無量壽經義記卷下 1.33

1.33

第四子句明不信勸修。從如是世人不信作善得善訖痛不可言甚可哀愍。不信人死更生者。果中不信也。惠施得福者。因中不信也。善惡之事都不信之者。善惡雙不信也。然謂之不然者。然實修善得善惠施得福。而今不信修善得福故言謂之不然也。不然者。只是不信之異名也。終無有是者。明不信終無有修善得福也。但坐是故且自見之者。但坐先師祖父行不信善惡致使見行。見此法用依先師行不信也。更相瞻視先後同然者。行不信種類前世後世傳相承受行惡不異。故言同然也。自不能見無有語者。不自見已之重惡。復無善知識語令修善也。吉凶禍福競各作之無一怪者。無善知識語其吉凶禍福懃學修之也。

The fourth sub-clause explains non-faith to encourage cultivation. It runs from 'Such worldly people do not believe that doing good brings good' down to 'the pain is unspeakable, truly pitiable.' 'Not believing that after death a person is born again': non-faith regarding the fruit. 'That giving brings blessings': non-faith regarding the cause. 'Disbelieving entirely in the matters of good and evil': disbelieving in both good and evil. 'Yet they deem it not so': in reality, cultivating good brings good, and giving brings blessings, yet now they do not believe that cultivating good brings blessings; hence it is said that they 'deem it not so.' 'Not so' is merely another name for non-faith. 'There is never any such thing': this explains their disbelief that cultivating good ultimately brings blessings. 'Merely because of this, they only see it for themselves': merely because their former teachers and grandfathers practiced disbelief in good and evil, they are caused to hold such views; seeing these practices, they rely on former teachers to practice disbelief. 'Looking upon one another, earlier and later are the same': those who practice disbelief pass it on and receive it across previous and future generations, practicing evil without difference; hence it is said that they 'are the same.' 'Unable to see for themselves, with no one to tell them': they do not see their own grave evils, nor is there a spiritual friend to tell them to cultivate good. 'Auspicious and inauspicious, misfortune and fortune, they compete to bring about, with not a single person suspecting it': lacking a spiritual friend to tell them of auspiciousness, inauspiciousness, misfortune, and fortune, that they might diligently learn and cultivate.