Wonderful Metaphors in the Pure Land School
淨土宗妙喻
Metaphor 39: Five Hundred Zillion Specks of Dust Kalpas (continued)
In short, five hundred zillion specks of dust Kalpas have passed since Bhikkhu Dharmakara became Amitabha Buddha. After such a long time, we are still lingering in the Three Realms, without rebirth in the Land of Bliss. Based upon this teaching, we can see how difficult it is for us to be liberated from Samsara.
It is extremely difficult for us to attain liberation if we rely on self-power to practice the Dharma, to subdue our afflictions and to settle our karmic debts. After all, we are weak-minded, feeble beings. In fact, all we have is the capacity to commit tainted deeds, without any ability to cultivate true virtues and merits. As a result of our self-power practices, we are doomed to drift in the sea of suffering in the six realms forever. On the other hand, by reliance on the great power of Amitabha’s vow, our achievement of Buddhahood is assured. This is the meaning of “If we don’t aspire to be reborn in the Pure Land in this life and, missing the chance of rebirth there, no amount of remorse can save us from samsara.”
Master Yinguang has this insightful saying, “To be born as a human being in the next life is more difficult than to attain rebirth (in the Land of Bliss) at the end of this life.” This is because our end-of-life rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land is assured as long as we aspire to be reborn there by exclusive recitation of Amitabha Buddha’s Name. In contrast, gaining rebirth in the realm of human beings is dependent on one’s abiding fully by the Five Precepts. Frankly speaking, however, most of us cannot uphold these precepts in a pure fashion.
39. 五百塵點劫 (續)
阿彌陀佛成佛以來，已經有這麼長久的時間了，而這麼長的時間，我們都 還沒有往生極樂，也還沒有出離三界，可見輪迴之難以解脫。 而難以解脫，是因為我們都靠自己的力量來修行，靠自己的力量降伏煩 惱、償還業債。可是，我們畢竟沒有什麼力量，我們只有造業的力量，沒有修 行的力量，所以，靠自力就註定永遠漂泊在六道苦海當中；靠他力的話，他力 是現成的，所以，「不向此生生淨土，投胎一錯悔時難」。印光大師形容得很好 ，「來生做人，比臨終往生還難」，因為臨終往生是現成的，只要願生彌陀淨 土、專稱彌陀佛名，往生即已決定；來生想要再做人，要五戒具足，老實講，我 們本身五戒大多是不清淨的。
Namo Amituofo!
