Q and A about Practicing Amitabha-Recitation
Part Two - Rebirth through Amitabha-Recitation
第二部分 有關念佛往生
Question 28:
Do we not need to recite in daily life, and just wait till the end of life to recite?
Answer:
No! This thinking is risky and very dangerous! It is as if our body is tied to a bomb that might explode at any moment. Since no one knows when it will explode, and they only intend to remove the bomb once they know the time of the explosion, is this acceptable? NO! This is very similar to dying, since none of us knows exactly when we will die.
There is no fixed time for us to die. Our time of death is uncertain. It can come in the next second, or at any later time. Reciting in the present prepares us for reciting near the end-of-life. Not to mention that people’s lives are composed of a series of moments. Any present moment might become our near-death moment!
Understanding this, we should recite Amitabha Buddha’s name as often as we can. Moreover, if we don’t recite the Buddha’s name when we are given this teaching, and just sit and wait for the uncertainty of near-death; it means that the practitioner does not fully understand the benefits of Amitabha-recitation.
It is just like a person who really wants to become rich. He must seize each treasure as soon as he sees it. It is like a patient who must continuously take medication that will keep him alive.
It is just like a prisoner on death row who wants to receive an amnesty order as soon as possible, because he knows he may be executed at any time.
(to be continued tomorrow)
28問:那麼平時不念佛、等到臨終再念佛,可以嗎?
答:不可以!這種想法是很僥倖、很危險的。比如有人身上綁了炸彈,隨時都會爆炸,但卻不知道具體在什麼時間爆炸,那麼一旦知道了就要立即拆除,而不是等到快要爆炸的時候才來拆除。所謂等待臨終也是一樣,誰知道自己什麼時候死!
並沒有一個固定的臨終時刻讓我們去等。既然臨終不定,現在的每分每秒都有可能是臨終,臨終念佛也就是現在念佛,現在念佛也就是臨終念佛了。何況人都是活在當下的,除了現在,沒有臨終。當然就要現在念佛了。
再說,現在遇到念佛法門卻不念佛,而要等一個不確定的臨終,說明不知道念佛的好處,不是真想念佛。如真想發財的人,財寶現前,現在就想得到;真想治病的人,知有妙藥,立即就想服用;身犯死罪的人,聽說有免死牌,立即就想拿到手,因為如果不事先把免死牌帶在身上、保管好,說不定哪天半夜就會被拉出去砍頭,到時候就來不及了。
Namo Amituofo!
