往生禮讚偈 1.343

1.343

問曰：稱念禮觀阿彌陀佛，現世有何功德利益？答曰：若稱阿彌陀佛一聲，即能除滅八十億劫生死重罪，禮念已下亦如是。《十往生經》云：若有眾生念阿彌陀佛願往生者，彼佛即遣二十五菩薩擁護行者，若行若坐、若住若臥、若晝若夜、一切時一切處，不令惡鬼惡神得其便也。又如《觀經》云：若稱禮念阿彌陀佛，願往生彼國者，彼佛即遣無數化佛無數、化觀音勢至菩薩護念行者，復與前二十五菩薩等，百重千重圍遶行者，不問行住坐臥、一切時處、若晝若夜常不離行者。今既有斯勝益可憑，願諸行者各須至心求往。又如《無量壽經》云：若我成佛，十方眾生稱我名號，下至十聲，若不生者，不取正覺。彼佛今現在世成佛，當知本誓重願不虛，眾生稱念必得往生。又如《彌陀經》云：若有眾生，聞說阿彌陀佛，即應執持名號，若一日若二日乃至七日，一心稱佛不亂。命欲終時，阿彌陀佛與諸聖眾現在其前。此人終時心不顛倒，即得往生彼國。佛告舍利弗：「我見是利，故說是言。若有眾生聞是說者，應當發願願生彼國。」次下說云：東方如恒河沙等諸佛，南西北方及上下一一方如恒河沙等諸佛，各於本國出其舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，說誠實言：「汝等眾生皆應信是一切諸佛所護念經。」云何名護念？若有眾生，稱念阿彌陀佛若七日及一日，下至十聲乃至一聲一念等，必得往生。證誠此事，故名護念經。次下文云：若稱佛往生者，常為六方恒河沙等諸佛之所護念，故名護念經。

Question: What merits and benefits are there in the present life from reciting the name of, being mindful of, worshipping, and contemplating Amitābha Buddha? Answer: If one recites the name of Amitābha Buddha just once, it can eliminate the grave offenses of birth and death spanning eighty kotis of kalpas; worship and mindfulness and the rest are also like this. The Shi wangsheng jing says: If there are sentient beings who are mindful of Amitābha Buddha and aspire for rebirth, that Buddha will immediately dispatch twenty-five bodhisattvas to protect the practitioner, whether walking, sitting, standing, or lying down, whether by day or by night, at all times and in all places, not allowing evil ghosts and evil spirits to take advantage of them. Furthermore, as the Contemplation Sūtra says: If one recites the name, worships, and is mindful of Amitābha Buddha, aspiring to be reborn in that land, that Buddha will immediately dispatch countless transformed Buddhas and countless transformed Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta bodhisattvas to protect and keep mindfulness of the practitioner, and together with the aforementioned twenty-five bodhisattvas, they will surround the practitioner in hundreds and thousands of layers, regardless of walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, at all times and places, whether day or night, never departing from the practitioner. Now, since there are such supreme benefits to rely upon, it is hoped that all practitioners must each seek rebirth with a sincere mind. Furthermore, as the Infinite Life Sūtra says: If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings of the ten directions recite my name, even down to ten times, should they not be reborn, may I not attain perfect enlightenment. That Buddha has now attained Buddhahood in the present world; one should know that his primal vow and grave vows are not in vain, and sentient beings who recite the name will definitely attain rebirth. Furthermore, as the Amitābha Sūtra says: If there are sentient beings who hear [the name of] Amitābha Buddha spoken, they should uphold the name, whether for one day, two days, or even seven days, reciting the Buddha's name single-mindedly and without distraction. When their lives are about to end, Amitābha Buddha, along with an assembly of holy beings, will appear before them. When this person dies, their mind will not be deranged, and they will immediately attain rebirth in that land. The Buddha said to Śāriputra: "Seeing this benefit, I therefore speak these words. If there are sentient beings who hear this discourse, they should make the aspiration, desiring to be reborn in that land." Following this, it says: The Buddhas in the eastern direction as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, and the Buddhas in each of the southern, western, northern, below, and above directions as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, each in their own land extends their tongue, completely covering the great trichiliocosm, speaking truthful words: "All of you sentient beings should believe in this sūtra that is protected and kept in mind by all Buddhas." What is meant by "protected and kept in mind"? If there are sentient beings who recite the name of Amitābha Buddha, whether for seven days or one day, down to ten times, or even once or for a single thought-moment, they will definitely attain rebirth. Because [they] bear witness and verify this matter, it is called the sūtra that is protected and kept in mind. The subsequent passage says: Those who recite the Buddha's name and attain rebirth are constantly protected and kept in mind by the Buddhas of the six directions as numerous as the sands of the Ganges; therefore it is called the sūtra that is protected and kept in mind.