How A Great Beauty Realised Greater Beauty

Khema, the chief consort of King Bimbisara, was said to be extremely beautiful. Revelling in her own exquisite beauty, she was ‘naturally’ uninterested in meeting Sakyamuni Buddha, as he was known for teaching that external beauty is impermanent – a truth she rejected. However, as the King was a devoted follower of the Buddha, he wanted her to learn from him. Using a skilful means to trick her to visit the monastery the Buddha was residing in, he got musicians to sing praises of the natural beauty of the grove the monastery was in. Being attracted to attractions sung, Khema decided to experience the grove in person. Seeing Khema approaching while teaching to a large assembly, the Buddha used his supernormal powers to manifest a beautiful maiden fanning him by his side. While engrossed in the beauty of the trees and flowers, Khema drew closer to the assembly. When she caught sight of the maiden, she was intrigued by her beauty, as it greatly surpassed hers. The Buddha then made the maiden age gradually, yet swiftly enough for her to see. Her skin wrinkled, her hair turned grey and her body collapsed in death, leaving a corpse that decayed into bones.

Finally recognising that conditioned forms were transient, Khema realised that the same would happen to hers. If even a form deemed more beautiful and precious than hers comes to pass, how could she retain hers? Her focus now shifted to the Buddha, he taught on the danger of lust for sense pleasures (as they breed spiritual complacency), and invited her to renounce them as they are fleeting in nature. Reflecting thus, she soon attained liberation as an Arhat, and became his first female chief monastic disciple, respected for her skills in explaining advanced teachings. Beyond the remarkableness of the Buddha’s means and Khema’s ability to awaken through it, this story also warns us of the possibility of spiritually backsliding in future lives. In her past lives, Khema already met and studied the Dharma from many Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Pratyekabuddhas. She also made sincere offerings, once by selling her beautiful hair, for getting alms to offer to a Buddha, and made the aspiration to be a future Buddha’s chief female disciple. Despite these and more great efforts, she almost forgot the greater preciousness and beauty of the Dharma due to vanity before meeting Sakyamuni Buddha!

Although with the near miss of neglecting the Dharma, she was fortunate to have had forged strong enough affinity with it, to be able to reconnect firmly in time. What about the rest of us? If we have learnt and practised the Dharma for some time already, we should roughly know the strength of our connections with the Dharma. Seemingly far from possible sudden enlightenment, we differ from Khema, who needed only an appropriate nudge from the Buddha. This is a compelling reason for us to aspire for birth in a Buddha’s Pure Land, where we can always learn from a Buddha and be mindful of the Dharma until liberation is attained – without the interruption of death when reborn, which causes forgetfulness of the Dharma and distractions by merits manifesting as beauty, wealth, status, power and such. As Dharma practitioners of average spiritual capacity, we are liable to repeatedly backslide, making it difficult for most to smoothly advance towards enlightenment in this life. This is why, as emphasised in the Amitabha Sutra by Sakyamuni Buddha, all Buddhas, including himself, highly urge beings of their worlds to seek refuge in Amitabha Buddha’s (Amituofo) Pure Land.

- Extracted from The Daily Enlightenment

Pure Land and back

If there are sentient beings,
who hear of this teaching,
they should aspire,
to be born in that land.

- Amitabha Sutra(The Buddha)

Who has been to Amitabha's Pure Land (Amitabha Buddha's pure realm manifested from his perfect compassion and wisdom for guiding beings to liberation) and back?

How do we know if it really exists?

Well, if someone not particularly special in any way tells us he had been to Pure Land and back, we will tend to doubt him.

If he describes Pure Land as it is already described in the sutras taught by the Buddha, we will wonder what is the point of listening to his repeated description.

However, if he describes Pure Land in ways not described in the sutras, we will doubt him all the more.

Yet, there are especially great masters, such as the 13th Pure Land Patriarch Master Yinguang, who expounded on the Pure Land teachings in detail… because he was indeed from Pure Land, being a manifestation of Dashizhi Pusa (Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva) from Pure Land.

The best proof of this identity, as revealed after his departure, are his great abilities and efforts to encourage countless to practise the Pure Land teachings effectively.

There are some who have direct visions of Pure Land when they practise well. Those who have been reborn in Pure Land and returned after training would be Bodhisattvas, who will never reveal their identities just for attention, but let their Dharma teachings and exemplary actions speak for their worth.

This is in line with Shakyamuni Buddha's strict instructions in the Surangama Sutra, as shown below, given out of great compassion and wisdom to avoid the prevalence of false claims for selfish gain in terms of fame and fortune, while confusing the masses with false 'Dharma' teachings -

'It is my command that after my parinirvana, in the time of the Dharma's ending [this period far from the Buddha's time], the Bodhisattvas and Arhats will appear before beings in whatever bodily [manifested] form may be appropriate for rescuing them from the cycle of death and rebirth.

The Bodhisattvas and Arhats may appear as elder monks or nuns, or as white-robed laity, or as kings, as high officials, as pure youths or maidens, or even as courtesans, widows, libertines, thieves, slaughterers, or traffickers in stolen goods.

Working side by side with these people, in order to lead them to enter samadhi, the Bodhisattvas and Arhats praise the Buddha's Vehicle [to Buddhahood], but they should never speak casually to people who have not yet studied the Dharma, saying, "I am actually a Bodhisattva," or "I am actually an Arhat," thus carelessly revealing the Buddha's hidden intent.

They can only reveal themselves at the end of their lives, and then only in private (to inspire them one "final" time).

Anyone who in any other way claims to be a Bodhisattva or an Arhat is deluding people with an egregious lie…

What I have said is what Buddhas teach. Mara, the Evil One, teaches otherwise.' (BTTS 2009)

Following this rule, when we look around in the 'spiritual marketplace' today, those who egoistically claim to be 'supreme' or 'true' 'masters' and 'Buddhas' are straightaway not even proper disciples of the Buddha, much less to say, qualified representatives of his teachings.

The limitless manifestations urged as skilful means for reaching out include any possible identity other than as enlightened beings.

Back to the opening questions, the truth is, even if there is no Pure Land, mindfulness of Buddha has to, by default, lead to the best rebirth as we ride upon his merits, as there is no safer or more meritorious subject for mindfulness of, especially on the deathbed, than a Buddha with perfect compassion and wisdom.

(Amituofo was spoken of by Shakyamuni Buddha in close to 300 sutras.)

Those who practise mindfulness of Buddha very well can depart for Pure Land at will before becoming old, sick and/or dying; when they are healthy, young and thus very much alive.

From ancient history to this modern day, there continues to be increase in already innumerable records of sincere practitioners who have done so. They manifest many classic auspicious signs of birth in Pure Land while departing very blissfully, joyfully citing the arrival of Amituofo or sight of Pure Land.

Such passing must karmically lead to the most blissful realm they aspire to reach – Pure Land. Some give way ahead yet accurate announcements of their departure dates and times too.

This is very powerful evidence for the efficacy of Pure Land practice because for ordinary beings, with the Three Poisons of strong attachment (to samsaric life), aversion (to dying) and delusion (of the afterlife), it is impossible to calmly and clearly know and say when they will depart, if not, as testified by them, due to having been personally informed by Amituofo of when he will arrive to guide them to his Pure Land. These advance notices are also Amituofo's skilful means to continually inspire us to have greater faith in him and his Pure Land!


If good men and good women hear [learn] of Amita Buddha [Amitabha Buddha; Amituofo], firmly upholds [practise mindfulness of] his name… single-mindedly [wholeheartedly] and without confusion [being scattered], for these persons, when approaching the end of life, Amita Buddha, with an assembly of noble [holy] beings, will appear before them. When their lives end, their minds will not be inverted, and they will immediately attain rebirth in Amita Buddha's Land of Ultimate Bliss.


- Amitabha Sutra (The Buddha)

A Single Breath

The Buddha asked a Shramana [monastic], ‘How long is the human life span?’
He replied, ‘A few days.’
The Buddha said,‘You have not yet understood the way.’

He asked another Shramana, ‘How long is the human life span?’
The reply was, ‘The space of a meal.’
The Buddha said, ‘You have not yet understood the way.’

He asked another Shramana, ‘How long is the human life span?’
He replied, ‘The length of a single breath.’
The Buddha said, ‘Excellent. You have understood the way.’

- The Buddha
(Section 38 of ‘The Sutra in 42 Sections’)