[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [淨土論](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1963) › 3.41 # 淨土論 3.41 淨土論 3.41 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [3.41](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1963.3.41) 答曰：如下《阿彌陀經》說，十方諸佛各出廣長舌相，遍覆三千大千世界，皆勸一切眾生往生淨土。然有眾生不受佛勸，難教難悟、難濟難脫，知復奈何？此等眾生，依《無量清淨覺經》說「始從地獄中來，殃咎未盡」，故彼經云「若善男子若女人聞說淨土法門，心生悲喜、身毛為竪如拔出者，當知此人過去已作佛道來。若復有人，聞說淨土法門都不生信樂，當知此人始從三惡中來，殃咎未盡，為此無信向耳。我說此人未可得解脫也。」故《無量壽經》云「憍慢弊懈怠，難以信此法」也。又《無量清淨覺經》及《無量壽經》二處皆云「無極之勝道，易往而無人」也。西方是無極勝道，若人能於七日專心念佛，所作善根並皆迴向，即得往生，永離三塗，入不退位。此是易往也。然有眾生不肯信受，昏諸五欲、樂入惡道，如廁中虫，此是無人也。又阿彌陀佛與觀世音、大勢至，乘大願船浮生死海，就此娑婆世界呼喚眾生，令上大願船送著西方。若眾生有上大願船者，並皆得去。此是易往也。釋迦如來及十方諸佛，普賢、文殊、天親、龍樹，或出廣長舌相、或放白毫光明、或說五念玄門、或教十二讚禮，慇懃敦勵令生淨土，而眾生不生信樂而不肯去。此是無人也。又眾生無始已來，造諸惡業過於恒沙，一一惡業感於苦報亦過恒沙。若人能七日或十日專心念佛，於一一念中滅却八十億劫生死重罪，橫截苦流、直生淨土。此是易往。然眾生追逐財色、貪著名利，不早發心，無常忽至，墮落三途，百千萬劫無有出期。此是無人也。又眾生信佛語、諸菩薩語、善知識語，不隨惡知識語，乃至信十惡五逆眾生臨命終時十念成就，即得往生。此是易往。若有眾生，不信佛語、諸菩薩語、善知識語，隨須不學問僧無智俗人，詐解大乘、猥引經論，殆亂佛法、誑惑眾生，癡念佛行、退失善根，墮落三塗，不得往生。此是無人也。若人聞說專念阿彌陀佛得生淨土，即須懺悔惡業、修習善根，持戒清淨，專念佛名一心不亂，至百萬遍者。臨命終時，正念現前，佛即來迎。此是即易往。若有眾生，聞說阿彌陀佛，仍故造罪。雖念佛名，心緣五欲，此是雜結使念。臨命終時，心即顛倒，佛不來迎。此是無人也。 > Answer: As the Amitābha Sūtra below explains, the buddhas of the ten directions each extend their broad and long tongue marks, completely covering the three-thousand great thousand worlds, all encouraging all sentient beings to be reborn in the pure land. Yet there are sentient beings who do not accept the buddhas' admonition, being difficult to instruct, difficult to awaken, difficult to save, and difficult to liberate—what more can be done? Such sentient beings, as the Wuliang qingjing jue jing says, 'have just come from the hells, their calamities and faults not yet exhausted.' Thus that sūtra states: 'If a good man or woman, upon hearing the pure land teaching explained, gives rise to sorrow and joy in their heart, with their bodily hairs standing on end as if plucked out, know that this person has already practiced the Buddha Path in the past. If someone, upon hearing the pure land teaching explained, gives rise to no faith or delight at all, know that this person has just come from the three evil \[destinies\]; their calamities and faults are not yet exhausted, and for this reason they have no faith or inclination. I say that this person cannot yet attain liberation.' Thus the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra says: 'Those who are arrogant, corrupt, and indolent find it hard to believe in this Dharma.' Furthermore, both the Wuliang qingjing jue jing and the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra state: 'The supreme Path of the ultimate is easy to go to, yet there is no one \[there\].' The West is the supreme Path of the ultimate; if someone can single-mindedly be mindful of the Buddha for seven days and dedicate all the good roots they have created, they will immediately attain rebirth, leaving the three paths forever and entering the stage of non-retrogression. This is why it is 'easy to go to.' Yet there are sentient beings who refuse to believe and accept it, clouded by the five desires, delighting in entering the evil destinies like worms in a latrine; this is why 'there is no one.' Moreover, Amitābha Buddha, together with Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, boards the ship of the great vow to float upon the ocean of birth and death, calling out to sentient beings in this Sahā world, bidding them board the ship of the great vow to be delivered to the West. If sentient beings board the ship of the great vow, all of them can go. This is why it is 'easy to go to.' Śākyamuni Tathāgata and the buddhas of the ten directions, Samantabhadra, Mañjuśrī, Vasubandhu, and Nāgārjuna—either extending their broad and long tongue marks, or emitting light from the white curl, or teaching the profound gates of the five recollections, or instructing in the twelve praises and homages—earnestly encourage and urge them to be born in the pure land; yet sentient beings do not give rise to faith and delight and refuse to go. This is why 'there is no one.' Furthermore, since beginningless time sentient beings have created evil karmas exceeding the sands of the Ganges, and each evil karma brings suffering retributions also exceeding the sands of the Ganges. If a person can single-mindedly be mindful of the Buddha for seven days or ten days, in each thought-moment eradicating the grave sins of birth and death of eighty hundred million kalpas, they cut horizontally across the flow of suffering and are born directly in the pure land. This is why it is 'easy to go to.' Yet sentient beings chase after wealth and sex, greedily clinging to fame and profit, and do not resolve their minds early; when impermanence suddenly arrives, they fall into the three paths, with no time of emergence for hundreds of thousands of myriads of kalpas. This is why 'there is no one.' Furthermore, when sentient beings believe the words of the buddhas, the words of the bodhisattvas, and the words of good spiritual friends, not following the words of evil companions, and even believe that sentient beings guilty of the ten evils and five inexpiable offenses who complete ten recitations at the end of life immediately attain rebirth—this is why it is 'easy to go to.' If there are sentient beings who do not believe the words of the buddhas, the words of the bodhisattvas, and the words of good spiritual friends, but follow ignorant laypeople who urge them not to study or question monastics, who falsely claim understanding of the Mahāyāna, recklessly cite sūtras and treatises, endanger and disrupt the Buddha-Dharma, deceive and bewilder sentient beings, despise the practice of mindfulness of the Buddha, regress from and lose their good roots, and fall into the three paths without attaining rebirth—this is why 'there is no one.' If someone, hearing that single-minded mindfulness of Amitābha Buddha brings rebirth in the pure land, immediately repents evil karma, cultivates good roots, keeps the precepts purely, and single-mindedly recites the Buddha's name without distraction up to one million times, then at the end of life, correct mindfulness manifests, and the Buddha comes to welcome them. This is why it is 'easy to go to.' If there are sentient beings who, upon hearing of Amitābha Buddha, still continue creating sins, and although reciting the Buddha's name, their minds are bound to the five desires—this being mindfulness mixed with afflictive fetters—then at the end of life their minds are inverted, and the Buddha does not come to welcome them. This is why 'there is no one.' > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 3.40](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1963.3.40) - [Next: 3.42](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1963.3.42) - [Up: 3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1963.3) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1963~en-mt.3.41) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1963.3.41](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1963.3.41) · Pramāṇa