>>At Long Beach Sagely Monastery: You are welcome
to join our Pure Land Dharma-door monthly Amitabha session & annual
3-day Amitabha session (usually in November, over the
Thanksgiving weekend). Please see LBSM's
Calendar
of Events.
>>
At the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB) in Talmage,
California: Annual 7-day Amitabha Session
(usually in December, before or after Amitabha
Buddha's Birthday) >> for dates and
schedules, see our CTTB
webpage or The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas
website
- Slideshow: Amitabha Buddha &
The Three Sages of the Western
Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss (Center: Amitabha Buddha, often depicted with one palm
extended downward to receive and guide sentient beings to the Land of
Ultimate Bliss; on the right: Gwan Yin Bodhisattva who,
often depicted as holding a "pure vase" containing sweet dew and a
willow branch, is to succeed Amitabha Buddha; and on the left: Great Strength Bodhisattva
who, often depicted as holding a lotus flower, is to succeed Gwan Yin Bodhisattva)阿彌陀佛、西方三聖：
The meaning of "Namo Amitabha Buddha" or
"namo amitofo" or
"namo amitwofo"
in Chinese as explained by Venerable Master Husan Hua:
-
Namo
is a Sanskrit word. Translated it means “to return the life
and submit respectfully.” To return your life
means to offer up your heart, mind, body, and nature....
-
...[A]also known as
"Amitayus," "infinite life."
"Amitabha" means "infinite light"....
“Shariputra, those
living beings who hear should vow, ‘I wish to be born in that
country.’ And why? Those who thus attain are all superior and
good people, all gathered together in one place. Shariputra, one
cannot have few good roots, blessings, virtues, and causal
connections to attain birth in that land.
Commentary:
Shakyamuni Buddha said, “All
those living beings who hear the doctrine I teach should vow to
be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Why? Because the Sravakas
and Bodhisattvas born there are all superior and good people.”
Although you may express the desire to be born in the Land of
Ultimate Bliss, unless you have good roots, blessings, and
virtuous conduct, you won’t be able to be reborn there. You must
have cultivated all the Paramita doors for many lifetimes and in
this way obtained great good roots, great blessings, and great
virtue, in order to have the opportunity to meet this wonderful
Dharma.
Sutra:
Shariputra, if there is a
good man or a good woman who hears spoken ‘Amitabha’ and holds
the name, whether for one day, two days, three, four, five days,
six days, as long as seven days, with one heart unconfused, when
this person approaches the end of life, before him will appear
Amitabha and all the assembly of holy ones. When the end comes,
his heart is without inversion; in Amitabha’s Land of Ultimate
Bliss he will attain rebirth. Shariputra, because I see this
benefit, I speak these words: If living beings hear this spoken
they should make the vow, ‘I will be born in that land.’
Commentary:
“Shariputra,” said the Buddha,
“if a good man or woman, that is one who holds the five precepts
and cultivates the ten good deeds, hears the name ‘Amitabha
Buddha,’ that person should hold to the recitation of Amitabha
Buddha’s name, just like holding something tightly in the hand.”
Recite the name, “Namo Amitabha Buddha, Namo Amitabha Buddha,
Namo Amitabha Buddha….”
Whether for one day. In Chinese, the word
“whether” looks like this: (若 ruo ). If you
move the stroke in the middle, it changes into the word
“suffering,” which looks like this: (苦 ku ).
So you could say, “ suffering for one day, two days,
three, four, five days, six days.” If you recite the Buddha’s
name from four o’clock in the morning until ten at night for
seven days, you can reach the level of one heart
unconfused . When your life is about to end, Amitabha
Buddha thinks, “That living being suffered for seven days
reciting my name, and so now I will guide him to the Land of
Ultimate Bliss. The time has come!” Then, Amitabha with
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, and
the entire clear, pure, ocean-wide assembly of Bodhisattvas
appear before you, and lead you to the Land of Ultimate Bliss.
If you think you can escape, you can’t. You are surrounded. At
this time, your heart is without inversion .
You won’t say, “I don’t want to go! It’s too boring there!” It
would never occur to you to refuse Amitabha’s invitation, and so
you are born at once in the Western Land.
“Shariputra,” the Buddha continues, “I see the advantages and so
I am explaining them to you. If other living beings in the Saha
world hear these doctrines, they should make the vow to be born
in that land.”
Previously, the text said, “Those living beings who hear should
vow, ‘I wish to be born in that country.’” This passage says, “I
will be born in that land,” that is “I vow that I shall
certainly be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.”
-Amitabha Sutra, with Commentary by
Venerable Master Hsuan Hua
>>
Buddha Root Farm text [HTM] as
well as the
audio files (with instantaneous English translation by on-site
translators): Ven.
Master Hsuan Hua's instructions on Buddha Recitation given at a 7-day
outdoor Amitabha Session held in 1975 in the mountains of Oregon
>>
New!At the End of Life
- a lecture given by Great Master Hong Yi (1880-1942)
- Three Essentials for Those Close
to Death
by Great Master Yin Guang [Seal
Light] (1861-1941) Death is the greatest tragedy in the world and yet
no one on earth can avoic it.
- Being Vegetarian and Reciting the
Buddha's Name are the Only Ways to Protect the Nation and Quell
Disasters
by Great Master Yin Guang [Seal
Light] (1861-1941) To talk about protecting the country and ending
disasters, we must know how to protect the country and how to end
disasters.
* * *
To practice and participate:
- At LBSM:
The Pure Land
Dharma-door monthly Amitabha session >>
Calendars of Events
- At CTTB:
11-27~11-29-09: 3-day Amitabha Session >>
CTTB
page
- At CTTB:
12-20-09~01-02-2010: Annual Amitabha Session
>> CTTB page
* * *
- Your Amitaba Buddha Recitation (Mindfulness of the Buddha) Tools: Weekly Progress Journal & Verses
>> Download Weekly Progress Journal [PDF]
* * *
The Buddha Speaks of Amitabha
Sutra
佛說阿彌陀經
- Chanting
唱誦
>>
Evening Recitations ãn khóa晚課
(Download > unzip > open with Flash Player, Shockwave, or a browser
下載、解壓、以Flash
Player或Shockwave或瀏覽器播放)
Universal Worthy Bodhisattva's
Verse of Exhortation
唱誦和文字檔：
咒心、淨土文、三皈依、普賢菩薩警眾偈
This is the last of the daily recitations at the close of day at DRBA's
monasteries. You may choose method 1
(Download > unzip > open with Flash Player, Shockwave, or a browser) or method 2 by following the audio
file with the text on this webpage.
Amitabha Buddha's
Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss
(A description, the reason for
seeking rebirth there, and how) &
Pure Land verses
阿彌陀佛極樂世界、
淨土偈頌
Press "CTRL" + "+" to enlarge;
"CTRL" "+"同按放大
Press
"CTRL" + "-" to reduce.
"CTRL" 和 "-"縮小
Press "CRTL" + "0" to reset size. "CRTL"和 "0"
還原
六欲諸天具五衰 三禪天上有風災
任君修到非非想 不如西方歸去來
Those
in the Six Desire Heavens experience the Five Signs of Decay.
The Third Dhyana Heavens suffer the disaster of wind.
Even if you cultivate and reach the Heaven of Neither Thought nor
Non-Thought,
It’s not as good as going to the Western Land and then coming back.
Chanting
唱誦
