The Compassionate Vows of Amitabha Buddha
‧By Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Sheng-Yen Lu‧
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Someone once asked me, "Through your years of cultivation, you have learned Taoism, Sutrayana and Tantrayana. Where do you wish to go?"
I replied, "The Western Pure Land."
"Why the Western Pure Land?"
"Among all Buddhas, Amitabha Buddha made the greatest vows of compassion and the vows I made exactly match the vows of [Amitabha] Buddha in delivering sentient beings."
This person then asked me, "Why did you make this vow?"
My reply was, "During my early days of study, I was influenced by Chronicles of the Saints of the
Here are the accounts of the three stories:
Story One:
A man named Yin Ke could not discriminate between good and evil and was fond of wine and meat. Later, he read the book Stories of Rebirth and every time he read a story from the book, without exception, his heart was deeply touched. After a while, he completely stopped his evil ways and performed only virtuous deeds. He also cut his consumption of wine and meat and began chanting the Buddha’s name.
After seven days of chanting, he saw Amitabha Buddha appearing before him, telling him, "You still have ten years to live. Chant the Buddha’s name well and I shall deliver you ten years from now."
Yin Ke then said, "Saha is a polluted and evil place, where one can easily lose one’s right thoughts. I wish to be delivered to the
Amitabha Budda said, "If you are so determined, I shall deliver you in three days’ time."
Three days later, Yin Ke passed away peacefully, without any sign of any illness. He had indeed been reborn in the
Story Two:
Zen master Huai Yu was diligent in his cultivation to purify his karma.
One day, he saw Buddhas and Bodhisattvas filling the space above him and observed someone approaching him with a silver lotus seat.
Zen master Huai Yu thought to himself, “All my life, my goal in cultivation has been to attain the golden lotus seat, so why today do they bring me the silver lotus seat?”
The person with the silver lotus seat then disappeared.
The Zen master became even more diligent in his cultivation and after twenty-one days, he again saw the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas filling the space above him. The one who first brought the silver lotus seat now arrived with a golden lotus seat.
Zen master Huai Yu then passed away peacefully.
Story Three:
A man named Liu Yiming was staying at the Tong Lin Temple and had assembled a group of people to chant the Buddha’s name. One day, while contemplating the magnificent image of the Buddha, he saw Amitabha Buddha appearing before him.
Liu Yiming wondered if Amitabha Buddha would touch his crown.
And Amitabha reached out his hand and touched Liu Yiming’s crown.
Liu Yiming again wondered if Amitabha would clothe him with the Buddha's robe.
And Amitabha clothed him in the Buddha’s robe.
Later, Liu Yiming passed away naturally and was reborn in Amitabha’s
Yin Ke wished to be reborn in the
Zen master Huai Yu longed for the golden lotus seat. Amitabha Buddha gave him a golden lotus seat. Isn't it true, that when a diligent cultivator makes a wish to the Buddha, the wish is fulfilled?
Liu Yiming's situation was definitely evidence of this. He wished for Amitabha to touch his crown, and Amitabha touched his crown. He wished for Amitabha to clothe him with the Buddha's robe, and Amitabha clothed him with the Buddha’s robe. Amitabha Buddha and the sentient beings—his power can reach them wherever they are. We can say that he has great compassion and great vows. He is indeed a great Buddha, who can fulfil the wishes of all of the sentient beings.
I honestly tell all of you:
When I chant the Buddha’s name, the Buddha appears.
My pure thoughts flow continuously and ceaselessly.
I have come from the
(the end)
