编者按：本文作者Jason，美国人，现居挪威，是一位文化工作者、作家、诗人。2014年在慧净法师座下皈依，法名净行，专修善导大师净土思想。
I was privileged to join the Shandao lineage of Pure Land Buddhism in 2014, and my experience since that time has been one of homecoming. Having studied the Dharma for fifteen years, first as a student of Zen, and later as a practitioner in other branches of the Pure Land tradition, I have at last found the peace and stability of heart that I have sought from the start of my Dharma practice. But more than just serenity and inner strength, I know that I have found the solution to the problem of cyclical birth-and-death.
2014年，我有幸接触到善导大师的净土思想，也正是从那时起，我才真正有了游子归家般的感受。从最初学习禅宗，到后来修习净土宗的其他流派，在修学佛法十五个年头之后，我终于找到了学佛之初所向往的那份平和与安定。事实上，我得到的又岂止内心的宁静与坚定，我找到了生死轮回的解脱之路！
The Buddha taught that rebirth within the Six Realms is our fundamental problem; all suffering is ultimately rooted in this cycle of endless existence which is deceptive in its joys and fearful in its karmic justice. Entrusting fully to Amitabha Buddha’s Fundamental Vow solves this fundamental problem. As Shakyamuni Buddha said in the Infinite Life Sutra: The reason for my appearance in the world is to reveal the teachings of the Way and save multitudes of beings by endowing them with true benefits. According to the teaching of the Buddha-dharma, there is no truer benefit than release from the cycle of rebirth.
佛说：「六道轮回是苦之根源。」所有痛苦，归根结底都来自于这无尽的轮回。这轮回，以虚妄的快乐令人迷惑；以真实的业报令人生畏。但如果我们深信「阿弥陀佛本愿」便能解决这个根本性的问题。释迦牟尼佛在《无量寿经》中说道：「如来以无尽大悲，矜哀三界，所以出兴于世，光阐道教，欲拯济群萌，惠以真实之利。」世尊化现于五浊，给予我们最真实的利益就是令我们解脱生死轮回。
What I have discovered in recent months, however, is that upon taking up Pure Land practice in the tradition of Shandao, it was not just myself as a prisoner of samsara that was released; a great deal of personal energy — both psychological and physical — that was previously tied up elsewhere, has also been released. Let me explain.
近几个月来，我发现，通过修学善导大师的净土思想，不仅我轮回的生命得到了救度，就连我个人身心的能量也得到了前所未有的激发和释放。请容我细细道来。
Perhaps what separates the teaching of the pristine Pure Land school from all other Buddhist teachings is that one can rely so completely upon other-power, without worrying about the purity of one’s faith or the state of one’s mind. Whatever we do, think or believe, we are still ordinary, foolish beings. Thus there is no standard we need to meet; all we need to do is to exclusively recite Amitabha’s name with the simple wish to return home to the Pure Land, our original dwelling place.
或许，纯粹的净土法门与其他法门的不共之处就在于我们可以完全依靠他力，丝毫不必纠结于信心或心境是否纯一。无论我们做什么、想什么、信什么，我们终究是罪恶凡夫。因此，并没有必须要达到的某个标准或要求。我们只要专称弥陀佛名，愿生弥陀净土──我们的故乡，就足够了。
The directness and ease of this teaching has gifted me with a surplus of energy that was previously invested in trying to be a good enough Pure Land Buddhist — that is, one who had attained unshakable assurance about his post-mortem destiny, who was full of faith, and free of every trace of doubt. Indeed, according to some interpretations of Pure Land teaching, everything depends on the purity or firmness of one’s faith; release from the cycle of birth-and-death, birth in the Pure Land, and attainment of final Buddhahood all hang in the balance. Not so in the Pure Land teaching of Shandao. Faith cannot be spoken of as somehow separate from practice. If one has faith enough to recite Amitabha’s name exclusively and single-mindedly, that is all the faith one needs; no additional "faith" is necessary. As for me, I can simply be who and what I am, reciting Amitabha’s name with all my karmic limitations and burdens, knowing that I will attain birth in the Pure Land anyway. Giving up trying to be 「good enough」 has lit up the electrical grid of my mind and spirit!
纯粹的净土法门，其教义简单而直接，赐予了我大量的「额外精力」。为什么这样说呢？要知道，我之前一直努力修行，想要成为一名「够格」的净土行人，试图通过自力去获得百分百往生的把握。的确，按照某些净土教法的解释，往生与否取决于是否拥有纯正、坚定的「信心」。但善导大师的解释则不然。「信」与「行」是不可分的。如果一个人能够专称弥陀名号，那么他的「信」自然具足，不需要额外去找「信心」。对我来说，我就以我罪恶生死凡夫的身份来称念弥陀名号，这样就已经往生决定了。我放下了自力修行，得到了大安心、大满足！
There is much talk these days of green energy and free energy. When it comes to questions of society and the environment, it remains to be seen just how and when humanity will sever itself from dependence on fossil fuels, or access an energy source so abundant that it could truly be considered free. But as an individual human being, I feel as if I have discovered the greenest, freest source of energy in the universe: the Fundamental Vow of Amitabha Buddha! The Fundamental Vow has solved my fundamental problem, and released me from all anxiety over the state of my mind and my faith.
近来，有关绿色能源和免费能源的讨论很热门。当涉及到社会及环境问题的时候，人们探讨的都是怎样能摆脱对矿物燃料的依赖，何时能找到一种储备充足并且真正可自由获取的新能源。但作为我个人来说，我觉得我已经找到了宇宙中最环保且完全免费的能源──阿弥陀佛的本愿！阿弥陀佛的本愿解决了我生死轮回的根本问题，同时也把我从心灵与信仰的焦虑中解放出来。
The resulting surge of energy has also posed me a profound question: What am I going to do with it?
然而，这强大的能量来源也向我抛出了一个十分深刻的问题：我该利用它做些什么呢？
Of course there are basic things that, as Buddhists, we should all strive to do, like treating others with kindness and respect; not lying, not stealing, not taking life; abstaining from anger and other intoxicants, etc. Unlike those who rely on their self-power, we who rely on other-power know that we can never perfect any of these virtues because of our status as ordinary beings. But neither does our spiritual beatitude depend on our ability to do so. In this way, we Pure Land Buddhists are perfectly poised to make substantive and meaningful contributions to our societies and the world at large. These contributions will be imperfect; everything in this world is. But energized and supported by the Fundamental Vow, we can cast off all self-involvement and worry, and act as mirrors which help to reflect Amitabha’s light into a dark and pain-stricken world.
作为一名佛教徒，我们当然要恪守人伦，做到最基本的，如待人谦和、不妄语、不偷盗、不杀生、不饮酒、不瞋恚等等。但与自力修行人不同，我们靠的是他力。因为我们是凡夫，永远不可能在这些德行修为上达到圆满。不过，我们所拥有的「大善根大福德」本来就不是靠我们自己的力量修来的。正因如此，我们净宗行人可以从容地为整个社会乃至全世界做出具有实质性意义的贡献。这些贡献固然不是完美的，但没关系，世间的一切又何尝不是如此呢？在弥陀本愿力的加持下，我们可以摆脱所有作茧自缚的想法和担忧，安心地做一面反光镜，将阿弥陀佛的光明反射到这个充满黑暗和痛苦的世界。
Naturally, what we as individuals are able to do will depend upon our circumstances and abilities. As a writer, I have begun to channel my surplus energy into spreading the Dharma of Amitabha Buddha through the written word. But lately, I have also felt Amitabha urging me in another direction: Just up the road from where I live there is a home for the elderly which cannot be described in terms other than dreary and sad. Making a simple visit could transform the day of a resident whose only social interaction may be the occasional visit by a family member who comes out of a sense of obligation, and paid staff who are ... paid. This is a small thing, but the world is healed through such small acts of kindness. As the Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki once said, just shine one corner of the world ...
当然，我们每个人能做些什么，还要视具体因缘和能力而定。作为一名作家，我已在行有余力时通过文字来弘扬弥陀的救度。但最近，我隐约感觉到阿弥陀佛似乎为我指明了另一条道路──在离我住处不远的地方，有一家养老院，老人们的生活只能用枯燥和悲哀来形容。他们和外界唯一的交流就是亲人们出于义务的偶尔探视或是工作人员来领薪水时的擦肩而过。而我，只要到那里陪陪他们，就能使老人们度过不同寻常的一天。虽然这只是微不足道的小事，但星星之火，可以燎原，世界就是因这些小小的善举而变得更加美好。就像铃木俊隆禅师说过的：「照亮世界的一角，足矣。」
Some of us may have the means and ability to make much larger contributions, which should be supported and celebrated by the rest of us. But even someone who is bed-ridden can tap into the energy of Amitabha Buddha by reciting his name. Such a person would be engaging in the karma of assurance for birth in the Pure Land, and could transfer the merit of their recitations to those who have died, or to those who are suffering in this world. Fueled by the inexhaustible energy of Amitabha, the potential for doing good is limitless, whatever our karma or circumstances.
关于做好事，有些人能力比较强，所以做出的贡献也比较大，这当然值得我们所有人随喜赞叹。但即使是那些卧床不起的人也可以通过称念弥陀名号而获得往生的全部资粮，还能把他念佛的功德回向给已故之人或是正在受苦受难的人。在弥陀无尽光明的摄护不舍下，我们有取之不尽、用之不竭的能量。因此不管我们所处的环境和个人业力如何，我们做好事的潜能都是无限的。
None of what I have written here is meant to imply that we as Pure Land Buddhists do not already engage the world with acts of compassion and kindness. Indeed, were this not the case, I doubt very much that I as a convert would have had the slightest attraction to this tradition. I have personally witnessed acts of kindness, large and small, by fellow Buddhists that were deeply moving and exemplary.
我写这些，绝不是说我们净土行人不再积极地入世、行善。果真如此消极避世的话，我想我也不会被这样慈悲的法门所吸引。事实上，我亲眼见证了许多念佛同修们的善举，或大或小，无不令人感动。
What I am suggesting, based on my albeit limited experience, is that we as Pure Land Buddhists become fully conscious of, and take full ownership of, the infinite supply of personal energy available to us through our connection to Amitabha Buddha. It goes without saying that securing our birth in the Pure Land is always and everywhere the first priority; and Amitabha, through his Fundamental Vow, has supplied us with a marvelous and easy means to attain birth. But when one dwells continually in the karma of assurance, and is simultaneously connected to the greenest and freest and most inexhaustible source of energy there is, the question naturally becomes: What are you going to do with it?
基于我本人有限的阅历，我真正想要与大家分享的是：通过念佛与阿弥陀佛建立联系，我们净土行人就能享受到弥陀给予我们的无穷的能量。毋庸置疑，弥陀的本愿为我们提供了一个最为简单和殊胜的往生方法。无论何时、何地，往生极乐世界都是我们学佛的第一要义。但是作为一个已经往生决定，并且能够源源不断地从阿弥陀佛那里获得绿色环保、完全免费能源的人，那么问题来了：你打算用它们做些什么呢？
Maybe even solve the world’s energy crisis?
说不定你能解决全球的能源危机问题呢！
Namo Amitabha Buddha!
南无阿弥陀佛！
April 2015
2015年4月