Hi,
1. With regards to of the light & life-span of beings in the Pure Land:
From the 48 Vows of Dharmakara Bodhisattva in the Larger Infinite Sutra:
If, when I attain Buddhahood, my light not be infinite and not illumine even a hundred thousand nayutas of kotis of Buddha-lands, may I not attain the supreme enlightenment.[/quote] (Vow 12)
If, when I attain Buddhahood, my life not be infinite and not span even a hundred thousand nayutas of kotis of kalpas, may I not attain the supreme enlightenment.
(Vow 13)
The passage declaring the fulfillment of these Vows states:
The Buddha said to Ananda, "the Majestic radiance of the Buddha of immeasurable life is exalted and supreme; the radiance of other Buddhas cannot compare with it... For this reason, the Buddha of immeasurable life is called Buddha of immeasurable light, Buddha of boundless light, Buddha of unhindered light, Buddha of incomparable light, Buddha of light that is lord of blazing light, Buddha of the light of purity, Buddha of the light of joy, Buddha of the light of wisdom, Buddha of uninterrupted light, Buddha of inconceivable light, Buddha of inexpressible light, and Buddha of light surpassing sun and moon.
"Sentient beings who encounter this light have the three defilements swept away, and they become soft and gentle in body and mind. They dance with joy, and the good mind arises in them. When those suffering the pain and travail in the three evil courses see this light, they all find respite and are freed of afflictions. After their lives have ended, they all gain emancipation. The light of the Buddha of immeasurable life is resplendent and brilliantly illuminates the lands of the Buddhas throughout the ten quarters; nowhere is it not heard of. It is not I alone who praise this light now; all Buddhas, sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas together praise it just as I do. When sentient beings hear of this light's majestic virtues and praise it day and night with wholeness of heart and without interruption, they will attain birth in that land in accord with their hearts' aspirations, and all the bodhisattvas and sravakas will extol and praise their virtues. Upon attaining the enlightenment of Buddhahood later, their light will be praised by all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas throughout the ten quarters just as I now praise that Buddha's light."
The Buddha said, "Even if I were to expound the magnificence, splendor, and wondrousness, of the light of the Buddha of immeasurable life day and night for a kalpa, still I could not exhaust it."
The Buddha said to Ananda, "The life of the Buddha of immeasurable life is everlasting and beyond reckoning. How could you know it? Imagine that the countless sentient beings throughout the worlds of the ten quarters were made to acquire human existence, and all were caused to attain the state of sravakas or pratyekabuddhas. Even if all of them, gathering in a single place and, with focused thoughts and concentrated minds, employing the utmost power of their wisdom, pondered together for myriads of kalpas in an attempt to determine the length of that life, they still would not be able to come to its end and know its limit.
2. Beings in the Pure Land have the "freedom" to travel everywhere without having to leave the Pure Land. Means, they can also "incarnate" in our Saha world without having to leave the Pure Land, just like the great bodhisattvas can do so.
[quote]When I attain Buddhahood, the bodhisattvas of other Buddha-lands who come and are born in my land will ultimately and unfailingly attain [the rank of] "succession to Buddhahood after one lifetime" - except for those who, in accordance with their own original vows freely to guide others to enlightenment, don the armor of universal vows for the sake of sentient beings, accumulate roots of virtue, emancipate all beings, travel to Buddha-lands to perform bodhisattva practices, make offerings to all the Buddhas and Tathagatas throughout the ten quarters, awaken sentient beings countless as the sands of the Ganges, and bring them to abide firmly in the unexcelled, right, true way. Such bodhisattvas surpass ordinary ones, manifest the practices of all the bodhisattva stages, and discipline themselves in the virtue of Samantabhadra. Should it not be so, may I not attain the supreme enlightenment. (Vow 22)
Gassho
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Originally posted by sanath:
