Master Huijing’s Short Dharma Teachings about Faith in Pure Land Buddhism
淨土信仰
The doctrines of the Pure Land teaching can be profound and can be simple, can be enormous and can be little; but, with respect to practice, it is only Amitabha’s Name, i.e. exclusive recitation of Amitabha’s Name. That is why these teachings are known as the Easy Path.
Though this teaching is easy in practice, it is difficult to believe. In the Amitabha Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha tells us in advance, “To share this difficult-to-believe teaching with the people in this world is extremely difficult.” It is a teaching that is extremely difficult to believe and extremely difficult to verbalize. It is because, if you do not speak properly, people may misunderstand it.
The reason why it is difficult to believe is because it is an Easy Path, very easy in practice. Everybody can do it, and everybody can be delivered. At the same time, it is truly splendid, because rebirth is assured and becoming a Buddha occurs quickly. As it is extremely simple and extremely easy, really sudden and really round, those who hear this teaching for the first time may be astonished. With their mouths wide open they say, “What?! How can that be?” Thus, the Pure Land teaching is difficult to believe and difficult to accept.
淨土法門在教理上固然可深可淺、可多可少,但在行持上就是一句彌陀佛號, 亦即「專稱彌陀佛名」,所以我們這個法門是易行道。
這個法門雖然是易行,但也是難信的法門,釋迦牟尼佛已預先在《阿彌陀經》裏說:「為一切世間,說此難信之法,是為甚難。」是極難信之法,也是極難說之法,因為如果說的不穩妥,會讓人家誤解。
而之所以難信,是因為它是易行道,太容易了,每一個人都能做得到,每一個人都能獲得救度;同時又太殊勝了,必定往生,快速成佛。因其極簡極易、至頓至圓,使得一般初聽這個法門的人就會兩眼一瞪,嘴巴一張,很驚訝的:「會是這樣嗎?」所以淨土法門難信難入。
Namo Amituofo!
