Important Knowledge in the Pure Land Teaching
淨土小常識
187. Self-Doing, Self-Receiving; Other-Doing, Self-Receiving; Self-Doing, Other-Receiving (2 /4)
2. Other-Doing, Self-Receiving (From the Perspective of Sentient Beings)
The Pure Land School is an other-powered teaching. It is based on "another's cause and one's own result," that is, "other-doing, self-receiving." The merits and virtues accomplished by Amitabha Buddha are received and enjoyed by sentient beings throughout the ten directions.
What ordinary beings are capable of accumulating are merely karmic defilements and wrongdoings. Amitabha Buddha, however, gathered all of His perfect merits and virtues into His Great Name of Infinite Virtue and dedicated them to sentient beings as a gift.
When ordinary beings accept Amitabha's compassionate salvation in faith, and exclusively recite Namo Amitabha Buddha, they naturally acquire the necessary "condition" (pratyaya). What condition is this? It is the condition of the Buddha's power, what Master Shandao called "relying upon Amitabha’s Vow-Power."
In his Method of Contemplation and Recitation, Master Shandao explained Amitabha’s 18th Vow in 32 Chinese characters:
“If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the ten directions, who aspire to be born in my land, and recite Namo Amitabha Buddha even as few as ten times, do not attain birth there by relying upon my Vow-Power, then I shall not attain Perfect Enlightenment.”
From Amitabha Buddha's perspective, it is "relying upon My Vow-Power." From the perspective of sentient beings, it is "relying upon His Vow-Power." As long as one recites Namo Amitabha Buddha, one naturally relies upon the power of Amitabha's merits and virtues.
Viewed in terms of cause, condition, and result:
● For Amitabha Buddha: his Vow is the cause, cultivation and practice are the conditions, and Buddhahood is the result.
● For sentient beings: recitation of Namo Amitabha Buddha is the cause, the Buddha's power is the condition, and rebirth in the Pure Land is the result.
Thus, both fully accord with the Law of Cause and Effect.
To be reborn in Amitabha's Pure Land ultimately means to attain Buddhahood. Therefore, "rebirth" is actually an abbreviated expression; the complete meaning is "rebirth and attainment of Buddhahood."
(to be continued tomorrow)
187. 自作自受、他作自受、自作他受 (2/ 4)
二、他作自受（從眾生角度看）
淨土宗是他力法門，屬於「他因自果」，也就是「他作自受」──阿彌陀佛所 成就的功德，由十方眾生受用。
凡夫所能累積的只是罪業，但阿彌陀佛把自己圓滿的功德總攝於萬德洪 名，迴向施與眾生。凡夫若信受彌陀的慈悲救度、專稱彌陀佛名，自然就有了 「緣」。什麼緣？就是「佛的力量」這個緣，也就是善導大師所說的「乘我願力」。
善導大師在《觀念法門》中以三十二字解釋第十八願：
若我成佛，十方眾生，願生我國，稱我名字，下至十聲，乘我願力，若不生者，不取正覺。
就阿彌陀佛而言，是「乘我願力」；就眾生而言，則是「乘彼願力」。只要念 佛，自然就靠上了阿彌陀佛的功德力。
以因緣果的關係來看，阿彌陀佛是以發願為因，修行為緣，成佛為果；眾 生是以念佛為因，佛力為緣，往生為果，所以都符合因果的道理。
往生彌陀淨土，即代表「成佛」。所以，「往生」是簡略的說法，完整應是「往 生成佛」。
Namo Amituofo!
