Master Sheng Yen; Assimilate Pure Land Practice by Chan Meditation; Buddha-name chanting method; to build a pure land on earth
摘要
Mater Sheng Yen’s grand vow to “uplift the character of humanity and build a pure land on earth” is correlated directly between Chan and Pure Land practice. This speech aims to explore how the Master interpreted and assimilated Chan meditation by Pure Land practice as the means and references of his advocation. Master Sheng Yen wrote many books on Pure Land Buddhism and valued this practice highly, nonetheless, he deviced a way to purify people’s minds and accomplish the goal of building Pure Land on Earth via “Assimilate Chan Mediation by Pure Land Practice”. Therefore, the speech aims to share the approach of how Master Sheng Yen implemented the fourth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, Daoxin’s method of chanting Buddha’s name to obtain the “samadhi of one practice” as a possible way of practicing Chan and Pure Land traditions simultaneously and how Chan Buddhists employ Buddha-name chanting method. Then, the Master based on Yongming Yanzhou’s theory of “Single-minded Buddha-name chanting leads to Buddhahood” (一念成佛論) unveiling relationship between the major practices of Chan supplemented with Buddha-name chanting. Last but not least, the Master inherited Yunqi Zhuhong’s idea of “contemplating Buddha-chanting” that Buddha-name chanting is the facilitating condition while Chan meditation is the ultimate practice. Hence, Master’s goal of “Assimilate Chan Mediation by Pure Land practice” and his advocation of “uplifting the character of humanity to build a Pure Land on Earth” is closely correlated. With the concept of “one invocation resonates Buddhahood with Buddha-name chanting; countless invocations resonate Buddhahood via Buddha-name chanting” (一念相應一念佛，念念相 應念念佛), devotees can sense the meaning of “resonance” and experience “Pure Land” , which is in principle how Pure Land on Earth forms.
