無量壽經優婆提舍願生偈註 1.74

1.74

Why did the Buddha originally raise this adornment? He saw that there are Buddha lands that have only minor bodhisattvas who are unable to perform Buddha activities widely in the worlds of the ten directions; or they have only śrāvakas, gods, and humans, so that what they benefit is narrow and small. Therefore he made the vow: "I vow that in my land there shall be an assembly of immeasurable great bodhisattvas who, without moving from their original place, reach everywhere throughout the ten directions, manifesting various responses and transformations, practicing in accordance with reality, and constantly performing Buddha activities." For example, the sun is in the sky yet its reflection appears in a hundred rivers; does the sun come, or does it not come? As the Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra states: "For example, someone is skilled at building dikes and embankments, measuring what is appropriate; when releasing the water, he exerts no mental effort." Bodhisattvas are also like this: they first build various embankments of all Buddhas and sentient beings that should be made offerings to or taught and transformed; and when they enter samādhi, with body and mind unmoving, they practice in accordance with reality and constantly perform Buddha activities. "Practicing in accordance with reality" means that although they constantly practice, in reality there is nothing practiced. Therefore it is said: "The Land of Peace and Bliss is pure; / It constantly turns the immaculate wheel. / The sun of the transformed Buddhas and bodhisattvas / Upholds like Mount Sumeru."