To Attain Pure Land

According to this criterion, the minimum standard to achieve attainment in Mahayana Buddhism is to rid ourselves of a portion of our attachments, to sever the eighty-eight kinds of deviated thoughts and views. If we cannot sever these, we have not yet achieve attainment. Mahayana practitioners, who successfully sever them, reach the Initial Belief Stage.

Theravada practitioners who sever various wrong views reach the stage of Stream-entering. Without these accomplishment, we will still be reincarnating within the cycle of rebirth, still having to repay our debts.

However, there is still another way here: to seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land. Otherwise, attainment is not possible. If we cannot go to the Pure Land, we will have achieved nothing at all. Seeking rebirth in the Pure Land is actually much easier than severing the eighty-eight kinds of improper thoughts and views because we do not need to sever all of them, but we can carry our remaining karma with us.

As long as we have faith, vows and practice [moral living and constant mindfulness of Amitabha Buddha], we will achieve this attainment. The Buddha explained this to us in the Infinite Life Sutra and the Amitabha Sutra.

If we can discard all wandering thoughts and attachments, we will attain infinite merits and virtues. If there is even one thing we cannot discard or let go of, we will not have any achievement. But to let go is truly hard. Because of this, infinite great compassion arose in Amitabha Buddha and he established a special cultivation place in the Dharma Realm for learning and practice - for beings like us who cannot let go to also have achievement. This is inconceivable indeed.

With cultivation places of all the other Buddhas in the 10 directions, one must let go both worldly phenomena and supramundane teachings before one can be reborn there. But only in the Land of Amitabha Buddha [while letting go is ideal], not letting go is also alright. This way, everyone will be truly helped and awakened.