Dharma Teachings by Master Huijing
There is a Gatha on Impermanence from In Praise of the Rite of Rebirth by Master Shandao, and it says:
Forever busy with all life’s chores,
We fail to see the years unwind;
Like flaming candles in a storm,
Extinguished with no warning sign .
In the six realms our spirits wander,
Never finding any home.
Drowned in the abysmal sea of samsara,
We’re sadly blind to our pending doom.
While sound of mind and fit of body,
That’s the time to learn the Dharma,
Leading us to Sukhavati,
A place of bliss with no more karma.
So waste no efforts while we’re able
To be reborn, forever blissful.
This gatha is a wake-up call for us to seriously consider our way of living and what we are getting ourselves into:
We are on the go all the time, preoccupied with our life’s chores and just wasting our lives away. Before we know it, we have reached old age. Life can be like a lamp in the wind and get blown out any minute. When our life perishes, we are still stuck in samsara - transmigrating in the six realms of the endless cycle. Yet we are ignorant of the approaching doom, and totally oblivious of the dire situation we are in.
Now that we have been born into a human body and heard the Buddha’s teachings, we should seize the opportunity to practice the Pure Land path while we are of sound mind, fit and healthy. We should stay motivated to pursue this Dharma path that leads us to rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss where there are no more samsaric sufferings, but only infinite life and light.
(Translated by the Pure Land School Translation Team;
edited by Householder Fojin)
Guiding Principles
Faith in, and acceptance of, Amitabha’s deliverance
Single-minded recitation of Amitabha’s name
Aspiration to rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land
Comprehensive deliverance of all sentient beings