淨土論 1.16

1.16

Answer: The two lands of saṃbhoga and nirmāṇa may either have boundaries or have no boundaries. For instance, among the saṃbhoga lands, the actual saṃbhoga land has no boundaries: that is to say, the Tathāgata's practices complete the eighty thousand [teachings], his time fulfills three asaṃkhyeya [aeons], both teachings are uniquely equipped, the five divisions are distinct, his physical marks exhaust the drops of the ocean, and his subtle marks exhaust the dust of the mountains; the three clarities are already brilliant, the two wisdoms shine simultaneously, resembling a dragon roaring with clouds responding or a tiger crying with the wind following. How could it be decorated merely with exceptional gems, or be restricted by boundaries? In this land, only the Buddha himself beholds its beauty; bodhisattvas have not set their eyes upon it. The phenomenal saṃbhoga land, by contrast, refers to holding up pillars of adamantine below, polishing ground of lapis lazuli above, surrounded outside by seven-jeweled balustrades, filled inside with pools of eight virtues, jewel rafts floating beside emerald groves, and jewel nets interwoven among ornate palaces. Since his body is filled with myriad virtues, the land is also replete with all perfections. Such a land as this indeed has boundaries. Among the nirmāṇa lands, according to the power of the great compassionate vows, which is equal to the realm of sentient beings and has nowhere it does not pervade, there are no boundaries. But if considered according to his body manifesting to transform sentient beings—being born in world after world anew, and entering nirvāṇa repeatedly—then it has boundaries. That the West is a saṃbhoga land comes from the Dacheng tongxing jing: the sūtra says, 'Bodhisattva Jñānaprabhāsa asked the Buddha, the World-Honoured One: "What is the Tathāgata's saṃbhogakāya?" The Buddha said: "That which you now see of me, this is the Tathāgata's saṃbhogakāya. Furthermore, those who attain correct enlightenment or are about to attain correct enlightenment in pure lands, all of them are saṃbhogakāyas."' Explanation: When attaining Buddhahood in a pure land is judged as saṃbhoga, this refers to the body of enjoyment (saṃbhogakāya), not the actual saṃbhogakāya. If taken as a nirmāṇakāya, it is the subtle nirmāṇakāya. When the sūtra says 'that which you now see of me is the saṃbhogakāya,' this means that one also sees the saṃbhoga in an impure land. For this sūtra says: 'Attaining Buddhahood amidst the five corruptions, having the True Dharma, the Semblance Dharma, and the Final Dharma, is the responsive nirmāṇakāya.' The sūtra judges that attaining Buddhahood in an impure land is in all cases a nirmāṇakāya, yet it also says 'that which you now see of me is the saṃbhogakāya.' Since one can see the saṃbhogakāya in an impure land, why should one not be able to see the nirmāṇakāya in a pure land? Therefore, we know that both pure and impure lands possess both bodies. That it is a nirmāṇa land comes from the Guanshiyin shouji jing (Avalokiteśvara-vyākaraṇa-sūtra): the sūtra says, 'Good son! Amitābha Buddha's lifespan is immeasurable hundreds of thousands of koṭis of kalpas, yet it will have an end. After the Buddha enters nirvāṇa, the True Dharma will remain in the world equal to the Buddha's lifespan. Good son! After the extinction of Amitābha Buddha's True Dharma, past the middle of the night as dawn breaks, Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva will attain complete and perfect enlightenment under the bodhi tree, named Tathāgata Raśmiprabhāsa-guṇa-parvatara-rāja; in his Buddha-land there will be no names of śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas, and his Buddha-land will be named Sarvaratnapratyupta-alaṃkāra. After the extinction of the True Dharma of the nirvāṇa of Tathāgata Raśmiprabhāsa-guṇa-parvatara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva will immediately attain Buddhahood in that country, named Tathāgata Supratiṣṭhita-ratnarāja; his land, radiance, lifespan, and even the duration of his Dharma will be equal and no different.' It also comes from the Guyinsheng wang tuoluoni jing, where Amitābha Buddha has parents, a son, as well as Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Devadatta, and so forth.