Single-Mindedly Reciting the Name of Myriad Virtues, Aspiring for Rebirth in the Pure Land

How do we put this bodhicitta into practice so it can be fully perfected? The following line holds the answer: “Single-mindedly recite Amitabha’s name of myriad virtues, aspiring for rebirth in the Pure Land.” It teaches us that the only way to perfect our resolve to attain the supreme fruit of awakening for ourselves and all beings in the dharma realm is to practice on the causal ground with single-minded, undivided focus on reciting Amitabha’s name, which is fully endowed with myriad virtues.

“Single-mindedly” means to go deeply into a single practice, without spreading your attention to other methods. “To recite and uphold” means to take the name into your heart and hold it there, never letting it slip from your mind, thought after thought. This is why Amitabha’s name, fully endowed with myriad virtues, is called the Name of Myriad Virtues.

Here, “myriad” does not refer to a literal count of ten thousand virtues. It stands for all that is, the full totality of virtue. Within the name of Amitabha—this simple sound, this sacred phrase—lies the essence of Dharmakara Bodhisattva: the being who practiced on the causal ground for eons, and attained full awakening as Amitabha in the fruition stage. He condensed every bit of merit he accumulated over countless eons of dedicated practice, along with his Dharma body, reward body, and response body, his Four Wisdoms, his Ten Powers, his Eighteen Distinctive Characteristics, and every other virtue he cultivated, entirely into this name.

This name holds infinite merit, anchored by two core virtues: infinite light and infinite life. Infinite light and infinite life are the very expression of ultimate reality. They are the innate nature of the single, infinitesimal thought that forms the core of each of our minds, the One True Dharma Realm. For this reason, all of Amitabha’s unconditioned, undefiled, pure merit—every last one of his virtues—is condensed into this name, formed from sound and symbol.

Amitabha is the King of all Buddhas, the very embodiment of the Dharma Realm’s store of virtue. Every virtue of all Buddhas across the ten directions and throughout the three time periods is gathered within his merit. This means this single name encompasses the full merit of every Buddha in existence. It is a boundlessly vast, inconceivable treasure—an inexhaustible treasure store.

This treasure is given to us, to be unlocked through the practice of faith, vow, and recitation. Working to unearth the merit of the name is, in truth, unearthing the merit of our own inherent nature. The name and the essence of our infinitesimal sentient mind are structurally aligned: they mirror each other perfectly. The merit of our own infinitesimal thought already holds the full, complete virtue of the name—but for us, it remains hidden. This is Tathagatagarbha: the Tathagatagarbha bound by afflictions, meaning the Buddha-nature within us still entangled in our afflictions.

Amitabha’s name carries the merit of the fruition stage; it’s already emerged from the tangle of afflictions. This is what we call the Tathagatagarbha freed from bonds. Using the merit of this unbound Tathagatagarbha to draw out our own bound Tathagatagarbha is exactly what is meant by “taking the fruition-stage enlightenment as the mind of the causal stage.” When we mine the merit of the name, we’re mining the merit of our own inherent nature. The more of the name’s merit we uncover, the more of our own innate virtue is revealed. When we have fully excavated every bit of the name’s merit, we ourselves become Amitabha. This is the true meaning of the Name of Myriad Virtues.

“Aspiring for rebirth in the Pure Land” means earnestly longing for, and seeking, rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. To fully manifest the name’s merit and swiftly attain complete awakening, rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is the most direct path. This is why generating bodhicitta and reciting the Buddha’s name must go hand in hand. If you recite the Buddha’s name without cultivating great bodhicitta, you will not be able to resonate with the vast ocean of Amitabha’s vows, and will ultimately not be reborn there. But if you cultivate only the generic conventional bodhicitta without focusing exclusively on reciting Amitabha’s name, you also cannot be reborn. This is why bodhicitta and Buddha-name recitation must be held as equally important. This point refers to the conventional, generic understanding of bodhicitta.

From the perspective of the Pure Land Dharma gate, however, deep faith and earnest vows already contain the very essence of bodhicitta. Master Tanluan synthesized these two perspectives as follows: the bodhicitta of the Pure Land tradition is the mind that aspires to become a Buddha. To aspire to become a Buddha is to aspire to deliver all sentient beings. To aspire to deliver sentient beings is to aspire to guide them to rebirth in the Buddha’s Pure Land. This means reciting the Buddha’s name and seeking rebirth in the Pure Land is, in truth, bodhicitta itself. In short: the mind that recites the Buddha’s name, seeks rebirth in the Pure Land, attains full awakening, and works to deliver all sentient beings is the supreme bodhicitta. For all these reasons, rebirth in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is the primary prerequisite for fulfilling bodhicitta.

To swiftly attain the full fruit of awakening, even Sudhana—after he reached the stage of Equal Enlightenment—was guided to return to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, where he suddenly and perfectly realized Buddhahood.