Daily Pure Land Practice
Simple Routine for Morning and Evening Practice:
1)Namo Greatly Compassionate, Greatly Benevolent, Original Patriarch, Shakyamuni Buddha (Recite once and bow once).
2) Namo Greatly Compassionate, Greatly Benevolent, Amita Buddha (Recite once and bow once).
3) Namo Amitabha (No need to bow and may recite while kneeling, sitting or standing. Recite at least a hundred times, but if one has the time, one may recite a thousand times or tens of thousands. However, one may only increase and not decrease the number of regular recitations).
4) Homage to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Recite once and bow once).
5) Homage to Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva (Recite once and bow once. Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta are the two Bodhisattvas supporting Amitabha, and together they are known as the Three Sages of the West).
6) Homage to the Multitude of Bodhisattvas as Pure and Vast as the Great Sea (Recite once and bow once. These Bodhisattvas are our peers in Pure Land, hence we must pay them respect here).
7) I vow that the merit accrued adorn the Buddha’s Pure Land, repay the four kinds of benevolence above, and relieve the suffering of the three woeful realms below. May all who hear this give rise to the Bodhi heart, and at the end of this life, be reborn together in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. (This merit dedication represents one’s resolve to attain Pure Land rebirth. Resolute vows are necessary components of practice).
8) Bow and respectfully retire.
Note: If we have an altar with an image of Amitabha, we should recite there. If not, we may practice anywhere, though it is preferable if we face the Western direction when bowing or reciting. We may also recite out loud or silently depending on the situation.
The above is excerpted from my translation of the teachings of Elder Upasaka Li Bing Nan (linked below)
