Wonderful Metaphors of the Pure Land School
淨土宗妙喻
The parable of “Two Rivers and a White Path” by Master Shandao (continued)
4. Amitabha-recitation should be a Lifelong Practice
5.
In the parable of the “Two Rivers and a White Path”, the length of the rivers from east to west is only a hundred steps. They portray the transience of life. During this lifetime, only the Dharma path of the Pure Land can liberate us from the cycle of birth and death.
Now that we have heard of and begun to recite the six-character Name - “Namo Amitabha Buddha”, we are destined to be reborn in the Pure Land at the end of our short stay in this world. This is why Master Shandao says, “the traveler arrives at the west bank in no time.”
However, a traveler won’t be able to reach the other shore if he stops going forward or turns around to go back while traveling on the white path. Therefore, once our aspiration to be reborn in the Land of Bliss is established, we must stay on this path and not retrogress. We must make the Pure Land our ultimate destination.
二河白道喻 (續)
4.念佛貫徹一生。
“二河白道喻”中東西兩岸百步之寬,代表我們的壽命短暫,一生之間,只有淨土法門能夠當生了脫。現在聞到南無阿彌陀佛名號,稱念南無阿彌陀佛,命終就往生淨土,所以善導大師說“須臾即到西岸”。
如果走在這條白道上,走了一半,你停止了,就不能到對岸;你回頭了,也不能到對岸。所以要“一發心以後,誓畢此生,無有退轉,唯以淨土為期”。
Namo Amituofo!
