釋淨土群疑論 2.10

2.10

問曰：《法句經》言，佛告寶明菩薩言：「善男子！汝且觀此諸佛名字，為是有耶？為是無耶？為有實耶？為無實耶？善男子！若名字有，說食與人應得充飽。若得充飽，一切飲食即無所用。何以故？說食尋飽，不須食故。」按此經義，欲明名字性空，不能詮說諸法。今既教人專稱佛名號，能消重障之罪，往生西方，何異說食充飽、談漿除渴也？

Question: The Faj句 jing states that the Buddha told the Bodhisattva Baoming: 'Good man! For now, observe these names of the Buddhas: are they existent, or are they non-existent? Are they real, or are they unreal? Good man! If names were existent, speaking of food to a person should cause them to be full and satisfied. If they were to be full and satisfied, all food and drink would be of no use. Why is this? Because speaking of food would immediately bring satiety, and there would be no need to eat.' According to the meaning of this sūtra, it intends to clarify that the nature of names is empty, and they cannot express all phenomena. Now, since you teach people to exclusively recite the Buddha's name in order to eradicate the sins of grave obstacles and be reborn in the West, how is this different from speaking of food to bring fullness, or talking of broth to dispel thirst?