一向出生菩薩經 彌陀因行成就眾生
Sutra of the Bodhisattva Who Always Arises: The Perfecting of Beings Through Amitabha's Practices
佛言。我念過去廣大無量無邊阿僧祇劫。有佛號寶功德威宿劫王。彼佛將入涅槃。為眾廣說法本陀羅尼。時有輪王。名曰持火。王有太子。名曰不思議勝功德。生年十六。從彼如來。聞是法本。即於七萬歲中。精勤修習。未曾睡眠。亦不偃側。端坐一處。不貪財寶及以王位。不樂自身。得值九十億百千那由他佛。諸佛脫法。盡能聞持修習。厭家剃髮而作沙門。作已復於九萬歲中。修習此陀羅尼。復為眾生。分別顯示。一生之中。力精教化。令八十億百千那由他眾生得發道心。積功累德。住不退地。爾時不思議勝功德比丘。豈異人乎。即阿彌陀如來是也(經在大藏知字函)。
The Buddha said: "I recall in the distant past, countless and boundless eons ago, there was a Buddha named Jewel of Virtue and Dignity, the Sovereign of Eons. As that Buddha was about to enter Nirvana, he widely taught a fundamental Dharma-Gate for the sake of all beings. At that time, there was a wheel-turning king named Holding Fire, who had a prince named Inconceivable and Victorious Merits. At the age of sixteen, this prince heard that fundamental Dharma-Gate from the Tathagata. He then practiced ardently for seventy thousand years, never sleeping or even lying down, sitting upright in one place. He was not attached to wealth, treasures, or royal status, nor did he cherish his own body. He thus encountered ninety billion hundred thousand nayutas of Buddhas. Whatever teachings these Buddhas proclaimed, he was able to hear, uphold, and cultivate them all. Growing weary of household life, he shaved his head and became a monk. After that, for another ninety thousand years, he continued to practice this Dharma-Gate and also explained and revealed it to others. Throughout his entire life, he dedicated himself to teaching with great effort, guiding eighty billion hundred thousand nayutas of beings to awaken the mind of enlightenment. He accumulated merit and virtue, dwelling in the stage of non-retrogression. At that time, that monk, Inconceivable and Victorious Merits—do you think he was someone else? He was none other than the Tathagata Amitabha." (This sutra is found in the 'Zhi' volume of the Tripitaka.)