Bliss versus Happiness

Ignorant craving leads to egosense and is the root of all suffering.

Emotions and feelings are side effects of suffering -- while they appear to cause suffering, essentially feelings are the result of suffering. Even happiness dependent on attachment to external conditions.

Thus the mind itself, when freed of suffering, is devoid of emotions and unattached to feelings.

This is the ultimate of liberation.

Yet the resulting effect of liberation is not lack of feeling or blunting of emotions. Rather, it is the penultimate bliss, the pure joy, happiness without attachment.

Indeed, this is true happiness.

Out of Deepest Faith (poem)

This mind, touched by Sincere Mind,
no longer is deluded,
but follows Shinran into hell,
out of deepest faith.
Namu Amida Butsu.

Living together in harmony key to survival

Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. That is not just a dream, but a necessity. We are dependent on each other in so many ways that we can no longer live in isolated communities and ignore what is happening outside those communities.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama


Hence the American way of life is just a dream of truth, justice and THEIR way.

Meanwhile they pretend they are fighting for democracy.

In actual fact, America is fighting wars for corporate monoliths, and is a prime example of the Military-Industrial Complex at work to keep the world in its back pocket.

Until America truly is humbled, living together in harmony will be the dream of peaceniks.

For 9-11 didn't humble America.

It merely escalated a dangerous game of one-upmanship...

Stress and The Endless Cycle of Samsara

Stress, in addition to being itself and the result of itself, is also the cause of itself.
–Hans Selye

Just as life begets more life, so too is stress both cause and effect.

How does Buddhism cure stress?

By helping each meditator to let go of attachment to life's little worries.

It does so through the only mind control that exists: mindful meditation with eyes open.

Forgiveness

"It is easier for feeble straw to resist a mighty fire, than for than for the nature of sin to resist the power of love. We must cultivate this love in our souls, that we may take our place with all the saints, for they were all pleasing unto God through their love for their neighbor." - Grand Duchess Elizabeth, reflecting on the assassination of her husband Grand Duke Sergei Romanov, between his death in 1905 and Elizabeth's founding of the Martha and Mary Convent of Love and Mercy in Moscow in 1909.

Elizabeth of Hesse was made martyr in July 1918 along with Sister Barbara and the Romanov family somewhere in Siberia by Bolsheviks.

Were it not for Father Seraphim, her story would never come to light about the atrocities committed in the name of socialism.

So if you are poor, pregnant, or alone, please pray to Elizabeth of Hesse.

Avian Flu Affects Only the Lungs

According to many news reports, avian flu affects only the deeper parts of the lungs, the avioli.

This fact confirms my opinion that avian flu will not become an epidemic, due to the same reason I gave before:

One would have to be intimate with a person suffering avian flu, to the point of ingesting her sputum and breathing the same air in which she coughed or sneezed.

Even then, one would have to be immunosuppressed by another disease and/or stressed by fatigue.

Therefore the avian flu scare is just rumors until it changes and affects the nose and upper throat.

Compared to SARS, avian influenza is a pussy-cat.

Even swine influenza is more deadly than chicken for Easter.

Though I will advise fish out of respect for Jesus. ;)

All is Still, and Nowhere Should One Swell

Deep in the ocean,
no wave is born,
but all is still.
Likewise let the practitioner
be still,
be motionless,
and nowhere should one swell.

-Sutta-nipata

Conquer By Love (poem)

Conquer your foe by
force to increase enmity;
conquer by love to
reap no regret - O! Know this:
The Name-that-calls is pure bliss.

-after Fo-Sho-Hing-Tsan-King

Innner Discipline, the True Mind Control, Yields Peace of Mind

As long as there is a lack of the inner discipline that brings calmness of mind, no matter what external facilities or conditions you have, they will never give you the feeling of joy and happiness that you are seeking. On the other hand, if you possess this inner quality of calmness of mind, a degree of stability within, then even if you lack various external facilities that you would normally consider necessary for happiness, it is still possible to live a happy and joyful life.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

So discipline the mind through true mind control, and achieve the pure mind of bliss, step by step.

When the Pure Land devotee is thus self-possessed, that calmness of mind is the ubiquitous peace of mind.

Due to peace of mind, one will attain mental stability, in spite of what others see.

In this way it is possible to live a happy, joyful and full life.

Evil Depends on Circumstances

Since good and evil depends on the circumstances, the following is true to me:

If one believes that a medical condition allows one to commit an act which violates a precept without harming others, then it is a necessary evil.

A good example is the fact that an orgasm for a male prevents and/or delays the onset prostrate cancer.

Since the easiest way to have an orgasm for a man is to masturbate, then the sexual "sin" is forgiveable due to medical expediency.

However, one should not pretend that the sexual act outside of marriage is condoned by confusing masturbation with coitus.

While the person who masturbates uses sexual fantasies which may involve sexual misconduct, because it is a mind-only delusion necessary to prevent future suffering, one won't go to Avici Hell for such a transgression.

But it is immoral to fantasize about seduction of bodhisattvas, since that could harm one's rebirth in such a way as to condemn him or her to the most difficult of births, that of a human being.

Dukat for President

My favorite DS9 character has been Gul Dukat, because he has charisma and leadership qualities but is unrecognized for them.

His possession by Pai-wraths has made him a religious visionary.

If I were to chose the person to murder me in my sleep, then I would faithfully allow Gul Dukat to be the one to crush my larynx. :p

Seriously, the lizard man Dukat most certainly fits the conspiracy theory that they are likely to invade Planet Earth, just like in V!

War As a Last Resort

Why does the story of the Bhagavad Gita take place on a field of battle during the course of a war? Is the Gita advocating war as a valid means of settling a dispute?

This is a serious inquiry when conflict between various peoples and nations is often in the news. The answer has many related threads.

First of, the war between the cousins was morally justified. The Pandav brothers had declared war on their cousins, the Kaurav brothers, because the latter refused to give them their rightful half of their grandfather’s kingdom.

To further aggravate the Pandavs, the Kauravs used deceit to cheat them out of their wealth. They had even hatched a plot to have the Pandavs assassinated.

In spite of all this, the Pandavs, including Krishna himself, had attempted to convince the Kauravs through diplomacy to return to the Pandavs what was rightfully theirs. Having failed to convince their cousins, the Pandavs had only declared war as a last resort.

Thus the Gita does not suggest that war be undertaken lightly or indiscriminately, but be resorted to only when all other means have been exhausted.

As the leader of the Pandav army, Arjun as a seasoned warrior deeply respected the righteousness of war, but wondered how to approach this particular battle in which he had to fight against his own relatives and friends.

Krishna uses this crisis to teach Arjun about his own deathless nature and about the nature of the immortal Self which resides within one and all.

In times of war people are stretched to their limits and seek the ultimate answers to ultimate questions about birth, life and death.

For Arjun and Krishna found themselves between two armies whose weapons were at the ready and who were bent on annihilating each other.

Krishna’s teachings about birth and death, deathlessness and immortality, and killing and non-killing were entirely appropriate in that context.

The war in the Gita may also be viewed as symbolic, representing the battle in the mind of a sentient being between knowledge and ignorance of one’s true nature; between individual consciousness and universal consciousness; between darkness and light.

Each sentient being struggles to realize his or her highest nature, but is pulled back, by the force of human habit, towards limited thinking that is body-centered (egosense).

In this symbolic tug-of-war, Krishna represents the divine understanding that is ever pure, free, and forever, while Arjun represents humanity which strives to know its divinity.

In the war between knowledge and ignorance, knowledge will always be victorious in the end.

The Bodhisattva who Preached the Buddhadharma

Dharmaprabhasa Buddha was once the arahat Purna.

Bodhisattva Purna is the penultimate of Buddhist preachers. His mission in Sudana helped the natives become better farmers, and later, 500 of them joined his sangha there.

Thus, the preacher Purna achieved Nirvana and was reborn as Dharmaprabhasa Buddha.

The Stephen Harper Song Lyrics Collection (Humor)

CHANGING OF THE GUARDS (Bob Dylan)
FOOL ON THE HILL (The Beatles)
RAW POWER / I'M A CONSERVATIVE (Iggy Pop)
ARMY OF ME (Bjork)
WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN (Louis Armstrong)
AMERICA, FUCK YEAH (Trey Parker)
ROCK THE CASBAH (The Clash)
FIXING A HOLE (The Beatles)
IT'S RAINING MEN (The Weather Girls)

The Origin of the Bodhisattva

"Shariputta, does it occur to any of my followers to think that after they have known full enlightenment they should lead all beings to nirvana?"

"No, Honored One."

"But that should be their intention. They should not be too caught up with themselves to believe that. A glowworm or firefly does not think that its light could illuminate the continent of India or even radiate over it. In the same way, the followers do not think that they can, after obtaining full enlightenment, lead all beings to nirvana. But the sun, when it has risen, radiates its light over the whole of India. Just so, an awakened follower when he is fully enlightened, without even consciously attempting to, leads all beings to nirvana."

-Prajnaparamita

This Love Knows No Bounds (a Poem)

Where mere mortals fear to tread,
this sacred Love True
stands high above human lust,
for but a heartbeat,
this Love knows no common bounds.

At birth we suffer;
in life we suffer also;
yet when your time draws
to a close so suddenly,
forget regret and expire.

Nothing lasts, I know this Truth;
Birth is followed by
Life, and Life by Death again!
Yet life is both joy
and pain, no profit, no gain!

What is this True Love
but the heart-mind unfolded,
at peace with the world
and with the Buddha, Dharma,
and the Sangha? It is Love.

When my body becomes dust,
and my mind a memory lost,
where is the soul? What of karma?
In death my past actions move on.
For what is karma but this Love
so precious that knows no bounds?

Namu Amida Butsu!

The Egolessness of True Love

>
In the early morning,
A lover asked her beloved,
"Do you love me more than yourself?"
"More than myself?
For sure I have no self anymore
--I am you already.
The 'I' has gone, the 'you' has come about.
Even my identity is gone.
The answer is taken for granted.
'You and I' has no meaning.
The 'I' has vanished
like a drop in an ocean of honey."

-- from the Masnavi collection of Rumi

The Four Buddhist Blessings (poem)

A blessing: the arising of Awakened Ones.
A blessing: the teaching of true Dhamma.
A blessing: the concord of the Sangha.
The austerity of those in concord
is a blessing.

-Dhammapada, 14, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkh

Blessed are we by the Buddhas
past, present and future.
Blessed are we by the teachings
of the Dharma true.
Blessed are we by the guidance
of the Sangha,
be they monk, nun or layperson.
With their aid
may all of us be blessed
to go to the Pure Land after death,
and return to this Saha world
to help spiritually awaken all sentient beings.

Finding Courage in Times of Need

Since I am Buddhist, the tips to find courage needed a subtle touch of the Dharma. So here are my revisions on how to find courage when you need it the most:

1. Shift your focus. Worry not about failing or disappointing other people but about failing yourself.
2. Eliminate the words "wish," "hope" and "maybe" from your vocabulary.
3. Do your homework. If appropriate, know the obstacles you might encounter. Talk with other people who were once in your shoes. But remember: stop analyzing the situation -- the knowable is but a small fraction of the unknown. Indeed, the unknown is the only constant of life.
4. Surround yourself with the courageous. So seek out people who support and believe in you.
5. Imagine what life will be like when your challenge has passed.
6. Give it your all but don't expect perfection. To find courage, you must be willing to give 100%.
7. Once you act with courage, assess your response. Did acting with courage move you forward? If not, figure out how you would behave differently next time. If so, then bottle that courage, reward yourself, and always remember this time when you acted with courage in spite of your fears.
8. And always practice the Dharma of love: be silent and be of service to friends, family and enemies without reservation.

Unravel the Untruth

"Monks, if people speak badly of me or badly of the teaching or of our order of monks, you should not because of their ill will hold any thoughts of enmity toward them or any spite, nor even be at all worried. For if you are angry or displeased with them it will hurt you more than them. Indeed, if you were to feel angry or displeased, would you then be able to know what is well intended and what is badly intended from others?"

"No, we would not be able to know this."

"So, if others speak ill of me or the teaching or the order, you should with goodwill unravel the untruth of what they have said and make it all clear to them, saying, 'For this reason, that is false; for this reason, that is untrue; these things are not within us."

-Digha Nikaya

The Dharma of Love (poem)

When love persists, nowhere
is fear to be found.
In the dharma of love,
be generous with all.
For love profits none, and
leaves each lover fearless.

The Holy Bastard Sage

Many years after the Buddha became enlightened, his popularity grew.

One by one disciples abandoned the Santanadharma in favor of His Buddhadharma.

After having lost their gold, their livestock, and sometimes even their children trying to buy a piece of nirvana through Brahmin intercessors, what else could they do by don the orange hemp robe and gather alms for the day?

One day the Buddha was stopped by an angry pregnant woman, a peasant woman who was raised as an orphan by Brahmin priests.

"Prince Gotama!" she cried. "You are the father of my child."

In response, the Buddha maintained his composure and smiled.

"Young lady, when did you conceive this child?"

The young woman thought for a moment.

"Six months ago."

"Dear lady, six months ago I was in meditation in a cave with two holy men. How could I both have been there and laying with you?"

Flustered, the lady repeated: "You are the father of my child."

"Dear lady, when you give birth to your child, please let us raise it as monk if a boy and as a nun if a girl."

"Then you would cheat me out of my dowry by not abandoning your robe to marry me."

"How could I cheat you, dear lady? For your child will be raised by men and women who will not ask anyone for gold to keep it well fed. Instead, alms will always keep it nourished. You could even nurse it, and be well looked after."

Sheepishly, the pregnant lady confessed:

"Brahmins offered to raise my baby if I accused you of being his father as to shame you into abandoning your Buddhadharma to marry me. Please forgive my trespass, my lord."

"Young lady, you have a choice: you may go back to the priests to tell them of your failure, and forfeit your child to them; or you may join us. We know of a childless couple who will treat you as their daughter and raise your child as their grandchild."

Thus, the pregnant peasant woman gave birth and raised her child. She cared for her foster parents until their death. Then she was accepted into the holy order of nuns.

And her child?

He became the wisest of the sangha, the first of the holy bastard sages of ancient India.

In his youth, he endured the gossip and rumors about his lineage without word.

Thus showing that even bastards can be pure and faithful to the Dharma, and unwed mothers as pure as devoted children and in their later age, as nuns.

Pros and Cons of Smart Drinks And Smart Nutrients

Essentially, smart nutrients are food additives containing vitamins, minerals, extracts made from organic herbs, and food-grade chemicals.

Originally smart nutrients are present as food additives and “Designer Foods”.

Some of these designer foods may contain slimming (amphetamine-like substances such as ephedrine and caffeine from both synthetic and natural sources extracted from guarana) and muscle invigorating products (creatine).

Smart nutrients contain such active ingredients as:
antioxidants (Vitamins. A, C & E)
vitamins B (B1, B3, B6 & B12)
lecithin (refined from soy meal)
amino acids (phenylalanine & taurine)
pure caffeine
phytoextracts (GINKGO biloba & ginseng)
phenylalanine (aiming at counteracting the effects of ecstasy and cocaine)

Thus, food additives may be marketed as counteracting the negative effects of ecstasy and cocaine respectively).

However, in the case of caffeine, be it synthetic or from natural sources, when used in moderation, it is a safer alternative to illegal stimulants.

As well, for sensitive people, doses of megavitamins in smart foods and smart nutrients may not be so smart after all.

For megadoses of vitamins are potentially harmful on doses higher than their respective RDI (Recommended Daily Intake).

E.g. pyridoxine (B6) is neurotoxic when taken in doses over 50 Mg.

In contrast to B6, thiamine (B1) is relatively harmless at higher doses, and may even be used to improve brain function, and as a safer alternative to insect repellants.

Love's song of joy (poem)

Deep in this heart of dark despair
is the Dancer true
dancing to Love's song of joy,
when he hears the Name...
Namu Amida Butsu!

Nothing Wrong With Having Pleasures and Enjoyments

Contrary to what some people might believe, there is nothing wrong with having pleasures and enjoyments. What is wrong is the confused way we grasp onto these pleasures, turning them from a source of happiness into a source of pain and dissatisfaction.

-Lama Thubten Yeshe, "Introduction to Tantra"

Let go of pleasures,
and savor enjoyments now!
Then see the spirit
of the moment with gladness.
Namu Amida Butsu!

The Dalai Lama on Individualism

Human beings have all the potential to create good things, but its full utilization requires freedom, liberty. Totalitarianism stifles this growth. In a complementary way, individualism means that you do not expect something from the outside or that you are waiting for orders; rather, you yourself create the initiative. Therefore, Buddha frequently called for "individual liberation," meaning self-liberation, not through an organization. Each individual must create her or his own positive future. Freedom and individualism require self-discipline. If these are exploited for the sake of afflictive emotions, there are negative consequences. Freedom and self-discipline must work together. -- page 44, The Dalai Lama, Advice on Dying: and living a better life (translated by Jeffrey Hopkins, Ph. D.)

Yes, indeed! We have the potential to create good things.

Without freedom and liberty, what good we create may be trampled by uncaring people.

In the political realm, totalitarianism wipes out individual freedom.

So too does right-wing conservatism.

As an individual, what good is expecting something good from the world to happen to you?

While awaiting the orders of a master, does that not make you less of a disciple and more of a slave?

Of course, most of us admire initiative from one person out of many, to do good for others.

In doing so, the spiritual seeker learns how to discipline herself, with the hope that what help she may provide will inspire others to help others in return.

This is the seed of self-liberation, and is on the right path to nirvana.

By doing so, the seeker creates his positive future.

All it takes is freedom and self-discipline.

The Source of Your Joy

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.
–Thich Nhat Hanh

The Dew on The Grass

A person getting enlightened is like the moon reflecting in the water. The moon does not get wet, the water is not disturbed. Though it is a great expanse of light, it reflects in a little bit of water; the whole moon and the whole sky reflect even in the dew on the grass; they reflect even in a single drop of water. Enlightenment not disturbing the person is like the moon not piercing the water. A person not obstructing enlightenment is like the dewdrop not obstructing the heavens.

-Dogen, "Flowers Fall"

"The moon" represents the person who is spiritually awakened, who is on the path to enlightenment.

"Reflecting" represents the art of active meditation, where the spiritually awakened contemplates reality as bright and clean.

"The expanse of light" refers to the sky, and is a metaphor for the light of compassion, Amitayus.

"Water, "the dew in the grass", "the dewdrop" and "the single drop of water" refers to the transient nature of being. It also refers to the material essence of life.

"The heavens" refers to the spiritual essence of life.

"Enlightenment" refers the spiritual state of mind where the Pure Land practitioner is freed of the bonds of existence by accepting the material and spiritual essence of life as one.

Thus "getting enlightened" means letting go of attachment to the Saha world, this world of birth-life-death called samsara.

Namu Amida Butsu.

All the Dragons Are But Princesses

Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are but princesses that are waiting to see us act just once with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest essence, something helpless that needs our love.
-Rainer Maria Rilke

And perhaps all the circumstances in the world are awaiting the action of a few courageous people to make the world a beautiful place for all.

Right Concentration: Transcending the Six Worldly Dusts

"In your seeing," he said, "there should be only the seeing. In your hearing, nothing but the hearing; in your smelling, tasting, and touching, nothing but smelling, tasting, and touching; in your thinking, nothing but the thought."

-Khuddaka Nikaya


According to Buddhism, the six worldly dusts are form, sound, taste, touch and dharmas (external opinions).

As a metaphor for all the mundane things that can becloud our True Nature, they correspond to the five senses and the discriminating, everyday mind (the six sense).

Thus the above quotes is part of the sutra Khuddhaka, which instructs the seeker on how to use the six senses so as to transcend the worldly dusts of form, sound, taste, touch, and dharmas.

Simply put, do not analyze sense data.

A Man of Integrity

So:
The enlightened man--
Discerning, learned,
Enduring, dutiful, noble,
Intelligent, a man of integrity:
Follow him
--one of this sort--
as the moon, the path
of the zodiac stars.

-Dhammapada, 15, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

--
The above quote is from Dhammapada 15, the Sukhavagga (Bliss).

Hypoglycemia

low blood sugar, including:

* anxious feelings
* behavioural changes similar to being drunk
* blurred vision
* cold sweats
* confusion
* cool, pale skin
* difficulty concentrating
* drowsiness
* excessive hunger
* fast heartbeat
* headache
* nausea
* nervousness
* nightmares
* restless sleep
* shakiness
* slurred speech
* unusual tiredness or weakness


Most of these symptoms may be mistaken for various psychiatric disorders when hypoglycemia is discounted as "changing the diet."

On the Impending Death of a Close Friend

When someone is a dying, we first will give our condolences

Yet out of fear of death it may be rare that we will see that person again.

How uncaring and disrespectful of the dying!

For a dying person, in his time of need, -- like my close friend F. -- wants the emotional support of friends in his hour of need.

So I am sometimes bothered by the apparent unavailability of his friends.

True - I am depressed and despondent because I am ultimately powerless to stop him from slowly dying from cancer.

This is one thing I cannot change and accept it.

In a heart-to-hear discussion with my friend F., I did admit that I'd encountered abandonment in my life.

Yet it is foolish of me to believe that a friend dying is a form of abandonment.

Having awoken to this fact, that the death do not abandon us when they go,
I have opened my eyes to new life.

For the real adventure for him begins when F. passes on.

I am no longer afraid of that probability.

Eventually, F. and I will tidy away the loose ends so that his imminent departure does not complicate things for me.

Acceptance of The World

Accepting reality as-is,
I let go of it.
Why obsessively cling
like a man on a sinking ship?
Only by listening deeply
with the heart may I hear
Amida calling to me.
Namu Amida Butsu!

Let Go Your Hold

The Buddha said:

"In every direction," said the Buddha, "above, below, around, and within, you see things you know and recognize. Put them down. Do not let consciousness dwell on the products of existence and things that come and go, for there is no rest of relief there. When you understand that by taking the objects of the world for granted as total reality, you are tied to the world, then this understanding will release you from your dependence on objects and will stop your craving and your desire for constant becoming. Then you can let go your hold and engage with things as they are, instead."

-Sutta Nipata

This quote is from the Dhammapada, and urges the follower to stop clinging to "things you know and recognize". For clinging is holding tight to "products of existence and things that come and go" i.e. to impermanent objects which have finite existence i.e. your computer, food, or a favorite song.

"...There is no rest of relief there." refers to the suffering which clinging to existence may cause.

Taking the world for granted as total reality ties us to the world. By letting go of clinging, I do not have to give away my possessions. In letting go of the objects of this world, I see that they are not the total reality of existence at all.

Thinking in this way, I am no longer tied to the world. I am released from my dependence on objects. My craving and desire for constant becoming has ceased.

Having let go my hold, I am free to engage with things as they are.

The End of Suffering

The Buddha said:
What is Right View?
The knowledge of suffering,
the origin of suffering,
the end of suffering,
and the way of practice
leading to the end of suffering.
This is Right View.

-after Digha Nikaya

And what is the way of practice for the Pure Land practitioner but deep listening?

Deep listening occurs when the devotee listens with his heart instead of his mind.

---

Deep listening:
http://www.mindful.org/in-love-and-relationships/relating-to-others/deep-listening
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/practices/features.php?id=15570

How to Treat People

Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you'll help them to become what they are capable of becoming.
-Goethe

What people ought to be is spiritually awake.

When one is spiritually awake, then it's easy to accept help to affirm one's faith in Amida's Primal Vow.

When one is spiritually awake, it's easy to treat them as if they are what they ought to be: good people.

When the spiritually awake person helps other people to become what they are capable of becoming, everyone's heart is close to the Pure Land!

The Pure Land Close at Heart (poem)

Despite the daily challenges
which I may face in the Saha world --
the material existence called "reality" --
the Pure Land is close at heart.
Namu Amida Butsu!

Material and Spiritual Existence for the Shin Buddhist

In Shinto, there is no faith in the concept of the absolute one god who is the creator of both nature and human beings. The ancient Japanese had never divided material and spiritual existence, but considered that the both were inseparable, seeing everything to be spiritual. -- Jinja Shinto: The Concept of Kami http://www.jinja.or.jp/english/s-4c.html

Likewise too, in Jodo Shinshu - Shin Buddhism - material and spiritual existence are as one.

Though Amida Buddha is the object of worship, He is not the absolute one god and nor does he create both nature and sentient beings.

Rather, Amida made 48 vows which he kept, to create the Buddha world called the Pure Land of Bliss.

Thus the Pure Land has only a spiritual existence i.e. it exists in spirit and has many excellent qualities mentioned in the sutras.

For a Pure Land devotee, the mind purified by devotion to Amida through the Name-that-calls is at one with both material and spiritual existence.

In her heart-mind, the Pure Land of Bliss is here and now.

Faith in the Primal Vow

Reality is false in that it distracts sentient beings from the truth:
when the spiritually awakened seeker is able to deal with reality.

The rest of us have to rely on faith alone in the Primal Vow of Oyasama.

Thus I put my faith in Amida.