無量壽經連義述文贊 2.90

2.90

經曰「阿難白佛」至「清淨之行」者，述云：此第三、逐難重解也。佛壽若短，不應五劫清淨行故。顯彼佛壽四十二劫，以釋此疑。有說彼壽多劫，劫盡之時眾生雖見劫盡所燒，其土安穩故。法積菩薩五劫修行清淨之因，即同《法華》云「眾生見所燒，我土安穩，天人常滿。」此恐不然。《法華》所說，論自釋云「報佛如來真實淨土」，即知彼土是他受用。他受用佛，壽必無量，不可言四十二劫故。今即四十二劫者，蓋歲數劫。故經五劫攝淨土行，非劫盡也。大通佛壽不可數劫尚非淨土，如何四十二劫可言淨土？

Regarding the passage from the sūtra where 'Ānanda said to the Buddha' up to 'pure practices', the commentary states: This is the third [part], answering the objection to explain again. If the Buddha's lifespan had been short, it would not have accommodated five kalpas of pure practice. He revealed that that Buddha's lifespan was forty-two kalpas to resolve this doubt. Some say that his lifespan was many kalpas, and when the kalpa ended, although sentient beings saw the conflagration at the end of the kalpa, his land remained peaceful and secure. Dharmākara Bodhisattva's cultivation of the pure cause for five kalpas is thus the same as what the Lotus [Sūtra] says: 'When sentient beings see the conflagration, my land is peaceful and secure, constantly filled with devas and humans.' This is probably not so. Regarding what the Lotus states, the treatise itself explains: 'the real Pure Land of the Reward Buddha Tathāgata'; thus we know that land is [for] enjoyment for others. A Buddha of enjoyment for others must have an immeasurable lifespan, and cannot be said to live for forty-two kalpas. Now, forty-two kalpas refers to kalpas counted by years. Therefore, passing through five kalpas to embrace the Pure Land practices does not mean the end of a kalpa. Even the lifespan of Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū Buddha of innumerable kalpas was not yet a Pure Land; how could forty-two kalpas be called a Pure Land?