beast. Why are there so many hungry ghosts in hell? Merely because of wrong thoughts. Think of the devil, and you will become a devil; think of Buddha, and you will be transformed into Buddha. Would you prevent the six grades of the metempsychosis? There is no other method but to think of Buddha. If you will not think of Buddha, you will lose a human body, and for ten thousand ages not be able to regain it. To think of Buddha, and yet not be delivered from alternate births and deaths—it is impossible. If men pray to Buddha, and yet do not become Buddhas, the error is not in Buddha; it is because the mouth prays, and not the mind. We must have Buddha in the mouth, and Buddha in the mind—neither of these can be dispensed with.
"But it may be said, there are thousands and myriads of Buddhas, why then repeat the name of Amida Buddha only? The answer is, because he swore that, if any one, in all the ten worlds, should, after repeating his name, fail to attain life in his kingdom, he would cease to be a god.
"The land of his kingdom is yellow gold. Its gardens and palaces are all adorned with gems. It is encircled with rows of trees, and borders of network. There are lovely birds of sparkling plumage, and exquisite notes. The great god O-lo-han, the goddess of mercy, the unnumbered Buddhas, the host of demi-gods, and the sages of heaven and earth, will all be assembled in that sacred spot. But in that kingdom there are no women, for the women who will live in that country are first changed into men. The inhabitants are produced from the lotus flower, and have pure and fragrant bodies, fair and well-formed countenances, with hearts full of wisdom, and without vexation. They dress not, and yet are not cold; they dress, and are not made hot. They eat not, and yet are not hungry; they eat, and yet never know satiety. They are without pain and sickness, and never become old. Enjoying themselves, at ease, they follow Buddha, gaily frisking about without trouble. The felicity of that kingdom may be justly considered superlative, and the age of its inhabitants without measure. This is the paradise of the west, and the way to obtain it is the most simple imaginable, depending on one sentence, O-me-to Fǔh (Amida Buddha); yet the world will not take the trouble to seek this good, so easily attained, but put on their iron boots, and go in quest of another road.
"Swear, then, that you will henceforth repeat the name of Buddha, and seek to live in that western world of joy. Give up books and
