June 30, 2024
Common Knowledge in Pure Land Teaching
淨土小常識
Two Kinds of Dedication (continued)
Amitabha Buddha consolidates all of his merits and virtues within his six-syllable Name, and dedicates this Name to sentient beings. It is just like a father who gives a lump sum of money to his son when his son is leaving home for further studies. This sum of money must include the cost of going there and returning home.
The six-syllable Name is the same. It consists of the merits and virtues required to be reborn in the Pure Land and those needed to return to The Saha Land for benefiting others. Therefore, the Dharma body of dedication is totally within the six-syllable Name - Namo Amituofo. Thus it is said, “ the grace of Amitabha’s dedication is inconceivably vast. It includes both “going’ and “returning”.
The Buddha’s two kinds of dedication take place at the same time. They are really not two different kinds. However, because the capacities of sentient beings vary, they are explained in two different ways.
Amitabha Buddha includes the two kinds of merits and virtues within his Name. He dedicates and gives them to us, so that we can receive all of them at once, upon hearing his Name. However, in terms of the realization of benefits, they are in the sequence of cause and effect - “Going” first, and “returning” later. Thus it says, the benefits of the dedication of “going” are within that of “returning”, so that the realization of “returning” is based on the realization of “going”.
126 二種迴向(二)
阿彌陀佛是將往、還二種功德全部凝聚在一句六字名號中,然後將這句名號迴向施予眾生。
這就好像父親在兒子即將離家、外出求學之際,把一筆錢交給他的兒子,以便旅途往返的開銷,那麼在這些紙幣中,自然具有前往目的地和從目的地返回的功能。
六字名號也是如此,其中蘊含著我們往生淨土成佛和還來娑婆利他的功德。所以若論迴向之法體,則完全在於這一句「南無阿彌陀佛」六字名號,所以說「阿彌陀佛之迴向,恩德廣大不思議,往相迴向利益中,亦迴入還相迴向。」
由此看來,所謂的二種迴向都是由佛同時發起的,所以並非兩種不同的迴向,只是由於這兩種迴向在我們眾生身上所顯現的利益有所不同,所以才分為「往相」與「還相」。
佛將此往、還二種功德完全收入這一句「南無阿彌陀佛」名號中,並迴向施予我們,因此我們在聞信名號的當下,等於頓時領受了這兩種迴向的功德,而無前後次第的分別。不過利益的實現,卻有因果的前後和往還的次第,也就是「往相」之因在前,「還相」之果在後。
因為「往相」與「還相」有這種次第的關係,所以說「往相迴向利益中,亦迴入還相迴向」,藉此顯示「還相迴向」利益的實現,是以「往相迴向」利益的實現為基礎的。
Namo Amituofo!
