Beyond the Clouds

Some people remember facts and figures, quotes and ideas, phrases and poems, while I remember none of that. What stays with me is the atmosphere, the emotional and tonal quality of the place: dark, sombre, shady, cold, and heavy light from long hours praying remain with me even though I doubt I was in that sort of place for very long just as much as the warm, relaxed, colourful, and joyful sounds from a place equally long ago and far away saturate my mind and thus the room that I am in. Well, I wonder anyway, to what extent my own pathos tends to leak out into the room so that all is covered and stained with a longing and wistful delusion that comes from one so wanting and so lacking in the dharma.

I imagine the Pureland to be a room in which the atmosphere is thick with love. In this room, are numerous Bodhisattvas, some are lying down, others are sitting on cushions, and even more are standing up and walking around crying out for for Nyorai. It is truly a magnificent sight to see. All these majestic figures, each accomplished in one or more aspect of the Dharma, still expressing their longing and their love to re-connect with the Buddha and live according to the Dharma.

I imagine myself walking into this room where the ambience is warm with love, so much so that my own longing and wish to be with the Buddhas of the past, present and future feels duly acknowledged as the most appropriate feeling. There are people talking and discourses held which I take to be wise and inspiring but I remember none of that. The only thing I remember is this loving atmosphere.