法苑珠林 15.5

15.5

Avoiding suffering and seeking pleasure is indeed the common sentiment of all kinds of beings; detesting defilement and delighting in purity is the ancient principle of living beings. However, practice has good and bad, and lands become crude or sublime. The five pains of Sahā arise from accumulated evil [making] mounds and pits; the seven treasures of Anyang stem from cultivating goodness [yielding] exquisite blossoms. As karma is accomplished in three tiers, retribution takes the form of nine grades. The jeweled terraces and precious belvederes rely upon sublime mindfulness to tower aloft; the jade reservoirs and jasper pools depend upon wholesome minds to become sparkling and clear. The blossoming and closing of the lotuses proves that the Compassionate Father's [promise] is not empty; the rolling and turning of the waves lets the words of the Dharma be heard ringing in the ears. Unless merits are diligent, resolve is firm, practice is complete, and causes are rounded, how could one follow a thousand minds to ascend the golden terrace, or rely upon the ten recitations to ascend to the Land of Bliss?