Amitabha Society

Since setting up this page I have noticed it is getting other traffic searching for information about the amitabha society as well. I have therefore taken off the password restriction and will add other content about Pure Land Buddhism in an effort to help anyone searching for information about

Amitabha Buddhism practice.

I hope general visitors to the site will forgive me this page which is intended mainly to help my former English students at the Amitabha society.

A Stranger in a Pure Land

It is memories like this that make me glad I am getting older and still retain some minimal capacity to learn!

Now approaching 50 with my landing lights on, I have a different opinion. It is still an opinion, of course, but based on a little more experience of the world and dharma practice. This would also be the place to acknowledge the patient teachers who continue to endure my stumblings along the Way. Thank you!

Origin of Pure land Buddhism

This sutra tells of a monk, Dharmakara, who heard the preaching of Lokeshvararaja Buddha aeons ago and asked to become a Buddha. After millions of years of study, Dharmakara vowed, among other things, to establish a Pure or Happy Land (Sanskrit: Sukhavati).Dharmakara made a series of 48 vows. These outlined how ‘beings’, ie, ‘humans’ could be reborn in his Pure Land through the power of the vows which had been nurtured over the aeons, together with faith and varying degrees of practice on our part.

As his vows matured, Dharmakara became Amitabha Buddha and the Pure Land was established. Thus rather than laypeople attempting to emulate a monastic goal of ending rebirth in this lifetime by becoming Enlightened, the goal became rebirth into Amitabha’s Pure Land. This is seen as a place of non retrogression back into the world, and also a place where the dharma can be cultivated without distraction and thus the final goal of Enlightenment achieved.

The approach is unusual within Buddhism as it was a teaching offered by the Buddha in the Sukhavativyuha-sutra rather than a response to a question which was the more normal format for a presentation of Buddhist teachings. It is also unusual to Westerners in that it emphasises the transference of merit, rather than individual practice alone. As I will explain later, individual practice is an important part of Pure Land teachings as the many Amitabha society branches will attest! For more information about the Amitabha society worlwide, please follow the links below.

The notion of transference of merit is strange to many westerners, not because it is not part of Buddhism, but because the Western presentations of Buddhism have emphasised a very individualistic approach to practice, and then filtered what we have come to understand as Buddhism through that lens.The concept of transferring merit has always been an aspect of Buddhist practice and is a regular and quite normal part of other Buddhist approaches including Theravada.

Pure Land Practice

‘Faith’ means believing in the reality of the Pure land and that it is possible to be reborn there. This belief is not to be held dogmatically, in my opinion. Prior to actual experience it is mind stuff and more of a support for practice than a point to argue over.

‘Vows’ refers to a personal determination and request to be born in the Pure land when we die. This becomes a focus for our daily life and helps keep us from straying too far from the path. There is a danger, I think, of emphasising ‘grace’ too much. We still need to take responsibility for our behaviour and live according to the common Buddhist precepts.

‘Practice’ usually refers to chanting the name Amitabha, or "Amituofo." (pronunciation is Om ee toe foe). This is the aspect of Pure Land that gives rise to much discussion. Some branches of the tradition, especially in Japan, suggest that even one repetition of Amitabha’s name at the moment of death is sufficient to take even the most hardened criminal to rebirth in the Pure land; other branches suggest that chanting should become constant and lead to one pointedness of mind. In my experience, robust chanting is a strong feature of the Amitabha society practice.

Again, I want to emphasise that this is my opinion rather than anything more; I think it is a question of attitude. If someone is a hardened criminal, their attitude may be one of just trying to escape retribution, rather than having a genuine moment of repentance, a genuine moment of sincere belief in Amitabha. To my mind this is just running around following the normal delusions of the mind, rather than a real attempt to be reborn in the Pure Land. This is not meant to represent the teaching I have received, it is only a thought.

On the other end of the spectrum is someone who becomes immersed in chanting and doing good deeds and through their immersion becomes detached from this life. I will leave the reader to form their own opinion at this point. Enough to say that the relative importance of ‘grace,’ as opposed to self effort, has been a matter of much discussion throughout Pure Land history.

In the end, I am a product of my culture and my metaphors. I believe that you tend to get what you practice. I have no experience of ‘the’ Pure Land. I take it as a matter of faith that I can employ to re focus my mind during the day as I come back to silent chanting as a method to restrain the ‘monkey mind’. I have also learned that the more I chant, the more I understand! I am also grateful to the Amitabha Society in Malaysia for their generosity and teaching.

One of the most valuable resources for Pure Land practice in daily life is the blog of Venerable Wu Lin, an American nun ordained by Master Chin Kung. Her blog is here

I cannot recommend this blog highly enough and have received incredibly kind and perceptive guidance when I have asked questions.

Venerable Wu Lin's blog also contains a link to the Amitabha Centre website in Australia which has copious excellent quality information about Pure Land practice.

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