One important method for drawing closer to Amitabha’s Pureland is chanting his Dharani and mantras. Chant along with Buddha Weekly: Patriarch Ou-I concluded: “Thus the one who speaks the sutra and the one who is spoken of, the Buddhas that can deliver sentient beings and the sen...
Based on this it would seem that only the rich or retired could afford the luxury or a formal long-term retreat. Yet, it is said that even lay Buddhists should do one major retreat before they die. From a previous feature in Buddha Weekly: “In Zen Buddhism, silen...