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
(continued)
Why didn’t Master Shandao say he was showing us a broad path to establish a Pure Land School? Because the very purpose of the Pure Land Path is to reinstate the true essence of the Dharma teaching of the Pure Land Path. It is not to satisfy any ego driven desire to be the leader of a sect. Seeing that the Easy Path was being blocked by various barricades, Master Shandao established some systematic principles to help practitioners see the pure nature of this Dharma path. His teachings are pristine. His aim was to remove all the unnecessary impediments caused by false views. He was there to make the Easy Path a very wide and
accessible one for all.
Strictly speaking, Master Shandao’s Pure Land principles are not confined to any sect or school. The Pure Land School is categorized as one of the eight Mahayana schools of Buddhism according to its teachings and specifications of practice.
However, Amitabha’s name benefits not just practitioners of the Pure Land School, nor just Buddhists. It benefits sentient beings in the ten directions. It simply manifests itself as a Dharma school. According to the principles of the Pure Land School, the name of Amitabha Buddha belongs to the entire race of human beings. The teaching of the Pure Land School is universal and applicable to all.
Master Shandao’s opening remark of “Let me show you the broad path to the Pure Land” means just that.
14. 推土機喻: 今乘二尊教,廣開淨土門 (續)
為什麼不說「廣開淨土宗」呢? 善導大師說「廣開淨土門」,沒有說開淨土宗,怎麼說這是開宗呢?那是因為,開宗的目的就是要「廣開淨土門」,而不是為了開立宗派。是因為淨土門給閉住了,所以要通過這一系統的理論,使淨土法門恢復本來面貌。這也顯示出善導大師教法的純正性,沒有自我的東西,只是恢復阿彌陀佛淨土法門的本來面貌;就是淨土門被不正確知見堵塞住了,所以來「廣開淨土門」。
真正說起來,善導大師的淨土思想是不可以宗派來局限的。按宗派的理論、規範來說,淨土宗算是八大宗派當中一宗派;其實,阿彌陀佛名號不是僅僅屬於淨土宗的,也不是僅僅屬於佛教徒的,而是屬於十方眾生 的。不過是以一個形式開顯出來,就說是立宗了。按淨土宗教義,真正說起來,阿彌陀佛名號是全人類的,是一切眾生共通的教法:「廣開淨土門」能顯示這樣的意思。
Namo Amituofo!
