In Amitabha Buddha’s “Ten Thoughts of Rebirth” Vow, there is the phrase: “With all my heart, I dedicate my merits to all sentient beings to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.” This means that Amitabha Buddha dedicates his merits to all sentient beings to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Therefore, to be in accordance with Amitabha Buddha’s Original Vow, we cannot only dedicate our merits to be reborn ourselves, but must also pray for all sentient beings to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Because if we only wish with all our heart for ourselves to be reborn, we will not be able to develop the Bodhi mind, as this sutra teaches: The three levels of rebirth, Upper, Middle, and Lower, must all develop the Bodhi mind. So, the true meaning of “dedication” is “generating the unsurpassed Bodhi mind,” that is, generating the mind to become a Buddha to save sentient beings.

According to the principles of the Pure Land Dharma, “dedication from mind to mind” means that the practitioner of Pure Land practices, with a pure, focused, and unmixed heart, continuously and uninterruptedly recites the name of Amitabha Buddha to create pure merit; then dedicates that merit to what he wishes. There are three places that a Bodhisattva practitioner wants to dedicate his merit and virtue to: sentient beings, Bodhi, and Reality. So, the word “dedication” in the sutra means to offer one’s own merit to all sentient beings, to pray that all sentient beings will see Amitabha Buddha, be born in the Pure Land, and attain Bodhi together. This dedication is truly genuine and practical because it is in accordance with Amitabha's Original Vow.

Those who recite Buddha's name must find every means to help their loved ones sow good roots. The most important thing in life is to advise their parents, relatives, friends, etc. to regularly recite Buddha's name to pray for rebirth in the Western Paradise, and also to quickly explain to them the benefits of assisting in rebirth at the time of death. Currently, we are living in a world of great chaos. If we do not know how to rely on Buddha, when danger or disaster suddenly strikes, it will be difficult to escape. If in normal times we do not bother to advise and guide our relatives to eliminate their habits of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt, then when we are about to die, they will follow worldly views, think of showing off, cry blindly, and hold lavish feasts. Even if we have pure karma that can correspond to the Buddha and are guided by the Buddha, but encounter those actions that destroy our pure thoughts, we will certainly still have to endure the cycle of reincarnation in the six realms from this mundane life to the next mundane life. Therefore, advising relatives to recite Buddha's name to seek rebirth in the Pure Land is the most urgent matter, which benefits both ourselves and others. This act is truly in accordance with Amitabha's original vow of "heart to heart, dedicating merit, wishing to be born in my land." If we do our best to follow the Buddha's teachings and also have the heart to make our relatives turn to Amitabha Buddha, the Great Enlightened One, then all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will be extremely happy to help us overcome all difficulties and obstacles to fulfill our wishes of benefiting ourselves and others. When the time comes for us to die, Amitabha Buddha will come to guide us and our relatives in this life and our descendants in future generations to be reborn in the Pure Land.