西方合論 2.12

2.12

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.