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                                     I.

  A DISCOURSE BY THE 13th PATRIARCH OF THE PURE LAND SCHOOL, ELDER MASTER 
  YIN GWANG (1861-1940).

  The main reason one recites (Amitabha) Buddha's name is to end the cycle 
  of birth and death. To end birth and death, one must become disgusted with 
  its suffering and yearn for the Western Land's bliss. 

  In this way then, the two dharmas of faith and vows will be perfectly 
  complete. Furthermore, you should have a deep, sincere will, just like a 
  child who always treasures in mind his/her mother. The power of the 
  Buddha, the power of the Dharma, and the power of one's mind, faith, vows 
  and merit and virtue -- these three dharmas -- then completely blossom, 
  like the noonday sun melting away a thick layer of ice. 

  People's conduct in society must always be in accord with the fundamental 
  behavior fitting for a human. You shouldn't use trickery and cunning to go 
  beyond this. Thus the superior person's thinking does not go beyond his 
  station.  Moreover, it is said, "The superior person is clear about his 
  station, and he lives according to it.

  To know how to end the cycle of birth and death is easy for an illiterate 
  man or woman, because their minds are not flooded with a lot of different 
  ideas. If you fathom the School and its teachings, and can master and put 
  down your own body, then it will be easy to be like the illiterate person. 
  A high-ranking person who doesn't completely understand the School or its 
  teachings would not be like the illiterate man or woman above, who could 
  carry their karma off to rebirth in the Pure Land. The goal of the Pure 
  Land Dharma-door is to achieve rebirth in the Pure Land. According to the 
  conditions and your ability, you should focus your determination on a 
  single point. The Buddha never cheats people. If you wish to ascend but 
  fall instead, it is your own fault, not the Buddha's.

  It is hard to obtain a human body; it is difficult to be born in a central 
  country, ( i.e. a country where the Proper Dharma flourishes); it is hard 
  to hear the Buddhadharma and it is difficult to end birth and death. We 
  are lucky to have a human body and lucky to be born in a central country 
  and hear the Buddhadharma. Our only unfortunate is that we feel uneasy 
  about our weighty karma and heavy obstacles. We have no power to cut off 
  our delusions. We cannot quickly leap out of the Triple Realm and end 
  birth and death. However, it is lucky that we can hear of our Thus Come 
  One's thorough and compassionate elucidation of the great provisional 
  methods, and other expedients. We can also hear about how ordinary people 
  from all quarters can use the Dharma-door of the Pure Land to carry their 
  karma with them to be reborn in the Pure Land. This indeed is most 
  fortunate!

  If it was not for the sowing of good and deep roots for infinite kalpas 
  past, how could someone hear this inconceivable Dharma? How could he 
  suddenly develop true faith and make vows to seek rebirth in the Pure 
  Land?

  The Dharma of reciting the Buddha's name strongly depends on faith and 
  vows, both of which must be really true. Even if you are unable to have a 
  pure mind, you can still be reborn in the Pure Land. How? If one recites 
  with determination, then Amitabha can respond. This is like the motion of 
  the waters in the rivers and seas which only ceases when there are no 
  strong winds or waves. Then the reflection of the moon appears. 

  When one's intent meshes with the response, it is like a mother and her 
  child who cherish each other. You will not understand the meaning here if 
  you only emphasize your own strength and do not depend on the Buddha's. 

  When reciting the Buddha's name you must recite in your mind, and with 
  your mouth too. The three, the body, mouth and mind, help each other. 
  Although, you might be alert, and reciting in your mind, it would be hard 
  to obtain any advantage if your deportment was not respectful and your 
  mouth did not recite. A weight lifter will give a grunt to help his lift; 
  how much the more so must you gather in your mind so that you can realize 
  samadhi? The Great Collection of Jewels Sutra says:

  "With great mindfulness one will see a great Buddha, with small
  mindfulness one will see a small Buddha".

  The ancient virtuous ones had a saying,
  "Reciting loudly, you will see a big Buddha;
  reciting softly, you will see a small Buddha".

  But ordinary people are as though bound up, with minds that are very 
  scattered and confused. If you don't use the power of reciting with a 
  well-mannered body and mouth, then even if you wanted to, you couldn't 
  concentrate.

  Everyone has greed, anger and stupidity. If you know these are illnesses 
  then their power will not escalate. For example, if when a burglar breaks 
  in, the owner of a house,  accepts the burglar as a member of his 
  household, then all the valuables will be stolen and cleared out. If the 
  owner knows he is a thief, he won't let him stay for a minute. He will 
  order him out: " Go do your stealing somewhere else!" In this way, the 
  owner and his possessions will be safe. The virtuous ones of old said: 

  " Don't be afraid that your mind will act up, only be fearful that you 
  will be slow to catch it."

  If, when greed, anger and stupidity flare up, you awaken to them, then 
  they will vanish. But if you take greed, anger and stupidity as the owners 
  of your "house", you are taking thieves as your children and then your 
  "family treasures" will definitely be plundered.

  ***Those who recite the Buddha's name must always be honest and 
  considerate and aware of their bad faults. Knowing your faults, you change 
  them. If you see something that is beneficial to others, courageously go 
  ahead and do it, then you will blend with the Buddha. You will definitely 
  be reborn in the Pure Land. If you are not like this, you are going away 
  from the Buddha, and it certainly will be hard for your intent to connect.

  For those people who change their faults and go towards the good, for 
  people who are cultivating the methods of the Pure Land, the best thing is 
  genuine sincerity, and the worst is to be phoney. You may not show 
  yourself off as a good cultivator and yet inwardly be tricky and selfish. 
  Chu Bai-yu, (a minister of the state of Wei -- see Confucius' Analects, 
  Bk. 14, Chap. 26), although he was fifty years old, still recognized his 
  mistakes of the previous forty-nine years. Only in this way can you hope 
  to be a Sage or a saint-like person. You study the methods of the Buddha 
  and the Patriarchs so that you can be a benefactor of Buddhism, to become 
  a true child of the Thus Come One. Thus, it is not a matter of whether one 
  is rich or poor, a left-home or a lay person.

  The conduct and mind of those who study the Way must be straightforward 
  and upright. Such people shouldn't be devious or selfish. Just as when you 
  put an object on one side of a scale that side goes down, so too, people 
  who are the least bit devious or selfish are off the mark. Or, it is like 
  a mirror that hasn't been silvered well and consequently doesn't give a 
  good reflection. If you are off in the beginning by a hair's breadth, you 
  will miss your goal by a thousand miles. Gossip once started is impossible 
  to stop.  Thus, the Shurangama Sutra says:

  "The Thus Come Ones of the ten directions used one method to leave birth 
  and death -- a straightforward mind. Their minds were straightforward from 
  the beginning to the end and, in between, they were not the least bit 
  devious."

  The Classics say: "The human mind is dangerous, the mind of the Way is 
  subtle. Only be vigorous and single-minded, then you can hold to the 
  Middle". 

  So, we should know that in both the mundane and transcendental world, the 
  Sage's straightforward and proper mind is his foundation.

  A child should be a reflection of its parents' virtue and yet the way it 
  reflects depends on what the child does. You must control yourself and 
  return to propriety. Get rid of what is evil and be honest. If you know 
  your faults, then you must change them.  When you see something that is 
  righteous, go ahead courageously and do it. Understand cause and effect. 
  Do not kill, but rather liberate life. Stop all evil and do all good. 
  Develop faith and make vows. Uphold the Buddha's name, cultivate yourself 
  and transform others, so that together we will be reborn in the Pure Land. 
  Others will admire the virtue of a person who can do these things, and so, 
  even without knowing of his parents and forefathers, will automatically 
  admire their virtue too. 

  Obviously, only a family that had cultivated for a long time could have 
  produced such offspring. Suppose now on the other hand there is a person 
  who is not good, but whose parents and forefathers are known by others to 
  be virtuous. When others see this progeny who is not good, they will 
  suspect that, hidden within the family's virtue, something was amiss. 
  Otherwise, how would a seemingly virtuous family have an offspring who was 
  not good. Therefore, to behave oneself properly and correctly and to 
  cultivate the Way is to reflect the virtue of your parents and 
  forefathers. A child who is a good person should be respectful and watch 
  over himself when alone. Really practice what you preach, so that you 
  won't have lived your life in vain.

  In this world a virtuous mother will raise a virtuous child. The saintly 
  mothers of old were able to teach their children while they were still in 
  the womb. Thus, they were able to influence, right at the beginning, the 
  character of the child. They certainly hoped to have children with well 
  developed habits and natures. The Chinese word for "Mrs." is "Tai Tai". 
  This is derived from the first name "Tai" of the three saintly ladies, Tai 
  Jyang, Tai Ren and Tai Sz, each of whom was able, with her husband, to 
  educate their children. Their family lineage produced the founder, King Wu 
  (d.1115 B.C.), of the Chou dynasty; a dynasty which was to last for 800 
  years. King Wu's mother was Tai Sz. His grandmother was Tai Ren and Tai 
  Jyang was a matriarch of the family line. Tai Jyang was also the mother of 
  the three sages, Tai Bo, Shen Yung and Ji Li. I always say that half of 
  the power that is required to govern a country and make the world peaceful 
  comes from the women who look after the home. Moreover, I always say that 
  educating women is the basis of looking after a household and governing a 
  country, because women should follow their traditional model, and together 
  with their husbands, educate their children. 

  But women of today, for the most part, go beyond their station in life. 
  They grab after political power and become involved in careers. But they 
  fail to know that everything is nurtured from the family. There is a 
  saying that the folly of trying to gather all the metal in the universe 
  and put it into a mold is not as great as the folly of women who go beyond 
  their station in life. This is why the world and people's minds are 
  becoming worse and worse, with disasters and calamities frequently 
  appearing. Although each of us are just one member of "living beings", 
  together we share the experience of evil karma. There are capable people 
  who lead  wild and foolish lives. If they had wise mothers, they could 
  have been good people instead. If they had a small mind, they could have 
  been average, wholesome persons on their own. But if they were broad- 
  minded, they could have influenced others to be good too. All sorts of 
  problems are created by women who fail to adhere to the rules of common 
  sense morality, ultimately to the point that people lead miserable lives.


                                     II.

                      A REPLY TO LIN JYE-SHENG'S LETTER
                          by Elder Master Yin Gwang

  Dharma Master Je Jyan came by and we had a chat. He mentioned that you 
  seem to be resentful and have said many wrong things, such as: "Ordinary 
  people are of the opinion that when one does good deeds one receives a 
  disaster", and, "Cultivation is of no benefit". I heard this and felt very 
  sad. I am afraid that on hearing this kind of talk, the more intelligent 
  people will become lazy about doing good, while the ignorant will dare to 
  do evil. From my humble position, I really need to set the record 
  straight.

  In the Sutras, the Thus Come One explains that retributions can appear in 
  all, or any of, three time-periods and that there are four reasons why 
  chidren are born. The first period of retribution is in the present life. 
  This means that if you do good or evil in this life you will 
  correspondingly receive blessings or disasters. It's like the scholar who 
  works hard, in this life he will obtain his degree. Anyone can see this 
  with their ordinary eyes. The second period of retribution is in the next 
  life. This means that you will receive, in your next life, blessings or 
  hardships in accordance with whether you did good or evil in this life. It 
  is like a grand father who emphasizes the cultural tradition. His children 
  and grandchildren will prosper. One's ordinary eyes can't see this, but 
  those with the heavenly eye can. The third period of retribution comes in 
  lives after next. This means that if you do good or evil in this life, 
  only after three, four, five, six, seven up to billions of lives later, or 
  even many kalpas later will you receive the corresponding good or bad 
  retribution. It is like the empires of the kings of Shang (c.1766-c.1122 
  B.C.) and Chou (1122 B.C.-249 B.C.) Their actual foundation was laid 
  earlier when the two ministers Ji and Chi assisted (the two earlier 
  emperors) Shun and Yu, (who reigned 2255-2205 B.C. and 2205-2198 B.C., 
  respectively). If a certain retribution occurs within three or four lives, 
  the heavenly eye will be able to discern it. But on the scale of many 
  kalpas, only the Thus Come One, whose five eyes are perfect and bright, 
  can understand the retribution. The meaning behind these three 
  retributions doesn't go beyond: "If you do good you will receive good 
  fortune, and if you do evil, you will encounter suffering". The Sages say 
  that this is never off by the least. There is certainly a reason behind 
  whether one receives wealth or poverty, honor or deprecation, a long life 
  or a short one. The decree of Heaven is not off by the slightest. When 
  states and conditions appear, they are just like reflections in a mirror. 
  Those with wisdom will study the source of the reflections. Stupid people 
  will become angry at the image in the mirror. Accept graciously the 
  difficult situations that don't go your way; only then will you be able to 
  be content with your lot. Don't blame others and don't become resentful, 
  simply accord with your fate.

  The four reasons children are born are: i) To repay kindness. ii) To repay 
  enmity. iii) To repay debts. iv) To collect on debts owed. The first, to 
  repay kindness, means that the parents in their past lives were kind, and 
  now their children in this life are some of those to whom the parents were 
  previously kind. So their children work and take care of their parents, 
  making sure that they are happy when alive. When the parents die, their 
  children accord them a proper funeral and make offerings to their spirits. 
  This kind of child would grow up to be a person well able to assist a king 
  or look after the citizenry of a country. Future generations would 
  venerate their name. Such a child's reputation would influence people, in 
  the future, to respect their own parents. For example there was the Duke 
  Dzeng Lu (998-1078), Honorable Chen, posthumously known as Jung-Syau, 
  Wang, Gwei-ling (1112-1171) and Shr, Da-cheng. (The first three were all 
  famous statesman of the Sung Dynasty (960-1279). Shr, Da-cheng was first 
  in the Imperial Civil Service exam in his year at the beginning of the 
  Ching Dynasty (1644-1912). All four were Buddhists, but only Honorable 
  Chen had any profound understanding. In past lives they had all been lofty 
  monks and now they were honored and wealthy. They were not confused about 
  their original causes.). In this world, filial children and worthy 
  grandchildren are like these kinds of men.

  The second reason is to repay enmity. This means that the parents from 
  past lives owed other people some kindness. Now, in this life, those 
  others have been reborn as the children of those parents; what was owed 
  has become a debt of enmity. If the debt is small then the children will 
  go against the parents' wishes. If the debt is large, these children will 
  bring disasters upon the parents. When the parents are alive, they receive 
  no sweetness. Once in the grave, their reputation is tarnished by their 
  children. Furthermore, if this kind of child later rises to a powerful 
  position, they will plan a revolt which will lead to the whole of their 
  own clan being annihilated and the desecration of the clan's graves. Those 
  of future generations will revile both the child's name and the parents 
  who begot such a child. For example, people such as Wang Mang, Tsau Tsau, 
  Dung Jwo, and Chin Gwai, all fall into this category.


  (Wang Ming, having usurped the Han throne, founded the Syin Dynasty, (9-23 
  A.D.). He attempted to nationalize all private land holdings in China. 
  This provoked strong opposition and precipitated a revolt which resulted 
  in his death and the downfall of his regime. Tsau Tsau (d. 220 A.D.) was a 
  warlord who acted as the power behind the throne of the last Emperor of 
  the ailing Later Han Dynasty. Tsau Tsau was renown for his deceitfulness 
  and cruelty. Dung Jwo was a military governor who, in 189 A.D. staged a 
  coup by murdering the Emperor and the Emperor's mother, and then 
  installing on the throne a prince of his own choosing, while reserving 
  absolute power for himself. He was murdered by one of his own men in 192 
  A.D.. Chin Gwai, (1086-1151), was the prime minister who, in 1141, 
  organized the execution of the popular hero, General Ywe Fei, on trumped- 
  up charges of disobedience and conspiracy.)

  The third reason is to repay debts. This means that the children of  this 
  life had to repay monetary or other such debts from a former life to the 
  people who are their parents in this life. If they owed a lot, they will 
  stay with their parents for their whole life. If they owed only a little, 
  they will die early. For example, such child may complete his college 
  education and then pass away; or, having gone into business, he makes his 
  first fortune but thereupon dies.

  The fourth reason is to collect on debts. This means that parents owe to 
  those who are now born as their children money from a past life. Such a 
  child is born to collect on the debt. If the debt was small, then the 
  parents will pay for their child's tutors, further education and wedding; 
  thereupon their child suddenly dies. If the debt was large, this kind of 
  child can bankrupt their parents and destroy the whole family.

  Thus, when I contemplate your son's case, I am afraid he had come to 
  collect on his debts. But, luckily you owed only a little, so he passed 
  away when still a youth. Therefore, you should be repentant of past karma 
  and diligently cultivate. Heaven will definitely give you a good child to 
  brighten your family's lineage. Not to speak of yourself, look at the sage 
  Confucius, (551-479 B.C.). While in middle age, Confucius lost his son. 
  Then, (if we look at three of Confucius' leading disciples we find that,) 
  Yen Yuan, the great worthy one passed away when only thirty years old, 
  Yuan Syen was very poor and Dze Lu died a disastrous death. Yi and Chi 
  starved to death on Shou Yang. (Bai Yi and Shou Chi were brothers and had 
  spoken out against Prince Wu's intention to kill the reigning monarch, 
  King Jyou. The brothers felt that if a subject punished his own sovereign, 
  it would bring about confusion in the world. Yet, Prince Wu managed to 
  prove to Yi and Chi that King Jyou's rule was totally depraved and corrupt 
  and that he, Prince Wu, would be saving the country by removing King Jyou. 
  Prince Wu killed King Jyou, changed the dynastic name from Yin to Jou and 
  was crowned King Wu in 1122 B.C.. The two brothers, on seeing the 
  beneficient rule of King Wu, felt so ashamed at having tried to stop him 
  from overthrowing King Jyou that they could not, in all good conscience, 
  eat the food grown in King Wu's land. They voluntarily exiled themselves 
  on Mount Shou Yang where they died from starvation.) Bai-yu was poor in 
  the state of Wei. Is it because sages and worthies, who cultivate virtue, 
  have to undergo the punishment of Heaven? Is it because birth and death 
  are fated? Or, is wealth and honor meted out by Heaven? What we should do 
  is blame ourselves, since our virtue is not true. We shouldn't ask if the 
  retributions of disasters or blessings come from Heaven. If you can be 
  like this, then the five kinds of blessings,(a long life, wealth, good 
  health, cultivation of good virtue and a peaceful death), will come to 
  your family and the six disasters, (a horrible death at a young age, 
  sickness, worry, poverty, encountering evil, and a weak constitution), 
  will stay far away from your household. What I have said is like the 
  bright sun; it is up to you whether you believe it or not.

  You should know that people in this world undergo the eight kinds of 
  sufferings, (the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, death, the suffering 
  of being separated from those one loves, the suffering of being around 
  what one hates, the suffering of not obtaining what one wants and the 
  suffering of the raging blaze of the five skandhas--form, feeling 
  thoughts, formation and consciousness). Even if you are reborn in the 
  heavens, you still would be unable to avoid the five signs of decay. 
  (These are an indication that a god's life is coming to an end. The five 
  signs are: a god's floral garland will wilt, their clothes become soiled, 
  they begin to perspire, their bodies begin to have an unpleasant odor and 
  they become restless.) Only in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss is there 
  no suffering, but just pure bliss. Maybe it is because you propagate the 
  Pure Land School, that Heaven sent you a son with no blessings and a short 
  life span. Heaven gave you a knock on the head, so you would know that the 
  three realms (the desire realm, the form realm and the formless realm) 
  have no peace and are like a burning house, full of suffering. Very 
  frightening! People's lives are impermanent, quickly passing like a 
  lightning flash. When your time is up, no-one can help you. All 
  conditioned dharmas are like dreams, illusions, bubbles and shadows. If 
  you still don't awaken and cultivate the Pure Land practices then you are 
  like wood or stone, totally insentient. Alive in this world, you should be 
  a full-blooded hero and not a zombie, who, at death, withers away like 
  rotting grass or wood. You look up to the lofty state of the sages, and, 
  in despair, go down to the level of the common and stupid. You have been 
  given such an obvious message and you still don't make a firm resolve. You 
  hear of the Way of the Sages, Worthies, the Buddha and Patriarchs, and yet 
  you won't cultivate. Is it the case that Heaven owes humanity a debt, or 
  is humanity in debt to Heaven?  Please read this with your wisdom.