Master Jing Jie - Man's Soul Travel to the Blissful World and Meet Brother in Meditation 禪定中遊極樂世界

(English Subtitles) Lectured by Master Jing Jie (淨界法師) from Taiwan. The Blissful World is also known as Sukhavati, which is a pure land of Amitabha.
subtitles:
In Ming Dynasty, there were 3 brothers with the surname Yuan. They were Congdao, Hongdao, and Zhongdao respectively. They were famous at that time. They grew up in a family of intellectuals Their father and grandfather were all officials. The 3 brothers were brilliant. They had been admitted to the imperial exam since they were young and became local officials.
However, these three men were of exceptionally upright and incorruptible character. As such, they were out of step with the bureaucracy of the time. Later, when they reached middle age, they resigned from their official posts and lived in seclusion.
The three were dedicated to practicing the dharma of being mindful of the buddha. According to their biographies, they not only were mindful of the Buddha, but also practiced ceasing delusions and unfolding wisdom (Samatha-vipassanā), which is to practice Chán observation. Later, the eldest brother, Congdao, was reborn, and the 2nd brother, Hongdao, was reborn too. Only the youngest, Zhongdao, remained.
1:00
One day, Zhongdao was sitting in meditation after finishing his evening course. He was sitting beside the window. From the window, he saw the faint moonlight. When meditating, suddenly, he was calm and entered a state of meditative concentration. Then his consciousness flew out. Of course, the consciousness in the meditative state is clear. The mind of meditative concentration is different from the mind of dreaming. The consciousness of dreaming is dull. As he flew out, in the void, he saw two boys waving to him in the clouds. Then he naturally followed them and flew upwards. He kept flying upward till he arrived at a place, where he saw many precious trees. Those precious trees are arranged neatly. A row of trees alternates with a street
2:00
The distance between the trees and the street is very clear and distinct. They moved forward, then he saw the 7-jewel pond and 8-merit water. Various lotus flowers shine brightly. Moving further, he saw many pavilions, big and small. When they arrived at one of the pavilions, two boys flew down and stood at the door. One of the boys said: You wait outside for a minute. While the other boy was waiting outside with him, one boy ran inside. After he went in, came out a man. Who is he? It turned out to be his 2nd brother Hongdao. His 2nd brother said: Oh! You came today, welcome, and brought him inside the pavilion. Is this place the Blissful World? Asked Zhongdao.
3:00
Yes, said Hongdao, this is the Blissful World we are mindful of. The Blissful World you see now is the earth dwelling. It has the earth dwelling and the celestial dwelling. We are on the path of human, so you are surrounded by the earth dwelling. Going further up, you will see the celestial residence where immortals live, which is a hundred times more grand than here. He talks about 3 layers, people was usually reborn in the earth dwelling of Blissful World. Go up, it's the celestial residence of Blissful World where immortals live. Go further up, live the bodhisattvas. When practicing in the Saha World, said Hongdao, though I have strong vows, blessings and virtues.
4:00
Because Hongdao wrote a book: Thesis on the West. He has the merit of promoting dharma. I have strong vows of rebirth in the West, plus the blessing and merit of promoting dharma. However, I made two mistakes in my practice in the Saha world. 1St, I didn't hold precepts very well. He held the precepts impurely. 2nd, I haven't cut off defiled affections. I haven't completely eliminated my affections for the Saha world, so that I can only reborn in the earth dwelling. However, though I live in the earth dwelling, I can fly freely and travel around various Buddhist countries, and I can approach many Buddhas in the universe. Then the young brother asked: Can you go to the dwelling of celestial or bodhisattva? I can travel spiritually but can't really live there, said Hongdao.
5:00
Occasionally, I fly there with my divine power and do some study with them but can't live there. Yet I can visit there temporarily. By means of his divine power, his soul is free to leave the Blissful World and visit other Buddhist worlds in the universe as he wishes.
Then the young brother asked: What do you think is the difference between practicing in the Saha World and practicing in this place? In this place, he said, I'm free from all kinds of defilements and can easily comprehend. There are no defilements like the 5 desires here. You see, we also make efforts in the Saha World but our practice always makes progress and setbacks. As Master Yinguang said: Practicing in the Saha world is like sailing against the current,