..续本文上一页 gather in and rescue all sentient beings who concentrate in Him.

　　更无方便接引之义。不如阿弥陀佛本愿力。光明力。但有念佛众生。摄取不舍。

　　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.

　　又释迦佛。说九品教门。方便接引。殷勤发遣。生彼净土。但众生能念弥陀佛者。机感相应。必得生也。如世间慕人。能受慕者。机会相投。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.

　　二者兜率天宫。是欲界退位者多。无有水鸟树林。风声乐响。众生闻者。悉念佛发菩提心。伏灭烦恼。又有女人。皆长诸天爱。着五欲之心。又天女微妙。诸天耽玩。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

　　不如弥陀净土。水鸟树林。风声乐响。众生闻者。皆生念佛发菩提心。伏灭烦恼。又无女人二乘之心。纯一大乘。清净良伴。为此。烦恼恶业毕竟不起。遂至无生之位。如此比校。优劣显然。何须致疑也。

　　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.

　　如释迦佛在世之时。大有众生。见佛不得圣果者。如恒沙。弥勒出世亦尔。大有不得圣果者。未如弥陀净土。但生彼国已。悉得无生法忍。未有一人。退落三界。为生死业缚也。

　　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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