The impression given from the written vows may mislead many men to think that their aim in spiritual and life is just to go to Pure Land in afterlife by reciting Omitofo.
But Amitabha by his vast merits is able to do more than that and he vows to do more than that.
He helps us in this life by smoothing out issues so that we are in better position to cultivate peace through the Way even here and now and not wait till the afterlife.
All we need is to call out his name. We do not need to belong to any sect or religion to avail ourselves of his help.
That is the truth that many fail to grasp due to ignorance and tendency to procrastinate in cultivation of the Way and defer it to the afterlife.
This tendency can grow into a habit which may even become impediment to spiritual cultivation. Such position can promote sloth and inaction in the present life. These are serious obstacles to enlightenment.
By having the correct disposition, we can be in mental Pure Land here and now while in physical life on Earth and be guided by Amitabha and saints in the Way. At the lapse of this present life, we can be reborn in Pure Land to continue the cultivation. Give this more thought ....
In Infinite Life Sutra, 無量壽經 or Larger Pure Land Sutra, Sakyamuni Buddha spoke of how the Bodhisattva Dharmakara, after witnessing the suffering of sentient beings, spent five eons studying all the Buddha lands.
He wanted to alleviate the problems of beings. That is his mission. It is not to help only those who call themselves Buddhists. It is not to take over the lead of Buddhism from other Buddhas and saints. It is just to help all beings who need help, be they labelled as Buddhists or otherwise. The issue of whether beings are Buddhists or believers is not the concern. It is whether they need help from him regardless of their beliefs and religious affiliation. There are no strings attached and no need to submit or kowtow to him before he will help.
He wanted to alleviate the problems of beings. That is his mission. It is not to help only those who call themselves Buddhists. It is not to take over the lead of Buddhism from other Buddhas and saints. It is just to help all beings who need help, be they labelled as Buddhists or otherwise. The issue of whether beings are Buddhists or believers is not the concern. It is whether they need help from him regardless of their beliefs and religious affiliation. There are no strings attached and no need to submit or kowtow to him before he will help.
Dharmakara made forty-eight vows, the fulfillment of which needed him to create the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss in Heaven as an ideal alternative for beings to cultivate way to enlightenment. He categorically declared that he would not enter final stage of Buddhahood so that he could help as many beings as possible.
His Pure Land is one good alternative for beings to receive his guidance but not the only alternative. There are of course other ways he could help beings before they reach and even without the Pure Land. He helps us now in the present life and not wait till afterlife. Just call on his name. There is no strings attached and no preconditions set. No saint will ever hold beings to ransom, let alone a great Buddha in Amitabha.
His Pure Land is one good alternative for beings to receive his guidance but not the only alternative. There are of course other ways he could help beings before they reach and even without the Pure Land. He helps us now in the present life and not wait till afterlife. Just call on his name. There is no strings attached and no preconditions set. No saint will ever hold beings to ransom, let alone a great Buddha in Amitabha.
It is said in passed-down written texts that once his vows were made more effective and operational through avenue of the Pure Land, Dharmakara Bodhisattva became Amitabha Buddha.
He vows to help all who are in all dimensions who call on his name - Omitofo. Big issues will be small issues even if they cannot be no issue.
They may additionally in afterlife continue their cultivation in the Pure Land.
They may even leave the Pure Land to be reborn elsewhere to practise what they have learnt so as to help more beings.
They also do not wait till they go to Pure Land to learn. They can do so now at this moment by calling on his good name.
Having said all the aforementioned, it is significant that the 18th vow is among the most important as it forms a basic tenet of the Pure Land school. This vow is most commonly known as 十念必生願 (shí niàn bì shēng yuàn) because it states that..if a sentient being makes even “ten recitations” (十念 shí niàn) of the Amitabha Buddha’s name they will attain “certain rebirth” (必生 bì shēng) into the Pure Land.
There are said to be 48 Universal Vows. They are roughly translated and appended below.
There may be some unintended distortion of meaning as result of translation. This is to be expected.
Do also be very mindful that men who write out teachings of Amitabha however respectable and noble they were may not be authoritative enough. They are definitely not appointed, let alone anointed by Amitabha.
The written teachings purportedly of Amitabha do reflect the teachings of Amitabha in some aspects though not the complete picture. They are not written by Amitabha.
But the good intentions of the writers should be appreciated. Readers too should not take what were written as divinely sanctioned.
Always, do go for the principles and the upper source for clear water as said by Lord Bo Tien.
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| Lord Bo Tien |
1) If, when I attain Buddhahood, there should be in my land a hell, a realm of hungry spirits or a realm of animals, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
2) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should after death fall again into three evil realms, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
3) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not all be the color of pure gold, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
4) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not all be of one appearance, and should there be any difference in beauty, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
5) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not remember all their previous lives, not knowing even the events which occurred during the previous hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of kalpas, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
6) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not possess the divine eye of seeing even a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of the Buddha-lands, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
7) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not possess the divine ear of hearing the teachings of at least a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of Buddhas and should not remember all of them, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
8) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not possess the faculty of knowing the thoughts of others, at least those of all sentient beings living in a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of Buddha-lands, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
9)If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not possess the supernatural power of travelling anywhere in one instant, even beyond a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of Buddha-lands, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
10) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas (gods) in my land should give rise to thoughts of self-attachment, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
11) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not dwell in the Definitely Assured State and unfailingly reach Nirvana, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
12) If, when I attain Buddhahood, my light should be limited, unable to illuminate at least a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of Buddha-lands, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
8) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not possess the faculty of knowing the thoughts of others, at least those of all sentient beings living in a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of Buddha-lands, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
9)If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not possess the supernatural power of travelling anywhere in one instant, even beyond a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of Buddha-lands, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
10) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas (gods) in my land should give rise to thoughts of self-attachment, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
11) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not dwell in the Definitely Assured State and unfailingly reach Nirvana, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
12) If, when I attain Buddhahood, my light should be limited, unable to illuminate at least a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of Buddha-lands, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
13) If, when I attain Buddhahood, my lifespan should be limited, even to the extent of hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of kalpas, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
14) If, when I attain Buddhahood, the number of the shravavakas in my land could be known, even if all the beings and pratyekabuddhas living in this universe of a thousand million worlds should count them during a hundred thousand kalpas, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
15) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should have limited lifespan, except when they wish to shorten them in accordance with their original vows, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
16) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should even hear of any wrongdoing, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
17) If, when I attain Buddhahood, innumerable Buddhas in the land of the ten quarters should not praise and glorify my Name, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
18) If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten quarters who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and call my Name, even ten times, should not be born there, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment. Excluded, however, are those who commit the five greatest offenses, abuse the right Dharma.
14) If, when I attain Buddhahood, the number of the shravavakas in my land could be known, even if all the beings and pratyekabuddhas living in this universe of a thousand million worlds should count them during a hundred thousand kalpas, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
15) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should have limited lifespan, except when they wish to shorten them in accordance with their original vows, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
16) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should even hear of any wrongdoing, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
17) If, when I attain Buddhahood, innumerable Buddhas in the land of the ten quarters should not praise and glorify my Name, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
18) If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten quarters who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and call my Name, even ten times, should not be born there, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment. Excluded, however, are those who commit the five greatest offenses, abuse the right Dharma.
19) If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten quarters, who awaken aspiration for Enlightenment, do meritorious deeds and sincerely desire to be born in my land, should not, at their death, see me appear before them surrounded by multitude of sages, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
20) If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of ten quarters who, having heard my Name, concentrate their thoughts on my land, do various meritorious deeds and sincerely transfer the merits towards my land with a desire to be born there, should not eventually fulfill their aspiration, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
21) If, when I attain Buddhahood, human and devas in my land should not all be endowed with the thirty two physical characteristics of a Great Man, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
22) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in the Buddha-lands of other quarters who visit my land should not ultimately and unfailingly reach the Stage of Becoming a Buddha after one more life, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment. Excepted are those who wish to teach and guide sentient beings in accordance with their original vows. For they wear the armour of great vows, accumulate merits, deliver all beings from birth-and-death, visit Buddha-lands to perform the Bodhisattva practices, make offerings to Buddhas, Tathagatas, throughout the ten quarters, enlighten uncountable sentient beings as numerous as the sands of the River Ganges, and establish them in the highest, perfect Enlightenment. Such Bodhisattvas transcend the course of practice of the ordinary Bodhisattva stages, manifest the practices of all the Bodhisattva stages and actually cultivate the virtues of Samantabhadra.
23) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in my land, in order to make offerings to Buddhas through my transcendent power, should not be able to reach immeasurable and innumerable kotis of nayuta of Buddha-lans in a short a time as it takes to eat a meal, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
24) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in my land should not be able, as they wish, to perform meritorious acts of worshipping the Buddhas with the offerings of their choice, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
25) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in my land should not be able to expound the Dharma with the all-knowing wisdom, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
26) If, when I attain Buddhahood, there should be any Bodhisattva in my land not endowed with the body of the Vajra-god Narayana, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
27) If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings should be able, even with the divine eye, to distinguish by Name and calculate by number all the myriads of manifestations provided for the humans and devas in my land, which are glorious and resplendent and have exquisite details beyond description, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
28) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in my land, even those with little store of merits, should not be able to see the Bodhi-tree which has countless colors and is four million li in height, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
29) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in my land should not acquire eloquence and wisdom in upholding sutras and reciting and expounding them, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
30) If, when I attain Buddhahood, the wisdom and eloquence of Bodhisattvas in my land should be limited, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
31) If, when I attain Buddhahood, my land should not be resplendent, revealing in its light all the immeasurable, innumerable and inconceivable Buddha-lands, like images reflected in a clear mirror, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
32) If, when I attain Buddhahood, all the myriads of manifestations in my land, from the ground to the sky, such as palaces, pavillions, ponds, streams and trees, should not be composed of both countless treasures, which surpass in supreme excellence anything in the worlds of human and devas, and of a hundred thousand kinds of aromatic wood, whose fragrance pervades all the worlds of the ten quarters, causing all Bodhisattvas who sense it to perform Buddhist practice, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
33) If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the immeasurable and inconceivable Buddha-lands of the ten quarters who have been touched by my light, should not feel peace and happiness in their bodies and minds surpassing those of humans and devas, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
34) If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the immeasurable and inconceivable Buddha-lands of the ten quarters who have heard my Name , should not gain the Bodhisattva’s insight into the non-arising of all Dharmas and should not acquire various profound dharanis, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
35) If, when I attain Buddhahood, women in the immeasurable and inconceivable Buddha-lands of the ten quarters who, having heard my Name, rejoice in faith, awaken aspiration for the Enlightenment and wish to renounce womanhood, should after death be reborn again as women, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
36) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in the immeasurable and inconceivable Buddha-lands of the ten quarters, who have heard my Name, should not, after the end of their lives, always perform sacred practices until they reach Buddhahood, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
37) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in the immeasurable and inconceivable Buddha-lands of the ten quarters, who having heard my Name, prostrate themselves on the ground to revere and worship me, rejoice in faith, and perform Bodhisattva practices, should not be respected by all the devas and people of the world, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
38) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not obtain clothing, as soon as such a desire arises in their minds, and if the fine robes as prescribed and praised by the Buddhas should not be spontaneously provided for them to wear, and if these clothes should need sewing, bleaching, dyeing or washing, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
34) If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the immeasurable and inconceivable Buddha-lands of the ten quarters who have heard my Name , should not gain the Bodhisattva’s insight into the non-arising of all Dharmas and should not acquire various profound dharanis, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
35) If, when I attain Buddhahood, women in the immeasurable and inconceivable Buddha-lands of the ten quarters who, having heard my Name, rejoice in faith, awaken aspiration for the Enlightenment and wish to renounce womanhood, should after death be reborn again as women, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
36) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in the immeasurable and inconceivable Buddha-lands of the ten quarters, who have heard my Name, should not, after the end of their lives, always perform sacred practices until they reach Buddhahood, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
37) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in the immeasurable and inconceivable Buddha-lands of the ten quarters, who having heard my Name, prostrate themselves on the ground to revere and worship me, rejoice in faith, and perform Bodhisattva practices, should not be respected by all the devas and people of the world, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
38) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not obtain clothing, as soon as such a desire arises in their minds, and if the fine robes as prescribed and praised by the Buddhas should not be spontaneously provided for them to wear, and if these clothes should need sewing, bleaching, dyeing or washing, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
39) If, when I attain Buddhahood, human and devas in my land should not enjoy happiness and pleasure comparable to that of a monk who has exhausted all the positions, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
40) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in my land who wish to see the immeasurable glorious Buddha-lands of the ten quarters, should not be able to view all of them reflected in the jewelled trees, just as one sees one’s face reflected in a clear mirror, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
41) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in the lands of the other quarters who hear my Name should, at any time before becoming Buddhas, have impaired, inferior or incomplete sense organs, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
42) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in the lands of the other quarters who hear my Name should not all attain the samadhi called ‘pure emancipation’ and, while dwelling therein, without losing concentration, should not be able to make offerings in one instant to immeasurable and inconceivable Buddhas, World Honored One, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
43) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in the lands of the other quarters who hear my Name should not be reborn into noble families after their death, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
44) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in the lands of the other quarters who hear my Name should not rejoice so greatly as to dance and perform the Bodhisattva practices and should not acquire stores of merits, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
45) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in the lands of the other quarters who hear my Name should not all attain the samadhi called ‘universal equality’ and, while dwelling therein, should not always be able to see all the immeasurable and inconceivable Tathagatas until those Bodhisattvas, too become Buddhas, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
46) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in my land should not be able to hear spontaneously whatever teachings they may wish, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
47) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in the lands of the other quarters who hear my Name should not instantly reach the Stage of Non-retrogression, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
48) If, when I attain Buddhahood, Bodhisattvas in the lands of the other quarters who hear my Name should not instantly gain the first, second and third insights into the nature of Dharmas and firmly abide in the Truths realized by all the Buddhas, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
