大乘法苑義林章 7.27

7.27

Sixth, regarding location: The dharmatā land is the principle of tathatā itself; there is no separate location. The self-enjoyment land also fills the dharmadhātu; there is no separate location. Concerning the other-enjoyment land, the Buddhabhūmi-sūtra says that it 'surpasses the realms frequented by the three realms.' The commentary on that sūtra explains: 'Because it is not appropriated by the craving of the three realms. Free from the increase of the two bondages—of association and of objective support—it is said to surpass the three realms; therefore it is subsumed under the wholesome nature of the truth of the path.' There are three interpretations there: One opinion holds that they are distinct, because in some places it is said to be in the Śuddhāvāsa Heavens, while in other places it is said to be in the western direction and so forth. Another opinion holds that they share the same place, because the pure land is round and boundless, pervading the dharmadhātu. The true meaning is: The self-enjoyment land completely pervades the dharmadhātu and is nowhere absent; it cannot be said to be separate from the locations of the three realms or identical to the locations of the three realms. As for the other-enjoyment land, it may be in the Śuddhāvāsa Heavens of the form realm, or in the western direction, and so forth; its location is not fixed. The Lotus Sūtra also says: 'When sentient beings see the end of the kalpa and it is consumed by a great fire, this land of mine is secure and peaceful, ever filled with devas and humans.' What is seen by those of the ten stages is the reward land; what is seen by those before the stages is the transformation land; manifesting according to suitability, how could it have a fixed direction or point distinctly to a single place? Wishing to cause sentient beings to give rise to an aspiration of supreme joy, a specific location is designated; wherever the mind is pure, that is the place of the pure land. The transformation land necessarily accords with the locations of the three realms, because it manifests spontaneously according to the sentient beings to be transformed. Past teachers made various distinctions regarding this, claiming that there is a location separate from and outside the three realms that constitutes the pure land. In principle, this cannot be so: those who are transformed must possess the ripened consciousness; where the ripened consciousness exists, it must be subsumed under the three realms; how could they leave the realms? The land is not bound to the realms, and thus is said to surpass the three realms; it is not that the place is distinct, but rather that it accords with those who are transformed.