Clarifying Doubts About the Pure Land (I)
淨土釋疑(一)
Question:
The Contemplation Sutra says: “This mind is Buddha and this mind becomes Buddha.” One interpretation explains this as referring to the inherently pure Buddha-nature of the self. Could you please elaborate on this explanation?
Answer:
Those who practice the path of self-power do not regard the Land of Ultimate Bliss (Sukhavati) as the actual realm of Amitabha Buddha, nor do they regard Amitabha as a real Buddha residing in the Western Pure Land. Instead, they interpret it as: “Amitabha is self-nature, and the Pure Land is only mind-made.” They believe that the pure Buddha-mind and the present moment of purity itself is Amitabha Buddha. When their mind is pure, all that they perceive becomes free from dualistic distinctions like: suffering and joy, good and bad, beauty and ugliness. In that moment of inner clarity, they feel as if they are already in the Pure Land.
This is the perspective of those who follow self-powered practices, equating the Buddha within the mind with Amitabha and the internal purity with the Pure Land. Thus, they interpret the phrase “This mind becomes Buddha; this mind is Buddha” in this sense.
This interpretation stems from the Yogacara (Pure Consciousness) view, which holds that “all phenomena are mind-only; and the three realms are consciousness-only.” According to this, even the Pure Land and Amitabha Buddha are nothing more than projections of the mind, and they exist solely within one’s consciousness. Therefore, following this path means relying on one’s own efforts to attain Buddhahood through practice in this world (the Saha world). Once one achieves enlightenment, everything including mountains, rivers, and earth—is seen as the Pure Land. From this viewpoint, one transcends the duality of pure and impure lands, and there is no longer any distinction between them.
However, the Pure Land tradition does not interpret these things in the same way. We firmly uphold the teaching of “pointing in a direction and establishing a form” (zhi fang li xiang). The Pure Land has a direction—“from here, westward.” This clearly indicates a spatial direction. Amitabha Buddha has a definite form and appearance. We direct our attention specifically to Amitabha in the West. This is what is meant by “pointing in a direction and establishing a form.”
(to be continued tomorrow)
13問：《觀經》講：「是心是佛，是心作佛。」有一種解釋將它解釋成自性清淨的 佛性，請師父對這種解釋開示一下。
答：
自力修行的人，他不把極樂世界當成是阿彌陀佛的極樂世界，也不把 阿彌陀佛當成是西方極樂世界的阿彌陀佛，而是把他當作「自性彌陀，唯心淨土」，他認為清淨的佛心，清淨的當下，就是阿彌陀佛的本身，他清淨的時候 所看到的一切都沒有苦樂、好壞、美醜等這些相對性的分別觀念，那他當下 就感覺到自己在淨土裏面了。這是修自力法門的人，以心中的佛性為彌陀， 以心中的清淨為極樂。「是心作佛，是心是佛」理解為這種含義。
這種理解是唯識觀，認為「萬法唯識，三界唯心」。萬法唯識，即使是極樂 世界，即使是阿彌陀佛，也是從他心中所產生的，唯心的。那是自力的法門， 必須依自己的力量來修成佛，在這娑婆世界修行，最終證悟佛果。他一旦證 悟佛果的話，山河大地對他來講，沒有不是淨土，都是淨土，因為超越淨與穢 ，哪有什麼淨土、穢土的分別？
但是淨土宗不做這樣的解釋，我們始終是建立在「指方立相」上，極樂世 界有方位，「從是西方」即是方位，阿彌陀佛有形象，唯指西方阿彌陀佛，所以 稱為「指方立相」。
Namo Amituofo!
