Instructions During an Amitabha Buddha Recitation Session (Issue 309)

The whole world is full of natural disasters and man-made calamities. It has become a dark place without any light. The continued existence of humankind is seriously threatened. We are engulfed by a killing energy that has never existed before. We know about atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs, nuclear weapons, and even laser-cannons. If one of these lethal weapons were set off, the entire human race could easily be wiped out.

In the present time, a black miasma covers the entire world, and this karma of black deeds pervades everywhere. The only way we can avert calamity is to cultivate accordingly to the Buddhadharma. In any location where there are genuine cultivators, the disasters will be slightly lessened. If many, many cultivators could gather together and unite their efforts, they’d be able to eradicate disasters, invisibly transforming the violent energy into a positive, beneficial atmosphere. To make it happen, however, we must do real work, take firm strides, and honestly cultivate according to the Buddhadharma.

So let us bring forth our true minds and recite the Buddha’s name! With a single recitation of the Buddha’s name, a ray of bright light appears in the air. If we can recite the Buddha’s name with utmost sincerity, the light can shine throughout the trichiliocosm. It can transform the atmosphere and the entire cosmos into auspicious energy, neutralizing the energy of violence, pollution, and disasters.

The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is the brightest place on earth. When ten thousand Buddhas emit their effulgence, the radiance illuminates the entire universe. If you are within the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, even when you indulge in idle thinking, your merit and virtue is still greater than any merit and virtue you could create elsewhere in the world. Why do I say this? Because everyone in the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas propense towards what is wholesome. Even if they entertain idle thoughts, those thoughts, by and large, are wholesome thoughts; rarely are they evil thoughts. So, we can say that the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is the sun and the moon of the world, shining all throughout the world, bringing clarity and coolness to all people. Residents of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas have all planted roots of goodness in the past. They’ve all made vows to reform the world and to eliminate all disasters. Hence, every word spoken and every deed done by the people here must be proper. Do not follow the rabbles and unite with defilements. Do not be like the regular masses. Residents of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas are all wholesome and good people. Any evil-natured person, sooner or later, will voluntarily depart from the community. Such a person will not be able to remain here.

The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas welled up from the ground here in the West. In the future, Buddhists from around the world will assemble here to cultivate and investigate the Buddhadharma together. The Dharma will flourish and grow great. Those who can leave the home-life and cultivate at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas will certainly become Buddhas in the future. Why? There’s such a saying: “Pavilions close to the water will catch the moonlight first.” Likewise, those who first came to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas will attain the Way first. Those who come later will attain it later.

There are people who come to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and feel that they cannot live here. They feel that there’s not many activities and entertainment to indulge in, and the rules are too rigid. But you should know that seeking external enjoyment, on the contrary, will delay your own true happiness. In this world, those who seek what’s false will lose what’s true. If one wants to find what’s true, the first step is to let go of what is false. It won’t work to cultivate world-transcending dharmas on one hand and not putting down mundane dharmas on the other hand. It is like a person setting his feet on two ferryboats – one foot onto the northbound boat, the other foot onto the southbound boat. That won’t work.

Now that we are holding a Buddha Recitation Session, we should concentrate intensively on this one method. Cultivate this dharma method of reciting the Buddha’s name with a true, sincere, earnest mind. Do not waste any minute of time. Bear in mind that an instant of time is an instant of life. If we do not work hard in our cultivation, then our karmic offenses will increase. If we truly work hard, then our good roots will increase. By genuinely reciting the Buddha’s name, our time is not wasted and our lives become worthwhile.