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If we make vows now, it is not correct that all we can talk about is the life to come,
not this present life ?
There are two senses here. One concerns a lifetime called the present one.
If we vow in the present life to recite the Buddha-name, when we die we are sure to be born
in the Pure-Land.
The other is about an instant called the present. If our mind accords with the Mind of Buddha for one moment,
we are born in the Pure Land for one moment. If we reach accord moment after moment, we are born in the
Pure Land moment after moment. Wondrous cause and wondrous effect are not apart from the One
Mind. They are like two ends of a balance, going down and up and sometimes being level.
Why do we have to wait until our life in the mundane world is over before we can be born in the Pure Land's jewel pond?
All we have to do is develop faiths and vows and recite the Buddha-name right now, and our
lotus bud is already in bloom, and the image of the Pure Land's golden thrones before
use - at the moment we are no longer inhabitants of this Saha world.
