What Would You Think if . . .

When I first started practicing Pure Land, I was sitting in the dining hall one Sunday at the Dallas Buddhist Association with a group of other people. A senior practitioner looked at us and asked a very simple question:

If Amitabha Buddha appeared before you and said he had come to escort you to the Pure Land right now, what would your first thought be?

We all thought.

And that was the problem.

Because in our thinking, we were hesitating. Clearly, we weren't ready. Our first thought should have been an instant, "Yes!" No other thought should have arisen other than the thought to go immediately.

What if it isn't the right time?

But it is. That is why Amitabha Buddha comes for us. He knows the time is right.

So I ask Pure Land practitioners reading this, "If Amitabha Buddha appeared before you and said he had come to escort you to the Pure Land right now, what would your first thought be?"

Comments

[Geo]

My first thought was "I'm not ready". That surprised me. As I reread the posting I asked myself but why am I not ready. I have studied and embraced Buddhism (first) and the Pure Land tradition (second) for a number of years.

Am I just an armchair Buddhist or an engaged / actualized Buddhist? I believe that we all start out in the "armchair" stage but continuing study, practice and incorporation of these elements into our daily lives should naturally evolve into an actualized state. Hmmm.....

Is it hesitation to let go of what I have become accustomed to no matter my embracing the Pure Land tradition and its related practices? Maybe the Westerner in me is still saturated in the "comfort zone" mentality of the social environment I have grown up in. EMbracing a spiritual tradition involves stepping outside the box. But what is outside the box?

Is it fear for the unknown, for what is to follow?

Is it that Western analytical thinking kicking in saying that there is no specific experience to come after letting go?

Need to give some more thought to this.

Peace & love, Geo

[Tien]

Dear Venerable,

My first thought would be: "Is this the moment of truth? Is Amitabha Buddha really here for me?" If the answer is "YES", then there is no doubt I would follow him to Pure Land that instant. What is there to fear?

Of-course we would be leaving our loved ones behind without any explanation. Realistically, one day we will be leaving them, and there is no guarantee that Amitabha Buddha will appear to escort us at that particular moment. For this reason, there is no doubt that I would chose to follow Amitabha Buddha that instant, should he appear before me.

The only fear I have is not seeing Amitabha Buddha at all in this lifetime.

[Ama]

An immediate YES came forth from me. I could envision myself smiling and extending my hand to him.
No doubts that I am ready.

Amituofo
Ama

[Gary Link]

As a Pure Land Buddhist for more than five years now, I still would not be able to say 'yes'. My attachments to this world are too strong right now. My wife, my kids, my dog. I feel that my 'faith' has grown and matured since I started, but...

[ak]

good question. would be great if you could explain the implications of it.

[e.l]

first thought is "what abt the others?"
As in, my family, friends..

[Venerable Wuling]

ak,

The implications are fairly simple. If we hesitate, we will likely lose our opportunity to be reborn in the Pure Land in this lifetime. Then it will be uncountable lifetimes before we get another opportunity. Lifetimes filled with suffering. Lifetimes of not being able to help others.

So we need to be ready to say "Yes" at any moment.

[Ama]

And we can die at any moment too.

Thank you for this wonderful sharing...

With Metta
Ama

[Tomek]

I am like a drug addict who knows drugs are bad for him and won't bring real happiness but keeps taking them. The main problem is - I find samsara very attractive. I need Amitabha's guidance to leave it. I really feel I can't do it myself.

[Alice]

It is really a good story which I have been asked twice including this time.I will say YES absolutely as I have realized from my parents and grand parents generations as well as my generation living is not easy and full of sufferings.

[layman]

A big YES!!! no question ask. No doubt. Just YES! : )

[Yan]

Dear Venerable

Letting go is always the hardest part! Thanks for the wake-up call.

Amituofo
Yan

[Mark Errington]

If the Pure Land is also right here,right now, as well as at the time of physical death, then, as Pure Land cultivators we should be saying 'Yes' every moment.
By reciting 'Namo Amitabha Buddha' we are calling out and also receiving a response at the same time from Amitabha. We are saying 'Yes,I will go to the Pure Land with you' on every recitation.

Namo Amitabha Buddha
Mark

[Claire]

My initial thought was: YES, I have been waiting all these years for the right method to break free from Reincarnation, and now this is it! And it is here now!

Then other thoughts sneaked in: But what about my present responsibilities? .. of a wife, a mother and so on? And yet, in rethinking of attachments: we know we have to let go of that emotional attachments, for only when we get our foot into the Pure Land realm can we eventually come back to help our loved ones as promised and as well all beings, in order to fulfill our bodhisattva vows.

Yes,... but what if...? Indeed, can I totally believe that I could go just like that, in total abandonment and without reservation?. Even the mere thought of consciously peeling off from the physical body of sixty years and letting go all those subtle layers of consciousness (from the skin of whom and what I 'was and am') is bound to bring some discomfort, I am quite sure.

Also, would it be enough..., even with the intuitive understanding that those subtle consciousness are not 'me', just mere shadows of the 'real essence' the sum total of the alaya consciousness (that has been me of the past and now present), although even that will have to dissipate and transmute one day to completely be one with the pure essence that we are all part of?.

Yes, to sum it up, would it be enough for me to follow Buddha Amitabha, without question or any reservation, completely and utterly and void of any negative thinking or emotion whatsoever?

I really don't know; but I guess with so many wandering thoughts here I am not ready at all. And so the conclusion is that my faith and practice is not good enough. If not, I would say Yes, and not even looking back behind me, of people. things or responsibilities.

So it is back to the drawing board for me, sad to say.

One question still remains; would Buddha Amitabha truly appear to guide us over, if we are not yet ready or worthy of it?.

Namo Amituofo
Joon Phing