淨土論 2.8

2.8

Answer: Even if she were truly a bodhisattva who manifested a female body to transform sentient beings, she must have concealed her true virtues and appeared identical to an ordinary being in order to gather and transform those of her kind. Just as the five hundred female attendants received the Buddha's prediction of attaining rebirth, so too all women and men of the future are ordinary beings, and all are included within what is gathered, and thus also attain rebirth. This is like various bodhisattvas who may manifest bodies in hell to guide hell beings, such as the ṛṣi Vasu in the Vaipulya Sūtras; or manifest animal bodies to guide animal beings, such as the bee king, goose king, and ant king in the Nirvāṇa Sūtra; or manifest the five heinous sins to guide beings who commit the five heinous sins, such as King Ajātaśatru and Devadatta. In all these cases, the transformer is expedient, while the transformed are real. Since Vaidehī manifested as an ordinary being dwelling in the five turbidities, one should know that she guides ordinary beings of the five turbidities to attain rebirth in Sukhāvatī. Therefore, the Guan jing says, 'The Buddha said to Vaidehī: "You are an ordinary being; having not yet attained the divine eye, you cannot see far. The Tathāgata has exceptional expedients to enable you to see."' Furthermore, the forty-eight great vows of Bhikṣu Dharmākara were first and foremost for all ordinary beings, and only secondarily included the noble ones of the three vehicles. Therefore, we know that the pure land school's intent is fundamentally for ordinary beings, and only secondarily for noble ones. Furthermore, bodhisattvas of the tenth stage of understanding and above retain defilements to take birth in evil destinies, vowing to rescue suffering sentient beings rather than be born in the pure land; because they rely on their own karmic power, they will never fall into the evil destinies again. Thus we know that ordinary beings, having not yet escaped the evil destinies, must be born in the pure land, whereas those of the tenth stage of understanding and above, having no fear of being born in the evil destinies, do not wish to be born in the pure land. Therefore, we know that the intent behind the establishment of the pure land was fundamentally for ordinary beings, not for bodhisattvas. Furthermore, this single gate of the pure land is explained in sūtra after sūtra, and clarified in treatise after treatise. If it were a non-definitive teaching, why would the buddhas and bodhisattvas urge it so earnestly? Indeed, the buddhas of the ten directions each extend their broad and long tongues to certify what Śākyamuni taught and to encourage sentient beings. How could this be a non-definitive teaching? Furthermore, eminent monks of great virtue and intelligent Confucian scholars among the laity from ancient times onward have all cultivated the pure land practices—such as Master Huiyuan of Mount Lu, Master Dao-rui, Liu Yimin, Xie Lingyun, down to the recent Dhyāna Master Daochuo. At the point of death, these figures all experienced extraordinary signs of radiant platforms and the welcoming of the sacred assembly, as recorded in their respective biographies. Since these great virtuous and wise people yearned for the pure land, later students need only follow these early masters; there is no need to doubt. Furthermore, the previous question asked: 'The land is adorned with thousands of treasures, and the Buddha is marked with myriad characteristics; neither this person nor this land can be viewed or visited by lower stages.' I now answer this point: If one speaks of the actual rewarded person and land, it is truly as you said. But if one speaks of the phenomenal pure land and the transformed pure land, the principle is not so. If it is the rewarded body in the phenomenal land, it is seen by those of higher stages; if it is the trace body in the transformed land, it can be viewed and visited by those prior to the stages. If neither were the realm of the lower stages, then the sage would lack the power of transformative birth, and sentient beings would have no share in entering sagehood. When both meanings are present, one attains rebirth: (1) the practice of all sentient beings serves as the cause; and (2) Amitābha's original vow serves as the predominant condition. If both meanings are present, one attains rebirth. Thus the Awakening of Faith says, 'All Buddha-dharmas have causes and conditions. Only when causes and conditions are complete can they be accomplished.' Because such principles exist, when sentient beings cultivate the practices, they all attain rebirth. Part 2: Distinguishing and resolving objections through questions and answers.