Today, while watching television, I suddenly had a thought that
change is scary.
I thought about how things will keep changing and I thought
about how I wanted certain things to remain the same. I think it is
clinging that causes this.
I would like to ask how to stop clinging. I know that things
will change and yet I still cling.
I wish to be reborn in
amitabha buddha's western pureland and I would like to stop all
clinging so that rebirth would be more assured.
If you wish to be reborn in Amitabha Buddha's Western Pureland,
then be single-minded about wanting that. Channel your
craving/clinging to this one wish to be reborn in the Pureland of
Ultimate Bliss.
It helps to think about why you wish to go to
the Pureland in order to keep alive this
Aspiration. (Usually, the wish to help
liberate sentient beings is a strong motivating factor. It's
certainly a stronger motivation than simply wanting to liberate
oneself, although the wish to be free from suffering is also a
powerful motivator in itself!)
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If you ask Buddhists from other schools, they will also tell you
that working towards Awakening by following the Noble 8-fold Path,
coupled with various forms of meditation, are what will eventually
help you overcome your afflictions (clinging, anger, ignorance,
arrogance, etc.). Personally, I feel there's no harm in also
learning to meditate, or at least, picking up some mindfulness
practices.
The way I see it, the exhortation to cultivate one Dharma door
deeply (一门深入) should not be mistaken as an instruction to overlook
other methods which could help you awaken within your current
lifetime. I see it more as an exhortation not to be greedy by
chanting many different mantras and Buddha names to the point where
at the time of death, you may become confused and scattered, not
knowing which to concentrate on.
Most certainly, Right Mindfulness is something that Buddhists
from all schools and traditions do follow. It is by being
constantly mindful and aware that we can recognise our afflictions,
hence giving them less power over us.
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Another thing...
Sometimes, it is also by being faced with impermanence time and
time again in our lives that it finally sinks in for us that
clinging is futile. It becomes easier then to be more relaxed
and to go with the flow.
