A Discussion on Excerpts from the Scriptures of the Pure Land School
淨土宗精要法語討論
08. Amitabha’s 22nd Vow in the Infinite Life Sutra
“If, when I achieve Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas from other Buddha Lands are reborn in my land, they shall definitely attain the utmost stage of being one lifetime removed from Buddhahood. In addition, there are those who originally vowed to manifest freely for the benefit of sentient beings. Fortified by the armor of the “ the Great Vow” , those Bodhisattvas shall accumulate roots of virtue and deliver all beings. They shall - tour Buddha Lands, carry out Bodhisattva activities, make offerings to Buddhas and Tathagatas of the ten directions, guide countless sentient beings as numerous as grains of sand in the Ganges River, and establish them on the path to supreme, perfect enlightenment. They shall transcend the ordinary stages of Bodhisattva-practice, and instantly manifest themselves by cultivating the virtues of Samantabhadra. Should this not come to pass, may I not attain perfect enlightenment.”
Question 08.1 People ask, “When Pure Land practitioners aspire to be reborn in the Pure Land through the single-minded recitation of Amitabha Buddha’s Name, this seems very similar to a Theravada practitioner who pursues liberation by their own power. Is this correct?
Answer:
In Theravada Buddhism there are no Buddha-lands or Buddhas in the ten directions mentioned. The purpose of rebirth in the Pure Land is to comprehensively deliver sentient beings. The Name (Namo Amituofo) enables a person who commits even the most heavy karmic offenses to be reborn through as few as ten recitations of Amitabha Buddha’s Name near the end-of-life , to be transported to the Pure Land, and there become a Buddha. This exemplifies the highest level of equality and compassion within Mahayana Buddhism. Among all of the other teachings, though people practice to awaken the Mahayana Mind, they cannot be liberated due to the limitations of their aptitudes.
The Sutra on the Adornment of Infinite Life says, “If a good man or woman is able to hear of Amitabha Buddha, entrust in him, and exclusively recite his Name, he or she is the foremost disciple of my teachings.” Such a person is quite different from those who practice the self-powered Theravada teachings.
(to be continued tomorrow)
08. 《無量壽經》第二十二願
設我得佛,他方佛土諸菩薩眾來生我國,究竟必至一生補處;除其本願,自在所化,為眾生故,被弘誓鎧,積累德本,度脫一切,遊諸佛國,修菩薩行,供養十方諸佛如來,開化恆沙無量眾生,使立無上正真之道。超出常倫諸地之行,現前修習普賢之德。若不爾者,不取正覺。
08.1 問:有人說,「淨土門行者一心念佛願生淨土,貌似只求個人出離的小乘自了漢」,是這樣嗎?
答:若是小乘佛法,總不言他方佛國、十方諸佛。往生淨土,正為倒駕慈航普度眾生。南無阿彌陀佛名號,能令極重罪人臨終十念往生成佛,正是大乘佛法平等慈悲之極致。此是法門之德。修餘法門,根機所限,即使發大乘心,也有可能不免輪迴。
《無量壽莊嚴經》:「若有善男子、善女人,得聞無量壽佛名號,發一念信心,歸依瞻禮,當知此人非是小乘,於我法中得名第一弟子。」
Namo Amituofo!
