Any question you want to ask? To understand this problem, one has to understand Armita's day in his previous life before enlightenment when he practised all kinds of dharma doors, none of which was easy to accomplish. He therefore made a wish saying since all beings of the ten directions practise buddhism(dharma) so difficult as the way I did, I now make 48 vows, each of which is to lead them to my land. What is the advantage of being born in my land? It is to see the Buddha when born as the lotus blossoms. This is not the birth from the impure conditions of parents but is transformed as lotus when being born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, forming a body within it and this body will only emerge as a man, no woman. It is therefore no women in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

When born in the Western Pureland, one is out of the cycle of birth and death, and thus go beyond the realm of the six paths in this cycle, and in his life he dwells in the Buddha land, he will never turn away. It is definite that one will become buddha when born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, so the 48 vows Armita Buddha made, each is to lead and guide living beings to become Buddha, this birth is different from the birth and death of the lay people. In this very life in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, one will never fall into the three evil destinies,
never withdraw, this is the condition that would determine one be a Buddha in the future. So everyone should recite and seek to be born in the Pureland. Unlike this saha world mingled in sufferings and evils. It never like that. It is a place free if sufferings but joy. All you heard, all you see are dharma, it is a realm of dharma, always have Armibita's preach of dharma. Even the birds there they will preach the five roots, the five powers, the seven Bodhi shares, the eight sagely shares, all they sing are dharma. Thus so, even the waterflow, the wind movements, these are also means of preaching dharma. It is so different in the Pureland and so is the birth here. The birth here ends all births and deaths, the layman's births and deaths and there will be no more birth and death. What the difference to be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is this birth is different from those of the layman. One of Armita's 48 vows is quoted as saying " All living beings of the ten directions, if ever they recite my name," the name after I have attained my Buddhahood, they will all be born in my land. Once born here they will see Buddha when the lotus blossoms and get awakened to the dharma of patience with unproduced. If ever anyone is not enlightened, I will not take my Buddhahood. Shakyamuni Buddha, knowing his vows, told Shuriputra, all arhats should raise this dharma door to all living beings. So anyone of us wishes to be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss will never turn away.

There is a number of good cantos quoted as saying: VOW TO BE BORN IN THE WESTERN PURELAND - This Western Pureland is different from the other pureland. Why not born in the Eastern Lapis Lazuli Land? Because living beings there are still in the cycle of births and deaths. Why not in the Southern Land of Precious Life? Precious Life Buddha in the South did not make such a big vow as Armita Buddha did to guide and take living beings . So when it says vow to be born in the Western Pureland , THE NINE GRADED LOTUS AS PARENTS - the nine grades refers to uppermost grade, upper middle grade, upper lower grade, upper middle grate, middle grade, lower middle grade and the lowest grade. Thus this nine graded lotus would be our parents, not born from bodily fresh and blood, but emerge from the lotus. AWAKENED TO PATIENCE WITH NON PRODUCED WHEN THE FLOWER BLOSSOMS - Once this lotus blossoms, the buddha nature emerges from it in the form of a body, it comes out to see Armitaba Buddha in person and to get enlightened, attaining the not-growing but not -extinguishing, the not impure but not pure. the not-increasing but not-deminishing Buddha nature. So to be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is to end births and deaths as it is not easy to have it accomplished in this world. Only that you cannot be born there, once there, you will never withdraw. So when the flower blossoms you get enlightened - THE IRREVERSIBLE BUDDHASATTVA BE THE COMPANION - All friends and relatives in the Land of Ultimate Bliss are Buddhasattvas, they are all irreversible buddhas they are all our dharma relatives, our real friends.

There we also have the dharma door of the Pureland, this is easiest dharma doors of all. In the past, all Buddha praised the practice for the dharma door of the Pureland, like Man Jusuri Buddhasattva praised the way of reciting . Universal Worthy Buddha (in the Shurangama Sutra - the chapter UNIVERSAL WORTHY BUDDHA'S PRACTICE & VOWS) - was to take living beings of the ten directions to the Pureland. He recited Buddha's the name and sought to be born in the Pureland. Guan Yin (Budhasattvas Avalokteshavara) too practised recitation, same as for the Great Strength Buddhasattva. Those who read (the Shurangama Sutra) it should know ( the chapter Great Strength Buddhasattva s Recitation Method). It says this is a very good dharma door and was praised and practised by most Buddhasattvas in the past. All patriarchs in the past investigated CHAN and practise recitation. Having englightened after CHAN investigation, they concentrated in recitation. A transformed Armita Buddha appears each time he recited. This was the case for the Great Chan Master Yung Ming, and recently, Great Venerable Master Yin Guang even recommended this dharma door, Great Master Shui Yun suggested the dharma door of recitation too. So this is the easiest dharma door, the most convenient, the the simpliest and the most perfect one. So for this dharma door, if you don't believe, don't slander it, you don't slander it, you believe it.

This is a dharma door praised by all Buddhas of the ten directions. You see, (in Armita Sutra) Buddhas of the six directions, all appeared in long and wide tongues, covering the three thousand great world to praised this dharma door. If this is not true and right, why approved by the Buddhas of the six directions. From this point, it proves this is the best dharma door for us to practise especially in the , everyone should cultivate. However, we are in the Right Dharma period, if you don't recite and practise recitation, you have to practise CHAN with all your efforts. Don't be scared by the sufferings. So when the 7-day Chan session starts this week? Friday evening. I don t care about this, I don't know which day. I just like living in the mountainous place without a calendar, going through the cold seasons without knowing the years passed. If you say today is the first day of the lunar month, it is. You said it is the fifteenth day, it is. the twentieth, so it is the twentieth. You tell me today is Christmas, December 25th, then it is the 25th. Our Recitation Assembly ends this Friday and the Chan Session kicks in, you see, we are here, if you don't believe recitation, you can try CHAN, waking up at 2 in the morning, going for rest at 12:00 in the evening. See if you can take it. If you can't,you run. If you can take it, you would be enlightened.

We make a fire in the ice box melting the ice into water. It is the wave of your buddha nature calms down, once calmed down, it just like water ruffled to become wave and flattened to become wave becomes water. So water becomes ice and ice becomes water. If you can return to your original form and see your original appearance, how it looks, you will understand. By then, you have to suffer cold in this ice box - which is worthwhile and it has a value in it. So that is why so many people are willing to go for this ice box. If you ever died of cold, nobody dares to go.