1.
Buddhist Faith and Sudden Enlightenment, by Sung
Bae Park, first Indian edition published by Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi,
1991, p. 11.
Originally published in 1983, this book is the first in
English on the central role of faith in Mahayana Buddhism.
Nagarjuna (c.
150-250 A. D.) was the 14th Patriarch in Mahayana Buddhism, and
remains very highly regarded as a major Bodhisattva.
2.
Ibid., p. 13.
“Faith has a
great influence on one’s consciousness. That is why it is a controlling
faculty. With faith there can be effort. Faith arouses motivation in practice
and becomes the basis for all other dhammas, like concentration and wisdom,”
Sayadaw U Pandita has taught in IN THIS
VERY LIFE, published by Buddhist Publications Society, Sri Lanka, 1992, p.
259. This book is a collection of talks delivered at the first three-month
retreat conducted in 1984 at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre,
Massachusetts.
With well over
60 years of monastic training, Sayadaw U Pandita (born 1921) is recognized as
one of the greatest living meditation masters. He has succeeded Mahasi Sayadaw
as head of the lineage of Mahasi Sasana Yeiktha Meditation Center in Rangoon
(now known as Yangon).
In the ancient
technique of vipassana (insight) meditation as taught by the Buddha and revived
by the late Mahasi Sayadaw in Burma (Myanmar), there are five controlling
faculties in mental development leading to the full liberation of the heart and
mind. They are faith, effort/energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom.
Faith, the first of these controlling factors, triggers the others as well.
Faith is the
foundation of practice; mindfulness is the fundamental practice. And it’s
mindfulness of the Buddha Amitabha in Pure Land faith and practice. 29.08.2014
06:37
3.
Quoted in ZEN AROUND THE WORLD, by Amnellen M Simpkins, Ph. D. & C.
Alexander
Simpkins, Ph. D., published by Charles Tuttle Inc., Boston, Massachusetts,
1997, p. 151.
In the great
Hindu epic poem Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna: “The faith of a man follows his
nature, Arjuna. Man is made of faith: as his faith is so he is.”
(THE BHAGAVAD GITA, translated by Juan
Mascaro, published by Penguin Books, Middlesex, 1962, p. 112)
CONTINUED NEXT PAGE
Karma Sonam Senge, a Tibetan
monk at the Rainforest Hermitage in Costa Rica, has written on the
process of faith in his
book entitled ALTRUISM: Contemplations
for the Scientific Age:
“. Faith is not belief,
it is trust. And in order to trust we must become simple and open. Simplicity
and
openness allow us to let
go of mental constructs, and faith and trust allow us
to abide in a unity of
mind and body. In faith we are completely committed to each moment of
experience without the
reservation of our rational skepticism.
“In the short span of
human life not many beings come to know this truth directly and utilize it as a
way of life. Because of
our social conditioning, we must become very mature in life experience before
we can begin to live by
faith without feeling that we have to give up our rational explorations. As our
society matures this
integration will come about more quickly because then we will be free of the
presumption that faith and
the rational mind are mutually exclusive…”
(p. 51)
Concluding his brief but
insightful essay on faith, Karma Sonam Senge has linked it to consciousness
(p. 52): “When we cultivate
a deep integration of our being (through the furthering process of faith and
self-realization), we will
discover that the mind has far greater ability to extend itself than we
previously ever imagined.
We will understand that we are not merely connected to the phenomenal
world via the body and
evolution, but also that we are profoundly connected by way of
consciousness. With this
understanding comes the awareness that materiality itself can be
transformed by
consciousness…”
The Buddha has taught that
the mind is the source of all things, and that all things are created by the
mind. The mind is also the
key to changing the nature of experience.
Karma Sonam Senge visited
the Nalanda Reading Room & Archives in Ipoh Perak ,
Malaysia
presented an autographed
copy of his book on 3 December, 1999. His book ALTRUISM was published
by THE OPEN PATH, Boise,
Idaho, 1986.
The Snowmass Contemplative
Group of contemplatives from many different religions have held
annual meetings since the
early 1980s. Originally sponsored by Father Thomas Keating, a Catholic
priest, their inaugural
meeting was held at the Trappist monastery in Snowmass , Colorado
met regularly to establish
common understandings in their diverse practices.
Recently, these
contemplatives managed to put together their seven points of agreement which
they
have been refining over the
years. Their seven points of common understanding are as follows:
1. The potential for
enlightenment is in every person.
2. The human mind cannot comprehend ultimate
reality, but ultimate reality can
be experienced.
3. The ultimate reality is the source of all
existence.
4. Faith is opening, accepting &
responding to ultimate reality.
5 Confidence in oneself as rooted in the
ultimate reality is the necessary corollary to
faith in the ultimate reality.
6. As long as the
human experience is experienced as separate from the ultimate reality, it is
subject to ignorance, illusion, weakness and suffering.
7. Disciplined
practice is essential to the spiritual journey, yet spiritual attainment is not
the result of one’s effort
but the experience of oneness with ultimate reality.
The above extract is taken
from Saints and Psychopaths authored
by William L. Hamilton, published by Dharma Audio Network Associates (DANA), San Jacinto , California
The Buddha has taught that
everything in the universe is one and the same. The Pure Landers have
faith in Amitabha Buddha as
well as in their own Buddha-nature (which is also the enlightened consciousness
of Amitabha). And in the Pure Land school, Amitabha is equated with the
universe and ultimate reality.
Through continuous and
concentrated chanting or reciting of the Buddha’s Name, a Pure Land devotee
seeks spiritual oneness and unity with Amitabha.
4.
Culapunna Sutta, quoted in The
Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation
of the Majjhima Nikaya, edited and
revised by Bhikkhu Bodhi, published by Buddhist Publication
Society, Kandy , Sri Lanka Sri Lanka
5. Ibid., p. 464.
Ananda’s quote is from the Sekha Sutta: The Disciple in Higher Training.
6(a) Ways
of Enlightenment, prepared and published by Dharma Publishing, Nyingma
Institute,
“With faith, you can easily traverse from one
stage of the spiritual path to another,” says His Holiness the Dalai Lama (THE LITTLE BOOK OF BUDDHISM, published
by Rider, London, 1999, p. 101.).
6(b) Ibid., p.119.
For Bhiksu Heng Sure, an
American monk and disciple of Master Hsuan Hua at the Gold
Mountain Monastery in San Francisco
a seed striking its roots on
fertile ground.
In a personal and insightful
article on faith, Ven. Dr. Heng Sure recalls his early days as a student
bicycling down the Berkeley Hills and passing by the Gold Mountain Monastery on
his way to graduate school in the early mornings. “Faith carried me back to my
inner Buddha-seed in strange ways, at odd times,” he writes.
But, faith did not strike
him and convert him in a flash. This little seed in his heart-mind, however,
kept on speaking to him, deep within.
“What was it but faith
speaking to me? Following the voice, I was led to happily enter Gold Mountain
“My doubts decreased as my
faith grew. Soon I was able to put down my old bad ways gradually as I picked
up new, true habits and views.
“It’s a natural, wholesome
process like tending a fertile garden of healthy plants. Faith is the unfailing
seed...”
And he concludes his
personal statement by quoting from the Avatamsaka Sutra:
Faith causes all roots to grow pure and
clean and sharp.
Faith’s power is solid. Nothing can destroy
it.
Faith extinguishes the roots of afflictions
forever…
Ven. Dr. Heng Sure’s
inspiring piece was originally published in MAHASISWA BUDHIS, and
reprinted in the
Penang-based BUDDHIST DIGEST
(February 1983).
6© Ways of Enlightenment, p.
120.
7. Ibid., p. 120.
8. Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, by Pabongka
Rinpoche, published by Wisdom Publications,
This book contains the
month-long teaching delivered in 1921 to 700 Tibetan monks, nuns
and lay people at the Chuzang
Hermitage near Lhasa
1950) has described it as
“one of the most famous teachings ever given in Tibet
Pabongka Rinpoche (1878-1941) is regarded as one of the great lamas
of the 20th century.
9. WATER MIRROR REFLECTING
HEAVEN, by Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua (1918-1995),
published by Dharma Realm
Buddhist University Talmage , California
“Returning to the source” is
returning to one’s Buddha-nature (everyone’s seed of enlightenment, potential
of Buddhahood), signifying recovery of one’s originally enlightened nature. 29.08.2014 05:36
10. WAYS OF ENLIGHTENMENT,
p. 117.
11. SONG OF KARMAPA: a
commentary (based on teachings given in Nepal
Nyima Rinpoche, the abbot
of Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery, a major center for Buddhism in
Composed by Lord Ranjung
Dorje (1284-1339), the third Karmapa, Song
of Karmapa is the classic
meditation manual on the
Vajrayana path of liberation.
Tilopa founded the Kagyu
lineage over one thousand years ago in India. Naropa, a great Buddhist
scholar monk, was a
professor and a chancellor at the University
of Nalanda
One day, Naropa gave up
everything and went looking for a teacher who could teach him the
essence of spiritual
practice. When he found Tilopa in Bengal , the
great master was living like a
beggar by the side of a
river. Naropa must have tremendous humility as well as considerable faith
to study under a man living
in such wretched conditions..
Subsequently, Naropa
initiated and taught Marpa, the direct master of Milarepa (1040-1123), the
great
Tibetan mystic and yogi. And
thus was the Kagyu lineage brought from India Tibet
it has produced a long
succession of spiritual leaders known as the Karmapas as well as great
exponents
of the Mahamudra school of
meditation in the Vajrayana path of liberation..
12. Notes to the Alagaddupama Sutta, The Simile of the Snake,
in The Middle Length Discourses
of the Buddha, p. 1211.
13. Ibid., p. 236.
14. THE TEACHINGS OF BUDDHA,
published by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai, Tokyo
pp. 350, 352.
In the first English translation of The
Lion’s Roar of Queen Srimala,
or Sri-mala-sutra (originally
published by Columbia University Press, New York in 1974 and subsequently by
Motilal Banarsidas, Delhi in 1993), Alex and Hideko Wayman have noted (p. 70)
that in the Lalivistara “the future
Buddha (Maitreya), of course a Bodhisattva on the Tenth Stage and ready to
descend (to this Saha world of ours) for his last life (in order to complete
his enlightenment and attain Buddhahood like his predecessor the historical
Buddha Shakyamuni), preaches to the Tusita gods the 108 entrances into the
light of the Doctrine (of the path to omniscience). The first of these is faith
(sraddha) which serves the unassailable
purpose.”
CONTINUED NEXT
PAGE
In Chapter Four of the Sri-Mala (p. 107), the Buddha
Shakyamuni said to Queen Srimala: “Queen, whatever disciples of mine are
possessed of faith (in the Tathagata/Buddha and (then) are controlled by faith,
they by depending on the light of faith have a knowledge in the precincts of
the Dharma, by which they reach certainty in this” (teaching on the intrinsic
purity and the accompanying defilement of consciousness in the Tathagatagarba,
the embryo of the Dharmakaya, the ultimate Buddha-nature ever present in every
sentient being).
The Waymans have noted (pp. 107-108) that
the disciples, the true sons and true daughters of the Tathagata “are 1)
possessed of faith, and then 2) controlled by faith; they then 3) by depending
on the light of faith gain a knowledge in the precincts of the Law (Dharma) and
finally 4) reach certainty “in this” (teaching) as well as certainty in
cultivating and attaining enlightenment and omniscience of Buddhahood.
“According to Chi-tsang (549-623), there
are two levels of faith: the disciples begin with faith in the teaching, and
then advance to faith with understanding. (In the Abhidharma-kosa, “faith with understanding” is of four kinds,
toward the Buddha, his Doctrine (Dharma), and the Congregation (Sangha), and
toward the moral rules dear to the noble ones.)
“Then there are two kinds of
Dharma-knowledge: the disciples by depending on the light of faith gain a
knowledge in the precincts of the Dharma, which is their breadth of knowledge;
then they reach certainty, which is their depth of knowledge.
“Saeki (a contemporary Japanese scholar)
tries to correlate the four levels with the Bodhisattva Stages: the one with
simple faith precedes the Bodhisattva stages; the next one who adds
understanding is on the First, Second, and Third Stages; the one who gains the
knowledge in the precincts of the Dharma is on the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth
Stages; the one who reaches certainty is on the Seventh or higher Stage.
“In terms of the Sri-Mala’s subsequent (description of) three kinds of good son or
daughter of the family (of the lineage of Buddha), the one “who shrinks from
gaining the knowledge of the profound Dharma by himself” (or herself) is on the
first two levels of discipleship. The one with the knowledge in the precincts
of the Dharma is of course on the third level; and the one who has the profound
Dharma through introspection is on the fourth or final level.”
Of the three kinds of good son or good
daughter of the family, Queen Srimala (p. 110) has described them as 1) one
having the profound Dharma through introspection, 2) having the knowledge in
the precincts of the Dharma, and 3) one “who shrinks from gaining the knowledge of
the profound Dharma by himself (herself), thinking, ‘I cannot possibly know it;
this meaning can only be understood by the Tathagata himself,’ and so keeping
the Lord in mind, obtains the mental presence of the Lord.”
In Pure Land practice, it
becomes the constant mindfulness of the Lord Amitabha Buddha, sustained by
faithful chanting or reciting of his sacred and spiritually powerful Name. With
mindfulness of the Buddha, comes the purifying and enlightening power of the
Buddha.
In the Introduction the Waymans have written (p. 15)
that “the Sri-Mala has a doctrine of
faith easily assimilated to the all-important terminology of the Pure Land
School, jiriki (self-power in
spiritual cultivation) and tariki
(other-power, Buddha’s infinite saving, liberating, and enlightening power),
but did not actually employ these terms.”
However, the Waymans have also noted (p.
16): “The two terms were employed by Tan-luan (476-524), founder of the
Ching-t’u (Pure Land) in China, and accordingly came into Japan with the Pure
Land sect called Jodo (started by Honen in
1175)…”
Towards the end of her eloquent exposition
in Chapter Three (p. 106), Queen Srimala addressed the Lord Buddha Shakyamuni:
“…The Lord is the omnipotent being. The Lord is the resort.”
Wesak Sunday 22.5.2005 23.5.2005
0005
15. ZEN BUDDHISM: A HISTORY,
Volume 1, India China
translated by James Heisig
and Paul Knitter, published by Macmillan, 1988, 1994, p. 5.
16. From the Sekha Sutta, in The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, p. 462.
17. Ibid., p. 707. From verse 58 in the Bodhirajakumara Sutta.
18. From Thinley Norbu Rinpoche’s essay on “Love and Faith” in WHITE SAIL, published by
Shambhala, Boston
19. Pure Land
distribution by Amida
Fellowship, Kuala Lumpur
In the Bhavagad Gita, the Lord Krishna says:
“In whatever work he does he can take refuge in me,
and he attains then by my
grace the home of Eternity.” (THE BHAVAGAD GITA, p.120.)
In The
Words of My Perfect Teacher (published by Harper Collins, New Delhi
century Tibetan teacher Patrul Rinpoche has
written (pp. 17-18): “As a human being, your positive
actions are more powerful than those of other
kinds of being. This gives you, on the one hand, an
opportunity here and now in this very life to
cast rebirth aside once and for all…”
His
advice (p. 192) is to take refuge in the Buddha – “the basis of all Dharma
practice, for its benefits
are immeasurable” –
including going beyond rebirth and gaining spiritual liberation.
20. The Way of
Nembutsu-Faith, by Hisao Inagaki, published by Nagata Bunshodo, Kyoto
Horai Association, 1996, p.
31.
“Faith is a gift of God,”
said Mother Teresa (1910-97), a world-renowned and beloved Roman Catholic
missionary and a 20th century saint in Calcutta, India, who was awarded the
Nobel prize for peace in 1979.
More than seven centuries
ago, the great Christian saint, scholar and philosopher Thomas Aquinas
(1225-1274) had said the same thing – faith by the grace of God. 23.5.2005 0018
21. The Flower Ornament Sutra,
translated by Thomas Cleary, published by Shambhala, Boston
1993,, p. 123.
22. THE TEACHINGS OF BUDDHA, p.
360.
23. Ibid., p. 418
24. Ibid., p. 418
25. Ibid., p. 358
.
26. Buddhist Faith and Sudden
Enlightenment, p.143
27. The Way of Nembutsu-Faith,
p. 21.
As spelt out in the main
Pure Land scripture The Sutra On The Buddha of Infinite Life, the 18th Vow reads: “If, when
I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten directions who
sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land,
and call my Name even ten times, should not be born there, may I not attain
perfect Enlightenment…” (THE THREE PURE
LAND SUTRAS, a study and translation from Chinese by Hisao Inagaki in
collaboration with Harold Stewart, published by Nagata Bunshodo, Kyoto, 1995,
p. 243)
CONTINUED NEXT PAGE
Birth in Amitabha’s Pure Land brings
spiritual liberation, putting an end to the cycle of rebirths, and the
Pure Land provides an ideal environment for
further cultivation leading unfailingly to the attainment of
perfect enlightenment and Buddhahood.
According to Patriarch Vasubandhu (c.
320-400), an Abhidharma master and co-founder of the
Yogacara School who had taken refuge in Amitabha
Buddha and contributed enormously to the
development of Pure Land thought, the Power
of Amitabha’s Vow “enables those who encounter it to
gain the supreme merits.” (Ibid., p. 72) The supreme
merits are those of Buddhahood.
Inagaki elaborates on Vasubandhu’s
exposition on the Power of the Vow (ibid., p. 76): “Speaking in
terms of the Vow, all that Amitabha
attained on His realization of Buddhahood derived from the Vows
(48 of them) which he had made (and fulfilled all of
them) when he was a bodhisattva (then known as
Dharmakara).
“The 12th Vow was the cause of
Amitabha’s Infinite Light (Amitabha), the 13th was the cause of his
Infinite Life (Amitayus), and by extension
these two vows were also the cause of the Pure Land of
Immeasurable Light and Life.
“The 18th Vow of Nien-fo-Faith (Faith in the efficacy and
power of the mindful practice of
chanting/reciting/hearing the Name of Amitabha) is the
most concrete expression of Amitabha’s wish to
save all beings in delusion and suffering.
“The Vow of universal salvation, as the 18th
Vow may be called, having been fulfilled, the most
effective way pf salvation has become
available to us. This is the easy and quick way of emancipation
through the Name.
“Those who contemplate Amitabha and His
Pure Land or hear His Name encounter the Power of His
Vow (to
save all those having sincere faith in him), and so are endowed with the
supreme merits.”
“The mind of faith is the mind of
sincerity; it is a deep mind, an unquestioning mind, a mind that is
sincerely glad to be led to Buddha’s Pure
Land by Buddha’s power and in His own way. Therefore,
Buddha gives a power to faith that leads people to the
Pure Land, a power that purifies them, a power
that protects them from self-delusion,” Master Hsing
Yun, a leading contemporary Ch’an/Zen scholar-
monk and internationally-known Fo Guang founder, has
taught.
“Even if they have faith only for a
moment, when they hear the Buddha’s Name, that is praised all over
the world (and throughout the universe,
according to Shakyamuni), it will bring them to His Pure
Land…”
--- THE WAY OF PRACTICAL ATTAINMENT,
published by Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia, Penang ,
p, 22.
23.5.2005 0223
28. BUDDHISM, by John
Snelling, published by Element Books, Great Britain, 1996, p. 87.
Buddha Nature is defined in
The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen: “According to the
Mahayana view, (Buddha-nature) is the
true, immutable, and eternal nature of all beings. Since all
beings possess Buddha-nature, it is
possible for them to attain enlightenment and become a Buddha,
regardless of what level of existence
they occupy… the Mahayana sees the attainment of Buddhahood
as the highest goal; it can be attained
through the inherent Buddha-nature of every being through
appropriate spiritual practice.” (Quoted in the
Glossary of PURE LAND PURE MIND: The
Buddhism
of Masters Chu-hung and
Tsung-pen, translated by
J.C. Cleary, published originally by Sutra
Translation Committee of the United States and Canada,
New York, 1994, and subsequently printed for
free distribution globally by The Corporate Body of
the Buddha Educational Foundation in Taiwan,
November 2003, p, 217) CONTINUED
NEXT PAGE
The New York-based Van Hien Study Group
has noted (ibid., p. 213): “Amitabha Buddha at the highest or noumenon level
represents the True Mind, the Self-Nature common to the Buddhas and sentient
beings – all-encompassing and all-inclusive…”
Van Hien has further noted (ibid., p,
217) that Buddha Nature is also referred to as True Mind, Self-Nature, Original
Nature, Dharma Nature, True Nature, True Emptiness, True Thusness, Dharma Body
(Dharmakaya), Prajna, Nirvana, etc. 23.5.2005 0255
In PURE
LAND PURE MIND (p. 184), the 16th century Chinese Zen Master
Tsung-pen narrates the meeting of the great 8th century teacher
Fa-chao with the two major bodhisattvas Manjushri and Samantabhadra in the
lecture hall of Manjushri’s Bamboo
Forest Temple
“…All the phenomena of enlightenment,
from the perfection of wisdom (prajna paramita), to meditative concentration
(samadhi), to Buddhahood (Bodhi), are all born from reciting the buddha-name.
Thus we know that reciting the buddha-name is the king of all the dharmas,” Manjushri
said to Fa-chao.
“You must constantly be mindful of
(Buddha), the Supreme Dharma King, and never stop.”
Fa-chao asked: “How should we be
mindful of Buddha?”
Manjushri said: “To the west of this world
is Amitabha Buddha. The power of His
vows is inconceivable. You should constantly recite His Name without a break.
Then at the end of your life, you are sure to be born in His land (Sukhavati,
the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss) and never fall back (in your spiritual pursuit
of the Supreme, Perfect Enlightenment of Buddhahood).”
The two great bodhisattvas also said:
“…If good men and good women wish to become Buddhas quickly, nothing is better
than reciting the Buddha-name (Amitabha).
Then they will be able to experience supreme enlightenment quickly...” 12.12.2005 0358
“May
your faith in the practice be sincere and profound. May this be the basis
for your attainment of ultimate liberation,” Sayadaw U Pandita said (his
parting
advice at the end of the three-month retreat which he taught in 1984 at
the Insight
Meditation Society in Barre ,
Massachusetts
MAY YOUR FAITH BE TRUE, STRONG
AND PROFOUND.
NAMO AMITABHA
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