Clarifying Doubts About the Pure Land (I)
淨土釋疑(一)
Answer to Question 40 (4 /6):
Let’s reflect on this example a little further.
If that patient had happened to pass away at that very moment, it is quite possible that, through the power and function of Namo Amitabha Buddha, she would have been reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.
However, because the karmic lifespan of her present body had not yet come to an end, the benefit manifested differently. She was able to fall asleep, her condition improved rapidly, and she continued living. However, if her lifespan had already reached its natural conclusion, would there not have been the possibility of liberation through rebirth in the Pure Land? This is because the inherent function of Namo Amitabha Buddha is precisely to bring about such deliverance.
Our present body is a karmic-retribution body, a body formed by the karma of past lives. Therefore, where we are born, our physical appearance, our intelligence, the schools we attend, the career we pursue, the income we earn, whom we marry, how many children we have, whether we enjoy good health or suffer illness—all of these are inseparably connected with causes and conditions established in previous lives. They are continuations of the karma we have accumulated in the past.
To use an analogy, suppose a bank passbook has become completely filled and must be replaced with a new one. The balance recorded in the new passbook does not begin from zero; it continues directly from the balance carried over from the old passbook.
Likewise, our present life is like a new passbook. Although it appears new, it is actually a continuation of what came before. The circumstances of this life are the continuation and unfolding of the karmic accounts accumulated in previous lives.
From the Pure Land perspective, when a person learns about reciting Namo Amitabha Buddha , a new factor enters this ongoing stream of karmic existence. The exclusive recitation of Namo Amitabha Buddha carries the power of Amitabha’s vows and merits. If the karmic conditions of life remain, its benefit may appear as peace of mind, relief from suffering, recovery from illness, or an extension of life. If the karmic lifespan has come to its end, that same recitation of Namo Amitabha Buddha will serve as the cause and condition for rebirth in the Land of Bliss. Thus, whether the result appears as continued life or as rebirth, the compassionate working of Namo Amitabha Buddha remains active and effective.
(to be continued tomorrow)
40問：師父講的公案，就是地獄眾生聽到阿彌陀佛六字名號，即得往生。我們 人間是不是也有聽聞而往生的，請師父開示。(4 /6)
答(4 /6)：
我們可以來討論討論：如果這個病人當下要是斷氣了，那很可能也會借著這 句佛號的功能往生極樂世界。
因為她業報之身還未盡，所以就使她能夠入睡，而且病情很快好轉，繼續 活下來；如果是應該壽終正寢的，豈不是就有解脫的可能？因為名號的功能 本身就是那樣的。
我們這個身體，是業報之身，業報就是過去的業。所以，我們這一輩子出 生在哪個地方、身有多高、有沒有智慧、將來會讀到哪個學校、甚至所做的事 業、所領的薪水是多少、跟誰結婚、生多少個孩子、健康不健康，這個跟過去 世都有百分之百的關係，都是延續過去世而來的。
好比我們銀行的存款簿，已經記滿了，要換一個新的存款簿，這個新的存 款簿的數目，一定是延續舊的存款簿下來的。現在我們的身體，就好比一個 新的存款簿，也是延續過去世的存款簿而來的。
Namo Amituofo!
