Wonderful Metaphors of the Pure Land School
淨土宗妙喻
17. Doctor and Patient
A doctor practices medicine to improve and save lives. His targets are people with medical conditions. Only those who are sick need treatment by a doctor. Healthy people don’t.
Similarly, the targets of Amitabha Buddha’s salvation are sentient beings who need to be saved. Sentient beings comprise both sages and ordinary beings.
Sages are already freed from the cycle of life and death in the six realms. Even without Amitabha’s deliverance, they will not commit evil offenses and accrue bad karma. Ordinary beings, on the other hand, need to be saved because they commit karmic offenses and suffer endlessly. They need to be rescued from samsara.
Among ordinary beings, the virtuous ones accumulate merits by practicing good deeds, which help them avoid falling into the three wretched realms, namely - the animal, hungry ghost, and hell domains. Conversely, those who practice evil will fall into the wretched realms.
Amitabha Buddha, with unconditional compassion, offers his special mercy to those who commit sins and suffer ceaseless torments in the three wretched realms.
17. 醫病喻
就像醫生立志行醫濟世,他所要醫治的,是不是有病的人?也唯有生病的人才需要醫生,健康的人倒不需要醫生。
同樣的,阿彌陀佛所要救度的對象,正是需要被救度的眾生。
眾生中有聖人也有凡夫,聖人已經脫離六道生死輪迴,即使沒有阿彌陀佛的救度,也不至於去造罪造業、受苦受難;唯有凡夫,因為會造業造罪、受苦受難、永遠輪迴,才需要救度。
凡夫當中有善人、有惡人,善人會行善積德,還不至於墮落三途;而造惡之人,他將來必定墮入三惡道。
佛的慈悲,對於造罪造惡、會墮入三惡道受無間之苦的眾生特別憐憫。
Namo Amituofo!
