This is a fragment from my
Commentary on the Smaller Amida Sutra (Amidakyo)
- work in progress and under constant revision -
Shakyamuni
Buddha said,
“For
what reason, Śāriputra, do you think that Buddha is called Amitābha? Śāriputra,
the Buddha’s light shines boundlessly and without hindrance over all the worlds
of the ten directions. It is for this reason that He is called Amitābha. Again,
Śāriputra, the lives of the Buddha and the people of His land last for
innumerable, unlimited, and incalculable kalpas. It is for this reason
that the Buddha is called Amitāyus.
Śāriputra,
ten kalpas have passed since Amitāyus attained Enlightenment. Moreover,
Śāriputra, He has an immeasurable and unlimited number of śrāvaka disciples,
all of them arhats, whose number cannot be reckoned by any means. His assembly
of Bodhisattvas
is similarly vast. Śāriputra, that Buddha land is filled with such splendid adornments.”[1]
As Shakyamuni confirms, Amida
(Amitayus) is now a Buddha because “ten kalpas have passed” since He
attained Enlightenment (Buddhahood). This is why in the Larger Sutra or
the Smaller Sutra and Contemplation Sutra, He no longer calls Him
Bodhisattva Dharmakara which was His name when He was in the causal stage, but “Amitayus”,
which means Infinite Life, or “Amitabha” - “Infinite Light”. These two
aspects, “Infinite Life” (Amitayus) and “Infinite Light” (Amitabha) are merged
into the word “Amida”[2], which
means the Buddha of Infinite Life and Infinite Light. His Infinite Life is
the effect of the 13th Vow He made when He was Dharmakara
Bodhisattva, while the Infinite Light is the effect of His 12th Vow[3]. So, we
cannot separate Amitayus (Infinite/unlimited Life) from Amitabha (Infinite/Boundless
Light) because these are the two aspects of the same Buddha as Shakyamuni
explained in section 4 of this sutra.
In the Larger Sutra, Shakyamuni also
said that Amida “is now dwelling in a Western Buddha-land called ‘Peace and
Bliss,’” – which is to be found not here, but “a hundred thousand
kotis[4]
of lands away from here”. Here is the passage,
“The Buddha replied to Ananda, ‘Bodhisattva
Dharmakara has already attained Buddhahood and is now dwelling in a
Western Buddha- land called ‘Peace and Bliss,’ a hundred
thousand kotis of lands away from here.’
Ananda further asked the Buddha, ‘How much time has passed since He attained Buddhahood?’ The Buddha replied, ‘Since He attained Buddhahood about ten kalpas have passed.’”[5]
The passage above is extremely
important as it shows that there is a clear distinction between this world with
its unenlightened beings, and the Pure Land. Shakyamuni did not explain Amida
and His Pure Land in ultimate terms and did not say that they are to be found
in one’s heart/mind or “here and now”, as some nowadays deluded scholars are trying to convince us. On the contrary, Dharmakara who became Amida Buddha is
dwelling in His Pure Land, outside of this samsaric realm.
The fact that Amida is “now
dwelling” in His Pure Land, also shows that He is active now in
bringing all beings to His realm. This now is everlasting and is
referring both to the time when Shakyamuni delivered that discourse (sutra) and
also to the time of Shan-tao, Honen, Shinran, Rennyo, we in the XXI century and
the future generations that will come after us. Amida is a Buddha of the
present, in the sense that He has already attained Buddhahood and will act
forever for the salvation of all beings. Because He is the Buddha of “Infinite
Life”, for Him now is without end.
What about the terms
“sravaka”, “arhats” and “Bodhisattvas” that appear in this section?
“He
has an immeasurable and unlimited number of śrāvaka disciples, all of them
arhats, whose number cannot be reckoned by any means. His assembly of
Bodhisattvas is
similarly vast.”
I think
those terms can have multiple meanings.
Usually
“sravaka” is used in the Hinayana sense of a person who seeks to realize
Nirvana for himself alone, but in this fragment as well as in various parts of
the Larger Sutra, I think it preserves its original meaning of “disciple” and
“hearer”. So, it means that all beings born in the Pure Land are the personal
disciples (sravaka) of Amida Buddha. Their number is infinite because they come
to be born in the Pure Land from all corners of the universe and will continue
to do so in the infinite future.
The term “arhat” is also used in two ways
in various texts. First it refers to the arhat of the Hinayana – a being who
attained personal freedom from birth and death but did not attain the perfect
Enlightenment of the Buddhas[6]. Thus,
they do not have Infinite Wisdom and Infinite Compassion and are not interested
in saving sentient beings. The second usage of the term is as one of the titles
of Shakyamuni and any Buddha, that is, in the sense of a Fully Enlightened
person.
The term Bodhisattva has two meanings,
1) bodhisattvas in aspiration who are still on the path and still unenlightened (not Buddhas yet). In this category we include anybody who made the four Bodhisattva vows[7] and aspire to attain Buddhahood for themselves and all beings as well as those who are born in the border land of the Pure Land.
Thus, the fragment above, “He has an
immeasurable and unlimited number of śrāvaka disciples, all of them arhats” may
have two meanings, 1) all beings born in the center of the Pure Land are the
personal disciples of Amida and are all fully enlightened and 2) all beings born in the border land of the Pure Land are also His personal disciples but
attained the limited Enlightenment of the arhats, that is, freedom from
samsara. Those born in the center of the Pure Land are part of Amida’s assembly
of Enlightened Bodhisattvas while those born in the border land are part of the
assembly of unenlightened bodhisattvas, free from samsara but not Buddhas yet.
Also,
just like the phrase “humans and devas (gods) in my land “
from section 17 of the Larger Sutra that Shakyamuni used only in relation with
the states of existence prior to their birth in the Pure Land, the words
sravakas, arhats and bodhisattvas might refer to the previous state of the
present dwellers of the Pure Land who were at the spiritual level of sravakas,
arhats of the Hinayana or bodhisattvas in aspiration in their former life,
prior to birth in the center (fulfilled land) of the Pure Land.[8]
is similarly vast. Śāriputra, that Buddha land is filled with such splendid adornments.”[1]
Ananda further asked the Buddha, ‘How much time has passed since He attained Buddhahood?’ The Buddha replied, ‘Since He attained Buddhahood about ten kalpas have passed.’”[5]
1) bodhisattvas in aspiration who are still on the path and still unenlightened (not Buddhas yet). In this category we include anybody who made the four Bodhisattva vows[7] and aspire to attain Buddhahood for themselves and all beings as well as those who are born in the border land of the Pure Land.
to be continued
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