龍舒增廣淨土文 2.4

2.4

To speak generally: in the Great Canon, there are more than ten sūtras that speak of the affairs of the Western Pure Land. Their outline says that that place is adorned with the seven treasures; it is without hells, hungry ghosts, beasts, and even tiny flying and wriggling creatures. It is constantly pure and natural, free from all defilement and confusion; hence it is named the Pure Land. Its people are all born from within lotus flowers, live long without aging, and their clothing, food, and dwellings are transformed according to their wishes. Its seasons are an eternal spring, no longer having cold or heat. They experience great pleasure and are free from all suffering and affliction; hence it is named the World of Sukhāvatī. That Buddha is named Amitābha, which is Sanskrit; here it means 'immeasurable'. Because this Buddha's light illuminates and beholds the ten directions and the three realms without limit, and all beings who recollect the Buddha know this, people name him the Buddha of Immeasurable Light. The lifespan of this Buddha and the lifespan of the people in his land are both without limit; even for kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, they do not come to an end; hence he is also named the Buddha of Immeasurable Life. This Buddha has great vows to deliver people, and his majestic spiritual power is inconceivable. Therefore, for those who with utmost sincerity have faith, turn to him, and recite his name, in this present life disasters will surely be eradicated, vengeful ghosts warded off, body and spirit brought to peace, and good fortune and longevity augmented; and in the Western seven-jeweled pond a single lotus flower will grow, within which they will take birth in days to come, directly escaping outside the cycle of rebirth. Cases such as this all have recorded evidence; they are not empty words. His teaching is very easy to practice; among the 84,000 Dharma-gates in the entire Great Canon, none is as essential and direct as this. Yet people sometimes do not know of it—how regrettable! To know it and not practice it is even more regrettable.