..續本文上一頁 gather in and rescue all sentient beings who concentrate in Him.

　　更無方便接引之義。不如阿彌陀佛本願力。光明力。但有念佛衆生。攝取不舍。

　　Moreover, when Buddha Sakyamuni explained the meaning of the “welcoming and escorting” expedient in his exposition of the nine grades of rebirth, he earnestly enjoined sentient beings to seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land. This expedient is very simple. The practitioner need only recite the name of Amitabha and, thanks to the congruence of sentiment and response, he will immediately achieve rebirth. This is analogous to an enlistment campaign: those who wish to join the army may do so immediately, as their desire parallels the goal of the state.

　　又釋迦佛。說九品教門。方便接引。殷勤發遣。生彼淨土。但衆生能念彌陀佛者。機感相應。必得生也。如世間慕人。能受慕者。機會相投。必成其事。

　　B) Secondly, the Tushita Heaven is, after all, still within the Realm of Desire (to which our Saha World also belongs). Therefore, those who retrogress are legion. In that Heaven, the birds, rivers, forests, trees, wind ... do not preach the Dharma and thus cannot help sentient beings destroy afflictions, focus on the Triple Jewel nor develop the Bodhi Mind. Moreover, in that realm, there are goddesses who kindle the five desires in the Minds of celestial beings, to the point where few of them escape distraction and infatuation.

　　二者兜率天宮。是欲界退位者多。無有水鳥樹林。風聲樂響。衆生聞者。悉念佛發菩提心。伏滅煩惱。又有女人。皆長諸天愛。著五欲之心。又天女微妙。諸天耽玩。不能自勉。

　　How can this be compared to the Western Pure Land, where the trees and birds proclaim the wonderful Dharma and the wind sings enlightenment, destroying the afflictions of sentient beings and reinforcing the Bodhi Mind of practitioners

　　 Moreover, in the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha, there are no seductive beings or beings concerned with self-enlightenment alone. There are only pure vessels of the Mahayana way. Therefore, afflictions and evil karma cannot arise. Under these circumstances, how can cultivators fail to achieve the stage of non-retrogression swiftly

　　 We have only drawn a few points of comparison, yet the differences between the Pure Land and the Tushita Heaven are already obvious. How can there be any further doubt or hesitation

　　不如彌陀淨土。水鳥樹林。風聲樂響。衆生聞者。皆生念佛發菩提心。伏滅煩惱。又無女人二乘之心。純一大乘。清淨良伴。爲此。煩惱惡業畢竟不起。遂至無生之位。如此比校。優劣顯然。何須致疑也。

　　Moreover, seeing the Bodhisattva Maitreya and achieving the fruits of Arhatship is not necessarily a sure thing! During the lifetime of Buddha Sakyamuni, there were many who saw the Buddha but did not achieve Sagehood. In the future, when the Bodhisattva Maitreya appears in the world, the same will be true: countless sentient beings will see Him and listen to the Dharma but not attain Arhatship. Such is not the case in the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha: to be reborn there is to be assured of attaining the Tolerance of Non-Birth, with no possible retrogression to the Triple World nor bondage to the karma of Birth and Death.

　　如釋迦佛在世之時。大有衆生。見佛不得聖果者。如恒沙。彌勒出世亦爾。大有不得聖果者。未如彌陀淨土。但生彼國已。悉得無生法忍。未有一人。退落叁界。爲生死業縛也。

　　In the Accounts of theWestern Land, (i.e., India), there is the story of three Bodhisattvas, Asanga, Vasubandhu and Simhabhadra, all of whom practiced meditation, determined to seek rebirth in the Tushita Heaven. They all vowed that if the first one of them to die were reborn in the Inner Court of the Tushita Heaven and saw the Bodhisattva Maitreya, he would return and inform the others. Simhabhadra died first, but a long time elapsed and he still had not returned. Later, when Vasubandhu was nearing death, Asanga said to him, “After paying your respects to Maitreya, come back and let me know right away.” Vasubandhu died, but did not return for three years. Asanga inquired, “Why did it take you so long

　　” Vasubandhu answered, “After paying my respects to the Bodhisattva Maitreya, listening to His sermon and exhortations, and respectfully circumambulating Him three times, I came back immedi…

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