Common Knowledge in Pure Land Teaching
淨土小常識
Great Kindness and Great Compassion -
Great compassion can bring sentient beings joy, and great kindness can relieve sentient beings of their sufferings.
If it is truly “great”, it has no limit and no bottom line. It must not be limited to sacred beings; but, also include ordinary beings, monastics, householders, good people, and also bad people. All of them must be delivered! Only then can it be called “relieving suffering and giving joy”. If the teaching cannot relieve us from suffering and give us joy, it is not the teaching of great kindness and great compassion.
Among all of the Buddhist teachings of this era, the one teaching that thoroughly and absolutely bestows “great kindness and great compassion, and relieves suffering and gives us joy,” is Amitabha’s 18th Vow.
大慈大悲
「大慈」為與一切眾生樂,「大悲」為拔一切眾生苦。
真正稱為「大」,必須是無限量的,沒有底線的。必須是無論聖人、凡夫, 出家、在家,甚至善人、惡人,都能夠得到救度的,才能稱為「拔苦與樂」。有所不能「拔苦與樂」,這個法就不稱為大慈大悲的法。
整個一代佛教,能徹底地、絕對地被稱為是「大慈大悲、拔苦與樂」的法門, 就是阿彌陀佛第十八願的法門。
Namo Amituofo!
