The Infinite Life Sutra states: "Clear wisdom, supernatural powers at ease", "Achievement of all light, wisdom, eloquence, thorough understanding of the Buddha's secret treasury", "One day, the light will be completely opened, in the natural state of the original purity, the light is immeasurable" etc. Such statements are all used to describe clear wisdom. The holy assembly in the Land of Ultimate Bliss has swept away the mind of falsehood, discrimination, and attachment, their mind is forever calm and wise. So, what is clear wisdom?" Clear wisdom is what the Esoteric School says: "Knowing the Self-mind as it really is," and what the Heart Sutra states: "Seeing that the five aggregates are all empty of Self-nature." The Self-mind and the Dharma-realm are inherently one and the same; therefore, understanding the Self-mind is also understanding the Dharma-realm. Therefore, the Vimalakirti Sutra teaches: “Take the direct mind as the bodhimandala,” which means to cultivate right in your own Self-mind, right in your own Self-mind, and maintain it so that it is always calm and wise.

What is supernatural power?” In the Bodhisattva Cultivation chapter of the Infinite Life Sutra, the Buddha said: “Realizing Nothing to Attain, using expedient wisdom, increasing clear understanding, originally from the beginning, abiding in supernatural power, attaining the One Vehicle, enlightenment is from there, not from anything else!” All Bodhisattvas in the Land of Ultimate Bliss have clear wisdom, can clearly understand the essence of Self-nature and initiate the function of Self-nature, that is supernatural power. In other words, clear wisdom is Fundamental Wisdom, and has the ability to initiate the function of Self-nature, transform without hindrance, and transform the realm in the most excellent way, that is supernatural power. So, supernatural powers are precisely the acquired wisdom. That shows us that understanding the root of supernatural powers is just the instinct of Self-nature, which is inherent in Self-nature. There is a proverb: “Having grasped the root, why worry about the tip?” That clearly states that Fundamental Wisdom is the root, and all supernatural powers are merely the dependent nature of holy wisdom. If we want to have supernatural powers, we must first cultivate Fundamental Wisdom, which means cultivating a mind that is always calm and always wise.

The Rare and Transcending the World chapter states: “The supernatural powers of transformation cannot be compared to all gods and humans, hundreds of thousands of millions of billions cannot be counted.” The supernatural powers of transformation of gods, humans, and ghosts are due to cultivating limited blessings, so they have limits and errors. The supernatural powers of the people in the Pure Land are due to the immeasurable blessings from the natural manifestation of the Fundamental Wisdom, so they can freely feel the full range of enjoyments in a rich way, without having to make any effort to transform them. That is, when they think of something they want, it immediately appears exactly as they wish, without any deviation. In other words, because the people in the Pure Land have clear wisdom and supernatural powers, they can manifest palaces, clothing, incense, flowers, canopies, decorative objects, etc. All the things they need appear completely and exactly as they wish. This is the state of supernatural powers in Amitabha Pure Land!

We ordinary people do not have the wisdom to clearly understand the true nature of the dharma realm, so we do not have supernatural powers like Amitabha Buddha and the Bodhisattvas in the Pure Land. If we want to achieve the Pure Land in this world, then that is just falsehood and discrimination, not the wisdom of Prajna. What is the true nature of the dharma realm? It is inherently empty, that is, there is no boundary at all, it is only the One True Dharma Realm. Currently, we are all ordinary people with many defilements, all the defilements of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt are not lacking in any way. Defilements are another name for afflictions and attachments. Non-defilements are without afflictions, without attachments, which is Prajna without knowledge. If there are still defilements, the impure realm is presented before us. If all defilements are eliminated, the Pure Land of Amitabha will naturally appear. This is called “attainment of the One Vehicle,” and it is not that the Pure Land can be established by conditioned dharmas. Therefore, if we have the idea of establishing a Pure Land in the human world using a material basis, it is vain and discriminatory. The Buddha compared the leakage to a leaky teacup that loses its function of holding water, so the water in the teacup leaks out. The same is true of the Dharma nature. If there is leakage in the Dharma nature, then the wisdom and merit of Prajna will leak out. Where is the Dharma nature damaged? Actually, the Dharma nature is never damaged, but it is only because in the Dharma nature, we give rise to afflictions and attachments, causing the virtues in the Dharma nature to not be able to be revealed.

The Hinayana Arhat has completely cut off the afflictions of views and thoughts, and has broken the ego-clinging, but because he has not yet cut off the afflictions of the dusts of the world, he still has attachments to the Dharma. The Mahayana Arhat has cut off both views and defilements, destroyed both ego-grasping and dharma-grasping, and no longer has the afflictions of greed, anger, ignorance, pride, doubt, and jealousy. Therefore, the Mahayana Arhat is also called the Tenth-Ground Bodhisattva or Dharma Cloud-Ground Bodhisattva. Once all the outflows are completely cut off, the Self-nature is no longer deluded, the innate wisdom is bright and clear, and supernatural powers are naturally revealed. Generally speaking, there are two types of delusion: One is Fundamental Ignorance, and Two is Final Ignorance. Ignorance is said in the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination to be Final Ignorance. What the Arhat and Pratyekabuddha cut off is Final Ignorance, not Fundamental Ignorance. Only the Equal Enlightenment Bodhisattva can destroy Fundamental Ignorance. The Bodhisattva of Equal Enlightenment who destroys all Fundamental Ignorance will become a Buddha.

The Lotus Sutra says: "All dharmas, from their very beginning, always have a form of self-extinction." The Heart Sutra says: "There is no ignorance, and there is also no end to ignorance." These two sentences clearly state that the source of mind is inherently silent, all forms (outflows) are empty, so the mind-nature of the source of mind is always clear and bright, and all kinds of delusion do not exist. Bright wisdom is the form of the Self-nature without delusion. The Self-nature without delusion is the source of the True Mind, the origin of us, so it is called the Original Mind. Once delusion is exhausted, we will naturally return to the Original Mind, once a thought arises, we will immediately leave the Original Mind. Furthermore, because the True Mind is the root of all dharmas, the supporting and main reports adorning the ten dharma realms are all things transformed from the True Mind, so the True Mind is called the Original Mind. The Mind Origin is inherently pure and tranquil, so the true nature of all dharmas is also pure and tranquil, completely empty. Having said that, in this present world, can we find a single dharma that is pure and tranquil? A very true nature is that all dharmas in all ten directions are always pure and tranquil. The reason we cannot see the true nature of that realm is because we always have thoughts and ideas, clinging to the realm appearance of dharmas, but in fact, all dharmas are always pure and tranquil. Therefore, establishing a Pure Land in the Three Realms is not building a material foundation, but is reciting the Buddha's name to attain the Principle of One Mind Without Distraction! Once we recite the Buddha's name to attain the Principle of One Mind Without Distraction, abiding in the pure and equal nature, we will immediately find the Mind Origin again, this realm is called the Endurance of Tranquility. Thus, the Nirvana Endurance is the state of attaining the state of nirvana of all dharmas.

The Infinite Life Sutra says that Bodhisattvas in the Land of Ultimate Bliss have clear wisdom and supernatural powers because they have attained Nirvana Endurance, and their understanding is not much different from that of Buddhas. Bodhisattvas must practice through five stages, the highest stage being Nirvana Endurance. Once a Bodhisattva attains Nirvana Endurance, he will see all dharmas as they truly are as the Heart Sutra says: “Not born, not destroyed, not stained, not pure, not increasing, not decreasing.” Nirvana Endurance has three grades: lower, middle, and upper. The lower grade of Nirvana Endurance is the state of nirvana that a Bodhisattva has just attained. This state is as recorded in the Avalokiteshvara Vimalakirti Chapter in the Shurangama Sutra: “Birth and destruction have been extinguished, and nirvana is immediately present.” The practitioner who attains this state is a Mahayana Arhat, also known as a Dharma Cloud Ground Bodhisattva or a Tenth Ground Bodhisattva. The middle level of Nirvana Endurance is the Bodhisattva of Equal Enlightenment. The highest level of Nirvana Endurance is the Tathagata, this is the highest level in Buddhist practice.

One level lower than the Nirvana Endurance is the Non-Birth Dharma Endurance. In the dedication verse, there is the sentence: “The flower opens to see the Buddha and realize Non-Birth.” The flower opens means to open wisdom, to see the mind and see the nature. Only when the mind and nature are enlightened and wisdom is clear, can one realize the Non-Birth Dharma Endurance and see that all dharmas are inherently unborn and indestructible. If one has not yet realized the mind and seen the nature, one still sees dharmas being born and dying and dying. However, even though one has realized the Non-Birth Dharma Endurance and seen that all dharmas are inherently unborn and indestructible, one still cannot truly reach the Nirvana Endurance. Only when one has reached extinction can one realize the lower level of Nirvana Endurance. We ordinary people have delusions and attachments, and have not yet eliminated even a single thought of birth and death. Even though the form of death and death of all dharmas is right before our eyes, because of the present delusions and attachments that cover it up, we cannot see the Endurance of Death and Death. In the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha said that we must leave behind all four forms of person, self, living beings, and life span of the things right before our eyes in order to attain this special realm.

In the sutra, the Buddha said: "In a snap of the finger, there are sixty moments, in one moment, there are nine hundred times of birth and death." Now, if we use that mind of birth and death to look at the form of the external realm, we will of course see that all forms are forms of birth and death. But in reality, it is not the realm that is born and dies, but because our mind is born and dies and dies, we see the external realm as born and dies and dies like that. All these errors are manifestations of our own mind. When our mind is no longer moved, we will see the form of the external realm also not moving. Buddhism calls this seeing the true nature of the Tathagata, or seeing the emptiness of all dharmas. From this understanding, we see that the differences between Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and sentient beings are only a matter of how we use our minds. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas use a pure and equal mind, so they see all dharmas as pure and equal. On the contrary, ordinary sentient beings use a mind of attachment, a mind of discrimination, a mind of delusion, a mind of distinction between high and low, a mind of big and small, a mind of purity and impurity, etc., to see dharmas, which is why all kinds of troubles and chaos arise in dharmas to such an extent. But in reality, in all dharmas there are no such troubles, those defilements are just things that arise in the minds of sentient beings. We who study Buddhism must know that creating karma, receiving retribution, creating the cycle of birth and death, all have their roots in the arising of the mind, thoughts, discrimination, attachment, and delusion!

The Lotus Sutra speaks of a true reality: “The mind is originally silent.” Because the mind is originally silent, all dharmas have no dharma that is not the form of clear, quiet extinction. Because the nature of all dharmas is eternally pure, it is called Original Stillness. Because the nature of all dharmas is eternally wise, it is called Original Brightness. Original Stillness is Great Nirvana, Original Brightness is Great Prajna. We study Buddhism to restore our own Original Stillness and Original Brightness. In Original Nature, there is absolutely no affliction because affliction is originally non-existent! If we encounter something annoying or angry, then calm down and search to see where that afflicted mind is. Why can't we find that afflicted mind even after searching? The afflicted mind is not inside, not outside, and not in the middle between inside and outside, so how can it be found?

In the past, the Second Patriarch of Zen, Hui Ke, was often restless and uneasy while practicing. One day, he went to ask Bodhidharma for advice, but Bodhidharma did not pay any attention to him. He then made up his mind to cut off his own arm and make an offering to the Patriarch to show his sincerity in seeking the Dharma. It was winter, and it was snowing heavily outside. He knelt on the ground covered in snow and blood, holding his arm and making an offering to Bodhidharma. He looked very miserable. Bodhidharma saw his situation and asked, “Why are you so miserable? What is the matter?” He replied, “My mind is restless, please give me peace of mind.” Bodhidharma said, “Take out your mind, and I will give you peace of mind.” Second Patriarch Hui Ke then turned back to search, but could not find his mind. In the end, he told Bodhidharma, “I cannot find my mind.” Patriarch Bodhidharma immediately said, “I have already pacified your mind,” then he continued, “Now, since you have understood that the mind is completely unattainable, what is there to be at peace with or not at peace with?” When the Second Patriarch Huike heard this, his obstacles were immediately resolved, and he suddenly attained enlightenment. Later became the Second Patriarch of Chinese Zen.

In the Shurangama Sutra, it is also said that after Ananda fell into the trouble of Ma Dang Gia, to be more clear, he fell under a spell and fell into the net of love with Ma Dang Gia. After Ananda was rescued by Bodhisattva Manjushri, he immediately went to the Buddha to repent and asked the Buddha to give him the Dharma to calm his mind. The Buddha asked Ananda: "Where is your mind?" Ananda answered seven times in turn, such as the mind is inside the body, the mind is outside the body, the mind is in the middle, the mind is above the head, the mind is behind the eyes, etc., but the Buddha rejected all of them. Why did the Buddha reject Ananda's answers? Because the mind cannot be completely attained! The source of the mind is only emptiness, only silence and extinction, so where can it rest? Now, thanks to studying Buddhism, we understand that the nature of afflictions is only emptiness, so we are no longer afraid of afflictions, the nature of karmic obstacles is also emptiness, so we are no longer afraid of karmic obstacles. We know from studying Buddhism that whenever we have attachments, there are afflictions and karmic obstacles; when there are no more attachments, afflictions and karmic obstacles will also disappear. In the past, the Second Patriarch Huike and Ananda had attachments and were controlled by afflictions, but after enlightenment, there were no more attachments, and afflictions immediately disappeared. When afflictions were gone, the Original Purity and Original Brightness were restored, the mind was enlightened and the nature was seen, and when the nature was seen, one became a Buddha.

Whenever there is ego-attachment and dharma-attachment, there are afflictions, karmic obstacles, and the retribution of reincarnation. Let us think about it, if ego-attachment did not exist, how could there be a self? If there was no self, even if there were karmic obstacles, no one would receive them. When the Buddha became a Buddha, did he really eliminate all karmic obstacles from his past lives? He still could not eliminate all karmic obstacles from his past lives, but because the Buddha destroyed the self, there was no more ego-attachment and dharma-attachment, so no one would receive his karmic obstacles from his past lives. If no one receives karmic retribution, then there is no karmic retribution. Only those who cling to ego must receive karmic retribution. Buddha has realized egolessness, there is no self, so Buddha never receives karmic retribution. Therefore, if there is ego-clinging, there is karmic retribution. If you destroy ego-clinging, there will be no karmic retribution. Temporarily, Buddhism calls this eliminating karmic obstacles, but in fact, there are too many karmic sins, there is no way to eliminate them all. Arhats, because they destroy ego-clinging, are liberated from birth and death, and escape the Three Realms. Regardless of which dharma method they practice, the general principle is still to destroy ego-clinging and dharma-clinging. When we practice Buddhism, we must firmly grasp this principle. If we do not firmly grasp this principle, then no matter how diligently and arduously we practice, no matter how many offerings and good deeds we do, it will only increase ego-clinging and dharma-clinging. Only those who can destroy these two attachments can escape birth and death, gain clear wisdom, and supernatural powers.

Why have we been cultivating since beginningless time and still not been able to destroy ego-attachment and dharma-attachment? Because we continue to hold on to the same way of cultivating, still repeating the same old mistakes. We are not willing to let go of attachments, still think that we are cultivating, and even think that we cultivate better than others, have higher wisdom than others, our dharma is more profound than others' dharma, and we are present in every place. Wherever there is ego, there is karma, and only when there is no ego will karma end. Therefore, our cultivation from ancient times to the present has been completely in vain! Looking closely, it seems that those who do not cultivate ego-attachment are fewer than those who do. Why? Because those who do not have clear wisdom, the more they cultivate, not only cannot let go of ego-attachment, but also increase ego-attachment and dharma-attachment. So, what are we cultivating? We are actually cultivating ego-attachment and dharma-attachment, not destroying ego-attachment and dharma-attachment. Buddhists often say: “If you see clearly, you can let go.” What do you see clearly? Seeing clearly the ego-attachment, you let go of it; seeing clearly the dharma-attachment, you let go of it; seeing clearly any mistake, you let go of it. If you don’t see clearly, you can’t let go. We must only cultivate like this, only then can we hope to achieve the path of enlightenment.

Buddha is enlightened but not deluded; Dharma is righteous but not evil; Sangha is pure but not defiled. If we eat vegetarian food every day, chant sutras, recite Buddha’s name, bow to Buddha, hold Dharma assemblies, practice repentance, etc., but do not truly abide in true wisdom to attain enlightenment, righteousness, and purity, then those activities have nothing to do with cultivation. Others, looking at our outward appearance, mistakenly think that we are cultivating very well, but when we examine our own deluded and defiled minds, we realize that we have never truly cultivated and entered the path. The ancients called this practice “like laziness,” meaning that on the outside it looks like we are cultivating diligently, but in reality our minds are still deluded and defiled as before. How is this different from laziness? If we truly cultivate and truly enter the path, then our ego-attachment and dharma-attachment must gradually fade away, they cannot be the same as before, and may even grow larger. Even though we have cultivated for many lifetimes, we have never actually entered the path, and have not yet broken down even a bit of our ego-attachment and dharma-attachment. The cause of our failure lies precisely here! Only then do we realize that breaking down ego-attachment and dharma-attachment is extremely important!

Where should we start to break down ego-attachment and dharma-attachment? First, we must let go of our ego. Self-possession is the external things that we have, the five desires (money, beauty, fame, food, sleep) that we enjoy. The Avatamsaka Sutra sets out a very detailed model for the practice of letting go, which must start from letting go of external things to letting go of all things such as the head, eyes, brain, marrow, limbs, body, etc. From external wealth to internal wealth, there is nothing that cannot be seen clearly, there is nothing that cannot be let go of. We have enough to eat, wear warm clothes, and have a house that can protect us from the sun, rain, and wind, that is enough. As for the excess things, let go of everything, give it all away. Going one step further is letting go of the self, one step further is letting go of the dharma, then the source of the mind will be quiet, the mind will be clear. No matter how we cultivate, even if we recite the Buddha's name hundreds of thousands of times a day, bow one hundred thousand times a day, etc., if we are always present everywhere, then we are only cultivating the blessings of gods and humans, and we will never be able to dispel ignorance and attain enlightenment, and we will never be able to escape the three realms and be reborn in the Pure Land!

The ancient Great Masters said: "Even if you recite until your throat is torn, it is a waste of effort." Let us truly study the Three Pure Land Sutras carefully and we will understand why it is a waste of effort to recite the Buddha's name until your throat is torn. The reason is that our minds and actions are completely contrary to the teachings in the sutras. Regarding the three conditions of Faith, Vow, and Practice, we all make mistakes. To be honest, even in just one word of Faith, we all make mistakes, so how can we truly have Vow and Practice? There are six types of faith: faith in self, faith in others, faith in cause, faith in effect, faith in events, and faith in principles. Only those who recite Buddha's name and have these six kinds of faith in the Pure Land Dharma-door of reciting Buddha's name for rebirth can be called having clear wisdom and insight. The most obvious thing is that there are many people who recite Buddha's name but do not believe in the principles. Even the core principle of the Pure Land Dharma-door taught by Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta, "Now reciting Buddha's name with all their heart to seek rebirth in the Pure Land, in the future they will see Buddha come to guide them to rebirth," if they do not truly believe, or half-believe, half-doubt, then how can they believe in other things taught by Buddha in the sutras? Faith in this teaching of Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta is the core of the Pure Land Dharma-door because it completely includes all six kinds of faith. Believing that one has the ability to recite Buddha's name and be reborn is believing in oneself. Believing that Amitabha Buddha always protects those who recite Buddha's name and guides them to rebirth is believing in others. Believing that reciting Buddha's name is the cause and effect of becoming a Buddha is believing in cause and effect. Believing that Amitabha Buddha and the Pure Land is believing in events. Having complete faith in these five types of faith is having faith in reason.

How to establish these six types of faith? The Buddha taught us to uphold, recite, copy, make offerings, and expound the Infinite Life Sutra for others to eliminate doubts and generate faith. After having a firm faith in the Pure Land Recitation Dharma Door, then Vows and Practices will naturally be accomplished accordingly. However, some people call these actions vain, and should not recite, listen to, or expound this sutra. The Buddha said that those who recite the Buddha's name with complete Faith-Vows-Practices will see the Buddha come to guide them in the future, and within a snap of a finger, they will be transformed into a lotus flower in a pond of seven treasures. Some people say that Amitabha Buddha does not really appear to guide them, these stories are false, just human imagination. We see that, if we do not even have the word Faith, how can we truly have Vows and Practices? Therefore, we must first know how to cultivate theory. Reasoning is a method used to question and examine whether one's mind is the same as that of a Buddha or a Bodhisattva, to examine whether one's mind is the same as that of a Buddha or a Bodhisattva. If one does not thoroughly understand the reasoning in the Three Pure Land Sutras, one certainly cannot establish one of the six kinds of faith, so how can one call it a deep faith? A truly deep faith must be established from a thorough understanding of the Three Pure Land Sutras. Once a deep faith is established, naturally our attitude towards dealing with people and things will change clearly.

The Infinite Life Sutra records: “If in future lives, until the True Dharma is destroyed, there will be living beings who plant good roots and have made offerings to countless Buddhas. Due to the Tathagata's blessing and power, they will attain such a vast Dharma door. If they uphold and uphold it, they will attain the vast Wisdom of All-Knowing.” The sutra repeats this idea in verse: “If in previous lives one did not cultivate blessings and wisdom, one would not be able to hear the true Dharma here. Having made offerings to the Tathagatas, one should be happy and believe in this matter. Arrogant, evil, lazy, and with wrong views, it is difficult to believe in the Tathagatas’ wonderful Dharma.” These two verses of the sutra make it clear that most Buddhists who practice the Pure Land Dharma-door have not just made a vow to be reborn before the Buddha in this life, but have made that vow many times in previous lives. Although we have the blessings and wisdom to hear and practice the Pure Land Dharma-door and have made vows to be reborn many times in many previous lives, in reality those vows are not real, they are all false vows! If the vow is false, the practice is also false. Let me ask you, if that vow is real, that practice is real, then why are we still not able to be reborn now? If the desire to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is real, then naturally our attitude will change. To be honest, if we cannot even control ourselves, then what extra eye do we have to see the faults of others? All these faults are due to our own discrimination and attachment, not the faults of others. If we do not discriminate or attach, then where do the faults come from in our mind? Haven't we all known that the True Mind is inherently empty and without a single thing? Mistakes come from the beginning of our mind, discrimination and attachment, and faults appear in every single thought we have. So, aren't all the faults in ourselves? If the faults are in others, then why are they in our mind?

The Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng taught: "If one truly cultivates the Way, one will not see the faults of others. He is wrong, I am not wrong. If one makes a mistake, one will fall." Thus, one who truly cultivates the Way with clear wisdom must definitely cultivate Pure Land, that is, cultivate a pure mind. If in the mind there is only one sentence "Amitabha Buddha", no discriminating thoughts, no attachments, no arising thoughts, no moving thoughts, then that is cultivating the mind to the utmost purity according to the Buddha's teachings in the Heart Sutra: "In the True Mind there is no notion of high or low, right or wrong, clean or dirty when the six senses come into contact with the six sense objects." Pure Land practitioners use Prajna wisdom and a pure mind to recite Buddha's name to the point of achieving single-minded concentration, without needing to rely on any other supporting methods, and will certainly attain rebirth. Honestly speaking, the more other supporting methods are mixed in, the more easily disturbed, unable to concentrate. Now, thanks to studying Buddhism, having a little wisdom, having a different perspective from those who do not study Buddhism, all the right and wrong, good and evil matters of worldly people no longer concern you, so why bother with those things? If we no longer hold worldly matters in our hearts, we will not encounter obstacles and have to endure humiliation from the good and evil gossip of the world. Therefore, those who truly practice the Way, should try their best to stay away from things that do not need to be concerned about, and should only care about things that are unavoidable and need to be concerned about, but only care about the matter, not being bothered in the mind, determined not to be swayed by the external world. Buddhism calls this attitude “doing without doing.” This is where a practitioner with effective practice and clear wisdom resides! If one can practice like this, one’s mind will definitely not be polluted in the slightest, determined to attain a pure mind, achieve all wisdom and eloquence, become a Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, and escape from all suffering!