釋淨土群疑論 6.40

6.40

問曰：何故《觀經》說下品上生，至心稱佛，滅五十億劫生死之罪；下品中生聞佛功德，下品下生稱彼佛名，俱滅八十億劫生死之罪。何為同念一佛，功德不殊，滅彼罪愆少多有異也？

Question: Why does the Guan jing state that for the upper class of the lower grade, reciting the Buddha['s name] with a sincere mind extinguishes the transgressions of fifty billion kalpas of saṃsāra, while for the middle class of the lower grade, hearing the Buddha's virtues, and for the lower class of the lower grade, reciting that Buddha's name, both extinguish the transgressions of eighty billion kalpas of saṃsāra? Why is it that, when recollecting the same single Buddha, the merit is not distinct, yet the extinguishing of those transgressions differs in being less or more?