I have received the email from Mr. Shen
I shall copy-paste here:
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How Do We Know If Amituofo & Pure Land Is
Real?
Question:
We are taught in
the Kalama Sutta to analyse statements of scriptures, critically,
including those taught by the Buddha. How do we use this teaching
to gauge the following statement by Shakyamuni Buddha in the
Infinite life Sutra, and to develop faith and
understanding?
‘The
Bodhisattva Dharmakara has already attained
Buddhahood [became Amita(bha)
Buddha; Amituofo] and is now dwelling in a western
Buddha-land [Sukhavati Pure
Land],
called "Peace and Bliss," a hundred
thousand kotis of lands away from here.’ Ananda further asked the
Buddha, "How much time has passed since he attained Buddhahood?"
The Buddha replied, "Since he attained Buddhahood, about
ten kalpas have
passed."’
Answer:
Let us take one
step backwards... When we hear that Shakyamuni
Buddha himself told his disciples that he
has already attained
Buddhahood, that he dwells in an eternal state
of 'Peace and
Bliss' (attributes of enlightenment too), more
than 2,500 years ago, we too ought to ask if this is really so
- because we can't time-travel to verify this for
ourselves. (In fact, being unenlightened, we cannot verify the
Buddha’s enlightenment.) Trust them as we do, historians might make
mistakes too. Though they do agree and we do believe that the
Buddha did walk the Earth, the worst case scenario is that the
Buddha never existed or was not enlightened. How should we see this
'problem'? Here is an answer, that we should naturally arrive at
when we study and practise the Buddha's teachings deeper: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thedailyenlightenment-realisation/message/318
(What If There Is No Triple Gem?) We should realise something
surprising after reflecting on the above - that for us to
be Buddhists, we do need some faith:
1.
Faith that the Buddha existed,
2. Faith that there is such thing as enlightenment,
3. Faith that he attained enlightenment, and
4. Faith that what he taught can lead us to enlightenment
too.
In
the Pure Land teachings, faith is simply extended one step forward
- by having faith that the Buddha taught us accurately about
Amitabha Buddha. In a sense, it is easier to believe in the Pure
Land teachings than to believe Buddhahood is possible. For
instance, if someone says there is a good school where you can
learn to become wiser, this is more easy to believe than saying you
can attain perfect wisdom and become a principal of your own school
one day. Here, the school is analogous to Pure Land, the learning
process refers to the accumulation of wisdom and becoming a
principal refers to becoming a Buddha.
There is often focus only on the Kalama Sutta in terms of its
Criterion for Rejection alone (such as the teaching of not
simply subscribing to scriptures). If we use the Criterion for
Rejection only, we will realise that there is no way to
absolutely verify the Buddha's enlightenment and the teachings he
taught - unless we become enlightened ourselves. For
example, his enlightenment is stated in scriptures and our
reasoning that he should be enlightened might turn out to be
faulty. We thus need to remember the Criterion for Acceptance
too. From http://thedailyenlightenment.com/2009/10/the-twin-criteria-for-rejection-acceptance :
'...
Often neglected are the following teachings, where the Buddha got
the Kalamas to agree that greed, hate and delusion (Three Poisons)
are harmful, leading to evil such as killing, stealing, adultery
and lying, which is ‘bad, blamable, censured by the wise and
harmful when undertaken’. Conversely, the Criterion for Acceptance
is that of using the Criterion for Rejection to realise what is
instead ‘good, not blamable, praised by the wise and beneficial (to
happiness) when undertaken’. The Kalamas also agreed that the
absence of greed, hate and delusion is beneficial, not leading to
evil such as killing, stealing, adultery and lying, which is ‘good,
not blamable, praised by the wise and beneficial when undertaken’.
These teachings are easily forgotten when fellow Buddhists are
satisfied with the Criterion of Rejection alone. Well,
it
is perhaps easier to reject known non-truths than to accept unknown
truths! It takes effort to examine and question for the worth of
any
teaching.
'When Buddhists rigidly abide by the
Criterion for Rejection while not practising the Criterion for
Acceptance, their Dharma understanding ironically becomes more
dogmatic and narrow-minded – which is what the Kalama Sutta is
actually against, as it teaches how to
graciously accept even apparently ‘non-Buddhist’
teachings, as long as they are in line with the Dharma, in
the spirit of eradicating greed, hate and delusion, while
increasing generosity, loving-kindness and wisdom. The sutta is not
wholly about the Criterion for Rejection, which might be wrongly
clung to as the ‘Ten Commandments’ of ‘Thou shalt nots…’ These
guidelines given by the Buddha are for skilful application with the
Criterion for Acceptance... '
If
we use the Criterion for Rejection with the Criterion for
Acceptance, we will realise that the Pure Land teachings pass the
Kalama test. If we study the Kalama Sutta http://accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.065.soma.html in
its entirety, we will realise that at no point does it say it is
wrong to have faith. In fact, what it proposes is how to have the
right or sound faith - faith that is not blind and
irrational. It was the single teaching of the Kalama Sutta
that compelled the Kalamas to have further faith in the Buddha's
teachings.
Faith (or rather, ‘saddha’: confidence; conviction) is also the
first of the five spiritual faculties (faith, energy; diligence,
mindfulness, concentration and wisdom) . That is how crucial faith
is in all Buddhist traditions. Take for instance, the Buddha's
first five disciples. Before, they had lost faith in the
Buddha-to-be's quest for enlightenment. But when they encountered
his approach at Deer Park after he became the Buddha, they felt
compelled to go forth to serve him due to the majestic changes in
his demeanour, which urged them to develop great faith that he
is now very special, and probably enlightened. This they verified
for themselves when they learnt from him how to become enlightened
too. Without the initial faith to get started on the path of Dharma
study and practice, the five would never become enlightened.
Without their faith, we would not encounter the compassion and
wisdom of the Triple Gem passed down through the generations
through them.
Likewise for us, without some minimal faith in the Pure Land
teachings, such as in the key 18th Vow of Amituofo, to get us
interested in further learning, we would never get started to
practise mindfulness of Amituofo well enough to experience the
validity of the vow. The Buddha had absolutely no reason to
lie about Amituofo and every reason to share about how
Amituofo can benefit us. While we might wonder if the
scriptures (sutras) on Amituofo are really words of the Buddha, the
truth is, historians have discovered hundreds of interlinking
sutras that cross-reference to Amituofo, while there is
no proof that they are words put in the Buddha's mouth.
Let us look more at how likely the Pure Land teachings are to be
true. It is perfectly logical… (1) that there are many Buddhas in
the past kalpas, that there are some special ones, such as
Amituofo, who are highlighted by the Buddha. (2) that there are
Buddhas like Amituofo, who would create an ideal school (Pure Land)
with their great compassion and wisdom for training beings to
be enlightened - just as good-hearted Buddhists build good schools
in our world to share the Dharma too. (3) that out of the
countless schools, there is a best one (Amituofo's) - just as
there is a best school for every subject in our world. (4)
that this school is elsewhere, as the universe is big and our
present karma conditioned us to miss it. (5) that this
school, being adorned with the merits of a Buddha,
is a land of peace and bliss. (6) that this school is
recommended by all Buddhas as the ideal destination of birth
because it is so excellent, just as those who care for us hope we
can go to the best schools for the best education. The Pure
Land teachings are filled with so much skilful compassion and
wisdom that it would be incredible if the Buddha did not teach
them!
In
fact, when we consider the reasoning above, it becomes hard to
disprove the Pure Land teachings. This is clearly beyond blind
adherence to scriptures. However, that said, the best proof
(back to the context of the Kalama Sutta) of the proverbial
‘pudding’, is in the eating (i.e. via tasting the fruits of actual
practice). Nothing is better than personal experiential
proof - that vanquishes doubts without a trace. Even if others
might doubt our experiences, a solid experience of the
efficacy of the Pure Land teachings with the blessings of Amituofo,
not just on the deathbed but when well and alive, will
probably be the most genuine experience one has. Just as
countless have verified their faith personally via Pure Land
practice, so can we. As the Buddha put it, 'Ehi-passiko' - which
means 'COME and SEE'. Just as the first five disciples of the
Buddha and the Kalamas CAME closer to the Buddha to SEE
what he had to offer, and practised the teachings he advocated
because they made great sense, so too should we closer approach the
Pure Land teachings, to see (learn and practise) more deeply, and
to realise their immeasurable worth and benefits.
Related Articles:
The Mark of Faith
http://thedailyenlightenment.com/2011/03/the-mark-of-faith
Why Pure Lands Must Exist
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Amituofo/message/301
Proof that We All Wish to Go Pure Land
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Amituofo/message/171
Are the Pure Land Sutras Authentic?
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Amituofo/message/120
Many Testimonials of Pure Land Practice
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Amituofo/message/297
How do
We Know the Buddha is Enlightened? (Just How Enlightened are
You?)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thedailyenlightenment-realisation/message/245
Namo Amituofo: Shen Shi'an
