Does Dwelling on the Buddha's Name Equate to Dwelling on Suchness?

Question: In the Pure Land School, when we recite the holy name of Amitabha Buddha, does dwelling on Amitabha's sacred name equate to dwelling on Suchness?

Venerable Jingjie answers: Is dwelling on the Buddha’s name the same as dwelling on Suchness? Not necessarily. If your mind isn’t turned inward in contemplation, but instead reaches outward, then at that moment you are only dwelling on the Buddha’s name, not on Suchness itself. You may believe there is an Amitabha Buddha ten billion buddha-lands away, and recite with intense devotion. This is still a form of Buddha-name recitation, but this kind of practice is not grounded; it can easily fall apart, because your mind is empty. When your mind is empty, the power you generate through the Buddha’s name is empty too. One emptiness gives rise to all emptiness.

If you pause for a moment of inward reflection before reciting—“How wonderful! The self-nature is inherently pure. How wonderful! The self-nature is inherently complete.” I already possess the full merits of Amitabha Buddha; delusive thoughts are ultimately ungraspable. Then you turn to recitation, using the Buddha’s name to “rely upon the adornment and the Pure Land of the Other to reveal my own self-nature.” At this point, your mind is grounded. Reciting the Buddha’s name is no different from dwelling on Suchness, and dwelling on Suchness is no different from reciting the Buddha’s name—they are non-dual. Both the mind that recites and the Buddha who is recited are inconceivable. Does that make sense?

If you first arouse right mindfulness of Suchness and then invoke the Buddha’s name, that Buddha’s name becomes Suchness itself—this is what we mean by dwelling on Suchness. Because it is simultaneously empty, provisional, and middle, it is no different from the provisional. However, if you recite the Buddha’s name without first arousing right mindfulness of Suchness, that Buddha’s name is not the same as Suchness. It is a product of your delusive thinking—just a “good” delusion steeped in the mind of taking refuge. But reaching outward in attachment is still delusion at its core; its essential nature has not changed. If you’re reciting with such an empty mind, it’s best no difficult circumstances arise to disturb your practice. If heavy afflictions surface and provoke you, you will easily lose your hold on that Buddha’s name, because it cannot withstand pressure. This brings us to the first question.

Question: Second, when we apply the Three Contemplations of One Mind to our Buddha-name recitation practice, how should we understand the relationship between the reciting mind and the Buddha who is being recited?

Venerable Jingjie answers: When you don’t ground yourself in the nature of mind and instead recite the Buddha’s name directly from delusive thinking, your practice draws on only one source of power: the inconceivable power of the Buddha, or pure other-power. You’re simply reaching outward for a force to rescue you. But there’s a problem here: you have no power of your own to ask the Buddha for blessings, because your mind is seeking the Dharma outwardly. As I mentioned earlier, this approach is very fragile.

When you ground yourself in the single thought of mind-nature, your practice draws on two sources of power: the power of your mind’s inherent merit, and the power of Amitabha’s name. Both the mind that recites and the Buddha who is being recited are inconceivable. At this point, what is the relationship between these two?

Master Ouyi taught: “Apart from the present, singular thought of mind-nature, where could the merit of Amitabha’s name even exist? Apart from the merit of Amitabha Buddha, how could the mind-nature of a single thought be fully realized?” In other words, your mind-nature is inherently complete, but this inherent virtue needs cultivated virtue to manifest. Amitabha Buddha is a powerful supportive condition for this: you need the help of his name to actualize the full merits of the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Even though you already possess this inherent virtue fully, it still needs cultivated practice to bring it to light. And that cultivated practice only becomes effective when it is empowered by your inherent virtue. This creates a virtuous cycle: the power of your mind invokes the Buddha’s power, and the Buddha’s power in turn strengthens your mind’s power. Practice arises from our true nature, and all practice remains grounded in that nature. The Buddha’s name is simply a tool to help you reveal the merits of your own mind-nature. In this way, the Land of Ultimate Bliss is not some faraway realm—it is already within your mind. You use the Buddha’s name to bring it to light, and this effectively dissolves the opposition between self and other. It also eliminates the barrier of distance entirely—this is no longer a question of ten billion or twenty billion buddha-lands separating you from the Pure Land. That is the second question.

Question: Third, how do we integrate the Complete Teaching’s Three Contemplations of One Mind with Pure Land Buddha-name recitation practice?

Venerable Jingjie answers: This brings us to our final summary question. The key to integrating them is simple: first establish the power of your own mind, then connect with the Buddha’s power. You have to plant your feet firmly first. Think of it like martial arts: you have to stabilize your horse stance before you can practice Shaolin or Wudang boxing. Likewise, you must first stabilize the power of your mind through inward contemplation of Suchness before you can properly align yourself with Amitabha outwardly. Start by establishing the mind’s inconceivable power: bring your mind home first. Then cultivate the mind of refuge, and invoke the Buddha’s name.

If you don’t adjust your mental state and recite while clinging to delusive thoughts, that recitation of the Buddha’s name will be hollow, because your mind is empty. Friends, the Buddha’s name itself is not empty—it only has power as it moves through your mind. If the mind that recites is empty, the Buddha’s name you recite becomes empty too. This is where the problem lies. If your mind is grounded and stable, your recitation of the Buddha’s name will be just as solid.