Major Expositions

KGSS V : 22-36

[Passages from the Masters: Vasubandhu]

22 The Treatise on the Pure Land states:

O World-honored one, with the mind that is single
I take refuge in the Tathagata of unhindered light
Filling the ten quarters
And aspire to be born in the land of happiness.

Contemplating the features of that world,
I see that it transcends the three realms.
It is infinite, like space,
Vast and boundless.

[T'an-luan]

23 The Commentary on the Treatise states:

Concerning "the fulfillment of the adornment of the virtue of purity," the gatha states:

Contemplating the features of that world,
I see that it transcends the three realms.

Why is this inconceivable? When foolish beings possessed of blind passions attain birth in the Pure Land, they are not bound by the karmic fetters of the three realms. That is, without severing blind passions, they realize nirvana itself. How can this be conceived?

24 Further, it states:

The great compassion of true enlightenment (tao)
Is born from supramundane roots of good.

What is described in these two lines is termed "fulfillment of the adornment of the virtue of its nature..."

Nature means essence. It signifies that the Pure Land accords with dharma-nature and does not conflict with dharma-essence. This matter has the same significance as the arising of Jewel-King Tathagata's nature in the Garland Sutra.

It further signifies the nature fulfilled through repeated practice. It indicates what was fulfilled by Dharmakara Bodhisattva's accumulating all the paramitas and repeatedly practicing them.

Further, nature refers to the seed-lineage of sages. At the beginning, Dharmakara Bodhisattva, in the presence of Lokesvararaja Buddha, realized insight into nonorigination. The stage attained at that time is termed "the seed-lineage of sages." While abiding in this "nature," he established the Forty-eight great Vows and gave rise to this land through performing practices. It is called the Pure Land of happiness. This is what is realized by the cause. Concerning the fruition, the cause is taught; hence the term nature.

Further, the term nature has the meaning of necessity, the meaning of unalterability. It is like the ocean's nature having one taste; when various streams enter, they necessarily become the one taste, and the ocean's taste does not alter accordingly.

Again, it is like the nature of the human body being impure, so that things having excellent color and fragrance and pleasing taste, on entering it, all become impure. Those born in the Pure Land of happiness have no impure form, no impure mind, and in the end they all acquire the uncreated dharma-body of purity and equality, for the pure nature of the land of happiness has been fulfilled.

"The great compassion of true enlightenment is born from supramundane roots of good" refers to the great enlightenment of equality. The enlightenment of equality is termed "true enlightenment" because equality is the fundamental aspect of all things. Because of the equality of all things, awakening the mind [aspiring for enlightenment] is the same. Because awakening the mind is the same, the enlightenment (tao) is the same. Because the enlightenment is the same, great compassion is the same. Because great compassion is the true cause of attaining the Buddha's enlightenment, it is termed "the great compassion of true enlightenment."

Concerning compassion, there are three kinds of objects. First, sentient beings as object; this is small compassion. Second, things as object; this is medium compassion. Third, nothing as object; this is great compassion. Great compassion is none other than the supramundane good. The Pure Land of happiness arises from this great compassion; therefore this great compassion is said to be the root of the Pure Land. Hence the phrase, "born from supramundane roots of good."

25 Further, it states:

Question: When we look into the power of Dharmakara Bodhisattva's Primal Vow and Nagarjuna Bodhisattva's verses of praise, they seem to take the great numbers of sravakas in that land as wondrous. What is the meaning of this?

Answer: Sravakas take reality-limit for enlightenment. From this it is assumed that they should not be able to produce the germ of the Buddha's enlightenment. However, with the Primal Vow's inconceivable, transcendent power, Amida Buddha grasps and brings them to birth in the Pure Land; there, again through the transcendent power, they unfailingly produce the mind aspiring for supreme enlightenment. It is like the fish and clams dying when a chen bird enters the water, and the dead all reviving when a rhinoceros touches it. They should not be able to produce [the germ of enlightenment] and yet they do; hence, it is indeed wondrous. Of the five inconceivabilities, the Buddha-dharma is the most inconceivable. The Buddha is able to cause sravakas to produce the mind aspiring for supreme enlightenment. Truly, this is the utmost of inconceivabilities.

26 Further, it states:

"Inconceivable power" indicates the inconceivability of the power of the virtues possessed by the Buddha-land's seventeen kinds of adornment. The sutras teach that there are five inconceivabilities: first, the inconceivability of the number of sentient beings; second, the inconceivability of karmic power; third, the inconceivability of the power of dragons; fourth, the inconceivability of the power of meditation; fifth, the inconceivability of the power of Buddha-dharma.

Concerning the Buddha-land's inconceivability, which is mentioned here, there are two kinds of power. The first is karmic power; [the Pure Land is] the fruition of Dharmakara Bodhisattva's supramundane roots of good and the great Vow's karmic power. The second is the sustaining power of Amida, the perfectly enlightened Dharma-king, by which the Pure Land is embraced.

27 Further, it states:

Concerning "showing self-benefit and the benefiting of others," the Treatise states:

I have briefly explained the seventeen kinds of fulfillment of adornments of the virtues of Amida Buddha's land. For the Buddha has shown the fulfillment of the power of the great virtues of self-benefit and the fulfillment of the virtues of benefiting others.

Briefly signifies that the virtues of the Pure Land are immeasurable; it is not that there are but seventeen. It is said that Mount Sumeru can fit into a mustard seed, and that a hair pore can hold the vast ocean. Can this come about through the miraculous powers of the mountain or the sea, or the powers of the hair pore or the mustard seed? It can come about only through the miraculous power of the one possessing it.

28 Further, it states:

What is the fulfillment of the adornment, "the virtue of sustaining without any futility"? The gatha states:

Contemplating the power of the Buddha's Primal Vow,
I see that no one who encounters it passes by in vain;
It quickly brings to fullness and perfection
The great treasure ocean of virtues.

The fulfillment of the virtue of sustaining without any futility refers to the power of Amida Tathagata's Primal Vow... Sustaining without any futility is based on the Forty-eight Vows that Dharmakara Bodhisattva made in the past in his causal stage and on Amida Tathagata's transcendent powers freely working in the present. The Vow gives rise to the power; the power fulfills the Vow. The Vow has not been made in vain; the power has not been actualized in futility. Power and Vow accord with each other and are never in conflict. Hence, the "fulfillment" [of this virtue].

29 Gathas in Praise of Amida Buddha states:

Namu-amida-butsu.

Interpreting the title, I call this work An Appended Scripture on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life. In praising Amida, it also refers to the land of peace.

Since attainment of Buddhahood, ten kalpas have passed;
The Buddha's life indeed has no measure.
Dharma-body's wheel of light pervades the dharma-realm,
Shining on the blind and ignorant of the world; hence, I bow in homage.

The light that is wisdom cannot be measured;
Hence, the Buddha is called "immeasurable light."
All limited beings receive this dawn-light;
Thus, I pay homage to the true and real light.

Infinite is the wheel-like light that brings emancipation;
Hence, the Buddha is called "boundless light."
All touched by it are freed from being and nonbeing;
Thus, I pay homage to the enlightenment of nondiscrimination.

The cloud of light is unhindered, like boundless space;
Hence, the Buddha is called "unhindered light."
It benefits all beings caught in hindrances;
Thus, I bow in homage to the one beyond conception.

The light of purity is beyond compare;
Hence, the Buddha is called "unequaled light."
Those who encounter it are rid of karmic bonds;
Thus, I pay homage to the ultimate shelter.

The Buddha-light, shining in splendor, is supreme;
Hence, the Buddha is called "lord of blazing light."
The pitch darkness of the three lower courses receives it and is dispelled;
Thus, I bow in homage to the great one worthy of offerings.

Bodhi's effulgence, in its brilliance, transcends all colors;
Hence, the Buddha is called "light of purity."
Once shone upon, beings are freed from evil's defilements
And all gain emancipation; thus, I bow in homage.

The light of compassion reaches far, bestowing happiness;
Hence, the Buddha is called "light of joy."
Wherever it shines, joy of dharma is attained;
Thus, I pay homage to the great consolation.

The Buddha-light rends the darkness of ignorance;
Hence, the Buddha is called "light of wisdom."
All Buddhas and sages of the three vehicles
Together offer praise; thus, I pay homage.

The light, at all times, shines everywhere;
Hence, the Buddha is called "uninterrupted light."
Because beings hear this light-power, their thoughts uninterrupted,
They all attain birth; thus, I bow in homage.

None, excepting the Buddhas, can fathom this light;
Hence, the Buddha is called "inconceivable light."
The Buddhas of the ten quarters all extol birth
And praise Amida's virtue; thus, I pay homage.

The majestic light transcends forms; it cannot be named.
Hence, the Buddha is called "inexpressible light."
With this light as cause, Buddhahood was attained; its resplendence
Is praised by all Buddhas. Thus, I bow in homage.

The light, in its luminosity, surpasses sun and moon;
Hence, the Buddha is called "light that surpasses sun and moon."
Even Sakyamuni Buddha's praise is not exhaustive;
Thus, I pay homage to the unequaled...

The great master, Nagarjuna Mahasattva, manifested form,
And first corrected distortions [of the teaching].
He closed off wrong views and opened the right path;
He is the eye for all beings of this Jambudvipa continent.

Reverently accepting the Honored-one's words, he reached the stage of joy,
Took refuge in Amida, and was born in the land of happiness.

I have been wandering in the three realms since the beginningless past,
Turning on the wheel of falsity.
The karma I commit every moment, every instant,
Is a step bound to the six courses, so that I stay in the three paths.

May the compassionate light protect me
And keep me from losing the mind aspiring for enlightenment.
I praise the voice of the Buddha's wisdom and virtue.
May all beings of the ten quarters having ties with the teaching be brought to hear it,

And may those who aspire for birth in the land of happiness
All, everywhere, have their hindrances dispersed as they desire.
My merits, whether great or small,
I give to all beings, so that all be born together.

Entrusting to the inconceivable light,
I single-heartedly take refuge and pay homage.

Those throughout the ten quarters and three times who awaken immeasurable wisdom
All alike accord with oneness and are called "perfectly enlightened."
In them the two wisdoms - real and accommodated - are perfectly fulfilled; their awakening is of equality.
Their grasping and guiding beings, according to conditions, is truly immense.

My taking refuge in Amida Buddha's Pure Land
Is taking refuge in all the Buddhas' lands;
Single-heartedly I extol one Buddha;
May it extend to the unhindered ones throughout the ten quarters.

To each of the innumerable Buddhas of the ten quarters,
With all my heart, I bow in homage...

[Shan-tao]

30 The Master of Kuang-ming temple states:

Question: Is Amida's Pure Land a fulfilled land or a transformed land?

Answer: It is a fulfilled land, not a transformed land. How is this known? The Mahayana Identity in Essence Sutra states:

The land of happiness in the west and Amida Buddha are a fulfilled land and fulfilled Buddha.

Further, the Sutra of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life states:

In practicing the bodhisattva path, Bhiksu Dharmakara, before Lokesvararaja Buddha, established forty-eight vows, stating in each one:

If, when I attain Buddhahood, the sentient beings of the ten quarters say my Name aspiring to be born in my land, even but ten times, and do not attain birth, may I not attain the supreme enlightenment.

He has already attained Buddhahood; he is a body of fulfilled cause. Further, the Contemplation Sutra states, concerning the three grades of the highest level, that at the time of death, "Amida Buddha and transformed Buddhas come to welcome these people." The fulfilled body together with transformed bodies comes and extends his hand to them; thus, the word and is used. From this attesting passage we know that Amida is a fulfilled body.

"Fulfilled body" and "accommodated body" are synonymous, like "eye" and "organ of sight." In earlier translations, "fulfilled" is translated "accommodated"; in later ones, "accommodated" is rendered "fulfilled." In general, "fulfilled" means that practice - the cause - is not futile and necessarily brings about its result in the future; the result is "accommodated" to the cause. Hence, the term "fulfilled." Further, the myriad practices performed through three great incalculable kalpas necessarily bring enlightenment. Now, already, enlightenment has been realized; therefore, he is an "accommodated" body. Concerning the Buddhas of the past and present, three bodies are distinguished; there is no body apart from these. The variations in the eight events [of a Buddha's life] may be numberless, and the Buddhas' names may be countless as grains of sand, but we find, from the perspective of the essential body, that they all belong to transformed bodies. Amida, however, is in actuality a fulfilled body.

Question: When you say "fulfilled," it is assumed that it is eternal and forever free of arising and perishing. Why, then, is it stated in the Sutra of Avalokitesvara's Prediction of Enlightenment, "There is a time when Amida Buddha also enters nirvana." How is this passage to be interpreted?

Answer: The meaning of "entering" and "not entering" nirvana pertains only to the realm of Buddhas; the shallow wisdoms of those of the three vehicles cannot have even a glimpse of it. Much less, then, can it be easily understood by the small and foolish. Nevertheless, if you urgently feel that you must know, the matter may be clarified through drawing on the Buddhist sutras. The chapter "Nirvana is Not Illusory" of the Larger Prajnaparamita Sutra states:

The Buddha said to Subhuti, "What are your thoughts? Suppose an illusory man creates an illusory man. Is this illusion quite real and nonempty or not?"

Subhuti said, "It is not, World-honored one."

The Buddha said to Subhuti, "Form is illusion. Sensation, perception, will, and consciousness are illusion. Even all-knowing wisdom is illusion.

Subhuti said to the Buddha, "World-honored one, are dharmas of the world illusion? And are supramundane dharmas also illusion? The four bases of mindfulness, four right efforts, four supernatural powers, five faculties, five powers, seven factors for awakening, eightfold noble path, and three gates of emancipation; the Buddha's ten powers, four fearlessnesses, four kinds of unhindered wisdom, and eighteen special qualities; the results of practices of various dharmas; and the wise and the sages - stream-enterers, once-returners, nonreturners, arhats, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattva-mahasattvas, and all Buddhas, world-honored ones - are all these illusion?

The Buddha said to Subhuti, "All dharmas are illusion. Among them, there are the illusory dharmas of sravakas. There are the illusory dharmas of pratyekabuddhas. There are the illusory dharmas of bodhisattvas. There are the illusory dharmas of Buddhas. There are the illusory dharmas of blind passions. There are the illusory dharmas of karmic causation. For this reason, Subhuti, all dharmas are illusion."

Subhuti said to the Buddha, "Regarding the sundering of blind passions, World-honored one, the fruits of stream-enterer, once-returner, nonreturner, and arhat, and the path of pratyekabuddhas lie in cutting off the residual energy of blind passions. Are all these illusion?"

The Buddha said to Subhuti, "All dharmas, as long as they have the aspect of arising and perishing, are illusion."

Subhuti said, "World-honored one, what dharma is not illusion?"

The Buddha said, "The dharma free of arising and perishing is not illusion."

Subhuti said, "What is it that, neither arising nor perishing, is not illusion?"

The Buddha said, "Nirvana, which is not delusive - this dharma is not illusion."

"World-honored one, you the Buddha have yourself taught that all dharmas are characterized by equality and are not created by sravakas, not created by pratyekabuddhas, not created by bodhisattva-mahasattvas, not created by Buddhas. Whether or not there is a Buddha, the nature of all dharmas is always emptiness. Emptiness is itself nirvana. How is it that the one dharma of nirvana is not illusion?"

The Buddha said to Subhuti, "It is so! It is so! All dharmas are characterized by equality and are not creations of sravakas and so forth; emptiness is itself nirvana. If bodhisattvas who have newly awakened aspiration hear that all dharmas are ultimately empty and so on, and that even nirvana is illusion, their hearts will be seized with surprise and fear. For the sake of bodhisattvas who have newly awakened aspiration, I deliberately make a distinction, saying that what arises and perishes is illusion, while that which neither arises nor perishes is not illusion."

We know clearly from this sacred teaching that Amida is definitely a fulfilled body. Even if he should enter nirvana, there is no contradiction. All wise people should reflect on this.

Question: If, as you say, the Buddha and land are fulfilled, they are lofty and excellent fulfilled dharmas and beyond the reach of even Hinayana sages. How could it be possible for foolish beings with defiling obstructions to gain entrance there?

Answer: If the defiling obstructions of sentient beings are considered, such aspiration is indeed difficult. But when we truly entrust ourselves to the Buddha's Vow, it becomes the strong cause bringing all of the five vehicles equally to entrance.

31 Further, he states:

The passage beginning I now aspire to be born in [the Pure Land of] Amida clarifies the Queen's choosing in particular the place where she desires to be born. This shows that Amida's land is [the fulfillment of] the Forty-eight Vows. Each Vow gives rise to the dominant, excellent cause; through the cause, the excellent practice is performed; through practice, the excellent result is attained; through the result, the excellent fulfillment is accomplished; through the fulfillment, the land of bliss is established; through the bliss, compassionate activity is pervasively manifested; through the compassionate activity, the gate of wisdom is revealed. The compassionate mind is never exhausted; the wisdom is infinite. Through the practice of compassion and wisdom together, the nectar of dharma spreads everywhere. In this way, the beneficent dharma-rain saves all beings universally. Passages in the other sutras encouraging [aspiration for the Pure Land] are numerous. The sages, with hearts in accord, all teach and praise it in the same way. For this reason, the Tathagata secretly led the Queen to make her selection.

32 Further, he states:

The city of bliss, tranquil and uncreated, in the West,
Is ultimately free and peaceful, far removed from being and nonbeing;
Great compassion imbues the heart, so that one sports in the dharma-realm;
Transforming oneself into various bodies, one benefits all beings equally, without discrimination.

Let us return! Do not abide
In this homeland of maras. Since innumerable kalpas ago
We have been transmigrating,
Passing through all the six courses.

Nowhere has there been any pleasure;
We hear only the voices of grief and sorrow.
After this present lifetime has ended,
Let us enter the city of nirvana!

33 Further, he states:

The land of bliss is the realm of nirvana, the uncreated;
I fear it is hard to be born there by doing sundry good acts according to our diverse conditions.
Hence, the Tathagata selected the essential dharma,
Instructing beings to say Amida's Name with singleness, again singleness.

34 Further, he states:

Drawn by the Buddha, we return effortlessly to naturalness (jinen);
Jinen is itself the land of Amida.
Undefiled by passions, unarisen, it is true reality.
Whether going or returning, advancing or halting, we always accord with the Buddha;
We realize the body of uncreated dharma-nature.

35 Further, he states:

Amida's perfect fruit of enlightenment is termed supreme nirvana.

[Kyeong-heung]

36 Master Kyeong-heung states:

Buddha of immeasurable light: because it cannot be calculated. Buddha of boundless light: because there is nothing it does not shine upon. Buddha of unhindered light: because, with regard to human beings and things, there is nothing that obstructs it. Buddha of incomparable light: because it is beyond all bodhisattvas' lights. Buddha of light that is lord of blazing light: because the radiance, being free and unrestricted, is unexcelled. Buddha of the light of purity: because it is manifested from roots of good free of greed, it rids sentient beings of their defilements of greed. Because it is free of defilements of greed, it is "pure." Buddha of the light of joy: because it arises from roots of good free of anger, and thus can rid sentient beings of anger and rage. Buddha of the light of wisdom: because, emerging from the mind of roots of good free from folly, it rids sentient beings of ignorance. Buddha of uninterrupted light: because the Buddha's eternal light constantly illuminates and benefits beings. Buddha of inconceivable light: because it cannot be fathomed by those of the two vehicles. Buddha of inexpressible light: because those of other vehicles [than Buddha] cannot teach it. Buddha of light surpassing sun and moon: because it shines constantly day and night, unlike the two lights of this Saha world.

That all have their bodies touched by this light is due to the working of the "Vow of softness and gentleness in body and mind."