In this Buddha-land, there is a slight breeze that stirs the
rows of jewel trees and jewel nets, so that they emit subtle
wondrous sounds, like hundreds and thousands of melodies playing
all at once. All those who hear these sounds spontaneously develop
the intention to be mindful of the Buddha, mindful of the Dharma,
and mindful of the Sangha.
[In the Pure Land], both the sentient beings and the inanimate
things communicate the wondrous Dharma together, and simultaneously
expound the innumerable methods of the elementary, common, special
and complete teachings. They offer explanations to all beings
according to their kind, enabling their audiences to become mindful
of the Three Jewels -- Buddha [the Enlightened One], Dharma [the
Teaching of Enlightenment], and Sangha [the Community of
Seekers].
By becoming mindful of Three Jewels, sentient beings benefit from
reliable truths. When ordinary people first hear the teaching,
their bodies leap with delight: this is the benefit of joy. When
their vital energy makes contact with the Three Jewels, they are
sure to be able to develop the Bodhi Mind: this is the benefit of
becoming virtuous. Using this to conquer afflictions is the benefit
of destroying evil. Awakening to the Three Jewels [Buddha, Dharma,
Sangha] as one single essence is the benefit of understanding the
Supreme Truth.
At this point the sutra sums up the foregoing presentation with the
line:
This Buddha-land is complete with all these merits and
adornments.
The sutra sums things up again and again so that we can believe
with profound faith that all the adornments of the Pure Land are
brought into being by the vows and actions of our guide Amitabha,
and manifested by his wisdom, and that they are also brought about
by our own pure karma, as manifestations of consciousness. The
Buddha-mind and the minds of sentient beings are reflections of
each other, just as the lights of many lamps both individually
reach everywhere and seem to merge into one. Inner truth as a whole
forms phenomena, and phenomena as a whole are merged with inner
truth. Our entire true nature gives rise to genuine religious
practice, and genuine religious practice in its entirety lies
within our true nature. This is something we should constantly
ponder deeply.
How can anyone talk as if there is another "Pure Land that is Mind
Alone" apart from this Pure Land? If you do this you are indulging
in empty babbling.
This is the end of the section in the sutra describing the wonders
of the Pure Land environment.
[Description of the wonders of Amitabha]
Next the sutra takes up the wonders of Amitabha Buddha himself.
First Buddha poses a question, and then proceeds to explain
Amitabha's name:
What do you think: why is this Buddha called Amitabha?
This sutra teaches the wondrous practice of reciting the name of
Amitabha, so it makes a special point of explaining the name. The
intent of the sutra is that people should develop deep faith in the
inconceivable powers of this great name and its myriad virtues, and
singl emindedly recite the Buddha-name without any further doubts
or diversions.
The next passage gives two explanations of the name "Amitabha" --
as "infinite light" and as "infinite life". The literal translation
of "Amitabha" is "infinite", and infinity is actually
unexplainable. Here in the sutra our teacher Sakyamuni Buddha uses
the meanings "infinite light" and "infinite life" to encompass all
sorts of infinity.
Infinite light extends through space in all directions; infinite
life extends through time and reaches through past, present, and
future. The dimensions of space and time interpenetrating are the
body of the universe. This body as a whole is the body and land of
Amitabha, and this body as a whole is the name of Amitabha.
Thus, the name of Amitabha is the inherently enlightened true
nature of sentient beings, and reciting the name of Amitabha
reveals this enlightenment. Inherent enlightenment and the
enlightenment as it is revealed [through cultivation and
realization] are fundamentally not two different things, just as
sentient beings and Buddhas are not two different things. Thus if
we are in accord [with our inherently enlightened true nature] for
a moment, we are Buddhas for a moment, and if we are in accord
[with our inherently enlightened true nature] moment after moment,
we are Buddhas moment after moment.
First, the sutra gives the definition of the name of Amitabha as
"Infinite Light":
The light of this Buddha is infinite, and shines on all lands
throughout the universe without obstruction. Thus this Buddha is
called Amitabha.
The true nature of mind is still but always shining with awareness;
hence it is a light. The idea here is that Amitabha Buddha
penetrates to the infinite essence of the true nature of mind, so
his light is infinite. All the Buddhas penetrate to the true nature
of mind, and they all shine through all the worlds in the ten
directions, so they all could be called "Infinite Light".
But the Buddhas in the causal stages [i.e., as Bodhisattvas] differ
in the power of their vows, and they are named differently
according to their circumstances. When Amitabha [in his previous
incarnation in the distant past] was the monk Dharmakara, he made
forty-eight vows, among them the vow that his light would forever
shine through all the worlds in the ten directions. Now that he has
achieved Buddhahood, what he vowed has been accomplished.
The light of the Dharmakaya is boundless, and the light of the
Sambhogakaya is in accord with true nature--in this the paths of
all the Buddhas are the same. The light of the Nirmanakayas
[Emanation Body such as Sakyamuni] differs in scope: in some
Buddhas it shines for a hundred miles, in other Buddhas it shines a
million times further; in some Buddhas it illuminates one world, in
other Buddhas it illuminates a million worlds. Only Amitabha's
light shines universally. Thus Amitabha in particular is named
"Infinite Light".
Still, the three Buddha-bodies are neither one nor different. These
distinctions are made only to benefit sentient beings. We must
understand that there are no obstructions among the three
Buddha-bodies. From the point of view of ordinary people, if their
affinity with the Buddhas is deep, then the light of the Buddhas
will reach them everywhere, and always appear to them in its
complete fullness in all worlds.
Next the sutra gives the definition of the name Amitabha as
"Infinite Life":
Also, the life span of this Buddha and his people is an infinite
number of immeasurable eons, and so he is called Amitabha.
The true nature of Mind is shining with awareness yet ever still:
hence it is life. The idea here is that Amitabha Buddha penetrates
to the infinite essence of the true nature of Mind, so his life
span is infinite.
When Amitabha was Dharmakara, the king of vows, he made a vow that
the life spans of both Buddhas and humans [in his realm] would be
infinite. Now what he vowed has been accomplished [in the Pure
Land], and he is given the special name "Infinite Life"...
We must understand that the names "Infinite Light" and "Infinite
Life" are both based on [the equivalent potential inherent in]
sentient beings. Because sentient beings and Buddhas are inherently
equal, those who invoke the name of Amitabha will be no different
from him either in their light or in their life span.
Moreover, given the truth of infinite light, when sentient beings
are born in Amitabha's Land of Ultimate Bliss, they are also born
in all the lands of the ten directions, and when they see Amitabha
Buddha, they are also seeing all the Buddhas of the ten directions.
Thus they are saved themselves, and they can bring benefits to
all.
Given the truth of infinite life, the people in the Land of
Ultimate Bliss are in the position that they are certain of
attaining complete enlightenment in a single lifetime, and will not
be reborn in different forms.
We must realize that there is no name of Amitabha apart from the
mind of infinite light and infinite life that is before us now at
this moment, and there is no way for us to penetrate the mind of
infinite light and infinite life that is before us now at this
moment apart from the name of Amitabha. I hope you will ponder this
deeply!
Now comes the section of the sutra that describes Amitabha and his
retinue:
Amitabha Buddha attained enlightenment ten eons ago.
The life span of Amitabha Buddha is infinite, and here when the
sutra just speaks of ten eons, this is just a provisional way of
teaching. In fact Amitabha's time has been endless, and he has
urged, is urging, and will urge all the sentient beings of the
past, present, and future to quickly seek birth in the Pure Land,
share in the infinite life of the Buddhas, and accomplish this all
in one lifetime.
The sutra goes on to speak of Amitabha's innumerable disciples who
are Arhats, Bodhisattvas, and one-life Bodhisattvas. All of them
achieved their status during the past ten eons. Here the sutra is
really illustrating the fact that throughout all the worlds of the
ten directions in the past, present, and future, many sentient
beings achieve birth in the Pure Land with no falling back, and do
so easily.
Moreover, this Buddha has innumerable disciples, all of whom are
Arhats, and whose numbers are incalculable. Amitabha also has a
following of innumerable Bodhisattvas.
Sentient beings in other worlds who are set in their ways as
followers of the Lesser Vehicles do not get to be born in
Amitabha's Pure Land. But if those who have studied the practices
of the Lesser Vehicles in their early lives turn toward
enlightenment when they are facing death, and make great vows, they
will be reborn in the Pure Land...
Again, the sutra sums things up:
The Land of Ultimate Bliss is complete with all these merits and
adornments.
Amitabha Buddha himself, his disciples, and the Bodhisattvas who
follow him, are all within the causal ground of Amitabha, created
by his vows and his actions. At the level of results, when one is
formed, all are formed. Thus Amitabha Buddha himself, his
disciples, and the Bodhisattvas who follow him, are neither
identical to nor different from each other: self and others are not
two. Thus [after describing Amitabha Buddha himself, his disciples,
and the Bodhisattvas who follow him] the sutra says, "The Land of
Ultimate Bliss is complete with all these merits and adornments."
Amitabha can enable those who have faith and vows and recite his
name to become complete with all these merits too, from moment to
moment.
This is the end of the first part of the sutra, which gives a broad
account of the wondrous fruits of the Pure Land environment and
Amitabha and his retinue, in order to arouse our faith.
[Seeking rebirth in Pure Land]
In the next section of the sutra Buddha urges all sentient beings
to seek rebirth in the Pure Land and to make vows.
This section is in two pans. The first part reveals the supreme
causal basis [for rebirth in the Pure Land], and the second part
extols the special excellence of the Pure Land.
[What is the special excellence of the Pure Land?] Sentient beings
can be reborn there carrying their karmic load with them, and
thereby transcend the triple world "horizontally." [Amitabha's Pure
Land] is a pure land where saints and ordinary beings dwell
together, but it includes all Four Lands [the Land where Saints and
Ordinary Beings Dwell Together, the Land of Expedient Liberation,
the Land of Real Reward, and the Land of Eternally Quiescent
Light], and reveals the four teachings [elementary, common,
special, and complete].
Sentient beings who are born in Amitabha's Pure Land purify the
Four Lands completely, see the three Buddha-bodies perfectly, and
fully arrive at the point where they cannot fall back from their
position, from their practice, or their mindfulness. All the people
in Amitahha's Pure Land will attain enlightenment in one
lifetime.
All these special features of the Pure Land are pointed out in the
next two sections of the sutra. You should study them
carefully.
Now the first passage:
None of the sentient beings who are born in the Land of Ultimate
Bliss ever fall back into a lower realm [i.e., they are
avaivartika]. Many among them have only one more lifetime [to go
before enlightenment]. These beings are very numerous, and their
number is incalculable: they can be spoken of as innumerable.
The sutra uses a Sanskrit word, "avaivartika", which means "not
falling back". [There are three senses of this "not falling back"
that apply to sentient beings in the Pure Land.] First, they do not
fall hack from their position: having entered the holy stream [four
levels of sagehood culminating in Arhatship], they do not fall back
to the level of gods and men. Second, they do not fall back from
their practice: as followers of the Bodhisattva path they continue
to work for the salvation of all beings, and do not fall back to
the level of the Lesser Vehicles [with their concern limited to
individual salvation]. Third, they do not fall back from their
mindfulness: from mind-moment to mind-moment, they flow into the
ocean of all-knowledge...
In Amitabha's Pure Land, the ten forms of mindfulness are fully
developed, and even those who dwell in its lowest level, and have
been born in there bringing along their karmic burdens, do not fall
back from their position, from their practice, or from their
mindfulness...
