釋淨土群疑論 4.3

4.3

釋曰：《觀經》言「如此愚人無惡不造，經歷地獄受苦無窮」，下言「念佛十聲得生淨土」。若言常生難處，不許便永離彼。彼既受苦無窮，寧得往生極樂？故知無窮苦報，罪滅便即有窮。常生難處惡消，何妨見佛。又禪師引教意，皆欲證第三階人有罪不可滅除，無愆不生淨土。廣引眾多聖教，欲證邪人不生。未知第二階人亦許謗《法華》不？設謗，常生難處不？念佛得生淨土不？若許得生，即不可引前經為證；若不得生，此即第二階謗法眾生亦不得生淨土。何為偏證第三階人不得生也？

Explanation: The Guan jing says: 'Such foolish people commit every kind of evil, passing through hells to suffer boundless torment'; later it says: 'Reciting the Buddha's name ten times, they attain rebirth in the pure land.' If one claims that they 'always be born in difficult places' and does not allow that they can ever leave them forever, then since they 'suffer boundless torment,' how could they ever be reborn in Sukhāvatī? Thus we know that when the retribution of boundless torment has its sins extinguished, it immediately has a bound. When the evil of always being born in difficult places is eliminated, what prevents them from seeing the Buddha? Furthermore, the intention behind the Chan master's citation of the teachings is entirely to prove that the beings of the third level have sins that cannot be eradicated, and without faults they cannot be born in the pure land. Extensively citing numerous sacred teachings, he intends to prove that perverse people are not reborn. I wonder: are beings of the second level also permitted to slander the Lotus Sūtra? Suppose they slander it, are they always born in difficult places or not? If they practice buddhānusmṛti, do they attain rebirth in the pure land or not? If you permit that they attain rebirth, then one cannot cite the previous sūtra as proof. If they cannot attain rebirth, then beings of the second level who slander the Dharma also cannot attain rebirth in the pure land. Why do you single out beings of the third level to prove that they cannot attain rebirth?