It is believed to be a place located a million kilometers west of Earth, where there is a Buddha named Buddha Amitabha. They teach that Buddha Amitabha accumulated merit for tens of millions of lives before becoming the Buddha who lives in the Land of Bliss. Mahayana Buddhists believe that if a person chants the name of Buddha Amitabha ten times before dying, then he will be reborn in the Land of Bliss. Ascetics in Mahayana Buddhism, especially in Tibet, must take a vow (48 in all) that if they become a Bodhisattva, they will not enter the Sukhavathi realm and abandon the human world, that is, they will wait until all human beings have been removed from the earth and placed there before they can enter and follow. In all their actions and teachings, they emphasize the word compassion, that is, showing compassion for all beings, especially humans. The monks of this sect do not eat meat because they believe that it is an act that encourages the continued killing of living beings. Why do we need to study some of the theories, beliefs, and practices of Mahayana Buddhism? We need to study to understand this because the Khmer people also practiced Mahayana Buddhism. That is why we see countless stories or legends that praise the great virtues of this or that alms. Even a small amount of alms can lead to rebirth in heaven, living in a luxurious palace. If born on earth, one can become a powerful person with countless servants or wives. Such teachings only value giving alms and do not value studying and practicing the true teachings of the Buddha. It is a teaching that many people mistakenly believe to be the words of the Buddha.
· Story 2: The story of a fisherman (unknown). The fisherman had always been a sinner, killing animals for food from childhood to old age, and had never performed a single meritorious deed. One day, a monk felt very sorry for the fisherman and thought of a way for him to make some meritorious deeds. After thinking about it, the monk put on his robe, took his bowl, and went to wait for the fisherman. That morning, the fisherman, with a spear and a bag of rice, went out to the forest to find animals to support himself as usual. At first, the fisherman refused to give them, but the monk insisted. When he refused, he gave them a bag of rice. Later, when the fisherman was about to die, the Yamabals or Yamabhubals took him to ask him about what he had done in his life? The fisherman replied: I have not done any auspicious things. I have only done bad things since I was a child. The Yamabals threw him into the fiery pit of hell, but he did not burn, and came out as a piece of wood. Yamabal was puzzled and asked for more information. The fisherman, seeing the flames as red as the monk's robe, remembered the alms he had made, and replied that when he was a human, he had made alms of rice to a monk. The Yamabals said, "If that is the case, you will be reborn in heaven for a week, and on the eighth day, we will take you back to hell to receive your punishment." In an instant, the spirit of the fisherman was reborn in heaven, named Anan Lokangsen, a son of the god, 12 yojanas in size, endowed with wealth and a beautiful maiden named Suvanna Orai as her consort. Anan Lokangsen had been enjoying wealth for 6 days, but remembering Yambal's words, he became very sad and went to bed weeping. Suvanna Orai, seeing this, went to ask Anan Lokangsen and told him the story from beginning to end. Suvanna Arai consoled him, saying, "If that is the case, please do not be sad, for the Buddha said, "Even if someone commits a great sin, if he wants to be free from the evil deeds he has committed, he should build a stupa and perform a rebirth ceremony, and then be free from the evil deeds." Therefore, please do as the Buddha says, and you will surely be free from the evil deeds. When the son of the deity Ansena heard this, he was very happy and ordered the construction of a stupa and the rebirth ceremony to be completed within seven days. On the 8th day, at dawn, the Yamabals went to call for the son of Anan Lokensen to come out. At that time, Anan Lokensen turned away, letting Suvarna Orai come out to receive him. She refused Yamabal, refusing to let her husband go. She claimed that: My husband has already built a stupa and performed the ritual. All his sins have been washed away from him, but if he still needs to take his body to be punished, count this one cup of sand until he can be taken away. Yamabal replied: There is nothing left, just count one cup of sand. Then they counted from morning until noon. The grains of sand taken out of the counting cup and placed outside formed a huge pile as high as the tip of a palm tree, but the sand in the cup remained the same, not decreasing at all. The Yamabalas, having learned to count, continued to count, and then they all returned to Yama. As for Anan Loka, the son of the gods, he remained in the gods for the rest of his life. He did not go to suffer in the
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