Aug 22

Aug 22, 2017
慧淨上人法語
凡夫入報

The precious characteristic of Mahayana Buddhism is that we pursue not just emancipation of ourselves, but also deliverance of other sentient beings. All these ability and power are sufficiently included in Amitabha’s vows. So, once reborn in the Land of Bliss, we will possess the same wisdom, paranormal powers, and vow power as the Buddha’s, and will go to the worlds of ten directions and deliver sentient beings there. Thus, Master Tanluan highlights the 22nd Vow, and says, “[Such bodhisattvas] transcend the course of practice of the ordinary bodhisattvas, manifest the practices of all the bodhisattva stages, and cultivate the universally-worthy virtues”.

That is to say, cultivation in the Land of Bliss transcends the gradual course of practice of the ordinary bodhisattvas, and practitioners do not need to advance from the first ground to the second and third, and then to the eighth, ninth and tenth ground. So, the Pure Land school is a teaching of “lateral transcendence”. Once reborn in the Land of Bliss, one will directly achieve the Bodhisattva State of Equal Enlightenment.

大乘法門的可貴在於不只求自己解脫，還要救度眾生，這些功能，在佛的願裏面也都具足，所以到了極樂世界，就能夠有佛的智慧，佛的神通，佛的願力，能到十方世界去救度十方眾生。因此曇鸞大師最後就舉出第二十二願，第二十二願就說：「超出常倫諸地之行，現前修習普賢之德。」

也就是說，極樂世界是超出一般修證次第，不需要從初地到二地、二地到三地、一直到八地、九地、十地，所以淨土法門是橫超的法門，到了極樂世界就直接到達等覺的地位。

Namo Amitabha!