念佛鏡 1.40

1.40

答：「喻自力者，猶如小兒年始三歲，宅去京地向經千里，遂遣小兒自行向京，以求官職，無由得到。何以故？為幼小故。餘門修道，亦復如是，要須多劫修道乃成。猶如小兒，自力向京不可得到，由自力故。言他力者，猶如小兒雖小，依父母及象、馬車乘力故，不久到京，遂得官職。何以故？由他力故。念佛修道亦復如是，臨命將時乘阿彌陀佛願力，如一念頃往生西方，得不退地。猶如父母將象、馬車乘載小兒，不久到京覓得官職。又自力者，猶如貧人還與貧人家客作，用力雖多，得錢極少。餘門修道，亦復如是，用力極多，功德極少，如似貧家客作相似。又他力者，如向王家客作，用力極少，得錢無量。何以故？為乘王力故。念佛亦復爾，為乘佛願力故，用功極少，功德無邊，一日、七日專心念佛，速生淨土，早證無上菩提，猶如王家客作相似。又自力、他力者，猶如蟻子寄在翅鳥之上，遂將蟻子在須彌山，蟻子昇高受諸快樂。凡夫念佛亦復如是，乘佛願力速生西方，受諸快樂，猶如蟻子乘翅鳥力上山相似，此之他力；餘門修道，猶如蟻子自力行上山，不可得到，此乃自力。自力者猶如蝦䗫，他力者猶如大龍，有諸蝦䗫㘅著龍鱗，龍帶蝦䗫速入大海，由念佛故，將於眾生速到西方。又自力者，猶如凡夫脚足損壞，不能速行；他力者，如轉輪王飛騰虛空，往四天下，為乘輪寶力故。乘佛願力亦復如是，一念之頃，即得往生西方，住不退地。餘門修道，猶如陸地步行；念佛修道，猶如水路乘船，里數極多而復不固。念佛往生亦復如是，用功極少，早證菩提。念佛法門，由乘阿彌陀佛本願力故，速疾成佛，超過餘門百千萬倍。」

The answer states: "An analogy for self-power is like a young child who is only three years old. His house is a thousand leagues away from the capital, yet he is sent to go to the capital on his own on foot to seek an official post; there is no way he can arrive. Why is this? Because he is too young. Cultivating the path through other gates is also like this: one must cultivate the path for many kalpas to achieve it. Just as the child cannot arrive in the capital by his own power because of relying on self-power. As for what is called other-power, it is like the young child who, though small, relies on the power of his parents and carriages drawn by elephants and horses, and before long arrives in the capital and obtains an official post. Why is this? Because of relying on other-power. Cultivating the path through buddhānusmṛti is also like this: when one is about to approach the end of life, one relies on the power of Amitābha's vows, and in the space of a single thought-moment one attains rebirth in the west and obtains the stage of non-retrogression. This is just like parents taking an elephant or horse carriage carrying the child, who before long arrives in the capital and seeks and obtains an official post. Furthermore, self-power is like a poor person hiring himself out as a hired laborer to another poor family; though he uses much exertion, he earns very little money. Cultivating the path through other gates is also like this: one expends very much effort, but the merit is exceedingly small, just like hiring oneself out to a poor family. Furthermore, other-power is like hiring oneself out to the royal household; one expends very little effort, but obtains immeasurable wealth. Why is this? Because of relying on the king's power. Buddhānusmṛti is also like this: because of relying on the Buddha's vow-power, one expends very little effort, yet the merit is boundless; single-mindedly practicing buddhānusmṛti for one day or seven days, one is swiftly reborn in the pure land and early realizes unexcelled bodhi, just like hiring oneself out to the royal household. Furthermore, concerning self-power and other-power: it is like an ant clinging to a winged bird, and the ant is thereby brought to Mount Sumeru; the ant ascends on high and experiences various pleasures. Ordinary persons practicing buddhānusmṛti are also like this: relying on the Buddha's vow-power, they are swiftly reborn in the west and experience various pleasures, just as an ant relies on the power of a winged bird to ascend the mountain—this is other-power. Cultivating the path through other gates is like an ant climbing the mountain by its own power and unable to arrive—this is self-power. Self-power is like a frog; other-power is like a great dragon. If frogs bite onto the dragon's scales, the dragon carries the frogs and swiftly enters the great sea; because of buddhānusmṛti, sentient beings are swiftly brought to the west. Furthermore, self-power is like an ordinary person whose legs and feet are injured and cannot walk swiftly. Other-power is like a wheel-turning sage king soaring through empty space and traveling to the four continents because of relying on the power of the wheel treasure. Relying on the Buddha's vow-power is also like this: in the space of a single thought-moment, one immediately attains rebirth in the west and abides in the stage of non-retrogression. Cultivating the path through other gates is like walking on foot on dry land; cultivating the path through buddhānusmṛti is like boarding a boat on a water route: the mileage covered is enormous and effortless. Rebirth through buddhānusmṛti is also like this: one expends very little effort and early realizes bodhi. Because the Dharma gate of buddhānusmṛti relies on the power of Amitābha's original vows, one swiftly achieves buddhahood, surpassing the other gates hundreds of thousands of myriad times."