Amitabha, a Story of Buddhist Theology and the Awakening of Faith
Author | : Paul Carus |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 76 |
Release | : 2014-08-24 |
Genre | : |
ISBN | : 9781500937560 |
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Amitabha is a classic short piece of fiction that is set in the first century during the height of the Buddhist movement in India. Author Carus uses the story as a foundation to impart Buddhist principles of God, non-violence and religious tolerance. Carus, the proprietor of Open Court Press, was a prolific author on Buddhism, Taoism, philosophy, and other spiritual topics. "Brahma is a personification of the principle of being," replied Açvaghosha, "but Amitâbha is the standard of being. Amitâbha is the intrinsic law which, whenever being rises into existence, moulds life and develops it, producing uniformities and regularities in both the world of realities and the realm of thought. It is the source of rationality and righteousness, of science and of morality, of philosophy and religion. The sage of the Shakyas is one ray of its light only, albeit for us the most powerful ray, with the clearest, brightest, and purest light. He is the light that came to us here in this world and in our country. Wheresoever wisdom appears, there is an incarnation, more or less partial, more or less complete, of Amitâbha." "But existence," rejoined Charaka, "is different from the good law. Being is one thing and the norm that moulds it another. There is the great question, whether or not life itself is wrong. If life is wrong, the joy of living is sin, the enhancement of life, including its reproduction, an error, and love, the love of husband and wife, becomes a just cause for repentance."