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FACE TO FACE | EASTERN HORIZON 21

Amitābha and his attendant bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara (r) and Statue of Amitābha Buddha seated in Male depiction of Guan Yin, c.
Mahāsthāmaprāpta (l) meditation. Borobudur, Java, Indonesia. 1025 Northern Song Dynasty,
China.

Pure Land soteriology teaches that by calling upon rites and rituals prevent the spiritual seeker from
the name of Amitābha Buddha, one can erase one’s attaining the first stage of sainthood (śrotāpanna).
bad actions. Doesn’t this concept go against the very But in Mahāyāna Buddhism, there is much emphasis
essence of the law of karma where no one can purify on rituals and ceremonies. Why are they important
one’s karma except oneself? in Mahāyāna Buddhism?

Reciting Amitābha Buddha’s name with single-minded Rituals express resolution and faith, in spiritual or
focus can lead to samadhi. If the person is sincere and worldly matters of concern. Chanting and meditation
can meditate on the name of Amitābha Buddha with are two of the most known rituals associated with the
single-mindedness, the strength of Amitābha Buddha religion of Buddhism. Mahāyāna Buddhism, for example
will guide the person to be reborn, by transformation came to China during the Eastern Han Dynasty. During
into a lotus flower, in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, even the two thousand years of Chinese Buddhism, the
though he or she may still be burdened with karma. repentance practice has been combined with the local
There is no regression from the Pure Land into the Chinese culture and etiquettes, and gradually shaped
wheel of rebirth because one continues to practice into ritualized services with Chinese characteristics.
in order to eventually become free from the wheel of Ritual practice engages the whole person. Ritual’s
rebirth and attain the ultimate bodhi. operative premise is that physical and imaginative
gesture, including the movement of energy in and
Karma is the most crucial element that makes the world beyond the body, will reshape our lived experience.
turn round. It is a conscious action or deed that leads After many repetitions, ritual becomes a performance of
to “causality” or cause and effect, a law of nature, a our deepest knowing of self and world. Like rehearsing
fundamental Buddhist doctrine. The force of such an artists, we hone our expressive skills until our practice
action has to dissipate or neutralized when the right of compassion, wisdom, and wholeness becomes the
conditions surface, or it will be stored in our deepest real thing. We revisit the gestures of ritual again and
consciousness until the time is right for it to sprout again until we gain the force of habit to carry our seeing
up. Observe carefully, and we shall find that there is and being with full-hearted and loving generosity into
no action in this universe that produces absolutely no the hurly-burly of everyday life.
consequence. It works like Newton’s famous third law,
but it applies not just in the physical world but also in The power of ritual does not lie with facticity. The
the mental realm. essence of Buddhism is the law of cause and effect.
We pray to Buddha for Inspiration and Guidance,
It is taught in the Pāli scriptures that attachment to not miracles and salvation. Buddhas cannot save us;