“Bodhi” is a Sanskrit word, which means enlightenment. “Bodhicitta” is the mind that truly seeks the path, that is, the mind that seeks enlightenment. Enlightenment includes three kinds of enlightenment: self-enlightenment, enlightenment of others, and complete enlightenment. So, “generating the Bodhicitta” is generating the mind that seeks complete enlightenment to become a Buddha, to practice enlightenment of others, to save all sentient beings, and to become Buddhas. Because Bodhicitta is the source of all Buddhas, the wisdom life of sentient beings, “generating the Bodhicitta” is the king of all good deeds. As soon as a practitioner generates this mind, he has already completed Buddhahood. Why? Because the person who generates the Bodhicitta has the mind corresponding to the Buddha’s wisdom, the inconceivable wisdom, the immeasurable wisdom, the vast wisdom of the Mahayana, the unequaled and unrivaled wisdom, the supreme and supreme wisdom. So, making a vow to recite the Buddha's name, to be reborn in the Pure Land to receive the teachings of Amitabha Buddha and become enlightened to become a Buddha is "generating the Bodhi mind."

The 19th vow "Hearing the Name and Generating the Mind" of Amitabha Buddha states: When I become a Buddha, any sentient being in the ten directions who hears my name will all generate the supreme Bodhi mind, cultivate wholesome deeds with a pure mind, follow the Six Paramitas of the Bodhisattvas, maintain steadfast faith without retreat, and then dedicate all the good roots they have cultivated to make a vow to be born in the Pure Land. This vow should be understood as because of hearing the name of Amitabha Buddha, they generate the mind of faith and love to recite the Buddha's name, and are blessed by the Buddha, so they can generate the Bodhi mind. If we understand this, we will immediately see clearly the inconceivable merit of the Buddha's name, the inconceivable power of the great vows of the King of Vows, Amitabha Buddha.

The Dharma door of Buddha Recitation is also called the Other Power Door, which means that the person reciting Buddha's name must rely entirely on the power of Amitabha Buddha's great vows to fulfill the wish to be reborn in the Pure Land and to end birth and death. For that reason, the person reciting Buddha's name must not practice other Dharma doors to seek enlightenment, because mixing and studying other Dharma doors does not focus on Faith and Aspiration to be born in the Pure Land; therefore, even if one recites Buddha's name, one cannot receive the Buddha's power to be reborn in the Pure Land. We should also know that even if a person has attained enlightenment in the self-power Dharma doors, if he has not yet severed his karma, it will be difficult for him to cross the sea of suffering of birth and death. Even the Dharma body Bodhisattva, before becoming a Buddha, must rely on the Buddha's power, let alone an ordinary person with heavy karma like us who discusses the self-power Dharma door and does not want to rely on the Buddha's power to be blessed. Furthermore, if we compare the boundless and immense power of the Buddha with our own small power, the difference is like heaven and earth! We should also know that even Amitabha Buddha, when he was cultivating the human realm, had to rely entirely on the power of the Buddha of the Worldly Self-Mastery King Tathagata to attain enlightenment.

Cultivators must take the four words “sincere respect” as the foundation for learning both worldly and transcendental teachings, that is, they must practice according to the teachings of the Buddha to truly gain benefits. If a person does not maintain a sincere heart of respect for the Buddha and respect for the Dharma, then no matter how profound and profound their wisdom and understanding are, they will only be foolish wisdom, and they will certainly find it difficult to attain the perfect truth. Furthermore, those who are biased towards rationality and take cultivation lightly, even though their understanding of the principles is not mistaken, still cannot achieve success; just like a person who molds clay but cannot create a statue, what benefit is there? Therefore, when one accepts the theory of waste, the enlightened principle is also difficult to be appropriate. Those who truly practice should not cling to knowledge and neglect practice. Because knowledge can become a big trap for intelligent people in this world. Only those who do not suffer from this disease can be called truly intelligent. Therefore, those who recite Buddha's name must completely rely on Amitabha Buddha, single-mindedly reciting Amitabha Buddha, in order to hope to be reborn in the Pure Land, to be liberated from birth and death.

The Avatamsaka Sutra teaches: "Forgetting the Bodhi mind, cultivating all good dharmas is called the devil's work." Furthermore, the Three Stages of Rebirth chapter of the Infinite Life Sutra also teaches: "Three stages of rebirth must all develop the Bodhi mind, single-mindedly reciting Amitabha Buddha." This is enough to see that "developing the Bodhi mind" is truly the most important thing, placed right before "single-mindedly reciting Amitabha Buddha." There are two ways to generate Bodhicitta: Generate Bodhicitta in accordance with circumstances and Generate Bodhicitta in accordance with reason:

“Generate Bodhicitta in accordance with circumstances” is to generate the Four Great Vows: In the first mind, the practitioner takes the vow “I vow to save limitless sentient beings” as the main cause to be completely liberated from the suffering of birth and death, and to achieve the Tathagata’s Virtue of Severance. In the second mind, the practitioner takes the vow “I vow to cut off endless afflictions” as the main cause to completely eliminate all views, worldly desires, and ignorance, and to achieve the Tathagata’s Wisdom and Virtue. In the third mind, the practitioner takes the vow “I vow to practice limitless good dharmas” as the main cause to achieve the Tathagata’s Grace. Through countless eons, we have always received the Grace of the Buddha and sentient beings, so now we generate the mind to practice limitless good dharmas to achieve the Tathagata’s enlightenment, with the purpose of repaying the four great graces above and relieving the sufferings of the three evil paths below. The three virtues mentioned above: Virtue of Severance, Wisdom and Grace combine to form the cause that gives rise to the fruit of Supreme Bodhi. In other words, Virtue of Severance, Wisdom and Grace are the cause, Supreme Bodhi is the fruit. Although cause and fruit are different, they are very vast, equal and without any omission, there is nothing that does not include both the initial and final mind.

Of the two things “initial mind” and “final”, the initial mind is the most difficult; why? Because we ordinary people have not yet attained salvation ourselves, and must generate the mind to save others, this task is of course extremely difficult, so while practicing the Bodhisattva path, it is inevitable that mistakes and obstacles will arise. All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas know this clearly, so they greatly admire those who have just awakened the Bodhi mind and always care for, support, and help them to always encounter favorable conditions to ultimately attain the Bodhi fruit. Because the flower reward of “generating the Bodhi mind” is rebirth in the Pure Land and the fruit reward of “generating the Bodhi mind” is becoming a Buddha; therefore, all Pure Land sutras say: “The Bodhi mind is the main cause for rebirth in the Pure Land and also the main cause for becoming a Buddha.” What does this mean? Because the Bodhi mind is boundless in scope and infinitely long-lasting, it can perceive two kinds of majestic support and main reward. The support is the boundless Pure Land and the main reward is the immeasurable long life. Except for the Bodhi mind, nothing else has the ability to attain these two flower rewards. People with an uncertain mind can generate the Bodhi mind according to their circumstances. However, their Bodhi mind can still be regressed, so it is called Indeterminate Aggregation.

“Arousing the Bodhi mind in accordance with reason” means using the deep faith and understanding that: “All dharmas are like illusions, neither exist nor do not exist, cannot be taken nor abandoned, stop talking, stop thinking” to develop the great Bodhi mind, so although Bodhisattvas no longer see evil dharmas or good dharmas, they still do not reject the mundane dharmas of cutting off evil, cultivating good, and the formless and formless dharmas of the supramundane world. Therefore, although they vow to cut off all evil dharmas and cultivate all good dharmas, their minds are always still and unmoving, without intention, at will, and never give rise to attachments to all mundane and supramundane dharmas. In other words, although the Bodhisattva's vows are to save countless sentient beings, in his mind there is no thought of "there is someone to save and someone to be saved," that is, to cut off the ego-concept of "self, others, and sentient beings." Based on this Fundamental Wisdom, the Bodhisattva can follow the Dharma of the Three Emptinesses of "Emptiness, Formlessness, and Actionlessness" to generate the Bodhi mind, just as the Buddha taught in the Diamond Sutra: "To save countless sentient beings like this, but in reality there is no sentient being to be saved." Generating such a mind will receive inconceivable, pure results; that is truly in accordance with "Generating the Bodhi mind in accordance with reason." Those who generate the Bodhi mind in accordance with reason as mentioned above will no longer be subject to regression, so the sutra says that these people will abide in the Samadhi of Concentration, attain Non-Retrogression, or attain the fruit of the A-Bhi-Bat-Tri Bodhisattva. Those who generate the "Generating the Bodhi mind in accordance with reason" will truly accomplish immeasurable and boundless merit. Even if all Buddhas spoke of their merits throughout their entire lifetimes, they would still not be able to fully describe them. Therefore, only those with Bodhisattva roots can develop the Bodhi mind in accordance with reason.

After the practitioner has developed the Bodhi mind, Amitabha Buddha again teaches the practitioner to use this mind to cultivate merits, reverently practice the Six Paramitas steadfastly and without retreat, and to dedicate all good roots to the wish to be born in his land, and to single-mindedly recite his name day and night without ceasing. These are the great deeds that the practitioner must do to achieve the Bodhi mind after having developed that mind. In other words, by hearing the name of Amitabha Buddha, one can generate Bodhicitta, and also by generating Bodhicitta, one can perfect the great practices such as: “cultivating merits, respectfully practicing the Six Paramitas, steadfastly and without regression.”

“Cultivating merits, respectfully practicing the Six Paramitas, steadfastly and without regression” means that the mind is determined and cannot be shaken, and will never regress in the practice of the Six Paramitas. Because the Six Paramitas encompass all good practices, Bhikshu Dharma Zang said: “My practice is steadfast and firm, maintaining the wisdom of the Buddha that can be realized, even if the body is cut off from all suffering, my aspiration will never regress.” This fully explains the meaning of Bhikshu Dharma Zang’s steadfast and without regression in practicing the Six Paramitas. According to the Pure Land Dharma, the steadfast and unwavering mind is the One Mind, which means the mind has no false thoughts, has true and steadfast faith, and is not disturbed by other minds. Practitioners of the Buddha Recitation Dharma should be single-minded and single-minded, with their minds not attached to anything else, meaning that in their minds they should only think of Amitabha Buddha and the Land of Ultimate Bliss, and not think of anything else. This is in accordance with the meaning of the phrase “One Mind, I Recite You” in this sutra. Furthermore, One Mind has two aspects; the One Mind and the One Mind Principle:

· The One Mind is deep faith, strong vow, and single-mindedly reciting the Buddha’s name, without mixing it with any other thoughts. If we can practice as the Great Master Thien Dao taught: “One Mind, I Recite Amitabha Buddha’s name, walking, standing, lying, sitting, regardless of the weather, near or far, without stopping each thought,” then that is the meaning of the phrase “One Mind, I Recite You” of Amitabha Buddha. By reciting the Buddha's name like this, from the One Mind of the Event, one enters the One Mind of the Principle; yet the entirety of the Event is the Principle, reaching the point where the Principle and the Event are unobstructed, or even more deeply, the Event and the Event are unobstructed. "Unobstructed Event and the Event" means that in every sentence of reciting the Buddha's name, one is reciting the True Aspect, each thought corresponds to the True Suchness of the Buddha Nature of Pure and Equal Enlightenment, there is no longer any discrimination or opposition towards all the Dharma-forms.

· The One Mind of the Event means that mind by mind enters the True Aspect; this is the ultimate Dharma of Buddhahood of the Buddhas of the three periods. If a Bodhisattva wants to enter the True Aspect to achieve Buddhahood, he must have the Prajna wisdom to deeply contemplate that: The essence of all dharmas is Emptiness. Why? Because in the Emptiness of all dharmas, there are absolutely no real dharmas of saints or ordinary people, Buddhas or sentient beings. Therefore, from ordinary people to the highest saints, everyone can cultivate the cause and attain the fruition completely; If the dharmas were “not Empty,” then they would not have this effect. Because the practitioner uses the wisdom of Prajna to contemplate deeply and no longer sees the forms of false views as truly existent, all are illusory, so he attains what is called “no-mind-abiding,” or simply “no-mind” toward all things.