Here is an analysis of the poll question ‘What do you wish to attain by the end of this life?’ As of today, the results are:
38% : Go Pureland
20% : Be a Bodhisattva
11% : Don’t know
10% : Return a Human
08% : Be a Buddha
06% : Be a Stream-winner
05% : Be an Arahat
02% : Be a Deva
If you reflect deeper, it’s really a trick question, because some options can overlap in reality. For instance:
(a) You can be a Deva or Human who is a Bodhisattva.
(b) You can go to Pureland and be a Bodhisattva and Buddha.
(c) You can be a Stream-winner and go Pureland.
(d) You can be an Arahat and go Pureland.
Hope you get the idea! Now let’s look at the individual choices:
Go Pureland: This is the safest destination, which guarantees swift progress to Bodhisattvahood and Buddhahood.
Be a Bodhisattva: It is not easy to be a enlightened Bodhisattva within this lifetime, though one can be an unenlightened one.
Don’t know: It is spiritually dangerous to be goalless, to let one’s karma direct us to an unknown rebirth.
Return a Human: Unless one returns better trained and continues to train well, it is easy to be disheartened as the world enters the Dharma-diminishing age.
Be a Buddha: This is the most challenging goal to attain in a single lifetime. It is good to have a back-up plan if it is not attained.
Be a Stream-winner: This is the minimal attainment that is irreversible. In a way, all should at least aim for this goal, even if they aim for others too.
Be an Arahat: This is the minimal attainment that is self-liberation, less difficult that Bodhisattvahood and Buddhahood, but can lead to them.
Be a Deva: Unless one has strong Dharma practice, it is possible to forget the Dharma and later fall to the lower realms.
Now… would you reconsider your vote? Do share with us why you chose what you did (via commenting below).
Why – Don’t Know?
Well, if I don’t even know all these options well and what are they, or whether it suits me or not, how can I choose one from all these options? So, the next best answer is Don’t Know.
How much information is there available for these options? I can’t just believe what other or books said, maybe it suits them not me. In our society, we have open house to let people have a feel or to ask questions or find out more. Even these open house activities don’t provide all answers.
For pureland, based on the description in sutra, it does not really ‘buy me over’, maybe I lack imagination to visualize how beautiful it is or fully understand how the system over there work or I have not suffer enough in this life to push me over to there or I lack the intelligent to know what is the best or I have more urgent stuff that I have to clear now than able to spare some time to ponder on this issue or I have been ‘frighten’ by some frantic people that I know who keep doing good (without thinking it is helping or not helping other …) to accumulate merit to go pureland for themselves and got themselves so tense up if they didn’t do and not caring about their action is right or wrong or I don’t understand what bliss is.
Sometimes back, my boy asked me a question that I don’t know how to answer or answer in such a way that is convincing to him or at his level of understanding – ‘What is one going to do after one be a Buddha?’ ‘After Buddha save all people, won’t your life be boring?’ He even asked a Tibetan Monk, is being a monk boring?
i think if we are aware that we don’t know or are unsure, it’s a good reason to get to know more by active enquiry and learning. Cos it’s just a poll, it’s hard to elaborate on all the options fully.
The attraction of Pureland is not just based on the appearances there. What matters most is how it is a conducive environment with the constant presence of the Dharma that leads without fail to enlightenment. There is an upcoming short course (starting from 14/3) that introduces Pureland teachings. Hope you can come. Please see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Amituofo/message/122 😉
In the Mahayana Buddhist perspective, no Buddhas ever retire. Because they have infinite perfected compassion, they simply manifest as Bodhisattvas on and on to help other beings still in suffering! How touching! ;-( (A good monk is never bored – because there is so much to learn and help.)
Going to the Pure Land for sure, because that’s where I’ll gain enlightenment. After that, back to Saha and beyond, to help lead and guide others to Enlightenment as well.
Thanks & noted. 🙂
I just curious, no right or wrong. For those who aspire to go Pureland, gain enlightenment and be back to help and lead the other.
This is a great aspiration, would you considering helping any sentient beings right now if certain things which are within your means or would you wait till (or believe you can only help) when you are fully enlightened?
Would you consider by starting to help (even it is just a very very small and insignificant) to be sort of practicing (or learning) or as a mean to strengthen the aspiration to help other when enlightened.
Does all who wish to go Pureland, is to get enlightenment and help other or just be there forever?
Some personal merits are required too, for birth in Pureland. As such, it is ideal that one does one’s best to help as many as possible here, while aspiring for birth there. Helping others is part of the path to Pureland, to enlightenment. Pureland is meant to be a school for training beings. So, no one stays there forever, though the lifespan there is more than enough for attaining enlightenment as a Bodhisattva… before returning to Samsara to become a Buddha. ^_^
I’m happy to have discovered this site.
I want to be a Buddha, who is full of wisdom and compassion. It’s never easy to save all beings but if it does happen that all beings have been saved, that will definitely be a happy ending coz no more suffering (dukkha).
It doesn’t matter if I can’t be a Buddha in this lifetime at least I’m moving forward to that direction and I’m enjoying that. Life is a journey not destination.
My take is, since the poll is asking “What do you wish to attain” and not “What do you think you can attain”, I would want to ‘come back’ as an enlightened being. This answer may sound very ambitious, but whether we achieve it or not is another story — the point is we start by aiming high, so as to motivate us to put in all the effort we can. But ultimately whether we achieve it or not, the point is at least we’ve done our best.
In my limited view, our biggest obstacle in spiritual progress is we do not completely believe we are Buddha, or we can even be Buddha.
A particular quote by His Holiness the late 16th Karmapa had especially moved me. He said to his disciple Tai Situ Rinpoche that, “When you go around and teach people, let them know that they are the shrine of the Buddha. The Buddha’s shrine is within them. Let them know that.”
It is only because we are Buddha in essence, that we have Buddha nature, that we can purify our negativities and accumulate merits to progress along the spirtitual path. If we don’t have this ground, whatever we do will be completely useless. But it’s our deep obscurations which is why we’ve serious doubts in this Buddha nature, in that we can become a Buddha, which is also why we can’t progress very far. And obscurations gave rise to more obscurations, thus stacking them so high, our minds are utterly blocked.
So perhaps, we should just stop fulfilling our own limited prophesy and really work hard and smart to unleash our full potential…
More comments in http://www.peacenirvana.blogspot.com
Agree! We ought to aim high, so that we will hit higher, even if we miss the target… though we should also make sure we can aim for something steady, safe and achievable by the end of this life too. E.g. If we cannot become an Arahat, Bodhisattva or Buddha in this lifetime, we should at least to ensure we can be a stream-winner and/or reach Pureland (whereupon perfect enlightenment and ability to help others with better means is attainable).
(But that’s just my choice, though there are also many great masters like Drubwang Rinpoche also strongly urge us to go Pureland.) Amituofo 🙂
Hi Kim, Welcome!
Interesting … 🙂
What we think, we become. — Buddha
Pureland to me, I would think it is a good “pacifierâ€. When people approach death, there is fear – fear of the unknown. The journey after death is a big ? mark. What is like? Will I be alone? Is there any helps? It will be worst for those who aren’t independent at all in this life. One of the reasons why some still struggle and refuse to let go during the dying process, because of that fear.
The journey after death is very different from going for a tour, where we know our destination, how to get there, tour guide or tour group is with us, there is someone/something to turn too just in case even on free & easy.
But having a pureland, it eases some of the fears and also maybe able to have a peaceful death. And to those who surviving, it makes them feel better that their love one goes to a good place rather don’t know where …
But Pureland, easy to go meh?
I read from the book about Shinran – “Going is easy but few are there!†from the book “You were born for a reason – The real purpose of life†by Kentetsu Takamoi
Amida Vow + Faith = Pureland??? Or
Amida Vow + Faith + something else = Pureland???
Going is easy, because Amida Vow will transport people there. But few are there, is it because of not enough faith and there are something more to it to ensure going there is 100%.
Or the book is not right?
I once stood in front of Buddha and asked – you are compassionate and you would want to save all. Why can’t you save ALL of us now and so we don’t suffer, being left as it is, we might be committing more negatives than positives and how can we ever get out of these mess!
What are the reasons behind that sentient being are still here? Is it, we need to “work hard†for ourselves too or sufferings have its meaning for us to unfold?