Feeling Joy When Illuminated by the Infinite Light
From Amitabha Buddha’s Great Vows 13 & 14
Feeling Joy When Illuminated by the Infinite Light
Amitabha Buddha’s Great Vows 13 & 14
Sakyamuni Buddha speaks of the monk Dharmakara, his practice, and his forty-eight vows before he became Amitabha Buddha. Excerpted from the Infinite Life Sutra:
When I become a Buddha, my light will be infinite, universally illuminating the ten directions. It will exceed the light of all Buddhas and surpass the light of the sun and the moon by millions of billions of times. Any living being who sees my light or who is illuminated by it will become peaceful and joyous, have compassion, and perform virtuous deeds. He will be born in my land. If this is not so, I will not attain perfect enlightenment.
- Vow 13. Infinite light.
- Vow 14. Feel peaceful and joyous when illuminated by the light.
A Buddha’s name is determined by his circumstances and vows. For example, Amitabha Buddha’s name means Infinite Life and Infinite Light. Essentially, a Buddha’s vows reflect his chosen way of helping all beings. We see how Sakyamuni Buddha, whose name means compassion and a still mind, taught beings in this land called Endurance to quiet their minds, have compassion, and be free of suffering.
Amitabha Buddha, when still the monk Dharmakara, made different vows, including this one in which he vowed that his light would be infinite. It is infinite due to his great compassion of wanting to benefit all beings throughout boundless space. This light continuously and equally illuminates all the buddha-lands in the ten directions.
Dharmakara went on to say that his infinite light will exceed the light of all Buddhas. Because the vow is about infinite light, the light has to be expansive. All Buddhas emanate light. Some will illuminate one or two buddha-lands, others will illuminate hundreds or thousands of buddha-lands. The extent of each Buddha’s light accords with the magnitude of the merits and virtues, and the power and content of their vows. Each Buddha will attain his aspired brightness when he becomes a Buddha.
Only Amitabha Buddha’s light universally illuminates infinite, countless, and boundless buddha-lands. His light is wholesome and excellent, and exceeds the light of the sun and moon by millions of billions of times. His light is the most brilliant of all. Amitabha Buddha’s vow to exceed the light of all Buddhas arose from his deep-felt humility, from his sincere desire to help all beings.
Dharmakara next spoke of “any living being who sees my light or who is illuminated by it.” Always glowing, never diminishing, the light illuminates universally and brightly. But while bright, the light is also very comfortable. It will not hurt the beings’ eyes even as they gaze at it and all that it illuminates. And whether we are near or far away from him, the light is the same.
Some Pure Land practitioners excel in their practice and will see this light. Seeing not only refers to sight but also includes the other senses. Seeing the light serves to encourage them to continue practicing. But they don’t tell anyone about the light or exclaim how wonderful it is. They calmly continue their meditative concentration, living their lives as usual and, very importantly, not attaching to the light.
A well-known example of this is Great Master Huiyuan, later recognized as the founder of the Pure Land school in China. He established a monastery in southern China, where he dedicated himself to birth in the Western Pure Land. The monastery was in the mountains, near caves, waterfalls, and rock formations. Great Master Huiyuan remained there for his final thirty years, only going as far as the stream that served as a boundary.
Over time, the master was joined by 123 practitioners. While all vowed to be born in the Pure Land, they understood that each had different karmic causes and conditions. So, they all vowed, as fellow monastery practitioners, to help each other achieve that birth. Those born in the Pure Land would help the others to achieve birth there as well.
When Great Master Huiyuan was about to be born in the Pure Land, he revealed he had already seen Amitabha Buddha.
Three times.
Great Master Huiyuan is an excellent example of those who see Amitabha Buddha and his light but calmly continue with their meditative concentration, living their lives as usual and not attaching to the light.
Dharmakara also vowed that any living being who sees his light or who is illuminated by it “will become peaceful and joyous.” Amitabha Buddha’s light is always shining on us, but our wandering thoughts, attachments, and the ensuing karmic obstacles prevent us from sensing his light.
Amitabha Buddha is constantly mindful of all beings, but beings are rarely mindful of him. If while sincerely chanting the buddha-name we attain meditative concentration and calm our mind, we will be able to connect with the mind of Amitabha Buddha and perceive his light. Only through a pure, sincere, and respectful mind, will beings immediately receive his support and feel joyful and peaceful.
If the beings are in the three evil paths and they sense the light, they will be able to rest from their suffering and attain liberation at the end of their lives.
When beings sense Amitabha Buddha’s light, their mental pollution will be eradicated. With pollution no longer present, their minds will be virtuous and their actions will accord with their thoughts. Their body and mind will become peaceful and joyous, and compassion will arise. They will have belief, make the vow, and practice — and be born in the Western Pure Land in their current lifetime.
>> Learn more: The Initiation, Amitabha Buddha’s Forty-eight Vows
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Dedication of Merit
May the merits and virtues accrued from this work
adorn the Buddha’s pure land,
repay the four kinds of kindness above,
and relieve the sufferings of those in the three paths below.
May all those who see and hear of this
bring forth the bodhi mind
and at the end of this life,
be born together in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Note: The above is excerpted from the book “Awakening the Bodhi Mind: Amitabha Buddha’s Forty-Eight Vows”, which is available for download at eLibrary collection, Amitabha Gallery.
The Amitabha Buddha’s forty-eight vows is derived from the Chinese verses of the Infinite Life Sutra, that we are immensely grateful to the compilation efforts by Mr Xia Lianju. Translation credits go to The Pure Land Translation Team, Pure Land College Press.
