Infinite Light, Infinite Life

Second, setting forth the wondrous direct reward, the host and retinue, in two parts: first, clarifying the wondrous teaching-lord; second, clarifying the wondrous retinue. The first has two: first, a general inquiry; second, a detailed explanation. Here is the first.

Second, the detailed explanation, in two parts: first, explaining in terms of light; second, explaining in terms of life. Here is the first. The nature of mind, tranquil and yet ever illuminating, is precisely what constitutes light; now, having thoroughly realized the immeasurable substance of the nature of mind itself, his light is therefore immeasurable. Every buddha of the ten directions and three time-periods has, without exception, thoroughly realized the whole substance of the nature of mind, and every one of them, without exception, shines upon the lands of the ten directions without obstruction — every one of them could rightly be called "infinite light." Yet because the power of their vows made while still causal beings differs from one buddha to the next, each takes up a distinct name according to his own causes and conditions. This present buddha, in a former life as the monk Dharmākara, made forty-eight vows, among which was once a vow that his light should constantly shine upon the ten directions — hence his fruit, now accomplished, is exactly as he had earlier vowed.

The Dharma-body's light is immeasurable because it is exhausted vertically and pervades horizontally without limit; the reward-body's light is immeasurable because it accords fully with the true nature of dharmas — in this, every buddha's path is the same as every other's. As for the light of the response-body, however, there is variation: some illuminate only a single yojana, some ten, a hundred, or a thousand yojanas; some illuminate a single world, some ten, a hundred, or a thousand worlds. Only Amitābha universally illuminates the immeasurable worlds of the ten directions — hence he alone is specially named "Infinite Light." Yet the three bodies are neither one nor different; this distinction is only forcibly drawn in order to enable beings to obtain the four benefits.

Second, explaining in terms of life, again in two parts: first, directly clarifying that both host's and retinue's lifespans are immeasurable; second, showing in passing that ten kalpas have already passed since his attainment of buddhahood. Here is the first. This is as if to say that the lifespans of both that buddha and his people are immeasurable, boundless asaṃkhyeya kalpas — for the languages of the Western Regions often invert their word order in just this way. The nature of mind, illuminating and yet ever tranquil, is precisely what constitutes life; now, having thoroughly realized the immeasurable substance of the nature of mind itself, his life is therefore immeasurable. The Dharma-body's life is immeasurable because it has neither beginning nor end; the reward-body's life is immeasurable because, though it has a beginning, it has no end. In this, too, every buddha's path is the same as every other's, and every one could rightly be called "infinite life." The response-body, however, varies in length according to vow and according to capacity. This present buddha, because as the monk Dharmākara he made forty-eight vows, among which was once a vow that both his own lifespan as buddha and the lifespan of his people should likewise be immeasurable, his fruit, now accomplished, is exactly as he had earlier vowed — hence he alone is specially named "Infinite Life." This span, in fact, does possess a real limit; it is only because no reckoning by gods or humans could number it that it is called "immeasurable." Yet since the three bodies are already neither one nor different, then the response-body, too, may be said to be precisely the infinity of the infinite itself.

Second, showing in passing that ten kalpas have already passed since his attainment of buddhahood. The passage above has already made clear that Amitābha is presently teaching the Dharma; this passage now further makes clear that his future lifespan is immeasurable; and so this passage now further clarifies that, in the past, his attainment of buddhahood already occurred ten kalpas ago. Now, the Dharma-body, in itself, has neither an attaining nor a not-attaining, and so should not properly be discussed in terms of kalpas; the reward-body, whose cause is fulfilled and whose fruit is complete, is called "attained," and the response-body, manifesting a birth for the sake of beings, is likewise called "attained" — both of these may properly be discussed in terms of kalpas. Again: the Dharma-body, in that its cause, cultivated virtue, is thereby manifested, may also be discussed in terms of attainment and kalpas; the reward-body has, apart from this, no separately new attainment; and the response-body, like the moon reflected in a river, likewise has neither an attaining nor a not-attaining, and so should likewise not be discussed in terms of kalpas. Yet every buddha's attainment of the path has both its original ground and its manifested trace, and the original ground itself can never be fathomed; here, speaking only in terms of the trace manifested as attainment in the Western land of Utmost Bliss, his buddhahood was attained ten kalpas ago — and this is precisely a case where, the three bodies being one, all three are attained at once; it is likewise a case of discussing "attainment" in terms of neither attainment nor non-attainment.

Second, clarifying the wondrous retinue, again in two parts: first, the wondrousness of the śrāvakas and bodhisattvas; second, the wondrousness of those born there never falling back. Here is the first. The śrāvakas and bodhisattvas beyond all reckoning are, every one of them, brought about by Amitābha's own great vow and great practice while still a causal being — hence it says "accomplished with just such adornments of merit."

Second, the wondrousness of those born there never falling back. Avaivartika translates as "non-retrogressing," and carries three senses: first, non-retrogression in stage — having entered the stream of sagehood, one no longer falls back into the state of an ordinary being; second, non-retrogression in practice — constantly wishing to liberate beings, one no longer falls back into the state of the two lesser vehicles; third, non-retrogression in thought — thought after thought flows into the all-knowing wisdom. Reckoned in terms of this world, non-retrogression in stage corresponds to the Tripiṭaka teaching's first fruit, the shared teaching's ground of vision, the distinct teaching's seventh degree of faith, and the perfect teaching's first degree of faith; non-retrogression in practice corresponds to the shared teaching's bodhisattva stage, the distinct teaching's ten practices, and the perfect teaching's ten degrees of faith; non-retrogression in thought corresponds to the distinct teaching's first ground and the perfect teaching's first abiding. But within the Pure Land, even one who has committed the five heinous crimes or the ten evils, and who accomplishes the ten recollections and, carrying his karma along, is reborn in the very lowest of the lowest grades, attains all three kinds of non-retrogression alike, without exception — for the Pure Land has no condition that could cause backsliding at all. Moreover, once born in the Pure Land, every being's lifespan is immeasurable, advancing spontaneously in cultivation straight up to the rank of one bound for buddhahood after a single further birth; observing the ten directions' worlds, wherever there is no buddha, wherever capacities have ripened, they go there and manifest the attainment of buddhahood. Hence those bound for buddhahood after one more birth are exceedingly many, beyond what any reckoning could know. This closes the first section: broadly setting forth the wondrous fruits of that land's dependent and direct rewards, in order to give rise to faith.

Second, directly exhorting sentient beings to make the vow and hold the name, in order to accomplish the cause, in three parts: first, exhorting them to make the vow; second, exhorting them to establish the practice; third, a summary exhortation. Here is the first. Having already set forth that land's wondrous fruits of dependent and direct reward in order to exhort deep faith, the text now further exhorts whoever has heard and believed to make the vow accordingly, seeking rebirth — faith and vow together are precisely the essential guide to rebirth in the Pure Land. Why is this? If one has not heard the names of Utmost Bliss's dependent and direct rewards, or has heard them explained yet refuses to believe, then this cannot properly be called "hearing" at all. But having now truly heard, one already belongs to the initial capacity of the distinct and perfect teachings, and is therefore instructed to arouse the bodhi-vow. For although that land is, in general, common to all four kinds of Pure Land, it nonetheless lies beyond this sahā world's own three realms, and is moreover not the state of one-sided empty nirvāṇa realized by the two lesser vehicles — hence merely being willing to vow and seek rebirth there already belongs to what is gathered in by the vast vows of the distinct and perfect teachings, since one thereby seeks neither the blessings of humans and gods nor the fruits of the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha — what else could this be but the great vow of bodhi itself! Were one instead to seek the blessings of humans and gods, or to seek only the tranquility of the lesser vehicle, this would not be the vow to be reborn in that land at all. Hence this vow to be reborn in that land arises from deep faith — faith and vow together are precisely the compass of the Pure Land — and the text that follows, holding fast to the name, is the proper practice itself.

If faith and vow are firm and solid, then even ten recollections, or even a single recollection, at the very moment of death, will still certainly secure rebirth. But without faith and vow, even if one took up this very name as a meditative topic and held it fast until it were like a silver wall or an iron rampart, impervious to wind and unwetted by rain, there would still not be so much as one chance in ten thousand of thereby attaining rebirth in the Pure Land — this is something a practitioner of pure karma must not fail to know. The clause "and why" that follows resolves the reason one should vow to seek rebirth. "To be gathered together in one place with such supremely good people as these" points back to the innumerable arhats, innumerable bodhisattvas, and innumerable beings bound for buddhahood after one more birth spoken of in the passage above. Without great faith and a great vow, how could one possibly be gathered together in one place with such supremely good people as these? The larger version of the Amitābha Sūtra likewise takes the arousing of the bodhi-vow as essential — in precise agreement with this.