By Foru
When merits and virtues are perfected,
My majestic light shall radiate in the ten directions,
Outshining the sun and the moon
And surpassing the brilliance of the heavens.
Infinite Life Sutra
In 1905, Albert Einstein published what we now know as the Theory of Special Relativity. It postulates that, as an object moves faster and faster, it experiences time slower than others. This effect is called Time Dilation, and is more pronounced the more one travels approaching the speed of light. Today, we have proven that this theory is correct, in fact, we rely on Einstein’s equations to keep our GPS calculations accurate!
When one contemplates the meaning of the Name of the Buddha of Infinite Light, more commonly known as Amitabha Buddha, one must also ponder the meaning of his other Name, the Buddha of Infinite Life. Why would Infinite Light and Infinite Life be tied together? On first thought, it may seem to be arbitrary, or even extraneous, but one may find a clue from the Theory of Relativity.
An interesting thought experiment is: “What happens when we have rockets that travel close to the speed of light?” Suppose there is a pair of twins, Twin A stays on earth while Twin B gets on the rocket and flies away at about 87% of the speed of light, 10 years later, Twin B makes a U-turn, and takes another 10 years to get back home. When they finally meet, 20 years later from the perspective of earth, Twin A would be shocked to find that Twin B was 10 years younger than him! Because of Time Dilation, Twin B only experienced 10 years of time in the span of 20 years!
The life of Amitabha Buddha is so long that it is impossible for anyone to calculate it. To give an illustration, let us suppose that all the innumerable sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions were reborn in human form and that every one became a shravaka or pratyekabuddha. Even if they assembled in one place, concentrated their thoughts, and exercised the power of their wisdom to the utmost to reckon the length of the Buddha’s life, even after a thousand million kalpas they could still not reach its limit.
Infinite Life Sutra
Now you might ask, since the effect of Time Dilation becomes more and more pronounced the closer one gets to the speed of light. What happens when you actually travel at the speed of light? Well, according to Einstein, the time dilation actually becomes infinite! In other words, if you are somehow able to travel next to a light particle zooming across the universe, at the same speed, an eternity of the universe would pass by you in a blink of an eye! If you have started travelling since the Big Bang, you would see the formation of the universe, the earth, all life, and subsequently the ending of the universe, and even beyond, all in one instantaneous moment.
Light and time are inextricably tied together in the fabric of this universe. Infinite Light and Infinite Life found manifestation in the body of one Buddha – Amitabha. One cannot possibly fathom what one monk – Dharmakara must have done throughout inconceivable kalpas to achieve this feat. But if what Einstein said is true, attaining Infinite Light and Infinite Life must go hand in hand. Most of us may not be able to perceive this Light with our human eyes, but it is there, shining unimpeded throughout the vast cosmos, as it has been for an incomprehensible amount of time, and will continue to be, for a literally infinite amount of time.
Luckily for us, we do not have to strive, or be born with an exceptionally intelligent brain as Einstein to comprehend all of this. Amitabha Buddha, in His infinite compassion, has devised an easy way for us to connect with Him. All it takes is simply one recitation of His Name “Namo Amituofo”, and we connect instantaneously with all the merits, benefits, and even Infinite Light and Life that the Buddha has. Perhaps “Namo Amituofo” is like a rocket ship that allows us to travel alongside Amitabha Buddha’s Infinite Light, to eternity and beyond. May all beings find refuge in this rocket ship, alongside peace and joy, and be delivered from all afflictions and suffering forever.