Unit 31 Without the Buddha’s power, the Attainment of Buddhahood will be futile

31 Without the Buddha’s power, the Attainment of Buddhahood will be futile

Bombu is no more bombu when they have thrown away all their possessions. Their body has been embraced within [Amida’s] light that forsakes none and this is known as ‘rightly established’, or ‘non-retrogression’ or ‘right assurance’.

Can bombu throw away their possessions by their own efforts? Bombu can never do this. They can do this as and when they can believe in the inconceivable Buddha-wisdom. When your eyes cannot see the majestically enormous things, you can never possibly see bombu’s possessions that are tiny yet of no value. 

When you find all bombu’s possessions including your own self useless, you are embraced within the unhindered light.

Bombu are creatures who just gaze at ‘tiny things’, they cannot see ‘enormous things’. What do tiny things mean? These are their own minds, discriminations, ideas, actions, and values such as wickedness and kindness. ‘This is good’, ‘that is not right’, ‘this shall be no problem’, ‘birth seems unlikely by doing such and such’ and many other things concerning their opinions. All  this we call ‘calculations’ (knowledge and  perception 知见). ‘The calculative mind’ is something very tiny. Being observant of these ‘tiny things’, you can never exterminate life-and-death matter, and unable to look up to (discover) the unconcealed moon of the Dharma nature.

Without giving up ‘the tiny things’ to see (discover) ‘the enormous things’, birth in the Pure Land of Amida Buddha is unattainable.

Look up to ‘the enormous things’ and look out for ‘the inconceivable Power’!

What do ‘the enormous things’ mean’? What is ‘the inconceivable Power’? It is the Primal (Original) Vow, the Promise (Seigan), the Primal Vow of Great Wisdom and Compassion, the inconceivable Buddha-wisdom, the boundless Vow-Power, and the Vow-Power that is limitless. Without relying on the inconceivable Power of Buddha, the wicked and immoral bombu fail to gain emancipation. 

Without the Buddha’s power, the attainment of Buddhahood will be futile.

Entrust and rely on ‘the great compassionate Buddha-wisdom’, ‘the inconceivable Promise (Seigan)’, entrust and rely thoroughly till you are swept across and being dissolved, and resolve the grave problem of the life-and-death matter within.