Amitabha Buddha’s Twelve Kinds of Light: A Brief Explication (General Exposition)

Dharma Master Huijing; translated by Sam Suen, edited by Householder Fojin

—Part 8—

8. Hope for All Sentient Beings

The Buddha of Infinite Light relates to time while the Buddha of Boundless Light relates to space. Both surpass time and pace, and cannot be impeded. As elaboration normally follows a chronological order, let us start with Infinite Light. Infinite Light surpasses time, exists eternally and delivers sentient beings from any period of time. It illuminates the past, the present and the infinite future. Amitabha Buddha vows to deliver all sentient beings from the ten directions with this light, giving hope to those born in any time, any period.

No one is left without hope, even those who have, up to the moment of their death, never encountered this Dharma path. One can still be reborn in the Land of Bliss, even though one recites Amitabha’s name but once, with one’s dying breath. Even beings who were not born as humans in this life, so long as they are so born in the future, can still have the chance of coming across this Dharma path. This is because Amitabha is the Buddha who has pledged to deliver all sentient beings for ever and ever.

Therefore, as far as human beings in this world are concerned, whether or not they have started learning the Dharma, or if they have started but not yet entered the Pure Land Dharma gate, Amitabha Buddha will still be waiting for them and embracing them with his radiance.

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