Clarifying Doubts About the Pure Land (I)
淨土釋疑(一)
Question 7: There is a saying: "True faith must include the Name, but merely reciting the Name does not necessarily mean one has true faith." Could you explain this?
Answer: This means that those who truly accept Amitabha Buddha’s deliverance will naturally recite his Name. In their hearts, Amitabha Buddha is the most important and most deserving of gratitude. Because of this, they will naturally continue to chant "Namo Amitabha Buddha, Namo Amitabha Buddha..." This is the meaning of "True faith must include the Name."
On the other hand, "The Name does not necessarily include true faith" means that although many people recite the Buddha’s Name, not all of them possess genuine faith. Many may recite, but they do not necessarily understand the principle of Amitabha’s deliverance. As a result they might chant, yet still doubt their ability to attain rebirth in the Pure Land. The worst-case scenario is when they give up halfway - if they hear that another Dharma path is better, they might follow that instead and fail to stay committed to the Pure Land path.
Therefore, true faith is always accompanied by the recitation of the Name. If one claims to have faith but does not chant the Name, then such faith is not truly genuine.
(to be continued tomorrow)
7問：有句話說「信心必具名號，名號未必具真實信心」，請師父開示。
答：也就是說：信受彌陀救度的人，一定會稱名念佛。因為在他的心中，最 重要的以及最值得感恩的，就是阿彌陀佛，所以自自然然會「南無阿彌陀佛、 南無阿彌陀佛……」念佛下去，這就是「信心必具名號」。
那麼，「名號未必具信心」，是說：稱名的人，即使他稱名，可是不一定有那 個信心。因為稱名的人很多，大家都在念佛，可是不一定瞭解彌陀救度的原 理。這樣的話，很可能他一方面念佛，一方面會認為不能往生。最糟的情形是 半途而廢，人家說這個法門好、那個法門好，也就隨著修別的法門去了，不能 貫徹到底，是有這種現象。
所以，有信心必定是伴隨著稱名，如果有信心而不稱名的話，這種信心就 不是真信。
Namo Amituofo!
