淨土論 1.45

1.45

Answer: Looking at the intent of Vaidehī's request and the Tathāgata's reply, he spoke solely of explaining the place of pure karma and encouraging rebirth for all ordinary persons of future generations who are harmed by the thieves of affliction; he did not speak of bodhisattvas. If we speak of bodhisattvas' arousing of mind, they vow to be born in the evil destinies and do not wish to be born in the pure land. For instance, bodhisattvas from the ten understandings upward still intentionally retain afflictions to take rebirth, vowing to be born in evil destinies to save suffering sentient beings, not wishing to be born in a pure land. As for the text on retaining afflictions, the Vimalakīrti-sūtra says: 'This sick bodhisattva receives various feelings without receiving anything.' Not having yet perfected the Buddha-dharmas, they also do not extinguish feeling to realize the fruit. This is a text on bodhisattvas retaining afflictions to take rebirth. Furthermore, the Bodhisattvabhūmi and the Mahāyānasaṃgraha both have texts on retaining afflictions to take rebirth. To state the essentials: noble ones of the three vehicles and persons within the seven expedient stages of the three vehicles, down to those prior to the path of expedients, whether men or women, without faculties or with two faculties, down to dragons, ghosts, and the eight classes of beings—so long as they can arouse bodhicitta, single-mindedly recite the Buddha Amitābha, despise and loathe the defiled lands, rejoice in and aspire to the pure land, and have correct mindfulness present before them at the point of death, all attain rebirth. If they are vigorous and zealous, their contemplative practice is clear, and at death their final mind is undistracted, they will all attain higher rebirth. Down to the end of life, if their final ten recitations appear continuously before them, they attain the lowest grade of the lowest rebirth. Here, the rebirth of bodhisattvas naturally has three classes and nine grades; the rebirth of the two vehicles naturally has higher, middle, and lower; the rebirth of ordinary persons naturally has higher, middle, and lower: each has nine grades. It is merely that the sūtras cannot differentiate them in minute detail, and so they treat ordinary persons of the great and small [vehicles] together as having nine grades, whereas in reality there are measureless differences. Examining the forty-eight vows and the Guan jing to discuss the overarching purport, ordinary persons are the primary candidates for rebirth, while noble ones are secondary candidates for rebirth. Because ordinary persons would fall into evil destinies, they cannot cultivate the path or arouse the mind in a defiled land. Among ordinary persons, only those who slander the Mahāyāna cannot attain rebirth, because they have severed their roots of goodness; among persons of the two vehicles, trainees who are ignorant of the Dharma cannot attain rebirth, because they do not believe there are pure lands in the ten directions; among bodhisattvas, those who do not make vows to seek rebirth cannot attain rebirth, because they lack an attitude of love and aspiration. If they are non-trainees of the two vehicles, regardless of whether they are ignorant of the Dharma or not, or whether they seek it or not, all attain rebirth, because they have no place to take rebirth in the defiled lands of the three realms. The Da zhidu lun says: 'There is a wondrous pure land that surpasses the three realms. All arhats shall be born within it'; it does not speak of trainees.