Every year, the 17th day of the 11th month on the lunar calendar is Amitabha’s birthday. However, Amitabha became a Buddha long ago, so long ago it is impossible to estimate and there is no historical record. In this case, why do we have a date for Amitabha’s birthday? Similarly, since it was long ago, how is it that we know Amitabha Buddha’s predecessor was Bodhisattva Dharmakara? Where did the story about Amitabha becoming a Buddha come from?
The Story of Amitabha Buddha’s Birth
The 17th day of the 11th month on the lunar calendar is actually the birthday of Zen Master Yongming Yanshou, a monk in the Five Dynasties and early Song Dynasty. Yongming Yanshou, also known as Zen Master Yongming, has been regarded as the manifestation of Amitabha since the Ming Dynasty. Interestingly, it is clear that Zen Master Yongming lived during the Five Dynasties and early Song Dynasty, but why did he not become the incarnation of Amitabha in the Five Dynasties and early Song Dynasty, but in the Ming Dynasty? In particular, there was a time gap of more than 400 years between the time he lived and when Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty. How did Zen Master Yongming travel through 400 years of time and space to the Ming Dynasty and become the incarnation of Amitabha Buddha? Isn’t this because Master Hanshan [1] wrote the book Master Hanshan’s Sleepwalking Collection in which there is such a story [2]? What exactly did Master Hanshan write?
Around 950 AD, King Zhongyi of the Wuyue Kingdom celebrated his birthday by holding a meeting for monks at Yongming Temple to make offerings to the monks from all directions. After being invited by the king, many monks came to Yongming Temple to accept the offerings. One of them was a long-eared monk wearing ragged clothes and covered in scabies. Without the king’s invitation, he sat in a VIP seat, which stunned and disgusted everyone present. After seeing him, King Zhongyi was very unhappy and sent someone to drive the long-eared monk out of Yongming Temple.
When the meeting was over, King Zhongyi asked Zen Master Yongming, “There were so many monks here today. I wonder if any of them is the incarnation of Buddha?”
Zen Master Yongming said, “Yes, the monk with long ears is the incarnation of Buddha Dipankara.”
Hearing this, King Zhongyi was filled with deep remorse and regret, thinking that not only had he disrespected the monk, but he even drove him out of the temple! In order to express his sincere repentance, he personally went to find the incarnation of Buddha Dipankara and, while bowing, he said, “My apologies! My mortal eyes didn’t recognize you, so I came here to repent to Buddha Dipankara and ask for forgiveness.”
At that moment, Buddha Dipankara only said one sentence, “Amitabha is chatty (talkative).” Then he died.
When people heard this, they were confused. Clearly, the person who revealed the identity of Buddha Dipankara was Zen Master Yongming, but why did Buddha Dipankara blame Amitabha for his chattiness? However, King Zhongyi was not stupid. He knew at once that Buddha Dipankara implied that Amitabha was Zen Master Yongming. After hearing the words of Buddha Dipankara, Zhongyi immediately went back to Yongming Temple to find Amitabha. As soon as he entered the temple gate, he heard that Zen Master Yongming was also dead.
This story led people to regard Zen Master Yongming as the incarnation of Amitabha Buddha. Since Master Hanshan named this book “Sleepwalking Collection”, it is difficult for ordinary people to understand where the contents of the book came from. However, since Master Hanshan wrote this story, people regarded Zen Master Yongming as the incarnation of Amitabha Buddha and naturally set his birthday as Amitabha’s birthday.
How Did Bodhisattva Dharmakara Cultivate Amitabha Buddha?
If the above story is more like a legend, then the story of Amitabha becoming a Buddha is indeed what Buddha said in the “Sutra on Contemplation of Amitabha Buddha”. According to the sutra, a long time ago, during the life of Buddha Lokeshvararaja, there was a king who rejoiced in his heart after hearing Buddhadharma and initiated an extreme determination to practice, and even renounced his throne to become a monk under the guidance of Lokeshvararaja, taking the dharma name of Dharmakara.
Dharmakara specialized in the bodhisattva way. He had superior intelligence and was determined to self-cultivate. His faith, understanding, and memory in Buddhism couldn’t be matched by anyone else. In addition, he made a vow to become a Buddha, hoping to relieve the pain of all sentient beings and establish Buddhist worlds. So, he asked Lokeshvararaja to explain the wonderful scenery of each Buddha world, so as to serve as a reference for his future establishment of Buddhist worlds.
At the request of Dharmakara, Lokeshvararaja showed the vast and solemn appearance of 21 billion Buddhist worlds. After learning about the purity and beauty of each Buddhist world, Dharmakara made 48 supreme vows and said to Lokeshvararaja, “I have made vows that are unsurpassed in the world. I will definitely achieve the supreme way. If the above vows cannot be fulfilled, I will not become a Buddha.” [3] “If I become a Buddha in the future, my name will be Amitabha. All sentient beings will be reborn in bliss as long as they hear my name, believe in it with joy, and practice according to Buddhist rules.” [4]
Dharmakara was able to self-cultivate Amitabha Buddha because he was willing to give up his worldly glory and wealth, and because he made and fulfilled the 48 vows through his great compassion and merits.
There is a scripture in the “Sutra on Contemplation of Amitabha Buddha”: “His faith, understanding, and memory in Buddhism were unsurpassed in the world.” We can see how firm Dharmakara’s “faith” was from this scripture. From the 48 vows that Dharmakara made to save all sentient beings, we know how generous his “wishes” were. From his vow that he wouldn’t become a Buddha until he fulfilled the 48 great vows, we know that he took “action” to fulfill his vows. To summarize, it is impossible to become a Buddha with only faith and vows but no action.
Looking for Amitabha Buddha
Do you want to know what kind of Western World of Ultimate Bliss is shown by Amitabha Buddha after referring to 21 billion Buddhist worlds? Would you like to enjoy the scenery of the Western Paradise and explore its unique beauty? Do you want to know what the Ninth Grade of Rebirth in the Western World of Ultimate Bliss refers to? How can people with different abilities and behaviors be guided by Amitabha Buddha and be reborn in the lotus flower in the Paradise of Ultimate Bliss?
To know the answer, you must listen to Grandmaster JinBodhi’s explanation of the “Sutra on Contemplation of Amitabha Buddha”. In Grandmaster JinBodhi’s simple explanations, you will “see” the Western Pure Land shown by Amitabha Buddha, visualize the wonderful scenery of the Western World of Ultimate Bliss and get close to Amitabha. Through the 16 visualization steps taught by the Buddha, you will experience step by step the special beauty of the Western Pure Land more deeply. Now, please follow Grandmaster JinBodhi to enter the “Sutra on Contemplation of Amitabha Buddha” to find Amitabha Buddha and wander in the Western World of Ultimate Bliss!
▼ Do you want to listen to Grandmaster JinBodhi’s explanation of the “Sutra on Contemplation of Amitabha Buddha”? Please click here to watch the video. ▼
[1] Master Hanshan Deqing, one of the four eminent monks in the late Ming Dynasty, was an important figure in the revival of Zen Buddhism during the Ming Dynasty.
[2] In the third year of the Qianyou administration, King Zhongyi of the State of Wu-Yue celebrated his birthday by offering meals to monks in Yongming Temple, where Zen Master Yongming taught Buddhadharma to the world at this time. A long-eared monk attended the event. Sitting in the premium seats, he wore ragged clothes and was covered with scabies. After seeing him, everyone was disgusted by him, and King Zhongyi was unhappy and had the long-eared monk driven out of the temple. Then, the long-eared monk returned to his place in a mountain nearby and sat at ease in a room. After the event, King Zhongyi asked Zen Master Yongming, “There were so many monks here today. I wonder if any of them was the incarnation of Buddha?” Zen Master Yongming answered, “Yes, the monk with long ears is the incarnation of Buddha Dipankara.” Hearing this, King Zhongyi felt deep remorse and personally went to find the incarnation of Buddha Dipankara and said, “My apologies! I have mortal eyes and didn’t recognize you. I came here to repent to Buddha Dipankara and ask for forgiveness.” At that moment, Buddha Dipankara said one sentence, “Amitabha is chatty.” Then he died. Zhongyi immediately returned to Yongming Temple to find Amitabha, but Zen Master Yongming, who was Amitabha, had also died. Therefore, King Zhongyi built a new temple to store Zen Master Yongming’s body, which has been protected well until now. (Sleepwalking Collection. Volume XXIV. “The Origin of the Long Ear Buddha Dipankara in Faxiang Temple”.)
[3] The original scripture: “My vows are unsurpassed in the world, and I will definitely achieve the supreme way. If my vows cannot be fulfilled, I will not become a Buddha.”
[4] The original scripture: “If I become enlightened, my name will be Infinite Life and all sentient beings who hear this name will come to my World of Ultimate Bliss.”
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