General sources of Confusion and Misunderstandings by Amitabha-Reciters seeking Rebirth in the Pure Land by Master Jingzong
淨宗法師談念佛人的糊塗認識
#1 – “By reciting Amitabha vocally with a distracted mind, it is fruitless even if you damage your throat by intensive recitation.” Isn’t it?
Comment: (continued)
You should know that deluded thinking is the original state of ordinary beings. Their minds contain nothing but false thoughts. Even near the end-of-life, one is still just an ordinary being full of false thoughts. (No matter how much you clean a statue made of mud , the statue is still muddy inside. No matter how you scratch charcoal, it is still black inside.) We are simply ordinary beings. No matter how clean or scratched, we are still full of false thoughts, from inside to outside. We are neither clean nor pure.
Knowing and accepting these truths, we joyfully recite Amitabha’s name, and know we will be received by him. We are transported on a lotus platform to the Pure Land, where our false thoughts are transformed into an enlightened mind. Amitabha-recitation that is done by foolish beings like us, is still like a lotus flower that grows in the mud without being contaminated. So, our rebirth is assured, and should not be doubted. Don’t despise your abundant false thoughts, only regret your shallowness of faith.
淨宗法師 - 念佛人的糊塗認識
其一 – “口念彌陀心散亂,喊破喉嚨也枉然”, 是嗎?!
答 (續上):
須知妄念原是凡夫本體,妄念之外,別無心也。直至臨終,猶是一向妄念凡夫(泥人不管怎麼去洗它,裏面都是泥的;黑炭不管怎麼去刮它,裏邊都是黑的。我們這個凡夫,你怎麼洗、怎麼刮,你都是妄念,徹徹底底、內內外外全是妄念,洗不乾淨的)。
知此念佛。即蒙來迎。乘蓮台時,能翻妄念,成為覺心。從妄念中,所出念佛,猶如蓮花,不染污泥,決定往生,不可有疑。莫厭妄念多,應歎信心淺,故以深信心,常稱彌陀名。
Namo Amituofo!
