Many Buddhists, whether in daily conversation or while reciting liturgies, often say, “May I be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.” Yet in reality, very few truly reflect upon the meaning of these words. After completing the liturgy, they rarely contemplate its inner significance, much less put its direction into practice within their daily cultivation.
Among the three supreme methods, the first is the supreme motivation. Yet many times, although one recites the liturgy outwardly, the inner motivation is far from sublime. One may recite, “For the benefit of sentient beings, I vow to attain Buddhahood,” while deep inside, one is actually hoping to gain blessings and merits through the recitation.
Furthermore, these accumulated blessings and merits are often expected to be exchanged for even greater worldly benefits. Yet we seldom deeply examine what “blessings” and “merits” actually are, nor do we truly understand what liberation means. Liberation means that even the very notion of “yourself” no longer stands. If there is no longer an “I,” then for whom are these blessings and merits being accumulated?
In essence, the three supreme methods can be summarized as sincerely moving toward liberation. If the pursuit of personal liberation is the aim of the Theravada, then we Mahāyāna practitioners should strive toward Buddhahood with unwavering determination. The attainment of Buddhahood naturally includes personal liberation within it.
Many people speak of “liberating sentient beings,” yet the Diamond Sutra states: “Thus shall innumerable, countless, boundless sentient beings be liberated, and yet in truth, no sentient being is liberated.” This shows that the Buddha’s liberation of beings is not the kind of individualized “saving” we ordinarily imagine, because on the ultimate level, there is no “self” who liberates anyone. What must ultimately cease is the mentality of seeking — including even the conceptual attachment of “I want to liberate sentient beings.”
If there is no “self,” does that mean there is no need to liberate sentient beings? Certainly not. Precisely because there is no discriminating thought of “I am liberating beings,” one can benefit sentient beings endlessly and liberate immeasurable beings without limit, just like Amitābha Buddha.
This may sound logically contradictory, yet reality is precisely so. The sun does not choose whom to illuminate, yet it shines upon all things. The air does not decide whom to nourish, yet it sustains all life. The spontaneous display of awakened awareness is originally free from dualistic discrimination.
Once thoughts such as “what should I do” or “how should I act” arise through deliberate fabrication, discriminating preferences immediately appears. As the saying goes, “The Great Way is not difficult; it only avoids discrimination.” Everyone must clearly understand these principles.
If, while reciting the liturgy, one truly understands and is willing to practice according to such motivation, then everything one does will genuinely unfold along the path of liberation.
Dedication of merit should serve to reinforce this direction. Yet many people mix strong worldly expectations into their dedications for liberation from saṃsāra, thereby creating inner conflict. For example, one may first dedicate, “May all sentient beings attain Buddhahood,” and then immediately dedicate for personal wealth and worldly gain. Can such aspirations be fulfilled? Perhaps they can — but perhaps they cannot.
When Buddhist practice is truly explained thoroughly, many people develop a sense of fear within. Yet in reality, whether we fear it or not, there is no other path available to us. Since beginningless time, we have experienced every form of existence and every destiny within the six realms of saṃsāra. Yet for all beings, there is only this single way out.
The pursuit of becoming an immortal or acquiring supernatural powers is nothing new to us, since we have already attempted countless times. Yet, today, we still remain trapped in saṃsāra and subject to suffering. Humanity now numbers eight billion people, and eight billion people possess eight billion different destinies.
Though all belong to the human realm, their experiences differ. Such an immense range of destinies — every one of us has already undergone them. In fact, far more than merely eight billion destinies: eighty trillion, eight quadrillion, and beyond — across countless lifetimes. We have experienced every possible fate and endured every kind of suffering; we have simply forgotten.
Ultimately, life has only one true way forward: the pursuit of liberation. And authentic Buddhadharma has only one core direction: the pursuit of liberation. Everything else is merely a secondary byproduct and cannot become the aim of practice. If one instead treats Buddhism as a means to obtain worldly benefits, and then imagines or labels such a condition as “liberation,” that is a fundamental error in view and a sign of complete absence of genuine practice.
Many people also misunderstand Dzogchen. What they imagine as “Dzogchen” is the attainment of supernatural powers, knowledge of past and future, the freedom to travel among Buddha-fields, and even various imagined worldly enjoyments — such as going anywhere without cost, being surrounded by celestial maidens, and living entirely without restriction.
Yet all these things they desire still belong to saṃsāra. Such misunderstandings usually arise from insufficient study and contemplation, or from never having engaged in correct introspection or gained profound realization through practice. What they truly long for inwardly is still worldly satisfaction — merely clothed in a more “spiritualized” form.
Therefore, when such people accumulate even a small amount of merit, they easily become eager to display it outwardly in exchange for worldly respect and recognition. These psychological tendencies are actually not difficult to observe. The problem is simply that most people are unwilling to examine themselves honestly.
If one does not observe these tendencies, practice can only remain at the level of superficial form — how then could accomplishment ever arise? The same principle applies to reciting the Amitābha Buddha’s name: if one has not even clarified “why” one recites the Buddha’s name, then all recitation becomes nothing more than formal repetition.
Many people appear extremely “diligent” in practice: releasing lives, reciting mantras, circumambulating stupas, meditating, and practicing the three supreme methods every day. Yet if the motivation is not directed toward liberation, then all such practices still belong to worldly dharmas, and Buddhism merely becomes a tool for pursuing worldly aims and perpetuating saṃsāra.
This article is a preliminary translation draft and has not yet been reviewed or proofread by the speaker.
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