Aspirants wishing to be reborn in the Pure Land all desire a pure mind. Unfortunately, many misunderstand what a pure mind truly entails and how to attain it.

      Those unaware of how to cultivate a pure mind often struggle with their deluded minds filled with greed and anger, hoping to purify them - much like trying to cook rice from sand. 

       Attempting to cook rice from sand is delusional enough. If our emotions fluctuate depending on how well the sand is “cooked,” isn’t that even more foolish? People who worry whether their greedy, angry and deluded minds are pure or not are just as foolish.

       Master Shandao, in his fable “Metaphor of the Two Rivers and a White Path” from the Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra, said that “a pure aspiration for rebirth in the Pure Land can arise from the greed and anger within sentient beings.” This offers two key insights.

1. 1.  Just as the narrow white path lies between water and fire, greed and anger can coexist with purity. Rather than hindering purity, these passions can even facilitate the emergence of a pure mind.
   2.  The aspiration for rebirth is itself a manifestation of a pure mind. The word ‘pure’ in the phrase “a pure aspiration for rebirth in the Pure Land” indicates that the mind aspiring for rebirth is pure. This pure mind is not inherent in ordinary beings in the Saha world. Ordinary beings’ minds are mired in cravings for the five desires - wealth, sensual pleasure, fame, gluttony, and sloth. Amitabha Buddha promises to deliver those who aspire to be reborn in his Pure Land in his Eighteenth Vow. Thus, the aspiration for rebirth arises when the mind of Amitabha enters our minds, becoming our aspiration.

       In summary, the aspiring mind for rebirth is entirely the mind of Amitabha Buddha. The Buddha’s mind is always pure, which is why it is referred to as the “pure aspiration for rebirth.” There is no separate pure mind apart from this aspiration; rather, the pure aspiration itself is the pure mind.

       By reciting Amitabha’s name with this pure Buddha mind, one will inevitably be reborn in his land and become a Buddha, despite the constant surge of afflictions!

(Translated by the Pure Land School Translation Team;
edited by Householder Fojin)