念佛三昧寶王論 2.14

2.14

I reply: “Your question is mistaken. You merely quote the sūtra without understanding the sūtra's aim. The sūtra is the Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Sūtra, whose text precisely explains mindfulness of Amida. ‘Because of mindfulness of the Buddha, the Buddha arises from thought’; therefore it is said that ‘this mind is Buddha.’ How can you illicitly take the contemplation of Amida and turn back to bite the mind of Amida? If it were so, that not being mindful of the Buddha at all one could say ‘this mind is Buddha,’ should it also be that not thinking of evil at all one could say ‘this mind is evil’? If the latter is not so, how could the former be permissible? Moreover, in that land of Sukhāvatī, with the Most Honored Amida, a hundred billion kings of Mount Meru do not obstruct the eye organ; and the marks and signs of light, numerous as the sands of the Ganges, are accomplished in visualization through the power of the Buddha's vows. One attains rebirth in the time it takes to bend an arm; why calculate the distance of that realm?”