Hi, my name is Ging Loong. I am the translator of this book, Records of Pure Land Sages, into English. I am also the creator of gl-purelandbuddhism.com.
Before this, I was a practitioner of Theravada Buddhism who aimed to become an Arhat by practicing at home. I was too arrogant to think that no one on earth was qualified to ordain me, so I chose to cultivate at home. However, according to the suttas, a layperson can attain only up to the Anagami stage.
Later, after practicing meditation for a period of time, I decided to give up this path because someone told me that attaining jhana while practicing meditation at home is impossible, and that jhana is a necessary attainment before reaching Nirvana. If I cannot attain jhana this means I will never become an Arhat who has escaped reincarnation and attained liberation.
(Note: What is Jhana? Jhana is a profound states of meditative absorption that arise through deep concentration during practicing meditation.)
He then suggested that I should follow Pure Land Buddhism, where practitioners recite Amitabha Buddha’s name, uphold the Five Precepts, practice the Ten Wholesome Deeds, become a vegetarian, study the Mahayana sutras, spread the teachings of the Buddha, and dedicate their merits to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss so that they can be reborn there after passing away.
This school of Buddhism is based on three of the Forty-Eight Great Vows of Amitabha Buddha.
𝟏𝟖𝐭𝐡 𝐯𝐨𝐰
“If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the ten directions, with sincere faith and joy, desire to be reborn in my land, even with just ten recitations of my name, and if they are not reborn there, then I will not attain perfect enlightenment. Except for those who commit the five heinous crimes and slander the Dharma.”
This vow is for practitioners who, at the moment before passing away, recite the name of Amitabha Buddha at least ten times with sincere faith, joy, and the desire to be reborn in the Land of Bliss. If they still have time before they die, they should continue reciting Amitabha Buddha’s name every day whenever they have free time, as this demonstrates their sincerity and faith in Amitabha Buddha’s vow. However, the most important part of this practice is that when the moment of death is near, they must let go of everything and single-mindedly recite Amitabha Buddha’s name.
This method of attaining liberation from the endless cycle of birth and death may seem simple, but very few people are fortunate enough to practice this Dharma Door. According to the Buddha’s teachings, one must have accumulated a great amount of merit through doing good deeds in past lives. Only then, when a Buddhist introduces this method, will one immediately develop faith and wholeheartedly practice this Dharma Door.
𝟏𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐯𝐨𝐰
“If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the ten directions generate the Bodhicitta (aspiration to become enlightened to benefit others), cultivate all virtues, and sincerely make vows to be reborn in my land, and at the end of their lives, I do not appear before them surrounded by a large assembly, then I will not attain perfect enlightenment.”
This vow is for practitioners who aspire to attain enlightenment and also wish to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. One must accumulate merit by cultivating various virtues and sincerely make vows to be reborn in that Pure Land.
𝟐𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐯𝐨𝐰
“If, when I attain Buddhahood, and sentient beings in the ten directions hear my name, keep my land in mind, plant the roots of virtue, and sincerely dedicate their merits to being reborn in my land, and if they do not achieve this, then I will not attain perfect enlightenment.”
This vow is for practitioners who wish to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss by accumulating merit by cultivating roots of virtue, and then dedicating those merits sincerely toward rebirth in that Pure Land. One should also always keep Amitabha’s Pure Land in mind, which can be done by reciting Amitabha Buddha’s name every day as much as possible.
Upon being successfully reborn there, one may choose to cultivate the Hinayana path to become an Arhat or the Mahayana Bodhisattva path to become a Buddha.
Pure Land Buddhism is unique because among the 84,000 Dharma doors in Buddhism, it is the only path that teaches practitioners where they can be reborn in the Pure Land while still carrying remaining impurities and negative karma.
(Note: How to cultivate the roots of virtue, which is the main practice of Pure Land Buddhism practitioners? It is simple: by reciting Amitabha Buddha’s name as many times as possible every day with sincerity, faith, and joy, being filial to your parents, upholding the Five Precepts, practicing the Ten Wholesome Deeds, becoming a vegetarian, studying the Mahayana sutras, and also reciting them and spreading the teachings of Buddha to others. If you have extra money, you may donate to release animals that are trapped or about to be killed, feed stray animals, donate to beggars or poor people who desperately need the money, print Buddhist books, donate to Sangha monasteries, Buddhist temples, and Buddhist charitable organizations.)
(Note: When reciting Amitabha Buddha’s name, one should begin with the word “Namo.” Therefore, the proper recitation is: “Namo Amitabha Buddha.” “Namo Amitabha Buddha” means “I bow to Amitabha Buddha” or “Homage to Amitabha Buddha.” This means that each time you recite the Buddha’s name, you are verbally bowing or paying homage to Amitabha Buddha in your mind. This is the same as joining your palms together and bowing before a statue of Amitabha Buddha. Both practices create merit and help eliminate negative karma when we recite “Namo Amitabha Buddha” every day.)
(Note: How to say the prayer when dedicating merit to the Western Pure Land. Say this in your heart each night before you go to sleep: “I would like to dedicate the merit that I have accumulated from my cultivation to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, so that I can be reborn there after I pass away.”)
(Note: There are 3 grades and 9 levels, representing the different types of people who can successfully be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss based on their different actions. The 3 grades are the highest grade, the middle grade, and the lowest grade. Each grade is further divided into 3 levels: the highest level, the middle level, and the lowest level.)
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