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| Shakyamuni Buddha entrusting the sutra to Maitreya, the future Buddha |
Although
the intention of Shakyamuni when delivering this sutra was to help the audience
and us, people of future generations, to entrust completely to Amida, say His
Name in faith and aspire to be born in His Pure Land, that is, to come in
accord with the Primal Vow, only a part of those present actually did that and
entered the stage of non-retrogression. However, because they were in the
presence of Shakyamuni Buddha’s field of influence and had various degrees of
devotion towards Him, and because they all “without exception, rejoiced at the Buddha’s discourse”[1] they did acquire some important benefits for their later spiritual
development :
“When the World-honored One had finished His presentation of this
sutra, aspiration for highest Enlightenment was awakened in innumerable
sentient beings. Twelve thousand nayutas of human beings attained the pure Dharma eye; twenty-two koṭis of devas and humans attained
the stage of non-returner; eight hundred thousand bhikṣus realized the wisdom
of destroying defilements; forty koṭis of bodhisattvas attained the stage of non-retrogression;
and all, adorned with the virtue
of the universal vows, will ultimately attain perfect Enlightenment.”[2]
As
we see in the above, some awakened the aspiration for highest Enlightenment,
but did not entered the stage of non-retrogression, others attained the pure
Dharma eye which means insight into the Four Noble Truths that is attained in
the stage of stream – winner[3]
or the stage in which various wrong views are abandoned. Others attained the
stage of non-returner which means they will no longer be reborn in the world of
desire[4]
and some also realized the wisdom of destroying defilements. And most
important, some of the practitioners in the audience who awakened aspiration
for the highest Enlightenment and who entrusted completely to Amida Buddha for
its attainment, did enter the stage of non-retrogression – “forty koṭis of bodhisattvas attained the stage of non-retrogression”. I am convinced that
Ananda too, who clearly perceived the intention of Shakyamuni even before He
started to preach this sutra, and who provoked Him to show Amida and His Pure
Land to the audience was among the bodhisattvas in aspiration who entered the stage of non-retrogression through faith in Amida. Also the great Bodhisattva Maitreya
who is the successor of Shakyamuni and who will appear as the next Buddha after
billions of years into the future to turn again the wheel of Dharma, accepted
this sutra in faith. He too will teach about Amida and His Pure Land, just as
Shakyamuni did.
However,
even those who did not entrust completely to Amida at that time, at least they
made a strong karmic connection with Him and sooner or later, they will too,
reach a point in the future when they will abandon the clinging to their own
power, and attain faith. This is the meaning of, “all, adorned with the virtue of the universal vows, will ultimately
attain perfect Enlightenment”[5].
Ultimately, they will come to entrust to Amida’s universal vows, enter the
stage of non-retrogression, be born in the Pure Land and attain perfect
Enlightenment there. None who has been exposed to Amida even once will escape
Him, and sooner or later he/she will reach His Pure Land. Even to see Amida’s
image or a painting of His Pure Land and to have the smallest attitude of
respect towards Him or His Dharma, creates a karmic connection and plants a
seed into one’s mental continuum which one day will grow into a tree of faith.
The
sutra starts with Shakyamuni’s supreme appearance,
“At
that time all the senses of the World-honored One radiated joy, His entire body
appeared serene and glorious, and His august countenance looked most majestic.”[6]
and ends with extraordinary supernatural
manifestations:
“At that time the entire universe
of a thousand million worlds quaked in six ways, and a great light illuminated
all the lands in the ten directions. A hundred thousand kinds of music played
spontaneously, and innumerable marvellous flowers fell in profusion from the
sky.”[7]
Both
manifestations at the beginning and end of the sutra show that this was indeed
the most important discourse of Shakyamuni’s lifetime – the true reason for His
coming to this world.
All
the samsaric universe with all the worlds in the ten directions quacked and was
illuminated by the great Light of Amida so as to show that this is indeed, the
universal method to save all beings without discrimination. The music which
played spontaneously in many ways and the innumerable marvelous flowers that fell
from the sky represent the approval of all Buddhas, including Amida, in all
their three bodies (ultimate Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya and multiple
Nirmanakayas) of this supreme teaching – the One Vehicle of the Primal Vow[8],
the teaching that all Buddhas teach.
[1] 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.71
[2] 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.70 – 71.
[3]
According to the glossary in 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.135.
[4] The
world of desire is composed of hells, hungry spirits (pretas), animals, humans,
demigods (asuras) and a few celestial realms inhabited by gods. Above it there
are the gods in the realm of form and realm of non-form where these
non-returners are born.
[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.71.
[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.7
[7] 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.71.
[8] Read the chapter “The One Vehicle of the Primal Vow – the ultimate teaching of Shakyamuni and all Buddhas” from my book The
Meaning of Faith and Nembutsu in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, 2019, free online
editon, http://amida-ji-retreat-temple-romania.blogspot.com/2018/07/new-book-meaning-of-faith-and-nembutsu.html
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