佛說阿彌陀經 勸願流通

By this passage everything that had to be said has been said. What remains is the closing.

And the closing does three things: it opens the gate of aspiration as wide as it will go, it turns the direction of the testimony around, and at the end it says one very heavy sentence.

Where the Aspiration Is, the Birth Is

“If there are people who have already made the aspiration, who now make the aspiration, or who will make the aspiration, wishing to be born in the land of the Buddha Amitābha” … “and in that land they are either already born, or are now born, or will be born.”

Two triads of the three times, answering one another before and after. From of old they have been matched one to one: those who aspired already were born in the past, those who aspire now are born now, those who will aspire will be born in the future.

The symmetry is so exact that it is almost mathematical. But what it means to say is very plain: with aspiration there is no such thing as having missed it.

Whoever did not aspire in the past may aspire now; whoever does not aspire now may still aspire later. The sūtra sets no closing date, and does not say that one of the three times is better than another.

As for why making the aspiration is itself the attainment of non-retrogression, the answer given of old is a twofold support: first, that Buddha adds his unseen aid; second, this Buddha guards in silence — Amitābha lending hidden support from that side, Śākyamuni standing quiet watch on this side.

Two buddhas, one far and one near, holding up one and the same aspiration.

The Testimony Runs Both Ways

“Just as I now praise the inconceivable merits of the buddhas, so those buddhas also praise my inconceivable merits.”

In the eighth passage the buddhas of the six directions bore witness for Śākyamuni. Here that is turned around: Śākyamuni praises the buddhas, and the buddhas praise Śākyamuni.

The testimony runs both ways. It is not one party endorsing another; each bears witness for the other.

What Is Praised Is Awakening Amid the Dregs

And what the buddhas praise is not Śākyamuni’s wisdom, his powers, or his lifespan, but one very concrete thing: that in the evil age of five turbidities he attained awakening, and proclaimed for beings this Dharma hard to believe.

What is “turbidity”? The explanation given of old is plain: turbidity has the sense of dregs and filth — like the dregs and filth in food, low and foul and able to defile what it touches.

The turbidity of the aeon, of views, of afflictions, of beings, of lifespan — these are not five disasters but five aspects of one and the same age: the age has gone bad, views have gone bad, afflictions have grown heavy, the quality of beings has declined, and lifespans have shortened.

And one further word was added of old, from the reverse side: where beings have no suffering, the transformation-body buddha does not appear in the world.

A buddha appears in the world precisely because the age is bad enough.

And what is that “exceedingly difficult and rare deed”? — it is the deed of bearing suffering while teaching and converting beings. Not that awakening is difficult, but that awakening in such a place, and then speaking to such beings, is difficult.

The Last Word Is: Hard

“Know that in the evil age of five turbidities I carry out this difficult deed, attain unsurpassed perfect awakening, and proclaim for all the world this Dharma hard to believe — this is exceedingly difficult!”

Within one passage the word “difficult” stands five times.

The nine passages before it were all saying how good that land is and how simple that gate of practice is — and in the last sentence the Buddha says: in fact this is very hard.

Hard where? Not in the doing, but in the believing. What the sūtra says is “a Dharma hard to believe.”

Holding fast to the name, single-minded for seven days, is not hard to carry out; what is hard is believing that this is enough, believing that such a place really exists, believing that one utterance of a name outweighs the karma of measureless aeons.

So at the end the Buddha does not exhort once more; he admits: I know this is hard to believe, and I have said it all the same.

The practice is easy and the believing is hard — that is just how this sūtra stands.

And Departed

“When the Buddha had finished speaking this sūtra, Śāriputra and the bhikṣus, together with the gods, humans, asuras, and others of all the world, having heard what the Buddha had spoken, rejoiced and received it in faith, made obeisance, and departed.”

The last word of the introduction is “together” — everyone in one place. The last words of the transmission part are “and departed” — each going his own way.

A Dharma assembly ends here. The sūtra gives no account of what they did after they dispersed.

That part is not in the sūtra.

Kumārajīva’s translation, T12n0366, from “Śāriputra! If there are people who have already made the aspiration, who now make the aspiration, or who will make the aspiration” to the sūtra’s closing words, “made obeisance, and departed.” The bracketed figures at the head of each segment give the Taishō page, register, and line.

〔1 · Aspiration in the three times: the arising of the mind for birth in that land〕（0348a13）Śāriputra! If there are people who have already made the aspiration, who now make the aspiration, or who will make the aspiration, wishing to be born in the land of the Buddha Amitābha —

〔2 · The disclosure of its surpassing benefit〕（0348a14）all these persons attain non-retrogression with respect to unsurpassed perfect awakening,

〔3 · Placed within the three times〕（0348a15）and in that land they are either already born, or are now born, or will be born.

〔4 · The exhortation to be born in that land〕（0348a16）Therefore, Śāriputra! Good sons and good daughters, if they have trust, should make the aspiration to be born in that land.

〔5 · Those buddhas praise me〕（0348a18）Śāriputra! Just as I now praise the inconceivable merits of the buddhas, so those buddhas also praise my inconceivable merits, speaking these words:

〔6 · Praise of the difficult deed〕（0348a20）“The Buddha Śākyamuni (“Śākya” means in Chinese “able in benevolence,” and “Muni” means “still and silent”) is able to perform an exceedingly difficult and rare deed. In the land of Sahā (Sanskrit Sahā, meaning in Chinese “able to endure,” because the beings there can bear and endure every kind of suffering and distress), in the evil age of five turbidities — the turbidity of the aeon, the turbidity of views, the turbidity of afflictions, the turbidity of beings, and the turbidity of lifespan — he has attained unsurpassed perfect awakening, and for the sake of beings he proclaims this Dharma which all the world finds hard to believe.”

〔7 · Our Buddha’s own declaration〕（0348a23）Śāriputra! Know that in the evil age of five turbidities I carry out this difficult deed, attain unsurpassed perfect awakening, and proclaim for all the world this Dharma hard to believe — this is exceedingly difficult!

〔8 · The transmission part〕（0348a26）When the Buddha had finished speaking this sūtra, Śāriputra and the bhikṣus, together with the gods, humans, asuras, and others of all the world, having heard what the Buddha had spoken, rejoiced and received it in faith, made obeisance to the Buddha, and departed.

By this passage everything that had to be said has been said: what that land looks like, the name of that buddha, how one gets there, the testimony of the buddhas of the six directions, why this sūtra bears the name it bears.

What remains is the closing.

And the closing does three things: it opens the gate of aspiration as wide as it will go, it turns the direction of the testimony around, and at the end it says one very heavy sentence.

The Cien line reads this place as great sections four, five, and six of the main body — aspiration made in the three times, those honoured ones praising him and all calling it a rarity, our own Buddha stating that his alone was the difficult deed — and adds to them the transmission part. The last four divisions of the whole sūtra all lie inside this one passage.

Three Tenses

“Śāriputra! If there are people who have already made the aspiration, who now make the aspiration, or who will make the aspiration, wishing to be born in the land of the Buddha Amitābha: all these persons attain non-retrogression with respect to unsurpassed perfect awakening, and in that land they are either already born, or are now born, or will be born.”

Two triads of the three times, answering one another before and after: already aspired — now aspiring — will aspire; already born — now born — will be born.

The reading handed down matches them one to one: those who aspired already were born in the past; those who aspire now are born now; those who will aspire will be born in the future.

The symmetry is so exact that it is almost mathematical. But what it means to say is very plain: with aspiration there is no such thing as having missed it.

Whoever did not aspire in the past may aspire now; whoever does not aspire now may still aspire later. And once the aspiration is made, birth in that land stands established at the answering moment. The sūtra sets no closing date, and does not say that one of the three times is better than another.

As for why making the aspiration is itself the attainment of non-retrogression, the commentators answer with a twofold support: first, that Buddha adds his unseen aid; second, this Buddha guards in silence — Amitābha lending hidden support from that side, Śākyamuni standing quiet watch on this side. Thereby the mind that seeks the path does not retreat and the resolve to be born there does not turn away.

Two buddhas, one far and one near, holding up one and the same aspiration.

Testimony Turned the Other Way

“Śāriputra! Just as I now praise the inconceivable merits of the buddhas, so those buddhas also praise my inconceivable merits.”

In the eighth passage the buddhas of the six directions bore witness for Śākyamuni, testifying that this sūtra could be trusted. Here that is turned around: Śākyamuni praises the buddhas, and the buddhas praise Śākyamuni.

The commentators put the point plainly: the Tathāgata Amitābha receives and draws beings in with compassion; from this side we single that Buddha out for praise, and those buddhas turn and praise the one who is speaking here.

The testimony runs both ways. It is not one party endorsing another; each bears witness for the other.

And what the buddhas praise in Śākyamuni is not his wisdom, his powers, or his lifespan, but one very concrete thing:

The Evil Age of Five Turbidities

“The Buddha Śākyamuni is able to perform an exceedingly difficult and rare deed. In the land of Sahā, in the evil age of five turbidities — the turbidity of the aeon, the turbidity of views, the turbidity of afflictions, the turbidity of beings, and the turbidity of lifespan — he has attained unsurpassed perfect awakening, and for the sake of beings he proclaims this Dharma which all the world finds hard to believe.”

“Śākya” means in Chinese “able in benevolence,” and “Muni” means “still and silent.” “Sahā” means in Chinese “able to endure” — because the beings there can bear and endure every kind of suffering and distress, that land is called the Enduring.

And what is “turbidity”? The commentators explain it very plainly: turbidity has the sense of dregs and filth — like the dregs and filth in food, low and foul and able to defile what it touches; and so it is called turbidity.

The five turbidities — of the aeon, of views, of afflictions, of beings, of lifespan — are not five disasters but five aspects of one and the same age: the age itself has gone bad, views have gone bad, afflictions have grown heavy, the quality of beings has declined, and lifespans have shortened.

The commentators add the reverse case as well: in a time of the aeon’s increase the three disasters gradually lighten, afflictions grow thin, beings turn toward the good, evil views grow faint, and the faculty of life lengthens; and where beings have no suffering, the transformation-body buddha does not appear in the world.

That sentence gives one a start on reading it. A buddha appears in the world precisely because the age is bad enough.

And what is that “exceedingly difficult and rare deed” which the buddhas praise? — the commentators answer: it is the deed of bearing suffering while teaching and converting beings.

Not that awakening is difficult, but that awakening in such a place, and then speaking to such beings, is difficult.

“This Is Exceedingly Hard”

“Śāriputra! Know that in the evil age of five turbidities I carry out this difficult deed, attain unsurpassed perfect awakening, and proclaim for all the world this Dharma hard to believe — this is exceedingly difficult!”

Before this the buddhas said that Śākyamuni’s deed was difficult; in this sentence Śākyamuni himself admits that it is difficult.

Within one passage the word “difficult” occurs five times: an exceedingly difficult and rare deed, carrying out this difficult deed, a Dharma hard to believe, this is exceedingly difficult.

This is the place of heaviest feeling in the whole sūtra. The nine passages before it were all saying how good that land is, how simple that gate of practice is, how easy birth in that land is — and in the last sentence the Buddha says: in fact this is very hard.

Hard where? Not in the doing, but in the believing. What the sūtra says is “a Dharma hard to believe” — a Dharma that all the world finds hard to believe.

A gate of practice called holding fast to the name, single-minded for seven days, is not hard to carry out; what is hard is believing that this is enough. What is hard is believing that such a place really exists. What is hard is believing that one utterance of a name outweighs the karma of measureless aeons.

So at the end the Buddha does not exhort once more; he admits: I know this is hard to believe, and I have said it all the same.

A sūtra that speaks of ease everywhere ends by speaking of difficulty. The two do not contradict each other — the practice is easy and the believing is hard, and that is just how this sūtra stands.

The Whole Sūtra, Walked Through Once

Standing at the last passage and looking back, the route of this sūtra is in fact perfectly clear.

First the place is given: from here westward, past a hundred thousand koṭis of buddha-lands, there is a world named Ultimate Bliss. Then the setting: railings, pools of water, heavenly music, ground of gold, drifting flowers, flocks of birds, the sound of the wind — layer upon layer the place is built up, built up until “those who hear these sounds all naturally give rise to mindfulness of the Buddha, mindfulness of the Dharma, and mindfulness of the Saṅgha.” Then the buddha’s name: light without measure, life without measure — therefore he is called Amitābha. Then the assurance: those born in that land are all of non-retrogression, and there are final-birth bodhisattvas beyond counting. Only then the method: hold fast to the name, from one day up to seven, single-minded and undisturbed. Then the proof: buddhas of the six directions, as many as the sands of the Gaṅgā, all saying one and the same thing. Then the sūtra’s name: held in the guarded and kept in mind by all the buddhas. Last the tenses: already aspired, now aspiring, will aspire — any of them will do.

Of these eight steps only the fifth is something a person is asked to do. The other seven all say on what grounds one may believe that the fifth step is worth doing.

That proportion is itself a way of teaching. It grants one thing: people do not act because they are required to; they act because they believe.

So this sūtra spends seven parts of its strength on persuading and three on pointing the way. And its last sentence still admits that persuading was hard from the start.

They Rejoiced, Received It in Faith, Made Obeisance, and Departed

“When the Buddha had finished speaking this sūtra, Śāriputra and the bhikṣus, together with the gods, humans, asuras, and others of all the world, having heard what the Buddha had spoken, rejoiced and received it in faith, made obeisance, and departed.”

The transmission part is a single sentence.

In the introduction those people came, sat down, and waited for a word; here they have heard it out, rejoice, receive it in faith, make obeisance, and leave.

The last word of the introduction is “together” — everyone in one place. The last words of the transmission part are “and departed” — each going his own way.

Many sūtras give much more in their transmission part: a certain bodhisattva vows to uphold it, a certain heavenly king swears to guard it, and whoever receives and keeps it in a later age will gain such and such a recompense. This sūtra has none of that.

It writes only four actions: hearing, rejoicing, receiving in faith, making obeisance and departing. No one stays behind to ask a question, no one asks for it to be spoken again, and no one is given a charge to carry.

And this answers exactly to the introduction. In the introduction no one asked, and the Buddha opened his mouth of himself; in the transmission part no one asks for a charge, and the assembly disperses of itself. From beginning to end, this sūtra is spoken by the Buddha on his own initiative.

A Dharma assembly ends here. And the sūtra gives no account of what those people did after they dispersed.

That part is not in the sūtra.

Carrying Forward — One Line Matches the Three Times, the Other Chants the Five Turbidities

Above is the meaning of this passage itself. Below, two Tang eyes cast their light from the side — the mirror is not the sūtra; only the same closing passage, seen through two ways of reading.

The Cien line is the reading of Kuiji’s Comprehensive Praise Commentary. The four subdivisions of aspiration made in the three times; the matching of aspiration with birth one to one; the two forces of “that Buddha adds his unseen aid, this Buddha guards in silence”; the sense of the names Śākyamuni and Sahā; the explanation of the name “turbidity” together with the distinction between the aeon’s increase and its decrease — the frame of the present piece comes from there throughout.

His section explaining the five turbidities is extremely long, unfolding in five approaches: explaining the name, setting out the substance, the counteragents, what is set aside and what established, and mutual inclusion. Only the passage explaining the name is taken here; the remaining four approaches belong to a broad discussion of technical terms, and it is recorded that they were not taken.

The Shandao line, in the Liturgical Hymns, recites this passage down to “made obeisance, and departed” — the whole sūtra is recited through to that point; and the hymn of praise that follows sings the five turbidities out one by one: ignorance stubborn and hard like a high peak, the turbidity of beings in its evil like snakes and dragons, the turbidity of afflictions filling everywhere beyond the number of dust-motes, the thicket of the turbidity of views like thorns, and within the turbidity of lifespan dying young in an instant. The line of doctrinal explanation divides the five turbidities into five approaches and analyses them; the line of ritual practice gives each turbidity a figure. Read the commentary and then hear the hymn, and the five turbidities are no longer merely five terms.

As for Xuanzang’s recension, one divergence of sequence in this passage is worth recording: Kumārajīva has “already made the aspiration, now make the aspiration, will make the aspiration,” while Xuanzang has “whether they have already made the aspiration, whether they will make the aspiration, whether they now make the aspiration” — the second and third of the three times exchanged. Both recensions are recorded; neither is adjudicated.

One line matches the three times into an even figure; the other chants the five turbidities one by one into images. Both are recorded without adjudication, each returned to its own place.