無量壽經優婆提舍願生偈註 1.38

1.38

These two lines are called the accomplishment of the adornment of the master merits. Why did the Buddha originally give rise to this vow? He saw that there are lands where, if a rākṣasa is ruler, the whole realm devours one another, but if the precious wheel stays in the palace, the four regions have no worries. Like grass bending with the wind, how could there not be a source? For this reason he gave rise to a vow: 'May my land constantly have a Dharma King, sustained by the skillful power of the Dharma King.' Sustaining is like the yellow swan holding its egg peacefully so that after a thousand years it hatches anew, or a mother fish mindfully holding her fry so that passing through shallow drying waters they do not perish. The Land of Peace and Bliss is skillfully sustained by the Perfectly Awakened One; how could there be anything that does not accord with perfect awakening? Therefore it is said: 'The Perfectly Awakened Amitābha, / The Dharma King, skillfully sustains it.'