The
48
Great
Vows that Dharmakara Bodhisattva
made and fulfilled before he ascended
to Buddhahood
as Amida Buddha
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
there should be in my land a hell,
a
realm of hungry spirits or a realm of animals, may I not attain perfect
Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
humans and devas in my land should
after death fall again into three evil realms, may I not attain perfect
Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
humans and devas in my land should
not all be the color of pure gold, may I not attain perfect
Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
humans and devas in my land should
not all be of one appearance, and should there be any difference in
beauty, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
humans and devas in my land should
not remember all their previous lives, not knowing even the events
which occurred during the previous hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of
kalpas, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
humans and devas in my land should
not possess the divine eye of seeing even a hundred thousand kotis of
nayutas of the Buddha-lands, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
humans and devas in my land should
not possess the divine ear of hearing the teachings of at least a
hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of Buddhas and should not remember
all of them, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
humans and devas in my land should
not possess the faculty of knowing the thoughts of others, at least
those of all sentient beings living in a hundred thousand kotis of
nayutas of Buddha-lands, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
humans and devas in my land should
not possess the supernatural power of travelling anywhere in one
instant, even beyond a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of
Buddha-lands, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
humans and devas in my land should
give rise to thoughts of self-attachment, may I not attain perfect
Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
humans and devas in my land should
not dwell in the Definitely Assured State and unfailingly reach
Nirvana, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
my light should be limited, unable
to
illuminate at least a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of
Buddha-lands, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
my lifespan should be limited, even
to the extent of hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of kalpas, may I not
attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
the number of the shravavakas in my
land could be known, even if all the beings and pratyekabuddhas living
in this universe of a thousand million worlds should count them during
a hundred thousand kalpas, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
humans and devas in my land should
have limited lifespan, except when they wish to shorten them in
accordance with their original vows, may I not attain perfect
Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
humans and devas in my land should
even hear of any wrongdoing, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
innumerable Buddhas in the land of
the ten quarters should not praise and glorify my Name, may I not
attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when
I
attain Buddhahood, sentient
beings
in the lands of the ten quarters who sincerely and joyfully entrust
themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and call my Name, even
ten times, should not be born there, may I not attain perfect
Enlightenment. Excluded, however, are those who commit the five
gravest offenses and abuse the right Dharma.
- If, when I attain
Buddhahood, sentient beings in the
lands of the ten quarters, who awaken aspiration for Enlightenment, do
meritorious deeds and sincerely desire to be born in my land, should
not, at their death, see me appear before them surrounded by multitude
of sages, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
sentient beings in the lands of ten
quarters who, having heard my Name, concentrate their thoughts on my
land, do various meritorious deeds and sincerely transfer the merits
towards my land with a desire to be born there, should not eventually
fulfill their aspiration, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
human and devas in my land should
not
all be endowed with the thirty two physical characteristics of a Great
Man, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in the Buddha-lands of
other quarters who visit my land should not ultimately and unfailingly
reach the Stage of Becoming a Buddha after one more life, may I not
attain perfect Enlightenment. Excepted are those who wish to teach and
guide sentient beings in accordance with their original vows. For they
wear the armour of great vows, accumulate merits, deliver all beings
from birth-and-death, visit Buddha-lands to perform the Bodhisattva
practices, make offerings to Buddhas, Tathagatas, throughout the ten
quarters, enlighten uncountable sentient beings as numerous as the
sands of the River Ganges, and establish them in the highest, perfect
Enlightenment. Such Bodhisattvas transcend the course of practice of
the ordinary Bodhisattva stages, manifest the practices of all the
Bodhisattva stages and actually cultivate the virtues of Samantabhadra.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in my land, in order
to
make offerings to Buddhas through my transcendent power, should not be
able to reach immeasurable and innumerable kotis of nayuta of
Buddha-lans in a short a time as it takes to eat a meal, may I not
attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in my land should not
be
able, as they wish, to perform meritorious acts of worshipping the
Buddhas with the offerings of their choice, may I not attain perfect
Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in my land should not
be
able to expound the Dharma with the all-knowing wisdom, may I not
attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
there should be any Bodhisattva in
my
land not endowed with the body of the Vajra-god Narayana, may I not
attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
sentient beings should be able,
even
with the divine eye, to distinguish by Name and calculate by number all
the myriads of manifestations provided for the humans and devas in my
land, which are glorious and resplendent and have exquisite details
beyond description, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in my land, even those
with little store of merits, should not be able to see the Bodhi-tree
which has countless colors and is four million li in height,
may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in my land should not
acquire eloquence and wisdom in upholding sutras and reciting and
expounding them, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
the wisdom and eloquence of
Bodhisattvas in my land should be limited, may I not attain perfect
Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
my land should not be resplendent,
revealing in its light all the immeasurable, innumerable and
inconceivable Buddha-lands, like images reflected in a clear mirror,
may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
all the myriads of manifestations
in
my land, from the ground to the sky, such as palaces, pavillions,
ponds, streams and trees, should not be composed of both countless
treasures, which surpass in supreme excellence anything in the worlds
of human and devas, and of a hundred thousand kinds of aromatic wood,
whose fragrance pervades all the worlds of the ten quarters, causing
all Bodhisattvas who sense it to perform Buddhist practice, may I not
attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
sentient beings in the immeasurable
and inconceivable Buddha-lands of the ten quarters who have been
touched by my light, should not feel peace and happiness in their
bodies and minds surpassing those of humans and devas, may I not attain
perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
sentient beings in the immeasurable
and inconceivable Buddha-lands of the ten quarters who have heard my
Name , should not gain the Bodhisattva’s insight into the non-arising
of all Dharmas and should not acquire various profound dharanis, may I
not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
women in the immeasurable and
inconceivable Buddha-lands of the ten quarters who, having heard my
Name, rejoice in faith, awaken aspiration for the Enlightenment and
wish to renounce womanhood, should after death be reborn again as
women, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in the immeasurable
and
inconceivable Buddha-lands of the ten quarters, who have heard my Name,
should not, after the end of their lives, always perform sacred
practices until they reach Buddhahood, may I not attain perfect
Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
humans and devas in the
immeasurable
and inconceivable Buddha-lands of the ten quarters, who having heard my
Name, prostrate themselves on the ground to revere and worship me,
rejoice in faith, and perform Bodhisattva practices, should not be
respected by all the devas and people of the world, may I not attain
perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
humans and devas in my land should
not obtain clothing, as soon as such a desire arises in their minds,
and if the fine robes as prescribed and praised by the Buddhas should
not be spontaneously provided for them to wear, and if these clothes
should need sewing, bleaching, dyeing or washing, may I not attain
perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
human and devas in my land should
not
enjoy happiness and pleasure comparable to that of a monk who has
exhausted all the passions, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in my land who wish to
see the immeasurable glorious Buddha-lands of the ten quarters, should
not be able to view all of them reflected in the jewelled trees, just
as one sees one’s face reflected in a clear mirror, may I not attain
perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in the lands of the
other quarters who hear my Name should, at any time before becoming
Buddhas, have impaired, inferior or incomplete sense organs, may I not
attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in the lands of the
other quarters who hear my Name should not all attain the samadhi
called ‘pure emancipation’ and, while dwelling therein, without losing
concentration, should not be able to make offerings in one instant to
immeasurable and inconceivable Buddhas, World Honored One, may I not
attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in the lands of the
other quarters who hear my Name should not be reborn into noble
families after their death, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in the lands of the
other quarters who hear my Name should not rejoice so greatly as to
dance and perform the Bodhisattva practices and should not acquire
stores of merits, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in the lands of the
other quarters who hear my Name should not all attain the samadhi
called ‘universal equality’ and, while dwelling therein, should not
always be able to see all the immeasurable and inconceivable Tathagatas
until those Bodhisattvas, too become Buddhas, may I not attain perfect
Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in my land should not
be
able to hear spontaneously whatever teachings they may wish, may I not
attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in the lands of the
other quarters who hear my Name should not instantly reach the Stage of
Non-retrogression, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
- If, when I attain Buddhahood,
Bodhisattvas in the lands of the
other quarters who hear my Name should not instantly gain the first,
second and third insights into the nature of Dharmas and firmly abide
in the Truths realized by all the Buddhas, may I not attain perfect
Enlightenment.
