Basic Knowledge in the Pure Land Teaching
淨土小常識
145 The Relationship between Amitabha’s Name and his Body (continued)
4. Master Honen said, “Here is an example of the extraordinary meaning of the Mahayana teachings. “There is no Name apart from Amitabha’s body, and there is no body apart from Amitabha’s Name.”
The most wonderful body, which possesses a myriad of virtues, is Amitabha’s six-syllable Name. It contains abundant merits and virtues, as many as the sands in the Ganges River. They are all consolidated within the singular practice of Name-recitation.
The huge amount of karmic power within Amitabha’s 48 vows enables the bestowal of a myriad of virtues to the practitioner of Name-recitation. Amitabha’s inconceivable other-power is skillful and expedient, and enables the merit and virtues of even one recitation to exceed those of various other practices.
Upon hearing the comprehensive praise of this teaching from a good advisor, hellfire transforms to a cool breeze. Upon hearing this teaching from a good advisor, a lotus flower becomes a bright sun. It is all due to the unsurpassed merit and virtues contained within Amitabha’s Name.
5. During his causal stage, Amitabha Buddha cultivated the Six Paramitas with a myriad of virtues for all sentient beings, and incorporated these merits and virtues within his six-character Name. Thus, there is nothing missing from the six-character Name, in terms of all Buddhist practices, merits, virtues, and the Paramitas of all Buddhas in the three periods of time. So, itis known as “the foremost and supremely virtuous Dharma”.
Master Genshin praised it by saying, “All practices: in the causal ground and in the reward ground, self-benefiting and benefiting others, internal realization and external functional uses, circumstantial rewards and direct rewards. All teachings, as many as there are sands in the Ganges River, and the merits and virtues of all Buddhas in the three periods of time are incorporated in the Six-Character Name. Thus, the merits and virtues of name-recitation are boundless.”
6. Master Honen also said, “Though there are only three characters in the Name, all merits and virtues realized internally and used externally by the Tathagata, and all profound teachings( as many as the sands in the Ganges River) are incorporated within it. How can we possibly fully comprehend it?”
(to be continued tomorrow)
145 彌陀名體之關係 (續)
四、法然上人〈大原談義〉言:至極大乘意者,體外無名,名外無體。萬善妙體即名號六字,恒沙功德備口稱一行。大願業力所構出,令萬德讓與行者;他力難思巧方便,令一稱超過眾善。知識廣讚,猛火為涼風;善友教稱,金蓮如杲日。名號大利無上功德也。
五、法然上人〈天臺宗人之問答〉:彌陀因位時,代一切眾生於兆載永劫之間修六度萬行、諸波羅蜜之一切行,其功德皆悉納於六字名號故,萬行萬善、諸波羅蜜、三世十方之諸佛功德,六字名號無有遺漏,是故名之為「極善最上之法」。
源信大師判為「因行果德、自利利他、內證外用、依報正報、恒沙塵數無邊法門、十方三世諸佛功德,皆悉攝於六字之中,是故稱名功德無盡」者,此意也。
六、法然上人〈三部經大意〉言:夫三字之名號雖少,如來所有內證外用之功德,萬德恆沙甚深之法門,皆悉攝在其中,誰可測量之乎?
Namo Amituofo!
