Clarifying Doubts About the Pure Land (I)
淨土釋疑(一)
Answer to Q29: (2/4)
For example, if heavy snow falls on land, it accumulates and becomes thicker and thicker; but if it falls into the Pacific Ocean, it is as if it never fell at all. The Pure Land teaching works in just this way.
So is it ultimately the elimination of karma or rebirth while carrying karma? Whether we speak of “carrying karma” or “eliminating karma,” these are only provisional, elementary theoretical explanations. Once one reaches the Land of Ultimate Bliss, one will naturally know. However, the Pure Land path is fundamentally a path of eliminating karma. If karma were not eliminated, how could one leave samsara? For instance, if you kill someone, a life must repay a life; if you owe money, the debt must be repaid. If that life is not repaid and the debt not settled, how could you leave? Therefore, repayment must come first—and from the standpoint of this repayment, it is called elimination.
Then do we still have karma? Yes, we do, because we have not yet cut off greed, anger, and delusion. Sometimes our tempers flare and ignorance arises, creating enmity with others. Even if we later regret it deeply, the resentment has already been formed. Yet this does not obstruct rebirth; one can still be reborn.
Moreover, Amitabha Buddha’s embracing light receives beings and has a particular function. It prevents the karmic resentments formed with others from obstructing us at the time of death. Therefore, in many places The Collected Writings of Master Yin Guang speaks of “rebirth with residual karma.” However, this was not Master Yin Guang’s ultimate intent. In one place he says: here it is called “carrying karma,” but once there, there is no karma. Where does the karma go once there? It is all completely eliminated by Amitabha Buddha.
(to be continued tomorrow)
29問：
續答：(2/ 4)
譬如說，大雪如果下在陸地，就越積越厚，可是如果下在太平洋中，有等於沒有，淨土法門就是如此。
那這樣到底是消業還是帶業？我們在這裏論帶業也好，論消業也好，這個都是一種初級理論上的講法，到極樂世界自然就知道。不過徹底講起來，淨土法門是消業的法門，如果業不消，你怎麼能離開輪迴？比如說你殺了一個人，殺人償命，欠債還錢，你命不償、錢不還怎麼離開呢？所以要先償還，就這個償還的情形來講，就是消。
那我們還有沒有業？還有，因為我們未斷貪瞋癡，有時候脾氣爆發起來，跟人家起無明，事後，儘管再怎麼反悔，已經跟人家結了怨了。可是不障礙，照樣往生。
同時，阿彌陀佛的光明攝取，有一種作用，就是使我們臨終的時候，跟人家結的怨業不來障礙，所以，《印光法師文鈔》裏好多地方都在談帶業往生，但這不是印光大師的本意，有一個地方印光大師就說：在這裏說是帶業，到那裏就沒有業了。到那裏業到哪裡去了？通通被阿彌陀佛消掉了。
Namo Amituofo!
