The supreme power is
when Self-Power and Other-Power
become One-Power
via mindfulness of Buddha.— Stonepeace | Get Books
Those who practice Zen or Pure Land should all understand this truth: “all Dharma methods are equal and none is superior or inferior.” No one who really understands the deep meaning of the Dharma can have the kind of obstinate prejudice that sees inferiority and superiority between the various Buddhist methods. No one with that kind of obstinate prejudice can gain any real benefit from the Dharma.
For example, the Zen school teaches meditation on a “hua-t’ou” (mondo). Hua-t’ou means “before words,” before a single thought rises up in one’s mind. What is there before a single thought rises up? It is No Thought. No thought is one’s own Pure Mind, one’s own Buddha-Nature, one’s own Original Face. Meditating on a hua-t’ou does not mean repeating it, because the repetition of a hua-t’ou is also a great false thought. Rather, to recognize one’s own Original Face is the purpose of a hua-t’ou.
The Pure Land school teaches Buddha Recitation — the repetition of Amitabha Buddha’s name (Amituofo). However, it does not teach merely to recite by mouth, like a parrot mindlessly squawking out words. Buddha Recitation centered on the mind is real Buddha Recitation. This is because Mind is Buddha, Buddha is Mind. As the sutras state: “The Mind, Buddhas and Sentient Beings are undifferentiated and equal.” Outside of Mind, there is no Buddha, outside of Buddha, there is no Mind. Buddha is Mind, Mind is Buddha. If a practitioner recites the Buddha’s name in this manner, he will gradually arrive at the stage where there is neither Mind as subject nor Buddha as object. And there is neither a subject reciting nor an object of recitation. This is the stage before the arising of a single thought. This is the hua-t’ou and this is one’s own Original Face. If the practitioner can really understand the Dharma as transcending subject and object, what difference is there between Zen and Pure Land? — Introduction (Master Lok To)
Pure Land Of The Patriarchs:
Zen Master Han-Shan On Pure Land Buddhism
Translated By Dharma Master Lok To
Related Course:
Understanding Amituofo Via The Amitabha Sutra (11th Run)
https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2012/11/course-understanding-amituofo-via-the-amitabha-sutra-11th-run
Related Articles:
Buddha Mindfulness Is Not Inferior
https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2012/02/buddha-mindfulness-is-not-inferior
Zen Master’s Perspective Of The Pure Land Teachings
https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2011/03/zen-masters-perspective-of-the-pure-land-teachings