Why did Sakyamuni Buddha choose the Amitabha Buddha Recitation method to teach sentient beings to seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land? Because the Western Pure Land is the realm of non-action Nirvana, the realm of single-mindedness, Sakyamuni Buddha chose the Amitabha Buddha Recitation method to teach sentient beings to concentrate their minds on one realm and attain single-mindedness, corresponding to the non-action realm of the Western Pure Land. Achieving single-mindedness is synonymous with attaining the true aspect of Prajna because in the realm of the true aspect of Prajna there is only single-mindedness. Furthermore, if sentient beings do not have Prajna, they will fall into delusion, using their mixed-good minds to grasp the realm as a condition to seek rebirth in the Pure Land, then not only will they not be able to be reborn, but they will also give rise to six other coarse characteristics.

What are those six coarse characteristics? First, because sentient beings rely on the realm to give rise to discriminating thoughts, they will have likes and dislikes; that is called the aspect of Wisdom. Second, because sentient beings rely on knowledge to give rise to continuous thoughts, the results of suffering and happiness are born continuously without end; this is called the sign of Continuity. Third, because sentient beings rely on knowledge, they are entangled in the realm of the deluded mind, grasping at suffering and happiness and giving rise to a mind of attachment; this is called the sign of Grasping. Fourth, because sentient beings rely on false attachment, they differentiate between false names and words; this is called the sign of Concealing Names and Words. Fifth, because sentient beings rely on knowledge, they follow names and grasp at their meanings, and then, because of their infatuation with those false names and meanings, they create karma; this is called the sign of Karma Origination. And finally, because sentient beings rely on karma, they must suffer the consequences and cannot be free; this is called the sign of Karma-Related Suffering.

Worldly people value knowledge, but the Buddha says that knowledge is ignorance. Why is knowledge ignorance? Because knowledge is the source of all defiled dharmas, and all defiled dharmas are the signs of ignorance. Wisdom must be balanced with concentration to be enlightenment (wisdom). If wisdom does not arise from concentration, it is still ignorance. Enlightenment and ignorance have two types of characteristics: One is the same characteristic, the other is the different characteristic. The same characteristic is like rings, bracelets, cups, plates, etc., although they are different in shape, they are all made of pure gold. Likewise, the illusory karma, the non-outflow karma, and the ignorance karma, etc., all have the same nature as the True Suchness, so the sutra says that all sentient beings inherently reside in Nirvana. The different characteristic is like rings, bracelets, cups, plates, etc., although they are all made of pure gold, no two items are alike. Likewise, because the illusory nature of defilement is different, the non-outflow and ignorance also have different characteristics. Therefore, the Heart Sutra says: “Without wisdom, there is no attainment.” That is, the Bodhi mind is not something that can be cultivated, nor is it something that can be made. Ultimately, it cannot be attained, nor does it have visible forms. All the forms related to the Bodhi mind that the Buddha taught to living beings were only due to relying on the defiled illusory karma of living beings to speak such Dharma, but in reality, the Bodhi mind has no form to speak of or to attain. Likewise, the four different lands in the Land of Ultimate Bliss were all transformed by Amitabha Buddha relying on the four defiled illusory karma of living beings to establish Dharma to assist the path, to guide them to the state of One Mind according to their capacities, and were not realms transformed from the ability to see. Therefore, we cannot use our ability to perceive the Western Pure Land, but only use the One Mind or the True Nature of Prajna to be able to correspond with this realm.

Living beings rely on the mind consciousness (Alaya-vijnana) to continuously give rise to ignorant thoughts, so they see the realm appearing and want to grasp that realm, creating causes and conditions for birth and death. Alaya-vijnana has five different characteristics as follows:

- One is Karma Consciousness, which refers to the power of unconscious ignorance that causes the mind to move; therefore, we see that the more karma a person creates, the more the mind moves.

- Two is Transformation Consciousness, which refers to the ability to see the appearance of the realm based on the moving mind; therefore, the more a person's mind moves, the more illusory realms they see.

- Three is Present Consciousness, which refers to the ability to manifest all realms, like a bright mirror that manifests images. Because Present Consciousness is constantly present, it can arise at any time; Therefore, when we come into contact with the five sense objects (form, sound, smell, taste, touch), we immediately recognize them, without any before or after.

- Fourth is Wisdom, which is the wisdom that distinguishes between pure and impure dharmas.

- Fifth is Continuity Consciousness, because the false thoughts of living beings are in constant correspondence, it holds onto the good and evil karma of countless past lives, preventing karma from being lost, continuously ripening the results of suffering and happiness in the present and future, without any deviation. Continuity Consciousness makes us remember what we have experienced in the past and worry about what will happen in the future. Therefore, there are three times: past, present and future and the three realms of desire, form and formless realm that appear falsely. Only then can we know that all dharmas arise from the mind, are born from false thoughts; therefore, apart from the mind, there is no realm of the six sense objects. Therefore, Master Yongjia said: “In a dream, the six paths are clearly present. Once awakened, the three worlds are empty and desolate.” All worldly realms depend on the continuous nature of the false, ignorant mind to exist; therefore, all dharmas are just like shadows in a mirror, there is nothing real to attain. Therefore, whenever the mind arises, dharmas also arise, whenever the mind ceases, dharmas also cease. Furthermore, because living beings often rely on this Continuity Consciousness to perceive the world, even though the karma is good, they still have to sink deeper into the state of ignorance, giving rise to false attachments, clinging to the self and what belongs to the self, then following conditions to follow things, distinguishing the six sense objects, which is called Mind Consciousness, Separation Consciousness, or Discriminating Consciousness. This consciousness depends on afflictions and love of views and keeps growing without stopping. Therefore, if a practitioner does not clearly understand the nature of the mind and is attached to names and forms, the more he practices, the more delusional attachments and afflictions arise.

We have all heard these two verses from the Diamond Sutra: “No self-image, no person-image, no living being-image, no life-image” and “The past mind cannot be obtained, the present mind cannot be obtained, the future mind cannot be obtained,” but in reality, few people remember, understand, and practice according to these two verses. Why can’t they? Because they don’t have the Prajna of ignorance! If a practitioner doesn’t have the Prajna of ignorance, then their practice in Buddhism cannot be truly successful. Therefore, during Buddhist practice sessions, Buddhists must recite the Heart Sutra to remind them of this. In the Pure Land Dharma, the secret to practicing to achieve the Prajna of ignorance is only six words: “honestly and foolishly recite the Buddha’s name.” We only need to be honest and foolish in reciting Buddha's name to the point of being diligent, then the benefits will be quite good. When we recite to the point of being single-minded without distraction, we will enter the realm of Buddha and Bodhisattva. However, how should we understand the meaning of the words "honest" and "stupid" to be in accordance with the True Nature of Prajna?

"Honest" means that in the mind there are no distracting thoughts; if there are thoughts, it is not honest. Thus, the word "honest" here means true and unfailing, and true and unfailing is the True Nature of Prajna. If we use Prajna wisdom to contemplate, we will see that all dharmas are false and unchanging, only the True Mind of Buddha-nature is permanent and unchanging, and there is no other dharma that is true and unfailing. Therefore, the word "honest" here is the True Mind of Buddha-nature of the person. Therefore, the phrase “honestly reciting Buddha’s name” implies the following meaning: A person who truly recites Buddha’s name must know how to use the power of Prajna wisdom, and cannot use a mind of delusion, attachment, and insanity to recite Buddha’s name in order to be born in the Buddha’s land. Because the Buddha’s land is born from the True Nature of Buddha Nature, only the True Nature of Prajna can correspond to the Buddha’s land.

The word “stupid” here refers to the ability to see. Worldly people consider the ability to see to be intelligence; those who have no knowledge are called ignorant. However, Buddha said, the ability to see is a delusion born from the moving mind, not having any knowledge is the true Emptiness, and the true Emptiness is the true Mind of Buddha Nature. In other words, worldly people consider “stupid” to be without knowledge, while Buddha considers worldly knowledge to be only delusion and insanity. Thus, the word “stupid” here is used to refer to the True Mind of Buddha-nature, not the stupidity understood by the common knowledge of worldly people.

Buddha teaches us to know how to use the power of Contemplation of Prajna to diligently recite Buddha’s name, that is, if we just recite Buddha’s name honestly and foolishly like that, then the four “images of person, self, living beings, and life span” will naturally disappear, and the three minds of “past, present, and future” will also naturally be completely eliminated. A person reciting Buddha’s name without the True Image of Prajna is someone who recites the Buddha’s name with his mouth, but his mind recites false and deceitful thoughts, so it does not correspond to Buddha-nature and cannot be called sincere reciting Buddha’s name, sincere reciting Buddha’s name, or stupid reciting Buddha’s name. Why? Because if one’s mind is still ignorant, delusional, deluded, and deceitful, how can it be called sincere or sincere?

The Buddha taught the Tripitaka and the twelve divisions of the sutras, everywhere teaching us to break the attachments to names, forms, and words; breaking attachments means letting go of the four forms of person, self, birth, and life span. Yet, until now, we have never listened to the Buddha's teachings. We still keep chasing after erroneous delusions, thinking that these four forms are real, refusing to let them go. Therefore, whatever we see, whatever we hear, whatever we perceive is all wrong; this is called view delusion and thought delusion. As for the doctrine of the three minds of the past, present, and future, how should we understand it with the power of Prajna Contemplation? The Buddha taught: "The past mind cannot exist, the present mind cannot exist, and the future mind cannot exist either." Why can't these three minds exist? Because the past mind has passed, we can't find that mind here. The present mind is constantly being born and dying every moment, so the present mind cannot exist. The future mind cannot exist even more, because the future has not yet arrived, and if it has not arrived, then why talk about it?

In this world, regardless of whether it is good or bad, it teaches people to be enlightened. Good things teach people to be enlightened from good things; bad things teach people to be enlightened from bad things. Therefore, it is said that good and bad things are both the Buddhas' transformations of the Dharma to make living beings enlightened. If we can always be enlightened from both good and bad things, then our practice will definitely not have any problems or obstacles; that is, we will always see the blessings and protection of the teachings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. When we have the power to contemplate the Prajnaparamita like this, then we can truly manifest the Buddha's teaching in the Universal Gate chapter of the Lotus Sutra: "Whoever is worthy of a body, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will manifest that body to speak the Dharma for that person." We should know that the Universal Gate chapter takes Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara as the representative of the practice of saving suffering and giving joy of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, not only Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara who performs the practice of saving sentient beings. In fact, whoever practices the practice of saving suffering and giving joy to sentient beings is the embodiment of Avalokitesvara. If we have the power to contemplate Prajna like this, then all ghosts, enemies, creditors, and all are Buddhas, so how can there be any other form of Avalokitesvara? That is the true form of Prajna, the great freedom in all dharmas.

If we do not awaken from the good, we will cling to that good and give rise to arrogance. If we do not awaken from the bad, we will cling to that bad and give rise to afflictions. So, regardless of whether we cling to good or to bad, it is a kind of attachment that gives rise to afflictions and hinders our path of practice. We practice the Prajnaparamita Contemplation Dharma to gain insight into both good and bad from the standpoint of the Middle Way, not just to learn the good and abandon the bad. For example, in addition to the realms of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the Buddha also spoke of the realms of the three evil realms as places for us to practice. The realms of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are the places we aim for, and the realms of the three evil realms are the places we avoid. Thus, when encountering favorable or unfavorable circumstances, we can act calmly, adapt freely, not be turned around by the situation and can turn the situation ourselves. If demons, creditors and karmic obstacles are all transformed into Buddhas by the power of our Prajna Contemplation, then where are we left to save any living beings?

The Diamond Sutra teaches us to contemplate “all conditioned things are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, dew, or lightning. We should contemplate them thus.” That means all conditioned things in the world, good, bad, good people, evil people, etc., are just from the erroneous views of living beings. Those things are not real, they are like what is seen in a dream, like bubbles floating on the surface of water, like dew drops on a leaf at dawn, like lightning that appears for a moment and then disappears immediately, so although those things are seen, they cannot be grasped. If we have the power to observe the true nature of Emptiness, then we can truly understand what the true nature of Prajna is. After we have understood, we must let go of everything to attain the true nature of Prajna. Without the power of Prajna contemplation, we cannot see that all dharmas are truly Emptiness, so letting go is impossible. Why? Because our mind is always distracted, clinging to this as truly existing, that as truly existing, so how can we let go and attain freedom and liberation? Therefore, people with Prajna wisdom, whether in favorable or unfavorable circumstances, can let go of everything completely and cleanly, without even a single strand of attachment. Only by doing so can they be far away from delusion and daydreams, and attain great freedom and ultimate Nirvana.

In the Great Bodhisattva Divine Light chapter of the Infinite Life Sutra, the Buddha said: “In that Land of Ultimate Bliss, all Bodhisattvas see and hear everything in the eight directions above and below, past, present, and future. All the heavenly beings, humans, and even flying and flying creatures, their good and evil thoughts, the words they want to say, and when they are liberated, attain enlightenment, and are reborn, they all know it all.” This verse clearly states the great freedom of the true nature of Prajna of the Bodhisattvas in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Bodhisattvas do not use the six senses to perceive, but only use the power of Prajna Contemplation to perceive, so their spiritual minds are thorough, capable of hearing and knowing everything in the ten directions and three periods of time. What does this mean? Because the ten directions of the world, all living beings are contained within one mind, then there is no need to come and go, go in and out to be able to hear and know everything clearly and transparently; this is the inconceivable and wonderful truth of the Prajna True Nature!

Worldly people do not know how to use the power of Prajna Contemplation to perceive, they only know how to use their eyes to see colors, ears to hear sounds, nose to smell scents, tongue to taste flavors, body to feel, and mind to understand dharmas, so what worldly people perceive is all false, unreal. If we want to attain the realm of Bodhisattvas, while reciting Buddha's name, we must seriously let go of all kinds of delusions, wandering thoughts, and the wandering mind that follows the external world. Only by sincerely and foolishly reciting Buddha's name like this can one suddenly attain enlightenment and reach the wonderful function of the True Mind. A person who sincerely and foolishly reciting Buddha's name is one who sees everything clearly as if he does not see, hears everything as if he does not hear, smells everything as if he does not smell, tastes everything as if he does not taste, contacts everything as if he does not contact, thinks everything as if he does not follow the worldly realm. If the six senses are restrained like this, they will not be moved by the realm. Only by cultivating like this can one reach the realm of True Nature of Prajna like the Bodhisattvas in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, that is, having the ability to hear and know everything in the ten directions and three periods of time. So, the phrase “honestly, foolishly reciting Buddha’s name” is understood according to the true meaning of Prajna as: “controlling all six senses, pure mindfulness continues, the mind opens by itself.”

A person with Prajna wisdom is at will with all dharmas, absolutely not forcing, not discriminating, not attached to all dharmas; that is, not attached to the karmic form of ignorance, not attached to the form of the ability to see of dharmas, not attached to the form of realms, even the four forms of “person, self, living beings, life span” and the three minds of “past, present, future” are not attached, then only will they not be turned around by the realm and have the ability to turn the realm. As for a person without Prajna’s true nature, they are often attached, so throughout their life and lifetime they are turned around by the realms, not being at will with themselves. Not being attached does not mean being like a rock or a piece of wood lying still in one place, not feeling anything, but it means being at ease in all circumstances, not being bound by the five aggregates, so one has the ability to feel everything, to do everything very flexibly, quickly and well. Bodhisattvas, because they are able to let go of all attachments, can in just one thought perfect all the meritorious dharmas, in just one thought can freely play with supernatural powers, travel throughout the ten directions, freely enter and exit the realms from the eighteen great hells, the fifty small hells to the countless Buddha lands. This is truly the great freedom of Bodhisattvas through practicing profound Prajna, realizing the true nature of Prajna.