淨土或問 1.27

1.27

問曰：吾之言過矣，駟不及舌矣。承師之教，誰不寒心？奈何人心易進易退，一聞警策勇猛精勤，忽於目前逢一障難，便轉念頭別求方便。都道淨業只是身後之事，於今目前無所利濟。從此身心一時放退，是亦無怪其然耶？答曰：汝之所見未廣也。豈不見經中道，受持佛名者，現世當獲十種勝利。一者晝夜常得一切諸天大力神將河沙眷屬隱形守護；二者常得二十五大菩薩如觀世音等，及一切諸菩薩常隨守護；三者常得諸佛晝夜護念，阿彌陀佛常放光明攝受此人；四者一切惡鬼若夜叉若羅剎皆不能害，一切毒蛇毒龍毒藥悉不能中；五者火難水難、冤賊刀箭、牢獄枷鎖、橫死狂生悉皆不受；六者先所作業悉皆消滅，所殺冤命彼蒙解脫更無執對；七者夜夢正直，或復夢見阿彌陀佛勝妙色像；八者心常歡喜、顏色光澤、氣力充盛、所作吉利；九者常為一切世間人民恭敬供養歡喜禮拜，猶如敬佛；十者命終之時，心無怖畏、正念現前，得見阿彌陀佛及諸聖眾持金蓮華接引往生，西方淨土盡未來際受勝妙藥。如上十種利益，經文具載，乃佛口之所宣也。既是現生來世皆有利益，然則世出世間要緊法門無如念佛者矣，但當精進不用懷疑。

Question: "My words were indeed mistaken—a team of four horses cannot overtake the tongue. Hearing your instruction, who would not feel a chill down the spine? Yet human minds easily advance and easily retreat: upon hearing an admonition, one is vigorous and diligent, but as soon as an obstacle appears before one's eyes, one changes one's mind and seeks other expedients. Everyone says that pure karma is only an affair after death and of no benefit in the present. From this, body and mind simultaneously let go and retreat; is it any wonder that this should be so?"

Answer: "Your view is not broad. Have you not seen what is stated in the sūtras: those who uphold the Buddha's name will obtain ten kinds of excellent benefits in the present life?
First, day and night they are constantly guarded invisibly by all devas, mighty spirit-generals, and retinue as numerous as the sands of the Ganges;
Second, they are constantly accompanied and protected by the twenty-five great bodhisattvas such as Avalokiteśvara and all other bodhisattvas;
Third, they are constantly protected and remembered by the buddhas day and night, and Amitābha constantly emits light to gather them in;
Fourth, all evil ghosts, whether yakṣas or rākṣasas, cannot harm them, and all poisonous snakes, poisonous dragons, and poisons cannot affect them;
Fifth, disasters of fire and water, enmity, bandits, knives and arrows, imprisonment, cangues and chains, untimely death, and violent ends are not suffered by them;
Sixth, previously created karma is entirely eliminated, and the grievances of those one has killed receive liberation so that there is no further confrontation;
Seventh, dreams at night are upright, or one may dream of the supreme, wondrous physical form of Amitābha;
Eighth, the mind is constantly joyful, the facial complexion lustrous, vigor and strength abundant, and whatever one does turns out auspicious;
Ninth, one is constantly revered, offered to, joyfully bowed down to by all people of the world, just as they revere a buddha;
Tenth, at the end of life, the mind is free of fear, right mindfulness appears before one, and one sees Amitābha and the assemblies of sages holding golden lotus flowers to guide and receive one for rebirth; in the Western Pure Land, throughout all future kalpas, one enjoys supreme and wondrous delight.

The ten benefits mentioned above are fully recorded in the sūtra texts, proclaimed by the mouth of the Buddha himself. Since there are benefits in both this present life and the life to come, among all mundane and supramundane gates of Dharma, none is more essential than buddhānusmṛti. You should simply advance with diligence and have no doubts."