- adapted from a letter to a friend -
Question:
I respect and worship both Maitreya and Amida Buddha. They
have their own realms and practices associated with them. I also
worship and respect all Buddhas. What is your opinion about
this?
Answer:
Its good to respect all Buddhas, but we must remember that
each Buddha has His own way of relating with sentient beings.
Maitreya has a different way, and Amida has a different way. If we
want to connect with Amida Buddha we must follow His instructions
from His Primal Vow "entrust to me, say my Name and wish to be born
in my land". Nothing else. So, in order to be born in Amida's Land
we must focus on Amida exclusively, that is, entrust only to Him,
say His Name only, and wish to be born only in His Pure Land. This
is very easy to understand.
Both Maitreya and Amida have their own realms, Tusita and
Sukhavati respectively, where beings may wish to go to. Its like
two different cities. If you want to reach one city you take a
specific train, you cannot take the same train and simultaneously
reach both cities. You have to chose. In your case you have to
chose whether you wish to go to Maitreya's land or Amida's land.
However, the difference between the two realms is that in
Maitreya's land its harder to go while in Amida's Land everybody
can go - its the easiest place to go. But it requires exclusive
practice and faith.
You must understand that to say exclusively the Name of Amida
Buddha while entrusting yourself to Him only, does NOT mean that
you are disrespectful towards other Buddhas, or that you neglect
them. Buddhas are not like ordinary people or children to feel
neglected.
On the contrary, all the Buddhas want you and all beings to
rely exclusively on Amida, and all Buddhas praise Amida's Name and
encourage you to say it. Why? Because the main purpose of any
Buddha is to save all beings, and they are aware that among all
methods, Amida's way of salvation alone fulfills this goal of
saving EVERYBODY without taking into consideration their level of
spiritual evolution. It is exactly because Amida's Path is the
easiest Path that all Buddhas praise it.
More than this, because all Buddhas praise Amida's Name,
when you say Amida's Name you automatically praise all Buddhas - so
there is no need to praise or rely on each one of them
individually. When you follow what all Buddhas praise and
encourage you to do, then you automatically follow them too. Being
focused on Amida exclusively you also show respect towards
Maitreya. The Buddhas preach many methods for those who cannot
yet entrust to Amida exclusively, but their true wish is that we
all come in the end to focus on Amida exclusively. So, any other
practice and teaching which is not related with exclusively
entrusting to Amida Buddha, is a provisional and secondary
teaching, while to have faith in Amida and say His Name in faith is
the main gate of Buddha Dharma, the universal gate of liberation
for ALL beings.
Also, Maitreya was present when Shakyamuni Buddha taught about
Amida's salvation and Maitreya himself entrusted to Him and to His
words. When Maitreya will descend from His Tusita realm and
become the next great Buddha in this world, He will also teach
about Amida's salvation. So, as you see, we come again, full
circle, to Amida Buddha. If you entrust exclusively to Amida Buddha
you fulfill the heart desire of Maitreya and all Buddhas.
Here are a few articles you may further read on this
topic:
- All Buddhas praise Amida's Name - short explanations of
the17th Vow
- Concentrate exclusively on Amida Buddha
You may also wish to know about a unique teaching of Jodo
Shinshu:
Equal with Maitreya Buddha