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At that time, Ananda heard the Buddha's teachings, used his three pure karmas, called the Buddha's name, bowed and made a vow: "I now wish to see the World of Ultimate Bliss, Amitabha Buddha, serve and make offerings, and plant good roots." Before Ananda finished bowing, he suddenly saw with his own eyes the Lord of the World of Ultimate Bliss, and heard with his ears the Tathagatas of the ten directions using their four magical eloquence to praise and extol all the virtues of Amitabha Buddha and the World of Ultimate Bliss until the end of the future life.

Why is there such an incredibly fast and miraculous response to the Dharma that is difficult to imagine? That is because the world has no fixed form, purity or impurity are all manifestations of one's own mind. For example, all the gods use the same bowl made of precious substances to eat, but depending on the merits and virtues of each one, the color of the rice is different; therefore, if karmic defilements cover the mind, then the metal is like dirty ashes. The Western World of Ultimate Bliss is not far, but due to the deluded mind, it becomes distant. If one can return to the true self with one thought, one will be reborn and see the pure land of Amitabha Buddha; that is the meaning of “pure mind, pure land.” Ananda saw Amitabha Buddha because he had truly returned to the true mind in one thought of “Namo Amitabha Buddha.” When reciting Buddha’s name, this mind recites Buddha’s name; when seeing Buddha’s name, this mind sees Buddha’s name; everything is just One Mind! If it is just One Mind, then our mind and Buddha’s mind are not separated by even the slightest bit. If it is just One Mind, then there is no longer any past, present, or future; nothing can be established; then how can there be any distance between Saha and the Pure Land? Because Ananda recited Buddha’s name and bowed to Buddha with one thought of returning to the true self like that, he immediately saw Amitabha Buddha and the Pure Land appear right before him.

What is a single thought of returning to the true self? The Heart Sutra teaches: “Nirvana is called formless.” Nirvana has no forms, the meaning of formlessness is stillness and extinction, so stillness and extinction can only be realized by the Self-mind, and cannot be obtained from anything else. The Diamond Sutra teaches: “Anything with form is illusory. If you see forms as formless, you see the Tathagata” and “Leaving all forms, you are called Buddhas.” So, one thought of true return is one thought of abandoning forms! So, one thought of true return is like the Infinite Life Sutra says: “Using formless wisdom to plant the roots of virtue, purifying body and mind, leaving behind discrimination, seeking birth in the Pure Land, heading toward Buddha Bodhi, you will be born in the Buddha realm, eternally liberated.” That has expressed the wonderful meaning of the Diamond Sutra: “With no self form, no person form, no living beings form, no life form, cultivating all good dharmas, then it is the Supreme, Correct, and Equal Enlightenment.” For that reason, if one can return to the Buddha in one thought while reciting the Buddha's name, without any separation from other thoughts or time, then at that very moment one sees the Tathagata; that is why it is said: “When one recites the Buddha's name, one sees the Buddha.”

The Infinite Life Sutra records: “Amitabha Buddha's countenance is vast, his appearance is dignified, like a golden mountain, towering above all, all worlds.” The Contemplation Sutra also says: Amitabha Buddha's countenance is vast, his body is sixty trillion Ganges sands yojanas high. The white hair between his eyebrows bends and turns to the right like five Sumeru mountains. The Buddha's eyes are as clear as the four great oceans. The Buddha's countenance is dignified, with eighty-four thousand marks, in each mark there are eighty-four thousand fine forms, in each fine form there are eighty-four thousand rays of light. The Buddha's body is as tall as a hundred trillion gold bars of Jambudvipa of the Yama heaven. Although Ananda and those with the same or lower fruition as him could not see the entire majestic Reward Body, thanks to the Tathagata of the two realms using the most wonderful and powerful expedient means, everyone, according to their faculties, could see everything. Thanks to that, Ananda could see the holy form of Amitabha Buddha, even though that form was as large as a golden mountain, towering above all, all the worlds.

We should know that all methods of cultivation are the names of medicines to cure illnesses that the Tathagata created. Because there are many illnesses, there are also many medicines. If we want to seek the most straightforward and essential path, there is nothing better than the method of reciting the Buddha's name to seek rebirth in the Pure Land. Why? Because we want to escape birth and death, we ordinary people need to rely on three powers: self-power, other-power, and merit-power; this is the secret to quickly achieving Buddhahood. If we want to open our minds, tear through the net of ignorance, escape the river of love and desire to become Buddhas and Patriarchs, we must rely on our own power. But this is only the self-power of the sect's Dragon and Elephant masters, the great men in Buddhism, and those masters were all Sravakas and Bodhisattvas during the Buddha's time or Patriarchs during the Dharma period. In the Dharma Image and Dharma Ending Ages, the faculties of living beings are increasingly inferior. Some people practice but do not realize, or do realize but not deeply, so when contemplating the Self-mind, it seems as if they are liberated, but when facing situations, they are still deluded. Even if they are not deluded, it is no different from unfired pottery, unusable. That is the self-power of living beings in the Dharma Image and Dharma Ending Ages. What use is such self-power!

We ordinary people drift along the stream of karma. When we commit one mistake, thousands of other mistakes are born. Therefore, Amitabha Buddha established the expedient means, urgently created the Pure Land practice, relying on the Buddha's other power to help living beings develop good roots, eliminate karmic obstacles, and be able to freely practice in the Buddha's True Path. Regarding this practice, there are many sutras and treatises that have been preached over and over again, praised and praised with all their hearts. Patriarchs have propagated it, and people have worshiped it. Only the Pure Land practice of reciting the Buddha's name to seek rebirth in the Western Paradise is the ultimate goal. Every word in the Pure Land sutras is a promotion of the Mind-Only Pure Land, and every sentence is a discourse on Amitabha's Original Nature. Once one is reborn in the Pure Land, one will forever enter the path and will never regress again. Therefore, all those who are reborn are A-Bhi-Bat-Tri, countless in number. Compared to entering the path in Saha, in this world the turbid worldly scene, the dangers of the evil realms are everywhere, and of course it is not like the Pure Land. In this era of advanced science and technology, although the means of preaching and propagating the Dharma are much more convenient than before, it is very difficult to practice! This is what the ancients taught, and people today should follow.

Yang Shugong said: “If love is not heavy, one cannot be born in Saha, if mindfulness is not single, one cannot be born in the Pure Land.” So, how should we recite Buddha’s name to be considered single? There is no secret; the more we recite Buddha’s name, the better. In the Saha world, we have too many bad habits, and it is easy to become lazy. Because of this habit of laziness, it is not easy to be diligent in reciting Buddha’s name continuously. Now, we should make reciting Buddha’s name a habit, always reciting Buddha’s name while walking, standing, lying down, or sitting. Over time, when we recite Buddha’s name by ourselves, the Buddha’s name will appear from within. This is called “reciting Buddha’s name without thinking.” If we can practice reciting Buddha’s name like this, it will be easy to be reborn in the Pure Land. The Buddha pointed out the advantages and benefits of practicing, which must be completely based on oneself through practice, and one must put forth effort in practice to achieve it. The Buddha showed us many methods of practice, just like a doctor prescribes medicine for a sick person to take. If a sick person does not combine the medicine, does not listen to the doctor, and does not take the medicine, then the illness will never be cured. Furthermore, learning Buddhism requires a long-term commitment, urging oneself to practice diligently. The ancients said: "A foot of talk is not as good as an inch of practice." Learning Buddhism requires practice in the word "practice," and one must be skillful in one's own practice to put forth effort. Whether things are successful or not, the most important thing is to practice diligently, we must bring out all our deep faith and earnest wishes to manifest them through practical actions in daily life. Otherwise, it is all just empty theory, with no benefit at all. The practical thing in daily life is to follow the eight words “sincerely recite Buddha’s name, take precepts as your teacher.”

We are all ordinary sentient beings studying Buddhism in the Dharma-ending Age, with heavy karmic obstacles, thin blessings, and mostly weak and ignorant roots. Therefore, we must recite Buddha’s name with strong faith and earnest aspiration to be born in the Pure Land. We do not need to study much about Buddhism, just need a copy of the Infinite Life Sutra and a Buddha’s name, and long-term practice will ensure rebirth. Combining cultivation is to eliminate greed, anger, and ignorance. Diligently cultivating Precepts, Concentration, and Wisdom, while also regularly reciting Buddha’s name, then our cultivation will have a place of accomplishment and liberation. We are all people who talk a lot but do too little, saying that we are tired of Saha and want to be born in the Pure Land; but in our actions and thoughts, we do not forget the five desires and six dusts, our hearts are still entangled with personal feelings, family, and children, and our minds still think about fame, position, and wealth. If one studies Buddhism, one only seeks personal benefit, health and peace, fame and wealth. It is very difficult to find a person who truly does not seek these things, but simply seeks rebirth in the Western Pure Land. The reason is that one's faith is not deep, one's aspiration is not earnest, one's attachment to Saha is stronger than one's desire to be reborn in the Pure Land, so one's mind and the Buddha are separated. Therefore, although we recite Buddha's name a lot, very few people achieve it, just like a phoenix's feather or a unicorn's horn. Today's Buddhists have the same very serious illness, which is only talking about it and not practicing. We understand and talk a lot, but very few people do it. So, once we understand, we need to have faith and aspiration to recite Buddha's name, we need to be weary of Saha, and wish to be reborn in the Pure Land. Always hold a sense of shame and sincerely repent of our mistakes in order to hope to reduce the obstacles to rebirth. Live with a humble mind and always examine your own faults, know how to save and cherish blessings, always practice the virtue of stopping evil and cultivating good, be vegetarian and release animals. When practicing, you must do it correctly, apply the Buddha Dharma to daily life in a reasonable and appropriate way, do not be too attached to the law and cover up the truth that is clearly before your eyes.

Great Master Yin Guang taught: "Those who study Buddhism must practice personally." The key point here is practice. Those who practice enough will surely have enough benefits, without putting in effort to practice, there will be no benefits at all. The old people in the countryside do not know a single word, do not understand anything, only have faith and the wish to recite Buddha's name to pray for rebirth in the Western Paradise. All day long, they only know how to silently recite the holy name of Amitabha Buddha; yet they soon step onto the lotus platform to go to the Pure Land, achieving countless achievements in a lifetime. This is the most exemplary person in our group who practices Buddha's name. There are also people with a very high level of understanding and eloquence, but they do not practice. Therefore, although they can memorize the sutras and interpret them quite well, they never recite the Buddha's name or pay attention to practicing a Dharma method. Most of these people fall back into the cycle of reincarnation. All their efforts in life are in vain. If we carefully examine ourselves, we will see more clearly than anyone else! Every night when we go to bed, always remind ourselves: How much have I practiced today, how much have I improved? If a Buddhist student does not personally practice, no matter how well he or she speaks, it is all in vain! Buddhism is an educational method that emphasizes practice. Being able to talk but not being able to do cannot reach a good place. Being able to do but not being able to talk, although knowing nothing, can still reap great benefits. If one can say and do it together, one will receive an extremely wonderful reward. That is, the moment one recites the Buddha's name is the moment one sees the Buddha!

Ananda had not yet finished reciting the Buddha's name when he saw Amitabha Buddha with his own eyes, like a golden mountain, with a dignified and virtuous appearance and all the pure and solemn things of the Pure Land appearing right before him. All of these were things that he had never seen before. Moreover, he heard the Buddhas of the ten directions praising Amitabha Buddha. He immediately gave rise to a rare thought and told the Buddha: "That pure Buddha land has never existed before. I also wish to be born in that land." This point proves that Ananda had understood the holy mind, so he was able to give rise to a great vow to be born in the Pure Land and to see the holy appearance of Amitabha Buddha. So, where is Ananda now? Of course, Ananda was close to Amitabha Buddha, making offerings, serving, studying, and widely planting virtuous roots, just as the Amitabha Sutra says: “It is impossible to use a little bit of good roots, blessings, and causes and conditions to be born in that land.”

Here, the sutra says: “People born in that land have been close to countless Buddhas and planted virtuous roots. If they want to be born there, they must single-mindedly take refuge and contemplate.” The phrase “take refuge and contemplate” includes worshiping the Buddha, contemplating the Buddha, reciting the Buddha, and remembering the Buddha, which are also the Five Recitations that Bodhisattva Tian Shen advocated. Bodhisattva Tian Shen’s Five Recitations are: worshiping, praising, making vows, observing, and dedicating. Here, praising is to call out the Buddha’s name, and observing is to read, recite, contemplate, and think about the Buddhist scriptures to clearly understand the Buddha’s teachings without error. In fact, single-mindedly reciting the six-word name Namo Amitabha Buddha includes all of Bodhisattva Tian Shen’s Five Recitations. Why? Because single-mindedly reciting the Buddha's name is cultivating a pure mind, so all sins are eliminated, which means many good roots, many blessings, many causes and conditions. Ananda single-mindedly takes refuge in and contemplates Amitabha Buddha and the Land of Ultimate Bliss because he has planted many good roots, many blessings, and many causes and conditions with countless Buddhas in past lives, so today he can make a great vow to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

The Buddha also taught Ananda: "If you want to be born there, you must single-mindedly take refuge and contemplate." "Single-mindedly take refuge and contemplate" means having complete Faith, Vow, and Practice. Pure faith is like the eyes to see, practice is like the legs to walk. Faith without practice is like having eyes to see but no legs to walk. Practice without faith is like having legs to walk but no eyes to see the path. Therefore, when you have complete faith and understanding, you must recite the Buddha's name and practice, which is like having enough eyes and enough legs to go to the Land of Ultimate Bliss. How to test whether you truly have deep faith and earnest vows, then you should look back at yourself to see how much you have let go and surrendered? Letting go and surrendering is the practice, the accomplishment of cultivation. Letting go and surrendering one part, faith and aspiration are achieved one part, letting go and surrendering ten parts, faith and aspiration are achieved ten parts. If you insist on saying that you have enough faith and aspiration to be reborn, but in your actions you are always worried about fame and profit, clinging to worldly affairs, entangled in love, when encountering a little obstacle you cannot let go and surrender. That is a false faith and aspiration, not genuine, so praying for rebirth is like climbing a tree to find fish, completely impossible.

Great Master Yin Guang taught: “Only worry about your own family affairs, not about other people’s affairs. You should see good deeds, not bad deeds, consider everyone as Bodhisattvas, only you are a common man.” If you know that you are a lowly mortal with deep karma, you should feel ashamed in your heart, sincerely repent, and learn to have the will to see others as right, but you are wrong; others as good, but you are not. In daily life, you must always reflect on yourself and humbly examine your body and mind. In your practice, you must aim to eliminate karma and practice diligently. It is better to spend all your energy and time on considering whether others are right or wrong than to turn back and examine yourself. Use your time to reflect on yourself, correct your words, actions, and gestures. Considering others as right or wrong is useless, it is only a waste of energy and time for you. Looking back at ourselves, we can take this opportunity to see our mistakes and turn evil into good according to the Buddha's teachings in the sutras: "If we commit a mistake, we must repent, abandon evil and do good, listen in the morning and correct in the evening, follow the sutras and keep the precepts, just like a poor person who receives a treasure, change first and correct later, cleanse the dirty mind, correct our behavior, and naturally feel and wish to achieve success." If we strive to practice according to the teachings of the Buddha and Great Master Yin Guang, the results of our practice will tend to be positive, bad karma will be quickly eliminated, and all true wishes will be achieved. Moreover, when others see our achievements, they will feel it and gradually be transformed. Buddhists call this "without saving but saving."

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