Astride the Ox, I reach home.
I am serene. The Ox too can rest.
The dawn has come. In blissful repose,
Within my thatched dwelling
I have abandoned the whip and ropes.

Many newcomers to the Zen school of Buddhism soon learn about the Pure Land school. This is the Pure Lotus Land to which Master Hakuin refers in his Chant in Praise of Zazen.

The Pure Land school, like Zen, is a Mahayana school and therefore is practiced primarily in the Mahayana countries of China, Japan, Korea, and most of Viet Nam.

The practice is to call on the name of Amitabha Buddha; as such, it is reminiscent of the Biblical injunction to “pray without ceasing.” The practice is often called Buddha Name Recitation. English speakers are encouraged to chant in Sanskrit: “Namo Amitabha Buddha.” The term “namo” is the forerunner of the English work “name.”

Amitabha Buddha is not Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha who announced the Four Noble Truths. Amitabha Buddha is a prehistoric Buddha, a Buddha of times that were ancient even during the lifetime of the historical Buddha. Amitabha Buddha vowed to help all sentient beings to awaken if they would but call upon his name.

In Japanese, the Buddha Name Recitation is “Namu Amida Butsu” and in Chinese it is “Namo Amitou Fo.” Chinese Buddhists routinely greet one another with hands palm-to-palm and the words “Amitou Fo." ("Fo" is Mandarin for the Buddha).

Practitioners of The Pure Land school outnumber Zen practitioners. Some observers conclude that The Pure Land School is for the masses and Zen is for the elite. Such observations are made by those who suffer from delusion, i.e., those who study Hsin Hsin Ming and still cling to their opinions.

Some Zen writers have said that The Pure Land school violates the basic principle of Buddhism that there are no two things and that we will therefore never find the Buddha outside ourselves. Accordingly, they equate Pure Land practice with Christian practice: Calling on a Savior to come and save us is reliance on the “other” whereas Zen teaches self-reliance because there is no other.

Even in Japan, the practice of Zen is characterized as "jiriki," meaning "self power," and the practice of Pure Land is characterized as "tariki," meaning "other power." Both of these beliefs, held by many Zen practitioners, are wrong.

Even though Pure Land practitioners outnumber Zen practitioners, there are still very few serious Pure Land practitioners.

Nor does a Pure Land practitioner call upon an “other” for help. Amitabha Buddha is our true Buddha nature; when we practice Pure Land chanting, we are calling upon our true selves, remembering our beginningless beginning. It was we who vowed to save all sentient beings. When we chant the name of Amitabha Buddha, we are merely calling ourselves to ourselves, remembering our ancient vow. There is no "other" and there is no "out there."

Ch’an Master Hsuan Hua encourages Pure Land practice. It does not conflict with Zen practice in any way.

Having achieved the goals of catching, taming, and riding the ox home by practicing zazen with a sangha and a teacher, and performing prostrations, we forget the goal by performing Buddha Name Recitations. We remember our ancient vows by reciting the name of our original self. We are reciting our own name; we are beginning to remember who we are.

Zen as practiced in the states is sometimes called Elite Zen because its practitioners tend to be middle and upper class. The majority of American Zennies, as they call themselves, are college educated and financially secure. Most are heavily into meditation and know little about the Buddhist sutras, the Precepts, and Buddhist practice in general. They pride themselves in being free of the cultural baggage of Asians.

This course begins with the act of dropping opinions, following the precepts, and repentance, subjects seldom if ever discussed in American Zen centers. Very few follow the first precept and hate the very idea of vegetarianism. A number of prominent American Zen Centers have been led by sex-crazed Roshis, meat-eating Roshis, drug-taking Roshis, and others who deem themselves to be "above" such "trivial" matters as vegetarianism and a clean lifestyle.

Not only have they failed to repent of their pre-Zen ways, they have never taken the precepts. They have no foundation upon which to stand when teaching students. Starting a meditation practice without emptying the cup, without precepts and without repentance leads to a Zen practice that is not authentic.

An unrepentant, precept-shunning Zen practice that further ignores the sutras, that considers prostrations a waste of time, and that scoffs at Pure Land practices is equally lacking in authenticity. "Anything goes" Zen is not authentic Zen.

A Pure Land practice also requires authenticity. We cannot just say: "OK. it's the sixth step in the course so I'll do it."

There are ten great vows that form the foundation of an authentic Pure Land practice. They are recited in the Avatamsaka sutra by Bodhisattva Samantabhadra and form the basis of an authentic Pure Land practice.

Japanese Zen, as taught in the U.S., does not incorporate Pure Land practice. Chinese Ch'an does. This course tilts toward Chinese Ch'an while acknowledging that Japanese Zen is authentic Zen, even though it does not include Pure Land teachings or practice.

The vow to venerate and respect all Buddhas is the first of the ten great vows. Every Buddhist tradition venerates and respects all Buddhas, so this vow is not unique to the Pure Land.

When we perform prostrations, we are bowing to our true selves; we are venerating and respecting all Buddhas. Practicing the fifth step is therefore practicing the first great vow of Pure Land practice.

The second vow grows from the first. A sincere veneration of all Buddhas leads to the vow to praise the Buddhas. This may take the form of mentioning the buddhadharma to one's confidants. Buddhists do not, however, proselytize.

The praise may also take the form of Buddha Name Recitation. Thus, when we perform Buddha Name Recitation, we are practicing the second great vow of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra.

If we can recite the name of Amitabha Buddha while performing prostrations, we are practicing the first and second vows of the ten great vows.

Responding to a growing veneration for the Buddhas causes the practitioner to praise the Buddhas and to vow to make abundant offerings to them. We do not make abundant offerings merely by writing a check payable to a Buddhist organization. Abundant offerings are made when we drop opinions (Step one), follow the precepts (Step two), repent (Step three), practice meditation alone and with a sangha (Step four), perform prostrations (Step five), perform Buddha Name Recitations (Step six), chant (Step seven), study the sutras (Step eight), perform night time meditation (Step nine), and encourage others to practice (Step ten). It takes a great vow to follow through and practice these expedient means with diligence.

We may also make abundant offerings to the Buddhas at our home zendo altar or the altar of our local Zen center in a more mundane way. Flowers, incense, fruits, and the like may be placed with respect on such altars. When we do so, we are practicing the third great vow.

The fourth vow is to repent of misdeeds. So when we practice the third step of this course, Buddhist repentance, we are practicing the fourth great vow.

The fifth vow is to rejoice over the merits and virtues of others. This erases envy and the belief in a separate, independent self that causes envy. When a practitioner awakens to the reality that there are no "others," the merits and virtues of the apparent "others" become a source of delight instead of envy.

The sixth vow is to request the Buddha to turn the dharma wheel (to teach the Buddhadharma) and the closely related seventh vow is to request the Buddhas to stay in the world so that the teachings continue.

The eighth vow is to be reminiscent of the eightfold path, i.e., to follow the Buddha's path at all times in all situations.

The ninth vow is to accommodate and benefit all sentient beings. This is the heart of the Mahayana path. Enlightenment is not pursued for self-gratification because such a pursuit merely strengthens the delusive belief in an independent self. To practice authentic Zen, not just a bare, meditation-only stripped down Zen that ignores the need to drop opinions, to follow the precepts, and so on, is to practice for the benefit of all sentient beings.

The practitioner who desires to practice Zen in all of its fullness for the benefit of all sentient beings is a Bodhisattva, a Buddha-to-be.

The tenth vow is to transfer all merits and virtues universally. The true Bodhisattva practices Zen in all its fullness and transfers the merit gained thereby to all sentient beings, universally, without discrimination. At the intermediate and advanced levels of this program, we end all chanting sessions with the Return of Merit.

All ten of these ten great vows are made daily. We breathe every day, we eat every day, we sleep every day. If we want to wake up, we repeat and practice the ten great vows every day.

Just as the sutras require study, so do The Ten Great Vows of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. An authentic Zen practice requires that these Ten Great Vows be taken seriously, analyzed, and put into action.

Those who ignore the fullness of Zen practice are ignorant of the benefits to all sentient beings that would accrue if they would only vow to study and actuate the Ten Great Vows.

The following lines may inspire us to perform Buddha Name Recitations:

Speak one sentence less of chatter;

Recite once more the Buddha's name.

Recite until your false thoughts die,

And your Dharma body will come to life.

In some countries, the practitioners of Buddha Name Recitation have reduced the practice to Christian-like prayer, asking Amitabha Buddha to help them pass school exams, have many children, etc. The degeneration of Buddha Name Recitation into mere favor-seeking from a god-like entity is the reason why it is not practiced in most Japanese-influenced Zen centers in the States. In centers influenced by Chinese Ch'an, the masters teach that there is no entity out there who is listening to the recitations, no one who will grant favors; again, we are reciting the name of our own original Buddha nature, seeing our face before our parents were born.

We therefore include Buddha Name Recitation as one of the ten practices that make up our daily Zen practice. Performed with no thought of personal gain, performed as a means for remembering who we are, it adds a valuable dimension to our daily practice.

If you join a Japanese-influenced center where Buddha Name Recitation is not practiced, it is of course OK to respect the teacher's decision not to include that practice as a part of the center's practice. We can practice on our own, outside the formal boundaries of the center.

Intermediate Zen

Intermediate students perform fifty four Buddha Name Recitations every day.

Advanced Zen

Advanced students perform one hundred eight Buddha Name Recitations daily.

Chinese Pure Land monks and nuns typically perform 10,000 Buddha Name Recitations daily.

I know a fellow who witnessed the death in Dallas, Texas in the year 2003 of a nun who performed 100,000 Buddha Name Recitations daily. When she died, her skin turned to a bright and shiny golden color.

In the Pure Land teachings, such an event signals that the practitioner has been reborn in the Pure Land.

If you would like to talk to this eye witness over the phone, just Contact Us and we'll send you his phone number. He is currently planning to move to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas so that he can increase his Buddha Name Recitation practice.

Step Seven: Chanting