The Buddha told Ananda, “Those who are reborn in that land all belong in the group of sentient beings that definitely progress on the right path to bodhi. Why? Because in that Buddha Land, there is neither the group that definitely is not on the bodhi path nor the group that is indecisive about its paths. Buddha-Tathagatas in worlds in the ten directions, who are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, each praise Amitayus Buddha’s inconceivable awesome spirit and merit. If sentient beings that hear His name elicit faith and joy in but one thought and, with an earnest wish for rebirth in that land, transfer their merits to others, they will be reborn there and attain the spiritual level of no regress. Excepted are those who have committed any of the five rebellious sins or maligned the true Dharma.”
The Buddha told Ananda, “Gods and humans in worlds in the ten directions who earnestly wish to be reborn in that land are grouped into three classes. In the high class are those who have renounced family life, abandoned desires, and become Sramanas. They should activate the bodhi mind and constantly think only of Amitayus Buddha. They should accumulate merit and resolve to be reborn in His land. When they die, Amitayus Buddha, together with a holy multitude, will appear before them, and they will follow that Buddha to His land. They will be naturally reborn in lotus flowers made of the seven treasures, and they will abide in the spiritual level of no regress. Their wisdom will be keen, and they will have command of transcendental powers. Therefore, Ananda, if there are sentient beings that wish to see Amitayus Buddha in their present life, they should activate the unsurpassed bodhi mind accumulate merit, and resolve to be reborn in His land.” The Buddha told Ananda, “In the middle class are gods and humans in worlds in the ten directions who earnestly wish to be reborn in that land, but are unable to become Sramanas and to accumulate merit on a large scale. They should activate the unsurpassed bodhi mind and constantly think only of Amitayus Buddha as they cultivate goodness on a smaller scale. They should observe the pure precepts, erect memorial towers, enshrine Buddha images, offer food to Sramanas, hang silk screens, light lamps, scatter flowers, and burn incense. With a wish for rebirth in that land, they should transfer their merits to others. When they die, Amitayus Buddha will magically manifest a copy of Himself, who is just as radiant and splendid as a real Buddha, to appear, together with a holy multitude, before them. They will follow this magically manifested Buddha to His land, and will abide in the spiritual level of no regress. Their merit and wisdom will be below those in the high class.” The Buddha told Ananda, “In the low class are gods and humans in worlds in the ten directions who earnestly wish to be reborn in that land. Although they are unable to acquire various merits, they should activate the unsurpassed bodhi mind and, with a wish for rebirth in that land, single-mindedly think ten thoughts of Amitayus Buddha. If they hear the profound Dharma, they should delight and believe in it without raising doubts. Even if they think only one thought of that Buddha, with utmost sincerity they should resolve to be reborn in His land. When they die, they will dream of that Buddha and will be reborn in His land. Their merit and wisdom are below those in the middle class.”
We will first translate this part of the Sutra into vernacular Chinese.
The Buddha told Ananda, “Those who are reborn in that land all belong in the group of sentient beings that definitely abide in correct samadhi. Why? Because in that Buddha Land, there is neither wrong knowledge, wrong views, heterodox thoughts, nor confused thoughts. Buddha-Tathagatas in worlds in the ten directions, who are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, each praise Amitayus Buddha’s inconceivable awesome spirit and merit. If sentient beings who hear His name elicit faith and joy and read out His name only one time, or in but one thought with an earnest wish for rebirth in that land, they will be reborn there and attain the spiritual level of no regress in the Pure Land. Excepted are those (Buddha, and the attempt to bring about a schism in the Buddhist monastic community) or maligned the true Dharma.”
The Buddha told Ananda, “Gods and humans in worlds in the ten directions who believe in Amitabha Buddha and earnestly wish to be reborn in that land are grouped into three classes.
- In the high class are those who have renounced family life, abandoned desires, and become sramanas. They should activate the unsurpassed bodhi mind and constantly think only of Amitayus Buddha. They should accumulate and transfer their merits to others and resolve to be reborn in His land. When they die, Amitayus Buddha, together with a holy multitude, will appear before them, and they will follow that Buddha to His land. They will be naturally reborn in lotus flowers made of the seven treasures, and they will abide in the spiritual level of no regress. Their wisdom will be keen, and they will have command of transcendental powers. Therefore, Ananda, if there are sentient beings that wish to see Amitayus Buddha in their present life, they should activate the unsurpassed bodhi mind, accumulate all altruistic meritorious deeds, and resolve to be reborn in His land.”
- The Buddha told Ananda, “In the middle class are gods and humans in worlds in the ten directions who earnestly wish to be reborn in that land, but are unable to become Sramanas and to accumulate merit on a large scale. They should activate the unsurpassed bodhi mind and constantly think only of Amitayus Buddha as they cultivate goodness on a smaller scale. They should observe the pure precepts, erect memorial towers, enshrine Buddha images, offer food to sramanas, hang silk screens, light lamps, scatter flowers, and burn incense, as offerings to Buddhas. With a wish for rebirth in that land, they should transfer their merits to that end. When they die, Amitayus Buddha will magically manifest a copy of Himself, who is just as radiant and splendid as a real Buddha, to appear, together with a holy multitude, before them. They will follow this magically manifested Buddha to His land, and will abide in the spiritual level of no regress. Their merit and wisdom will be below those in the high class.”
- The Buddha told Ananda, “In the low class are gods and humans in worlds in the ten directions who earnestly wish to be reborn in that land. Although they are unable to acquire various merits, they should activate the unsurpassed bodhi mind and, with a wish for rebirth in that land, single-mindedly think ten thoughts of Amitayus Buddha. If they hear the profound Dharma, they should delight and believe in it without raising doubts. Even if they think only one thought of that Buddha with utmost sincerity they should resolve to be reborn in His land. When they die, they will dream of that Buddha and will be reborn in His land as they wish. Their merit and wisdom are below those in the middle class.”
In the above part of the scripture, the Buddha tells us that those beings who have been born into the Pure Land are instantly blessed by the perfect light of Amitabha Buddha the very moment of rebirth. When the lotus flowers bloom and they see the Buddha, they have all settled in the state of correct Samadhi. In the Pure Land, there is no such thing as wrong knowledge, wrong views, heterodox thoughts or confused thoughts.
In the human path of our world, sentient beings have a variety of wrong knowledge, wrong views and confused thoughts, and it is normal for them to be perturbed by the external circumstances. Even though some practitioners have embarked on the initial stage of quieting their minds, they are still not able to completely free themselves from killing, stealing and lust to enter correct Samadhi, without which, it is difficult for Buddhist disciples to have a true insight into and attain Buddhas’ views. Therefore, in the human path of our world, in order to make His disciples enter correct Samadhi, Shakyamuni Buddha manifested an image of renouncing family life and abandoning desires and established over a hundred precepts to help his disciples concentrate. After getting reborn in the Pure Land, all sentient beings naturally abide in correct Samadhi. Accordingly, Buddha-Tathagatas in worlds in the ten directions, who are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, each praise Amitayus Buddha’s inconceivable awesome spirit and merit.
Next, the Buddha introduces the simple method of getting reborn into the West Pure Land— if sentient beings who hear His name elicit faith and delight with an earnest wish for rebirth in that land, recite Amitabha Buddha’s name only one time with utmost sincerity or in but one thought wish to get reborn in the Pure Land, they will be reborn there and attain the spiritual fruit level of no regress.
Those who follow the Bodhisattva path in our world and attain the spiritual level of no regress are called Bodhisattvas of eighth stage and above, which means, they have attained a state in which they will no longer be perturbed by all marks and will never regress to a lower stage. The Buddha ascertains here that sentient beings who are reborn into the Pure Land and see Buddha as the lotus flowers unfold, they will attain the level of no regress enjoyed by bodhisattvas of eighth stage of calmness. All who meet the above-mentioned conditions will get reborn in the Pure Land excepted are those who have committed any of the five deadly sins or maligned the true Dharma. They are not welcomed until they repent and thoroughly mend their ways to accord with the Pure Land. If then they resolve to get reborn, they will achieve what they wish. Therefore, if maras want to get reborn in Amitabha Buddha’s land, they’d better not malign true Dharma for the sake of empty benefits and losses in the World of Saha. In the Pure Land Buddhas provide gods with wealth and nobility, comfort and happiness superior to celestial beings of heavens.
In this part of the Sutra, the Buddha says that Gods and humans in worlds in the ten directions who earnestly wish to be reborn in that land should activate the unsurpassed bodhi mind and according to their stock of merits, they receive three types of guidance treatment. They are grouped into three classes, often referred to as “the three classes to be reborn”. The most outstanding are the high-class Bodhisattvas. When they die, Amitayus Buddha, together with a holy multitude, will appear before them, and welcome them to His land. Taking the true benefits into account, the Buddha told His Hinayana disciples represented by Ananda that if they want to see Amitabha Buddha in their present life, they should activate the unsurpassed bodhi mind and perform various altruistic meritorious deeds. Even if sentient beings find themselves in the period of Antarabhava, an interval or intermediate period of experience between death and rebirth, they are still in their present life, because at this stage, they have not reincarnated into next life yet. Therefore, if they see Amitabha Buddha during the period of Antarabhava, it still means that they see Amitabha Buddha in their present life.
The methods to get reborn in the Pure Land are quite simple— it only requires sentient beings to initiate a wish for rebirth or recite the name of Amitabha Buddha. Celestial beings and those disciples constantly following the Buddha in the human world have the power of Samadhi. As long as they initiate a wish for rebirth, they can easily focus on this thought and not forget it. Backed by activation of the unsurpassed Bodhi mind and accumulation of various merits and good deeds, they will be naturally reborn in the Pure Land and enjoy the special treatment of guidance promised to the three classes.
But human beings and beings of three evil paths have no power of Samadhi. Discursive thoughts, drowsiness, and recurrent memory loss, lack of concentration are their notable features. Under unusual circumstances, boiling with their habits and desires, they are unable to immediately recall their wish for rebirth and recite the name of Amitabha Buddha. For example, the time period during which human beings are supposed to get reborn into the Pure Land is the period of Antarabhava, an interval or intermediate period of experience between death and rebirth. At this stage, they have not reincarnated into other forms of life yet.
During this period of Antarabhava, due to the fusion and convergence of the two potential energies of living on and dying, all the illusions about what humans have experienced throughout their lives are presented. Practitioners will involuntarily immerse themselves in the joys and sorrows, as well as in daily affairs, as if they were alive. They don’t even know that they are dead. so they do not stand in urgent need of getting reborn in the Pure Land. Even if one sincerely wishes to be reborn in the West Pure Land while alive, in the period of Antarabhava, influenced by illusions, one suffers confusions and memory loss and forgets the name of Amitabha Buddha and the wish to get reborn. This kind of forgetfulness leads to the missing of the best time for rebirth and reentering the cycle of reincarnation.
For those who have no Samadhibala to overcome drowsiness and confused thoughts, yet want to get reborn in the Pure Land, they need to solve the problem of recalling the name of Amitabha Buddha during the period of Antarabhava.