廬山蓮宗寶鑑 6.20

6.20

娑婆濁境眾苦集而求道難成，淨土樂邦諸善聚而位登不退。稱名號者，諸佛護念而往生；發菩提者，彌陀光照而增進。菩薩羅漢與其同儔，水鳥樹林悉皆念佛。耳畔常聞妙法、心中頓絕貪嗔，快樂無窮，壽量何極。一生彼土便獲阿惟，豈比人天道中觸目多諸違順、權乘路上善根希有周圓，地前三賢尚未見道而失念、舍利六住猶遇惡緣而退心。所以法華會上退席者五千，寶積經中失道者猶眾。觀佛世尚爾，何今時不然？《華嚴合論》「問曰：『如《涅槃經》云「聞常住二字，尚七劫不墮地獄。」《華嚴經》云「設聞如來名及與所說法，不生信解亦能成種。」何故第六住心及地前菩薩猶言有退？』答曰：『從凡入道勝解未成，未得謂得便生憍慢，不近勝友、不敬賢良為怠慢故，久處人天隨違順緣，惡念一起即成地獄。若一信不慢、常求勝友，即無此失。何以故？權教中第六住心地前三賢總未見道，所修行業皆是有為，凡有無明皆是折伏有力即不退失，至八地中始入無功用行。』」是知三乘之士歷僧祇劫而功行無成，念佛之門於彈指頃而位階不退。是以生淨土者唯善無惡，故位無有退者，決定成佛。故《彌陀經》云「極樂國土眾生生者，皆是阿鞞跋致」是也。嗟乎初心信淺，非他力難以進修；我佛願深，但有緣悉皆攝受。須信餘門學道如蟻子上於高山，淨土往生似風帆行於順水，彌陀接引直趣菩提，眾聖提携高超三界，上品即登佛果，下生猶勝天宮。普信勿疑，同修不退。

In the defiled realm of Sahā, the multitude of sufferings gathers, and seeking the Way is difficult to accomplish; in the joyful country of the Pure Land, all goods assemble, and one ascends to the stage of non-retrogression. For those who recite the name, all buddhas protectively remember them and they attain rebirth; for those who bring forth the bodhi mind, Amitābha's light shines on them and they advance. Bodhisattvas and arhats are their companions; water, birds, and groves all practice buddhānusmṛti. The wondrous Dharma is constantly heard beside their ears, and greed and anger abruptly cease in their minds; their joy is inexhaustible, and how could their lifespan have an end? Once born in that land, one immediately attains the avinivartanīya stage. How could it compare to the human and heavenly paths, where whichever way one looks there are many opposing and agreeable conditions, or to the path of the expedient vehicles, where wholesome roots are rarely complete and round? The three sages before the grounds had not yet seen the Way and lost mindfulness; Śāriputra, at the sixth stage of abiding, still encountered bad conditions and had a thought of retreat. Therefore, those who withdrew from their seats at the assembly of the Lotus Sūtra numbered five thousand, and those who lost the Way in the Ratnakūṭa-sūtra were still numerous. Considering that it was so even in the Buddha's lifetime, how could it not be so in the present age? The Huayan helun states: 'A question asks: "As the Nirvāṇa-sūtra says, 'If one hears the two words "eternal abiding", one will not fall into hell for seven kalpas.' The Avataṃsaka-sūtra says, 'Even if one hears the Tathāgata's name and the Dharma he preached, and does not produce faith and understanding, it can still form a seed.' Why is it still said that the mind of the sixth abiding and the bodhisattvas before the grounds have retrogression?" The answer says: "When entering the Way from the state of an ordinary person, superior understanding is not yet formed. Deeming oneself to have attained what has not yet been attained, one gives rise to arrogance; not drawing near superior friends and not respecting the worthy and good, because of indolence and arrogance, one stays long among humans and devas, following agreeable and opposing conditions. As soon as an evil thought arises, hell is immediately formed. If one has single-minded faith without arrogance and constantly seeks superior friends, then one does not have this fault. Why is this? In the expedient teachings, the mind of the sixth abiding and the three sages before the grounds have not seen the Way at all; the practices and karmic actions they cultivate are all conditioned. Whenever there is ignorance, it is only subdued; if there is strength, then they do not retrogress and lose it; only upon reaching the eighth ground do they begin to enter unmotivated practice."' From this we know that practitioners of the three vehicles pass through asaṃkhyeya-kalpas and their meritorious practice is without success, whereas the gate of buddhānusmṛti attains the stage of non-retrogression in the snap of a finger. Therefore, those who are born in the Pure Land have only good and no evil, so their stage has no retrogression, and they are determined to become buddhas. Thus the Amitābha-sūtra says: 'Living beings born in the Land of Utmost Bliss are all avaivartikas'—this is it. Alas, beginners have shallow faith, and without other-power it is difficult to advance and cultivate; our Buddha's vows are deep, and wherever there is a connection, he gathers all in. One must believe that studying the Way through other gates is like an ant climbing a high mountain, while rebirth in the Pure Land is like a windblown sail traveling on a favorable current: Amitābha guides one to proceed directly to bodhi; all the sages hold one up to surpass the three realms far above; in the highest grade one immediately ascends to the fruit of buddhahood, and even the lowest birth surpasses the heavenly palace. Universally believe and have no doubts; together cultivate non-retrogression.