Sukurun wrote: ↑Sat Apr 13, 2019 2:47 am
Every Night before I go to Bed I recite a aspiration prayer(All from lotsawa website) to be reborn in khechari;a aspiration to be reborn in zangdok palri and a aspiration for Sukhavati.I've heard before that Getting into any pureland outside of sukhavati is very hard if not impossible for people below a certain Bhumi.Could I better Just recite Nianfo and amitabha's aspiration prayer everyday or should I still incorporate the Aspirations to khechari and zangdok palri before I go to sleep every night?
I kind of thought that its best to put my eggs in different baskets so if I don't make it to one pure realm I can maybe other pure realm.
is it useless to pray everyday to go to khechari or lotus light realm and Would I go there if I pray to go there everyday or not?
I don't mind sticking to nianfo practice but I also Love guru Padmasambhava and Vajrayogini so much.
As soon as my mala beads come in I'm going to start reciting Nianfo everyday..up until now ive just been praying aspiration prayers.
I consider myself Vajrayana(In the sence that I believe its a Valid path to nirvana,and that its the highest vehicle) but I don't mind sticking to purelander practice.Both Schools are exquisetely beautiful ;however my main goal is to get to Sukhavati because I can't find a Guru due to physical limitations and I find it impossible to meditate So I really need to make it to a Pureland if I want to progress on this path.
Any Advice would be highly appreciated.
Because of Amitabha's vows, his Pure Land is far easier to reach than the others. So I think the "place my eggs in different baskets" idea is misguided in this case. To put it simply: if you are unable to reach Sukhavati, you certainly will be unable to reach the others.
However, that doesn't necessarily mean you absolutely need to switch to Nianfo as an exclusive practice like Jodo Shu or Shinshu (I mean you definitely can if you want, but if you feel yourself pulled to Vajrayana, that might not be the ideal choice for you). You may be unable to meet a guru in person right now, but you call always practice Calling the Guru from Afar and wishing to meet one. You could also practice the Mani mantra, which would fit quite nicely alongside Nianfo. You could also try the online route-- lots of Tibetan Buddhist teachers offer resources and teachings, including live streams and empowerments, online. You could look up Garchen Rinpoche, Dharma Sun etc. Even if you are unable to do an involved and potentially physically intensive practice like ngondro, you could still connect with a guru, and you can practice Vajrayana more in the next life.
And just because you might go to Sukhavati doesn't mean you can't go to the others. I know this sounds like it contradicts what I said in the beginning about eggs in different baskets, but the thing is that from Sukhavati you will be able to go pretty much anywhere-- including other Pure Lands like Zangdok Palri. So just focus on going to Sukhavati and then you can go anywhere and meet all the teachers you want.
