What Is Pure Land?

045 何謂淨土

中文原著：隆門圓通法師
英文翻譯：張惠平
Written by Master Shih Longmen Yuantong
Translated by Huei Ping Chang

問：淨土有幾種？
答：佛土有三種：
法性土、（二）受用土、（三）變化土。

「佛」是覺悟之意。覺者之智所變現可分為三。先談受用土，受用土又分自受用土與他受用土。自受用土為大圓鏡智所成。謂：若鏡子前面有東西，則能映照到形狀，然也只此鏡子能知、能測度而已。每個人心的感受不同，譬如感覺此風景怡人，汝心中的風景，唯有自己能覺受，而我不能覺受，故是自受用。
如果我們要能時時刻刻處在法性土，也必須要有大圓鏡智。大圓鏡智是一種觀照力，以圓融、不受限的心去觀照一切，而得的實相智慧是比較困難的。
若要處在自受用土、他受用土、或變化土則較為簡易。他受用土是平等性智所成；變化土即變化身，屬羯磨事業，故變化土是成所作智所成。

資料來源：心靈甘露(二)，隆門圓通法師著。

What Is Pure Land?

Q: How many kinds of Pure Lands are there?
A: There are three kinds of Buddha Lands: The Dharma Nature Land, the Benefiting Land, and the Transformational Land.

The word “Buddha” means one who has been enlightened. There are three types of manifestation of the wisdom of those who have been enlightened. The first one is the Benefiting Land, which is divided into the Self-Benefiting Land and the Other-Benefiting Land. The former is accomplished by the Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom. If there is something in front of a mirror, the image of this something can be reflected, but only the mirror can know and can measure it.

The feelings about something vary from person to person. If you feel pleasant when seeing a landscape, only you can feel it, but I can’t. This is self-benefiting.

If we want to always stay in the Dharma Nature Land, we also need to have the Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom, which is a kind of observation power. It’s more difficult to observe everything with a perfect, unrestrained mind in order to gain the real form wisdom.

It’s easier to stay in the Self-Benefiting Land, Other-Benefiting Land, or Transformational Land. The Other-Benefiting Land is accomplished by the Equal Nature Wisdom, while the Transformational Land is the Transformational Embodiment that belongs to the Karma undertaking and therefore is accomplished by the Achievement Wisdom.

Source: Sweet Dew for the Soul (Vol.II), Written by Master Shih Longmen Yuantong.