Be skeptical when appropriate, . . .

If Amitabha Buddha were to appear before you 

and say he was here 

to escort you to the Pure Land right now, 

what would your very first thought be? 

When I first started practicing Pure Land Buddhism in Dallas, Texas, I was sitting in the dining hall one Sunday afternoon with several other people. A long-time practitioner looked at us and asked the above question. We all started to think.

And therein lay the problem.

In our thinking, we had hesitated.

Clearly, and sadly, we weren’t ready. If we were, our first reaction would have been an instantaneous “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. Knowing that the time is right, Amitabha Buddha will come for us.

So I ask Pure Land practitioners reading this, “If Amitabha Buddha were to appear before you and say he was here to escort you to the Pure Land right now, what would your very first thought be?”

“Take the elevator, it’s much quicker.” 

Imagine you’ve left your small village to see the world. Exhausted after days of walking, you see an incredibly high building on the horizon. In awe, you finally reach it and are greeted by a kind gentleman who offers you much needed food and water.

“What’s at the top of the building?” He replies that it is a glorious place, for it has none of the sufferings your land does. He invites you to move in.

“How?” you ask. He explains there are stairs, but they take a very long time. Pointing to a door, he says that the elevator will instead whisk you to the top. The stairs look safe to you, but what about his “magical elevator?”

You wonder, What if it doesn’t work as promised? Wouldn’t the stairs be safer?

Some Pure Land newcomers face this predicament because they doubt quick fixes. But sometimes, we need to trust those who have already helped us greatly. Questioning the efficacy of the Pure Land method will result in not only our continued suffering but also the suffering of those back home whom we wish to help.