If you are not mindful of Buddha,
as the embodiment of supreme compassion and wisdom,
how do you embody supreme compassion and wisdom?— Stonepeace | Get Books
There are those in this Dharma-Ending Age who dare to deprecate Buddha Recitation as an inferior practice. But why should they think that Zen and Pure Land are different? Such people lack knowledge and fail to understand the intent of the Buddhas. They are creating a false dichotomy. According to Mind-Only Pure Land, if the mind is pure, the land is pure. Therefore, if you are a beginning Zen practitioner and have not yet awakened, unless you engage in Buddha Recitation, you have no means of purifying your mind. But, a pure mind is precisely an awakened mind.
Even Bodhisattvas who are already awakened still practice Buddha Recitation, because without Buddha Recitation (mindfulness of the Buddhas) they cannot attain correct Enlightenment. We know that the Patriarchs awakened their minds through mindfulness of the Buddhas. Anyone who practices Buddha Recitation singlemindedly and without distraction will find that all afflictions vanish. With their minds thus bright, they are called awakened. Look at it this way: Buddha Recitation is Zen. No Bodhisattva abandons mindfulness of the Buddhas after awakening. None of the Patriarchs abandoned the Pure Land either. Thus, Buddha Recitation is Zen, Zen is Buddha Recitation.
Since ancient times, this question has remained unsettled; I want to speak out now and shatter the view that Pure Land and Zen are different. If all the Buddhas were to appear in the world, they would say the same thing: to abandon this Pure Land Dharma and embrace false words is the work of demons and not the true Dharma.
Pure Land of the Patriarchs: Zen Master Han-Shan on Pure Land Buddhism
Sutra Translation Committee of US & Canada
Related Course:
Understanding Amituofo Via The Amitabha Sutra (Introduction to Pure Land Teachings)
https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2012/01/course-understanding-amituofo-via-the-amitabha-sutra-9th-run
