[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [觀無量壽佛經疏](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1750) › 1.6 # 觀無量壽佛經疏 1.6 觀無量壽佛經疏 1.6 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [1.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1750.1.6) 次明經宗。初簡宗體，次正明宗。有人言：宗即是體、體即是宗。今所不用。何者？宗既是二，體即不二。體若是二，體即非體；宗若不二，宗即非宗。如梁柱是屋之綱維，屋空是梁柱所取，不應以梁柱是屋空、屋空是梁柱。宗體若一，其過如是。宗體異者，則二物孤調，宗非顯體之宗、體非宗家之體。宗非顯體之宗，宗則邪倒無印；體非宗家之體，則體狹不周，離法性外別有諸法。宗體若異，其過如是。今言不異而異，故有宗不一而一，故有體也。今此經宗，以心觀淨則佛土淨，為經宗致。四種淨土，謂凡聖同居土、方便有餘土、實報無障礙土、常寂光土也，各有淨穢。五濁輕重，同居淨穢。體析巧拙，有餘淨穢。次第頓入，實報淨穢。分證究竟，寂光淨穢。娑婆雜惡，荊棘瓦礫、不淨充滿，同居穢也。安養清淨，池流八德樹列七珍，次於泥洹，皆正定聚，凡聖同居，上品淨土也。方便有餘者，修方便道斷四住惑，故曰方便。無明未盡，故言有餘。《釋論》云「出三界外有淨土，聲聞辟支佛出生其中，受法性身非分段生。」《法華》云「若我滅後實得阿羅漢，不信此法。若遇餘佛，於此法中便得決了。」就中復有利鈍，指上為淨、指下為穢也。實報無障礙者，行真實法感得勝報，色心不相妨，故言無障礙。純菩薩居，無有二乘。《仁王經》云「三賢十聖住果報」，即是其義。《釋論》云「菩薩勝妙五欲，能令迦葉起舞。」《華嚴》云「無量香雲臺」，即其土淨妙五塵。就中更論次第、頓悟、上下、淨穢等也。常寂光者，常即法身、寂即解脫、光即般若，是三點不縱橫並別，名祕密藏。諸佛如來所遊居處，真常究竟極為淨土。分得、究竟、上下、淨穢耳。故以修心妙觀能感淨土，為經宗也。 > Next, to clarify the central theme of the sūtra. First, we distinguish the central theme from the substance, and second, directly clarify the central theme. Some say: the central theme is the substance, and the substance is the central theme. We do not accept this now. Why is that? Since the central theme involves duality, whereas the substance is non-dual: if the substance were dual, the substance would not be the substance; if the central theme were non-dual, the central theme would not be the central theme. Just as the beams and pillars are the structural framework of a house, and the empty space of the house is what is encompassed by the beams and pillars, one should not take the beams and pillars to be the empty space of the house, nor the empty space of the house to be the beams and pillars. If the central theme and substance were one, such would be the error. If the central theme and substance were different, then the two items would be isolated and unrelated: the central theme would not be the central theme that reveals the substance, and the substance would not be the substance belonging to the central theme. If the central theme is not the central theme that reveals the substance, then the central theme would be perverse and fallacious, lacking a seal; if the substance is not the substance belonging to the central theme, then the substance would be narrow and not all-encompassing, so that there would be various dharmas apart from the nature of phenomena (dharmatā). If the central theme and substance were different, such would be the error. Now we say that they are differentiated without being different, hence there is the central theme; they are unified without being a single \[mere identity\], hence there is the substance. Now, as for the central theme of this sūtra, it takes the principle that when the mind's contemplation is pure the Buddha-land is pure as the ultimate aim of the sūtra. The four kinds of pure lands are: the land where common mortals and sages co-dwell, the land of expedient means with remainder, the land of true retribution without obstruction, and the land of eternal quiescent light; each possesses purity and defilement. Depending on the gravity or lightness of the five defilements, there is purity and defilement in the land of co-dwelling. Depending on whether the realization of emptiness is by analytical breakdown or direct embodied discernment, skillful or clumsy, there is purity and defilement in the land of remainder. Depending on whether entry is gradual or sudden, there is purity and defilement in the land of true retribution. Depending on whether realization is partial or ultimate, there is purity and defilement in the land of quiescent light. The Saha world is mixed with evil, full of thorns, rubble, and impurities—this is the defilement of co-dwelling. Anyang is pure and clean: its ponds flow with the eight virtues, its trees stand in rows of the seven treasures, it is next to nirvāṇa, and all \[its beings\] belong to the group of the definitely assured; this is the supreme pure land where common mortals and sages co-dwell. As for the land of expedient means with remainder, practitioners cultivate the path of expedient means and sever the afflictions of the four abodes; hence it is called expedient means. Fundamental ignorance is not yet exhausted; hence it is said to have remainder. The Treatise says: "Beyond the three realms there is a pure land; śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas are born therein, receiving a dharmatā-body rather than a life of fragmented birth and death." The Lotus Sūtra says: "If after my passing there are those who have truly attained arhatship yet do not believe this Dharma, when they encounter another Buddha, they will attain definitive clarity regarding this Dharma." Within this \[land\] there are also sharp and dull \[faculties\]; pointing to what is above is pure, and pointing to what is below is defiled. As for the land of true retribution without obstruction, one practices the true Dharma and evokes an exquisite retribution; form and mind do not obstruct each other, hence it is called without obstruction. It is inhabited purely by bodhisattvas, with no two vehicles. The Benevolent Kings Sūtra says: "The three classes of worthy ones and ten classes of noble ones dwell in karmic fruition"—this is its meaning. The Treatise says: "The exquisite five desires of a bodhisattva can cause Kāśyapa to dance." The Avataṃsaka Sūtra speaks of "terraces of immeasurable incense clouds"—these are the pure and exquisite five sense objects of that land. Within it, one further discusses gradual \[versus\] sudden awakening, superior \[versus\] inferior, purity \[versus\] defilement, and so forth. As for the land of eternal quiescent light: eternal is the dharmakāya, quiescent is liberation, and light is prajñā; these three dots are neither vertical nor horizontal, neither conjoined nor separate, and are called the secret storehouse. It is the dwelling place traversed by the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas: true, eternal, and ultimate, it is the supreme pure land. It is simply distinguished as partial attainment versus ultimate, and superior versus inferior, pure versus defiled. Therefore, taking the wondrous contemplation of cultivating the mind as capable of evoking the pure land is the central theme of the sūtra. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 1.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1750.1.5) - [Next: 1.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1750.1.7) - [Up: 1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1750.1) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1750~en-mt.1.6) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [樂邦文類](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1969a.4.45) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1750.1.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1750.1.6) · Pramāṇa