last revised September 19th 2019
“If, when I attain Buddhahood, my
life-span should be limited, even to the extent of a hundred thousand kotis of
nayutas of kalpas[1],
may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.”[2]
the 13th Vow
This vow simply means that His
transcendent manifestation (Sambhogakaya body or Dharmakaya as compassionate
means)[3]
will last forever for the benefit of all beings.
It is very important to understand
that a Buddha like Amida is not an abstract concept, nor a symbol or metaphor,
but a living Buddha who has a transcendent body (Sambhogakaya) with multiple
manifestations (multiple Nirmanakayas or transformation/adaptation bodies) for
the sake of sentient beings. This body (Sambhogakaya aspect) and His Pure Land
are the result of His vows which, upon His Enlightenment, were fulfilled and
transformed into useful tools for delivering sentient beings.
It is a grave mistake to speak about
Amida Buddha only in terms of His ultimate reality beyond form (Dharmakaya as suchness) and forget His transcendent manifestation (Sambhogakaya or Dharmakaya as compassionate means[4])
in form and Name, because without the form and Name of Amida there would be no
possibility for us, sentient beings, to attain Buddhahood. We simply cannot
have access to ultimate Dharmakaya or Buddha nature just like that, in this
present life and with this very body. So we need a transcendent bridge from
this world of birth and death (Samsara) to Buddhahood. This transcendent bridge
is Amida Buddha and His Pure Land. We first entrust in Amida Buddha as an
Enlightened Person, go in His Pure Land after death and there we become Buddhas
ourselves.
As long as one
is unenlightened, one cannot have faith in the Dharmakaya as suchness or
ultimate Buddha nature. In Dharmakaya as suchness one can only dwell when he
becomes a Buddha himself because in that state there is a transcendence of any
duality. This is what those who deny the reality of Amida in His transcendental form (Sambhogakaya aspect) and of His Pure Land, do not understand.
Only in Amida
Buddha with a form and Name, that is, in Amida as described in the Larger
Sutra, can one have true faith. Shinran Shonin also talked about Amida in
ultimate terms but he encouraged people to entrust themselves to Amida as
described in the Larger Sutra whose story told there he fully accepted.
This transcendent bridge, Amida
Buddha as an Enlightened Person with His transcendent body (Sambhogakaya), will
last eternally as the 13th Vow promises. Even “a hundred
thousand kotis of nayutas of kalpas” is still limited time when
measuring the life span of Amida, so this symbolical number is mentioned again
to suggest the infinite and impossible to calculate life of this Buddha’s body.
Shakyamuni said in the passage showing the fulfilment of this vow:
“The
lifespan of Amitayus (Amida) is so long that it is impossible for anyone to
calculate it. To give an illustration, let us suppose that all the innumerable
sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions were reborn in human form
and that every one became a sravaka or pratyekabuddha. Even if they assembled
in one place, concentrated their thoughts, and exercised the power of their
wisdom to the utmost to reckon the length of the Buddha’s lifespan by the
number of kalpas, even after a thousand million kalpas they could still not
reach its limit.”[5]
Also, the Infinite Life of Amida means
that He will have enough patience and enough time to help all beings. This Vow is
in accord with the well known Mahayana verse:
“As long as space endures and
unenlightened beings exist,
may I too remain to dispel the miseries of the
world”.
So, Amida’s Infinite Life stands for
Infinite Compassion. He will endlessly work to save us all, without the small
break in His activity, as He himself said:
“If
I should not become a great benefactor
In
lives to come for immeasurable kalpas
To
save the poor and the afflicted everywhere,
May
I not attain perfect Enlightenment.”[6]
[1]
“Kalpa” is an impossible to calculate notion of time. “Kotis of nayutas of
kalpas” is often used to mean an infinite period.
[2] The Three Pure Land Sutras, A study and
Translation from Chinese by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold
Stewart, Nagata Nunshodo, Kyoto, 1995, p.243
[3] See my
explanations at the chapter “The doctrine of the three Buddha Bodies and two Buddha bodies in relation with Amida Buddha and His Pure Land” from my book, The True Teaching on Amida Buddha and His
Pure Land”, Dharma Lion Publications, Craiova, 2015, p.88
[4] We cannot understand ‘Dharmakaya as suchness’
but ‘Dharmakaya as compassionate means’ makes himself known in Light and Name.
Dharmakaya as compassionate means is still Dharmakaya, but Dharmakaya in action
for the sake of sentient beings.
[5] The Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study
and Translation from Chinese by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with
Harold Stewart, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation
and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.26
[6] The Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study
and Translation from Chinese by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with
Harold Stewart, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation
and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.20
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