阿彌陀經疏 1.36

1.36

答：「若法性土者即是無垢真如，自性清淨第一義空，本來湛然不假修成，為一切法之所依止，無一佛出世間法不有，名性淨土。凡聖同有，凡夫尚隱，諸佛明顯。若自受用土，從三大阿僧祇所修善根萬行所感，其土淨與諸佛亦不可見，但可得聞，唯佛自受用。《佛地論》云：此自受用土周遍法界，無處不有，不可說言離三界處，不可得言即三界處。若他受用土者，《佛地論》云：諸佛為令地上菩薩受大法樂進修勝行，於後得智中以大悲故，於諸菩薩大圓鏡智相應淨識之上，依諸菩薩業力，如來與作增上緣，隨其根宜現其淨土，或勝或劣改轉不定，地地優劣，如輪王所感，其土與眾生同處，所見即異。若化土者，《佛地論》云：隨菩薩所宜，或在色界淨居天上，或在西方等，處所不定。今取相而言，西方有二土，若登地菩薩各見他受用土，若地前生者便見化土。」

Answer: 'The dharma-nature land is the stainless tathatā, intrinsically pure, ultimate emptiness, fundamentally serene and not requiring cultivation to be perfected; it is that upon which all dharmas rely; there is no worldly dharma that does not exist when a Buddha appears, and it is called the nature pure land. Ordinary beings and sages alike possess it; for ordinary beings it is still concealed, while for all Buddhas it is manifestly clear. As for the land of enjoyment for oneself, it is brought about by the ten thousand practices and roots of good cultivated over three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas; its land is pure and cannot be seen even by other Buddhas, but can only be heard of; only the Buddha himself enjoys it. The Buddhabhūmi-śāstra says: "This land of enjoyment for oneself pervades the dharma realm and is nowhere absent; it cannot be said to be apart from the three realms, nor can it be said to be identical to the three realms." As for the land of enjoyment for others, the Buddhabhūmi-śāstra says: "In order to let the bodhisattvas on the bhūmis experience the joy of the great Dharma and advance in cultivating superior practices, all Buddhas, out of great compassion within their subsequently attained cognition, upon the pure consciousness associated with the great mirror cognition of those bodhisattvas, relying upon the karmic power of those bodhisattvas, act as a predominant condition for them, manifesting their pure lands according to their capacities—either superior or inferior, changing and variable, with differences from bhūmi to bhūmi, just as brought about by a wheel-turning king. Their land occupies the same place as the sentient beings, yet what they see is different." As for the transformation land, the Buddhabhūmi-śāstra says: "According to what is suitable for bodhisattvas, it is either in the Śuddhāvāsa heaven of the form realm, or in the West, and so on; its location is not fixed." Speaking now in terms of characteristics: the West has two lands; bodhisattvas who have entered the bhūmis each see the land of enjoyment for others, while those born prior to the bhūmis then see the transformation land.'