印光法师：至诚恳到真信切愿即是西方种子| Master Yinguang: Faith, Vow and Practice to be born in the Pure Land
Practitioners must understand the suffering of the Saha world and the bliss of the Land of Ultimate Bliss. We should make the vow to leave the suffering of the Saha world and to attain the joy of the Pure Land. We should not seek blessings and good fortune in the human or heavenly realms.
It is like being imprisoned and urgently wishing to return to one’s hometown. The Saha world is truly a great prison, while the Land of Ultimate Bliss is our true and beautiful homeland.
As the ancient verse says:
“Returning is within one’s own decision; return, and you shall arrive. In the scenery of the homeland, who is there to compete with you?”
Dear friends, if you can truly recite the Buddha’s name single-mindedly and seek rebirth in the West, who in the Western Pure Land would compete with you? When we want to return home, we should not hesitate. If we think, “I will go back in a few more years,” then we cannot correspond with the Buddha.
With utmost sincerity, true faith, and earnest vows, these become the seeds of rebirth in the Western Pure Land.
This is because the Pure Land teaching takes Faith, Vow, and Practices its essential principles. They are like the three legs of a precious tripod: not one can be missing.
Some people focus only on practice and do not emphasize faith and vows. This is attachment to practice while neglecting principle, and it still belongs to the path of self-power.
Others speak only of “Amitabha as one’s own nature” and “the Pure Land as mind-only,” but do not rely on the Buddha’s power to seek rebirth. This is attachment to principle while neglecting practice. Both are the same kind of mistake.
Therefore, Master Ouyi said:
“Whether one attains rebirth depends entirely on the presence or absence of faith and vows. The level of one’s lotus grade depends entirely on the depth of one’s recitation of the Buddha’s name.”
These words are truly precise, profound, and to the point.
From The Collected Writings of Master Yinguang: Dharma Talk on Buddha-Recitation at Fazang Temple, Shanghai
白话译文：
修行人必须知道娑婆之苦，极乐之乐。要发愿离娑婆之苦，发愿得极乐之乐。不可以求人天福报，譬如处在牢狱之中，急切愿求回到家乡。然而娑婆世界，就是一个大牢狱啊！极乐世界，才是好家乡。古人诗偈说：“自是不归归便得，故乡风月有谁争。”诸位果真能够一心念佛，求生西方，西方有谁与你争呢？要回家乡，不可犹豫，说再过几年回家，就不能与佛相应。至诚恳到，真信切愿，就是西方种子。
因为净土法门，以信愿行三法为宗旨。如宝鼎三足，缺一不可。或有人专门注重行持，而不注重信愿，这是执事废理，仍然属于自力法门。与专门以“自性弥陀，唯心净土”，而不仗佛力求生的执理废事，是同一个过失。所以蕅益大师说：“得生与否，全由信愿之有无。品位高下，全由持名之深浅。”实在确当精辟呀！——《印光法师文钞》• 上海法藏寺念佛开示
Namo Amitabha Buddha 🪷🙏
Namo Amituofo 🪷🙏
