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How Pure Is the Pure Land
Every plant, flower, and insect encountered during walking meditation is an element of the Pure Land and a healing agent. Just as oriental medicine recognizes the medicinal power in all vegetation, a practitioner looks at everything as an element of enlightenment. Food itself is a medicine, chánh sự lương dược, vị liệu hình khô, which heals the disease of lacking nutrition. The Pure Land is not a distant notion but a land free from the poisons of:
- craving
- anger
- hatred
- fear
- jealousy
Building a Sangha is the crucial work of creating a mini Pure Land for protection, nourishment, and healing. This is achieved through the practice of Right Speech and Loving Speech, which protects us from the destructive talk that causes suffering. A strong community can embrace those carrying heavy negative karma, known as đới nghiệp vãng sinh, providing the tolerance needed for transformation. The capacity to be happy is a virtue that must increase daily through simple acts like taking morning tea, walking with the Sangha, and sitting with stability.
Buddhism is the practice of waking up in the present moment. Without mindfulness, one remains imprisoned in sorrow and anger, even in a peaceful environment. Like the character Kieu, who lived without peace and sat without stability, ở không an ổn, ngồi không vững vàng, we can become slaves to our own afflictions. To reorient toward the Pure Land is to recognize that “autumn is a season where every leaf is a flower” and that:
- Here is the Pure Land, the Pure Land is here.
- The Buddha is a ripening leaf.
- The Dharma is a floating cloud.
- The Sangha body is everywhere.
- My homeland is right here.
