Buddha Remembrance As Easy As Meditation

Buddha remembrance consists of Buddha recitation which is when the Buddhist laypeople gather together to chant the name of the Buddha.

If they are devoted to the Lotus Sutra as in the lay Buddhist sect of Soka Gakai then they chant "Namu myoho rengé kyo."

If they are of the Jodo Shinshu sect then they chant the Nembutsu ("Namu Amida Butsu").

By chanting the Buddha's name the devotees become mindful of the Buddha.

Thus is Buddha recitation Buddha remembrance.

It is said that Buddhist chanting is the easy path to enlightenment for all sentient beings.

For all sentient beings are destined to become bodhisattvas since such sincere devotion shown by chanting the Buddha's name is a fee definite sign that the Buddha is calling through his devotees.

Small wonder that the Nembutsu is known to the devout Shin Buddhist as the Name-that-calls.

As well,  Buddha recitation is called the easy path in contrast to the hard path of Zen mediation.

Thus are there two paths to Enlightenment in Mahayana Buddhism.

Becoming Unborn

When we are reborn in the Six Realms of Desire, samsara is not nirvana.

When we are attached to nirvana, nirvana is samsara for it leads to rebirth in samsara.

Samsara consists of the Six Realms of Desire —

• the Hells,
• the Realm of Hungry Ghosts,
• the Realm of Animals,
• the Realm of Humans,
• the Realm of Daemons, and
• the Realm of the Gods

.

When one is attached to rebirth in the human realm, that is not Buddhism but Sanatanadharma and results in rebirth. This attachment consists of a strong belief in transmigration and the permanent soul that is reincarnated solely as a human. It also violates the law of karma, which allows for rebirth in the Six Realms.

In Buddhism, non-attachment is an ideal which may be achieve by purifying the mind. The difficult route is to practice No-thought i.e. let no thought attract you to follow it to its end, but first let each thought go and return to the breath. With practice, it becomes as easy as breathing. This is the essence of Zen.

As for the easy route, Buddha Recitation leads to non-attachment as the Name-that-calls purifies the mind with earnest repetition, burning evil karma as you remember the Buddha. This is why it is called Buddha Remembrance. This is the essence of Pure Land Buddhism.

By remembering the Buddha, the mind is purified so that non-attachment to Nirvana is easily assured!

For non-attachment to Nirvana is essential to becoming Unborn.

Pure Land, Pure Mind, Pure Zen

My reasoning for blending Zen with Pure Land is the same reason the Pure Land has a Long Pure Land sutra and a Short Pure Land sutra as well as an Amida meditation sutra: I want to cover all my bases for the afterlife.

What if Zen does not end in Buddhahood in the next life? What if in the next life, I am randomly thrown into another realm, next time the hells, the time after that human, then animal, then god, then demon, then hungry ghost? If I am destined for samsara, then what good is Zen except to develop a calm mind and to carefully observe the mind, and nothing more??

For endless rebirth in samsara is worse than the Pure Land of Bliss which is OUTSIDE the Six Realms of existence.

Once I die, because I have recited the Nembutsu, my rebirth in the Pure Land is assured by Amida Buddha's Primal Vow, once I repent from the Ten Evils.

However, it is not Buddha Recitation that burns away evil karma; it is the practice of the Ten Virtues!

All Buddha Recitation does as far as karma is concerned is ensure rebirth in the Pure Land. There I shall listen to Amida preach his Dharma, practice to be a bodhisattva, return to any of the Six Realms of existence to aid hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, demons and even the gods themselves in attaining their own Buddhahood.

This is the path of the bodhisattva, and has always been the Buddhist way.

Denial of this is like disrepecting the Buddha, which is surely evil karma.

Want to erase that bad karma? Remember Buddha! How? It's simple calling the Name-that-calls!

Why? Because when I call, it is only Amida Buddha calling through me!

This is exactly why samsara is Nirvana, for Zen cure mental unrest by way of samatha-vipassana meditation.

FOr Buddha Recitation prepares us for future Nirvana in the Pure Land — not in this life — but in the afterlife of the Pure Land!

Zen and Pure Land are the Middle Way

Here is proof that masters chant in addition to zazen: http://heartofus.wordpress.com/chants/hannya-shingyo/

Hannya Shingyo (the Heart Sutra) is a Zen Buddhist chant which Zen masters and their disciples chant as part of their daily practice. This sutra was used by the Japanese Zen Master Hakuin in place of the Chinese Ch'an practice of Buddha Recitation (Nian-fo). This was done mainly to avoid the ire of the established Japanese Buddhist hegemony who profited from being intercessors between Japanese people from all walks of life and Enlightenment.

Zen practice aids its practitioners to become dedicated Buddhist practice of mindfulness, meditation being as used like a tool to control the mind.

Were they to chant any one of the Pure Land Sutras with the Bodhi Mind (determination for Buddhahood and aspiration to be bodhisattvas), if they don't achieve samadhi or Nirvana in this life, then they shall become Buddha in the afterlife called Sukhavarti.

When Zen and Pure Land are practiced as one with dedication to all sentient beings, the Buddhist who follows this mindful practice is assured Buddhahood. When belief in ekayana (one path) results in a choice between Zen and Pure Land, the Buddhist may choose between the practice of self-power (the difficult path) and of other-power (the easy path).

Why not hedge all your bets and instead of becoming only self-powered, being self-powered and other-powered bodhisattvas? Self-power is reliance on your own efforts to achieve Nirvana while other-power is based on faith in Amida Buddha's Primal Vow for the sake of all sentient beings. Thus empowered, the Buddhist who practices for all sentient beings is like a bodhisattva.

Indeed, Zen and Pure Land together combine self-power with other-power as Bodhi Mind, both to achieve samadhi in this life and to attain Nirvana in the afterlife of the Pure Land.

When one believes he is destined for the Pure Land to become Buddha, it is neither an attachment for reward nor a cheat but liberation from suffering for all sentient beings.

For all sentient beings are Buddha just as samsara is Nirvana.

I sincerely believe that both aspiration to become a bodhisattva who helps all sentient beings and determination to attain Buddhahood in this manner free me of attachment to the purported reward of the Pure Land.

May all Buddhists be dedicated their practice for the sake of all sentient beings.

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Hannya Shingyo: http://heartofus.wordpress.com/chants/hannya-shingyo/
Nianfo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nianfo