Wonderful Metaphors in the Pure Land School
淨土宗妙喻
14. Metaphor of Bulldozer - The Two Buddhas Open a Very Wide Path to the Pure Land
“Buddhas of the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, enlightened me with their six supernatural powers. In accord with the teachings of the two World-Honored Ones, let me show you the very broad path to the Pure Land.” (quoted from the Chapter of Profound Meaning of the Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra)
The above verse from the Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra is Master Shandao’s proclamation on the establishment of the Pure Land School.The gist of this verse lies in the following quote:
“In accord with the teachings of the two World-Honored Ones, let me show you the very broad path to the Pure Land.”
Why did Master Shandao show us ‘the very broad path’ as opposed to just ‘the path’?
The antonym of broad is narrow, or even blocked. The Pure Land path is supposed to be infinitely broad, able to accommodate sentient beings of all aptitudes. However, masters of other Buddhist schools had imposed some very restrictive conditions on this Dharma teaching and, as a result, greatly narrowed the path to Amitabha’s Pure Land. A thorough clean-up of such obstacles became necessary.
Did Master Shandao have to do the clean-up by himself? Not really. He simply relied on “the teachings of the two World-Honored Ones.” Like powerful bulldozers, the Dharma teachings spoken by Buddhas Shakyamuni and Amitabha cleared all of the obstructions.
There are three types of obstructions, namely: obstacles along the path, obstructions at the doorstep, and impediments indoors.
(to be continued tomorrow)
14. 推土機喻: 今乘二尊教,廣開淨土門
十方恒沙佛,六通照知我,今乘二尊教,廣開淨土門。《觀經疏 ‧ 玄義分》
《觀經疏》大師自說開宗之語,即開宗宣言。
就是下面這句話:今乘二尊教,廣開淨土門。
為什麼說「廣開淨土門」呢?不僅是「開淨土門」,而且是「廣開」。「廣開」反義詞就是「狹閉」,狹窄、關閉。淨土門本來是無限廣大的,但諸師對淨土門的解釋非常狹窄,把淨土門給封閉了。所以有必要把障礙通通掃除。
善導大師自己來掃除嗎?不用。「今乘二尊教」,開了釋迦牟尼佛和阿彌陀佛兩大推土機來了,把障礙全部都掃除掉。
障礙有三種:第一,路上的障礙;第二,門口的障礙;第三,進了門之後還有障礙。
Namo Amituofo!
