佛說阿彌陀經 阿彌陀佛光壽

For five passages the sūtra has been writing about that place. At this passage the lens turns for the first time to the lord of that place.

The way it turns is that the Buddha asks the question himself: “Why is that buddha called Amitābha?”

One name, two reasons.

Brightness Can Be Compared; Unobstructedness Cannot

“That buddha’s light is measureless; it shines upon the lands of the ten directions with nothing to obstruct it; he is therefore called Amitābha.”

The sūtra does not say that the light is very bright, very great, very far-reaching. What it says is that nothing can block it.

Brightness admits of comparison; unobstructedness does not.

Then Why Is It Not Seen?

If the light shines throughout the ten directions, why do the people of this world not see it?

The answer handed down from of old uses two similes: one with a film over the eye cannot see the sunlight — is the sunlight then at fault? One whose ears are deaf cannot hear the thunderclap — is the thunderclap then to blame?

It makes no excuse for the light, and it does not say that the light in fact fails to reach here. It turns the whole question over to the side of the one who receives.

Sunlight is not brighter for one and dimmer for another; the thunderclap is not louder for one than for another. The difference lies not in what is illuminated but in what can see.

Lifespan Is Not a Span but an Act of Continuing

“The lifespan of that buddha, and of the people of his land, is measureless and boundless asaṃkhyeya kalpas; he is therefore named Amitābha.”

Asaṃkhyeya is Sanskrit; rendered into Chinese it means “beyond all counting” — a number that cannot be counted to its end.

And lifespan: the definition handed down from of old is remarkably concrete. It is not a stretch of time fitted onto a body, but a kind of “sustaining” upon consciousness — the function that carries life on, portion after portion.

Just as “bliss” was earlier reduced to a kind of feeling, so “lifespan” is here reduced to a kind of quality. A word that looks like an adjective is reduced to a mental factor that can be pointed at.

Measureless Does Not Mean Beginningless

“Since Amitābha Buddha became a buddha, ten kalpas have now passed.”

The sentence before has only just said that the lifespan is measureless, boundless asaṃkhyeya kalpas, and immediately a definite figure is given. Measureless and ten kalpas stand side by side in the same passage, and the sūtra finds no difficulty in it at all.

The one is said of the lifespan, which has no end; the other is said of his becoming a buddha, which has a beginning.

Measureless does not mean without a beginning; it means without an end.

Neither Assembly Can Be Counted

“That buddha has measureless, boundless śrāvaka disciples, all of them arhats, beyond what the counting of numbers can know; and the bodhisattvas are likewise.”

The śrāvakas cannot be counted, and neither can the bodhisattvas; the sūtra passes over it with four characters, “and likewise,” drawing no ranking of higher and lower.

In the introduction, when names were listed, the śrāvakas came first and the bodhisattvas after. Here the two assemblies are alike measureless.

Light and Lifespan Catch Two Things

Light speaks of everywhere — there is no place it fails to reach; lifespan speaks of always — there is no moment at which it breaks off. Unobstructed in space, unending in time.

A name that is to be held and recited would leak if it held only one half of this: with light and no lifespan, it could reach one but could not wait for one; with lifespan and no light, it could wait for one but could not reach one.

And this name is the very name that the later text has one hold fast to. Before teaching anyone to hold the name, the sūtra first makes plain what is contained in it.

Kumārajīva’s translation, T12n0366, from “Śāriputra, what do you think? Why is that buddha called Amitābha?” to “accomplished in just such merits and adornments.” The bracketed figures at the head of each segment give the Taishō page, register, and line.

〔1 · The Buddha himself puts the question of his title〕（0347a25）Śāriputra! What do you think? Why is that buddha called Amitābha?

〔2 · Named by reason of light〕（0347a26）Śāriputra! That buddha’s light is without limit; it shines throughout the lands of the ten directions with nothing at all to obstruct it. He is therefore called Amitābha.

〔3 · Named by reason of lifespan〕（0347a27）Further, Śāriputra! The lifespan of that buddha, and the lifespan of the people of that land, is measureless, boundless asaṃkhyeya kalpas (asaṃkhyeya is Sanskrit; it means “beyond all counting,” that is, a number that cannot be counted to its end). He is therefore named Amitābha.

〔4 · Stating the number of kalpas since his awakening〕（0347a29）Śāriputra! Since Amitābha Buddha became a buddha, ten kalpas have now passed.

〔5 · The merits of the hearers · śrāvakas and bodhisattvas〕（0347b01）Further, Śāriputra! That buddha has measureless, boundless śrāvaka disciples, all of them arhats (sages of the fourth fruit who have exhausted the afflictions), beyond what the counting of numbers can know; and the bodhisattvas are likewise.

〔6 · Concluding the land of Ultimate Bliss〕（0347b03）Śāriputra! The land of that buddha is accomplished in just such merits and adornments.

For five passages the sūtra has been writing about that place: railings, pool waters, heavenly music, the golden ground, drifting flowers, flocks of birds, the sound of the wind. At this passage the lens turns for the first time to the lord of that place.

And the way it turns is that the Buddha asks the question himself: “Why is that buddha called Amitābha?”

This is the first time in the whole sūtra that the Buddha’s name is explained. The Cien line marks this place as “the distinguishing of the merits of the Buddha’s body” and says that it divides into three sections: first the question of the title is put, then the obtaining of the name is directly distinguished, and last the number of kalpas since he became a buddha is stated. The sense in which the name is obtained is twofold — one by reason of light, one by reason of lifespan.

One name, two reasons. That fact by itself is worth pausing over.

Light: Nothing Obstructs It

The first reason is light: “That buddha’s light is measureless; it shines upon the lands of the ten directions with nothing to obstruct it; he is therefore called Amitābha.”

The reading handed down divides light first into two kinds: inner light, which is wisdom illuminating the truth within, and outer light, which is the light of the body shining outward. What is spoken of here is the latter — the light of the body. And that body is described as “a substance of adamant that cannot be broken, a body of unobstructed liberation, like pure beryl, lustrous and clear through inside and out.”

Notice the words “with nothing to obstruct it.” The sūtra does not say that the light is very bright, very great, very far-reaching. What it says is that nothing can block it.

Brightness admits of comparison; unobstructedness does not. Unobstructedness says that on the side of the light there is no condition whatever able to limit it.

Then Why Do We Not See It?

This forces out the most pressing question of the passage, and the commentators of old asked it on the reader’s behalf: if the light shines throughout the measureless worlds of the ten directions, why do the people of this world not see it?

The answer is exceptionally fine, and raises two similes together:

Where the principle accords, response reaches across a thousand miles; where the ground of the mind is at odds, liver and gall, pressed close together though they are, seem as far apart as the edge of the sky. It is like one with a film over the eye who cannot see the sunlight — is the sunlight then at fault? Like one whose ears are deaf and cannot hear the thunderclap — is the thunderclap then to blame? The karmic burden of beings has grown too heavy: the Buddha has light, and people do not see it.

The direction of this answer is worth seeing clearly. It makes no excuse for the light, and it does not say that the light in fact fails to reach here. It turns the whole question over to the side of the one who receives.

Sunlight is not brighter for one and dimmer for another; the thunderclap is not louder for one than for another. The difference lies not in what is illuminated but in what can see.

A sūtra that has come this far turns suddenly from describing that place to speaking of this one — of why we stand in the light and find the sky dark.

What Is Inside the Light

The sūtra says only “light measureless,” and describes no further. But the Tang commentator cites here a long passage from The Contemplation Sūtra, spreading out what is to be seen within that light.

That buddha’s body is the colour of a hundred thousand myriad koṭis of Yāma-heaven Jambūnada gold; its measure is six hundred thousand koṭis of nayutas of Gaṅgā-sands of yojanas; the white tuft between his brows curls to the right like five Mount Sumerus; his eyes are like the waters of the four great oceans, clear white and distinct; every pore of his body sends forth light as great as Mount Sumeru; his halo is like a hundred koṭis of three-thousandfold great-thousand world-systems.

And within that halo are five hundred thousand koṭis of nayutas of Gaṅgā-sands of transformation-buddhas, and each transformation-buddha has innumerable transformation-bodhisattvas in attendance. That buddha has eighty-four thousand marks; each mark has eighty-four thousand excellences; each excellence has eighty-four thousand rays of light, shining throughout the measureless worlds of the ten directions.

“Because he has this light he is called Amitābha.”

This passage is brought in not for the sake of extravagant figures. It says one thing: light is not an appendage outside the Buddha’s body. Within the light there are buddhas, bodhisattvas, marks and excellences, and light sent forth again. The light is itself doing the Buddha’s work.

Xuanzang’s version, at just this place, has four characters more — “performing the Buddha’s work.” Kumārajīva’s version does not have them, but The Contemplation Sūtra as cited by the commentator supplies that sense in full.

Lifespan: A Sustaining Quality

The second reason is lifespan: “The lifespan of that buddha, and of the people of his land, is measureless and boundless asaṃkhyeya kalpas; he is therefore named Amitābha.”

Asaṃkhyeya is Sanskrit; rendered into Chinese it means “beyond all counting” — a number that cannot be counted to its end.

As for the word “lifespan,” the Cien line gives it a strictly technical definition: lifespan is the sustaining quality upon the eighth consciousness, gathered among the dharmas not concomitant with mind.

That sentence is worth reading slowly. Lifespan is not a substance, and not a stretch of time fitted onto a body; it is a kind of “sustaining” upon consciousness — the function that carries life on, portion after portion.

This is the same manner of handling as the earlier sentence, “the bliss that can be dwelt in is the feeling of pleasure concomitant with the sixth consciousness”: the “bliss” of Ultimate Bliss is reduced to a kind of feeling, and the “lifespan” of Amitābha to a kind of sustaining quality. Reading this sūtra, the Cien line always reduces a word that looks like an adjective to a mental factor that can be pointed at.

Three Further Questions

In the section on lifespan the commentator sets three questions in a row, each closer to home than the last.

The first: the bodies of that buddha and of those people alike belong to conditioned dharmas and cannot escape the drift of the four marks — arising, abiding, change, and perishing. How could they fail to wear away? Answer: the two levels of birth-and-death have been cast off and the constant body of the five aggregates gained; the vow of compassion is without limit — where should body and life come to an end? Still more, the karma of killing ceased long ago, and so the lifespan is naturally extended far.

The second: Amitābha stands in the position of the fruit, so measureless lifespan can be spoken of; but the people are still within the cause — why should they be the same as the Buddha? Answer: their karmic burden is light and their roots of good strong; since theirs is no longer a body of segmented birth and death and they have left forever the substance of coming and going, that they should be equal with the Buddha runs against nothing in principle.

The third: are the people of that land, then, segmented bodies or transformational ones? Answer: if one speaks of the recompense-land, the body is transformational; if one speaks of the transformation pure land, the segmented body has not yet been cast off.

The answer to the third question is the one most worth recording. Here the commentator sets down no settled conclusion, but speaks according to the distinction between recompense-land and transformation-land. That is followed here and both are recorded; no judgment is made in its place. Where the sūtra and the ancient masters have not settled a matter outright, to say plainly that it is unsettled is itself honesty.

Ten Kalpas

“Since Amitābha Buddha became a buddha, ten kalpas have now passed.”

One sentence, with no description and no elaboration. Coming to it, the commentator too writes only six characters: “Third, setting forth the number of kalpas since he became a buddha.”

The passage has just finished saying that the lifespan is measureless, boundless asaṃkhyeya kalpas, and immediately gives a definite figure: ten kalpas. Measureless and ten kalpas stand side by side in the same passage, and the sūtra finds no difficulty in it at all.

The one is said of that buddha’s lifespan, which has no end; the other is said of his becoming a buddha, which has a beginning. Measureless does not mean without a beginning; it means without an end.

Two Assemblies That Cannot Be Counted

Last come the hearers: “That buddha has measureless, boundless śrāvaka disciples, all of them arhats, beyond what the counting of numbers can know; and the bodhisattvas are likewise.”

Śrāvakas are so called because they awaken to the way through hearing the voice; and the word “disciple” too has its explanation — one whose years come after mine is a “younger brother,” one whose understanding is born from me is a “son.” The phrase “all of them arhats” is there to distinguish them from the prior three fruits: these have all reached the fourth.

What deserves notice is the parallel here. The śrāvakas cannot be counted, and neither can the bodhisattvas; the sūtra passes over it with four characters, “and likewise,” drawing no ranking of higher and lower.

In the introduction, when names were listed, sixteen śrāvakas came first and four bodhisattvas after. Here the two assemblies are alike measureless, alike beyond what counting can know.

The Name and This Passage

Back to the question at the opening: why one name and two reasons?

Because light and lifespan catch exactly two things. Light speaks of everywhere — there is no place it fails to reach; lifespan speaks of always — there is no moment at which it breaks off. Unobstructed in space, unending in time.

A name that is to be held and recited would leak if it held only one half of this. With light and no lifespan, it could reach one but could not wait for one; with lifespan and no light, it could wait for one but could not reach one.

And this name is the very name that the later text has one hold fast to. Before teaching anyone to hold the name, the sūtra first makes plain what is contained in it.

Carrying Forward — One Way Analyses the Substance of the Name, the Other Sings a Hymn to Lifespan

Above is the meaning of this passage itself. Below, two Tang eyes cast their light from the side — the mirror is not the sūtra; only the same buddha-name, seen through two ways of reading.

The Cien line is the reading of Kuiji’s Comprehensive Praise Commentary, and this passage is a place where he works with unusual depth. The adjudication of the two senses of the name, the division of inner and outer light, the definition of lifespan as a sustaining quality upon the eighth consciousness, and the three questions and answers (how the conditioned can be without end · why the people equal the Buddha · segmented or transformational) — the whole framework comes from here. In explaining the sense of light he cites The Sūtra of the Buddha of Measureless Life, The Great Perfection of Wisdom Treatise, and The Contemplation Sūtra; in explaining the sense of lifespan he cites The Sūtra of Measureless Life and The Sūtra of Pure Awakening — five citations within one passage, of which the one from The Contemplation Sūtra runs ten lines, spreading out one by one the eighty-four thousand marks and excellences of that buddha’s bodily form.

And the question and answer on “the light shines everywhere yet is not seen in this land” is the core of the teaching in this passage. The two similes — the filmed eye that does not see the sunlight, the deaf ear that does not hear the thunderclap — are not in the sūtra itself but are set by the commentator; yet the principle of his answer, that the obstruction lies in the one who receives and not in what is illuminated, comes directly from the sūtra’s own words, “with nothing to obstruct it.”

The Shandao line, in the Liturgical Hymns, recites this whole passage word for word, and when the recitation is done a hymn follows: “Aspire to be born there, aspire to be born there. Gaining the fruit, one attains nirvāṇa and abides constantly in the world; the lifespan extended and long” — he does not take the two senses of light and lifespan apart, but catches the single side of “lifespan” in song: abiding constantly, extended, hard to measure. The way of doctrinal understanding defines “lifespan” as a sustaining quality upon the eighth consciousness; the way of ritual practice sings that same “lifespan” as the reason for aspiring to birth in that land.

One way takes the buddha-name apart into mental factors that can be pointed at; the other sings the buddha-name into a hymn of dedication. Both are recorded without adjudication, each returned to its own place.