His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s Puja Teachings – July 4, 2021

His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche ascended the Dharma throne, and expounded on “Scroll 18, ‘Amitayus Tathagata Assembly’ (Chapter 5, Section 2)” of the Ratnakuta Sutra.

“Sutra: ‘Furthermore, Ananda,in that World of Utmost Bliss, there are no black mountains, iron enclosing mountains, the Great Iron Enclosed Mountain and Wondrous High Mountain, et cetera.’

The Buddha said to Ananda that in the Western World of Utmost Bliss, there are no black mountains, iron enclosing mountains and the Great Iron Enclosed Mountain. The Great Iron Enclosed Mountain and iron enclosing mountains only exist in hells. Now, there are researches stating that the component of the outer layer of the earth is iron. In the World of Utmost Bliss, there are no high mountains or valleys, and terrains are flat. It is not like the earth in that there are mountains on earth. If there are many mountains in a place, it means people in that locale are very arrogant in their minds and their attitudes in fighting or arguing are more serious.

The Wondrous High Mountain is not on earth, nor is it in hell. It is similar to Mount Sumeru, but is not that far away as where Mount Sumeru is. In cosmology, it is observed often that some form of gas, like the shape of a mountain, spouts upward to somewhere very far away. This should be what we talk about on such a Mountain.

Sutra: ‘Ananda said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, since there are no Heaven of the Four Deva Kings and Heaven of the Thirty-Three in the areas where the mountains are that we just mentioned, where do those mountains abide in then?” The Buddha spoke to Ananda, “What do you think? Above the Wondrous High Mountain, there are Heaven of Yamadeva, even Heaven of Paranirmita-vashavartin and heavens in the Heaven of Forms, et cetera. Where do they abide in?”’

The Buddha asked Ananda what he thought about it. What do these heavens rely on that they have stopped at (abide in) a place?

Sutra: ‘Ananda said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, their abidance is caused by unfathomable karma.” The Buddha said to Ananda, “Do you know what unfathomable karma is?” Ananda replied, “No, I do not.”’

Heavens are ‘capable’ to abide in certain places. It is not from the universal gravity that is explained in science. From aspects of the Dharma, heavens have stopped at places because of the power produced by their unfathomable karma.

The Buddha asked Ananda if he knew about unfathomable karma, and Ananda answered that he did not.

Sutra: ‘The Buddha spoke to Ananda, “On Buddhas’ and sentient beings’ karma, that is produced from their roots of virtue, do you know what it is?” Ananda replied, “No, World Honored One, I do not.” “Now, I really have no doubts on this Dharma. In order to break the net of doubts occurring in the future, I have thusly asked you these questions.”’

The Buddha asked Ananda if he knew about all Buddhas’, Bodhisattvas’ and sentient beings’ karma that is produced from their roots of virtue planted. Ananda replied that he did not know.

The Buddha had asked questions on many occasions; this does not mean the Buddha did not have answers, which He already had in His mind. Then why did the Buddha still ask questions? The reason is stated here. The Buddha said that He did not have any doubts on the Dharma. He asked questions in order to break the doubts of sentient beings in the future. In the Age of Dharma Decline, sentient beings have the heavy sense of doubts. Even if you speak of ‘virtuous Dharmas’ to some person, because the person has heavy karma in his or her mind, the ‘virtuous Dharmas’, when ‘reaching’ the mind, will naturally become ‘negative Dharmas’. This is because such a person has more ‘negative Dharmas’ than virtuous ones.

Why have I told everyone of you, when you take refuge, that you should ‘commit no negative acts, and do all good deeds’ and do not do any tiny bit of negative acts again? It is because you have originally possessed many negative attitudes or mindsets already. If you have not, will you still be in this mundane world? At least you would have already been doing your practices in the Land of Amitabha. If one comes here to the world, it means one still has little negative behaviors existing; I myself am included in such a situation. If all of my karma had been eliminated, I would not have come here in this life. The job of my coming here again is to rid of my karma owed from accumulated past lifetimes. Once such karma has all been paid off, I am gone.

The method that the Buddha taught us is very simple, and it is ‘breaking away from negative acts and doing good deeds.’ Only when you are able to stop doing negative things and to act on good matters, can you get the Dharma through your head; otherwise, you cannot. I have mentioned to you in your Refuge Ceremony that after you have taken refuge, you are to follow the teachings and guidance of your guru and the Three Jewels. The ‘power of goodness’ in you will then continuously accumulate. This is the reason that these have been mentioned so that your learning will relate to the Buddha’s method, described earlier.

The Buddha worried that in the Age of Dharma Decline, because sentient beings’ doubts and their karma are too heavy, there will be occurrences of their slandering the Buddha. Hence, The Buddha had purposely asked a disciple on different questions, and through their questions and answers the Buddha was solving the doubts in sentient beings’ minds. ‘Net of doubts’ refers to sentient beings’ sense of doubts being too heavy. Why is it so? It is because all sentient beings wish that things will go well with them in that they will get benefits. This is why, towards anything occurring, they give rise to the sense of doubts in their minds.

Sutra: ‘The Buddha spoke to Ananda, “In the land of that World of Utmost Bliss, there are no seas but there are rivers. For the narrow rivers, the width is in full 10 yojanas, and for the shallow rivers, the depth is in 12 yojanas. The number of rivers with such a depth and a width is 20 or 30, even to hundreds. There are very deep and very wide rivers and their depth and width are even in 1,000 yojanas.”’

There are no seas in the World of Utmost Bliss, but there are many rivers there. This is because seawater is salty so it is not drinkable whereas water from rivers is freshwater, which is drinkable. The width of narrow rivers is in 10 yojanas and the depth for the shallow rivers is in 12 yojanas. Such rivers are all bigger than those on earth.

Sutra: ‘The water is clear and cool, possessing eight merits. The flowing rivers constantly swash around and bring forth subtle, wonderful sounds.’

The river water is clear and clean and is not spring water. ‘Cool’ does not mean ‘cold’; it means the water is not hot, and it possesses eight merits. The sounds of the flowing rivers are not those coming from the rivers on earth. These sounds are subtle, wonderful. They are ‘Brahman sound and ocean-tide sound’ as mentioned by Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, and cannot be heard on earth. The term, ‘ocean-tide sound’, does not describe the sound of ocean tides, rising and falling. This term was used by Avalokiteshvara to explain, in words that we understand, the feel of such a sound-wave, which will come to us, wave after wave, unceasingly. Even in the midst of it, because your breathing stops, you will still feel the sound approaching, wave after wave, continuously and the sound doesn’t stop. This is ‘ocean-tide sound.’ Such a sound is not the sound produced by dragging the sounds of the syllables when you chant mantras.

If one’s practices have reached the level of the state of ‘mindfulness of the Buddha in the self-nature’, there will naturally be ‘ocean-tide sound’ appearing for him or her. The reason is, when this person chants mantras, there is already a resonance, between the chanting itself and the sound of mantra, produced inside this person’s body. This resonance will continuously generate a sound-wave. Even if the person does not chant anymore because of the stop of breathing, he or she will feel that the sound of mantra still comes forth constantly.” (An ordained disciple said that he had not heard of this explanation before, and had always thought that this sound was that of ocean tides instead of the sound of the mantra.)

Rinpoche continued the teachings. “If it is only the sound of ocean tides, one can just listen to it by sitting on a beach. A Brahman sound is not a Sanskrit sound; it does not mean the sound of chanting is a Brahman sound if one chants mantras in Sanskrit language of ancient India. Brahman sound is the sound of Heaven Realm. For the sound to be uttered, there are no needs at all to move mouth, tongue or teeth. Such a sound is a sound-wave energy produced from one’s consciousness. When this energy appears, in it, there are high and low frequencies, which cannot be heard by human ears, nor can they be even received by instruments. Now, some scientific instruments can get very deep sounds from the universe. Through deductions from what are received by these instruments, there is a certain very sharp sound appearing, and it is not a human sound.

If one chants mantras to a level that the Brahman sound appears, it means the chanting is in the state of ‘mindfulness of the Buddha in the self-nature’. The sound is a sound-wave produced from one’s self-nature. It is stated in the Universal Gate Chapter that ‘Brahman sound and ocean-tide sound surpass sounds of the world’. The sounds of the human world are the ‘sound’ in a term we call ‘sound, sight, smell, taste, touch, and idea’ (the Six Senses of humans). Such sounds have only two functions for our body. The first one is making us feel that we hear a sound; the second function is to let us sense that there is a need in us to pursue certain sounds we like to hear. However, some types of sounds will harm our body and will not be of help to us.

In Taoism, some sounds, when verses are recited, will help the vital organs of our body. In mantras that we chant, there are also some sounds that will benefit our body. The Brahman sound is a type of frequency and does not belong to the frequencies of human sounds, which have high, medium and low frequencies. The frequency of Brahman sound can only be felt and realized completely in one’s self-nature. For example, in the Heaven Realm, conversations between heavenly beings do not need to move mouths. In sutras, this is explained that their communications are through their hearts. It means a type of Brahman sound is used and it passes out their communications with some segment of a sound-wave. However, human beings need to rely on mouths, throats and lungs to generate sounds. Such sounds have their limits; they cannot be spread to very faraway places. Even if these sounds are produced through instruments, there are still limits.

Only the Brahman sound is boundless in that it can be heard all over the universe. Now, in the Pure Land, there are many people chanting mantras. The chants cannot be heard by human ears. Nevertheless, if one day you can enter into the state of Emptiness, and can have a self-nature with no attachments and no self completely, you will then be able to hear or receive such a sound-wave. Now, on earth, whether one recites the Buddha’s name or chants mantras, it is still about the moving of one’s consciousness. However, if we do not recite or chant with our consciousness, it is impossible to develop, inside our body, the sound-wave that can let us recite or chant in Brahman sound. We say, ‘Bodies are illusory and we use them to cultivate the truth.’ The ‘illusory’ here does not simply refer to this ‘illusory body’ of ours.

In fact, a human body is a small universe; because of the manifestation of one’s karma, one’s body is produced. Without such a body, this small universe cannot be included either. How is it to be developed? Many religions have their own ways of speaking about it. The Dharma can develop this small universe very directly.

It is just like the situation that the pandemic of coronavirus has occurred. I have exhorted my disciples to chant more of mantras but to my surprise, there are some who have not listened. They consider that they will be fine, thinking they would get protection anyway by participating in pujas. Chanting more mantras will suppress negative energy inside your body so that such energy will not get into your body easily. Then you will have less chances to become ill than other people. However, this does not mean you don’t need to be vaccinated. If you should get the vaccine, you should, and it only makes you have fewer side effects than others who might have. If there are serious side effects, it indicates that you have heavy karma and you have not given rise to a sense of repentance yet.

‘Subtle, wonderful sounds.’ ‘Subtle’ means very, very few. Such sounds cannot be heard or received on earth. For example, if you have an opportunity to go to a silent place, like an outskirt, which is a very quiet place, you will hear clearly the chirping sounds of birds or the sounds of wind breezing trees or flowers. Normally, all these sounds exist but you do not hear them because they have been covered by your affliction. When you get to such a very quiet place, because your affliction has been reduced by the environment you are in, you can hear those sounds, having existed already, including sounds of insects. Actually, you can hear these sounds originally.

When one is reborn in the Pure Land, it cannot be said that one’s affliction has all been eliminated. This is because before one has attained Buddhahood, one still has a tiny bit of delusions or affliction of the mundane world. However, these will definitely be much less than those that this person had while on earth. Most of affliction is sought by oneself. The more affliction one has, the more things he or she cannot see, hear or think, because such a person is continuously mindful of his or her own affliction, wanting to solve it.

The ‘subtle, wonderful sounds’ absolutely cannot be heard on earth. Only when one ‘goes’ to the Land of Amitabha, can one hear them.

Sutra: ‘These sounds are like hundreds of thousands of types of music in heavens, and can be heard universally in peaceful and happy worlds.’

The Buddha described that the sounds of rivers are like music in the Heaven Realm. Such sounds can be heard in the Land of Amitabha; in there, there will be no bad or unpleasant sounds appearing.

Sutra: ‘There are famous flowers flowing down in rivers and breezes lightly bringing out various fragrances. Many trees of sandalwood are on both sides of rivers with trimmed branches and dense leaves intersecting and covering rivers. Trees bearing fruits and blooming with scents and in brightness are to be enjoyed. Crowds of sentient beings amuse and enjoy themselves randomly and freely. Some wade through the clear water joyfully, having a good time, and they feel the water in heavens is good and smooth, making things proper. It can be deep, shallow, cold or warm, following sentient beings’ preferences.’

There are many flowers ‘flowing down in rivers.’ ‘Many trees of sandalwood are on both sides of rivers’, and the leaves are like being trimmed, and they cover the rivers very densely. Many sentient beings enjoy themselves in rivers, and when they do that, the water ‘can be deep, shallow, cold or warm, following sentient beings’ preferences.’ This means the water’s depth, or its being cold or warm will go by one’s liking. If you want it a little colder, it will be colder; if you want it a little warmer, it will be so.

Sutra: ‘Ananda, under big rivers, the grounds are full of sand of gold. There are many heavenly fragrances, that cannot be explained in the world with metaphors, spreading out strong scents with the wind. In the miscellaneous types of water there are fragrant flowers flowing, like heavenly mandarava flowers, nilotpala flowers, padma flowers, kumuda flowers and pundarika flowers. These flowers cover the water completely.’

On the grounds under riverbeds, there are no mud, sand and stones as what rivers in the human world have. Instead, these grounds are full of sand of gold. The air is filled with fragrances, which cannot be explained with any metaphors, and such fragrances spread out with wind. Heavenly mandarava flowers, nilotpala flowers, padma flowers, kumuda flowers and pundarika flowers are all special flowers. Various flowers that are most difficult to get are all on the surface of rivers.

Sutra: ‘Furthermore, Ananda, people in that land will sometimes go together to riversides for sightseeing. For those who do not wish to hear the sound of torrential water, even though they possess heavenly ears they actually will not hear the sound after all. For those who are willing to hear it, they will instantly understand hundreds of thousands of myriads of sounds of joy.’

People living there sometimes will go to riversides for sightseeing. If there are some people who do not want to hear the sound of flowing water, because they have the supernatural power of heavenly hearing, they can choose not to hear the sound. If they want to hear such sound, they will immediately attain enlightenment in hearing hundreds of thousands of myriads of sounds of joy. ‘Joy’ is not what the word, ‘joy’, means on earth. What it refers to on earth is about the music one likes or about love in a relationship, et cetera. The ‘joy’, which is talked about in the Land of Amitabha, is about the Dharma, Brahman sound or Brahman words, et cetera.

Sutra: ‘These are so-called sounds of the Buddha, the Dharma and Sangha. The sounds are Sound of Motionless Breathing, Sound of No Nature, Sound of Paramitas, Sound of Ten Powers and Four Kinds of Fearlessness, Sound of Supernatural Powers, Sound of Non-doing, Sound of Non-arising and Non-ceasing, Sound of Stillness, Sound of Boundary Stillness, Sound of Utmost Stillness, Sound of Great Kindness and Great Compassion, Sound of Non-arising of Dharmas and Sound of Empowerments for Receiving Fruition Levels.’

The sounds of joy are all about the sounds of the Buddha, the Dharma and Sangha.

‘Motionless Breathing’ does not mean to stop breathing. All sentient beings breathe. Even if one is in the Heaven Realm, the sound of one’s breathing still exists. Only when one has attained the fruition of a Buddha and entered into Nirvana, will the sound of one’s breathing be gone. In the practices of Mahamudra, the ‘Motionless Breathing’ needs to be practiced on, to stop the sound of the practitioner’s breathing. Why is this practice necessary? Because practicing it can make one enter into a state of meditation. If one does not do this practice, it will be very easy for the person hearing the sound of his or her heartbeat or of breathing, and then the mind will be distracted and disturbed. ‘Motionless Breathing’ is not stopping breathing; rather, it is a method of how to change the mode of breathing from dynamic to static.

Many people would say that for practicing meditation, one is in movements at some point and at some other point, one is in a quiet state. The practice does not refer to the situations that when one is quiet, one sits there, and when one wants to move, one gets up from sitting and do exercises in Zen kung-fu or some other movements of the body. The practice is about a move and a stillness between breathings. Breathings are moves, and between an inhalation and an exhalation, it is stillness. A move and a stillness are not relevant to each other and they do not obstruct each other either. Then within an inhalation and a stillness, one can enter into a state of meditation. If you have not learned to be good about this, no matter how hard you try to get into a meditation, you cannot be in that state. As long as you have a form of a body you definitely will breathe. Since you need to do that, how will your body not let you breathe? Even if you are able to do the Great Method of Turtle Breathing (a breathing method in Chinese qi-gong for inner-body strength), there are still breathings for you. It is just that the interval between an inhalation and an exhalation of your breathing is much longer than ordinary people. Learning Tantra is to train practitioners to make such intervals become longer. If there are no trainings of this, one’s breathings will be very fast. Infants’ breathings are shorter and rapider because they are growing. Old people’s breathings are slower and this does not represent that they will have longevity; rather, it is because their capability in breathing has slowed down.

In Exoteric Buddhism, there is no mention of ‘Motionless Breathing’, but it is taught in Tantra. To make the ‘sound’ stop in ‘Motionless Breathing’ does not mean stopping the sound of breathing. Even after the time of an exhalation and before that of an inhalation, there are still some sounds in the interval. One is the sound inside your body. The other sound is from the air in a situation like a practitioner of Zen School being in a locked chamber with no sounds whatsoever; he or she will hear the frictional sounds of molecules and atoms in the air. Even if you are in a vacuum room, you will still hear a sound, ‘Om….’, and this sound will also disturb your mind.

Many people say that when one is sitting in meditation, one should not think of anything. This saying is wrong. There are also some people who say that when one is sitting in meditation, one needs to let go of all thoughts with no thinking at all. This is also wrong. Even if you really do not think of things, as long as you are still in the universe, there are still many sounds to disturb you because sounds are most direct elements that you are to contact with. How will sounds make you enter into a state of meditation within the sounds, without disturbing you? This is explained by what Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara had mentioned: ‘All the hearings in the “hearing factor” are complete.’ ‘Factor’ is the nerve of the hearing system. This nerve is motionless when hearing sounds, and as the nerve does not have reactions, the sounds naturally will not disturb your mind; then you can enter into a state of meditation. The Dharma method that Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara had cultivated was an operation of perfect aural clarity. This is because the ears of human beings are especially sensitive compared with other organs of the body, therefore, ears have been used to cultivate, mastering the method to enter into a state of meditation. ‘Sound of Motionless Breathing’ means that even today, if you have mastered your practices to let your breathing stop, there are still sounds. Well, up to this point on what I have explained today, it is as if I have been talking about myth and that is because you have not experienced those things I have mentioned.

‘Sound of No Nature’. ‘Nature’ here does not refer to the gender of a male or a female. This phrase means the sounds are generated from things that have no self-nature. It is like what I just talked about that a sound of ‘Om….’ is still to be heard in a vacuum room; such a sound is exactly ‘Sound of No Nature’.

‘Sound of Non-arising and Non-ceasing’. When you have really entered into a state of Emptiness while sitting in meditation, sounds are not arising and not ceasing to exist. This is because sounds are also of a principle that ‘causal conditions arise and cease to exist.’ When you can enter into a state of Emptiness, to you, all sounds will be in the law of causes and conditions. Once you understand this, your mind will not be led away by sounds, and will still be in a meditative state.

‘Sound of Stillness’. On what I just mentioned that a sound of ‘Om….’ will be heard in a vacuum room, that sound is ‘Sound of Stillness’. ‘Sound of Boundary Stillness’ is about the sound generated by frictions around the ‘boundaries’ of ‘Stillness’.

‘Sound of Utmost Stillness’. This means there is even no sound of ‘Om….’. If you are in a vacuum environment completely, you cannot even hear ‘Sound of Stillness’. Many people are afraid of being disturbed by sounds while sitting in meditation. Actually, there is still sound even if you are in a vacuum environment; the sound is called ‘Sound of Stillness’, or ‘Sound of Boundary Stillness’. To reach the level of ‘Sound of Utmost Stillness’ in your practices, you are to make your mind still or motionless, and then ‘Sound of Stillness’ cannot disturb you.

‘Sound of Paramitas’. It is the sound produced by wisdom.

‘Sound of Supernatural Powers’. ‘Sound of Non-doing’. Attaining the supernatural power of heavenly hearing does not rely on the sounds received by ears, eardrums or ‘hearing factor’. It is through minds that supernatural powers have emerged. In this way, various sounds in the universe can be received. The Buddha once said that He was able to hear the sound uttered by an insect under the ground. Some animals’ ears are very amazing and can hear the sounds of other animals given forth from under the ground. This is also counted as the supernatural power of heavenly hearing.

‘Sound of Empowerments for Receiving Fruition Levels’. When empowerments are given, through practices, the future fruition level of a Bodhisattva is received. If you receive empowerments, you are bestowed assurance to be able to attain the fruition of a Buddha. The first fruition, of course, is to practice for fruition level of a Bodhisattva. For example, before a guru of Esoteric Buddhism gives an empowerment, the guru needs to give himself or herself an empowerment first. When giving an empowerment, the guru is to visualize the protection of Buddhas of the Five Directions, all devas, nagas and others of eight groups of non-humans, all Dakinis and Dakas and Dharma protectors. Also, some music is needed. Only if these conditions are met, can an empowerment be granted. This means when Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have seen occurrences that any sentient beings, who have good fortune to be bestowed empowerments, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will give rise to joy in their hearts. The reason is that those who are able to receive empowerments will definitely be future Buddhas. The arising of such a sense of joy is ‘Sound of Empowerments for Receiving Fruition Levels’; it is the sound knowing that you (the one receiving the empowerment) will receive fruition levels in the future.

Sutra: ‘After having heard various sounds of such kinds, immensely affectionate happiness and joyful delights are obtained.’

After having heard so many sounds, ‘immensely affectionate happiness and joyful delights are obtained’ naturally. The ‘love’ implied in the ‘affectionate happiness’ here does not mean ‘love’ on earth. When we ‘arrive’ at the Land of Amitabha, we still have many habits of ordinary people. Before we have attained a Bodhisattva’s Dharmakaya (Dharma-body) or the fruition of a Buddha, that kind of love – a feeling of liking – and other habits we have still exist. Through these sounds, we satisfy a kind of love, not the love in passionate desires; rather, it is a certain sound for attachment. When you are attached to a certain sound, which let you feel it, there is naturally happiness arisen in your mind. You will then joyfully dwell in such an environment.

Sutra: ‘And then being attuned to observation, to renunciation and to elimination and destruction.’

After we have heard these sounds and enjoyed ‘affectionate happiness and joyful delights’, we will diligently practice. We will then naturally be attuned to what we have learned about observations that we use the Dharma to observe the forms of sentient beings and various phenomena in the Dharma Realm. What we are able to see or know now are based on what we have learned or heard in this life; those things have also been obtained from all our karma accumulated through lifetime after lifetime. Such attunements are just our being attuned to ‘attachment to self’, and they will not make us observe those things very objectively or calmly. What is ‘attachment to self’? It is the non-fulfillment of one’s self desires, like saying, ‘I am the victim & the other is the victimizer’. Such an attitude will not be attuned to the wisdom of observing things.

‘Being attuned to ….renunciation’. One is to be attuned to the sense of renunciation to leave the reincarnation. Although one has made vows on earth to renunciate reincarnation and is even acting on the vows, one is definitely not attuned 100% yet to the sense of renunciation. Why have I told everyone of you to recite the Buddha’s name more often? It is because you need to train yourself to have this habit. When the great moment – your death – has arrived, only if you believe in the yidam and your guru, can you break away from reincarnation. As you do not have a very strong sense of renunciation, you are more or less still captivated by or attached to matters of this mundane world. Why did the Buddha teach us to live by adapting to rising conditions? Because He was afraid that you are to be attached to a certain thing. No matter what you are attached to, a thing or a person, you will reincarnate.

The reason I have come back again to this world in this life is not because I have owed things to many sentient beings. It must have been that because in my past lifetimes I was attached to some matters and did not let go of them, I have come back in this life. The best place for us to produce a strong sense of renunciation to leave the reincarnation of this world is the Land of Amitabha. In there, when you have heard various sounds from rivers and smelt different kinds of fragrances, this sense will appear strongly. You will be attuned to it, knowing that you should not be captivated by or attached to various secular thinking again.

This is a difficult part of spreading the Dharma in that it is impossible and hard to achieve to tell someone to completely give up things of the world, so Shakyamuni Buddha introduced Amitabha’s Pure Land to us, letting us continue to practice there. Do not think that being in the Land of Amitabha is to live a good life; rather, it is to practice anew. It is just that the environment of that land is entirely suitable for doing practices; unlike on earth it is not quite appropriate to practice in there. Contrarily, if one can achieve attainments in an unsuitable place, his or her skills and power are even more amazing; this person’s determination and perseverance are already beyond comparisons with ordinary people.

‘Being attuned to …. elimination and destruction’. We are on earth and we don’t believe that anything will be eliminated or destructed. We believe as long as we can get what we want, our desires can be satisfied; on whatever will happen in the future, we will wait and see. This is why we will feel much pain if what we have pursued and then obtained successfully get eliminated or destructed. Then again, when you cannot gain what you have pursued, you will also suffer much. This is because you do not believe that any persons, circumstances and objects can be eliminated or destructed. You only believe the thought that you want to own things or persons, right then and there, to satisfy your desires.

Of course, from the standpoint of mundane path, is there anything wrong to want owning some persons, circumstances and objects? No, there is nothing wrong. However, from the perspective of the Dharma, owning those things or persons should not be done, because doing it will only make oneself continuously suffer. Since 1997, I have started liberating sentient beings. To this day, I have seen many of them not having been attuned to the sense of renunciation and to the sense of elimination and destruction. Hence, the pain they have suffered cannot be resolved by anyone or anything, including the Dharma.

Why can’t the Buddha also help? Isn’t the Buddha so amazing? The Buddha had said before there are three things that He is unable to do. The first one is that He cannot liberate sentient beings if they do not have affinities to be helped. What does it mean to have affinities? (Let’s put it in an opposite way.) If one does not listen, one does not have affinities. If you think, ‘My having listened to the Dharma expounded is just to hope that I will understand it so that I can use it to solve my issues.’ Then, you are wrong. The Dharma is not to help you solving your problems; rather, it is to tell you whether you should do certain things or not. If you should do them but you don’t, how will your problems be solved? It’s like that you are in schools & a teacher has taught you how to calculate a math subject. Contrarily, you are not listening to what has been taught but you want to use your own calculation method. The final result is that you do not get grade points in a math exam. There is no mention in the Dharma whether you will get ‘grade points’ or not, but it teaches that you need to accept or endure whatever pain you feel.

I am already in an old age of 74. Why am I still continuously expounding the Dharma under such serious condition of pandemic of coronavirus? It is not for my own fame and profit. It is because I have seen sentient beings suffering. No matter how much they have been taught or talked to by me, they do not listen. They are always attached to an attitude that their thoughts are correct in that they continuously want to achieve things which are based on their own ideas.

I feel very lamented when I read this section of the sutra today. This is the first time I have read this section and have spoken it out. If we do not possess the sense of renunciation and the sense of elimination and destruction, not to mention learning Buddhism, we will feel much pain on things in this mundane world. The reasons are you don’t accept the idea that there are elimination and destruction, nor do you accept the notion of renunciation of a world in reincarnation.

Sutra: ‘Being attuned to Stillness, to Boundary Stillness and to Utmost Stillness.’

These three things mentioned in the quote are very important because our minds are not used to stillness. We always think many, many things every day; even if we don’t, our minds have often been disturbed internally or externally, and such disturbances never stop. When we are in a very still environment, we will feel very bored after, at most, one minute or five minutes, and want to find something to do. ‘Being bored’ means finding things to do when there are nothing needing to be done. Why do you feel your own life is so dull? That is because you are not used to live a quiet and simple life. You are accustomed to have a life with affluence and self-righteousness. Such a person cannot learn, or practice, meditation either. On earth, there are very few opportunities for us to be ‘attuned to Stillness’ or ‘to Boundary Stillness’.

Our monastery is being built in such a quiet place in Miaoli County. If you are to be allowed conducting a retreat there for a month, you will not stand it because you are not used to such stillness. For conducting a retreat, there are no special things to do; usual activities are the same as what are commonly done: chanting mantras, sitting in meditation or practicing some Dharma texts. The biggest difference between a retreat and a non-retreat is to lock you up in the former. Its purpose is making you learn about, or get used to, stillness. If you have not learned this, you cannot attain accomplishments. Why do you need to practice this? Are there any benefits? None. When you are alive, there will be no benefits for you by using stillness in your life. You definitely will not see where the benefits are. However, if a person often practices on stillness or is used to it, this person’s emotions will be more stable, and his or her health will be better.

The most important thing is that after our last breath, there is stillness existing for a very short time. In that time period, your heartbeats, breathing and blood circulations all stop; even your consciousness ceases to function. This is stillness. When it appears, if we have not been used to quietness around us while we are alive, then, at the moment of our death, we would have next thoughts of attachments arising immediately; they are like these, for example, ‘Such a man owes me’, or ‘This son of mine is unfilial to me.’ When you are not accustomed to stillness, when it appears, like many ordinary people and even some practitioners, your first thought will be ‘I am dead’, or ‘Am I dead?’ When such an idea emerges, many more will then appear.

If one is used to stillness while alive, and knows what stillness is, when it appears, one will not have thoughts, only expecting and wishing that ‘the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and my guru will be coming to receive me.’ It is just this one thought arising and there are no other ideas appearing. Many people want to learn Buddhism for this purpose: ‘to make my emotions stable or let me be joyful and happy.’ Actually, this is not the reason to learn Buddhism. What will really make you feel happiness is when you are in the Pure Land. As mentioned earlier, in that land, ‘affectionate happiness and joyful delights’ will all be given to you, which cannot be gained on earth. Even if we make things according to what are described in sutras, we cannot do these things completely on earth.

Since things cannot be produced, what are you going to do then? The Buddha had taught us many methods. Prepare first for what the right mindset should be for ‘going’ to the Pure Land. If you have not gotten ready for such a mindset when you are alive, you cannot ‘go’ there. Simply speaking, when the Buddha has come for you with a very bright light, extending His hand to receive you, you will think, ‘Why are you coming to receive me? Have I done well? Have I done right? What will I do there (the Pure Land)?’ There will be lots of doubts appearing. If you are used to stillness, you will not have these weird thoughts and you will follow the Buddha and your guru, going with them.

When one is not yet dead, one does not know where his or her own problems are. When one is alive there are still many reasons for the person explaining there being no issues. Only when the last breath comes, will this person know what the problems are. As I have helped liberating so many sentient beings, I am very much aware of such matters. I myself already experienced death once before so I know about it quite clearly. During the time of my conducting the retreat in 2007, one day my heartbeats and breathing had stopped and it was very still around me at that time. If I was not used to stillness, I would have had, like you all would, this first thought coming up, ‘I am dead; there are many things I have not done yet. What shall I do?’ If one is accustomed to stillness, one will think of one’s vows made in, and merits attained from, one’s practices. Then these thoughts will produce effectiveness. If you are unwilling to practice on stillness and you imagine wildly every day about what will happen to you after you have completed your retreats, conducting such retreats will be superfluous.

Sutra: ‘Being attuned to truth and the relish for it, and to the Buddha, the Dharma and Sangha.’

The ‘truth and relish for it’ does not mean ‘taste of truth’. The ‘truth’ here means the meanings of the Dharma and ‘revelation of whole truth’. The meanings and the contents of the Dharma are to help us get liberated from birth and death. When humans are on earth, there are too many of confusing thoughts in them. Even if they have listened to the Dharma expounded, what they have listened to, once having been entered into their ears, will become different thoughts. This is what it means ‘too many of confusing thoughts in them’. This will make, say, you, not to understand the meanings of the Dharma, nor do you comprehend the relish for these meanings. You will not know what the focus is on subjects the person is speaking of, therefore, you will definitely not be attuned to the Dharma. However, if you ‘go’ to the Land of Amitabha, there are such environments, sounds, fragrances and flows of rivers, et cetera, and they will make adjustments on the past habits existed in your consciousness that you have brought with you to this land. In this way, these adjustments will let you understand the meaning of liberating from birth and death; you will then be attuned to the Dharma.

‘Being attuned to’ means that on whatever the Buddha had spoken of or taught, you should get them through your head and act on them. Only when these have been done, can you be attuned to the Buddha and to the Dharma. It is not in a situation that if you have seen the Buddha and Bodhisattvas in front of you, you think, ‘Since today I have listened to the teachings, tomorrow I will amend myself, and then I will become good immediately.’ It means you have gotten what the Buddha said through your head and have determined to act upon those teachings. Then you will be attuned to the Buddha and to the Dharma. For example, if you think you have attuned to the Buddha’s wisdom, and if you have not listened to all those He said, you are not attuned to His wisdom then. You will say, ‘These were not said to me by the Buddha; these are what you have told me.’ Nevertheless, I have spoken of these on the Buddha’s behalf. I have never said that these are my teachings; they are Buddha’s. I have spoken of these teachings through sutras. As I mentioned earlier, this is the first time I have read or spoken of this section of the sutra. Why am I able to speak of it? It is because I have attained enlightenment on ‘revelation of whole truth’, and have understood the meaning of why the Buddha had taught all these – to help sentient beings get liberated from birth and death. Since this is the purpose of the Buddha’s teachings, all Dharma methods and taking refuge are for this aim. Even if our guru has transmitted various practicing methods to us, such methods are all for helping us to be liberated from birth and death. If we do not understand ‘truth’ or are not attuned to it, our reading of this sutra is a waste.

Recently, there was a disciple passing away. Because she had not given rise to a great sense of repentance before her death, she suffered very much when she died. Today, I will talk a little about it. Her mother had been ordained at an old age. At that time, this disciple had asked her mother to give her the property, and she had even found people threatening her mother on this matter. What was this? From the principles of cause and effect in the mundane path, this was her being unfilial to her mother. Some people might say that since the mother had already been a monastic, she would not have needed the wealth anymore. However, such wealth belonged to the mother after all, it should have been decided by herself whether she would give her daughter the property or not. From the perspective of the Dharma, since the mother had already been ordained, then this wealth was the ‘wealth of sangha’. As this disciple insisted to get the ‘wealth of sangha’, she was to fall into the Five Uninterrupted Hells.

If someone in my disciples’ families has passed away, and if there are disputes among family members about inheritance of properties, I will exhort my disciples not to quarrel with their family members. If these members want the properties, let them have the properties then. Such a thought is not passive. It is because wealth is extraneous to the physical body, and is related to good fortune. If the wealth belongs to you, it is yours without your asking for it; if it is not yours, and even if you insist to take it over, it will not remain.

Once, a female lawyer came to seek an audience with me. However, I saw that there was another matter of hers that would happen. I saw that there were many ghosts behind her, following her. These ghosts were not related to what she had wanted to ask me about. The ghosts told me that ‘They belong to a same clan. There is someone who wants to take the money from an orphan and a widow in the clan. If some person asks for this lawyer’s help to engage in a lawsuit against the orphan and the widow, tell the lawyer not to take on the case. This lawyer is a good person, and if she takes on the case, it will not be good for her.’ I asked the lawyer if there was such a matter. She answered, ‘Yes. There is someone who wants to fight with an orphan and a widow for property.’ She listened to me and did not take on this case. There will be cause and effect in doing anything. This client of hers wanted to get ill-gotten gains. If the lawyer had helped him, although it would not have been the lawyer who had taken the widow’s money, the lawyer would have had issues too because of the help she had provided for her client. It was like a situation that ghosts of the clan would have become angry and then come to deal with her.

Sutra: ‘Being attuned to Fearlessness on Capabilities, to Supernatural Powers, to Motionless Breathing, to Bodhicitta, to Sravaka and to Nirvana.’

‘Being attuned to Fearlessness on Capabilities’. (In Chinese, the word, ‘power’, is pronounced as ‘li’.) The word ‘Li’ here does not refer to ‘power’; it means the capabilities of determining to practice and to liberate sentient beings. ‘Fearlessness’ means there is nothing to fear. It is not to fear that one will die; rather, one is not to fear the various hindrances and doubts of sentient beings. All things are still to be forged bravely ahead, and one is to continuously benefit sentient beings with the Dharma.

‘….to Supernatural Powers’. Many people wish to have supernatural powers through practices on this earth. From the perspective of the Dharma, to possess great supernatural powers through practices in this life is impossible. If one really conducts retreats very well with no confusing thoughts in the mind and has generated merits, then the person might obtain a little of small supernatural powers. However, great supernatural powers or five types of supernatural powers cannot be possessed. Having such powers are relevant to, besides your own karma, many Dharma methods and methods of practicing. To be attuned to supernatural powers can only be done in the Land of Amitabha. In the Amitabha Sutra, it is mentioned very clearly that in the Land of Amitabha, at any time, in the blink of an eye, through the supernatural powers blessed by Amitabha, you can go to any Pure Land of a Buddha to listen to the Dharma, and then after eating a meal, you can immediately return to where you are before. This cannot be done on earth. Even if you have cultivated to obtain a little supernatural power of mind-reading, knowing others’ affairs, such a power is still nothing compared with supernatural powers obtained in the Land of Amitabha.

‘….to Bodhicitta’. This means you are attuned to bodhicitta. On earth, although we need to practice bodhicitta or give rise to bodhicitta, it is very difficult for us to be attuned to it because there are too many hindrances.

‘….to Sravaka and to Nirvana’. If you have made vows to cultivate Sravaka and Pratyekabuddha, in the Land of Amitabha, it is very easy to be attuned to their practicing methods. If you want to master the practices to attain the fruition level of a Buddha or to enter into Nirvana, you will be attuned to such a state.

Sutra: ‘Furthermore, Ananda, in that World of Utmost Bliss, names of Evil Realms are not heard. In the boundaries, there are no names of hindrances and affliction that are covered. There are no names of hells, Yama or animals.’

In the World of Utmost Bliss, there will be no names of Three Evil Realms to be heard, no hindrances existing on matters of learning Buddhism, and no names of affliction covering your pure mind. There are no names of hells, King Yama or animals. Because there are no Three Evil Realms in that World, there are no cats, horses or dogs. If there are animals, they are not born there; they have been formed by the Buddha’s supernatural powers.

Sutra: ‘In the boundaries, there are no names of eight distresses, nor are there names of taking-on-sufferings and receiving-no-pain-and-no-happiness. There are even no assumed sufferings, let alone the real ones. Thus, that World is called “Utmost Bliss.”’

If one has not encountered eight distresses, one will not suffer, and there will be nothing painful or happy occurring either. There are even no assumed circumstances with suffering, not to mention real situations that are with pains. Thus, it is called ‘World of Utmost Bliss’ there.

As long as one has a human body, one will definitely have eight types of suffering. In that World, there are no such sufferings. They are birth, old age, sickness, death, not getting what you want, being apart from loved ones, being together with those you hate (meaning your gathering with people to whom you feel hatred and resentment), and the raging blaze of the Five Aggregates. So long as you are in reincarnation, you certainly will take on these eight kinds of suffering. Only when you are in the Land of Amitabha, will you not suffer as there are no such types of suffering there.

Sutra: ‘Ananda, I will now briefly explain the causes and conditions in the World of Utmost Bliss. If I am to explain them extensively, I cannot speak of them to their utmost in the time of the completion of one kalpa.’

This quote means ‘Today, I will briefly explain the causes and conditions in the World of Utmost Bliss. If I speak of them in detail, I will not be able to finish explaining the subject thoroughly in the time of the completion of one kalpa.’

Sutra: ‘Furthermore, Ananda, for all the sentient beings in that World of Utmost Bliss, whether they have already been reborn, are being reborn now or should be reborn, they get such wondrous bodily forms, having proper features and supernatural powers with ease. They possess sufficient force of good fortune, accepting and using various palaces and gardens. For clothes, food, fragrant flowers and necklaces, these are taken randomly and freely, as needed and as wished. It is like in Heaven of Paranirmita-vashavartin and other heavens.’

As long as sentient beings are reborn in the World of Utmost Bliss, whether they have already been reborn, are being reborn now or should be reborn in the future, they will get all the best bodily forms. This is because they can only be reborn there when they have good fortune. Why are there still bodily forms? While we are humans, we cannot, with just one ‘leap’, attain Buddhahood or a Bodhisattva’s Dharmakaya (Dharma-body). We will make the ‘leap’ to reach the Heaven Realm first. In other heavens of this Realm, there is still reincarnation occurring. However, in the heaven of Amitabha – the Pure Land of Amitabha – there is no need to reincarnate. You are allowed to do your practices there continuously until you have attained Buddhahood or become a Bodhisattva. This is why you will still have a bodily form in that World. This form is not a human’s physical body as seen on earth; it means you still have a shape of a body appearing, ‘having proper features’ and five types of ‘supernatural powers with ease’.

As sentient beings there ‘possess sufficient force of good fortune’, ‘accepting and using various….gardens’ and houses, they do not need to specially build houses. On what clothes they want to wear, what drink to have, what food to eat, even what kinds of jewelry or flowers they want, they can get these things by just thinking about them. You will be like heavenly beings in that there are no needs to buy or specially make things. Because of your having enough good fortune, if you want anything, it will appear just by thinking about it.

Sutra: ‘Furthermore, Ananda, in that World of a Buddha, there is subtle, slight food. Sentient beings can taste its flavor without eating it. Like heavenly beings in the Heaven of the Sixth, the sentient beings in that World can think the food in any ways they wish. Then it is like that such food has been eaten, and the force of the bodily forms will increase with no dirty stools discharged.’

In the Land of Amitabha, it is not like on earth that we need to eat food, like rice or noodles. It means in that land, ‘there is subtle, slight food’, which refers to the essence of the food. It is the best food in the five elements. It can just be tasted on its flavor and there is no need to bite or gnaw it. Like heavenly beings in the Heaven of the Sixth, the sentient beings in the Land of Amitabha ‘can think the food in any ways they wish’, and the food will appear and be theirs.

Tasting such food, like eating food by humans on earth, will increase the force of bodily forms. However, unlike humans on earth, who, after having eaten food, need to have their stools discharged, the sentient beings in the Land of Amitabha will not need to go to bathrooms for that purpose; how clean.

Sutra: ‘There are also countless wish-granting wonderful incenses, rubbing-on incenses and powdered incenses. Their fragrances universally scent the boundaries of that World of a Buddha, and the scattered flowers and banners also fill all over the places. Those sentient beings who want to smell fragrances will randomly smell the scents as they wish. Or, those who dislike such scents will not get the smells ever.’

There are many kinds of incenses there, like rubbing-on incenses or powdered incenses. Whatever types of incenses sentient beings like to smell, they can immediately smell the scents. There are no needs to buy perfume with money, nor are there particular parts of the body to rub the incenses on. If you do not want to smell incenses, although other sentient beings can, you will not. This is not like the situations on earth.

Sutra: ‘There are also countless, superior and wonderful clothes, jeweled crowns, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, flowery hair adornments, and the jewelry are fastened and looking solemn. Immeasurable and bright lights and hundreds of thousands of wonderful colors have all been sufficiently and naturally possessed by the sentient beings.’

You will have fine clothes. If you want to put on a crown on your head, have hairpins on your hair, wear earrings or necklaces, or get flowers on your head, these things will all appear. From your body, there will be your light and various and wonderful colors naturally coming out.

Sutra: ‘There are also nets of gold, silver, pearls and wonderful treasure, and jeweled bells are hung all over the nets as solemn decorations. If there are sentient beings who need palaces or pavilions, et cetera, for abodes, they will get whatever they like or desire in abodes’ shapes or sizes, like being high, low, long, short, wide, narrow, square or round. In addition, beds and seats are covered with wonderful clothes and are decorated solemnly in various treasure. Such abodes and things inside appear naturally in front of sentient beings. They all say that they dwell in their own individual palaces.’

Over there, there are the best nets of gold, silver and jewelry, and ‘jeweled bells are hung all over the nets.’ The palaces or pavilions, et cetera, that all sentient beings need will immediately appear. Whether you want yours to be high, long, short, square or round, it will appear as you wish. Your beds and seats are covered with clothes, used in ancient times for such coverings; nowadays cushions are used. These beds and seats naturally appear, and there are no needs to ask for them. Everyone dwells in one’s own palace naturally and is at ease.

The Buddha mentioned many such things in the prior and current ‘Amitayus Tathagata Assembly’ of this sutra. It is not that the Buddha had used such treasure to lure us to ‘go’ to the Pure Land; rather, He clearly told us that although there are these conditions already, and originally, existing in the Heaven Realm, in the Land of Amitabha, there are even more of such conditions appearing, and they are more auspicious. These are from the causes derived from what you had cultivated while you were alive; then the effects have emerged in that land. These effects let you enjoy what you have or seen there, which will produce new causes for you. If you are someone with root capacity, have no lack of good fortune, merits, causes, and conditions, and have enough of roots of virtue, when you are in the Pure Land, you will see that what had originally caused you to practice in the past on earth have made you gain such effects now; you will then practice even more diligently for new effects in the future.

It is not that because you have practiced well you have these things to enjoy; it means it is to let you know cause and effect – any action is to have its effect. Even from a single thought you have or a single thing you say, there is a karmic retribution, let alone the practicing itself. What this means is that if you have practiced many, many methods on earth, you have actually not gained anything. Even if you have, what you obtained on earth are definitely cannot be compared with what you will gain in the Land of Amitabha. Many people hope that after learning Buddhism, all things in this life will become better for them, and they will live a good life. However, this is a waste of good fortune. The effects of real good fortune will appear in the Land of Amitabha.

Why don’t these effects appear in this lifetime? Try to think a little; what age can you live up to in this life? If the things in Amitabha’s Pure Land were to be moved to the earth, and even if you have attained such karmic retribution, how long will you enjoy those things? Nevertheless, people will feel that even enjoying them for just one day will be fine; such enjoyment cannot last forever though.

Also, it is mentioned in sutras that our wealth in this life is ‘controlled’ together by ‘five thieves’. As ‘thieves’ is one of the five, so are these: one’s children, governments, natural disasters and calamities. This means whether you have riches or companions, they are not eternal; they will be gone in no time. However, since we want to own them, we have done much of negative karma in this life; we still think that we are right and nothing is wrong. This indicates that such effects of great good fortune are impossible to obtain on earth because people on earth have continuously and unceasingly done some good and many negative deeds, with the latter being a lot more than the former. This is why it is impossible for us to see these things derived from great good fortune appearing on earth.

Many people who are learning Buddhism have sought a very good, peaceful, happy and contended life in this lifetime. This is not a very accurate concept. If we are to understand great good fortune, in accordance with what Shakyamuni Buddha had mentioned about the states of Amitabha’s Pure Land, then those states are results of great good fortune. They are indeed the karmic retribution you have obtained from the causes you have practiced on in this life.

Some people say, ‘I hope, in this lifetime, to show other people and to let them know how very well I have cultivated.’ Then again, speaking from the opposite angle on the same subject, can you live to 100 or 200 years old? As amazing as Shakyamuni Buddha had been, He only lived for a little over 70 years old. The person living for the longest time in Tibet was Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche), and he left this world after 800 years. Why couldn’t they live longer? It is because the collective karma of sentient beings on earth cannot have good fortune produced so as to let these sacred persons continuously remain here on earth. The longevity of sacred persons was limited and for us, ordinary people, our longevity is limited as well. It is not like in the Land of Amitabha, the longevity of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life is immeasurable. Hence, the longevity of the sentient beings living in that land is also immeasurable. They are then able to have this longevity (time) and good fortune to enjoy the effects of such good fortune.

We have been constantly, and unceasingly, pursuing the satisfaction on the kinds of desires of humans on earth, but such satisfaction is temporary. It is like what is called ‘distorted and dreaming thoughts’ mentioned in the Heart Sutra. We all think of things in distorted and dreaming ways, so we have various suffering occurring to us. Shakyamuni Buddha had also been very compassionate; He said if all sufferings are not to arise, it is very difficult to achieve that on earth, and the only way to make that happen is to be in the Land of Amitabha. Some people say, ‘Well, that is fine. Then I will end my life sooner. If I commit suicide and die, am I not going there then?’ I guarantee you that you certainly will not be going there.

In Exoteric Buddhism, committing suicide is killing someone (yourself). Because you are a human, killing someone will definitely make you fall into the Hell Realm. I had once saved a sentient being who had died by suicide. When I was in a meditative state, I saw him and he was very pitiful. He was in a completely dark space, where he could not see his own fingers, feeling that he himself was utterly alone. Actually, he was in a very big hell and all sentient beings inside had died by suicide. However, this one I saved was feeling he was the only one there, and for every second of the time while inside the hell, he repeated the process of his suicide event. For example, he jumped from the 12th floor to kill himself and died. He then again saw himself jumping from the 12th floor, killing himself. Then again and again, he saw the same event. When he jumped from the 12th floor, he might faint in the midair and lose consciousness, but when he hit the ground, the heavy blow would make his whole body so unbearably painful; even if he had fainted, the perception of the pain still existed.

Because I have supernatural powers, I know what the deceased thought of in their consciousness. Now, I will not talk about something seemingly far away. For those who had experienced emergency treatments or electric shocks before their deaths, the first thing such sentient beings told me from their consciousness (when they were dead) was that their chests were feeling very painful. From the perspective of medical science, the deceased had already lost their last breath, and they would not have felt anything. However, they would certainly tell me that ‘my chests are very painful.’ Thus, whoever had died by suicide, no matter by what ways, like hanging themselves or jumping from buildings, they will continuously repeat, and repeat, their suicide processes. As to how long they will do the repetitions, I don’t know because I do not possess great supernatural powers. Nevertheless, viewing it from my experiences of learning Buddhism, I will say that the humans’ time of 1,000 years is inescapable.

You must be asking, ‘Is the killing myself a vice so severe?’ We have received the Five Precepts, and the first precept is to refrain from killing. The most important part of it is not to kill humans. The vice of this is very severe. It is not explained in the sutras of Exoteric Buddhism why this is so. In Esoteric Buddhism, there are explanations for it. On a body, we see it as a body but inside that body, it is a mandala of ‘one hundred “civil” and “military” yidams’ (a mandala of peaceful yidams and wrathful yidams). This is because when we enter into a womb to be reborn, the emanations of ‘one hundred “civil” and “military” yidams’ will enter into that womb with us. This is because the mindsets of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are equal towards any sentient beings, wishing to help them attaining Buddhahood. No matter how much of negative karma such a sentient being had done in the past and will even continue creating it after rebirth, the Buddha and Bodhisattvas still have a mind to help. As long as such a sentient being all of a sudden, say, in a second, stops doing negative deeds, and suddenly thinks of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas, this sentient being has opportunities to be saved.

From the perspective of Esoteric Buddhism, if you intentionally hurt your own body and have died by suicide, you have destroyed the mandala of ‘one hundred “civil” and “military” yidams’. This is a severe vice. Some races or nationalities regard that committing suicide is a very honorable thing; this is their thinking. However, in sutras, there are absolutely no mentions about advocating, encouraging or rewarding people to die by suicide. No matter how hard life is, it will definitely pass; because you certainly will die one day, your life surely will pass. If you feel that you don’t want to have so much suffering, then you will wish to end your life sooner so as to ‘go’ to the Land of Amitabha. However, it is mentioned in earlier section of the sutra that in that land there are no hells. Since hells do not exist there, how can you ‘go’ to the Pure Land? Can sentient beings in hells ‘go’ there? It is impossible.

When I perform the Chod, I need to visualize myself becoming a nectar, and to sprinkle nectar water to purify all sentient beings in the Six Realms, especially for those in the Hell Realm. To sprinkle and purify them, I am in the hope that one day they will be able to be in the Pure Land, asking Amitabha to form an affinity with sentient beings in hells. I cannot help them now (to get them out of where they are) because they have not paid off their karma yet, but I want them forming an affinity first. It is like what I have always said in the Great Amitabha Puja that I have been helping you form an affinity with Amitabha. Why must the sprinkling and purifying be done at the end of the Grand Pujas? For those who understand the situation, they know it has been such a toil for me, because I need to sprinkle more than 500 times, at least. Such a number, from the look of it, is just a number. However, at first, the soaked kusha-grass for sprinkling and purifying is very light but it gets heavier as more water is soaked in it. You should know this common sense of physics. There are only a few people in their 70s who can do this.

Why am I able to do it? It’s very simple; it is because of my bodhicitta and compassion. They are all for helping sentient beings in that I hope they can be reborn in the Pure Land. Being reborn in there is not just a talk, nor is it by just hearing or trying to recite the prayer and then waiting to recite it at the moment of your death. If you wait until the time of your death and then you recite the prayer, it will be too late. If your guru has not died yet and you are my disciple, and if you have not left the Center and me before you die, there is still a chance that I will not let you fall into the Three Evil Realms.

It is like that disciple I just mentioned earlier. Because of the way she had treated her mother, from the principles of cause and effect, this disciple will certainly fall into the Hell Realm. While she was alive, she had not made a repentance to me, and thought that she had been attending pujas here, therefore, it was enough for her to repent silently in her heart. Her sisters were outrageous as well; they didn’t tell me her problems. Why didn’t they tell me? It was because they were afraid of getting my scolding and punishments. If they had let me know earlier about their sister’s situation, I could have solved her problems earlier. Thus, her sisters are helping her now by doing grand prostrations on her behalf because it is impossible for me to help her in doing that.

I have spoken so much of the Dharma to you. It is definitely not to show that Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche is more amazing or distinguished than you are. It is just that I have learned Buddhism earlier than you have, and I have believed in the Dharma, accepted it and followed its principles. Even if I have not been doing things in this life very perfectly or completely, I am very sure that I will work very hard and unremittingly, walking on the path of the Dharma. On the still environment I just mentioned, it is not that you are to get used to it when you die. We should be accustomed to that kind of environment while we are alive. Why have I taught you to chant mantras more often? It is because if you chant more of mantras, your thoughts or worries will gradually decrease; then you will be able to accept this kind of stillness. Otherwise, once the constructions of our monastery in Miaoli County have been completed, and you are allowed to conduct retreats at the monastery, you will not stand them.

Over the monastery site in Miaoli County, it will be very quiet in the future. I have decided now that each day, there will be only 100, not many, visitors allowed, because it is not a tourist area; rather, it is a place for practicing. Now I have had a harder time than others in fundraising for the monastery project as nowadays there are less practitioners and more tourists around. If we are used to stillness now, when our last breath stops and stillness appears, we will then be accustomed to it.

Sutra: ‘Furthermore, Ananda, in the Land of Utmost Bliss, there are no differences in the forms of all sentient beings. They are in accordance with other places’ custom, and there are heavenly names.’

For sentient beings who are reborn in the Land of Utmost Bliss, there are no differences in their forms. This does not refer to their appearances; it is about the forms that are shown on them. For example, on earth, there are forms of sentient beings, and for practitioners, there are four types, called ‘fourfold assembly of Buddhists’. In the Land of Utmost Bliss, there are no such differences.

‘They are in accordance with other places’ custom, and there are heavenly names.’ This quote means there are names of laity, the ordained and heavenly beings. It also means that heavenly beings, laity and the ordained can all be reborn in the Land of Amitabha but there are no differences in their forms. Whether sentient beings are laity, the ordained or heavenly beings, in that land, they will all obtain the karmic retribution from the same good fortune.

Sutra: ‘Ananda, it is like pandakas of low birth. To Chakravartin, there are no decrees for them for they have no mighty light and virtuous prestige. It is also like the Heaven of the Sixth in the direction of Sakra. The mighty light and other sorts there cannot be compared with. There are gardens, palaces, clothes, and miscellaneous decorations. All things are dignified, existing freely and in ranks with supernatural powers, and are with changes which are unmatched. Only in the Dharma happiness received, are there no differences. Ananda should know that in that world, sentient beings are like the King of Heaven of Paranirmita-vashavartin.’

This quote means for each individual’s practices, there will be differences in fruition levels and ranks. For differences in practicing stages, there will be different mighty light appearing. Also, these will all be different too: ‘gardens, palaces, clothes, and miscellaneous decorations’, and their being ‘dignified, existing freely and in ranks with supernatural powers.’ However, there are no differences in the Dharma happiness that sentient beings receive. The Dharma they have learned and accepted is equal, no matter what ranks they are in; they all obtain it with no differences. Ananda should know that in the Land of Amitabha, all sentient beings are like the King of Heaven of Paranirmita-vashavartin.

Sutra: ‘Ananda, in that World of Utmost Bliss, in mornings, over all directions, gentle breezes move slightly, not inversely or chaotically, blowing different flowers with various fragrances. Such fragrances universally scent all over the boundaries. All sentient beings feel the wind touching their bodies, and are peaceful, harmonious, adjusting and adapting, like bhikkhus having obtained the extinction of meditation.’

In that land, there are gentle breezes blowing in mornings; the wind is not strong, inverse or chaotic, and blows smoothly. When such a wind touches your body, you will feel ‘peaceful’ and ‘harmonious’, and your mind will be calm, and at peace. You will then adjust and adapt yourself to things, just like a bhikkhu who has obtained the ‘extinction of meditation’, which is the ‘extinction of meditation’ on the Four Noble Truths (suffering, desire, way to emancipation, and elimination of suffering). In the practices of the Mahamudra and meditation, there is no ‘extinction of meditation’. The meaning in the quote is that when the wind has touched the body, the suffering and the desire will be in the state of ‘extinction of meditation’. In fact, it should have been explained this way: suffering, desire, and elimination of suffering will be in the state of ‘extinction of meditation’. This means when you have obtained that state, you definitely will not reincarnate; you will not come back to this world to enter into a fetus (to be reborn). These were the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination and the Four Noble Truths (suffering, desire, way to emancipation, and elimination of suffering) taught by Shakyamuni Buddha in His first ‘Turning of the Wheel of the Dharma’.

Sutra: ‘The wind there blows through the forest of seven treasures. Flowers, flowing with the wind, pile up on the ground to a seven-person height, and their various and colorful lights illuminate the lands of Buddhas. For instance, there are people who fill the ground with flowers and press the flowers flat with their hands, letting flowers in different colors blend and mix together all over the ground. All these flowers also heap up high. They are subtle, wonderful and vastly soft like Tula cotton. If sentient beings are to tread on these flowers in a four-finger depth, and then raise their feet, the flowers will still recover their original appearances. When mornings are over, the flowers will be submerged naturally into the ground.’

The wind ‘blows through the forest of seven treasures. Flowers, flowing with the wind, pile up on the ground to a seven-person height, and their various and colorful lights illuminate the lands of Buddhas.’ There are different colors of lights on these flowers, illuminating the lands of Buddhas. These lights are not lights from the sun; they are lights of the flowers. (For pressing flowers flat,) it is like some people that when they make offerings with flowers, they will press the flowers flat, getting them not to be protruded. In there, the flowers ‘in different colors blend and mix together all over the ground.’

If there are people passing the flower piles and treading on them for a four-finger depth and raising the feet, the flowers that have just been trod on will recover their original looks. ‘When mornings are over, the flowers will be submerged naturally into the ground.’ This means there is no need to sweep the ground or pick up the flowers; they will disappear naturally.

Sutra: ‘Since the old flowers have been submerged, the ground is clean. The rain makes changes and new flowers appear with the same processes again all over the places. In this way, it will be the same for the time period, from close to noon to early afternoon, or from mid-afternoon to evening. Then, from evening through the night, until about dawn, flowers,again, flowing with the wind, will pile up like before.’

It means the situations for the flowers continuously change in that while old flowers disappear, new ones come out and pile up again on the ground.

Sutra: ‘Ananda, for all the immense, precious and marvelous treasure, none of them is not produced in the World of Utmost Bliss. Ananda, there are seven-jeweled lotuses. Each lotus has countless, hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of leaves. Such leaves have innumerable, hundreds of thousands of precious, marvelous and different colors, with hundreds of thousands of mani wonderful treasure, appearing solemn, and are covered in jeweled nets, reflecting and adorning among themselves. Ananda, the sizes of those lotuses are in half of a yojana, or in one, two, three, four or even hundreds of thousands of yojanas. Every lotus produces 3.6 billion nayuta of hundreds of thousands of lights. Each light brings forth 3.6 billion nayuta of hundreds of thousands of Buddhas in golden appearances, possessing thirty-two forms of “real men” and eighty physical characteristics with auspiciousness and solemnity. These Buddhas radiate hundreds of thousands of lights, illuminating universally the world.’

‘For all the immense, precious and marvelous treasure, none of them is not produced in the World of Utmost Bliss.’ There are seven-jeweled lotuses in the Land of Amitabha. ‘Each lotus has countless, hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of leaves’, and every leaf has many ‘precious, marvelous and different colors, with hundreds of thousands of mani wonderful treasure, appearing solemn.’ Each lotus produces lights, and ‘each light brings forth 3.6 billion nayuta of hundreds of thousands of’ the emanations of Buddhas, ‘in golden appearances, possessing thirty-two forms of “real men” and eighty physical characteristics with auspiciousness and solemnity’, illuminating the whole world.

Sutra: ‘Those Buddhas are now going to the East to expound the Dharma to sentient beings, all for the purpose of letting countless sentient beings abide by the Dharma. It is also like this to the South, West, North and intermediate directions including the zenith and nadir.’

All the emanations of Buddhas go to the East, South, West, North and intermediate directions including the zenith and nadir to expound the Dharma, helping sentient beings abide by the Dharma.

Sutra: ‘Furthermore, Ananda, in the World of Utmost Bliss, it is not dim or dark there, and there are no fire lights either. For gushing springs or uneven lakes, there are none. Also, the names for dwellings, homes, forests or gardens do not exist, nor are there indications of appearances or looks of young children. There are no showings either on the sun, the moon, days or nights. On all places, no signs or identifications are displayed, except for those having been blessed and powered by Tathagatas.’

In the World of Utmost Bliss, there are no dark nights or fire lights. It is also not like what we have here on earth that gushing springs form lakes. There are no homes or courtyards to live in, no colors (looks) or appearances of children, and no distinctions between the sun and the moon, or between days and nights. ‘On all places, no signs, labels or identifications are displayed, except for those having been blessed’ by Tathagatas.

Sutra: ‘Ananda, if the sentient beings in that world should be reborn there, they will all attain actual supreme bodhicitta and enter into nirvana. Why is this? If there are compilations of false meditation and confusing meditation, establishments of the causes for those attainments cannot be known.’

If there are sentient beings who should be reborn there, they can all attain actual supreme bodhicitta and the fruition of a Buddha. This is because the ‘compilations of false meditation and confusing meditation’ (the latter is worse than the former as there is no meditation at all in the latter) cannot establish the causes of attaining those attainments.

Sutra: ‘Ananda, in the East, it is like the sand worlds of the Ganges, and in each world, there are Buddhas as innumerable as sand. Those Buddhas praise individually the immeasurable merits of Amitabha. All Buddhas in the South, West, North and intermediate directions including the zenith and nadir also make the same praises. Why is this? All sentient beings in other worlds of Buddhas hear the name of Amitayus Tathagata, and are even able to give rise to the thought of pure belief with joyful delights and affectionate happiness. They dedicate all their roots of virtue to those having made vows to be reborn in the World of Amitayus. They will all be reborn as they wish and obtain the state of non-retrogression and then the supreme and right-equality bodhicitta.’

All Buddhas in the East, South, West, North and intermediate directions including the zenith and nadir praise the immeasurable merits of Amitabha. No matter what worlds of Buddhas sentient beings are in, as long as they hear the name of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, and even give rise to a thought, ‘the thought of pure belief with joyful delights and affectionate happiness’, they can joyfully hear and accept the name of Amitabha, dedicating all their roots of virtue, gained through their practices, to those in the World of Amitayus. Regardless of what Dharma methods you have practiced on, as long as you give rise to senses of delight, acceptance and cultivation once you hear a Buddha’s name of Amitabha, with a very pure mind abiding these senses, and make vows to be reborn in the Pure Land, you definitely can ‘go’ there. After you are there, you certainly will practice the Bodhisattva Path until you have attained the fruition of a Buddha.

On the two words of ‘Motionless Breathing’ just mentioned in the sutra, there is another explanation for them in the Mahamudra. It means stopping the prior thought and extinguishing the new thought. There is a method to practice this. The Four Uncommon Preliminary Practices in our Drikung Kagyu are called lion-like powers because these Practices represent the four claws of a lion, and the Mahamudra represents the teeth of a lion. These are not threats to people. The meaning is that there are great powers from these Dharma methods.

If you have completed the practicing of the Four Uncommon Preliminary Practices, including the mantra chanting of the Guru Yoga, after the pandemic of coronavirus is over, I will give you a talk about practices. On the Dharma method of Motionless Breathing in the Mahamudra, I will transmit this method to those disciples who are qualified to learn it. Many people think that it is very easy to stop thoughts arising, but trainings are definitely needed so that delusional thoughts can be extinguished. At the beginning, it is certainly not easy to let delusional thoughts stop and be eliminated because we are used to live a life with such thoughts. Delusional thoughts are confusing thoughts, and we have many of them in every second of our daily life. We can only get such thoughts extinguished through trainings.

Some people will ask why the Mahamudra is transmitted only after the completion of practices on the Four Uncommon Preliminary Practices. This is a lineage rule that has been passed down. There is no way to avoid it; if one has not completed practices of the Four Uncommon Preliminary Practices, one cannot be transmitted the Mahamudra. You can even buy books about the Mahamudra in the market because it is not just a Dharma method of Drikung Kagyu; it is also one for Karma Kagyu or Drukpa Kagyu. However, even if you have seen the words in the Mahamudra’s Dharma texts, it does not mean you can master the practices of this method. It is like the Diamond Sutra. Everyone can recite it, but how does one actually practice and attain Emptiness mentioned in the sutra? No one is sure of that.”

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Updated on April 19, 2022