遊心安樂道 1.5

1.5

然審察如來歎勸意者，為欲攝護中、下根故。娑婆世界雜惡之處，於緣多退；安養寶剎純善之地，唯進無退。故《起信論》云：「復次，眾生初學是法，欲求正信，其心怯弱，以住於此娑婆世界，自畏不能常值諸佛，親承供養，懼謂信心難可成就，意欲退者。當知如來有勝方便，攝護信心，謂以專念佛因緣故，隨願得生他方佛土，常見於佛永離惡道。」如修多羅說：「若人專念西方極樂世界阿彌陀佛，所修善根迴向，願求生彼世界，即得往生。常見佛故，終無有退，若觀彼佛真如法身，常勤修習，畢竟得生，正定聚故。」

Now, examining the intention behind the Tathāgata's praise and exhortation, it was to gather and protect those of middling and inferior faculties. The Sahā world is a place of mixed evils, where conditions lead mostly to retrogression; the jewel realm of peaceful nurture is a land of pure good, where there is only progress and no retrogression. Hence the Awakening of Faith says: "Furthermore, when sentient beings first learn this teaching and seek right faith, their minds are timid and weak. Dwelling in this Sahā world, they fear that they cannot constantly meet the Buddhas and personally attend and make offerings to them, dreading that faith will be difficult to accomplish, and their intention is to retrogress. One should know that the Tathāgata has an excellent expedient to gather and protect their faith: namely, through the cause and condition of exclusive buddhānusmṛti, according to their vows they attain rebirth in another Buddha land, constantly see the Buddha, and are forever freed from the evil destinies." As the sūtras say: "If someone exclusively practices buddhānusmṛti on Amitābha Buddha of the Western world of Sukhāvatī, dedicating the wholesome roots cultivated and making vows seeking rebirth in that world, they will immediately attain rebirth. Because they constantly see the Buddha, they will never retrogress. If they contemplate that Buddha's tathatā-dharmakāya and constantly and diligently practice it, they will ultimately attain rebirth, because they belong to the samyaktva-niyata-rāśi."