Wonderful Metaphors in the Pure Land School
淨土宗妙喻
A Mani Jewel Versus Miscellaneous Treasures
A Mani jewel, though small, can confer all sorts of treasures because it is a wish-fulfilling gem. Suppose someone makes this wish, “I need a hundred tons of gold right now to relieve worldwide poverty.” No sooner does he finish the sentence than one hundred tons of gold appear from the Mani jewel. If he wants more and says, “That’s not enough, I need a hundred tons of pearls too,” a hundred tons of pearls immediately gush out from the orb like rain showering down. That is how the Mani gem works.
Other treasures come in many forms, such as gold, silver, pearls, agate, red pearly stones and so on. Imagine the inside of a huge storehouse, a tiny Mani jewel is placed amid a large variety of gemstones. Whenever the treasure-house is opened for public relief, some people who see the piles of gold cannot resist taking some before they leave. The problem is that, even though a pile of gold may be very valuable, it will eventually be exhausted. In contrast to all other precious stones and metals, whose supply is limited and difficult to transport, the little wish-fulfilling Mani jewel can satisfy endless demands. So, the truly wise person cares only about getting the tiny magical jewel.
Therefore, the true value of things can’t be judged superficially by their sheer numbers. A single Mani jewel is capable of creating all sorts of precious and desirable things. Other valuables, however abundant in their quantity and variety, can never be compared with the tiny wish-fulfilling Mani jewel.
The six-character name “Namo Amitabha Buddha” is like a Mani jewel. The all-encompassing name embodies the countless merits from reciting all Buddhist scriptures (including the Diamond Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, the Ksitigarbha Sutra, etc.), and all dharanis (such as the Surangama Mantra, the Great Compassion Mantra, the Ten Short Mantras etc.), and all of the virtues from practicing the Six Paramitas and myriad good deeds.
All other practices, virtuous and inconceivable as they may be, are like assorted treasures only. Specifically, merits derived by us ordinary beings from practicing the Five Precepts and Ten Good Deeds amount to far less.
They are no more worthy than broken tiles because such practices are flawed and conditional. Unfortunately, there are some practitioners who believe that upholding just a few precepts and cultivating some good deeds will yield more merits than Amitabha-recitation. That would be like giving up the priceless Mani jewel for the broken tiles because you fail to recognize the preciousness of the real gem.
To be reborn in the Western Land of Bliss, it is essential that we see the six-character name “Namo Amitabha Buddha” as our Mani jewel. It is the only way to accumulate complete and perfect merits and virtue for our rebirth. Dedicating the merits of all other practices to our rebirth in the Pure Land is like gaining the inferior benefits of assorted treasures.
The six-syllable name means the Great Name of Myriad Virtues. Is it not like a Mani jewel that contains infinite merits? In the Commentary on the Treatise on Rebirth in the Pure Land, Master Tanluan compares Amitabha’s name to the “Mani Jewel of Purity''. Despite its modest size, the powerful jewel can produce wonders of all kinds. Even with only six words, Amitabha’s name contains not only the boundless merits of the Three Gems (the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha), but also the innumerable virtues of all Buddhist sutras, dharanis, and all merits accrued by the practices of Bodhisattvas, Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas.
6E. 念佛即是多善根妙喻之五 - 摩尼寶珠對雜寶喻
摩尼寶珠雖然只是小小的一顆, 但能生出一切寶物。如果說「我現在要賑濟天下貧民,需要黃金一百噸」,話音還沒落,就像下雨一樣,摩尼寶珠裏噴出一百噸黃金。如果說 「還不夠,還需要一百噸珍珠」,馬上像下雨一樣,噴出一百噸珍珠。摩尼寶珠就有這樣的功能。
雜寶就是金、銀、珍珠、瑪瑙、赤珠等等。一個大倉庫,裏面有很多的寶物,有黃金、白銀、珍珠、瑪瑙等,一應俱全。在倉庫中間放了一顆小小的摩尼寶珠。如果要取寶物,救濟眾生,有的人看著一大堆黃金,馬上就扛著黃金出去了。黃金雖然貴重,但是很快就消耗完了。真有智慧的人,就會取那顆摩尼寶珠。拿到摩尼寶珠後,想要什麼都有,取之不盡,用之不竭。如果是拿黃金、白銀,又累又辛苦,而且仍然是有限的。
所以真正的價值並不只是看表面 的數量。像摩尼寶珠,它就是一顆,但是可以吐出一切寶;種種雜寶,數量雖然多,反而比不上一顆小小的摩尼寶珠。
「南無阿彌陀佛」六字名號就是摩尼寶珠。這六字名號裏,有《金剛經》《法華經》《地藏經》等一切經的功德,有《楞嚴咒》《大悲咒》《十小咒》等一切咒的功德,有持戒、佈施等六度萬行的功德。其他種種修行,雖然都很尊貴,都不可思議,但那些功德就好像是雜寶一樣,只是金、銀、珍珠、瑪瑙......尤其是凡夫所修的五戒十善,檔次就太低 了,簡直就是破瓦塊,因為我們所修的還是有漏、有為的善法。可是有的 人還以為自己修的一點點戒善比念佛還強,那就是抱著破瓦塊,棄了摩尼寶,只能說不識寶了。
往生西方極樂世界,要懷帶著 「南無阿彌陀佛」六字名號的摩尼寶珠,這樣才能獲得圓滿的功德;修其他種種的法門迴向求往生,只是得到雜寶的功德。
六字名號是「萬德洪名」,所有功德都包含在內,那豈不就是摩尼寶珠嗎?曇鸞大師《往生論註》就稱彌陀名號是「清淨摩尼寶」。摩尼寶珠雖是一顆小小的珠子,可以吐出一切寶物。這句六字名號雖然簡短,只有六個字;但是含攝一切佛、法、僧三寶的功德,一切經教、一切咒語陀羅尼、一切修持的法門的功德,一切菩薩、聲聞、緣覺的功德。
Namo Amituofo!
