Vow to be Born in the Western Pure Land

From the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua’s instructional talks:

Whenever you recite the Buddha’s name you plant a seed in the field of the Dharma-nature. Reciting is also like applying fertilizer, for if you recite a lot and are sincere, your lotus will be a superior grade and the fruit will be superb. If your recitation reaches the level of single-minded concentration, then on the verge of death you will be without sickness and pain, just as if you had entered Ch’an samadhi. You will be reborn in the Western Land from within the lotus which you have nurtured...

...If you do not recite, the flower will wither from lack of nourishment...

_-Through whirling snow on icy cliffs, whitening the sky,
   Red lotuses burst forth today, in bloom all over the earth.
   In infinite layers the Buddha’s light illumines all without end;
   Each syllable of the Buddha’s name nurtures the Dharma-source.  
   In a finger snap the work is done just as you had wished,
   And disasters wrought in lives gone by in a flash are melted away.
   In contemplation, still and pure, find constant happiness;
   Superior persons’ accomplishments in the end are caused to bear their fruit.

...With one heart unconfused you may enter dhyana samadhi; all worries and afflictions will completely disappear as you enter the lotus land and enlighten to the unconditioned...

When born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, one emerges from a lotus and enters a realm in which one is irreversible with respect to the highest enlightenment—a realm where there is only bliss and no suffering. The blowing wind, and the waves on the shore, and the fragrances of the flowers all expound the Buddhadharma. Here one is able to realize the Buddha Way and put an end to birth and death.

The Lotus Flower

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