無量壽經優婆提舍願生偈註 1.90

1.90

Question: The Karmapathasūtra says: 'The path of karma is like a balance: that which is heavier pulls first.' And as the Contemplation Sūtra of Immeasurable Life says: 'There is a person who has committed the five heinous crimes and ten unvirtuous actions, possessing all unwholesome deeds, who ought to fall into the evil destinies and experience boundless suffering through many kalpas. When approaching the end of life, he meets a spiritual friend who teaches him to call Namo Amitābha Buddha. In this way, with a sincere mind, keeping his voice uninterrupted, he completes ten recitations, and immediately attains rebirth in the Pure Land of Peace and Bliss, entering the Mahāyāna group of correct determination, never to retrogress ultimately, and forever separated from all the sufferings of the three evil destinies.' How does the principle of 'pulling first' stand in reason? Furthermore, having performed all kinds of actions since time immemorial, these defiled dharmas bind one to the three realms; how can the principle of binding karma in the three realms be undone merely by ten recitations of mindfulness of Amitābha Buddha? Answer: You consider the binding karma of the five heinous crimes and ten unvirtuous actions to be heavy, and the ten recitations of a person of the lowest of the low grade to be light, so that he should be pulled by his sins to fall first into hell and remain bound in the three realms. Now I shall measure them according to their significance: the meaning of heavy and light lies in the mind, in the conditions, and in determination; it does not lie in the duration of time or the number [of acts]. How does it lie in the mind? That person who committed sins acted relying on false and inverted views; these ten recitations arise relying on the skillful means and consolation of a spiritual friend and on hearing the Dharma of true reality. How can one that is real and one that is false be compared? For instance, in a room that has been dark for a thousand years, if light enters even briefly, it immediately becomes bright; how could one say that because darkness has been in the room for a thousand years it cannot leave? This is called 'lying in the mind.' How does it lie in the conditions? That person who committed sins acted relying on a mind of conceptual proliferation, relying on sentient beings that are the false retributions of afflictions. These ten recitations arise relying on supreme faith and relying on the name of Amitābha Tathāgata, which is adorned with skillful means and possesses real, pure, and boundless merits. For example, if someone is struck by a poisoned arrow that cuts the sinews and breaks the bone, upon hearing the drum of the counter-acting medicine, the arrow comes out and the poison is removed. (The Śūraṅgama-sūtra says: 'For example, there is a medicine called "Counter-action." If it is smeared on a drum in battle, when one hears the sound of the drum, the arrow comes out and the poison is eradicated. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas are also like this: dwelling in the śūraṅgama-samādhi, when someone hears their names, the arrows of the three poisons are naturally plucked out.') How could one say that because the arrow is deep and the poison severe, hearing the sound of the drum cannot pluck out the arrow and eliminate the poison? This is called 'lying in the conditions.' How does it lie in determination? That person who committed sins acted relying on a mind with a future [thought of continuing] and an interrupted mind. These ten recitations arise relying on a mind with no subsequent thought and an uninterrupted mind; this is called determination. Comparing these three meanings, the ten recitations are heavier. What is heavy pulls first and can lead one out of the three realms of existence. The two sūtras share one and the same meaning.