釋淨土群疑論

Part IX: The Practices and Karma Leading to Rebirth

1. Emptiness and Existence According to Spiritual Capacity

Question: The Buddha Treasury Sutra says: “What is an unwholesome spiritual friend, and what is a wholesome spiritual friend? The Buddha told Sariputra: ‘Suppose a bhiksu tells other bhiksus: “You should recollect the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha, morality, generosity, the devas, and so forth. You should contemplate only the security and quiescence of nirvana, and delight only in ultimate purity.” One who teaches in this way is called an unwholesome spiritual friend.

That person slanders the Buddha and assists non-Buddhist paths. I do not permit such evil persons to receive even a single sip of water while practicing and teaching others these demonic, heterodox doctrines.’” The sutra also says: “One should rather commit the five heinous offenses than give rise to views concerning a self, sentient beings, a living being, a life, the skandhas, ayatanas, dhatus, and so forth.” This also encompasses recollecting the Buddha with an attached mind, and so forth.

This sutra further says: “Upon hearing the Dharma of emptiness in which nothing is attained, to give rise to attachment is entirely a wrong view. If, with regard to the Dharma of emptiness in which nothing is attained, one does not give rise to doubt or regret, but penetrates it profoundly and does not cling to any view of self, person, and so forth, I call that person one who practices pure brahmacarya.” Now, to exhort others to recollect a Buddha possessed of form with an attached mind that seeks attainment—is this not precisely what the Buddhas rebuke? ⁽⁶⁸⁾

Answer: Whenever the Buddhas expound the Dharma, they accord with the spiritual capacities of sentient beings. Since capacities differ in depth and shallowness, the teachings are distinguished as Mahayana and Hinayana. Because there are distinctions concerning persons, dharmas, the path of seeing, the path of cultivation, and so forth, the Buddhas likewise teach different doctrines accordingly.

At times they extol emptiness and censure conditioned dharmas; at times they censure attachment to emptiness and praise the merit of conditioned practices; at times they teach one to abandon the Hinayana teachings and study the Mahayana; and at times they teach one first to study the Hinayana and afterward the Mahayana. Because there are many different kinds of spiritual capacity, there are eighty-four thousand distinct Dharma gates.

The Buddhas transform and deliver sentient beings according to their capacities and conditions; this is truly inconceivable. The Buddha Treasury Sutra rebukes the attached mind, saying that “one should rather commit the five heinous offenses,” and so forth. Yet other sutras teach: “One should rather give rise to a view of self as vast as Mount Sumeru than give rise to a view of emptiness as small as a mustard seed.” Likewise, the Lotus Sutra teaches that “one must not associate closely with students of the Hinayana,” yet the Sutra of the Ten Wheels teaches: “If one does not have the strength to drink a river dry, how could one drink up the waters of the great ocean?

If one has not studied the Hinayana teachings, how could one possess the strength to study the Mahayana teachings?” Teachings such as these are scattered throughout the Mahayana scriptures. Some censure conditioned existence and praise emptiness; some extol the Mahayana; and some extol the Hinayana. They are by no means fixed.

All these different teachings were given to accord with the capacities and levels of practitioners. The Buddha has two bodies, the true body, or Dharma-body, and the manifested body; students of Buddhism likewise differ in having higher or lower capacities. The Dharma-body is profound and subtle, transcending conditioned and unconditioned dharmas, the hundred negations, the four propositions, and so forth.

Practitioners of higher capacity can remain mentally unmoved with regard to the Dharma of ultimate truth, yet they may still cling to appearances and retain a discriminating mind. The Buddha Treasury Sutra rebukes attachment in order to enable practitioners to eliminate the two attachments to persons and dharmas. It teaches them to contemplate dharmas as involving no attainment and to cultivate the contemplation that recollects the Buddha’s Dharma-body.

Therefore, that sutra says: “To perceive that there is nothing to attain is called recollecting the Buddha.” As for practitioners of lower capacity, who have only just abandoned error and returned to the correct path, brought forth the bodhicitta, and aspired to be reborn in the Pure Land, they do not yet clearly understand the Dharma in which nothing is attained. If they were told to contemplate emptiness, they would inevitably suppose that cause and effect are originally quiescent—that there is neither cause nor effect—and would consequently no longer fear the karmic retribution of wrongdoing, thereby creating still more afflictions.

Unless the distinctions between cause and effect, good and evil, favorable and unfavorable realms, and the inconceivable bodily marks of the Buddhas are extensively explained to them, how could they bring forth wholesome thoughts, fear the obstructions of wrongdoing, grow weary of and leave the defiled realm, seek the Pure Land, single-mindedly contemplate the white tuft between the Buddha’s eyebrows, contemplate the features of the Land of Ultimate Bliss, eradicate karmic obstructions, and perfect the causes and conditions for rebirth there?

The Pratyutpanna Sutra teaches: “If bhiksus, bhiksunis, and others maintain the precepts purely, fulfill all practices, face westward, and contemplate Amitabha Buddha clearly and distinctly without interruption, those practitioners will ultimately behold Amitabha face to face. Practitioners should contemplate the form-body in this manner.” The sutra further teaches: “Amitabha Tathagata, the Perfectly and Completely Awakened One, is endowed with the thirty-two excellent marks and eighty subsidiary characteristics; the radiant color of his body resembles a mass of Jambunada gold, and so forth....

Neither contemplating that Buddha nor seeing his form-body, one will thus, in due sequence, attain the samadhi of emptiness. Good man! This is called the Samadhi in Which the Buddhas of the Present Stand Before One.” The Sutra on the Ocean-like Samadhi of Contemplating the Buddha teaches: “The Tathagata also possesses the Dharma-body, the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the three liberations, and sovereign spiritual powers.

Such matters are not states that ordinary beings such as you can cultivate. You need only give rise to profound and earnest faith and a mind of sympathetic joy. Afterward, concentrate your thoughts upon the virtues of the Buddhas.” One should therefore understand that the Buddha teaches those of lower capacity to contemplate the form-body, while teaching those of higher capacity to contemplate the Dharma-body.

Hence it is said: “In due sequence, one will attain the samadhi of emptiness.” Furthermore, for practitioners who delight in contemplating the “Buddha as principle,” the Buddha teaches contemplation of the formless body; for those who seek to behold the “form-body,” the Buddha teaches contemplation of the body’s physical marks. One must skillfully understand the intent of the scriptures and must not hastily give rise to praise or disparagement.

One should clearly understand how skillfully the Buddha accords with the dispositions of sentient beings.

2. Why Rebirth in the Western Land Alone Is Encouraged

Question: The Pure Lands throughout the ten directions are immeasurable and boundless, and some people also encourage rebirth in other Pure Lands. Why, then, does this text encourage rebirth only in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss? ⁽⁶⁹⁾

Answer: There are three explanations. First, although such Pure Lands are discussed, one is not encouraged to seek rebirth there; second, only certain people are encouraged to seek rebirth there; third, the exhortations are incomplete. ⁽¹⁾ Pure Lands are discussed, but one is not encouraged to seek rebirth there: The Mahaparinirvana Sutra says: “From here, proceeding westward beyond worlds as numerous as the sands of forty-two Ganges Rivers, there is a Pure Land named Unsurpassed, whose sublime realm resembles the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

The Tathagata from that Pure Land manifested descent and birth in this Saha world to teach and transform sentient beings.” If all Pure Lands are places in which one may attain rebirth, why did Shakyamuni Tathagata not encourage everyone to seek rebirth in that land, but instead encouraged rebirth only in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss? Moreover, although many Mahayana sutras also discuss various Pure Lands, they do not encourage rebirth there. ⁽²⁾ Only certain people are encouraged to seek rebirth there: As in the Vimalakirti Sutra, Vimalakirti took the world of Abhirati in his hand and placed it within the Saha world for the assembly to behold.

When the Buddha encouraged the assembly to seek rebirth in that land, fourteen nayutas of sentient beings brought forth the aspiration for bodhi and vowed to be born in the world of Abhirati, and the Buddha bestowed predictions upon them that they would attain rebirth there. Thus, the latter part of the sutra states that after the world of Abhirati had finished benefiting the sentient beings of the Saha world, it returned to its original place.

If this Pure Land were suitable for everyone, why did the Buddha not encourage everyone to vow to attain rebirth in the world of Abhirati? Therefore, it should be understood that the sentient beings of this world have no affinity with Abhirati, and for this reason the Buddha did not encourage them to seek rebirth there. ⁽³⁾ The exhortations are incomplete: Although the Sutra on Rebirth in Accordance with One’s Vows, the Medicine Buddha Sutra, and others also describe Pure Lands in other directions and encourage rebirth there, their texts do not discuss the matter in detail.

What is meant by discussing it in detail? Sutras such as the Sutra on the Contemplation of Amitayus, in encouraging rebirth, address the following points: (a) They clearly state that those who attain rebirth are ordinary beings; (b) they clearly speak of the future; (c) they clearly explain the greater or lesser extent of offenses committed; (d) the Buddhas of the ten directions manifest the sign of their tongues as testimony; (e) many sutras provide corroborating testimony, so that one may practice accordingly without further doubt.

One should therefore understand that the practice for rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is very easy to undertake, whereas practices for rebirth in other Pure Lands are mentioned in the scriptures in only a few sentences and are taught only in outline, making them difficult to follow in practice. Why abandon detailed instructions for practice in favor of cursory ones? Moreover, the scriptures exhort us to rely on sutras of definitive meaning and not on sutras of provisional meaning.

The Tripitaka Master (Zhizhe?), in his Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra, explained in detail that sutras of definitive and provisional meaning are of four kinds. The Pure Land teaching presently possesses all four kinds of sutras of definitive and provisional meaning, and one may rely upon them to cultivate Pure Land practice. Although other sutras also discuss the Pure Land teaching, they do not fully possess these four meanings, and it is difficult to rely upon them in cultivating Pure Land karma.

3. Joy and Equanimity at the End of Life.

Question: The treatises maintain that at the end of life, or when taking birth, the state of mind is one of neutral feeling. Why, then, does the Sutra on the Contemplation of Amitayus state that a person about to attain rebirth is joyful and elated, personally seeing his own body seated upon a vajra dais? Since the feeling of joy is so intense, how can it be said that at the end of life one is in a state of neutral feeling? ⁽⁷⁰⁾

Answer: One Dharma master explained that when taking birth in a defiled and turbid land, because no holy assembly comes to welcome the dying person, the person’s state of mind at the end of life is merely one of neutral feeling. By contrast, when attaining rebirth in a Pure Land, because a holy assembly comes to welcome the practitioner and the compassionate aid of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas is received, the practitioner at the end of life is joyful and elated.

The treatises generally base their statements upon taking birth in a defiled land, and therefore speak in this manner; this cannot be regarded as the sole standard. Some maintain that at the end of life, consciousness is also in a state of neutral feeling. It is only because this neutral feeling is faint, while the feeling of joy at the approach of death is intense, that on this basis the practitioner is described as joyful and elated.

In reality, when the actual moment of death arrives, the mind will likewise abide in neutral feeling and attain rebirth. The sutras and treatises offer the same explanation, and there is no contradiction between them.

4. Longer and Shorter Periods of Mindfulness of the Buddha.

Question: The Sutra on the Contemplation of Amitayus says that at the end of life, merely invoking the Buddha for one thought up to ten thoughts is sufficient to attain rebirth. The Amitabha Sutra maintains that one must invoke the Buddha with single-mindedness and without distraction for a period of one to seven days before one can attain rebirth. The Infinite Life Sutra, however, maintains that one must single-mindedly invoke the Buddha throughout one’s entire life before one can attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

If one must invoke the Buddha throughout one’s entire life in order to attain rebirth, then the teachings about invoking the Buddha for one day or seven days, or for one thought or ten thoughts, would all be false. But if merely one thought, ten thoughts, and so forth are sufficient to attain rebirth, why is it necessary to teach invocation of the Buddha for seven days, or even throughout one’s entire life? ⁽⁷¹⁾

Answer: Whether one recollects the Buddha for a single thought, ten thoughts, one day, seven days, or even throughout one’s entire life, one can attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. None of these teachings is false; they are all words of truth. The Buddha is one who speaks truthfully and never falsely; how could he utter erroneous or deceptive words?

Nevertheless, practitioners of Buddha-recollection encounter the Pure Land Dharma-gate either early or late; some arouse the aspiration to seek rebirth swiftly, while others do so more slowly; and their lifespans also differ in length. Some encounter a good spiritual friend only at the time of death, who instructs them to arouse the aspiration and recollect the Buddha; they too attain rebirth, although only in the lowest grade.

Others, whose life faculty has not yet ceased, may spend one day, two days, or many days recollecting the Buddha until they attain one-pointedness without distraction. The Buddha, therefore, teaches them according to their lifespans to recollect the Buddha for one day or for many days. For those whose lifespans are long, the Buddha likewise teaches them, in accordance with their lifespans, to recollect the Buddha throughout their lives.

One cannot tell those whose lives are short to practice Buddha-recollection for a long period, nor tell those who will live for a hundred years to recollect the Buddha for merely one to seven days. Thus, although the three Pure Land sutras all exhort people to recollect the Buddha, each teaches a different method of Buddha-recollection according to a particular meaning, and these meanings are in no way contradictory. The Sutra on the Contemplation of the Buddha of Infinite Life teaches those approaching death the practice of recollecting the Buddha for one thought or ten thoughts in order to attain rebirth.

The Amitabha Sutra teaches those who have several days of life remaining the practice of recollecting the Buddha for one to seven days in order to attain rebirth. The Sutra of the Buddha of Infinite Life teaches those whose remaining lifespans are long either to accumulate merit or to practice Buddha-recollection throughout their lives in order to attain rebirth. Furthermore, these differing methods correspond to the practices of the three grades: those of the highest grade are taught to practice Buddha-recollection throughout their lives; those of the middle grade are taught to practice it for one to seven days; and those of the lowest grade are taught to practice it for one to ten thoughts.

The nine grades of rebirth are likewise divided into many distinct levels. Although all attain rebirth and no longer endure suffering and affliction, the lotus flowers open earlier for some and later for others, and realization of the Way is swift for some and slow for others. It is with this meaning that the sutras teach differently.

5. Turning Away from the Defiled Realm and Delighting in the Pure Land.

Question: This Saha world possesses ten exceptional features that other Pure Lands do not have. Moreover, practicing the Way for one day and one night in this realm is superior to practicing the Way for a hundred years in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. According to these scriptural statements, cultivation in the Saha world is superior to cultivation in the Pure Land. Why, then, are people urged to attain rebirth in the Western Land? ⁽⁷²⁾

Answer: If the objection were truly as you state, then all Pure Land Dharma gates would be unnecessary. You cite the passage from the scripture mentioned above to claim that the Pure Land Dharma gate brings no benefit. If so, for what purpose do the Pure Land scriptures earnestly exhort and encourage everyone to attain rebirth there?

Moreover, the two scriptures you cite merely offer differing forms of praise and encouragement according to the capacities of particular people. Praising practitioners who abide in the Saha world is intended to prevent bodhisattvas dwelling in this defiled realm from losing faith in their own practices, so that they may benefit suffering beings. Therefore, for bodhisattvas endowed with exceptionally great compassion, the Buddha praises abiding in the defiled realm.

As for bodhisattvas dwelling in a defiled realm who encounter adverse conditions and create many karmic offenses and obstructions, the Buddha exhorts them to attain rebirth in the Pure Land, to leave adverse conditions far behind and avoid remaining in samsara. The differing intentions of the scriptures are adapted to these two distinct kinds of capacity. Why, then, cite the Vimalakirti Sutra’s praise of bodhisattvas who dwell in a defiled realm to benefit sentient beings and claim that one need only cultivate the path in this defiled realm, with no need to seek rebirth in the Pure Land?

Although the merit of cultivating the path for one day and night in this defiled realm equals that of cultivating the path for one hundred years in that realm, here there are few opportunities to see a Buddha or draw near to good spiritual friends. For the most part, one instead encounters unwholesome spiritual companions or conditions that cause one to regress in practice. Therefore, the scriptures all exhort practitioners to attain rebirth in the Pure Land.

In the Sun Treasury section, fascicle twenty-eight, of the Great Collection Sutra, it is said: “Good men! The disciples of the Buddha in that realm—the Saha world—are firmly bound by afflictions and deeply attached by craving. Their appearances are ugly; they constantly give rise to arrogance and frequently speak harsh words, divisive words, and false words.

In truth they are ignorant, yet they feign the appearance of wisdom; by nature they are miserly, yet they feign the appearance of generosity; their minds are deceitful, yet they feign the appearance of truthfulness; their minds are defiled, yet they feign the appearance of purity; their hearts are filled with jealousy, yet they feign the appearance of gentleness; they wish others to be divided, yet they feign the appearance of harmony; they constantly give rise to wrong views, yet they feign the appearance of right view.

Because the beings of that realm heed the words of women, they sever their roots of goodness and increase the three evil destinies. Good man! Can you now serve as my messenger and go to that realm? ...

At that time, Bodhisattva Sun Treasury addressed the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One, I can recite that dharani for the beings of that realm to hear, but I am afraid of that realm. Why is this? The Tathagata has just told us of the wickedness of the beings there.

They are like those who are blind, deaf, mute, and speech-impaired, and they follow the incitements of women. World-Honored One, if there are people who comply with women’s wishes, one should know that they have all severed their roots of goodness.’ The Buddha said: ‘Good man! You should not go to that realm merely for the benefit and happiness of this life and future lives.

You should go there for the benefit and happiness of all sentient beings and proclaim the Buddhadharma. Do not harbor doubt or anxiety. Good man!

Are you not the Vimalakirti of that realm? Why, then, are you afraid? There are immeasurable and innumerable bodhisattvas whose minds are unsettled and who, with single-minded recollection, wish to approach and pay homage to Shakyamuni Tathagata and the bodhisattvas, and also wish to hear the wondrous scriptures.

Those bodhisattvas are all united in their desire to go to the Saha world, but I wish to advise them not to go to that realm. Why? Because their minds are not yet steadfast.

If they go there, they may develop inverted states of mind and associate with unwholesome spiritual companions.’” Bodhisattvas whose minds are not yet steadfast are bodhisattvas at the initial stages whose practice is subject to regression; they are called indeterminate. Because their minds are not yet steadfast, it is feared that upon coming to this Saha world and encountering adverse conditions, they will create evil karma and regress.

The bodhisattvas of that realm would only come temporarily to the Saha world, yet they still feel afraid and dare not come. Practitioners in this realm who have not yet attained the stage of non-retrogression nevertheless wish to remain here to practice and refuse to attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. This is an enormous error.

Fascicle 78 of the Yogacarabhumi Treatise cites the Samdhinirmocana Sutra as saying: “Bodhisattva Manjushri asked the Buddha: ‘World-Honored One! In a defiled realm, what things are easily obtained and what things are difficult to obtain?’ The Buddha replied: ‘Good man! In a defiled realm, eight things are easily obtained and two things are difficult to obtain.

The eight things easily obtained are: ⁽¹⁾ non-Buddhist teachers, ⁽²⁾ suffering sentient beings, ⁽³⁾ disparities between the rich and the poor, ⁽⁴⁾ the performance of evil deeds, ⁽⁵⁾ violations of the precepts, ⁽⁶⁾ falling into the evil destinies, ⁽⁷⁾ inferior Dharma gates, and ⁽⁸⁾ inferior bodhisattvas. The two things difficult to obtain are: ⁽¹⁾ superior bodhisattvas and ⁽²⁾ the appearance of Buddhas in the world. Good man!

Conditions in a Pure Land are entirely the opposite of those just described. Therefore, all Buddhas exhort sentient beings in defiled realms to attain rebirth in a Pure Land.’”

6. Whether or Not There Are Conjured Women.

Question: The Pure Land has none of the three evil destinies, yet it has conjured birds that expound the Dharma. If so, although that realm has no women, are there conjured women who expound the Dharma? ⁽⁷³⁾

Answer: There are two explanations: ⁽¹⁾ There are only conjured birds and no conjured women. Why? Because the scripture speaks only of conjured birds and does not mention conjured women.

If there were conjured women, the scripture would have mentioned them. Moreover, the Treatise on Rebirth also says: “Women, people with disabilities, and followers of the Two Vehicles are not reborn there.” Yet the scripture has not necessarily described every transformation and adornment of the Pure Land. For example, the Sutra in Praise of the Pure Land says: “Even if the World-Honored One were to live for hundreds of thousands of kalpas and manifest innumerable tongues to describe the adorned features of the Pure Land, he still could not describe them all.” Could one therefore claim that something does not exist in the Pure Land merely because the scripture has not mentioned it? ⁽²⁾ There are conjured women in the Pure Land.

As the Sutra of Avalokiteshvara’s Prophecy of Buddhahood says: “Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara conjured immeasurable numbers of women.” Are these not conjured women? Moreover, the Sutra of the King of the Drum Sound says: “Amitabha Buddha has a father and a mother. To liberate those of lesser capacity, he manifests the presence of women; to liberate those of superior capacity, he manifests the absence of women.” These two statements do not contradict each other.

7. Unmixed with the Fetters.

Question: The Sutra of Maitreya’s Questions says: “The practice of the ten recollections is not a practice of recollection for ignorant ordinary beings, but a practice of pure recollection.” If so, how can ignorant ordinary beings recollect the Buddha purely? ⁽⁷⁴⁾

Answer: If the practice of the ten recollections is not a practice of foolish ordinary beings, could it then be a practice of sages? And as for a pure practice of recollection, could it mean a practice that has completely eliminated afflictions? The original intent of the sutra in saying that it is “not a practice of ordinary beings” does not mean that it must be a practice of sages; and “a pure practice of recollection” does not mean a practice that has utterly eradicated afflictions.

It means only that this practice of the ten recollections can help practitioners relinquish samsaric existence in the Saha world and accord with supramundane liberation. For the most part, foolish ordinary beings follow the current of birth and death, increase their afflictions, and create the karma of samsara. Now, by cultivating the practice of the ten recollections and aspiring to be reborn in the Pure Land, they go against the current of birth and death, follow the path to nirvana, turn toward the Dharma of the sages and worthies, and enter the gateway through which delusive afflictions are eliminated.

Therefore, the sutra says, “It is not a practice of recollection for foolish ordinary beings, but a pure practice of recollection.” For example, when a bhikshu receives the precepts, they are called “the precepts received by the sages.” Could these precepts not also be received by ordinary beings? The case just explained is likewise; upon analysis, this will be understood.

8. The Remedy at the Time of Death.

Question: To recollect Amitabha Buddha and seek rebirth in the West, one must also practice recollection for many days, many months, and many years before attaining rebirth there. Moreover, one must recollect the Buddha earnestly, sincerely, and diligently for a long time. If, when one is about to die, merely recollecting the Buddha with utmost sincerity is sufficient to attain rebirth there, then human life in this world is brief, lasting only a hundred years, with little joy and much suffering; separation comes easily, reunion is difficult, and pleasures are short-lived.

Why not pursue the five desires, indulge the six sense faculties, and enjoy pleasures day and night, waiting until death, when merely reciting the Buddha’s name once will suffice to attain rebirth there and escape this realm of suffering? Why spend years and months exerting oneself in austere practices, laboriously cultivating the path, and diligently applying the three karmic activities? Since both methods lead to rebirth there, why laboriously undertake austere practice over a long period? ⁽⁷⁵⁾

Answer: This matter has many implications. One must not merely hear vague reports about the Pure Land Dharma gate, then abandon cultivation and wait until one is about to die before concentrating on recollecting the Buddha. You wish to attain rebirth in the Pure Land and leave far behind the suffering of the Saha world, yet you do not seek unsurpassed bodhi, are unwilling to cultivate the bodhisattva practices, and desire only to go there to indulge in pleasures, without seeking swiftly to realize non-arising.

Therefore, you hope at the moment of death to attain rebirth there by chance. If you truly aspire to attain Buddhahood, have compassion for sentient beings, and wish swiftly to accomplish perfect enlightenment, fearing that in this world your bodhicitta may regress and therefore wishing to be born in the Pure Land so that you may advance in cultivation, attain the stage of non-retrogression, and liberate sentient beings, then you should cultivate the myriad practices over a long period without interruption or rest.

Why, then, are you presently unwilling to cultivate the Pure Land Dharma gate, but instead live extravagantly and self-indulgently, waiting until you are about to die before recollecting the Buddha and praying for rebirth there?

9. Swift Attainment in the Pure Land.

Question: The Sutra in Praise of the Pure Land says: “Those reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss swiftly attain unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment.” If cultivating the path there for a hundred years is equivalent to cultivating the path in this world for only one day, how can one swiftly attain unsurpassed great bodhi? ⁽⁷⁶⁾

Answer: Although cultivating the path for one day amid suffering may surpass cultivating the path for a hundred years in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, those in this world who encounter adverse conditions often regress for many kalpas; ultimately, their cultivation is still slower than in that land. Although a hundred years of cultivation in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is equivalent to only one day of cultivation here, there is only progress and no regression.

Thus, it may still be said that one cultivates the path swiftly and attains the fruit of unsurpassed bodhi. It is like a person who walks quickly but frequently stops to rest and consequently reaches the destination slowly. For this reason, although one day of cultivating the path in the Saha world surpasses a hundred years of cultivation in that land, the Buddha still did not regard this world as a place where bodhi is swiftly attained.

By contrast, although another person walks slowly, if that person continues without stopping along the way, the destination will be reached quickly. For this reason, it is called the swift attainment of bodhi.

10. Constantly Encouraging Recollection of the Buddha.

Question: What difficulty could there be in reciting the Buddha’s name a few times? For example, those who are about to die have little time remaining and are oppressed by suffering, so they cannot cultivate profound aspects of the Buddha-Dharma such as morality, concentration, and wisdom, and so forth, yet they can still recollect the Buddha. But those who are still living have long lives ahead of them and are not oppressed by suffering. Why are they not taught to contemplate emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, cultivate the factors of the path, and extensively study profound Dharma gates, but are instead encouraged to devote themselves exclusively to the recollection of the Buddha? What is the meaning of this? ⁽⁷⁷⁾

Answer: A practitioner who cultivates the Pure Land path throughout a lifetime need not necessarily practice only Buddha-recitation. Practitioners vary in their faculties, some being sharp and others dull, and in their capacities, some profound and others shallow. Therefore, the Dharma gateway is divided into the two approaches of meditative and non-meditative practice, and the grades of rebirth are likewise divided into nine distinct levels.

Practitioners of sharp faculties and tranquil minds are taught to cultivate the contemplation of equality, both with characteristics and without characteristics. Practitioners of dull faculties and distracted minds are taught to cultivate the virtuous karma of the three kinds of merit and the nine grades. They are encouraged not merely to practice Buddha-recitation exclusively, but also to cultivate other Dharma gateways.

If they are unable to cultivate the various practices extensively, they may nevertheless attain rebirth in the Pure Land through Buddha-recitation. Furthermore, the Dharma gateway of Buddha-recitation has both profound and shallow forms, as well as meditative and non-meditative approaches; practitioners of both higher and lower capacities can cultivate it. Cultivation through the meditative approach encompasses everyone from ordinary beings to bodhisattvas of the Ten Grounds, who practice the Buddha-Recitation Samadhi, profound and sublime.

The Avatamsaka Sutra, Nirvana Sutra, Manjushri Prajnaparamita Sutra, Great Collection Sutra of the Worthy Protector, and Sutra on the Samadhi of Contemplating the Buddha all praise the Buddha-Recitation Samadhi as inconceivable. As related in the Avatamsaka Sutra, when the youth Sudhana requested the bhikshu Meghashri to teach him the method of cultivating the bodhisattva practices, Meghashri instructed him in the Dharma gateway of the Buddha-Recitation Samadhi, which is precisely the profound Dharma gateway being discussed here.

Cultivation through the non-meditative approach encompasses all sentient beings. Whether walking or sitting, in every place and at every time, they can cultivate it without hindering their daily work; and when their lives come to an end, they will also accomplish the practice leading to rebirth. Furthermore, although the Buddha also taught the cultivation of other practices for attaining rebirth, the scriptures mention these only rarely, whereas they speak very frequently of attaining rebirth through cultivating the Dharma gateway of Buddha-recitation.

Only a few passages of evidence are presented here so that practitioners may clearly understand. The Amitabha Sutra speaks solely of attaining rebirth in the Western Land through recollection of Amitabha Buddha, and the Buddhas of the six directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, all manifest their broad and long tongues to attest that practitioners who recollect the Buddha will attain rebirth. In the Sutra on the Contemplation of the Buddha of Infinite Life, the sections concerning the upper, middle, and lower births of the lowest grade all describe attaining rebirth in the Pure Land through recollection of Amitabha Buddha.

It further states that the Buddhas constantly gather in and protect sentient beings who recollect the Buddha. The Sutra of Infinite Life also speaks of the three classes—upper, middle, and lower—whose practices may be profound or shallow;

if they single-mindedly recollect Amitabha Buddha, they will all attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Moreover, among the Forty-Eight Vows, there is one vow in particular concerning Buddha-recitation—the eighteenth—which states: “Even if they recite my name only ten times, should they fail to attain rebirth, I vow not to attain Perfect Enlightenment.” The Pratyutpanna Samadhi Sutra and the Great Collection Sutra of the Worthy Protector state that sentient beings who recite Amitabha’s name for seven days and nights, upon seeing Amitabha Buddha, ask: “What practice should sentient beings cultivate to attain rebirth in the Pure Land?” Amitabha Buddha replies: “Those who wish to be born in my land should recollect my name without interruption,

and they will certainly attain rebirth.” The Drum-Sound King Dharani Sutra also exhorts sentient beings to recollect Amitabha Buddha for ten days and nights, whereupon they will attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

The Avatamsaka Sutra states: “Those who attain the Buddha-Recitation Samadhi will certainly see the Buddha, and after their lives end, they will be born in the Buddha’s presence. On seeing a person approaching death, one should exhort that person to recollect the Buddha. One should also place an image of the Buddha where the dying person can see it, so that a mind of reverence may arise.” The Sutra of Divination and Investigation states: “Those who wish to attain rebirth in the Buddha lands of the ten directions should recollect the name of the Buddha of the land in which they seek birth, and they will attain rebirth there.” Thus, innumerable Mahayana scriptures speak predominantly of attaining rebirth in the Pure Land through Buddha-recitation.

The present exhortation that practitioners recollect the Buddha is not intended to impede their cultivation of other sublime practices. It merely means that the Dharma gateway of Buddha-recitation is mentioned in many scriptures, can be practiced while walking or sitting and even at the time of death, and is very secure and appropriate. For this reason alone, practitioners are exhorted and reminded to practice it.

11. No Evil Arises.

Question: If sentient beings reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss have not yet realized the noble fruits, they are still ordinary beings fully possessed of afflictions. Why, then, do they not give rise to evil karma? If they were to give rise to evil karma, this would run contrary to Amitabha Buddha’s original vow. How, then, can the vow, “In my land, even the name of evil shall not exist,” be satisfactorily explained? ⁽⁷⁸⁾

Answer: Although the ordinary beings in the Land of Ultimate Bliss have not yet attained the noble fruits, none of their unwholesome conduct becomes manifest. Moreover, the non-manifestation of the unwholesome has many implications: perhaps they have already established the conditions for the noble path and severed their afflictions; perhaps they have cultivated the skillful means of the noble path and subdued the manifestation of their afflictions; perhaps afflictions do not arise because adverse conditions are absent; perhaps they constantly encounter wholesome conditions and have no cause to commit wrongdoing; perhaps they are supported by the requisites for the path, causing transgressions not to arise; or perhaps, relying upon the Buddha’s original vows, evil karma does not arise.

Although the seeds of affliction still remain, the afflictions do not become manifest. Therefore, the Sutra in Praise of the Pure Land states: “The flowers emit a subtle and wondrous fragrance which, although it brings delight to those who smell it, does not cause their craving and attachment to increase.” Likewise, the water of the eight virtues causes those who drink it to increase their many supreme roots of virtue, and the fragrant rice in the Buddha land of Accumulated Fragrance performs all the Buddha’s work, and so forth.

Because of these conditions, the sentient beings of that land do not give rise to evil karma.

12. The Five Heinous Offenses Are Not Fixed Karma.

Question: The scriptures teach that there are four kinds of karma: ⁽¹⁾ karma that bears fruit in the present life, ⁽²⁾ karma that bears fruit in the next life, ⁽³⁾ karma that bears fruit in a subsequent life, and ⁽⁴⁾ indeterminate karma. The first three are fixed karma and will certainly bring about their corresponding retribution; the last is indeterminate karma and may or may not bring about retribution. There are also four other kinds of karma: ⁽¹⁾ karma whose retribution is fixed but whose time of maturation is not fixed, ⁽²⁾ karma whose time of maturation is fixed but whose retribution is not fixed, ⁽³⁾ karma whose time of maturation and retribution are both fixed, and ⁽⁴⁾ karma whose time of maturation and retribution are both unfixed.

The first and third are fixed karma, while the second and fourth are indeterminate karma. The scriptures all state that the five heinous offenses constitute karma that bears fruit in the next life, meaning that both the time of maturation and the retribution are fixed. Why, then, does the Sutra on the Contemplation of the Buddha of Infinite Life state that the karmic retribution of the five heinous offenses can be eradicated and that one can attain rebirth in the Western Land? ⁽⁷⁹⁾

Answer: These four kinds of karma and eight kinds of karma were taught by the Buddha in the nine divisions of scriptures of implicit meaning (the Lesser Vehicle) for ordinary beings who did not yet believe in karmic retribution; thus he said that certain karmas have fixed results. In the Mahayana scriptures of definitive meaning, however, the Buddha taught that no karma has an absolutely fixed result. As stated in fascicle nineteen of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra: “Jivaka taught King Ajatashatru the Dharma of repentance, enabling the king’s retribution for his offenses to be extinguished....

I, your servant [Jivaka], heard the Buddha say that cultivating a single wholesome thought can destroy a hundred kinds of evil karma, just as a small amount of poison can harm living beings. A small wholesome root is likewise able to destroy great evil karma.” Furthermore, fascicle thirty-one states: “Good man, some living beings do not believe in karmic cause and effect. In order to bring them to liberation, this was taught [that karmic results are fixed].

Good man, all karmic results may be heavy or light, and within these there are also two kinds: fixed karma and unfixed karma.” It also states: “Heavy karma may become light, while light karma may become heavy. Through the power of wisdom, a wise person can cause extremely heavy karma leading to hell to become light karma experienced in the present life, whereas a foolish person can cause light karma experienced in the present life to become extremely heavy karma leading to hell.” After King Ajatashatru repented, he did not fall into hell.

Although Angulimala slew nine hundred and ninety-nine people, after repenting he attained arhatship. The Yogacarabhumi Treatise states: “Before liberation has been attained, it is called fixed karma; after liberation has been attained, it is called unfixed karma.” In the same way, the Mahayana sutras and treatises all hold that the five heinous offenses and the like are unfixed karma and can all be extinguished. The Contemplation Sutra of the Buddha of Infinite Life is a Mahayana sutra and teaches that mindfulness of Amitabha Buddha extinguishes the five heinous offenses.

What cause could there be for doubt?

13. Whether the Four Kinds of Karma Are All-Inclusive.

Question: The various treatises all cite the sutras as teaching black-black karma, white-white karma, mixed karma, and neither-black-nor-white karma without ripened result. Black-black karma is the unwholesome karma of the Desire Realm; white-white karma is the wholesome karma of the Form and Formless Realms. Mixed karma is the wholesome karma of the Desire Realm, while neither-black-nor-white karma without ripened result is undefiled karma. To which kind does the karma for rebirth in the Land of Utmost Bliss belong? ⁽⁸⁰⁾

Answer: Some hold that white-white karma and mixed karma are the karma for rebirth in the Western Land. Black-black karma is unwholesome karma and can produce only the retribution of the three evil destinies; how could it produce the retribution of rebirth in the Pure Land? Undefiled karma cannot produce a ripened result.

Although its essential nature is pure, it is not the cause of a ripened result. Only the remaining two kinds of karma—white-white and mixed karma—can produce the retribution of rebirth in the Pure Land. If one has not yet attained concentration of the higher realms and cultivates the karma for rebirth with a mind of the Desire Realm, one is reborn in the Western Land through this mixed karma.

If one has subdued the afflictions of the Desire Realm, attained the concentrated mind of the higher realms, and is reborn in the Western Land, this is rebirth through white-white karma. Others hold that this is not so. These three kinds of karma are distinguished according to the two courses of wholesome and unwholesome action in the Desire and Form Realms; they are not categories established according to rebirth in the Pure Land for discussing such wholesome karmas as white-white karma.

Moreover, mixed karma is the karma of gods and humans in the Desire Realm and can produce mixed retribution. Although one experiences the pleasures of the Desire Realm, it can still produce painful retribution. Thus mixed karma produces the painful and pleasant results of the Desire Realm; how could it produce the result of rebirth in the Pure Land, where there is no suffering but only happiness?

Suppose that white-white karma alone were the cause of rebirth in the Pure Land. By what causes and conditions, then, could those who have not attained the concentrated mind of the Form Realm—the four dhyanas—be reborn in the Western Land? Therefore, one should know that the primary cause of rebirth in the Pure Land is not included within the four kinds of karma described above.

What contradiction is there, then, in saying that those four kinds do not include all karma? Moreover, some hold that the karma of the Formless Realm is also not included among the four kinds. This likewise proves that the four kinds of karma do not include all karma.

14. Whether the Three Kinds of Karma Are All-Inclusive.

Question: The Mahayana and Lesser Vehicle treatises also cite the sutras as teaching three kinds of karma: meritorious karma, sinful karma, and imperturbable karma. To which kind does the karma for rebirth in the Land of Utmost Bliss belong? ⁽⁸¹⁾

Answer: Some hold that, among these three, meritorious karma and imperturbable karma are the karma for rebirth in the Western Land. The three kinds of merit taught in the Contemplation Sutra of the Buddha of Infinite Life are meritorious karma, while cultivation of the sixteen contemplations, if one attains the concentrated mind of the higher realms, is imperturbable karma. Others hold that the karma for rebirth in the Western Land is not included among these three kinds of karma, because these three are taught with reference to the defiled realms, not with reference to the Pure Land.

15. Thirty Supreme Benefits.

Question: What supreme qualities does the Land of Utmost Bliss possess that encourage living beings to cultivate the karma for rebirth there? ⁽⁸²⁾

Answer: According to the Sutra in Praise of the Pure Land, the Contemplation Sutra of the Buddha of Infinite Life, and the section on the Forty-Eight Vows in the Sutra of Infinite Life, there are, in brief, thirty benefits: ⁽¹⁾ enjoying the pure adornments of merit and virtue; ⁽²⁾ the Dharma bliss of the Mahayana; ⁽³⁾ drawing near to and making offerings to Amitabha Buddha; ⁽⁴⁾ traveling throughout the ten directions to make offerings to all Buddhas; ⁽⁵⁾ hearing the Dharma in the presence of the Buddhas and receiving predictions of Buddhahood; ⁽⁶⁾ swiftly perfecting the provisions of merit and wisdom; ⁽⁷⁾ rapidly realizing unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment; ⁽⁸⁾ assembling in one place with all bodhisattvas and others; ⁽⁹⁾ never falling back;

⁽¹⁰⁾ advancing in immeasurable practices and vows with every thought; ⁽¹¹⁾ parrots, sarikas, and other birds all proclaiming the Dharma; ⁽¹²⁾ cool breezes stirring the trees and producing celestial music; ⁽¹³⁾ mani-jeweled waters expounding the Dharma of suffering and emptiness; ⁽¹⁴⁾ sounds proclaiming the wondrous Dharma; ⁽¹⁵⁾ never again being born in an evil destiny; ⁽¹⁶⁾ possessing bodies of pure gold; ⁽¹⁷⁾ having no differences of beauty or ugliness in physical appearance; ⁽¹⁸⁾ fully possessing the five supernormal powers; ⁽¹⁹⁾ abiding in right concentration; ⁽²⁰⁾ having no unwholesome affairs; ⁽²¹⁾ enjoying long lives; ⁽²²⁾ receiving clothing and food naturally; ⁽²³⁾ experiencing only peace and bliss; ⁽²⁴⁾ fully possessing the thirty-two marks; ⁽²⁵⁾ having no women;

⁽²⁶⁾ having no followers of the Lesser Vehicle; ⁽²⁷⁾ being free from the eight difficulties; ⁽²⁸⁾ attaining the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas; ⁽²⁹⁾ having bodies that emit light, so that both day and night are bright; and ⁽³⁰⁾ attaining a body endowed with the strength of Narayana.

These are only stated in brief; if explained fully, they would be immeasurable in number. For these reasons, practitioners are encouraged to seek rebirth in the Western Land. If they remain in the Saha World, long revolving through birth and death, there are only thirty kinds of harm.

How could it possess benefits such as those of the Western Land?

16. There Is More Than One Gateway of Practice.

Question: The Maitreya’s Questions Sutra states that only by cultivating ten kinds of mindfulness can one attain rebirth: ⁽¹⁾ constantly giving rise to loving-kindness toward all sentient beings; ⁽²⁾ not undermining the bodhisattva practice of any sentient being, for if one undermines it, one will not attain rebirth; ⁽³⁾ giving rise to profound compassion and never harboring a harmful or cruel mind toward any sentient being; ⁽⁴⁾ resolving to protect and uphold the Buddhadharma without cherishing one’s body or life; ⁽⁵⁾ never giving rise to a mind that disparages any teaching of the Buddha; ⁽⁶⁾ firmly resolving to persevere in the practice of patience, maintaining a pure mind and not craving gain or support;

⁽⁷⁾ arousing the mind of unsurpassed bodhi and constantly contemplating this mind day and night without ever ceasing; ⁽⁸⁾ giving rise to respect for all sentient beings, eliminating pride, and speaking humbly; ⁽⁹⁾ not delighting in discussions of worldly affairs, but seeking awakening and planting roots of goodness; and ⁽¹⁰⁾ not giving rise to a distracted mind, but contemplating the Buddha with right mindfulness and eliminating deluded thoughts.

According to the scripture cited above, the ten kinds of mindfulness are different. Why, then, is it claimed that reciting Amitabha Buddha’s name ten times will lead to rebirth? Is this not an error? ⁽⁸³⁾

Answer: There is not merely one practice for attaining rebirth in the West. One may cultivate the three kinds of merit, the sixteen contemplations, or the practices corresponding to the nine grades of rebirth. Although these karmic practices differ, they all lead to rebirth in the Land of Bliss.

The Maitreya’s Questions Sutra sets forth ten practices for attaining rebirth, while the Contemplation Sutra of the Buddha of Infinite Life teaches that one of the lowest grade in the lowest rank may attain rebirth by reciting the Buddha’s name ten times at the approach of death. Both are teachings of the Buddha; they mutually support one another in revealing the Dharma gate of rebirth, and both accomplish the practices leading to the Pure Land.

For what reason would one say that the former is correct and the latter mistaken? It is only because one has not personally understood the meaning of the scriptures that so many students of Buddhism are led into confusion.... The cultivation leading to rebirth in the West does not consist of only one practice.

Thus, the Contemplation Sutra of the Buddha of Infinite Life discusses the two gateways of meditative and non-meditative practices; the Sutra of Infinite Life teaches three grades of meritorious cultivation; and the practice of exclusively upholding the Name was originally taught by Amitabha Buddha. Therefore, whether practitioners receive and uphold Mahayana scriptures, dutifully support their parents, cultivate wholesome deeds both worldly and supramundane, or observe the precepts and practice goodness in body and speech, all these are provisions for rebirth in the Pure Land.

How could this be restricted to only one Dharma gate? You should read the scriptures widely and develop right faith. How could you read only one sutra, take it alone as your guide, and then speak recklessly, claiming that other Dharma gates are not causes of rebirth?

Is this not the height of error? Moreover, there are myriad kinds of causal cultivation, and the fruits attained likewise have many levels. One cannot claim that there is only one cause and one fruit and that no other practices exist.

17. Seeking Purity from a Shallow Level.

Question: Bodhisattvas practice entirely for the benefit of all beings and constantly arouse great loving-kindness and compassion toward them. They ought to enter the evil realms to rescue those submerged in the sea of suffering and enable them to escape samsara. Yet now they abandon this defiled land and aspire to be born in the Pure Land, seeking happiness for themselves alone and unwilling to benefit others.

They show no compassion for their parents, siblings, relatives, and kin throughout many lifetimes, but leave them to wander through the three evil realms without rescuing them. How could this be the heart of a great being who practices the bodhisattva path? Thus, aspiring for rebirth in the Pure Land is not good.

I truly do not understand the reason for seeking such rebirth; please explain its essential meaning. ⁽⁸⁴⁾

Answer: To arouse the mind of bodhi and practice the bodhisattva path, it is essential to give rise to great compassion, pity sentient beings, deliver them universally, remove their suffering, and bestow happiness upon them. Yet practices and vows may be profound or shallow, and capacities may be superior or inferior. Advanced bodhisattvas, in whom great compassion is predominant, have already attained non-retrogression and do not fear being harmed.

Single-mindedly devoted to others, they are mostly reborn in defiled lands, where they extensively perform beneficial deeds, and only rarely seek rebirth in a Pure Land to draw near to the Buddhas. Lower-level bodhisattvas, in whom great wisdom is predominant, are still subject to retrogression. Although they have compassion for suffering sentient beings, if they encounter adverse conditions, they may still regress from the practice of bodhi, commit various evil karmas, and lose the mind of bodhi.

The Bodhisattva’s Original Acts Garland Sutra clearly describes such cases as that of Prince Dharmadhana and others. In this way, both benefits—benefiting oneself and benefiting others—are lost, and both sides—oneself and sentient beings—are harmed. For this reason, they aspire to be born in the Pure Land, far removed from adverse conditions, where they may draw near to the Buddhas, constantly hear the True Dharma, assemble together with the bodhisattvas, travel throughout the ten directions performing Buddha-work, scatter flowers as offerings, and together hear the true, pure, subtle, and wondrous Mahayana Dharma.

With every thought they advance, never again retrogressing. Furthermore, there are no followers of the Two Vehicles or icchantikas there to obstruct the unsurpassed aspiration of bodhisattvas who are beginning their training. Although in every thought they never relinquish their compassionate resolve to rescue sentient beings, all practices for self-benefit serve as the foundation for benefiting others.

If the root is not firm, the branches and leaves cannot flourish. Therefore, they first aspire to be born in the Pure Land, nurturing the seedling of the mind of bodhi until it becomes firm. Even if they should encounter adverse conditions, they will not regress.

Only then can they leave the Pure Land and return to the Saha world to rescue all sentient beings with whom they have affinities, including parents, relatives, and friends from past lives, as well as all sentient beings throughout the entire Dharma realm. Chan Master Daochuo illustrated this clearly with an analogy in the Collection on the Land of Peace and Bliss. Suppose two children see their parents being swept away by a flood.

One hastily plunges into the water to rescue them, but as a result, not only does the child fail to save them, but also drowns. The other runs home, prepares a boat, and rows into the deep water to save the parents from drowning. The meaning here is likewise the same.

May the reader understand it clearly.

18. Those of the Two Vehicles Are Not Born There.

a. Four Meanings of Non-Birth.

Question: The Treatise on Rebirth states: “The realm of Mahayana roots of goodness is equal, without disparaging names; women and those with deficient faculties, and those of the lineage of the Two Vehicles, are not born there.” Why, then, are there sravakas in the Land of Bliss? Furthermore, the sutra states that that Buddha has immeasurable and boundless sravaka disciples, all of whom are arhats. ⁽⁸⁵⁾

Answer: There are four explanations: ⁽¹⁾ Those of the dispositions of the Two Vehicles are not born there. The Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra states that sentient beings have, from the beginning, possessed five distinct kinds of disposition: the bodhisattva disposition, the pratyekabuddha disposition, the śrāvaka disposition, the disposition of gods and humans, and the indeterminate disposition. Here, the statement that “those of the dispositions of the Two Vehicles are not born there” refers to those of the pratyekabuddha disposition and the disposition of gods and humans.

This is because those of the pratyekabuddha disposition will assuredly attain the fruition of a pratyekabuddha and are, for the most part, born in an age when no Buddha is present; moreover, they do not believe in the Pure Lands of the ten directions. Those of the disposition of gods and humans merely continue to wander through birth and death and cannot attain rebirth in a Pure Land, because all beings in the Pure Land will attain unsurpassed bodhi. ⁽²⁾ Some hold that the foregoing explanation is unreasonable.

If the statement that “those of the dispositions of the Two Vehicles are not born there” excludes only pratyekabuddhas and gods and humans, this would imply that śrāvakas can attain rebirth there. Why, then, is the Land of Ultimate Bliss called the realm of the wholesome roots of the Mahayana? Furthermore, does it merely lack the three kinds of essential nature, or does it also lack all three designations?

Here, the statement that “those of the dispositions of the Two Vehicles are not born there” does not refer to gods and humans; rather, among the Three Vehicles it excludes the two vehicles of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. (Explanations ⁽³⁾ and ⁽⁴⁾ continue in Question 86).

Question: If those of the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha dispositions are not reborn there, why are there śrāvakas in that land? ⁽⁸⁶⁾

Answer: ⁽³⁾ According to the explanations of the virtuous masters of old, śrāvakas are divided into two kinds: (a) those ignorant of the Dharma, meaning those who in this life have not yet been able to turn their minds toward the Mahayana; and (b) those not ignorant of the Dharma, meaning those who in this life have already turned their minds toward the Mahayana. Those ignorant of the Dharma are called persons of the dispositions of the Two Vehicles because they do not turn their minds toward the Mahayana, do not believe that Pure Lands exist, and do not aspire to rebirth there.

Those not ignorant of the Dharma are not called persons of the dispositions of the Two Vehicles. Although they cultivate the practices of the Lesser Vehicle, they have already placed faith in the Mahayana and aspired to rebirth there. ⁽⁴⁾ When followers of the Lesser Vehicle turn their minds toward the Mahayana, all the meritorious practices they cultivate to eliminate afflictions and realize nirvana are directed toward unsurpassed bodhi; therefore, they cannot be called followers of the Lesser Vehicle.

To attain Buddhahood, one must still cultivate the noble path, eliminate attachment to self and attachment to dharmas, completely eradicate afflictions and habitual tendencies, realize the emptiness of persons and the emptiness of dharmas, and reach ultimate perfection; only then is one called a Buddha. Formerly, these practitioners belonged to the Lesser Vehicle. Because they were repelled by the afflictions arising from attachment to self, they first eliminated them and attained the four fruits.

Although they are called arhats or śrāvakas, they are not actually followers of the Lesser Vehicle. In truth, “arhat” is not exclusively a designation of the Lesser Vehicle, for the Buddha is also called an arhat. As the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya says: “After converting Ājñāta Kauṇḍinya, the Buddha said, ‘In this trichiliocosm, there are now two arhats: the first is the Buddha, and the second is Ājñāta Kauṇḍinya.’” Thus, it is known that “arhat” is not exclusively the designation of a noble one of the Lesser Vehicle.

Moreover, the designation “śrāvaka” also applies to the Mahayana. The Lotus Sutra says: “Today we are true śrāvakas, for with the sound of the Buddha Way we cause sentient beings to hear.” These, then, are bodhisattva śrāvakas. The sutra also says: “Today we are true arhats, worthy of receiving offerings from all gods, humans, māras, and Brahmās.” These, then, are Mahayana bodhisattvas.

Although their designations are the same as those of followers of the Lesser Vehicle, their meanings are entirely different. The śrāvakas in the Pure Land all seek unsurpassed bodhi; therefore, they are not “those of the dispositions of the Two Vehicles,” nor are they called followers of the Two Vehicles. These beings have already generated the Mahayana mind.

Although they are called śrāvakas, this is not a designation of followers of the Lesser Vehicle. For example, the Lotus Sutra relates that Ānanda generated the Mahayana mind and received from the Blessed One the prediction that he would attain Buddhahood as the Tathagata Sovereign King of Wisdom like Mountains and Seas. Yet at the time of the compilation of the scriptures, he manifested the attainment of arhatship.

Could he possibly have lost the Mahayana mind and attained the fruit of the Lesser Vehicle? Again, in the Vimalakīrti Sutra, Mahākāśyapa says: “From this day onward, I shall no longer exhort others to cultivate the practices of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.” Could he then, at the time of the compilation, have compelled Ānanda to cultivate and attain the fruit of arhatship? Thus, it is known that the fruit of arhatship is not a fruit of the Lesser Vehicle.

After Ānanda received the Buddha’s prediction, all his practices were directed toward the fruition of Buddhahood; hence, it should be known that all his practices were those of a great bodhisattva. However, direct Mahayana practitioners, who do not pass through the Lesser Vehicle, first eliminate the afflictions of attachment to dharmas and then cultivate the elimination of the afflictions of attachment to self. When they realize the vajra mind and eradicate the afflictions of attachment to self, they attain Buddhahood.

From the beginning, bodhisattvas who enter the Mahayana directly ordinarily think first only of eliminating attachment to dharmas; therefore, they retain the afflictions, and when the afflictions are exhausted, they possess the Buddha’s omniscience. This is because the subtle afflictions of attachment to dharmas are difficult to eliminate and obstruct the fruition of samyaksaṃbodhi, or Buddhahood. For śrāvakas, these afflictions are pure and karmically indeterminate ^[1], whereas for bodhisattvas they are obscured and karmically indeterminate ^[2].

Bodhisattvas are exceedingly wary of attachment to dharmas. As the Mahayana-saṃgraha Śāstra says: “The obstruction to knowledge is extremely delusive, for it discriminates and clings to the ultimate and the conventional; therefore, it must be eliminated.” The afflictions of attachment to self obstruct the realization of nirvana. Śrāvakas are weary of birth and death and seek only their own benefit. They are unable to cultivate and study the omniscience of the Buddhas; therefore, they do not place great emphasis on eliminating the afflictions of attachment to dharmas.

Since the afflictions of attachment to dharmas do not obstruct nirvana, śrāvakas realize nirvana when they have completely eliminated the afflictions of attachment to self. Śrāvakas who are cultivating the seven preparatory stages, or who are in the first three grades of those seven preparatory stages, are repelled by the afflictions of attachment to self and first wish to attain the fruit of a śrāvaka; thus, they form the intention to eliminate these afflictions.

Having now attained rebirth in the Western Land, although they have turned their minds toward the Mahayana and seek the fruition of Buddhahood, they still remain repelled by the afflictions of attachment to self. Therefore, the assembly of noble beings in the Land of Ultimate Bliss accords with their habitual tendencies and expounds the Dharma of the Four Truths, helping them completely eliminate the two kinds of affliction: the delusions of views and the delusions of thought.

When eliminating these two kinds of delusion, they see the Four Noble Truths and use uncontaminated wisdom to eliminate these afflictions. One who has eliminated the delusions of views is called a stream-enterer (srotāpanna); one is not called a stream-enterer because one abides in the Dharma of the Lesser Vehicle. One who has eliminated the delusions of thought is called an arhat.

Like the arhats of the Lesser Vehicle, such a person is free from afflictions, but this is a bodhisattva practice. Practitioners of both the gradual and sudden approaches fully possess the bodhisattva practices and seek the fruition of Buddhahood. Although both are bodhisattvas, practitioners who take the indirect path through the Lesser Vehicle are also called śrāvakas because they originally belonged to the Lesser Vehicle disposition; yet they are also called bodhisattvas because they aspire to attain the fruit of Buddhahood.

Bodhisattvas who take the direct path, without passing through the Lesser Vehicle, are called only bodhisattvas and are not called śrāvakas, because they did not originally awaken to the path as śrāvakas. The Buddha used these two designations to distinguish the two classes of gradual and sudden disciples. Therefore, he said: “Immeasurable and boundless śrāvaka disciples all attain arhatship; their number cannot be known through calculation or analogy.

The number of bodhisattva disciples is likewise so.”

b. The Analogy of the Land of Myriad Fragrances.

Question: The Land of Abundant Fragrance (in the Vimalakirti Sutra) and the Land of Ultimate Bliss are both pure Mahayana Buddha lands. Why, then, does the Land of Abundant Fragrance not even have the designations “sravaka” and “pratyekabuddha,” but only an assembly of pure great bodhisattvas, whereas the Land of Ultimate Bliss has immeasurable and boundless numbers of sravaka disciples? Do these sravaka disciples not belong to the Hinayana? ⁽⁸⁷⁾

Answer: Although these two Pure Lands are both Mahayana realms, their assemblies of noble beings may be either inclusive or restricted. The Land of Abundant Fragrance contains only beings who have turned toward the Mahayana. Practitioners cultivating in the Saha world who have reached the level at which they are no longer swayed by the eight winds ^[3] are reborn in that land, where they hear only the sudden-teaching Dharma gate of the Mahayana.

Therefore, the Vimalakirti Sutra states that this land contains only pure great bodhisattvas and that even the designation “Two Vehicles” does not exist there. The Land of Ultimate Bliss, however, also admits those of the Hinayana who have redirected their minds toward the Mahayana and are reborn there. Together they hear both kinds of Mahayana teaching: the gradual teaching, which passes first through the Hinayana before entering the Mahayana, and the sudden teaching, which enters the Mahayana directly.

They turn toward the One Vehicle, arouse the Mahayana mind, and practice the bodhisattva conduct. Yet because of habitual tendencies from previous lives, although they practice the bodhisattva path, they must first eliminate the afflictions arising from attachment to self. They are therefore called sravaka arhats.

Here, however, “sravaka” means “one who enables all beings to hear the voice of the Buddha.” Although they are called arhats, they are beings worthy of offerings from all the worlds. Thus, in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, both the sravakas and the bodhisattvas are Mahayana bodhisattvas; the sole distinction is whether they proceed directly or by a circuitous path.

19. Forever Free from the Evil Destinies

Question: According to the Hinayana teachings, one who attains the stage of warmth no longer accepts false teachings; one who attains the stage of summit no longer has roots of goodness severed; one who attains the stage of patience is no longer reborn in the evil destinies;

and one who attains the stage of the highest mundane Dharma will certainly realize the noble fruit of stream-entry. Thus, one must reach the lower grade of the stage of patience before attaining “non-analytical cessation with respect to the evil destinies.” Because bodhisattvas wish to benefit sentient beings, they do not undergo the transformed birth-and-death precisely because they have not yet attained “non-analytical cessation with respect to the evil destinies.” How, then, can extremely evil ordinary beings who have only just been reborn in the Pure Land, relying merely upon the recitation of one name—or as many as ten recitations of the Buddha’s name—forever cease to be reborn in the three evil destinies? ⁽⁸⁸⁾

Answer: The Determination Section of the Yogacarabhumi-sastra holds that, in a defiled land, Hinayana practitioners at the stages of warmth and summit are still subject to regression, and only upon reaching the stage of patience do they attain “non-analytical cessation with respect to the evil destinies.” ^[4] The Sarvastivada scholars, however, hold that Hinayana practitioners have already attained “non-analytical cessation with respect to the evil destinies” before attaining patience, although it is not yet assured.

Those practitioners who are now reborn in the Western Land dwell in a supreme place, constantly encounter the noble assembly, and constantly hear the wondrous Dharma. Their supreme practices and vows advance with every thought-moment; their evil karma from previous lives is gradually extinguished, while their wholesome practices gradually increase. Because evil conditions are absent, they attain “non-analytical cessation with respect to the evil destinies” and attain non-retrogression.

After being reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, practitioners may, through the power of their vows, take birth in the evil realms to rescue those sunk in suffering. Such birth occurs through the power of vows; it is not a fall into an evil destiny caused by the compelling force of karma.

Notes:

^[1] Pure-white indeterminate, also called unobscured indeterminate, is a dharma that is neither wholesome nor unwholesome and that neither conceals nor obstructs the noble path.

^[2] Obscured indeterminate is a type of defiled mind that can obstruct the noble

path and conceal true nature. However, because its nature and function are very weak, it cannot produce a ripened karmic result and is therefore indeterminate.

^[3] The eight winds: eight winds representing the eight worldly dharmas that disturb and delude the human mind, namely: gain, loss; disparagement (being denounced or criticized to one’s face), esteem (being praised indirectly); praise (being extolled directly), censure (being maligned behind one’s back); suffering, and pleasure (joy).

^[4] No longer subject to falling into the three evil destinies.