Thursday, 04/24/2025
Articles
Saving Living Beings from Samsara
Update: 10/07/2009
Reciting means reciting Amitabha Buddha’s name. Amitabha has 3 meaning; consisting of immessurable preservation, limitless light and limitless merit. Limitless merit involves unmeasurable merit. Immeasurable preservation refers to uncountable longevity. And limitless light inicates a vast light that shine bright every where.
The sun shines every where but the covered places. The Buddha’s light is different, which shines not only uncovered places but also far-away places even the darkest place such as promote hell.
People who recite and remember Buddha will become Buddha. Focusing on chanting Buddha day by day, Amitabha Buddha will bless them to improve the good, reduce misfortune, transfer ignorance to wisdom and sorrow to Bodhi. That is called protective power of Buddha.
Chanting Buddha is to remember his virtue and mercy and to follow his example in saving people. While chating Buddha, bad things are reduced and good things are expanded. We all have both good and bad minds. Bad things are easy to appear like water flowing downstream. Good things are vice versa. As good things rise, bad things fall. So, to keep good mind, we must be aware of and keep chanting Buddha.
Sakyamuni Buddha revealed the reciting sect because of his love for people. He wrote in ‘Great Practice’ sutra; “In Pascimadharma (period of Buddha Law degeneration, great many people have been cultivating but few in enlightenment; only people who lean on Dharma door of Buddha Recitation can be saved from Samsara’.
Buddha’s teaching is exact. From ancient time up to now, there have been so many people who recite Buddha’s name can be reborn in the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha. When Sakyamuni Buddha lectured on the subject of Buddha Recitation, Buddhas from ten directions praised him for doing hard things such as attending the marvelous way in self-cultivation, teaching Buddhists straight and wonderful Dharma. So, the Dharma was chanted and praised by all of the Buddhas.
Amitabha Buddha gave 48 Great Power Vows for saving beings when he was a Bhiksu. After successful cultivaition, he became Amitabha Buddha – a head of Western Pure Land. Being merciful for beings’ suffering from overwhelmed in birth – death, Sakyamuni Buddha introduced the happy and peaceful Western Pure Land for people to focus on.
People who recite Buddha with solidary minds will be escorted to the Pure Land for rebirth after death. There are so many Buddhas in all over the world but only Amitabha Buddha gave 48 Great transcendent Vows to lead beings to his Pure Land.
Chanting Buddha means remember him and we will not be effected by six sensible organs; then we can be in peace and wisdom. Buddha has full of four immesurableness and so do beings. We can not live with them because our minds are covered by the ignorance just like a shining mirror is covered by the dust so that the enlightening light was burried under it. Now, if we know how to recite the Buddha, clarify bad thoughts and remember the Buddha, we can come to the same level as him.
Chanting the Buddha keeps us in peace both at present and in future. Remembering the Buddha makes our minds happy. Thinking of five desires makes us uncontrollable.
Everything with shapes is temporary and unreal. So, the Buddha taught us to remember and recite the Buddha in order to become Buddha quickly. The moon can be full or crescent, rivers can be opaque or clear and also people can be reunited or separate and live or die. Thus, we have to chant the Buddha’s name immediately if we want to escape from miserable paths. Reciting Buddha with a strong belief, a decisive aspiration and regular practices, we can live peacefully at present and we can surely be reborn in the future.
Translated into English by Nguyen Khanh Hoa
ThÃch Tâm Hoà ng