THE
FORTY-EIGHT VOWS@
Translated from Chinese by Hisao Inagaki
(1) 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.
(2) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should after
death fall again into the three evil realms, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
(3) 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.
(4) 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.
(5) 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.
(6) 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 Buddha-lands, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
(7) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not
possess the divine ear of hearing [268a] 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.
(8) 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.
(9) 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.
(10) 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.
(11) 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.
(12) 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.
(13) If, when I attain Buddhahood, my life-span should be limited, even
to the extent of a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of kalpas, may I not
attain perfect Enlightenment.
(14) If, when I attain Buddhahood, the number of the shravakas 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.
(15) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans
and devas in my land should have limited
life-spans, except when they wish to shorten
them in accordance with their original vows,
may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
(16) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans
and devas in my land should even
hear of any wrongdoing, may I not attain
perfect Enlightenment.
(17) If, when I attain Buddhahood, innumerable
Buddhas in the land of the ten quarters should
not all praise and glorify my Name, may I
not attain perfect Enlightenment.
(18) 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.
(19) If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient
beings in the lands of the
ten quarters, who awaken aspiration for Enlightenment,
do various meritorious
deeds [268b] and sincerely desire to be born
in my land, should not, at
their death, see me appear before them surrounded
by a multitude of sages,
may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
(20) If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient
beings in the lands of the ten quarters who,
having heard my Name, concentrate their thoughts
on my land, do various meritorious deeds
and sincerely transfer their merits towards
my land with a desire to be born there, should
not eventually fulfill their aspiration,
may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
(21) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans
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.
(22) 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 armor 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.
(23) 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 nayutas of Buddha-lands
in as short a time as it takes to eat a meal,
may I not attain perfect
Enlightenment.
(24) 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.
(25) 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.
(26) 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.
(27) 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.
(28) If, when I attain Buddhahood, bodhisattvas
in my land, even those with little store
of merit, should not be able to [268c] see
the Bodhi-tree which has countless colors and
is four million li in height, may
I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
(29) 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.
(30) If, when I attain Buddhahood, the wisdom
and eloquence of bodhisattvas
in my land should be limited, may I not attain
perfect Enlightenment.
(31) 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.
(32) If, when I attain Buddhahood, all the
myriads of manifestations in
my land, from the ground to the sky, such
as palaces, pavilions, ponds,
streams and trees, should not be composed
of both countless treasures,
which surpass in supreme excellence anything
in the worlds of humans 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 practices, then
may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
(33) 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.
(34) 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.
(35) 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 Enlightenment
and wish to renounce womanhood,
should after death be reborn again as women,
may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
(36) 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.
(37) 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
[269a] in faith, and perform bodhisattva
practices, should not be respected
by all devas and people of the world, may
I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
(38) 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.
(39) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans
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.
(40) If, when I attain Buddhahood, the 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.
(41) 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.
(42) 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 Ones, may I not attain perfect
Enlightenment.
(43) 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.
(44) 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 merit,
may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
(45) 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.
(46) If, when I attain Buddhahood, bodhisattvas
in my land should not be
able to hear spontaneously whatever teachings
they may wish, [269b] may
I not attain perfect Enlightenment.
(47) 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.
(48) 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."
[Bibliography] H. Inagaki, The
Three Pure Land Sutras: A Study and Translation, Nagata Bunshodo, 2000; pp. 241-249.
H. Inagaki, The Three Pure Land Sutras, BDK English Tripitaka 12-II, III, IV, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation
and Research, 1995, pp. 32-39; second edition, 2003, pp. 14-20.