The Awakening of Sentient Beings: Words of Namo Amituofo

The Essence of All Living Spirits

Namo Amituofo teaches us that those we define as sentient beings are characterised by their capacity for feeling, their possession of consciousness, and their innate ability to perceive, hear, and know. Conversely, we often mistakenly label the grass, the trees, the mountains, and the vast physical world as insentient. In truth, however, both sentient and insentient beings possess a spirit and a true self. They are all beings who suffer, and they are all beings who have the potential to be saved and to save others in return.

The Bodhisattva’s Vow of Awakening

The term 'Awakened Sentient Being' refers to a Bodhisattva. A Bodhisattva walks within this world of sentient beings, diligently practising the Buddha's path of self-awakening and awakening others. When a sentient being attains this state of enlightenment, they are known as an 'Awakened Sentient Being,' or a Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva path is one of making vows and then living the vows. When these vows are fulfilled, the Buddha's path is achieved. This means that by living the vows, one attains Awakening, realises one's true nature, attains Buddhahood, and establishes a Buddha-land.

The Infinite Compassion of the Ten Directions

A Bodhisattva may travel throughout the Ten Directions of the Dharma Realm, viewing all suffering beings as objects of their compassion, seeking to help them leave suffering behind. Alternatively, they may reside within their own Buddha-land, teaching and transforming the beings of that realm. For example, Namo Amituofo has been delivering lectures in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss for ten kalpas. This path of the 'Awakened Sentient Being' is the transition from the Great Vehicle of the Bodhisattva into the supreme One Vehicle of the Buddha.

Transcending the Veils of Emotion

Sentient beings are often hindered by the emotions they carry within their bodies. If you can learn to let go of these emotions, your obstacles will naturally be removed. To understand the suffering of others, to vow to help them leave suffering behind, to seek the Buddha's path above, and to save sentient beings below—this is what it means to have true Awakening. Those who are truly awakened will eventually enter the Buddha's path completely.

The Journey Through the Pure Lands

Sentient beings are often trapped by karma and lack awareness. They are obscured by confusion, which leads them to be reincarnated within the six realms of existence, taking on various forms according to their past deeds. The Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, specifically the Land of Real Reward, is the dwelling place of the forty-one levels of Dharma Body Bodhisattvas. These are Bodhisattvas who have realised their true nature. By choosing to chant one Buddha's name to the end, one can break through layers of ignorance and attain the Dharma Body. This journey leads through the various stages of the Pure Land:

• The Land where Sages and Ordinary Beings Dwell Together
• The Land of Expedient Liberation
• The Land of Real Reward
• The Land of Eternally Quiescent Light

In these realms, the three bodies of the Buddha are unified. Within the Ten Directions, the Bodhisattvas of the Four Sacred Realms are those who have not yet fully realised their true nature. They continue their practice until all ignorance is severed and the Dharma Body is fully revealed. The 'Awakened Sentient Being' is one who has begun this journey of enlightenment, continuing their practice until they attain full Buddhahood. Namo Amituofo.