Common Knowledge in Pure Land Teaching
淨土小常識
We live our lives Alone and No One else can live them for us.
(continued)
When we reach our near end-of-life retribution, we have to bear it alone. It doesn’t matter if we go to a place of suffering, happiness, good or evil. No one can substitute for you, as it is impossible to replace one with another. This is known as self-retribution resulting from self-cause, or having to bear the consequences of what we do. Only Amitabha Buddha can bear the heavy burden of our karma, and deliver us from reincarnation in the Six Realms.
Thus, among the 84,000 teachings, there isn’t one single teaching that can find a replacement to reincarnate for us in the cycle of birth-and-death. Only Amitabha’s teaching of deliverance enables us to be liberated from the cycle of birth-and-death.
身獨不相代
當臨終受果報的時候,不管是到苦的地方,還是到樂的地方,是善道還是惡道,都要自己去承擔,沒有人可以替代,即使想替代也替代不得,這就是 「自因自果」「自作自受」。除非是阿彌陀佛來承擔我們罪業的重擔、救度我們免於輪迴。
所以,八萬四千無量法門,除了彌陀救度的法門能夠使我們脫離生死輪迴之外,沒有一個法門、沒有一個人能夠代替我們的生死輪迴。
Namo Amituofo!
