Question: If one lives and thus dies alone, can this person reach Pure Land (净土) without anyone chanting for him or her?
Answer: If this worries much, do live with like-minded family members or friends. Find a communal way of living. Our past Pure Land course participants can also join our Pureland Practice Fellowship to form spiritual friendship: https://purelanders.com/ppf. (To find good spiritual friends, it is best to be a good spiritual friend too.)
Reaching of Pure Land is not from others chanting for the person, but with personal Three Provisions (三资粮): https://purelanders.com/2018/02/08/the-three-provisions. Others’ guidance (开示) and support-chanting (助念) is to remind the person to express the Three Provisions. If already well-practised in everyday life, it will be easier to do so when dying and deceased, even if without support-chanting.
Question: If one dies alone, without any chance of hearing Āmítuófó’s name (阿弥陀佛), does it mean that one will have an evil karmic effect, such as going to the hells (地狱)?
Answer: One who practises mindfulness of Buddha (念佛) every day now: https://purelanders.com/start, already hears Āmítuófó’s name daily. With ample sincere practice every day, one will never die alone. An example can be seen at https://purelanders.com/2021/02/17/how-i-did-group-cultivation-of-nianfo-alone.
The hells are reached by those with extremely evil karmas (恶业), with much breaking of the Precepts (戒). Thus, other than practising mindfulness of Buddha to reach Pure Land, the Precepts should be observed well to prevent falling into the hells: https://purelanders.com/2024/08/16/15-reflections-on-guarding-precepts.
