釋淨土群疑論 2.37

2.37

I explain: Although those heavens of the form realm have no sorrow or suffering and only have joy and pleasure, nevertheless they are not supreme bliss (Sukhāvatī), and in the end there is painful sensation; therefore practitioners do not wish to be born above. Briefly, eight points reveal that they are not supreme bliss: first, above, there is no bliss of quiescence; second, below, they fall back into the wheel of suffering; third, there are no noble ones to take refuge in; fourth, they do not hear the true Dharma; fifth, there are samādhis with attachment; sixth, the delusions of wrong views increase; seventh, the three calamities destroy their realm; eighth, their bodies are formed in the eight difficulties. First, 'above, there is no bliss of quiescence' means that ordinary beings born there cannot attain and realize the bliss of the quiescence of great nirvāṇa. Second, 'below, they fall back into the wheel of suffering' means that when their retribution from being born in the form or formless realm is finished, their karma of the desire realm ripens, and they are reborn down below again. Third, 'there are no noble ones to take refuge in' means that although the form realm has the five pure abodes, how can they compare to the West having so many [bodhisattvas] bound to one more birth? Fourth, 'they do not hear the true Dharma' means: how can those heavens of the form realm compare to the pure land where the assemblies of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, water, birds, and tree groves constantly proclaim the wondrous Dharma throughout the six periods of the day and night? Fifth, 'there are samādhis with attachment' means that among those beings of the form realm, although there are pure concentrations, there are many concentrations mixed with attachment, which intermingle and increase afflictions; this does not exist in the pure land. Sixth, 'the delusions of wrong views increase' means that those born in the form realm include various non-Buddhists who give rise to wrong views; furthermore, receiving the retribution of non-conception, when their life is about to end, mental consciousness arises, they slander the noble nirvāṇa, and fall into hell. Seventh, 'the three calamities destroy their realm' means that from the third dhyāna downwards, they are destroyed first by fire, then by water, and later by wind; this does not exist in the pure land. Eighth, 'their bodies are formed in the eight difficulties' means that although the form and formless realms have no sorrow or suffering, they are subsumed under the difficulty of the long-lived heavens among the eight difficulties. Endowed with these eight points, although they have joy and pleasure, they ultimately sink into suffering and affliction; therefore their pleasure is not supreme bliss. Between them and that pure land, the superiority and inferiority are as far apart as heaven and earth; therefore those who seek rebirth do not wish to be born in the form realm. Once reborn in the pure land, they are ultimately non-retrogressing.