釋淨土群疑論 4.7

4.7

Explanation: It is precisely because this sūtra has this teaching that Chan Master Shandao encouraged the fourfold assembly to exclusively cultivate the karma for the Western Pure Land, ensuring that the four practices do not lapse and the three actions are unmixed, setting aside all other vows and practices, solely vowing and solely practicing the one cultivation for the West. For those who practice in a mixed way, not one in ten thousand will be born; for those who practice exclusively, not one in a thousand will fail. In the subsequent text of this very sūtra, it says: 'Why is this? It is all due to indolence and the mind of resolve not being firm.' Thus we know that those who engage in mixed cultivation are those whose resolve is not firm, and therefore they are born in the Land of Indolence; this accords precisely with the passage in the Bodhisattvagarbhastha Sūtra. If one does not engage in mixed cultivation but exclusively practices this karma, then one's resolve is firm, and one will definitely be born in the Land of Sukhāvatī, wonderfully corresponding to the intent of the sūtra on rebirth according to one's vow. The sūtra says: 'The people of the Sahā world are mostly greedy and defiled; those who believe in the correct are few, those who practice the perverse are many; they do not believe in the true Dharma, cannot be single-minded, and their minds are distracted and lacking resolve.' In reality, the pure lands of the ten directions are without distinction; it is only to cause all beings to focus their minds on one place that that land is praised. All who are reborn follow their vows and none fail to obtain the fruit. Thus we know that mixing one's practices leads to falling into the realm of indolence, while making one's karma exclusive leads to birth in the Land of Peace and Bliss. This even more clearly shows that through exclusive practice of the Pure Land gate one attains rebirth; how could it mean that that land is difficult to reach and that there is no encouragement for rebirth? Students must not fail to be exclusive in their path. Furthermore, those born in the reward pure land are extremely few, while those born in the transformation pure land are not few; thus the sūtra speaks of them separately, and in truth there is no contradiction.