釋淨土群疑論 3.5

3.5

Explanation: The explanations of the various traditions each have their own line of reasoning, making it difficult to distinguish their superiority or inferiority. Regarding the first explanation, that those admitted are repentant while those excluded are unrepentant: examining this explanation, one does not know whether reciting the Buddha's name can extinguish sins or not. If it cannot extinguish them, why does the sūtra say, 'In thought after thought, sins of eighty billion kalpas of saṃsāra are extinguished'? If reciting the Buddha's name can extinguish sins, why is it said that those who do not repent are consequently excluded? Furthermore, in the Guan jing's passage that admits those who commit heinous acts, where is there any word about repentance? By this reasoning, if one interrogates each of the remaining theories one by one, none of them has fully grasped the sūtra's meaning. What is the sūtra's meaning? When the Guan jing admits those who commit heinous acts, the sūtra says 'completing ten recitations'; because they complete ten recitations, they immediately attain rebirth. When the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra excludes those who commit heinous acts, the sūtra says 'even down to ten recitations'; because it says 'even down to ten recitations', they do not attain rebirth. Since the sūtras already contain the words 'even down to' and 'completing ten recitations', how could it depend on all those other interpretations? Moreover, as with the upper and middle classes of the lowest grade, when reciting and being mindful of the Buddha, it does not say 'completing ten recitations'; with one recitation and above, all attain rebirth, because their sins are few and they do not need to fulfill ten. As for the lowest class of the lowest grade, because they have committed heinous sins, the sūtra therefore says 'completing ten recitations, they attain rebirth in the Pure Land.' The Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra includes these three grades, combining them together to say 'even down to ten recitations, they attain rebirth in the Pure Land.' The sūtra's intention is to say that if a person has not committed heinous acts, regarding the number of recitations, whether one utterance or ten utterances, they all attain rebirth in the Pure Land. If they have committed heinous acts, they must fulfill ten; if they lack even one, they will not be born, and therefore it says 'excluded.' This means that those who have not committed heinous acts are not limited to ten utterances; whether few or many, all attain rebirth in the Pure Land. Those who commit heinous acts cannot do so: if they fulfill ten, they immediately attain rebirth; if they have fewer, they do not go. It is on this basis that it speaks of exclusion, which has nothing to do with those various interpretations. Although ancient Great Worthies gave explanations, I now present this different explanation.