Value Time and Never Waste It: Cultivate Pure Karma at Every Moment

Our practice of the Pure Land path is aimed directly at attaining Buddhahood. We do not stop midway at the phantom city, nor do we seek to realize the partial nirvana of the Sravakas. If we were to set aside Buddha recitation, abandon the pursuit of Mahayana Buddhahood, and instead settle for a partial nirvana, becoming satisfied with merely attaining the ninth stage of meditative concentration, that would truly be a waste of time.

If you remain in that partial nirvana, comfortably enjoying it without any desire to advance further; if you cannot awaken the great Mahayana Bodhisattva resolve, nor the aspiration to adorn the Pure Land and benefit all sentient beings—then you become what is known as a "scorched sprout or a ruined seed," forever incapable of attaining Buddhahood! That would be a true waste of time; the precious time we have in this life would have been squandered. It would be like investing a hundred million, only to get absolutely zero return in the end—a total loss.

Consider the priceless wish-fulfilling jewel, known as the Cintamani. Why is it called "wish-fulfilling"? Because the moment a thought arises in your mind, whatever you desire, that jewel can manifest it. Traditionally, when a Wheel-Turning Monarch (Chakravartin) appears in the world, the power of his merit and virtue draws forth this wish-fulfilling jewel. He takes a tall pole, fastens the jewel to its top, undergoes fasting and purification, and then prays. Because a Wheel-Turning Monarch practices the Ten Wholesome Deeds, he possesses the compassion to benefit all beings.

When he sees sentient beings lacking food, clothing, bedding, or medicine, he prays to the wish-fulfilling jewel. Through this prayer, the jewel manifests an abundance of clothing, food, and medicine, which he can then distribute to the impoverished. Such a wish-fulfilling jewel is truly invaluable. If you were to take this priceless jewel, sell it, and trade it for a single piece of clothing or just one meal, would you call that a good deal? This is exactly the point! Settling for the fruition of a Sravaka is just like trading the priceless Cintamani for a single garment or a single meal. And what if you settle for the tainted, outflowing fruits of the human and heavenly realms, merely seeking human and heavenly blessings? That would be even worse.

Therefore, the patriarchs and great masters constantly remind us: practitioners of Buddha recitation must never seek mere human or heavenly blessings! To do so shows a complete lack of understanding regarding the benefits of Buddha recitation and the value of this wish-fulfilling jewel.

There are even some people whose aspirations do not even reach the level of seeking human and heavenly blessings. What do they seek instead? They pray for more gold ingots in the afterlife, believing that every recitation of the Buddha's name earns them an extra ingot after death. What kind of mindset is that? It is truly pitiful! This wish-fulfilling jewel has the power to lead us to Buddhahood, to make us become just like Amitabha Buddha, endowed with infinite light, infinite life, infinite wisdom, infinite eloquence, infinite merit, and infinite magnificent marks! How could we degrade it into something like that? This is exactly why we must establish right understanding and right views. This teaching is here to help us do precisely that.

If we can hold our spiritual essence in such high regard and cherish our time so deeply, then honoring our spiritual essence means mindfully upholding the Buddha's name in every thought. Honoring our time so that it is not wasted means cultivating the Pure Land practice at every single moment. This is how our minds become profoundly focused.

The mind must be focused; it must be unified and not scattered. When we are single-minded, it becomes easy to resonate with Amitabha Buddha. When our practice of the Pure Land path is diligent and unbroken, our pure karma will naturally ripen and mature. Such is the principle.

Therefore, there is no secret formula to Buddha recitation. As long as we recite with utmost sincerity, earnestness, and single-mindedness, we can resolve the ultimate problem of life and death. Regardless of your level of cultivation, this practice embraces people of all capacities—superior, mediocre, and inferior.

In worldly terms, being slightly clever or slightly dull is merely a trivial difference in superficial appearances. No matter how ignorant a person might be, the fundamental essence of their true nature is entirely equal to that of a Buddha.