阿彌陀經疏 1.120

1.120

經曰：「爾時，佛告舍利弗從是西方」，次釋指方處也。《善見律》云：爾時者，發起義、因義，謂發言之因起。有釋：傳經者言：當爾之時，佛告身子。故曰爾時。從此西方，即《清淨覺經》及《觀經》當日沒處是彼國土。《隨願往生經》云：普廣菩薩白佛言：「十方可無淨土，今乃偏讚西方。」佛言：「十方淨土理實無窮，以此處眾生信向者少、習邪者多，心意無定，欲令眾生專心有在，故我偏讚。」即《涅槃經》云：一切諸佛無有出於不淨土者，為化眾生示居穢境。又《智度論》引《目連問經》曰：佛言：「如我釋迦牟尼有淨土穢土，我今西方阿彌陀佛一切如來亦爾，皆有淨穢，但以機緣有宜故致差異。」即《維摩經》云：應以此緣得入行者，如來為現，今之西方機所宜矣，佛知根性故讚仰之。

The sūtra says: 'At that time, the Buddha told Śāriputra: "From here to the west..."' Next is the explanation of pointing out the direction and location. The Samantapāsādikā says: 'At that time' has the meaning of initiating, the meaning of a cause; that is, the arising of the cause for uttering words. There is an explanation: The transmitter of the sūtra says that precisely at that time, the Buddha addressed Śāriputra, and hence it says 'at that time'. 'From here to the west': that is, according to the Qingjing jue jing and the Contemplation Sūtra, that land is located where the sun sets. The Suiyuan wangsheng jing says: Bodhisattva Samantaprasāra said to the Buddha: 'Can there be no pure lands in the ten directions, that you now praise only the west?' The Buddha said: 'The pure lands of the ten directions are indeed limitless in principle. But because the sentient beings in this place who have faith and inclination are few, while those who practice heterodoxy are many, their minds are unsettled. Wishing to make sentient beings single-mindedly focus on a specific place, I praise only [the west].' This is as the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'None of the Buddhas appear in an impure land; to transform sentient beings, they display residence in a defiled realm.' Moreover, the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa, citing the Maudgalyāyana-paripṛcchā, says: The Buddha said, 'Just as I, Śākyamuni, have a pure land and a defiled land, so too it is with Amitābha Buddha of the western direction and all Tathāgatas today: all have pure and defiled lands; it is merely that due to what is appropriate for the capacities and conditions, differences are brought about.' This is as the Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: 'The Tathāgata manifests according to whatever conditions allow practitioners to enter the practice.' The present west is what is appropriate for their capacities; the Buddha, knowing their root natures, therefore praises and extols it.