安樂集 1.21

1.21

答曰：「子但聞名，不究尋經旨，致此疑。可謂錯之毫毛，失之千里。然阿彌陀佛亦具三身：極樂出現者，即是報身；今言有父母者，是穢土中示現化身父母也。亦如釋迦如來，淨土中成其報佛，應來此方示有父母，成其化佛。阿彌陀佛亦復如是。又如《鼓音聲經》云：『爾時阿彌陀佛與聲聞眾俱，國號清泰，聖王所住，其城縱廣十千由旬。阿彌陀佛父是轉輪聖王，王名月上，母名殊勝妙顏，魔王名無勝，佛子名月明，提婆達多名寂意，給侍弟子名無垢稱。』又上來所引竝是化身之相，若是淨土，豈有輪王及城女人等也？此即文義昞然，何待分別？皆不善尋究，致使迷名生執也。」

The answer is: You have merely heard the name and have not investigated the purport of the sūtra, which has led to this doubt. One may say that an error of a hair's breadth leads to a loss of a thousand miles. Amitābha Buddha also possesses all three bodies: that which appears in Sukhāvatī is the reward body; speaking now of his having parents refers to his manifesting transformation-body parents in a defiled land. Just as Śākyamuni Tathāgata attained his reward buddha in a pure land and responded by coming to this region to show parents and attain his transformation buddha, Amitābha Buddha is also like this. Furthermore, as the Guyin sheng jing says: 'At that time Amitābha Buddha was together with the śrāvaka assembly; the country was named Qingtai, the dwelling of a holy king, and its city was ten thousand yojanas in length and breadth. Amitābha Buddha's father was a wheel-turning sage king named Candrottara; his mother was named Viśiṣṭarūpā; the king of māras was named Aparājita; the Buddha's son was named Candraprabha; Devadatta was named Jāntamati; and the attendant disciple was named Vimalakīrti.' Moreover, all that was cited above are characteristics of transformation bodies. If it were a pure land, how could there be wheel-turning kings, cities, women, and the like? This textual meaning is brilliant and clear; why need one deliberate further? It is all because people do not investigate skillfully, resulting in delusions over names and the arising of attachments.