The first of the four causes is to think about the realm of Sukhavati: imagine it, remember it, repeatedly bring it to mind. 

Think that in this realm there is the great buddha Amitabha, and he is surrounded by all the great buddhas and bodhisattvas and in particular by the bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani. Actually visualize them there and recite an aspiration prayer for rebirth in Sukhavati. 

We recite [an aspiration prayer] in order to bring the pure realm of Sukhavati to mind, thinking, “This is what the pure land is like. I’m going there.” 

Imagining the pure realm of Sukhavati in our mind is the first cause for being reborn there.

Source: Khenchen Thrangu. Advice from a Yogi: An Explanation of a Tibetan Classic on What Is Most Important. Padampa Sangye’s One Hundred Verses. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, 2015

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The first principal meditation to cultivate as a condition necessary for rebirth in Sukhavati is to contemplate the details of Buddha Amitabha, the Buddha who created this pure land for us, and of Sukhavati itself.

This is done by studying the descriptions found in the Longer Sukhavati Sutra, or the progressive visualizations of the Meditation Sutra. [Note: The Pure Land sutras are available from the Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research.]

At the moment of death, mindscape becomes landscape.

Source: Holecek, Andrew. Preparing to Die: Practical Advice and Spiritual Wisdom from the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition. Boston & London: Snow Lion, 2013.

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