念佛鏡 2.27

2.27

Answer: "Before Maitreya descends to be born, one cannot wait for him. How is this known? As explained in the sūtras: after Śākyamuni Buddha entered nirvāṇa, only after fifty-six hundred million and seventy million years have passed will [Maitreya] descend to be born; Maitreya will appear only when human lifespan reaches eighty-four thousand years. According to the Benji of the Dharmarāja, only one thousand seven hundred and some years have passed since Śākyamuni's nirvāṇa; there is no intention of his coming yet at all, and one cannot wait. Sentient beings have short lifespans; fearing that they will sink into the sea of suffering and endure calamity for many kalpas, they will not meet Maitreya. Only Amitābha Buddha is preaching the Dharma right now, abiding in the world of Sukhāvatī and widely delivering sentient beings; taking refuge in the west and swiftly realizing the fruit of the Way is hundreds of thousands of myriads of times superior to Maitreya. Even if one were to meet Maitreya's three assemblies and he were to widely deliver all people to attain arhatship—the ultimate fruit of the Hīnayāna—looking towards the Mahāyāna, this only reaches the first ground, and hundreds of millions of sentient beings would still not meet Maitreya Buddha. By being mindful of Amitābha and seeking rebirth in the pure land, one is already a bodhisattva of the eighth ground or above; swiftly in one mindfulness or ten mindfulnesses, or slowly in one day or seven days, by reciting and being mindful of Amitābha Buddha one is immediately born in the pure land, which truly surpasses Maitreya hundreds of thousands of myriads of times. Furthermore, on the day our fundamental teacher spoke the Amitābha-sūtra, Maitreya Bodhisattva was also in the assembly—namely, Bodhisattva Ajita. If even Maitreya is mindful of Amitābha Buddha, how could future sentient beings not be mindful of him? In the days of Preceptor Daxing, several people whose karmic affinity was with Maitreya turned their minds to be mindful of Amitābha Buddha. Moreover, regarding the method of buddhānusmṛti, according to the teachings of the Buddhist sūtras, in the future Final Dharma age, all teachings will be entirely extinguished, yet especially this correct Dharma of buddhānusmṛti will remain for a hundred years to teach and transform sentient beings. Thus we know that buddhānusmṛti is inconceivable."