略論安樂淨土義 1.14

1.14

「又有一種往生安樂，不入三輩中：謂以疑惑心，修諸功德，願生安樂。不了佛智、不思議智、不可稱智、大乘廣智、無等無倫最上勝智，於此諸智疑惑不信，然猶信罪福，修習善本，生安樂。生安樂國七寶宮殿，或百由旬，或五百由旬，各於其中受諸快樂，如忉利天，亦皆自然。於五百歲中，常不見佛，不聞經法，不見菩薩、聲聞聖眾。安樂國土謂之邊地，亦曰胎生。邊地者，言其五百歲中不見聞三寶，義同邊地之難；或亦於安樂國土最在其邊。胎生者，譬如胎生人初生之時，人法未成。邊言其難，胎言其闇，此二名皆借此況彼耳，非是八難中邊地，亦非胞胎中胎生。何以知之？安樂國土一向化生故，故知非實胎生；五百年後還得見聞三寶故，故知非八難中邊地也。」

"Furthermore, there is another kind of rebirth in [the Land of] Peace and Bliss that does not fall into the three grades: this refers to cultivating various merits with a mind of doubt and hesitation, while vowing to be reborn in [the Land of] Peace and Bliss. Failing to comprehend the Buddha's wisdom, inconceivable wisdom, ineffable wisdom, vast Mahāyāna wisdom, and peerless, unequaled, supreme wisdom—harboring doubts and lack of faith toward these wisdoms—they nevertheless still believe in evil and merit, cultivate the roots of goodness, and are born in [the Land of] Peace and Bliss. They are born in the seven-jeweled palaces of the Land of Peace and Bliss, which are either one hundred yojanas or five hundred yojanas [in size]; in each of them, they experience various delights just like in the Trāyastriṃśa heaven, all likewise occurring spontaneously. For five hundred years, they constantly do not see the Buddha, do not hear the sūtras or Dharma, and do not see the noble assembly of bodhisattvas and śrāvakas. In the Land of Peace and Bliss, this is called the borderland, and it is also called womb birth. 'Borderland' means that during five hundred years they do not see or hear the Three Jewels, in meaning identical to the difficulty of the borderland; or it may also mean that they are at the very border of the Land of Peace and Bliss. 'Womb birth' is an analogy to when a womb-born human is first born, the faculties of a person not yet being fully formed. 'Border' refers to its difficulty, and 'womb' refers to its darkness; both of these names are merely borrowed by analogy to describe this, and are not the borderland among the eight difficulties, nor are they womb birth within a maternal womb. How is this known? Because the Land of Peace and Bliss is entirely characterized by spontaneous birth; thus one knows it is not actual womb birth. And because after five hundred years they are again able to see and hear the Three Jewels; thus one knows it is not the borderland among the eight difficulties."