Wonderful Metaphors used in the Pure Land School
淨土宗妙喻
5E. The Metaphor of Crossing the Sea by Ship
When we cross the sea on a ship, it is the vessel that carries us across. We do not need to worry whether we are good swimmers. The sea is too wide for us to swim across and the quality of our swimming skills is irrelevant.
Compared with a worldly journey across a vast body of water, trying to traverse the sea of reincarnation and reach the Land of Bliss is far more difficult. To cross the sea of suffering our only hope is to board the ship of Amitabha’s great vow, and not rely on our own actions.
To travel by air, the only way is to take a plane. Simply flapping our arms will not work, since humans cannot fly.
To gain rebirth in the Land of Bliss, a profound and wonderful realm of rewards, we must rely on the power of Amitabha Buddha’s Vow, since no action by ordinary beings will work. The only questions we need to ask are whether Amitabha Buddha’s fundamental vow has the power to deliver us and whether he has achieved Buddhahood.
5E. 不論凡夫,只論彌陀妙喻之 - 乘船過海喻
再比如我們乘船過海,要論只論坐船,不論我們自己的游泳本領,因為海太寬了,不可能跳下去游過海,不論這一點。
而我們渡過生死海、到達極樂 界,比世間過海還要困難,所以,如果想渡過生死海,只論乘坐彌陀願船,不論凡夫有為造作。
如果想飛天,只論坐飛機,不論我們自己揮動雙臂,因為我們本身沒有這個力量。
往生到如此高妙的極樂報土,只論阿彌陀佛,不能論我們凡夫。所以,要看就看阿彌陀佛,他有沒有這個願力,他有沒有成佛。
Namo Amituofo!
