西方合論 2.12

2.12

五、順眾生者，謂樂兒童者，當以餅果；樂婦女者，必用綺羅；一切眾生所重，惟寶玉衣食，是故有自然七寶，及與樓閣妙麗衣服飲食等事。譬諸火宅諸兒，非羊鹿等車，決不肯出，出已純與大車。今釋迦如來順眾生情見，說阿彌陀七寶淨土，秖為眾生見境如是，合如是說。眾生生已，各各自見細妙淨相，無可比喻，方知琉璃𤥭璖瑪瑙，猶如瓦礫。如達官貴人，向田舍兒說王宮精嚴，姑就彼人所極珍異者為比，向非情量所及。如對生盲說色，亦無所用，其方比矣！

Fifth, according with sentient beings: To delight children, one must use cakes and fruit; to delight women, one must use fine silks. What all sentient beings value are solely jewels, jade, clothing, and food; therefore, there are spontaneous seven treasures, as well as magnificent pavilions, garments, food, drink, and the like. This is like the children in the burning house who would never come out without goat and deer carts, yet once outside are given only the great cart. Now, Śākyamuni Tathāgata, according with the perceptual inclinations of sentient beings, spoke of Amitābha's Pure Land of seven treasures solely because sentient beings perceive their realms in this way and it was appropriate to speak thus. Once sentient beings are reborn there, they each perceive subtle and exquisite pure features beyond comparison, and only then do they realize that lapis lazuli, mother-of-pearl, and agate are like broken tiles and gravel. It is like high officials and nobles describing the magnificence of the royal palace to a rustic peasant: they merely use what is most precious to him as an analogy, for it is beyond what his ordinary perceptions can fathom. Just as speaking of colors to the congenitally blind is of no use, so too is this analogy.