The Suffering of the Sahā World and the Joy of the Pure Land

In our world, the eight sufferings converge to torment us. Looking at them one by one, we can see why the Pure Land is free of all suffering and filled only with joy. Here we have the three sufferings, the eight sufferings, 108 sufferings, 84,000 sufferings—even sufferings as countless as the grains of the Ganges. There's no way to tally them all. Life in this world truly runs the full range of bitter and harsh experience, sorrow and suffering without end.

What is the Pure Land like? It's the exact opposite. Take birth, for example. Being reborn into this world is intensely painful—the ten months of gestation are like a prison in the womb. We've all forgotten the experience, but the sensations inside that womb-prison were steeped in suffering. In the Pure Land, there's no suffering of birth. Beings are born by transformation from a lotus flower, and the moment they emerge, they possess the perfect physical marks, radiant light, and dignified bearing of a Buddha.

Our world also has the suffering of aging. As time passes, we go from youth to middle age to old age. When we're old, we totter unsteadily, hunch over, our eyesight and hearing fail, all kinds of illnesses set in. That's the suffering of old age.

In the Pure Land, lifespans are immeasurable. There's no aging there—beings remain forever young. This is because the Pure Land transcends time. Our aging comes from a mind that perceives everything as arising and ceasing; it's this mind of arising and ceasing that constructs our very concept of time, and as our metabolism runs its course, we grow older and frailer.

The Pure Land has no cycles of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, no differences in time—it's without beginning and without end. That's how it escapes the suffering of old age.

Then there's the suffering of illness. Diseases are growing more and more common these days. Take meat, for instance: illness enters through the mouth, and meat laced with clenbuterol is sold everywhere in the world—there's no avoiding it. You might end up eating dishes stir-fried with gutter oil and not even know it. On top of that, we have all kinds of chemical plants and so-called industrial pollution. The water we drink may be contaminated, the air we breathe may be polluted. As a result, our bodies fall prey to countless illnesses—diseases are simply too many these days. Just look at how crowded the hospitals are. When you're sick, your flesh-and-blood body has no resistance to fight it off. You're plagued by anxiety and vexation every day, you can't sleep well. That's the suffering of illness.

In the Western Pure Land, there's no illness. The bodies there are vajra-nārāyaṇa bodies, not flesh and blood. In our world, physical illness is closely tied to mental affliction—when the mind is filled with vexation, the body reacts. The beings of the Western Pure Land are perfectly pure; they have no afflictions at all. Body and mind are fully integrated, so the very concept of disease doesn't exist there.

Our world has the suffering of death, too. Everyone fears dying. In the Pure Land, lifespans are immeasurable—beings will never die.

Our world has the suffering of meeting those we resent. Enemies and people we hold grudges against are constantly in our path, bound to us by negative karmic ties. The moment we see them, we feel uncomfortable, want to make each other miserable, and may even wish we could kill the other person. Running into those we hate is the suffering of meeting those we resent.

In the Western Pure Land, all the most virtuous beings gather in one place. When they see each other, they feel joy in their hearts and praise one another.

Our world has the suffering of unfulfilled desire. People have endless cravings: when they have no money, they want money; with 100,000 they want a million; with a million they want ten million; with ten million they want hundreds of millions; with billions they still want to crack the top ten of the wealth rankings. A bureau director wants to be a department head, a department head wants to be a minister—there's always a point where you can't climb any higher, and that's the suffering of unfulfilled desire.

The Western Pure Land is free of this. Whatever you wish for is granted; whatever you want, you have. Beings in the Pure Land don't have the same greedy cravings that we do, but it's true that the moment a thought arises, whatever they wish for appears before them. They don't chase wealth, yet they're surrounded by it every day: the ground is made of pure gold, their palaces built of the seven treasures, the clothes they wear made of jewels—they live in the utmost luxury, free from the suffering of unfulfilled desire.

Our world has the suffering of separation from loved ones. The people we care about are constantly leaving us. In the Western Pure Land, there are no parents, no family members, no dependents. Everyone's mind is pure and equal, so they're free from the suffering of separation from loved ones.

Our world also has the suffering of the five aggregates blazing fiercely. The five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness are like boiling water every single day. People have to take sleeping pills just to get any rest, and even then they can't sleep soundly.

In the Pure Land, the five aggregates—form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness—are the manifestation of the merit and virtue of Immeasurable Lifespan and Immeasurable Light. The mind is perfectly still and serene. Whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, they're calm and unhurried, remaining in a state of samādhi, perfectly at ease. Even when they act or move, they're only practicing the bodhisattva path, with no emotional reactions. In our world, we have excessive emotional reactions—we're obsessed with gains and losses, we feel anxious and worried—and that's what causes the five aggregates to blaze fiercely, bringing us intense suffering.

That's why there are so many cases of mental illness in this modern age: people's minds are like boiling water, they can't find peace. This contrast between suffering and joy reflects how the Buddha delivers sentient beings—he works in accordance with the universal tendency of all sentient beings to seek happiness and avoid suffering. Every life is a pursuit of happiness and joy, yet what we encounter again and again is unhappiness and suffering.

Look at the very word "happiness" itself. It already tells us how rare true blessing is. The first half suggests a lucky escape—as if by nature we're meant for disaster and suffering, but once in a while we slip through a crack and stumble into a little good fortune. That's the "luck" of it. As for "blessing" itself, we generally speak of the five blessings arriving at one's door: long life, physical health and well-being, a peaceful and natural end to one's life, wealth, and a heart that loves goodness and cultivates virtue. But more often than not, the opposite is true. Six forms of misfortune are constantly present around us, and the eight sufferings afflict us at every turn.

That's why Amitabha Buddha's great compassionate vows have endowed the Western Pure Land with this essential nature: it is free from all suffering, and reveals the full range of joy that life can hold.

With such a wonderful place to go, how could we not strive to reach it? When suffering is at its most intense, our longing for happiness and joy grows even stronger. So we should keep this contrast vivid in our minds—the suffering of the Sahā world set against the joy of the Pure Land. Only by recognizing the suffering of this world can we give rise to the mind that tires of and turns away from the Sahā world; only by understanding the peace, joy, and happiness of the Western Pure Land can we give rise to the mind that admires and yearns for the Pure Land.

If this mind of turning away from the Sahā world and seeking the Pure Land is firmly established, you can be reborn in the Pure Land simply by holding onto this aspiration. This single thought of aspiration aligns perfectly with the core of Amitabha Buddha's forty-eight great vows—the vow to receive and guide all sentient beings to be reborn in the Pure Land. When your aspiration resonates with this great vow, you will surely be reborn there.