Jason Espada is a writer and classical musician living in San Francisco. He is a steward of his father’s photography, and the founder of abuddhistlibrary.com. His writing has appeared in Levekunst, Tikkun, Latino Rebels, Buddha Weekly, Patheos, and Praywithyourfeet. Over the years, he has made a number of recordings of Buddhist teachings, and these days his focus is on the natural connection between spirituality and social action. You can find his website here.

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I’ve been reflecting lately on the concept of Paradise, or a Pure Land. Although I’ve had these thoughts before, every time they come back around I am a bit surprised. When I go over this carefully in my mind, two things stand out that catch my attention whenever I think of it.

The first is that everywhere you read or talk to people, the concepts of Paradise are very consistent. Among people in different places and times and cultures, we hear a lot of the same descriptions. It is as if we have a collective idea of what a Pure Land, or Heaven, or a Paradise is (more on that in a moment).

The second thought that occurs to me whenever I think of this, and that always brings me surprise and delight, is that the Pure Land (or whatever name we give it) is available now.  There is, I admit, here an ‘echo’, of sadness, or bewilderment, or astonishment, that we don’t always take advantage of this fact – that the Pure Land, Paradise, or Heaven is within reach.

Mostly though, I think of the characteristics of this Pure Land as available to us all.

Some of the characteristics of the Pure Land, Paradise, or the Heavenly Realm, across cultures, throughout time, in people’s thoughts, are:

Space – there is plenty of space to walk around

Light

Beauty, like a garden, perfect

Great peace
Perfection
Comfort and safety

and then
There is no feeling of time in any conception of Heaven.

There is no hurry in any description of Paradise that I know of, or can conceive of. There is no place to go – we have arrived. In fact, there is no feeling of time, as we know it, in the Pure Land. Here, we are never late for an appointment, or feeling ‘pressed for time’, or like we have to hurry to enjoy ourselves because time is running out. Instead, there is the sense of limitless time available.

This is consistently found in thoughts of a Heavenly realm – it even feels familiar;  there is the feeling of having plenty of time, and so there is comfort, well-being.

There is always joy in the Pure Land. Peace, yes, but also always joy. Think about it.

There is no strife, no sadness, no suffering, no disease, no death (not even the words), no fear, no loneliness, or lack.

I was looking for a word or a phrase to describe the opposite of stress, with all its detrimental effects, and I thought of ‘peaceful joy that is nourishing’ – that is the experience of the Pure Land. 

Often there is the feeling of companionship there too, in thoughts of a Paradise. We feel loved there, known, and cared for, intimately, ultimately, forgiven, healed, made whole...

The sun in the sky of the Pure Land – this is a life-giving vision.

Paradise, Heaven, is always described as feeling like we have arrived, as feeling like home. It is always a place, or an experience of great beauty, and perfection.

These are some of the things that are always in people’s concept of Paradise, or a Pure Land.

In my own concept, I think there is virtue and holiness there. People are not just ‘hanging out’ ,‘chillin’, or partying even though on a higher octave, and they are certainly not engaged in any wrong or harmful actions. Rather, people or beings are engaged in virtue, and that is the cause of their joy.

We might say that this place is peopled with angels, or shining beings acting in angelic ways. This ‘realm’, so to speak, is available as a blessing to the world.

There is praise, naturally. Paradise, or the Pure Land is a place naturally of songs, (the music of the spheres?) and feasts, and celebration; great harmony, friendship, music and dance…

spontaneous celebration and delight...

Perhaps this is a metaphor though, saying it is like this.

When I think of a Pure Land, or Paradise, mostly the feeling I have is one of quiescence, of light and space. But these qualities are there as well - the richness, celebration, and healing; positive, generative qualities.

Of course, Paradise is also a place of awareness – if we sleep through it, somehow it would be less. It is a place of awakening, with the knowledge of beauty, and nourishing peace and joy.

Point Two – The Pure Land is Always Available

No Need for Thirst When Fresh Water is Within Reach

Isn’t it remarkable that we have this expression – we say something is ‘heaven on earth’? The connotation here, of course, is of some experience, far beyond the ordinary, that is all too rare, all too brief. Naturally, it begs the question – how can we have more of that Pure Land, or Paradise kind of experience? The bliss, the peace, the joy of it? It seems it should be possible...

I recall reading something by Swami Yogananda, from An Autobiography of a Yogi, where he recounts meeting a woman Saint of his time, named Ananda Mayi-ma. I remember he described waiting for her to come out of meditation, and then saying that she opened her eyes refreshed from her dip in the infinite. For some reason this phrase has stayed with me all these many years.  I think if we asked them whether saints have anything that ordinary people don’t have, they would answer no, and tell us that we all have the same resource available to us.

This is at once a tragedy, and the best possible news.

If what they are saying is true, that the Pure Land is available, and we have not taken advantage of it, not only is that a tragedy, I would say that it is the forerunner of all other tragedies. It is like the original fall from the garden.

Equally important though, as some sort of cosmic balance to our loss, is hearing that the experience of intrinsic freedom and joy is possible. How can this balance our great, historic loss? I am an optimist, but, surely, this presages every other lasting happiness.

This is why. In spite of our grievously long exile, and imagining ourselves so poor, yet there is a

jewel sewn into the hem of our garment, like the old folktale tells... It is immutably available.

‘’It is not more in Buddhas, not less in ordinary beings’’

say the Great Perfection teachings.

It’s about here that traditional teachings like this begin to make sense: Huineng said:

‘’When one has realized one's True self/ mind/ buddha nature, then all sentient beings are Buddhas.
But if one loses one's True self/ mind/ buddha nature,
then all Buddhas are sentient beings.

True cultivator of Dharma, see not the fault of the World! ‘’

Pretty straightforward, isn’t it?

The proposition is that the Pure Land pervades and transcends all experience; and that it is not dependent on conditions. It is changeless, and in some ways unchangeable – it is always available.

There is nothing we can do to improve this naturally existent perfection, but there are things we can do to facilitate our experiencing it, just as there are things we can do to block or obstruct our knowing this, experiencing this, dwelling there...

I remember Joseph Campbell quoted a line from the Gnostic Gospels that said something like:

‘’The Kingdom of God is spread upon the earth, but men do not see it.’’

And I thought, now, why is that? Why, if all this beauty and perfection is available, peace, richness, and light, then why don’t we know it?

In a talk on walking meditation, Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) said the following:

‘’...Suppose I have a miraculous power - I would like to bring you to the Pure Land of Amida Buddha, or, if you are Christians, the Kingdom of God. But once we are there, how shall we walk? Shall we print our sorrows and anxiety on the Land of Amida Buddha? That way we will pollute the Pure Land, and the Pure Land will become impure. Therefore, it's very important that we can make peaceful, happy steps right here on earth...’’

I think he is saying that even if we are in this perfect a place, if we bring our anger and fear, then we won’t experience it as perfect and pure. To ‘enter’ Paradise, we would need to leave aside our anger, despair, fear, restlessness. In other words, as much as possible, we need to have a pure