念佛鏡 1.40

1.40

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."