Q: I am writing to ask about whether you think the Internet is an evil place? It is a place where video footage of brutal executions, accidents and traumas are readily available as “entertainment” to ordinary people.  Also, people behave on forums with little or no decorum, saying what they want, and hurting and abusing with words. And there is the sexual aspect to the Net, which I gather is as popular as UFOs! As Buddhists, where should we put our minds with regards to the Net?  Do you think the Lord Buddha would have banned the Net from its negative influence on the minds of disciples?

A: From my perspective the Internet is simply a medium.  While it does have a great deal of objectionable content, it also contains much that is worthwhile: charitable sites, information which can benefit cancer patients, words of wisdom from various traditions, inspiring stories of personal courage, weather information that can warn people of impending storms, etc. Our own web site as well as other  Chan and Buddhist websites which are on the Internet are dedicated to assisting people with their understanding of the Dharma.  There are thousands of Buddhist sites worldwide that are engaged in spreading the Dharma for the benefit of all.

And so the Internet is much like the world itself, full of things which benefit sentient beings and things which hinder sentient beings as they travel the Path of Awakening.  The Internet, like the world, is neither “good” nor “bad,” but rather it is just as it is.  I think that the Buddha would have no more “banned” the Internet than he would have “banned” the world itself.  Each day his bhiksus and bhiksunis went out into the world to beg for food; they traveled from place to place; they met with all who would listen to the Buddha’s teachings.  They were not totally isolated from the world, but at the same time they were deeply training themselves to be aware of the suffering of the world as well as the suffering of their own minds.  In this way they were able to deal with whatever the world handed them, for good or for ill, and to turn each of these situations into an opportunity to enlighten themselves and others.

As the Buddha taught, it is up to each of us to find our own way to Awakening, and this means we must walk over ground that is very rough in spots. The Buddha himself witnessed tribal warfare, drought, famine, crime, sexual immorality, heated arguments and so forth during his life, but in the midst of it all he kept teaching that it is up to each of us to overcome such terrible things by using the Noble Eightfold Path to train our minds and hearts.

Regarding the Internet, we should approach it as we approach all life, utilizing compassion, wisdom and skillful means so that all may benefit.  I don’t think the Buddha would have “banned the ‘Net,” but I think he would have encouraged his disciples to be cautious and to see that it, like all conditioned phenomena, is impermanent and illusory and to act accordingly.

Q: The one thing about religion that repulses me the most is that nothing is proven and that the answer to whether God exists or not does not lie entirely on facts, but entirely on our belief. For me, I don’t believe things without concrete facts, which explains why I drifted away from a lot of religions.

 I was captivated immediately when I read that Buddha is not God, but human. The plausibility of this statement caught my attention. So I started learning more and more about Buddhism by reading books. I agree a lot with their teachings, unlike the Bible which I threw away after reading the first few pages. I almost made an adamant decision to become a Buddhist, until I heard that Buddhism, just like Christianity, has their own unproven story, such as some place called pureland, reincarnation and hell. They have not been proven. I was disapointed when I heard about that, because if Buddhism isn’t a religion to start with, then why are there unproven stories that depend on our belief to make it real? It just shows that Buddhism is just lilke every other religion out there that I ditched.

So my question to you is, why is Buddhism not considered a religion if it has its own fabricated stories? And also, why should we  follow Buddha’s teachings? Do they really work for us or is it just as fabricated as pureland, reincarnation and hell?

A: You seem to be convinced that Buddhism does not have much value, that as a religion it is just a bunch of made-up fairy tales and that other religions are just like this. I cannot make you believe as I believe, nor would I even try. I can’t help thinking of the words of the character Morpheus in one of the “Matrix” films.  When told by his commander, “Not everyone believes what you believe,” Morpheus replies, “My beliefs do not require them to.”

The Buddhist tradition, as you may be aware, insists that one validate the truth for one’s self; the Buddha himself insisted on this. Anything I say to you will just be words.  All I can tell you at this stage is that the Buddhist teachings work for me, and they seem to work for those who attend our temple and other temples with which I am familiar.  I would not be so presumptuous as to say, “Since it works for me, it will work for you.” This is something  you have to find out.

 If you are of the firm belief that Buddhism is just another pack of fabrications, then there’s nothing I could say that would convince you otherwise.  I hope at some point you will look a little more kindly on religious traditions which have brought peace and understanding to billions upon billions of people over the centuries, even though many of those people seem to act as though they didn’t get the memo.  Be well.

Q: What are the dangers of practicing too much kindness? What are the dangers and effects of practicing too much compassion? I once heard a respected author speak of a certain “kindness that can kill.” Does this ring any bells in regards to your experience in the informal Buddhist practice of exposing the flaws of ego to “fix” them?

A: Put very simply, when compassion is not balanced with wisdom it is possible for one’s compassionate actions to actually be harmful.  Wisdom can be considered the “eyes” of compassion while compassion is the “heart” of wisdom. If one acts compassionately but without wisdom present, one acts blindly and may cause unintended harm to others.  If one acts wisely but without compassion, one may become cold and uncaring of the effects of one’s actions.  In both cases it is necessary to practice Right Mindfulness, the constant awareness of the state of one’s body, mind, objects of mind and emotions so that our actions cause the least amount of harm and the greatest amount of harmony.

Q: If we are all one, and I truly believe we are (no separation; form is emptiness), then what is the reason for the existence of individuality?  I mean, is the predominant state of human perception really just a useless delusion or is there a purpose even for the delusion? 

I’ve heard it said that sentient life is the universe’s way of knowing itself. Sometimes I wonder if maybe there really is a time and a purpose for everything, even samsara.  If the cycle of delusion exists, which it clearly does… and if the cycle of delusion has an ending (enlightenment), then the cycle of delusion must have had some sort of beginning, and if it began it might have a purpose.

So the first question becomes: How did it begin? Then why, and for what reason?  Why does samsara exist at all?  Does it have a purpose?  I have been told that suffering and the cycle are caused by our failings, but can we be held cosmically liable for an innate part of our nature?

If human consciousness evolved in stages just like humans themselves did, then maybe wisdom must evolve over time, too.

A: Individuality exists because of our habitual insistence that it does, and I’m speaking of individuality in the sense of the kind of individuality that insists that this is the only state of existence that matters, the “exclusivist” view of individuality:  I am what I am and that’s that!  You note that “form is emptiness” but remember also  that “emptiness is form.”  Form and emptiness are so thoroughly expressed in each other that which is which makes no difference at all to those who are awake to it.

The majority of human perception is colored by the delusion of self, but as you know from your study of the Buddha-Dharma we are able to transform this delusion into Awakening itself.  This, as I’m sure you know, is the symbolism of the Lotus Flower: the flower (Awakening) is fed by the scummy, dirty matter at the bottom of the pond (delusion).

Everything has a function; this is the nature of samsaric phenomena. Our task is simply to see those functions as they are and to act accordingly and egolessly, with compassion and wisdom.  Samsaric existence points the way to liberation if we are astute enough to see it.  This is why we do our best to develop wisdom through meditative practice.

We must remember, however, that what we call delusion comes from the beginingless past and that enlightenment is both beginningless and endless. This makes it pointless to speculate as to where beginnings or endings are. Our task is, rather, to transcend the bonds of ignorance right now.  There’s no need to tie life’s so-called “purpose” to whether or not begnnings or endings exist.  Life is its own purpose, thoroughly and completely!  How did it begin? Beside the point.  Why? Not important.  What’s important is ending our suffering, which is infinitely more useful than engaging in metaphysical speculation.

The way the samsaric universe operates, what we call cause-and-effect, makes us liable because all causes create effects. We shouldn’t think of karma created by delusion as being an “innate part of our nature” because it is Enlightenment that is our True Nature, our innate nature.  Delusion (ego)  tries to con us into believing that it is innate; this is how it sinks its hooks into us.  What people tend to forget about karma is that it is not fixed, nor is it permanent……it just seems that way sometimes.  This means that through wisdom and skillful means we are able to prevent, neutralize and even eliminate our karma.

Remember that everything which is samsaric changes and evolves, but Wisdom itself has no need to evolve, as it is the ultimate ground of being. What we must do is, in a sense, evolve from deluded beings into the enlightened beings we really are and have always been.  From the relative standpoint we may call this evolving, but from the standpoint of Transcendent Wisdom it is simply going home.

Q: To be a good Buddhist, is it necessary to live life as a hermit? I’m confused because I read that Buddhists should give up worldly attachments including attachments to family members, but this seems kind of  emotionally cold.

A: What you are describing is one of the most common misconceptions about Buddhism.  When we speak of giving up attachments we’re talking about letting go of our egoistic attachments to things. One may live one’s life in the world as a Buddhist. This doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t have a family or drive a car, but we should try not to become to obsessed with what we perceive as our “egoistic ownership” of these things.

For instance, if we’re really attached to owning cars we might want a new car practically as soon as we’ve purchased our current car, not realizing that the car we have is just fine.  This prevents us from being satisfied with a car that works perfectly fine and so does not allow our mind to be at peace.  We can also become possessive of our very families, to their detriment; so as Buddhists we try to love and honor our families while at the same time allowing them to be who they are and to grow instead of forcing or influencing them to be as we want them to be just because we want them to be that way.  The Buddha taught that our families are to be honored because they, especially our parents, are direct karmic causes of our very existence.

Remember that in Buddhist terms, “non-attachment” does not mean “detachment.”  It means setting your ego aside and accepting people and things for what they are, including yourself, not becoming so firmly attached to externals that we become subject to the Three Poisons of craving, anger and ignorance.  So one need not be a hermit to be a bood Buddhist.  The Buddha himself was not a hermit; he walked the highways and byways of northern India for 45 years teaching all his Path to liberation. This is not the action of a recluse, but rather the action of an enlightened being who is in and of the world.

Q: What does Buddhism teach about gay marriage?

A: Buddhism has no “position” one way or the other about gay marriage, as gender orientation isn’t really an issue in Buddhism.  What Buddhism teaches is that attachment to one’s passions can be an impediment to awakening whether one is in a gay relationship or not.  In other words, if we become too attached to sexual desire (or to desires of any kind for that matter) it can significantly hinder our progress.  This is not to say that people should not have emotional/physical relationships, but rather that such relationships should be pursued with compassion, wisdom and loving-kindness.  Loving personal relationshps can go a long way toward assisting one’s progress toward ultimate liberation from suffering.

Q: I am French and I am not Buddhist although my mother is Buddhist. My principal religion is Catholic and I believe very much in God.  This week I had a problem with my body, near my heart.  I  got scared because I know I’m often stressed, anxious and nervous.  I also smoke, and that doesn’t help.

I  was very scared that something was going to  happen, and so when I drove back to my house I made  the decision to pray very strongly. But the more I  prayed the more  I felt  angry at God.

I  love God, I respect God and I usually don’t  think bad things about him.  It was like something was trying to control my mind.  I  often try to pray  so I won’t be afflicted  by that kind of thing, but this feeling is very strong and  it makes my life difficult.

My problem is  that I am really scared  that I will  die  before I can make a life for myself. I’m 20 years old, I try to do my best,  and  I love someone who I want to share my life with.   I want our love to grow stronger every day.   I  haven’t seen her for a while  because I’m in France and she lives in America. I want to work hard at my studies and to go there.

I try to respect everyone but sometimes I don’t understand why I’m the one who seems to have all these problems when other people I know don’t even care if God exists.  I really want to feel better, I really want to find my way and to live this life as perfectly as I can.  This is very important to me.

A: It seems that your mind is very agitated and this makes you very nervous. The manifestations you are experiencing are due to the fact that your mind is uneasy, and the more you become worried about your uneasiness, the more uneasy your mind becomes and the more you suffer.  As long as you are fighting against what you perceive to be a controlling influence your struggle will continue, because in fighting it you acknolwedge it and when you acknowledge it you give it more power.  This also has unreasonable effects on your body, since the body and the mind are interconnected.

My first suggestion to you would be to consider the practice of meditation. Meditation is the practice of focusing and calming the mind, enabling you to gain deep insight into your true nature. Over time, the practice of meditation helps a person to remain calm for longer and longer periods of time, and it can help you to determine exactly what is causing the anxiety which is so troubling.  Meditation does not go against your religion because it is simply a way to calm and discipline the mind and has nothing to do with philosophy or theology.  After a while, you may see clearly that those things that are troubling you are simply illusions and have no substance in and of themselves.  This makes them much easier to deal with, to the point where you can simply let them go altogether.

Secondly, you should try to simplify your life to the extent that you are able.  This is not always easy in modern society but the more input we take in, the harder it is to remain calm and peaceful. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t work hard at school, but I’m sure there are many ways in which you can make your life a lot simpler than it is now.

Thirdly, you should remember that you are a worthy being.  From our Buddhist viewpoint, all living beings are to be respected because they all have what those in your tradition might call “a spark of the divine.” While respecting and honoring others we should respect and honor ourselves, not in a selfish way but in a way that recognizes our inherent dignity and sanctity.  Extending kindness and compassion to one’s self makes it easier to extend kindness and compassion to others. To do otherwise is to become like a hollow tree that blows down easily in a windstorm. And so when you pray, pray with a sense of love and compassion instead of fear and desperation. Don’t worry so much about the death that surely comes to us all, but instead enjoy and appreciate the life you are living now.

Q: May I ask how your people and their philosophy live and think of what is going on all around the world and still manage to be happy and smile? There are so many cruel and inhuman things going on in the world  that I find it hard to still have a positive outlook on life sometimes.  I just feel like there is this part of the puzzle that is missing.  How come we don’t have any explanation about all this?  How does “life” or “God” or whoever you believe in decide what happends to someone, whether that person is going to suffer a lot, just a little bit or even not at all?  You can’t tell me that a 13 years old girl has chosen to get assaulted!

Its so annoying that we have absolutely no answer to any of our questions, and yet we are suppose to go ahead with our lives and live them without even knowing very much. And if we do figure out a way to  explain things…well, let’s be honest, we still dont know if it’s true.  I guess my question is, how do you stay “zen,” at peace with life, knowing that there is darkness in this wonderful world?

 I must have a long way to go because I hought that thruth was the key to freedom!

A: It isn’t that “our people” are not aware of the suffering going on in the world.  Indeed, we are acutely aware of it. But this does not mean that we cannot open ourselves to what’s good in the world and to smile about it occasionally. The fact that we know that good exists allows us to cultivate it within ourselves and to apply it where needed (and it is sorely needed these days!). This is what makes our path so hopeful, and hope is a commodity we are sorely in need of.

Actually, we do have an explanation for what is going on. We call it karma, cause-and-effect. Because we engage in harmful actions, deeds and thoughts as the result of our craving, anger and delusion, we create the conditions for our suffering. The hopeful part is that karma is not fixed, that it can be purified or even eliminated. This is hard work, but it can be done. The Buddha showed us an answer to the “question” you’re talking about. The answer is called the Noble Eightfold Path. This is one of the things that gives us that hopeful smile you’re trying to understand. The Eightfold Path is the way we get beyond suffering while assisting others to do the same. It helps us to eliminate the root causes of our deluded behavior while helping others as well as ourselves.

The simple answer to the question, “Who decides what happens to us” is, “We do.” This doesn’t mean that the 13-year-old girl you talk about has chosen to suffer, but rather that the karma-creating actions from that girl’s previous existences have created the conditions for that suffering to occur either  now or in the future. This is why we must cease to engage in harmful behavior, because it not only hurts others but it hurts us in either the long run or the short run. This is how we see it, and it’s a hard thing for those unfamiliar with our path to accept sometimes, which is fine.

How do we “stay Zen?” By putting one foot in front of the other, by doing everything with as much mindfulness as we can muster, and by maintaining our awareness so that we may see and actualize our true nature which is boundless compassion and wisdom itself. We do not ignore the sufferings of the world; in fact, we vow daily to do whatever we can to end those sufferings. If we can do this with a calm mind and a peaceful demeanor we can help more people to end their suffering than we could if we were agitated and sad all the time. If our realization is true, we see directly that we are one with those suffering beings we are trying to help, and so we do whatever we can.

Q: I have been practicing Vipassana for twenty years but was born in the  Catholic tradition. Sometimes when I am feeling particularly lost I  pray to God but then struggle because from the Buddhist perspective there is no God. I question then who am I  praying to. That my actions create my Karma makes sense. The problem  arises when  I realize I am but a ignorant human being who often is  driven by my desires and do not in fact know what is best for me.  When I experience suffering I don’t want to create more and often am not sure how to now be reactive. Prayer helps me to focus on something out there greater than me that may help me to show me the correct way to proceed or what to do.

Does prayer have any place in a Buddhist practice?

 A: As you know, the interesting thing about the Buddhist tradition is that one need not abandon one’s original faith tradition in order to practice and benefit from Buddhist teachings and practices. You sound like someone who has truly embraced our teachings and who is benefiting from the practice of insight meditation.

When I’m asked the question “If Buddhists don’t believe in a deity, what do they believe in,” part of my answer consists of the following:

Most of us have the feeling that there is something greater, larger, wider than ourselves.  This is a very wise viewpoint. We may call it “The Infinite” if we wish.  For followers of the Abrahamic traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) The Infinite becomes personified into an all-knowing, all-loving deity (Jehovah, God, Allah).  Inherent in the Abrahamic view is the teaching that the deity exists as a separate entity and that while one can go to an after-death paradise and be with the deity for eternity, the person and the deity are still two separate things. For Buddhists The Infinite is not personified, as this would mean there is an inherent separation which is contrary to the Buddhist teaching of the interdependence of all phenomena.  For us, The Infinite is Boundless Compassion and Boundless Wisdom which, given the interdependent nature of all phenomena, means that  we are Boundless Compassion and Boundless Wisdom.  So for Buddhists it isn’t necessary to pray to something outside one’s self (since nothing is truly outside one’s self), but rather to wake up to the Boundless Compasson and Wisdom that is part and parcel of who we are.

Certainly, from the Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhist viewpoints, there are celestial beings upon whom one may call for guidance; however, these beings actually represent and personify the essential qualities of the enlightened mind.  So when a particular kind of Buddhist recites the name of Kuan-Yin Bodhisattva or Amitabha Buddha, what this person is doing is actually focusing her mind so as to become one with the qualities that Buddha or Bodhisattva personifies.  In other words, she is trusting in her own Buddha-nature or Bodhisattva-nature and concentrating on it in order to actualize it in her life.  This, one could say, is the Buddhist equivalent of “prayer.”   Even in the early days of the Theravada division of Buddhism  there was a practice in which one concentrated on the many qualities of the Buddha in order to realize that each one of us possesses these qualities as well.

It is good to realize that one is, as you put it, an ingorant human being driven by desires.   But this is only part of the story.  On the other hand we are essentially enlightened beings and we have both the ability and the priceless opportunity to wake up to that essential enlightenment. By focusing inward one does indeed focus on what is greater than one’s self, something that can reveal to us whatever is appropriate for a particular life circumstance. Becoming one with your essential nature means that you are one with any situation in which you find yourself, which means that you’ll do the proper thing more often than not.

If you truly feel that you have a God to pray to, then pray to that God.  Buddhism has no problem with that.  If you have unresolved doubts about the existence of a separate deity, consider the nature of your true self and do your best to actualize it through the practices of meditative concentration and ethical behavior.  The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path are the Buddhist blueprint for this.

 Q: Do you see any conflicts in the various schools of Buddhism and the western religions of Christianity or Judaism?  I find myself attracted to Buddhism, but do not want to abandon my Judaic-Christian roots.  How can I balance myself and be consistent with both traditions?

A: I believe that the conflicts that arise between Buddhism and the Abrahamic traditions are conflicts of form and not of essence.  To me, all religions are pointing at the same ultimate reality but differ as to the means of expressing and realizing that reality.  To many Abrahamics this is not the case, but a growing number of them are starting to enjoy and benefit from the wisdom of the Buddhist tradition and are finding that it really doesn’t conflict with their chosen faiths.

The Buddhist attitude is this: if there’s anything in our tradition that you can use to assist your spiritual path, please take it.  Buddhism does not seek converts, nor does it think of itself as the “only true faith.” Many people practice Buddhist meditation and study Buddhist teachings while remaining in their chosen faith tradition. I often tell people that the practice of meditation can be of invaluable assistance for those who pray because it calms and focuses the mind, therefore serving as sort of a “prayer amplifier” if you will. The ethical teachings of Buddhism are, I believe, in perfect agreement with the ethical teachings of the Abrahmic traditions.

The largest difference, of course, is that the Abrahamic traditions hold to the existence of a creator-deity while Buddhism does not; but even this can be seen as simply a difference of viewpoint and not essence. Abrahamics personify the infinite while Buddhists see the infinite as themselves as well.  In either case there’s an infinite…..we just look at it in different ways.

 I think that any “conflicts” between Abrahamics and Buddhists come from people and not from the essential teachings of the respective traditions. So if you wish to benefit from the wisdom of the Buddhist tradition and use that wisdom to augment your Abrahamic heritage, that wish is a most reasonable thing.

Q: I find comfort and truth in what I’ve learned about Buddhism, but there are so many schools and views! Where does all this competition come from, especially between Buddhists and non-Buddhists?  I work with a Bible college student, a devout Pentecostal Christian who really has a problem with my faith. How does one deal with all these people who see fit to challenge my happiness in faith with their derision, which is just a reflection of their own insecurity?  And why am I so insecure as to whether or not I’m a good Buddhist, even though I try to make it shine in every smile, every time I give up my seat, every time I give a homeless man a dollar or a pack of sunflower seeds?  People think if you’re not a strict practicing monk, you’re not a good Buddhist. And they never see this problem with themselves. It all troubles me very much, even though I know it’s my own share of the same problem.   What is the right way of thought and behavior in this regard?

A: It’s not so surprising that humans, being who they are, make all sorts of distinctions, even when it comes to the teachings and practices associated with the Buddha-Dharma.  The fact that there are so many approaches to this ultimate Truth is a distinct advantage for us; there are enough paths to this Truth to accommodate those of any capacity, inclination or situation.  The unfortunate part, as you point out, is that so many people are so attached to their particular path that they do not see the overall picture and thus create disagreements, arguments and so on.

But I think we must remember that people choose a particular path because they need that path to get beyond the delusions that are causing them suffering in their own lives.  Those delusions do not disappear simply because one begins to follow a particular path, and so there still exists the potential for disagreements to occur and competitiveness to rear its ugly head.  Religions are like hospitals: they’re there for people who are not well to get well. Some recover quickly, others recover slowly, but all are recovering nevertheless. What Buddhist texts and teachers are pointing to is the ideal; the reality is that we have not fully realized the ideal, and so we are subject to things like misinterpretation, argumentativeness and competitiveness.

The competition and insecurity you see comes from our basic ignorance of Truth, an ignorance which, as the Buddha pointed out, comes from craving based on the deluded sense of the discrete self.  This being the case, our task is to remember that we are surrounded by suffering beings whose suffering manifests itself in unpleasant behavior toward us and others.  We also need to remember that such behavior directed toward us is the result of our own accumulated karma, and that we can actually be glad because it also represents the end of that particular karmic cycle.

There will always be those whose views do not agree with ours concerning the spiritual path we have chosen to follow. But we must remember that the very path we chose calls upon us to utilize compassion, wisdom and skillful means to deal with such folks.  I know that some Pentecostal Christians can be particularly difficult to deal with at times, but this can also be an opportunity for us to practice great forbearance, patience and compassion.

My view of religions is that they are all looking at the same ultimate reality, but express it in differing ways.  I believe that many of the followers of some of the more “fundamentalist” faiths actually need that straightforward approach because they may not be ready to undertake a path like Buddhism which requires that we work hard to save ourselves instead of having some external agent do it for us.

It is good that you recognize that those who challenge and deride your faith are doing so because of their insecurities.  This recognition constitutes wisdom, which should be followed up by a compassionate attitude toward them.  If you can see that these people have insecurities (which are, at rock bottom, manifestations of fearfulness), then you should extend boundless compassion to them. Use their unkind words and actions as golden opportunities for you to extend compassion to suffering sentient beings.  Don’t take what they say personally because ultimately, what person exists to take their criticisms personally anyway?

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with making distinctions as long as we don’t become attached to them, because attachment to distinctions is what creates the ego-mind.  But we should also remember, as is stated in the Heart Sutra, that emptiness is also form. If we didn’t have the capacity to make distinctions, we might mistake Clorox for Corn Flakes, and then where would we be?  The trick is not to remain stuck on distinctions, to recognize that, as the old saying goes, that Samsara IS Nirvana.

Why do you have insecurities? Because you’re human.  But at least you’re a human who has the ability to recognize that you have insecurities and to do something about them. There’s no need to hold yourself up to any standard; just follow the Buddha-Dharma as best you can, learn from your mistakes, and keep going.  Keep giving up your seat, keep helping the homeless, keep helping yourself as well as others. Don’t become what I call the “hole in the doughnut.” Remember that you are a sentient being too, and that the same kind of compassion and loving-kindness that you give to others must also be extended to yourself.

We’ve taken on a very tough job: helping all sentient beings to attain liberation.  We signed on for this, and we must realize that the job takes us through myriads of suffering beings, some very nasty territory, what Johnny Cash once described as, “The mud and the blood and the beer.”  Nobody said our path would be simple, but that’s where all the suffering is so we must do our best. As long as we are aware that there is suffering, then we know where we need to go in order to fix it.

Good Buddhist, bad Buddhist, layperson or monk, what’s the difference?  The key question is, what are you doing with your life?  The strictly practicing monk who’s just going through the motions is doing far less good than the layperson who is deeply concerned.

Q: In Pure Land Buddhism it’s said that if we recite the name of Buddha Amitabha we can be born in the  Pure Land.  Is this idea contradictory to the law of karma? It sounds like we don’t have to be responsible for what we did in the past and this sounds very much like  Christianity, which I never found too attractive. I would be grateful if I could get some insights on Pure Land Buddhism in this regard.

A: Actually, rebirth in the Pure Land is not at all contradictory to the law of karma.  Remember that through our actions such as reciting the Buddha’s name, visualization, vowing to be reborn in the Pure Land, living a compassionate and ethical life and so forth, we are setting up the conditions that allow us to be reborn in the Pure Land, both as a literal realm of rebirth and as the Pure Mind itself. So it’s not a matter of a Buddha carrying us to some heavenly realm, it’s a cooperative practice between us and the spirit of Infinite Compassion and Wisdom.

According to Pure Land teaching, reaching the Pure Land does not mean that we are not responsible for our previous karma.  It simply means that through our actions, we have entered a realm of rebirth in which we can work to purify this karma without hindrance until it is exhausted.  Then we can perceive and enjoy the Pure Land fully. Classical Pure Land literature says that when one is reborn into the Pure Land, one is reborn into a “closed lotus flower” where we stay and work on purifying our previous karma until it is exhausted, at which time the lotus flower opens and the Pure Land is seen in all its radiance.  And so the laws of karma still apply. We simply have the advantage of having established a resonance with the spirit of Boundless Compassion and Wisdom, a resonance which causes us to be reborn into a realm in which it’s much easier to work on our karma until it’s all gone.

Q: I once saw this quote: The Pure Land is not a place, but a state of mind. It is the foundation of enlightenment and enlightenment itself. It really confuses me, as it seems to be in contradiction with the Amitabha Sutras.

A: The Pure Land is both a literal realm and the realm of Purified Mind.   Remember that both these realms interpenetrate: when pure mind is present the literal realm manifests, the literal realm is a product of purified mind, and ultimately there is no difference between the two.   As the Huayan school  of Buddhism  would put it, the world of events is the manifestation of the realm of principle, and the realm of principle is the testimony of the manifested realm of events.  Each depends upon the other.

The beauty of the Pure Land path is that one may regard the Pure Land as a literal place or as a state of mind; it all leads to the same place anyway.  If one’s devotion to the world-system which is the Pure Land causes one to attain a high degree of enlightenment, then the Pure Land will be seen as a manifestation of the Enlightened Mind.   If we can manifest this state of mind in our everyday life, then everything around us is the Pure Land; is that not a place?

I rather doubt the Shakyamuni Buddha of the Pure Land Sutras was selling us a bill of goods when he elaborately described this “place” which is Sukhavati.  Just remember that all phenomena, places included, stem from the mind; but that does not mean that the place itself doesn’t exist.  When the phrase, “Form is exactly Emptiness, Emptiness exactly Form” is used in the Heart Sutra it is expressing two truths: the Profundity of Two Truths Being the Same Entity and the Profundity of Two Truths Being Nominally Distinct.  In this particular case, it means that there is no difference between the literal realm of rebirth and Purified Mind itself, but they are still two entities, albeit nominal ones.

Q: When chanting Amitabha’s name, does it matter what language I chant in? I find it easiest and most appealing to chant in Sanskrit – Namo Amitabha Buddha – rather than in Chinese or Japanese. I am a Westerner who has done a lot of Sanskrit chanting in the past and am familiar with the pronunciation. I also just prefer the sound.

A:  The language in which the Buddha’s name is chanted does not matter as long as the remembrance of the Buddha is maintained.  I also chant in Sanskrit because it feels more comfortable than Chinese or Japanese, although I have chanted in both these languages as well.  The important thing to remember is that we should not “just chant” the Buddha’s name, as this is mere repetition. We must keep the Buddha’s image and/or qualities in mind as we chant in order to maintain the Buddha-Remembrance which is so important in Pure Land recitative practice.

Q: If there really is an Amitabha Buddha in a Pure Land, then I would very much like to take rebirth there to further my spiritual awakening, rather than coming back here. I’m not a Buddhist, but didn’t Buddha say not to believe anything just because he said it, or because someone else said it, but to test things out in our own experience? How does a faith-based path accord with this? How is it possible to generate faith in something when I have no way of knowing if it is real or not? How did you acquire that faith and what is it based on? Is there any kind of “evidence” to support the idea that Pure Land practitioners actually take rebirth in a Pure Land? If going to the Pure Land really is a short-cut to becoming a bodhisattva, why are so many Buddhists choosing to take the longer route?

A: The Buddha definitely said to test out one’s realization for oneself.  This is the basis of all faith in Buddhism.

The thing to remember about the Pure Land path is that it is based on three things: 1) Sincere practice, 2) the aspiration for rebirth, and 3) faith in the compassion and wisdom of Buddhas.  Let’s take these things one at a time.

Sincere practice speaks for itself.  If one engages in any of the Pure Land practices (rectiation, visualization, meditation, Sutra study, veneration) with a sincere mind and heart, the benefits are soon realized. One firmly establishes oneself on the Path of Awakening.  This is true for all Buddhist practices.

Aspiring to be reborn in the Pure Land is the great motivating force in Pure Land practice.   It keeps us going in the direction of liberation. However, what we must realize (and this is crucial) is that there are two aspects to what we call the “Pure Land,” namely the literal realm and the essential realm.   The essential realm which we call “Pure Land” is the Purified Mind itself, the Enlightened Mind if you will.  One may be in the Pure Land here and now if one realizes the Enlightened Mind, even for a moment.  The Pure Land and the Purified Mind are one and the same; one is a literal realm of rebirth while the other is the actualization of Enlightenment itself.

Faith in the compassion and wisdom of Buddhas means faith in compassion and wisdom itself.   Remember that essentially, we are all Buddhas since this is our original nature.   And, just like the Pure Land, Amitabha Buddha has two aspects, namely literal and essential.  The essential Amitabha is our True Nature while the literal Amitabha is an enlightened Buddha.

What makes these things a little easier to understand and accept is a Mahayana Buddhist teaching called the interpenetration of phenomena and principle.   This teaching says that any phenomenon (such as a realm of rebirth and a Buddha whose influence is felt there) and its underlying principle (such as the Enlightened Mind and True Buddha-Nature) are interwoven.   By realizing one we realize the other, regardless of which one we realize first.  So if we take the course of faith, for instance, we venerate and honor the literal Buddha Amitabha and this Buddha’s Pure Land.  In this way we eventually come to realize the essential truth behind these forms, namely the Purified Mind and one’s Essential Nature.  If we take the course of practice, we develop what is called the Samadhi of Buddha-Remembrance which produces great, profound concentration.  Having developed this great concentration over time, the literal Buddha Amitabha and the literal Pure Land are manifest.

Once we have seen these things directly, our faith is assured because we have verified the truth of it for ourselves.  Just as Shakyamuni Buddha said, I would not ask you to believe these things just because I have told them to you. It is up to every individual to verify the veracity of these teachings/realities for oneself. Then one will have the “evidence” that one seeks.   I have verified them for myself but that is my experience, not yours.  I would not suggest to you that because I have seen it, you must see it too.

As to “so many Buddhists choosing to take the longer route,” it is commonly known that more people in the world practice Pure Land Buddhism than any other form, so it would appear that at least a simple majority of Buddhists are actually choosing to take the “shorter route.” Actually it isn’t so much a matter of “longer” or “shorter” routes than it is a matter of a Path that leads to liberation.   After a while, distinctions such as “longer” or “shorter” cease to have any relevance since they are aspects of the relative point of view.