Jan 16, 2020
An excerpt from the Chapter on the Meaning of the Non-meditative Virtues in the Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra
善導大師語錄
《觀經疏》〈散善義〉二河白道喻:
Re Master Shandao’s Parable of Two Rivers and a White Path
The voice calling out from the eastern bank and exhorting the traveler to go forward to the West is the Buddha Shakyamuni. The traveler hearing the voice represents all sentient beings blessed with the karmic conditions to hear and find Shakyamuni’s teachings, even though the Buddha is no longer in the world and we cannot see him.
The voice calling out from the western bank is the Buddha Amitabha, expressing his wish to deliver all beings through his Vow.
言「東岸聞人聲勸遣,尋道直西進」者,即喻釋迦已滅, 後人不見,由有教法可尋,即喻之如聲也。
言「西岸上有人喚」者,即喻彌陀願意也。
Namo Amituofo!
