Pure Land Experience

When I first came to Guang Jue Monastery over two years ago I was delighted that the abbot, the Venerable Zheng Rong, had invited me to stay with him. I asked him if he would teach me more about Pure Land Buddhism. His answer was abrupt and I felt my nose a little out of joint when he replied: “If you want to learn about Pure Land Buddhism go and read about it in books’, upon which he retired to his room. It was not until a day or so later the Master added with a smile: “But if you want to experience Pure Land, stay for a while.”

The Venerable Zheng Rong was not discrediting the importance of study and reading. However, I have always been amazed at the very few books on his shelf in his office. He was merely making a strong point that we can become bogged down in the academia of Buddhism without ever having an experience of its sheer beauty. You can read all you like about Pure Land Buddhism but until you actively practise it you will never know its fruits.

Pure Land Buddhism is a very “active’’ Buddhism. Its foundation is based upon Faith, Vows and Practice. The faith that Pure land Buddhism talks about is a very experiential faith. It is not a blind faith. It is not a faith that the Amitabha Buddha will give us a free ticket to the Pure Land on our demise and that is all to it. No! Faith in Amitabha’s power is grounded in the experience of Pure Land in this very moment, in the Samadhi of being an integral part of all nature. The Venerable Master Hsuan Hua stated , “You must understand that the Land of Ultimate Bliss and the Saha world are not beyond this very thought.” When we begin to realize that the Pure Land is in our midst then we are able to experience the beauty and joy of life. This experience is not just a mental factor. It evolves as a product of our relationship with all sentient beings and with all of nature. It is active.

When, as Pure Land practitioners, we make vows to escape the cycle of birth and death and to rescue all sentient beings to do this we must develop the Bodhi and Compassionate mind - a mind of compassionate action in relationship with one another.

The third foundation is “practice.” To practise not only means the absorbing of our mental focus in the recitation of meditation on the name of Amitabha Buddha but also in the daily experience of being Amitabha Buddha to all beings through our thoughts, words and actions.

One morning the Master asked me if I would like to go to the village with him. We walked along the little country lane beside the monastery passing the corn and rice fields. The air was crisp in the autumn morning. As we turned to walk along the main road there in front of us was a truck whose driver was trying to start the motor. It had broken down in the middle of the road. With my limited knowledge of mechanics I guessed the driver had run out of petrol or there was a problem with the fuel line. The Master, however, stopped to offer assistance. He suggested we try to push-start the truck. Push-start a truck??!! There were only two of us and the truck was of rather large proportions. We both strained to gain momentum. The truck surged forward, spluttered then came to an abrupt halt. “No matter”, came Master Zheng Rong. “We will push you to the village.” I gasped for air! The occupants of a few cars that drove past were aghast to see a Venerable pushing a truck. Finally a large truck with laborers stopped and asked if we needed help.

We eventually arrived at the village huffing and puffing. One of the laborers remarked: “We should tell the abbot of the monastery that you are a hero, old monk. He is probably having his morning meditation”. The others laughed. “I am the abbot”, smiled Master Zheng Rong. “This IS my meditation.” The laughter suddenly stopped. With hands clasped the workmen bowed. I felt the awe of the moment. “Stop your bowing and let’s have tea together!” retorted the Master with his cheeky grin. In a little while we were all together drinking hot local tea and sharing stories. Laborers and monk; Chinese and a Westerner rubbing shoulders in camaraderie. This is Pure Land. I understood the Master’s teaching.

Let Go and Find Your Gift

All things are impermanent. When we understand the nature of impermanence we can let go and stop our grasping then there is true happiness. What we eat is what has been planted and harvested. If we plant melon seeds we get melons. This is the nature of things. This is not religion. This is logic, life education. Then we are awake from the dream of dust to the light of life.

When we are awake we are like children at the Christmas tree opening the wonderful gifts of life. Amongst these gifts we find our unique gift which we are able to give back to the world. Thus we find abundance and peace in our gift.

Magic in a Chinese Temple

When visiting a Chinese Buddhist temple or taking part in a Chinese temple stay, if you are alert and tuned in you can experience what is termed in Chinese as “ling” a type of magic or presence. It is very hard to describe but many who have spent some time in a Chinese temple stay will know what I am talking about.

“Ling” is a charged energy created by often centuries of prayerful and sincere chanting and meditation of the monks and nuns.

Guang Jue Temple near the small town of Zaoxi in Zhejiang province in China is one such place. You can catch a bus from Shanghai South bus station to Lin’an then a smaller local bus to Zaoxi town. Alighting at Zaoxi town you stroll through a sleepy little rural town past groups of townsfolk playing Mahjong in shop fronts and shop keepers dozing off during the afternoon siesta on reclining camp chairs out front of their shop. The narrow street makes its way past the local school over a bridge and before long you find yourself walking past fields of corn with meandering streams with ducks lined up on floating bamboo poles. The country road exudes a scent from Lady Moon trees lining both sides of the road and mature provides its backdrop of breathtaking mountain scenery. The road has a poetic Chinese name: Cloud Mountain Road. After two kilometers you come across a stone sign with Guang Jue Temple engraved upon it in Chinese, of course.

The first time I walked this road it seemed that my walking pace slowed down almost as if my legs and mind joined in some clandestine scheme to slow down my whole being in preparation for my stay at the Qing dynasty monastery. As I turned into the lane that made its way past bamboo and rice fields I could make out the outline of the monastery building amid bamboo groves.

It was a sunny autumn day and hosts of large blue winged butterflies danced across the yellow pumpkin flowers growing outside the monastery gate. Only the sound of cicadas and small sparrows could be heard amidst a deepening silence.

A Chinese temple plays with the senses. The colours of flowers and paintwork of the ancient temple, the scent of old rosewood furniture and incense is there to intrigue you. I felt a little dizzy. It seemed surreal. Time had stood still. I found myself standing in another era in a deep sense of Pure Land peace. My reverie was soon interrupted by the greeting and welcoming smile of the Abbott, Zheng Rong.

All Chinese Buddhist Temples have a history. Guang Jue Temple has its own history which gives form and shape to its “magic”. During the Qing dynasty it housed over two hundred monks and nuns. Now only five remain. During the Sino-Japanese war in 1942 the temple took a direct hit from bombs dropped randomly from low flying aircraft making their way to Hangzhou to pound the city. Locals tell me that all monks and nuns fled and there were no casualties. All left except one nun. Her name was Jue Ming.

We often hear of the great feats of meditation of the renowned Masters of Chinese Buddhism or read their erudite commentaries about sutras or their methods of achieving enlightenment. We seldom read about forgotten monks, nuns or even lay people who devoted whole chunks of their life to the practise often under harsh conditions. Jue Ming refused to leave the ruins feeling that she had to reverse the tide of Karma that brought the very destruction on the temple. For almost fifty five years Jue Ming performed the Pure Land Buddhist practise of chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha continually day and night as well as the chanting of mantras and sutras. Locals cannot explain why she remained undetected for so long – perhaps they considered her a fool. It was not until the present Abbott commissioned by his temple in Hangzhou to go in search of this reported hermit nun that she was found and brought back to her community.

One morning at an earlier temple stay I found myself drawn to the memorial garden marking the spot where Jue Ming prayed and chanted each day and where her ashes are now interred. It was a very cold autumn morning shrouded in the mountain mists. I sat on a small stone seat. It was so very cold I wanted to change my mind and go back to my room. As quickly as this thought entered my mind I felt a warm flow of air about me. I meditated in peaceful bliss for over an hour without feeling any cold. What was this warm air? Where did it come from?

Even the most skeptical admit to experiencing a very “warm” or “good” or “serene” feeling. Most people who come here on their Temple Stay feel a deep change taking place. Guang Jue is a Chinese Temple with “ling”. More than that, it has a lesson to teach each one of us if we will allow it. Magic remains only magic if all it does is take your breath away. It becomes awakening when is gives you a new breath of life.