If anybody was curious how to put Pure Land into terms of "mainstream/general Buddhism".
The
suttas to Mahanama.
Buddhanussati as practice:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html
The
sutta to Sarakaani.
Alcoholics can be Stream Enterers (and faith will keep you out of hell):
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .wlsh.html
The
Mahaparinibbana sutta has tons of goodies:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .vaji.html
Part 1 verse 31 - Buddha talks about making offerings to devas and how it will bring good fortune.
Part 4 verse 56 - Cunda is promised heavenly birth (and other things) for offering the last meal to the Tathagata, aludes to the fact that other meals offered are also meritorious.
Part 5 verse 22 - Dying on a pilgrimage (with a heart established in faith) to a Buddhist holy site leads to birth in heaven.
Part 5 verse 24-31 - Buddha talks about how the householders should venerate him (but the monks should focus on practice) and that if they do venerate him (at a stupa) and have faith, they will be reborn in heaven.
The
original Milindipanha from Sanskrit (via Chinese):
http://media.wix.com/ugd/9904ee_5166980 ... f20cac.pdf
p285 #62 - Mindfulness of the Buddha leads to heaven
p297-298 #67 - giving flowers leads to heaven
p299-300 #68 - knowing about the precepts and still doing wrong leads to less bad karma than unknowingly doing wrong
The
Pali Milindipanha:
http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/milinda.pdf
Chapter 25 talks about how venerating relics can lead one to heaven.
Chapter 71 talks about how giving leads to heaven.
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3 Marks of Existence:
1. Impermanence (Anicca) - Pure Land practice focuses on the fact that life is short and that this Saha world is unstable.
2. Suffering (Dukkha) - Pure Land practice focuses on the fact that the unstable nature of this Saha world leads to anguish.
3. Non-self (Anatman) - Pure Land doctrine teaches practitioners to recognize that they are foolish beings, riddled with afflictive/destructive emotions (kileshas), and ultimately unreliable.
3 Fold practice:
1. Ethics (Sila) - Pure Land teaches Buddhist ethics, but takes it one step further and emphasizes how as hard as we try, we can't follow them perfectly. This teaches the remorse for the unskillful nature of the practitioner that minimizes the negative karmic fruits of actions.
2. Mental training (Samadhi) - This is achieved through recitation of the Nembutsu.
3. Wisdom (Panna) - This is reserved as a fruit of the Pure Land practice: seeing the Buddha, learning from him, and knowing the minds of all Buddhas.
4 Noble Truths:
1. The Truth of Suffering (Dukkha) - Pure Land practice focuses on the fact that the unstable nature of this Saha world leads to anguish.
2. The Truth of Origin of Suffering (Samudaya) - Pure Land doctrine teaches practitioners to recognize their foolish nature, to realize how they are riddled with afflictive emotions (kileshas), and to understand that the cause is due to the 3 poisons of craving, aversion, and ignorance.
3. The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering (Nirodha) - Pure Land doctrine teaches that practitioners will escape suffering and lead others to escape suffering once they are born in the Pure Land, become bodhisattvas & Buddhas, and are free of the 3 poisons.
4. The Truth of the Path to the Cessation of Suffering (Magga) - Pure Land teaches that the path to escape suffering is (in this life) arrived at through the practice of the Nembutsu.
8 Fold Path:
1. Right Understanding(sammā diṭṭhi, S. samyag-dṛṣṭi) - Understanding that we are limited beings, that this world is temporary, that karmic actions have results, and understanding that the only way out is through the Dharma.
2. Right Intention (sammā saṅkappa, S. samyak-saṃkalpa) - The intention to escape suffering by going to the Pure Land, to become a Buddha (developing relative bodhicitta), and to continue the work by helping others escape suffering.
3. Right Speech (sammā vācā, S. samyag-vāc) - Recitation of the Nembutsu. Reciting the Name of the Buddha is considered the highest form of Right Speech.
4. Right Action (sammā kammanta, S. samyak-karmānta) - Recitation of the Nembutsu. Reciting the Name of the Buddha is considered the highest form of Right Action.
5. Right Livelihood (sammā ājīva, S. samyag-ājīva) - The Pure Land take on this is that our karma in the past has led to our current conditions and if we cannot avoid doing jobs that are in violation of Right Livelihood, at least understanding remorse for it and knowing that it is temporary for this lifetime.
6. Right Energy (sammā vāyāma, S. samyag-vyāyāma) - Pure Land practice is to be done with energy (viriya).
7. Right Mindfulness (sammā sati, S. samyak-smṛti) - Mindfulness of the Buddha (literal translation of Nembutsu) is considered the highest form of Right Mindfulness.
8. Right Unification (sammā samādhi, S. samyak-samādhi) - Pure Land aspires for Mindfulness of the Buddha Samadhi (Nembutsu Sanmai), the state at which one sees the Pure Land, sees the Buddha, and ultimately learns the mind of all Buddhas. Also can be achieved by the natural outpouring of compassion & skillful qualities once unshakable faith has been established.
The 37 limbs of Enlightenment:
The 37 limbs of Enlightenment are referenced explicitly in the Shorter Sukhavati Sutra.
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The Four Establishments of Mindfulness:
- 1. Mindfulness of the body (kāyānupassanā, S. kayānupasthāna) - Mindfulness of the body of the Buddha & the attributes of the Pure Land. In Pure Land vipassana = visualizing the Buddha. Pure Land also involves being mindful that this life & this body are temporary.
- 2. Mindfulness of feelings (vedanānupassanā, S. vedanānupasthāna) - Mindfulness of the great compassion of the Buddha (like a parent) & the qualities of the Pure Land. Pure Land also involves being mindful of the unskillful states of our mind, riddled with afflictive emotions (kileshas).
- 3. Mindfulness of mental states (cittānupassanā, S. cittanupasthāna) - Mindfulness of the wisdom of the Buddha & certain qualities of the Pure Land. Inherent in this is the mindfulness of being able to view the Pure Land and the Buddha. Pure Land also involves being mindful of the restless nature of our monkey minds while we recite.
- 4. Mindfulness of mental qualities (dhammānupassanā, S. dharmanupasthāna) - Mindfulness of the various qualities of the Buddha & the Pure Land, including wisdom & compassion. Pure Land also involves being mindful of the limited, worldly nature of many of our qualities.
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Four right exertions
- 1. Exertion for the preventing of unskillful states to arise - Achieved during Nembutsu (especially during Nembutsu Samadhi), but also the realization that we are unskillful in body, speech, and mind. Also can be achieved by the natural outpouring of compassion & skillful qualities once unshakable faith has been established.
- 2. Exertion for the abandoning of the already arisen unskillful states - Achieved during Nembutsu (especially during Nembutsu Samadhi), but also learning to lament that we are unskillful in body, speech, and mind. Also can be achieved by the natural outpouring of compassion & skillful qualities once unshakable faith has been established.
- 3. Exertion for the arising of skillful states - Achieved during Nembutsu (especially during Nembutsu Samadhi), but also learning that as limited, foolish beings, that we should feel gratitude of the compassion of the Buddha. Also can be achieved by the natural outpouring of compassion & skillful qualities once unshakable faith has been established.
- 4. Exertion for the sustaining and increasing of arisen skillful states - Achieved during Nembutsu (especially during Nembutsu Samadhi), but also through continuous Nembutsu throughout one's life. Also can be achieved by the natural outpouring of compassion & skillful qualities once unshakable faith has been established.
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Four bases of power
- 1. Will (chanda, S. chanda) - the single-minded desire to be born in the Pure Land.
- 2. Energy (viriya, S. virya) - reciting the Nembutsu energetically.
- 3. Consciousness (citta, S. citta) - aspiring for birth in the Pure Land to become a Buddha, developing bodhicitta.
- 4. Examination (vīmaṁsa or vīmaŋsā, S. mimāṃsā) - examination of our own limited qualities as foolish beings, as well as the qualities of the Buddha and the Pure Land.
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Five faculties
- 1. Conviction (saddhā, S. śraddā) - Faith in the 18th Vow for birth in the Pure Land and in the wisdom & compassion of the Buddhas.
- 2. Energy (viriya, s. virya) - Energetically reciting the Nembutsu
- 3. Mindfulness (sati, S. smṛti) - Mindfulness of the Buddha through Nembutsu
- 4. Unification (samādhi, S. samādhi) - Nembutsu Samadhi, seeing the Pure Land, seeing the Buddha, and gaining wisdom. Unshakable faith is also sometimes referred to as a form of samadhi.
- 5. Wisdom (panna, S. prajñā) - Wisdom in the Pure Land sense means relying on the pure wisdom of the Buddha and not seeking personal happiness, but aspiring towards non-retrogression on the path to Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings.
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Five powers
- Culmination of the 5 faculties above
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Seven factors of Enlightenment
- 1. Mindfulness (sati, S. smṛti) - Mindfulness of the Buddha is considered the highest form of Mindfulness.
- 2. Investigation (dhamma vicaya, S. dharmapravicaya) - Reading & reciting the sutras & commentaries.
- 3. Energy (viriya, S. virya) - Energetically reciting the Nembutsu throughout one's life.
- 4. Joy (pīti, S. prīti) - One thought moment of joy at hearing about the vows of Amida and following the Pure Land path mentioned in the Larger Sutra. Achieved once one establishes unshakable faith.
- 5. Tranquillity (passaddhi, S. praśrabdhi) - Achieved temporarily through Nembutsu, established in one's life through unshakable faith (accompanied by gratitude), and culminated in the Pure Land when one becomes a Buddha/bodhisattva.
- 6. Unification (samadhi, S. samādhi) - Nembutsu Samadhi achieved through recitation of Nembutsu.
- 7. Equanimity (upekkhā, S. upekṣā) - Achieved temporarily through Nembutsu, established in one's life through unshakable faith (accompanied by gratitude), and culminated in the Pure Land when one becomes a Buddha/bodhisattva. Also achieved when one realizes one's foolish nature as a being bound by afflictions (kileshas), that one is no better than anyone else, and that through receiving the compassion of the Buddha - all sentient beings are deserving of such compassion.
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Noble 8 Fold Path
- Described above.
Meditation
1. Single pointed Concentration (Samatha) - Vasubandhu & ShanTao describe single-pointed concentration in Pure Land as the single-minded desire for birth in the Pure Land. In practice, this concentration can be achieved through constant and continuous recitation of the Nembutsu.
2. Insight Meditation (Vipassanā) - Vasubandhu defines insight meditation in Pure Land as visualization of the adornments of the Pure Land and of Amitabha Buddha.
Kasina Meditation
There are 10 basic visual objects of meditation:
1. earth (paṭhavī kasiṇa) - part of the visualization in the Shorter Sukhavati Sutra, the Larger Sukhavati Sutra, and the 3rd visualization in the Visualization sutra.
2. water (āpo kasiṇa) - part of the visualization in the Shorter Sukhavati Sutra, the Larger Sukhavati Sutra, and the 2nd & 5th visualizations in the Visualization sutra.
3. fire (tejo kasiṇa) - part of the 4th visualization in the Visualization sutra. Shows up in the 2nd fascicle of the Larger Sukhavati Sutra, regarding the 5 evils and 5 virtues.
4. air, wind (vāyo kasiṇa) - part of the visualization in the Shorter Sukhavati Sutra, the Larger Sukhavati Sutra, and the latter part of the 3rd visualization in the Visualization sutra.
5. blue, green (nīla kasiṇa) - part of the visualization in the Shorter Sukhavati Sutra (the flowers), the Larger Sukhavati Sutra, and the 2nd, 3rd, and 9th visualizations in the Visualization sutra.
6. yellow (pīta kasiṇa) - part of the visualization in the Shorter Sukhavati Sutra (the flowers), the Larger Sukhavati Sutra, and the 5th visualization in the Visualization sutra.
7. red (lohita kasiṇa) - part of the visualization in the Shorter Sukhavati Sutra (the flowers), the Larger Sukhavati Sutra, and the 4th, 10th, and 11th visualizations in the Visualization sutra.
8. white (odāta kasiṇa) - part of the visualization in the Shorter Sukhavati Sutra (the flowers), the Larger Sukhavati Sutra, and the 4th and 9th visualizations in the Visualization sutra.
9. enclosed space, hole, aperture (ākāsa kasiṇa) - part of the 1st visualization in the Visualization sutra.
10. consciousness (viññāṇa kasiṇa) or bright light (āloka kasiṇa) - 8th and 9th visualizations in the Visualization sutra. Bright light is in all 3 sutras.