Important Knowledge in the Pure Land Teaching
淨土小常識
166. The Formation of Dharmakara’s Vows
“When I become a Buddha, I shall be equal to the holy Dharma-King;
Transcending birth and death, none shall fail to be liberated.”
This verse expresses the very first and most fundamental source of Dharmakara Bodhisattva’s vast aspiration of “seeking Buddhahood above and transforming beings below.” It is called “the root of Amitabha Buddha’s Vow-Mind.”
Here, he reveals his resolution to become a lofty and magnificent Buddha like the Tathagata Lokesvararaja. His sole purpose is: saving all beings in the ten directions, rescuing them from the cycle of birth and death, and liberating them from all afflictions.
In the other two parallel translations of the same scripture, it is expressed as follows:
From the Tathagata Assembly Sutra:
Able to save those in all worlds,
From the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death.
From the Ornamented Sutra:
To be the great guide for all living beings,
Delivering them from aging and death, bringing them peace and security.
By explaining scripture with scripture, we can see that the phrase “transcending birth and death, none shall fail to be liberated” does not mean that Dharmakara Bhiksu himself would be freed. It rather means that he aspired to liberate all sentient beings from the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death, and lead them to the bliss of Buddhahood.
This is the very first revelation of Dharmakara Bodhisattva’s boundless compassion and the vastness of his vow-mind.
166 法藏志願
願我作佛，齊聖法王；
過度生死，靡不解脫。
這首偈是法藏菩薩「上求佛道，下化眾生」弘廣願心最初、最原始的根源， 所謂「阿彌陀佛願心的根本」。表露他發願成為像世自在王佛那樣崇高偉大的 佛，其目的是為了要救度十方眾生，度脫生死輪迴，解脫一切煩惱。其他兩部 同本異譯的經，如《如來會》說：
能救一切諸世間，生老病死眾苦惱。
又如《莊嚴經》說：
為彼群生大導師，度脫老死令安穩。
以經解經，就曉得「過度生死，靡不解脫」這八個字，並不是講法藏比丘 他自己，而是他要度脫一切眾生解脫生老病死輪迴之苦，同時獲得成佛的安 樂。這就是法藏菩薩最初表露的無盡悲心與弘廣願心。
Namo Amituofo!
