淨土十疑論 1.30

1.30

Explanation: "Attaining rebirth in that land has five causes and conditions for non-retrogression. What are the five? First, the sustaining power of Amitābha Buddha's great compassionate vows, whereby one attains non-retrogression; second, the constant illumination of the Buddha's light, whereby bodhicitta constantly increases and never retrogresses; third, the water, birds, groves of trees, the sound of the wind, and the music all proclaim suffering and emptiness, so that those who hear them constantly give rise to the remembrance of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, and thus do not retrogress; fourth, that land consists purely of bodhisattvas who serve as good friends, with no conditions of evil circumstance—externally there are no spirits, ghosts, or evil Māras, and internally there are no three poisons or the like, so defilements never arise at all, and thus one does not retrogress; fifth, once reborn in that land, one's lifespan lasts for eternal kalpas, equal to that of bodhisattvas and buddhas, and thus one does not retrogress. In this evil world, days and months are fleeting; yet after passing through asaṃkhyeya kalpas without defilements arising again, cultivating the path for a long time, how could one fail to attain anutpattikadharmakṣānti? This principle is obvious and need not be doubted."