Chapter 32: Infinite Lifespan and Joy (Part 2)

The Buddha told Maitreya Bodhisattva, the heavenly beings, humans, and others, “The merits, virtues, and wisdom of the sound-hearers and bodhisattvas in the Land of Infinite Life are beyond description. This land is exquisite and wondrous, peaceful, joyful, and pure. Why do sentient beings not exert an effort to do good deeds and be mindful of the Way of the true nature?

This chapter of the Infinite Life Sutra opens with Sakyamuni Buddha telling Maitreya Bodhisattva, the heavenly beings, humans, and others, “The merits, virtues, and wisdom of the sound-hearers and bodhisattvas in the Land of Infinite Life are beyond description.” “The Land of Infinite Life” refers to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Other than Amitabha Buddha, all the beings in the Pure Land are bodhisattvas. “The sound-hearers” refers to bodhisattvas who have not yet uncovered their true nature. They are not the sound-hearers who are in the ten Dharma realms of the hells, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, asuras, heavens, arhats, pratyekabuddhas, unenlightened bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. “The bodhisattvas” in that land refers to those who have uncovered their true nature. Here, the sutra talks about the magnificence of the living beings there. 

The Buddha then described the wondrous interpersonal environment of the beings in the Pure Land. For millennia, people have rued the difficulty of handling matters and interacting with others. Today, it is even more difficult. The best and purest interpersonal environment is in the Western Pure Land, where everyone’s mind is pure and impartial, free of attachments and discrimination. 

“This land is so exquisite and wondrous, peaceful, joyful, and pure.” This describes the Pure Land’s physical environment. “Exquisite and wondrous” refers to the marvelous material aspects, which cannot be found in this world. The Pure Land is “peaceful, joyful, and pure.” The bodhisattvas’ minds are so pure that they do not have a single wandering thought. The environment naturally reflects this and is also pure.

All this is very different from our world, which is severely polluted. Scientists have warned that due to this pollution, in fifty years, living conditions on Earth will have seriously deteriorated. The environment of the Pure Land, however, is pure. Only when there is purity can there be peace and joy—with a peaceful mind and body, beings will naturally be happy. Saying that the land is “exquisite and wondrous, peaceful, joyful, and pure” is the ultimate praise. None of the worlds in the ten directions can compare to that land.

From "Commentary on the Infinite Life Sutra," Volume Three 

The Pure Land Translation Team

But I want to help people now, not sometime way off in the future.”

Not having wandering thoughts does not mean not thinking. 

 Having focused on our task, 

we do not dwell on it, 

lingering over failures or successes. 

Hearing that we should desist from wandering thoughts might sound like we should avoid all thinking. Not so. Wandering thoughts refers to incorrect thoughts, not all thoughts. When we have a task, we need to consider how best to accomplish it. And so we have correct thoughts. If others criticize how we do the task, we need to weigh the criticism. Is it valid? Or irrelevant? These are more correct thoughts. 

But what if we keep replaying the criticism as if it were a favorite movie? We’re right back at trivial, wandering thoughts. Why? Reminiscing about successes depletes our good fortune. Recalling failures plants the wrong kind of seeds. Embarrassment, guilt, anger. Either way, we end up not paying attention to our current tasks. 

So, do not linger on the past. Learn from it. Then move on so you can increasingly focus on correct thoughts. 

A Caregiver’s Good Fortune