AMITABHA

AMITABHA, THE UNBOUNDED LIGHT

  ONE of the disciples came to the Blessed One with a trembling

heart and his mind full of doubt. And he asked the Blessed One: "O

Buddha, our Lord and Master, in what way do we give up the pleasures

of the world, if thou forbiddest us to work miracles and to attain the

supernatural? Is not Amitabha, the infinite light of revelation, the

source of innumerable miracles?"

  And the Blessed One, seeing the anxiety of a truth seeking mind,

said: "O savaka, thou art a novice among the novices, and thou art

swimming on the surface of samsara. How long will it take thee to

grasp the truth? Thou hast not understood the words of the

Tathagata. The law of karma is unbreakable, and supplications have

no effect, for they are empty words."

  Said the disciple: "Sayest thou there are no miraculous and

wonderful things?"

  The Blessed One replied: "Is it not a wonderful thing, mysterious

and miraculous to the worldling, that a man who commits wrong can

become a saint, that by attaining true enlightenment he will find

the path of truth and abandon the evil ways of selfishness? The

bhikkhu who renounces the transient pleasures of the world for the

eternal bliss of holiness, performs the only miracle that can truly be

called a miracle. A holy man changes the curses of karma into

blessings. But the desire to perform miracles arises either from

covetousness or from vanity. The mendicant does right who does not

think: "People should salute me; who, though despised by the world,

yet cherishes no ill-will towards it. That mendicant does right to

whom omens, meteors, dreams, and signs are things abolished; he is

free from all their evils. Amitabha, the unbounded light, is the

source of wisdom, of virtue, of Buddhahood. The deeds of sorcerers and

miracle-mongers are frauds, but what is more wondrous, more

mysterious, more miraculous than Amitabha?"

  "But, Master," continued the savaka, is the promise of the happy

region vain talk and a myth?"

  "What is this promise?" asked the Buddha; and the disciple

replied: "There is in the west a paradise called the Pure Land,

exquisitely adorned with gold and silver and precious gems. There

are pure waters with golden sands, surrounded by pleasant walks and

covered with large lotus flowers. Joyous music is heard, and flowers

rain down three times a day. There are singing birds whose

harmonious notes proclaim the praises of religion, and in the minds of

those who listen to their sweet sounds, remembrance arises of the

Buddha, the law, and the brotherhood. No evil birth is possible there,

and even the name of hell is unknown. He who fervently and with a

pious mind repeats the words 'Amitabha Buddha' will be transported

to the happy region of this pure land, and when death draws nigh,

the Buddha, with a company of saintly followers, will stand before

him, and there will be perfect tranquility."

  "In truth," said the Buddha, "there is such a happy paradise. But

the country is spiritual and it is accessible only to those that are

spiritual. Thou sayest it lies in the west. This means, look for it

where he who enlightens the world resides. The sun sinks down and

leaves us in utter darkness, the shades of night steal over us, and

Mara, the evil one, buries our bodies in the grave. Sunset is

nevertheless no extinction, and where we imagine we see extinction,

there is boundless light and inexhaustible life."

  "I understand," said the savaka that the story of the Western

Paradise is not literally true."

  "Thy description of paradise," the Buddha continued, "is

beautiful; yet it is insufficient and does little justice to the glory

of the pure land. The worldly can speak of it in a worldly way only;

they use worldly similes and worldly words. But the pure land in which

the pure live is more beautiful than thou canst say or imagine.

However, the repetition of the name Amitabha Buddha is meritorious

only if thou speak it with such a devout attitude of mind as will

cleanse thy heart and attune thy will to do works of righteousness. He

only can reach the happy land whose soul is filled with the infinite

light of truth. He only can live and breathe in the spiritual

atmosphere of the Western Paradise who has attained enlightenment. I

say to thee, the Tathagata lives in the pure land of eternal bliss

even now while he is still in the body. The Tathagata preaches the law

of religion unto thee and unto the whole world, so that thou and thy

brethren may attain the same peace, the same happiness."

  Said the disciple: "Teach me, O Lord, the meditations to which I

must devote myself in order to let my mind enter into the paradise

of the pure land."

  Buddha said: "There are five meditations. The first meditation is

the meditation of love in which thou must so adjust thy heart that

thou longest for the weal and welfare of all beings, including the

happiness of thine enemies.

  "The second meditation is the meditation of pity, in which thou

thinkest of all beings in distress, vividly representing in thine

imagination their sorrows and anxieties so as to arouse a deep

compassion for them in thy soul.

  "The third meditation is the meditation of joy in which thou

thinkest of the prosperity of others and rejoicest with their

rejoicings.

  "The fourth meditation is the meditation on impurity, in which

thou considerest the evil consequences of corruption, the effects of

wrongs and evils. How trivial is often the pleasure of the moment

and how fatal are its consequences!

  "The fifth meditation is the meditation on serenity, in which thou

risest above love and hate, tyranny and thraldom, wealth and want, and

regardest thine own fate with impartial calmness and perfect

tranquility.

  "A true follower of the Tathagata founds not his trust upon

austerities or rituals, but giving up the idea of self relies with his

whole heart upon Amitabha, which is the unbounded light of truth."

  The Blessed One after having explained his doctrine of Amitabha, the

immeasurable light which makes him who receives it a Buddha, looked

into the heart of his disciple and saw still some doubts and

anxieties. And the Blessed One said: "Ask me, my son, the questions

which weigh upon thy soul."

  The disciple said: "Can a humble monk, by sanctifying himself,

acquire the talents of supernatural wisdom called Abhinnas and the

supernatural powers called Iddhi? Show me the Iddhi-pada, the path

to the highest wisdom. Open to me the Jhanas which are the means of

acquiring samadhi, the fixity of mind which enraptures the soul. And

the Blessed One said: "Which are the Abhinnas?"

  The disciple replied: "There are six Abhinnas: The celestial eye;

the celestial ear; the body at will or the power of transformation;

the knowledge of the destiny of former dwellings, so as to know former

states of existence; the faculty of reading the thoughts of others;

and the knowledge of comprehending the finality of the stream of

life."

  And the Blessed One replied: "These are wondrous things; but verily,

every man can attain them. Consider the abilities of thine own mind;

thou wert born about two hundred leagues from here and canst thou

not in thy thought, in an instant travel to thy native place and

remember the details of thy father's home? Seest thou not with thy

mind eye the roots of the tree which is shaken by the wind without

being overthrown? Does not the collector of herbs see in his mental

vision, whenever he pleases, any plant with its roots, its stern,

its fruits, leaves, and even the uses to which it can be applied?

Cannot the man who understands languages recall to his mind any word

whenever he pleases, knowing its exact meaning and import? How much

more does the Tathagata understand the nature of things; he looks into

the hearts of men and reads their thoughts. He knows the evolution

of beings and foresees their ends."

  Said the disciple: "Then the Tathagata teaches that man can attain

through the Jhanas the bliss of Abhinna." And the Blessed One asked in

reply: "Which are the Jhanas through which man reaches Abhinna?"

  The disciple replied: "There are four Jhanas. The first Jhana is

seclusion in which one must free his mind from sensuality; the

second Jhana is a tranquility of mind full of joy and gladness; the

third Jhana is a taking delight in things spiritual; the fourth

Jhana is a state of perfect purity and peace in which the mind is

above all gladness and grief."

  "Good, my son," enjoined the Blessed One. "Be sober and abandon

wrong practices which serve only to stultify the mind." Said the

disciple: "Forbear with me, O Blessed One, for I have faith without

understanding and I am seeking the truth. O Blessed One, O

Tathagata, my Lord and Master, teach me the Iddhipada."

  The Blessed One said: "There are four means by which Iddhi is

acquired: Prevent bad qualities from arising. Put away bad qualities

which have arisen. Produce goodness that does not yet exist.

Increase goodness which already exists.-Search with sincerity, and

persevere in the search. In the end thou wilt find the truth."