Going Up?

At the end of the Amitabha Sutra, the Buddha explained that the Pure Land method is hard to believe. What did he mean by this?

Briefly, belief in other methods can increase gradually, but in Pure Land Buddhism one is taking a giant step from samsara (the cycle of rebirth) to the Western Pure Land. Belief is much harder because the step is so high we can’t see over the top. With other methods, we can see what’s on the next step so it’s easier to believe.

Imagine coming from a land where there is much suffering and arriving in a new land. In our old land, we only had small single-story dwellings. But in this new place we see a building that is very high. A kind-looking gentleman smiles gently at us. We approach and ask what is at the top of the building.

The gentleman replies that it is a wonderful place for it doesn’t have all the suffering that our land does. He then tells us that we can go up the building and live at the top if we would like. We ask how we can do that.

He points to some steps and says we can take those but it will take us a very long time. He then points to some closed doors and says that, alternatively, we could take the elevator, which will safely and quickly take us to the top.

We can see the gradual rise of the steps and so we’re okay with the idea of walking up them. But what about this magical device called elevator? What if the apparently nice gentleman isn’t telling us the truth? What if he doesn’t really know what’s at the top of the building? Wouldn’t it be safer to just take the steps?

This is essentially the newcomer’s predicament. We tend to doubt the “quick fix.” In most situations, this is very wise. But doubting the efficacy of the Pure Land method will result in not only our continued suffering, but the suffering of those we wish to help as well.