念佛鏡 2.12

2.12

答：「不是惡眾生。何以得知？准一經云：『若念佛者，是人中芬陀利華。』此華者，諸華中極好；若念佛者，一切人中最好，故以為喻。滅除諸罪故，是好眾生；三階為罪不滅，所以是惡眾生。難云：罪惡眾生即是修道者，疾患之人應是修道。何以故？是惡眾生故，彼等患人非是修道，此等三階亦非修道。」

Answer: "They are not evil sentient beings. How is this known? According to a sūtra: 'If one practices buddhānusmṛti, this person is a puṇḍarīka flower among human beings.' This flower is the very finest among all flowers; if one practices buddhānusmṛti, one is the finest among all human beings, which is why it is used as a metaphor. Because their various transgressions are eradicated, they are good sentient beings; as for the Three Levels, because their transgressions are not eradicated, they are evil sentient beings. If one objects: 'Transgressed and evil sentient beings are precisely those who cultivate the path,' then sick people should be cultivators of the path. Why is this? Because they are evil sentient beings. Just as those sick people are not cultivators of the path, these of the Three Levels are likewise not cultivators of the path."