Important Knowledge in the Pure Land Teaching
淨土小常識
160. The Real Mark Body and the Body for Saving Sentient Beings
(continued 4 /4)
“All phenomena are identical with ultimate truth.” (全事即理) We should not think this is something that is easily understood! Generally speaking, one must at least reach the stage of great awakening to even come close. However, even at that level, one cannot fully understand the path, because one has not yet truly achieved “the entire identity of phenomena and truth.”
Only a Bodhisattva who has reached the stages of the Bodhisattva grounds can truly integrate phenomena (practice) and truth (principle) into one.
Yet those of us who recite the Name of Amitabha, entirely attain the one-ness of “ phenomena and truth.”
Here the word “entirely” carries a very important meaning: it means completely, with not even the slightest part left out.
It’s not that: you have to reach a state of mental purity and then your recitation “approximates truth,” or that without meditative concentration, your recitation does not embody truth — It’s not like that at all!
Whether you have meditative concentration or not, whether you're a monk or a layperson, whether you are wise or lack wisdom; as long as you recite “Namo Amituofo” and aspire to be born in the Western Pure Land, even if you're just a
three-year-old child, that is already “ the completion of phenomena identical with ultimate truth.” Nothing is excluded.
It has nothing to do with whether you have wisdom or how many afflictions you have. This is truly remarkable and extremely rare!
The principle of “ the entire practice is identical with the original nature” (全修即 性) is the same. Here, “practice” refers to actual recitation, also known as phenomenal practice (事修); “Nature” refers to the principle or true nature (理 性).
So this shows how the Pure Land path is both incomparably sublime and exceptionally simple and accessible.
Even for ordinary beings like us, as long as we open our mouths and recite “Namo Amituofo”, we are already achieving All phenomena identical with truth. The entire practice is identical with the original nature.
160 實相身、為物身 (續4/4)
全事即理，我們不要覺得容易！以一般來講，最少要達到大徹大悟的地步；達 到大徹大悟的地步，還沒有做到全事即理，只是路子明白了。登地的菩薩，才 能事理融合在一起。
而我們念佛的人「全事即理」，這個「全」也特別有意義，「全」是全部，沒有 一點遺漏在外，並不是達到清淨心了，你念佛好像「事即理」；沒有達到禪定， 念佛事不即理——不是這樣！有禪定、無禪定、出家人、在家人、有智慧、無 智慧，只要口稱「南無阿彌陀佛」、願生西方極樂世界，那怕是一個三歲小孩 子，也是「全事即理」，沒有遺漏在外的。和有沒有智慧、煩惱多少都沒有關係 的。這個不容易啊！
「全修即性」道理也是一樣的。「修」又叫事修；「性」又叫理性。
所以，淨土法門多麼殊勝又簡單容易，即使我們這樣的凡夫，張張嘴念 「南無阿彌陀佛」——全事即理、全修即性。
Namo Amituofo!
