轉經行道願往生淨土法事讚 1.3

1.3

The Preface says: I reflect that the Sahā [world] is vast and the burning house is boundless; the six paths dwell all around, shrouded in deep gloom and perpetual night. Born blind and without eyes, the light of our wisdom has not yet shone forth; lacking guidance and direction, we are altogether crushed in the realm of death. Circling in coming and going like the perpetual flow of rushing waters, to whom can we commit our life and soul for deliverance? Thus, the sentient beings are boundless, and the kalpas of pulverized dust are further surpassed. Wandering aimlessly from that time on, on what day could we meet with superior conditions? From the primordial Tathāgata Sāgaraguṇa above, down to the present day with Śākyamuni and the Buddhas, all have mounted their universal vows, practicing compassion and wisdom side by side, not abandoning conscious beings, and everywhere transforming them through the three wheels [of body, speech, and mind]. Yet our avidyā and obstructions are heavy, so that we have not encountered a Buddha's emergence; even if we were born at the same time, it would still be like an upturned vessel. The divine light shines equally without discriminating among the four modes of birth; [His] compassion reaches all without partiality, all being sustained by the moisture of Dharma. Though submerged in the Dharma-water, we remain stubborn through long kalpas; as suffering and its accumulation become causes for each other, the poison fires erupt anew when the moment arrives. Respectfully considering the great weight of the Great Compassion's kindness, which equally moistens the field of the body, and whose wisdom darkly assists so that the sprouts of the Way may flourish, [the Buddha] observes and teaches according to what is appropriate with compassionate skillful means, exhorting mindfulness of Amitābha to return to the Pure Land. Its ground is interwoven with manifold treasures, their radiant colors vying in splendor; the waters of virtue are clear and pure, their delicate reflections lucid throughout; jewel towers multiply and connect, equally shining with divine light; grove trees droop with necklaces of gems, and the wind-blown dust stirs refined melodies; the lotus pedestals are adorned and pristine, with all kinds of rare wonders; the sacred assembly dwells together, outshining a thousand suns. Their bodies are of purple-gold hue, with marks and signs solemn and dignified, advancing, resting, going, and coming, riding the void without obstruction. As for the circumstantial retribution, it surpasses the ten directions; the ground and empty space are equal and without difference. Worldlings and saints from other quarters come and go by the power of vows, and having arrived there, without distinction, they are equal in non-retrogression. It is only that the Tathāgata with skillful means universally exhorts the four modes of birth to cast aside this Sahā and delight in rebirth in Sukhāvatī, exclusively invoking the name while also chanting the Amitābha Sūtra, wishing to make them recognize that adornment and weary of these sufferings. Taking the three causes and five mindfulnesses as the term of their whole life, and the primary and auxiliary four practices without a moment's interruption, they dedicate this merit universally to endow conscious beings, so that at the end of their lives, mounting the lotus pedestal, they together arrive in that land.