念佛鏡 2.12

2.12

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."