which pure land do you seek?

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cj39
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by cj39 »

gingercatni wrote:I was reading the large sutra and found reference to a prison in the land of bliss. The prison is for Bodhisattvas who have doubt in Amitabha, I'm troubled by this, because a Bodhisattva from another Buddha field after having served another Buddha and been beckoned to the Land of Bliss would no doubt have some kind of questions for a Buddha they may have no knowledge of and if this is deemed as doubt and they are put in prison, well it seems a bit harsh. The prison is described in lovely detail, but still the bonds are made of gold and it's a prison in whatever way it's described. I personally do not want the bodhisattva's in a prison. I know I'm delving deeply into this, but if I as a mere human with all the doubts I have can be reborn in the land of bliss why can't a bodhisattva?
I would think of it more as an infirmary, a place of rest and healing for those of us most afflicted with anger, greed and ignorance. When our condition improves sufficiently and we are ready, we encounter the Buddha who is ever the patient teacher.
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vinodh
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by vinodh »

gingercatni wrote:As each Buddha has a pure land, I was wondering is it correct to understand that when someone says they are a pure land Buddhist that they seek rebirth with Amitabha, or is it accepted under pure land we may take refuge with other Buddha's and not actually wish to be with Amitabha?
Aren't we already present in the Buddha Kshetra of Shakyamuni ? :thinking:

:meditate:

V
http://www.virtualvinodh.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

yo dharmaṁ paśyati, sa buddhaṁ paśyati

One who sees the Dharma, sees the Buddha
śālistamba sūtra

na pudgalo na ca skandhā buddho jñānamanāsravam
sadāśāntiṁ vibhāvitvā gacchāmi śaraṇaṁ hyaham

Neither a person nor the aggregates, the Buddha, is knowledge free from [evil] outflows
Clearly perceiving [him] to be eternally serene, I go for refuge [in him]
saddharma-laṅkāvatāra-sūtra
Rakz
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by Rakz »

Aren't we already present in the Buddha Kshetra of Shakyamuni ?



If you are able to see this as a pure land then all the power to you but for most of us it is a world is full of death, disease, and destruction. Not to mention the many personal responsibilities we have to our families. Amitabha's pure land is the only way for us.
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by sinweiy »

Vow 9
Provided I become a Buddha, if the beings of that country of mine should not all possessed of the Heavenly-step (Riddisakchatkriya) which can in the shortest moment of one thought travelling over a hundred thousand kotis of nayuta of Buddha-countries, then may I not attain the enlightenment.
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Amitabha' ... eight_vows" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

reborn in Amitabha's Pureland is equal to reborning in all other Buddha's Purelands, i say.

/\
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Amituofo!

"Enlightenment is to turn around and see MY own mistake, Other's mistake is also my mistake. Others are right even if they are wrong. i'm wrong even if i'm right. " - Master Chin Kung
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Thug4lyfe
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by Thug4lyfe »

Western Pureland of Utmost bliss!!!

Hope to see you homeboys there!!!
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Rakz
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by Rakz »

Hopefully food eatah!!
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catmoon
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by catmoon »

Ryoto wrote:
Aren't we already present in the Buddha Kshetra of Shakyamuni ?



If you are able to see this as a pure land then all the power to you but for most of us it is a world is full of death, disease, and destruction. Not to mention the many personal responsibilities we have to our families. Amitabha's pure land is the only way for us.
Well, if you form you ideas of what the world is like from the media, it will certainly appear to be full of death destruction and disease, simply because that's about all they report on!
Sergeant Schultz knew everything there was to know.
Rakz
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by Rakz »

Ok maybe I was exaggerating but that doesn't change the fact of the first noble truth.
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DarwidHalim
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by DarwidHalim »

Ideally we shouldn't seek pure land. We should realize enlightenment. In case, at the end I realize I still full of ignorance, I will seek Amitabha pure land simply because of my practice.
I am not here nor there.
I am not right nor wrong.
I do not exist neither non-exist.
I am not I nor non-I.
I am not in samsara nor nirvana.
To All Buddhas, I bow down for the teaching of emptiness. Thank You!
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sinweiy
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by sinweiy »

DarwidHalim wrote:Ideally we shouldn't seek pure land. We should realize enlightenment. In case, at the end I realize I still full of ignorance, I will seek Amitabha pure land simply because of my practice.
one way or another, enlightenment by self power is the 'pureland' of Vairochana Buddha. it's the mind ground of everything, everywhere.... Avataṃsaka. one don't say they seek the pureland of Vairocana, but automatically one enter it. Amitabha pure land is just a "capital city" in Avataṃsaka world ( 'pureland' of Vairochana Buddha). it is also very active where mahasattvas are concentrated.
Vairocana (also Vairochana or Mahāvairocana) is a celestial Buddha who is often (e.g. in the Flower Garland Sutra) interpreted as the Bliss Body of the historical Gautama Buddha; he can also be referred to as the dharmakaya Buddha and the great solar Buddha. In Sino-Japanese Buddhism, Vairocana is also seen as the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of shunyata or emptiness.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vairocana" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

to me, pureland is Nirvana, is Enlightenment, is inconceivable. when the mind is pure, the land is pure.

/\
_/\_
Amituofo!

"Enlightenment is to turn around and see MY own mistake, Other's mistake is also my mistake. Others are right even if they are wrong. i'm wrong even if i'm right. " - Master Chin Kung
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Thug4lyfe
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by Thug4lyfe »

This video always boosts my morale!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgH8n3mk5RA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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peacewolfwm
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by peacewolfwm »

LastLegend wrote:Thank you plwk.

How to do meritorious deeds? Practice 10 Virtuous Acts and giving:

1)Ten 10 Virtuous Acts→ 1. not killing living beings, 2. not stealing, 3. not committing adultery, 4. not telling lies, 5. not uttering harsh words, 6. not uttering words which cause enmity between two or more persons, 7. not engaging in idle talk, 8. not being greedy, 9. not being angry, and 10. not having wrong views.

Read more about 10 Non-Virtuous Acts as the opposite of 10 Virtuous Acts
http://www.shambhala.org/teachings/view.php?id=59" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2) a. Practice giving: can be a service, money, volunteer work, anything you can for others for free
b. After each deed, you can redirect or dedicate the merits to Pure Land. You can say, "I want to redirect this merits to Pure Land, and wish all sentient beings also to be reborn in Pure Land."

3) a.Releasing wild caught animals such as birds and such if you happen to be in countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thai and such. These animals will be killed for food. To save their lives will pro-long one own life and will live a healthy life with no illnesses. For those with illnesses, releasing wild caught animals will cure the illnesses.
b. After each deed, you can redirect or dedicate the merits to Pure Land. You can say, "I want to redirect this merits to Pure Land, and wish all sentient beings also to be reborn in Pure Land."
I am new to Pure Land and have questions.
If I have any mercy or favor in your sight, please be patient w/ my inquiries for they are sincere and genuine.
After reading about the possibilities of not making it in the Pure Land of the West, I would like to know if there is a pure land which is more lenient which has the potential for obtaining buddhahood. Medicine Buddha flows w/ my thinking. In the end of Medicine Buddha sutra, it states that the bodhisattvas will accompany those that do not make it into the Pure Land of the West and bring them to the Pure Land of the East. Doubt is a real problem for me which is why certain religions have been an issue for me. I desire to cultivate the dharma but I would like to find my place in a Pure Land. In A sutra of Avalokitesvara, he emphasized that doubt will not get you the help you need for blessing. He has so many wonderful things for the believer, including healing. In the same sutra, he has the vows and dharini one must use. So, I feel disqualified for the Pure Land because of this. Please advise.
M.G.
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by M.G. »

True story:

When I was very young and just getting into dharma, I asked a lama over lunch "what exactly is a pure land?"
He took a big bite of cheesecake and said "that is a pure land!"
So I seek the pure land of cheesecake, where all foods taste like delicious pastries, and all discord melts away on the palate.
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cj39
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by cj39 »

I admit I want to visit Akshobhya's pure land. All you have to do to be born there is not give way to anger and aversion... as in ever. I am such a schlemiel. I am going to concentrate on Amida Buddha's land for now.
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dzogchungpa
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by dzogchungpa »

I'm going for Abhirati too.
There is not only nothingness because there is always, and always can manifest. - Thinley Norbu Rinpoche
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by Kris »

which pure land seeks you :?: :shock:
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plwk
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by plwk »

which pure land seeks you :?: :shock:
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steveb1
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by steveb1 »

Yeah, I look at it like Amida sought me, his pure land sought me.

I am Jodo Shinshu (Shinran/Rennyo et al) which teaches that self-power is useless for most people aspiring to Buddhahood. Hence Shin practitioners rely solely on Amida's "Other Power" and providential grace to acquire both salvation and Buddhahood - two goals that we cannot reach by exercising self-power. In Shin, even the gift of Shinjin ("perfect faith") is a free donation from Amida Buddha. Hence our faith is not really ours, but an outflowing from Amida's grace. Self-power has been utterly depotentiated, contradicted and made irrelevant by Amida's all-attaining Other Power. The same holds for Amida's pure land - when we receive Shinjin, we also receive our future Buddhahood, to be conferred upon us by Amida's fulfilment of the Eighteenth Vow.
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by JKhedrup »

Amitabha Buddha is the Lord of the Western Pure Land, and Bhaisayaguru is the Lord of the Eastern Pure Land. My question is why the Western Pure Land is seen as a more desireable option, as Bhaisayaguru (Medicine Buddha) also made powerful vows for the benefit of sentient beings.
plwk
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Re: which pure land do you seek?

Post by plwk »

I can think about that in a few ways...
a. Compare Madonna & Lady Gaga, both are superstars in their own right, yet fans gravitate to each according to their affinity...yes though I am an unworthy devotee of Amitabha, an admirer of Bhaisajyaguru but I will not hesitate to promote Maitreya for one who has that link to him... I am a die hard of the late Whitney Houston btw :mrgreen:

b. As to those who would promote one Buddha over the other, it's just perhaps a political stunt and who are the patrons promoting it as can be seen in different periods of Chinese history for instance, one moment Maitreya is so popular and next, he's almost missing, like how Akshobya Buddha was once popular but got eclipsed by the popularity of Bhaisajyaguru. The late Ven Master Dr Yinshun in his 'The Way to Buddhahood' in page 105, mentions on how some would elevate Amitabha over Maitreya with an infamous story of how Buddhasimha vowed to practice in Maitreya's Inner Tusita but fell outside in the samsaric frolicking zone and thus failed. He questions how such tales are valid as having no parallels in any of those who transmitted Maitreya's teachings, Paramartha, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Xuanzang...

c. Looking at the scriptures and treatises, there seems to be what is known as distinctive features of respective accomplished Buddha vows and their corresponding lands. Like non retrogression and limitless longevity until attaining anuttara samyak sambodhi is an express proviso unless one's own aspiration is otherwise to return back to Sahaloka halfway in Sukhavati is missing from the Vaiduryanirbhasa. But again, if all that one wants is Lady Gaga, of what use is promoting Madonna to such?
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