廬山蓮宗寶鑑 9.8

9.8

Great Master Tiantai Zhiyi states in the Jingtu qunyilun: 'Those born in the Western Direction have thirty kinds of benefits: first, the benefit of being reborn in a Buddha land; second, the benefit of attaining great Dharma joy; third, the benefit of being close to all Buddhas; fourth, the benefit of traveling to the ten directions to make offerings to the Buddhas; fifth, the benefit of personally hearing the Buddhas speak; sixth, the benefit of quickly fulfilling the provisions of merit and wisdom; seventh, the benefit of swiftly realizing bodhi; eighth, the benefit of gathering in one assembly together with the devas and humans; ninth, the benefit of non-retrogression; tenth, the benefit of progressing in immeasurable practices and vows; eleventh, the benefit of parrots and śāris proclaiming the sounds of Dharma; twelfth, the benefit of musical sounds from the wind in the trees; thirteenth, the benefit of swirling maṇi waters expounding suffering and emptiness; fourteenth, the benefit of all kinds of music playing wondrous sounds; fifteenth, the benefit of the forty-eight vows; sixteenth, the benefit of a body of genuine gold color; seventeenth, the benefit of a form without ugliness; eighteenth, the benefit of being fully endowed with the six supernatural powers; nineteenth, the benefit of constantly abiding in the assembly of the definitely determined; twentieth, the benefit of being free from all unwholesome things; twenty-first, the benefit of an enduring, long lifespan; twenty-second, the benefit of food and clothing appearing naturally; twenty-third, the benefit of experiencing only manifold pleasures; twenty-fourth, the benefit of the thirty-two marks; twenty-fifth, the benefit of there being truly no women; twenty-sixth, the benefit of there being no Hīnayāna; twenty-seventh, the benefit of being free from the eight difficulties; twenty-eighth, the benefit of attaining the three dharmic forbearances; twenty-ninth, the benefit of the body constantly having light; thirtieth, the benefit of attaining the bodily strength of Nārāyaṇa.' It can truly be said: everywhere is the path to bodhi, clearly a forest of merit.