淨土或問 1.24

1.24

Question: In the evil age of the five defilements, all people have sins. Even if they have not committed the grave offenses of the five rebellious acts, who can be free from other sinful karma? If they do not repent and eliminate them, but merely recite the Buddha's name at the end of life, can they attain rebirth? Answer: They can also attain rebirth; this relies entirely on the inconceivable power of Amitābha's great vows. The Nāgasena-sūtra says: "It is like taking a hundred large stones and placing them on a ship; relying on the power of the ship, the stones do not sink in the water. If there were no such ship, even a small stone would sink." This is an analogy for a worldly person who commits evil throughout his life, yet by practicing buddhānusmṛti at the end of life, does not enter Naraka. If one does not practice buddhānusmṛti, though one commits only small evils, one will still enter Naraka, not to mention great evils. The ship is an analogy for the Buddha's power; the stones are an analogy for evil karma. Therefore, ancient people spoke of "being reborn with one's karma." The texts on the four lands also state that those possessing afflictive defilements can also be born into the Pure Land of Common Residence. Furthermore, there was the monk Xiongjun, who was on the verge of entering the boiling cauldron; the man of Fenzhou whose trade was butchering oxen, who at the end of life saw a herd of oxen pressing against his body with intense suffering that pierced to the bone; and Zhang Zhongkui, whose trade was slaughtering chickens, who at the end of life saw a spirit driving a flock of chickens that pecked out his two eyes, blood overflowing the bed. All of them invoked the Buddha's name and were reborn in the Pure Land. If this is not the Buddha's power, what is it? Let me illustrate this further with an analogy. Suppose a person has currently violated the official laws and should be imprisoned. Because he takes refuge in the king and receives the king's summons, the officials cannot detain him, and he reaches the imperial capital instead. Therefore, the Notes for Aiding Rebirth says: "Attaining rebirth in the Pure Land relies on other-power: Amitābha gathers with his vows, Śākyamuni urges and praises, and all buddhas protect and keep one in mind. It is like crossing a great sea: having already obtained a huge vessel, still having a skilled guide, and moreover being aided by a favorable wind, one will certainly reach the other shore swiftly." If one is unwilling to board the ship and lingers in an evil realm, whose fault is it?