc., to learn about the Dharma and practice the Dharma. What a privilege it is!
Complete realization of the three non-retrogressions
Bodhisattvas must eliminate the afflictions of views and thoughts in order to achieve the state of no regression; eliminate the afflictions of dust and sand in order to achieve the state of no regression; and eliminate the afflictions of ignorance in order to achieve the state of no regression. All those who are reborn in the Pure Land will achieve the three states of no regression in one lifetime.
There are five reasons why the beings in the Pure Land will not regress:
1. Buddha’s power of blessing. The last of the Buddha’s 48 vows says: “When I become a Buddha, all Bodhisattvas in other worlds who hear my name will not be able to attain the first, second, or third level of forbearance, and will not attain enlightenment if they cannot immediately realize the state of non-retrogression in the teachings of the Buddha.” Those who are reborn there will be able to achieve non-retrogression because of the Buddha’s power of blessing.
Second, the Buddha’s light always shines. When a person passes away, the Buddha will shine his light and embrace him, just like the sun and the moon shining on a dark road, so that he will not fall into pits and pits, and thus he will not regress.
3. The six sense objects preach the Dharma. The six sense objects in the Pure Land can all preach the Dharma, and they all preach suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self. They are constantly cultivated, so they will not regress.
4. Bodhisattvas are excellent friends. They gather together with all the good people, without any evil spirits outside and without any troubles inside, so they will not regress.
5. The life span is eternal. The life span of beings in the Pure Land is the same as that of Buddha. They can practice for a long time, just like taking a long journey. As their life span is long, they have nothing to worry about and will eventually reach their destination, so they will not regress.
Pure Four Lands
All Buddha lands have four lands: 1. The Land of Common and Holy Residence, where common people who have not yet eliminated the doubts about views and thoughts and saints who appear in person to preach the Dharma live together; 2. The Land of Convenient and Remaining Things, where Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas who have eliminated the doubts about views and thoughts, Bodhisattvas who have not yet attained the Dharma body, or sentient beings who have chanted the Buddha's name to the point of one-pointedness of mind in matters live; 3. The Land of Real Reward and Adornment, where the Buddha's reward body, Bodhisattvas on earth who have eliminated a part of ignorance and attained a part of the Dharma body, or sentient beings who have chanted the Buddha's name to the point of one-pointedness of mind in principles live; 4. The Land of Eternal Stillness and Light, which is the realm of the Tathagata's fruition land. There are a total of forty-two kinds of ignorance. When all are eliminated, one will be born in this land.
In other Buddha worlds, the four elements are separated, but only in the Pure Land are the four elements integrated. Master Huiyi said in the Essentials of Amitabha: "The sentient beings who live together, because they have the same merits and virtues as the Buddha through chanting the name of Amitabha, can fully purify the four elements and fully enjoy all happiness." It can be seen that once a person arrives in the West, he can enjoy the realm of the four elements at the same time. This is really incredible!
To sum up, those who have passed away have endless splendor in terms of both the positive and negative rewards. If one were to describe them in detail, it would take an eternity to finish.
All sentient beings in the Pure Land are majestic and beautiful. In terms of "matter", it is the blessing of Amitabha's vows and power that makes everything beautiful and subtle. In terms of "principle", it is something that is originally present in the Buddha nature of every person. Before rebirth, it is lost due to delusion, discrimination and attachment. After rebirth, it is blessed by Amitabha's original vows and power, and gradually recovers.
The Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism, Master Huineng, said when he attained enlightenment: "How could I have known that my nature is originally pure! How could I have known that my nature is originally neither born nor destroyed! How could I have known that my nature is originally complete! How could I have known that my nature is originally unshakable! How could I have known that my nature can give rise to all things!"
He said “何期” five times in a row, which means “I didn’t expect it.” He said: I didn’t expect that the self-nature is originally so pure! I didn’t expect that the self-nature is originally without birth or death! I didn’t expect that the self-nature is originally perfect and complete! I didn’t expect that the self-nature is originally unshakable! I didn’t expect that the self-nature can produce all things by itself!
The modern Zen master Xuyun once explained these five sentences, "The first four sentences are about gathering the functions back to the body, and the last sentence is about the great function of the whole." From this we can see that the various benefits enjoyed by those who are reborn in the Pure Land are precisely the "great function of the whole" of the Buddha nature that everyone possesses, that is, the great function revealed from the essence of one's own nature.
To achieve such a great effect, ordinary people have to practice for many lifetimes, just like the Sixth Patriarch. But as long as sentient beings successfully pass on to the Pure Land, they can enjoy it immediately. What a great bargain it is!
Because of this great opportunity, our teacher Shakyamuni Buddha and countless Buddhas in the ten directions have each given long speeches in their own countries, and have tried their best to persuade the sentient beings in their countries to go to the Pure Land as soon as possible. And Amitabha Buddha, the teacher of the Western Pure Land, also welcomes the sentient beings from the ten directions to come as soon as possible. From this, we can see that the Buddhas in the ten directions have the same thoughts, that is, they hope that all sentient beings: after this life, they will be born in the Pure Land together.
Loading...
