佛說觀無量壽佛經 上輩生想
前十三觀所看的是境。從這一觀起，所看的是人。
條件不是行，是心
「若有眾生願生彼國者，發三種心，即便往生。何等為三？一者、至誠心。二者、深心。三者、迴向發願心。」
然後經下了一句很硬的話：「具三心者必生彼國。」
不是或得往生。是必生。
另外那一組三
「復有三種眾生，當得往生。」
慈心不殺而具諸戒行，讀誦大乘方等經典，修行六念而迴向發願——三者並列，不是三級。
一個人不必樣樣都有。經只要求那一樣是真的，而且是迴向的。
時間短得出奇
「具此功德，一日乃至七日，即得往生。」
上品上生所需的時日，經給的是一日到七日。
差別寫在那個臺上
上上乘的是金剛臺，上中是紫金臺，上下是金蓮華。
到了那邊，開的遲疾也是三等：紫金臺「經宿即開」；金蓮華要「一日一夜蓮花乃開」，開了之後「七日之中乃得見佛」，見了佛還「於眾相好心不明了」，要到「三七日後乃了了見」。
臺不同，來迎的化佛數不同，見得清楚的早晚不同。
而三位都去了
差別說了一整段，可是三位的結語是同一句式：是名上品上生者、是名上品中生者、是名上品下生者。
差別在行這一邊，不在去得成去不成那一邊。
What the first thirteen contemplations looked at were objects. From this contemplation on, what is looked at is persons.
The Condition Is Not Practice but Mind
“If there are sentient beings who wish to be born in that land, they give rise to three kinds of mind and are born there at once. What are the three? The first is the mind of utmost sincerity; the second is the profound mind; the third is the mind that dedicates and directs and makes the vow.”
Then the sūtra lays down a very hard sentence: “One who is complete in these three minds will necessarily be born in that land.”
Not may attain birth there. Necessarily born there.
That Other Set of Three
“There are, further, three kinds of sentient beings who are to attain birth there.”
To be kindly of mind and not kill while complete in the various observances of the precepts; to read and recite the Vaipulya scriptures of the Great Vehicle; to cultivate the six recollections and dedicate and direct them with the vow — the three stand side by side, not in three ranks.
One person need not have every one of them. The sūtra asks only that the one he has be real, and that it be dedicated.
The Time Is Startlingly Short
“Complete in merit such as this, in one day or up to seven days one attains birth in that land.”
The days the sūtra gives for the highest birth of the highest grade are one day to seven days.
The Difference Is Written on the Terrace
The highest of the highest mounts the adamantine terrace, the middle of the highest the purple-gold terrace, the lowest of the highest a golden lotus flower.
On arrival there, the speed of the opening is likewise of three ranks: the purple-gold terrace “opens after a single night”; the golden lotus flower waits until “after one day and one night does the lotus flower open,” and once it has opened, “only within seven days does he attain the sight of the Buddha,” and even having seen the Buddha “his mind is not yet clear about the many marks and signs,” so that only “after three sevens of days does he see them clear and distinct.”
The terrace differs, the number of manifested buddhas coming to welcome differs, the time before the seeing is clear differs.
And All Three Positions Went
A whole passage is spent on differences, and yet the closing words of the three positions are one and the same in form: this is what is called one of the highest birth of the highest grade, one of the middle birth of the highest grade, one of the lowest birth of the highest grade.
The difference lies on the side of the practice, not on the side of whether the going succeeds or fails.
大正藏 T12n0365〔起 T12 0344c09〕。段／行首〔T12 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔T12 0344c09〕佛告阿難及韋提希：「凡生西方有九品人。上品上生者，若有眾生願生彼國者，發三種心，即便往生。何等為三？一者、至誠心。二者、深心。三者、迴向發願心。具三心者必生彼國。復有三種眾生，當得往生。何等為三？一者、慈心不殺，具諸戒行。二者、讀誦大乘方等經典。三者、修行六念，迴向發願生彼佛國。具此功德，一日乃至七日，即得往生。生彼國時，此人精進勇猛故，阿彌陀如來與觀世音及大勢至，無數化佛，百千比丘，聲聞大眾，無量諸天，七寶宮殿，觀世音菩薩執金剛臺，與大勢至菩薩至行者前。阿彌陀佛放大光明，照行者身，與諸菩薩授手迎接。觀世音、大勢至與無數菩薩，讚歎行者，勸進其心。行者見已，歡喜踊躍。自見其身乘金剛臺，隨從佛後，如彈指頃，往生彼國。生彼國已，見佛色身眾相具足，見諸菩薩色相具足。光明寶林，演說妙法。聞已即悟無生法忍。經須臾間歷事諸佛，遍十方界，於諸佛前次第受記。還至本國，得無量百千陀羅尼門，是名上品上生者。 〔T12 0345a04〕「上品中生者，不必受持讀誦方等經典。善解義趣，於第一義心不驚動，深信因果，不謗大乘；以此功德，迴向願求生極樂國。行此行者命欲終時，阿彌陀佛與觀世音及大勢至，無量大眾，眷屬圍繞，持紫金臺至行者前，讚言：『法子！汝行大乘，解第一義，是故我今來迎接汝。』與千化佛一時授手。行者自見坐紫金臺，合掌叉手，讚歎諸佛，如一念頃，即生彼國七寶池中。此紫金臺如大寶花，經宿即開。行者身作紫磨金色，足下亦有七寶蓮華。佛及菩薩俱放光明，照行者身，目即開明。因前宿習，普聞眾聲，純說甚深第一義諦。即下金臺，禮佛合掌讚歎世尊。經於七日，應時即於阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，得不退轉。應時即能飛至十方，歷事諸佛，於諸佛所修諸三昧。經一小劫得無生法忍，現前受記，是名上品中生者。 「上品下生者，亦信因果，不謗大乘，但發無上道心，以此功德，迴向願求生極樂國。彼行者命欲終時，阿彌陀佛及觀世音并大勢至，與諸眷屬持金蓮華，化作五百化佛，來迎此人。五百化佛一時授手，讚言：『法子！汝今清淨，發無上道心，我來迎汝。』見此事時，即自見身坐金蓮花。坐已華合，隨世尊後，即得往生七寶池中。一日一夜蓮花乃開，七日之中乃得見佛。雖見佛身，於眾相好心不明了，於三七日後乃了了見。聞眾音聲，皆演妙法。遊歷十方，供養諸佛。於諸佛前聞甚深法，經三小劫得百法明門，住歡喜地。是名上品下生者。是名上輩生想，名第十四觀。作是觀者，名為正觀。若他觀者，名為邪觀。」
The canonical text stands in Chinese only. This edition renders the essence, the plain reading, the exposition and the apparatus into English — never the sūtra itself. Switch to 漢讀本 or 並行雙語 above to read it.
宋畺良耶舍譯《佛說觀無量壽佛經》T12n0365 十六觀之第十四，散善三輩之首，自「佛告阿難及韋提希」至「若他觀者，名為邪觀」。段首（…）＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔上品上生〕
〔一·告命·辨定其位〕（0344c09）佛告訴阿難和韋提希：『凡是生到西方去的，有九品人。上品上生的那一種——
〔二·三心為正因〕（0344c10）若有眾生願意生到那個國土去的，發起三種心，當下就往生。哪三種呢？第一是至誠心，第二是深心，第三是迴向發願心。具足這三種心的人，必定生到那個國土。
〔三·三種眾生·受法不同〕（0344c13）另外還有三種眾生，應當得以往生。哪三種呢？第一是以慈心不殺生，具足種種戒行的人。第二是讀誦大乘方等經典的人。第三是修行六念（念佛、念法、念僧、念戒、念捨、念天），把所修迴向發願生到那位佛的國土去的人。
〔四·修業時節〕（0344c16）具足這樣的功德，一天乃至七天，就得以往生。
〔五·臨終聖來迎接〕（0344c17）生到那個國土的時候，因為這個人精進勇猛的緣故，阿彌陀如來與觀世音和大勢至，無數的化佛，百千比丘、聲聞大眾，無量的諸天，七寶的宮殿——觀世音菩薩手執金剛臺，與大勢至菩薩一同來到修行人的面前。阿彌陀佛放出大光明，照著修行人的身，與許多菩薩一齊伸手迎接。觀世音、大勢至與無數的菩薩，讚歎這位修行人，勸勉並策進他的心。修行人見了之後，歡喜踊躍。自己看見自己的身乘著金剛臺，隨從在佛的後面，只一彈指的工夫，就往生到那個國土。
〔六·生後得益〕（0344c25）生到那個國土之後，見到佛的色身種種相好具足，見到諸菩薩的色相具足。光明與寶林，都在演說微妙的法。聽了之後當下就悟得無生法忍。經過一個須臾的工夫，就一一奉事諸佛，遍歷十方世界，在諸佛面前依次得到授記。回到本國之後，得到無量百千的陀羅尼門（陀羅尼有二能：一能執持善法，二能遮止惡法，所以又叫總持）。這就叫做上品上生的人。
〔上品中生〕
〔七·位名·受法〕（0345a04）上品中生的那一種——不一定要受持讀誦方等經典，但能善巧地理解義理旨趣，對於第一義心裡不驚不動，深信因果，不誹謗大乘；以這樣的功德，迴向而願求生到極樂國去。
〔八·持臺來應〕（0345a07）修這樣行的人，臨命終的時候，阿彌陀佛與觀世音和大勢至，無量的大眾，眷屬圍繞著，手持紫金臺來到修行人的面前，讚歎說：『法子啊！你行的是大乘，理解第一義，所以我今天來迎接你。』
〔九·授手·去時遲疾〕（0345a11）與千尊化佛同時伸手。修行人自己看見自己坐在紫金臺上，合掌叉手，讚歎諸佛；如同一念的工夫，就生到那個國土的七寶池中。
〔十·到彼華開之時節〕（0345a13）這座紫金臺像一朵大寶花，經過一夜就開。
〔十一·華開之後得益〕（0345a14）修行人的身作紫磨金的顏色，腳下也有七寶的蓮華。佛與菩薩一齊放出光明，照著修行人的身，眼睛當下就張開明亮。因為先前宿世的習學，普遍聽見種種音聲，純粹在說甚深的第一義諦。他隨即走下金臺，禮佛合掌讚歎世尊。經過七天，應時就在無上正等正覺上得到不退轉。
〔十二·他方得益〕（0345a19）應時就能飛到十方去，一一奉事諸佛，在諸佛的處所修種種三昧。經過一小劫，得到無生法忍，當前得到授記。這就叫做上品中生的人。
〔上品下生〕
〔十三·位名·受法〕（0345a22）上品下生的那一種——也信因果，不誹謗大乘，只是發起無上道心；以這樣的功德，迴向而願求生到極樂國去。
〔十四·臨終迎接〕（0345a24）那位修行人臨命終的時候，阿彌陀佛與觀世音並大勢至，和許多眷屬手持金蓮華，化作五百尊化佛，前來迎接這個人。五百尊化佛同時伸手，讚歎說：『法子啊！你如今清淨，發起了無上道心，我來迎接你。』見到這件事的時候，隨即自己看見自己的身坐在金蓮花上。坐好之後花就合起來，隨從在世尊的後面，當下就得以往生到七寶池中。
〔十五·華開之時節〕（0345a29）一日一夜之後蓮花才開，七天之中才得以見佛。雖然見到佛身，對於種種相好心裡還不明了；到三個七日之後，才看得清清楚楚。
〔十六·得益〕（0345b03）聽見種種音聲，都在演說微妙的法。遊歷十方，供養諸佛。在諸佛面前聽聞甚深的法，經過三小劫得到百法明門（進入百法明門，增長智慧，思惟種種法門之義），住於歡喜地（初次證入聖處，多生歡喜）。這就叫做上品下生的人。
〔十七·總結〕（0345b05）這就叫做上輩生想，名為第十四觀。
〔十八·判正邪〕（0345b06）作這樣的觀，名為正觀；若作其他的觀，名為邪觀。』
Translated in the Liu Song by Kālayaśas, The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life, T12n0365, the fourteenth of the sixteen contemplations and the first of the three grades of the good done in a scattered mind, from “The Buddha told Ānanda and Vaidehī” down to “to make another contemplation is called wrong contemplation.” The figures at the head of each segment give the Taishō page, register, and line.
The Highest Birth of the Highest Grade
〔一 · The Charge, and the Fixing of the Position〕（0344c09）The Buddha told Ānanda and Vaidehī: “Of all who are born in the West there are persons of nine grades. As for the highest birth of the highest grade —
〔二 · The Three Minds as the Right Cause〕（0344c10）if there are sentient beings who wish to be born in that land, they give rise to three kinds of mind and are born there at once. What are the three? The first is the mind of utmost sincerity; the second is the profound mind; the third is the mind that dedicates and directs and makes the vow. One who is complete in these three minds will necessarily be born in that land.
〔三 · Three Kinds of Sentient Beings, Differing in the Dharma They Receive〕（0344c13）There are, further, three kinds of sentient beings who are to attain birth there. What are the three? The first are those who are kindly of mind and do not kill, and who are complete in the various observances of the precepts. The second are those who read and recite the Vaipulya scriptures of the Great Vehicle. The third are those who cultivate the six recollections (recollection of the Buddha, of the Dharma, of the Saṅgha, of the precepts, of relinquishment, and of the gods) and dedicate and direct what they have cultivated, vowing to be born in that buddha-land.
〔四 · The Time and Season of the Practice〕（0344c16）Complete in merit such as this, in one day or up to seven days one attains birth in that land.
〔五 · At the End of Life the Holy Ones Come to Welcome〕（0344c17）At the time of birth in that land, because this person has been energetic and courageous, Amitābha Tathāgata, together with Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, countless manifested buddhas, a hundred thousand bhikṣus and the great assembly of śrāvakas, measureless gods, and palaces of the seven precious substances — the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, holding the adamantine terrace in his hands, comes with the bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta before the practitioner. Amitābha Buddha sends forth a great light that shines upon the practitioner’s body, and together with the many bodhisattvas he stretches out his hand to welcome him. Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta, and countless bodhisattvas praise the practitioner and urge his mind onward. When the practitioner has seen this, he rejoices and leaps for joy. He sees his own body mounted upon the adamantine terrace, following behind the Buddha; and in the time of a single snap of the fingers he is born in that land.
〔六 · The Benefit Obtained after Birth There〕（0344c25）Once born in that land, he sees the Buddha’s form-body complete in all its marks, and sees the bodhisattvas complete in their forms and marks. The light and the jeweled groves are expounding the wondrous Dharma; and having heard it he at once awakens to the patience of non-arising. In the space of an instant he serves the buddhas one after another, ranging through the worlds of the ten directions, and before each of the buddhas receives the prediction in turn. Returning to his own land, he attains measureless hundreds of thousands of gates of dhāraṇī (dhāraṇī has two capacities: it can hold the good dharmas, and it can block the evil ones; hence it is also called total retention). This is what is called one of the highest birth of the highest grade.
The Middle Birth of the Highest Grade
〔七 · The Name of the Position; the Dharma Received〕（0345a04）As for the middle birth of the highest grade — such a one need not necessarily receive, hold, read, and recite the Vaipulya scriptures, but he understands well the drift of their meaning; toward the ultimate meaning his mind is neither startled nor shaken; he believes deeply in cause and effect and does not slander the Great Vehicle. With this merit he dedicates and directs it, vowing to seek birth in the land of Ultimate Bliss.
〔八 · The Terrace Is Borne and the Response Comes〕（0345a07）When one who practises this practice is about to end his life, Amitābha Buddha, together with Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta and a measureless great assembly, with his retinue surrounding him, bears the purple-gold terrace and comes before the practitioner, and praises him, saying: “Son of the Dharma! You have practised the Great Vehicle and understood the ultimate meaning; therefore I have come today to welcome you.”
〔九 · The Outstretched Hand; the Speed of the Going〕（0345a11）Together with a thousand manifested buddhas he stretches out his hand at one and the same time. The practitioner sees himself seated upon the purple-gold terrace, joining his palms with fingers interlaced and praising the buddhas; and in the space of a single thought he is born within the lotus pond of the seven precious substances in that land.
〔十 · The Time of the Flower’s Opening on Arrival There〕（0345a13）This purple-gold terrace is like a great jeweled flower, and after a single night it opens.
〔十一 · The Benefit Obtained after the Flower Opens〕（0345a14）The practitioner’s body takes on the colour of purple-tinged gold, and beneath his feet too are lotus flowers of the seven precious substances. The Buddha and the bodhisattvas together send forth light that shines upon the practitioner’s body, and his eyes at once open and are bright. Because of what he had learned in former lives, he hears everywhere all manner of sounds, purely expounding the utterly profound ultimate truth. He then descends from the golden terrace, pays homage to the Buddha, joins his palms, and praises the World-Honored One. After seven days have passed, at that very time he attains non-retrogression in unsurpassed perfect awakening.
〔十二 · The Benefit Obtained in Other Quarters〕（0345a19）At that very time he is able to fly to the ten directions, serving the buddhas one after another and cultivating all manner of samādhis in the places of the buddhas. After one small kalpa has passed he attains the patience of non-arising and receives the prediction there present. This is what is called one of the middle birth of the highest grade.
The Lowest Birth of the Highest Grade
〔十三 · The Name of the Position; the Dharma Received〕（0345a22）As for the lowest birth of the highest grade — such a one also believes in cause and effect and does not slander the Great Vehicle; he only gives rise to the mind set on the unsurpassed path. With this merit he dedicates and directs it, vowing to seek birth in the land of Ultimate Bliss.
〔十四 · The Welcome at the End of Life〕（0345a24）When that practitioner is about to end his life, Amitābha Buddha, together with Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta and with many of his retinue, bears a golden lotus flower, manifests five hundred manifested buddhas, and comes to welcome this person. The five hundred manifested buddhas stretch out their hands at one and the same time and praise him, saying: “Son of the Dharma! You are now pure, and you have given rise to the mind set on the unsurpassed path; I have come to welcome you.” When he sees this, he at once sees his own body seated upon a golden lotus flower. When he is seated, the flower closes; and following behind the World-Honored One he at once attains birth within the lotus pond of the seven precious substances.
〔十五 · The Time of the Flower’s Opening〕（0345a29）Only after one day and one night does the lotus flower open, and only within seven days does he attain the sight of the Buddha. Though he sees the Buddha’s body, his mind is not yet clear about the many marks and signs; only after three sevens of days does he see them clear and distinct.
〔十六 · The Benefit Obtained〕（0345b03）He hears all manner of sounds, and all are expounding the wondrous Dharma. He roams through the ten directions and makes offerings to the buddhas. In the presence of the buddhas he hears the utterly profound Dharma; and after three small kalpas have passed he attains the hundred-dharma gate of illumination (entering the hundred-dharma gate of illumination, his wisdom grows and he reflects upon the meaning of the manifold gates of the Dharma) and abides in the Ground of Joy (realizing the holy place for the first time, and much joy arising). This is what is called one of the lowest birth of the highest grade.
〔十七 · General Conclusion〕（0345b05）This is called the image of birth in the highest grade, and it is named the fourteenth contemplation.
〔十八 · The Judgment of Right and Wrong〕（0345b06）To make this contemplation is called right contemplation; to make another contemplation is called wrong contemplation.”
前十三觀所觀的都是境：日、水、地、樹、池、樓、座、像、佛身、觀音、勢至、自身、丈六像。第十四觀起，所觀的換成了人——九種將要生到那個國土去的人，以及他們臨終那一刻所遇見的事。
善導《觀經四帖疏》把三輩九品判作散善，並先立十一門作為通式，一品一品逐門對過去，說這樣就成一百番義；他又把上品三位分別定為「大乘上善凡夫」「大乘次善凡夫」「大乘下善凡夫」。智顗《觀無量壽佛經疏》則把三品各配一個位次，說上品當道種、中品當性種、下品當習種。九品之人究竟是凡是聖，兩家所判判然不同，各自的理由都在自己的書裡。此下所講的是經。
先說心，不先說行
經文開口第一句是總標：「凡生西方有九品人。」
接著就進上品上生。而上品上生的第一個條件，不是誦了多少經、持了多少戒：
「若有眾生願生彼國者，發三種心，即便往生。何等為三？一者、至誠心。二者、深心。三者、迴向發願心。」
三種心。而且經下了一句很硬的斷語：「具三心者必生彼國。」
「必」字在這部經裡不常出現。經沒有說『或得往生』，說的是必生。
至誠心：不許外面好看
三心之首是至誠心。至者真，誠者實——古來的解法把這兩個字拆開來講，說的是同一件事：真實。
而真實的反面說得極重。歷來的讀法把它叫做「雜毒之善」：外面現出賢善精進的樣子，裡面懷著虛假；縱使苦勵身心，日夜十二時急走急作，像火燒著頭髮那樣拼命，仍舊只是雜毒之善、虛假之行。要拿這樣的行迴向求生那個國土，說是必不可。
這個判準嚴到讓人不安。你若照著它回頭看自己所做的功課，大概找不出幾件是全然乾淨的。
但它的理由不在人這一邊，在佛那一邊：彼佛因中行菩薩行的時候，乃至一念一剎那，三業所修都是真實心中所作。所迴向的地方既是那樣造出來的，所迴向的行就不能是另一種東西。
這一條不是拿來篩人的，是拿來對準方向的。
深心：兩重決定
三心之次是深心。古來的讀法只給它一個定義：深心就是深信之心。而深信有兩重——
第一重，決定深信自己現在是罪惡生死凡夫，曠劫以來常沒常流轉，沒有出離的因緣。
第二重，決定深信彼佛四十八願攝受眾生，無疑無慮，乘那個願力必定得生。
這兩重是同一個「決定」的兩面。前一重把自己看到底，後一重把佛願信到底。古來的讀法把二者並作一個深心的兩種，不分成兩心——兩重同時決定，才叫深。
迴向發願心：不被人說動
三心之三是迴向發願心。過去以及今生身口意所修的一切世間與出世間的善根，以及隨喜他人所修的一切善根，全都以真實深信之心迴向，願生那個國土。
古來注家在此處加了一句：這個心的深信像金剛一樣，不被一切異見異學、別解別行的人所動亂破壞。
換句話說，這一心的考驗不在自己懈怠的時候，在別人開口的時候。
我們大概都認得那種鬆動：一件事本來已經定了，聽人說了一句『那樣不行吧』，心就晃了。古來注家把這句提醒放在迴向發願心底下，不是偶然——迴向是一個要一路走到底的動作，中途回顧一次，就落了道。
兩組三，不是一組
三心說完，經又說了一次「三」：
「復有三種眾生，當得往生。何等為三？一者、慈心不殺，具諸戒行。二者、讀誦大乘方等經典。三者、修行六念，迴向發願生彼佛國。」
這一組三是行，不是心。而三者之間是並列，不是遞進：一個人持戒修慈而不誦經，也算；一個人專誦大乘而不長於持戒，也算；一個人只修六念——念佛、念法、念僧、念戒、念捨、念天——把它迴向，也算。
古來的讀法在此說得明白：眾生性習不同，執法各異；戒能持五乘三佛之機，法能薰成三賢十地之慧，若以德用來比校，各有一能。
經沒有要求一個人樣樣都有。它只要求那一樣是真的，而且是迴向的。
我們讀到三心那一段時容易繃緊，讀到這一段就該鬆下來：三心說的是心的方向，這三種眾生說的是手上有什麼。方向只有一個，手上的東西各人不同。
一日乃至七日
然後是時間：「具此功德，一日乃至七日，即得往生。」
上品上生所需要的時間，經給的是一日到七日。
歷來的讀法把這句拆成上下兩端：上盡一形，下至一日、一時、一念。而其大意是「一發心已後誓畢此生，無有退轉，唯以淨土為期」——不是七天做完就算了，是從發心那一刻起，這一生就朝著那個方向。
三種臺
上品三位的差別，經寫在他們臨終所坐的那個臺上。
上品上生坐的是金剛臺，來迎的是阿彌陀佛與無數化佛；上品中生坐的是紫金臺，來迎的是佛與千尊化佛；上品下生坐的是金蓮華，來迎的是五百尊化佛。
到了那邊，華開的遲疾也是三等：金剛臺無所謂開合，逕自到彼；紫金臺「經宿即開」；金蓮華要一日一夜才開，而且開了以後七天才得見佛，見了佛還「於眾相好心不明了」，要到三個七日之後才看得清楚。
古來的讀法把這個差別歸到一處：由行強故上上得金剛臺，由行劣故上中得紫金臺。
差別不在佛那裡，在行這裡。同一位佛來迎，來的樣子隨著行而不同；同一個國土去到，見得清楚與否隨著行而不同。而三位都往生了——這是經在說差別的同時，一直沒有動搖的那一點。
一件容易讀漏的小事
上品中生那一段裡有一句：「經於七日，應時即於阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，得不退轉。」
七日。這個七日算在哪一邊？
古來注家在此設了一辨：這裡說的七日，恐怕是此間的七日，不是彼國的七日；此間經過七天，在那邊只是一念須臾之間。
這一辨不改經文一個字，只是提醒讀的人：兩邊的時間不是同一把尺。
同樣的分寸也用在別處。上品下生要「三七日後乃了了見」，中間那二十一天在此界是三個星期，在彼處是什麼長度，經沒有說，注家也沒有代它說。經給了數目，沒有給換算。
承衍——兩副眼看同一批上輩人
上來是這一段經文自身的義。此下另以隋唐兩副眼旁照——鏡非經，只是同一批乘臺往生的人，換兩種讀法來看。
善導一路是《觀經四帖疏》的讀法。他在玄義分裡先與諸師辯過一場：有人判上品上生是四地至七地已來的菩薩，他反問——四地七地菩薩的功用不可思議，豈用得著一日七日之善、華臺授手來迎接？他的結論是：「又看此《觀經》定善，及三輩上下文意，總是佛去世後，五濁凡夫，但以遇緣有異，致令九品差別。」上品三人是遇大凡夫，中品三人是遇小凡夫，下品三人是遇惡凡夫；九品所分的不是位次，是所遇之緣。他並舉出十處經文為證，斷云「證明如來說此十六觀法但為常沒眾生，不干大小聖也」。
三心之中，他於深心用力最深：由深信開出就人立信與就行立信兩門，於就行立信中分正行與雜行，於正行之中又分正定之業與助業——「一者一心專念彌陀名號，行住坐臥不問時節久近念念不捨者，是名正定之業，順彼佛願故。」而為守護此信，他在迴向發願心之下自立了一個譬：一個人向西行百千里，中路見二河，火河在南，水河在北，中間有一條四五寸寬的白道；東岸有人勸他「但決定尋此道行，必無死難」，西岸有人喚他「汝一心正念直來，我能護汝」，身後群賊惡獸喚他回頭。他解此譬曰：水喻貪愛，火喻瞋憎，四五寸的白道喻眾生貪瞋煩惱之中能生的那一點清淨願往生心。此譬經文所無，是疏家自立以防外邪異見之難。
智顗一路是《觀無量壽佛經疏》的讀法。他先說此下三觀所觀的是往生之人，其用有二：一為令人識三品之別而捨中下修上品，二為令人識位次之上中下。他把三品配位：上品之人始從習種終至解行菩薩，中品從外凡十信已下，下品即是今時悠悠凡夫。三心他釋得簡：至者言專，誠者言實；深者佛果深高，以心往求，故云深心，並引《十地經》「入深廣心」、《涅槃經》「根深難拔故言深心」為據。六念他列作佛、法、僧、施、戒、天，與善導所列之「捨」異其一目。三臺之別他也記：「一、得道有遲疾；二、所乘有異。初則金剛臺，中紫金臺，下金蓮華。」
一路把九品讀成凡夫遇緣之異，一路把九品讀成位次高下之階。
而經自己只說了一句：具三心者必生彼國。
What the first thirteen contemplations contemplated were all objects: the sun, the water, the ground, the trees, the pool, the towers, the throne, the image, the Buddha’s body, Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta, oneself, and the image sixteen feet high. From the fourteenth contemplation on, what is contemplated changes to persons — the nine kinds of person who are to be born in that land, and what they meet at the moment their life ends.
Shandao’s Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra in Four Fascicles judges the three grades and the nine grades of birth to be the good done in a scattered mind, and first sets up eleven articles as a common form, matching each grade against each article in turn, and saying that in this way a hundred rounds of meaning are made; he further fixes the three positions of the highest grade severally as “the ordinary person of the highest good in the Great Vehicle,” “the ordinary person of the next good in the Great Vehicle,” and “the ordinary person of the lower good in the Great Vehicle.” Zhiyi’s Commentary on the Sūtra on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life instead assigns each of the three grades a position in the stages, saying that the highest grade answers to the seed of the path, the middle grade to the seed of the nature, and the lowest grade to the seed of practice. Whether the persons of the nine grades are ordinary or holy, the two houses judge plainly differently, and each keeps its reasons in its own book. What is set out below is the sūtra.
The Mind Is Spoken of First, Not the Practice
The sūtra opens with a general marking: “Of all who are born in the West there are persons of nine grades.”
Then it goes straight into the highest birth of the highest grade. And the first condition of the highest birth of the highest grade is not how many scriptures have been recited or how many precepts have been kept:
“If there are sentient beings who wish to be born in that land, they give rise to three kinds of mind and are born there at once. What are the three? The first is the mind of utmost sincerity; the second is the profound mind; the third is the mind that dedicates and directs and makes the vow.”
Three kinds of mind. And the sūtra lays down a very hard judgment upon them: “One who is complete in these three minds will necessarily be born in that land.”
The word necessarily does not often appear in this sūtra. The sūtra does not say may attain birth there; it says will necessarily be born there.
The Mind of Utmost Sincerity: No Fine Appearance Outside
The first of the three minds is the mind of utmost sincerity. Utmost means true, sincerity means real — the readings handed down take the two words apart and gloss them, and what they say is one and the same thing: true and real.
And the opposite of the true and real is stated in the heaviest terms. The readings of old have called it “good mixed with poison”: outwardly displaying the appearance of the worthy, the good, and the energetic, while harbouring within what is hollow and false. Even should one drive body and mind bitterly on, running hard and working hard through the twelve hours of day and night as though one’s head were burning, it is still only good mixed with poison, a practice that is hollow and false. To take such a practice and dedicate it toward seeking birth in that land is said to be by no means possible.
This criterion is severe enough to be unsettling. If you look back over your own practice by its measure, you will probably not find many pieces of it wholly clean.
But its reason does not lie on the side of the person; it lies on the side of the Buddha. When that Buddha was practising the bodhisattva practice in the causal stage, everything cultivated in the three kinds of karma, down to a single thought and a single instant, was done within a true and real mind. Since the place toward which the dedication is made was made in that way, what is dedicated to it cannot be a thing of another kind.
This article is not there to sift people out; it is there to set the direction straight.
The Profound Mind: Two Decisions
The second of the three minds is the profound mind. The readings of old give it only one definition: the profound mind is the mind of profound trust. And the profound trust has two layers —
The first: to trust profoundly and decisively that one is oneself at present an ordinary person of offence and evil, of birth-and-death, who through vast kalpas has been constantly sinking and constantly drifting, with no condition for going forth.
The second: to trust profoundly and decisively that the forty-eight vows of that Buddha embrace sentient beings, and that, without doubt and without misgiving, one who rides upon the power of those vows will decidedly be born in that land.
These two layers are the two faces of one and the same decision. The first sees oneself through to the bottom; the second trusts the Buddha’s vow to the bottom. The readings of old make the two into two kinds of a single profound mind and do not divide them into two minds — only when both layers are decided at once is it called profound.
The Mind That Dedicates and Directs and Makes the Vow: Not to Be Talked Out of It
The third of the three minds is the mind that dedicates and directs and makes the vow. All the roots of good, worldly and world-transcending, cultivated in body, speech, and mind in the past and in this present life, together with all the roots of good rejoiced in that others have cultivated, are dedicated and directed with a mind of true and real profound trust, with the vow to be born in that land.
The commentators of old add a sentence here: the profound trust of this mind is as it were adamantine, and is not stirred, confounded, or destroyed by any persons of different view or different learning, of divergent understanding or divergent practice.
Which is to say that the testing of this one mind comes not when one is slack oneself, but when someone else opens his mouth.
We probably all recognize that loosening: a thing has already been settled, and then someone says, surely that won’t do — and the mind wavers. That the commentators of old put this warning under the mind that dedicates and directs and makes the vow is no accident: dedicating and directing is an act that has to be carried the whole way, and one backward glance midway loses the road.
Two Sets of Three, Not One
The three minds having been stated, the sūtra says “three” once more:
“There are, further, three kinds of sentient beings who are to attain birth there. What are the three? The first are those who are kindly of mind and do not kill, and who are complete in the various observances of the precepts. The second are those who read and recite the Vaipulya scriptures of the Great Vehicle. The third are those who cultivate the six recollections and dedicate and direct them, vowing to be born in that buddha-land.”
This set of three is practice, not mind. And the three stand side by side, not one above another: a person who keeps the precepts and cultivates kindness but does not recite scriptures counts; a person who is devoted to reciting the Great Vehicle but is not strong at keeping the precepts counts; a person who cultivates only the six recollections — recollection of the Buddha, of the Dharma, of the Saṅgha, of the precepts, of relinquishment, and of the gods — and dedicates them counts.
The readings of old are plain about it here: the natures and habits of sentient beings are not the same and each clings to a different dharma; the precepts can hold the capacities of the five vehicles and the three buddhas, the Dharma can perfume into being the wisdom of the three worthies and the ten grounds, and if one weighs them by their virtue and use, each has its one capacity.
The sūtra does not ask that one person have every one of them. It asks only that the one he has be real, and that it be dedicated.
Reading the passage on the three minds we tend to tighten up; reading this one we should slacken again: the three minds speak of the direction of the mind, and these three kinds of sentient being speak of what one has in hand. There is only one direction; what is in hand differs from person to person.
One Day, or Up to Seven Days
Then comes the time: “Complete in merit such as this, in one day or up to seven days one attains birth in that land.”
For the highest birth of the highest grade, the time the sūtra gives is one day to seven days.
The readings handed down break this sentence into an upper and a lower limit: at the upper limit exhausting a whole lifetime, at the lower reaching to one day, one hour, one thought. And their general intent is that “once the mind is aroused one vows to finish out this life without retrogression, taking the Pure Land alone as one’s term” — not that seven days of doing it is the end of the matter, but that from the moment the mind is aroused this whole life faces that way.
Three Kinds of Terrace
The difference among the three positions of the highest grade the sūtra writes upon the terrace they sit on at the end of life.
The highest birth of the highest grade sits upon the adamantine terrace, and what comes to welcome him is Amitābha Buddha with countless manifested buddhas; the middle birth of the highest grade sits upon the purple-gold terrace, and what comes to welcome him is the Buddha with a thousand manifested buddhas; the lowest birth of the highest grade sits upon a golden lotus flower, and what comes to welcome him is five hundred manifested buddhas.
On arrival there, the speed with which the flower opens is likewise of three ranks: for the adamantine terrace there is no question of closing or opening, and he arrives there straight away; the purple-gold terrace “opens after a single night”; the golden lotus flower takes one day and one night before it opens, and after it has opened it is seven days before he attains the sight of the Buddha, and even having seen the Buddha “his mind is not yet clear about the many marks and signs,” so that only after three sevens of days does he see them clearly.
The readings of old refer this difference to one place: because the practice is strong the highest of the highest obtains the adamantine terrace, and because the practice is inferior the middle of the highest obtains the purple-gold terrace.
The difference is not on the Buddha’s side but on the side of the practice. The same Buddha comes to welcome them, and the manner of his coming differs according to the practice; the same land is arrived at, and whether it is seen clearly differs according to the practice. And all three positions are born there — this is the point the sūtra never lets waver while it is stating the differences.
A Small Thing Easily Read Past
In the passage on the middle birth of the highest grade there is a sentence: “After seven days have passed, at that very time he attains non-retrogression in unsurpassed perfect awakening.”
Seven days. On which side are these seven days counted?
The commentators of old set up a distinction here: the seven days spoken of are likely the seven days of this world, and are not the seven days of that land; what passes here as seven days is, in that place, an instant of a single thought.
This distinction alters not one character of the sūtra; it only reminds the reader that the time on the two sides is not measured by one and the same rule.
The same measure is used elsewhere. The lowest birth of the highest grade must wait until “after three sevens of days does he see them clear and distinct”; those twenty-one days in the middle are three sevens of days in this world, and what length they are in that place the sūtra does not say, nor do the commentators say it in its stead. The sūtra gives the numbers and gives no conversion.
Carrying Forward — Two Eyes on the Same Company of the Highest Grade
The above is the meaning of this passage of the sūtra itself. Below, two eyes, one of the Sui and one of the Tang, cast their light from the side — the mirror is not the sūtra; only the same company of persons mounting the terrace to birth in that land, seen through two ways of reading.
The Shandao line is the reading of the Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra in Four Fascicles. In the Section on the Profound Meaning he has first fought out a round with the other masters: some judge the highest birth of the highest grade to be a bodhisattva from the fourth ground up to the seventh ground, and he asks in return — the functioning of a bodhisattva of the fourth or seventh ground is beyond conceiving; what use would he have for the good of one day or seven days, or for the flower-terrace and the outstretched hand that come to welcome him? His conclusion is: “Again, looking at the good done in concentration in this Contemplation Sūtra, and at the sense of the text above and below concerning the three grades, all are ordinary persons of the five turbidities after the Buddha has passed from the world; it is only because the conditions they meet differ that the nine grades come to be distinguished.” The three persons of the highest grade are ordinary persons who met the Great Vehicle, the three of the middle grade ordinary persons who met the Lesser, the three of the lowest grade ordinary persons who met evil; what the nine grades divide is not rank but the conditions met. He further raises ten passages of the sūtra as witnesses and judges: “This proves that the Tathāgata taught these sixteen methods of contemplation only for the sentient beings who are constantly sinking, and that they have nothing to do with the sages, great or small.”
Among the three minds it is upon the profound mind that he puts out most strength: from profound trust he opens two gates, establishing trust with respect to the person and establishing trust with respect to the practice; within establishing trust with respect to the practice he divides right practice from mixed practice; and within right practice he further divides the act that rightly settles birth from the auxiliary act — “The first, single-mindedly and exclusively to recollect the name of Amitābha, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, asking nothing of whether the season and time be long or short, and not letting go of it from thought to thought — this is called the act that rightly settles birth, because it accords with that Buddha’s vow.” And to guard this trust he sets up, under the mind that dedicates and directs and makes the vow, a simile of his own: a man travels westward a hundred thousand leagues and midway sees two rivers, a river of fire to the south and a river of water to the north, with a white path four or five inches wide between them; on the eastern bank someone urges him, “only travel this path with decision, and there will surely be no peril of death,” and on the western bank someone calls him, “come straight on with one mind and right mindfulness, and I can protect you,” while behind him a band of robbers and evil beasts call him back. He glosses the simile thus: the water figures craving and affection, the fire figures anger and hatred, and the white path four or five inches wide figures that one point of pure mind, vowing for birth in that land, which can arise amid the afflictions of craving and anger in sentient beings. The sūtra has nothing of this simile; the commentator set it up himself, to ward off the trouble of outward crookedness and divergent views.
The Zhiyi line is the reading of the Commentary on the Sūtra on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life. He says first that what the three contemplations below this contemplate is the persons who are born in that land, and that this has two uses: one, to make people know the differences among the three grades and so put aside the middle and the lowest and cultivate the highest; two, to make people know the highest, middle, and lowest of position. He assigns the three grades their positions: the persons of the highest grade begin from the seed of practice and end at the bodhisattva of understanding and practice; those of the middle grade are from the ten faiths of the outer ordinary and below; the lowest grade is precisely the drifting ordinary person of the present time. The three minds he glosses briefly: utmost speaks of the exclusive and sincerity speaks of the real; profound means that the buddha-fruit is profound and high and one seeks toward it with the mind, and therefore it is called the profound mind — and he cites the Sūtra of the Ten Grounds on “entering the mind that is deep and broad” and the Nirvāṇa Sūtra on “the root being deep and hard to pull up, therefore it is called the profound mind” as his warrant. The six recollections he lists as the Buddha, the Dharma, the Saṅgha, giving, the precepts, and the gods, differing in one item from Shandao’s “relinquishment.” The difference among the three terraces he also records: “First, in attaining the path there is slowness and speed; second, what is mounted differs. The first is the adamantine terrace, the middle the purple-gold terrace, the lowest the golden lotus flower.”
One line reads the nine grades as ordinary persons differing in the conditions they met; the other reads the nine grades as a stair of higher and lower rank.
And the sūtra itself has said only this: one who is complete in these three minds will necessarily be born in that land.
考據Apparatus
全段定位 本單元為十六觀之第十四觀，散善三輩之首。前十三觀所觀者是境，自本觀起所觀者是人——經先總標「凡生西方有九品人」，次別明上品上生、上品中生、上品下生三位：各出其因、其臨終所遇之聖眾、其所乘之臺、其到彼華開之遲疾、其華開已後之所得，末以總結與正邪之判收。全段九百九十二字，是十六觀諸單元中最長者。九品之機是凡是聖，二鏡所判不同——善導判九品皆是佛去世後之五濁凡夫，智顗判上品當道種、中品當性種、下品當習種。並錄不判，見目五。
一、科判定位
善導《四帖疏》於本段之前先分散善一門之二義：
「從此已下，次解三輩散善一門之義。就此義中，即有其二。一明三福以為正因。二明九品以為正行。」〔T37n1753 0270b13〕
其判本輩之法，先立十一門為通式：
「十四、就上輩觀行善文前總料簡。即為十一門。」〔T37n1753 0270c01〕 「今此十一門義者，約對九品之文。就一一品中皆有此十一，即為一百番義也。」〔T37n1753 0270c09〕 「上來雖有十一門不同，廣料簡上輩三品義意竟。」〔T37n1753 0270c15〕
十一門既立，乃逐品開之：
| 位 | 疏標（逐字） | 段數 | 錨 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 上品上生 | 「次下先就上品上生位中，亦先舉，次辨，後結。即有其十二。」 | 十二 | 〔T37n1753 0270c17〕 |
| 上品中生 | 「次就上品中生位中，亦先舉，次辨，後結。即有其八。」 | 八 | 〔T37n1753 0274a24〕 |
| 上品下生 | 「次就上品下生位中，亦先舉，次辨，後結。即有其八。」 | 八 | 〔T37n1753 0274c08〕 |
三位之位名，疏各為之定：
| 位 | 疏之定位（逐字） | 錨 |
|---|---|---|
| 上品上生 | 「一、從佛告阿難已下，則雙標二意。一明告命。二明辨定其位。此即修學大乘上善凡夫人也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0270c18〕 |
| 上品中生 | 「一、從上品中生者已下，總舉位名，即是大乘次善凡夫人也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0274a25〕 |
| 上品下生 | 「一、從上品下生者已下，總舉位名，即是大乘下善凡夫人也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0274c09〕 |
本輩既竟，疏以八句之讚收之：
「上輩上行上根人，求生淨土斷貪瞋，就行差別分三品，五門相續助三因。一日七日專精進，畢命乘臺出六塵，慶哉難逢今得遇，永證無為法性身。」〔T37n1753 0275a11〕 「上來雖有三位不同，總解上輩一門之義竟。」〔T37n1753 0275a14〕
witness 分欄·智顗疏之科（誌錄不判）：
「第十四上品生觀。此下三觀，觀往生人者。有二義：一、為令識三品往生，捨於中下，修習上品。二、為令識位之上中下，即是大本中三品也。」〔T37n1750 0193b09〕
智顗於三位皆作「初、標；二、釋；三、結」之三分，釋中復開為四（修因·值緣·得生·生後利益）——上上見〔T37n1750 0193c06〕，上中見〔T37n1750 0193c17〕，上下見〔T37n1750 0193c24〕。善導以十一門通貫九品，智顗以標釋結三分貫之，二式不同，並錄不判。
二、異譯對勘
本經漢地無第二譯本——今檢大正藏第十二冊 T12n0360 至 T12n0396 諸經題名，題《觀無量壽佛經》者止此一本，無異譯可勘。誠實記之。
三輩之名與《無量壽經》所出者相涉，而本帙不以彼本勘此本——智顗判本觀三品時自云「即是大本中三品也」〔T37n1750 0193b11〕，是以疏家之語繫二經；本帙錄其語，不代為對勘，亦不以《無量壽經》之三輩改本經之九品。誌錄不判。
三、經論宗依（眼）
九品之位在散善：
「從日觀下至十三觀已來名為定善。三福九品名為散善。」〔T37n1753 0247b23〕
三心為正因，善導逐一釋之——本段所出之至誠心、深心、迴向發願心，是《四帖疏》全書用力最深之處：
「經云：「一者至誠心」，至者真，誠者實。」〔T37n1753 0270c27〕 「欲明一切眾生身口意業所修解行，必須真實心中作，不得外現賢善精進之相，內懷虛假」〔T37n1753 0270c28〕 「二者深心，言深心者，即是深信之心也。亦有二種。」〔T37n1753 0271a26〕 「一者決定深信，自身現是罪惡生死凡夫，曠劫已來常沒常流轉，無有出離之緣。」〔T37n1753 0271a28〕 「二者決定深信，彼阿彌陀佛四十八願攝受眾生，無疑無慮，乘彼願力定得往生。」〔T37n1753 0271a29〕 「三者迴向發願心。言迴向發願心者，過去及以今生身口意業所修世出世善根」〔T37n1753 0272b13〕 「三心既具，無行不成。願行既成若不生者，無有是處也。」〔T37n1753 0273b12〕 「又此三心亦通攝定善之義，應知。」〔T37n1753 0273b13〕
深心之下，疏別出就人立信、就行立信二門：
「此名就人立信也。」〔T37n1753 0272a28〕 「次就行立信者，」〔T37n1753 0272a28〕 「然行有二種：一者正行，二者雜行。」〔T37n1753 0272a29〕 「一者一心專念彌陀名號，行住坐臥不問時節久近念念不捨者，是名正定之業，順彼佛願故。」〔T37n1753 0272b06〕 「若依禮誦等，即名為助業。除此正助二行已外，自餘諸善悉名雜行。」〔T37n1753 0272b08〕
經之所引，皆在疏而不在經——本段經文自身不引他經他論。二鏡所引者：善導引《彌陀經》以證十方諸佛同讚〔T37n1753 0272a15〕；智顗引《十地經》《涅槃經》釋深心〔T37n1750 0193c13〕、引《地論》釋百法明門〔T37n1750 0193c27〕、引《往生論》問二乘往生〔T37n1750 0193b12〕。誠實記其所出。
四、本段釋要（四帖疏逐文）
三心之首·至誠心——疏以真實二字立其界，並斥雜毒之善：
「經云：「一者至誠心」，至者真，誠者實。」〔T37n1753 0270c27〕 「雖起三業，名為雜毒之善，亦名虛假之行，不名真實業也。」〔T37n1753 0271a02〕 「欲迴此雜毒之行求生彼佛淨土者，此必不可也。」〔T37n1753 0271a05〕
其所以然者，繫於彼佛因中之所行：
「正由彼阿彌陀佛因中行菩薩行時，乃至一念一剎那三業所修皆是真實心中作」〔T37n1753 0271a07〕
三心之次·深心之二種深信——見目三所引〔T37n1753 0271a28〕〔T37n1753 0271a29〕。疏又立不為異解所動之義：
「又深心深信者，決定建立自心，順教修行，永除疑錯，不為一切別解別行、異學異見異執之所退失傾動也。」〔T37n1753 0271b25〕
三心之三·迴向發願心——疏以金剛狀其信：
「此心深信由若金剛，不為一切異見異學、別解別行人等之所動亂破壞」〔T37n1753 0272b19〕
並別出還相之義：
「又言迴向者，生彼國已還起大悲，迴入生死教化眾生，亦名迴向也。」〔T37n1753 0273b10〕
三種眾生之第三·六念——
「三、明修行六念者。所謂念佛、法、僧，念戒、捨、天等。」〔T37n1753 0273c08〕
修業之時節——
「八、從具此功德已下，正明修行時節延促。上盡一形，下至一日、一時、一念等」〔T37n1753 0273c27〕 「大意者，一發心已後誓畢此生，無有退轉，唯以淨土為期。」〔T37n1753 0274a01〕
三臺之別繫於行之強弱——
「由行強故上上即得金剛臺，由行劣故上中即得紫金臺，生在寶池逕宿如開也。」〔T37n1753 0274b21〕
「經於七日」之七日屬何處——疏於此設一分辨：
「言七日者，恐此間七日，不指彼國七日也。此間逕於七日者，彼處即是一念須臾間也。」〔T37n1753 0274b29〕
上品下生之「亦信因果」何以言亦——
「一明所信因果不定，或信不信，故名為亦，或可亦同前深信也。」〔T37n1753 0274c12〕 「若深信生死苦者，罪業畢竟不重犯。若深信淨土無為樂者，善心一發永無退失也。」〔T37n1753 0274c15〕
五、諸家異釋（分欄並錄·誌錄不判）
| 事 | 善導《四帖疏》（唐） | 錨 | 智顗疏（隋·天台） | 錨 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 九品之機是凡是聖 | 「又看此《觀經》定善，及三輩上下文意，總是佛去世後，五濁凡夫，但以遇緣有異，致令九品差別。」 | 〔T37n1753 0249a29〕 | 「就三品中更為九，上品之人，始從習種，終至解行菩薩。中品者，從外凡十信已下。下品，即是今時悠悠凡夫。」 | 〔T37n1750 0193b28〕 |
| 九品之分繫於何 | 「上品三人，是遇大凡夫。中品三人，是遇小凡夫。下品三人，是遇惡凡夫。」 | 〔T37n1753 0249b02〕 | 「上品位當道種，中品位當性種，下品位當習種。」 | 〔T37n1750 0193c03〕 |
| 十六觀為誰而說 | 「證明如來說此十六觀法但為常沒眾生，不干大小聖也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0249c08〕 | 本段無此判 | — |
| 上品上生之位 | 「此即修學大乘上善凡夫人也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0270c19〕 | 「上品見佛聞法便悟無生故，是道種人。」 | 〔T37n1750 0193c02〕 |
| 六念之目 | 「所謂念佛、法、僧，念戒、捨、天等。」（捨） | 〔T37n1753 0273c09〕 | 「「六念」者，佛、法、僧、施、戒、天。」（施） | 〔T37n1750 0193c14〕 |
| 至誠心之釋 | 「至者真，誠者實。」 | 〔T37n1753 0270c27〕 | 「「至誠心」者，即實行眾生。至之言專，誠之言實。」 | 〔T37n1750 0193c10〕 |
| 深心之釋 | 「言深心者，即是深信之心也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0271a27〕 | 「「深」者，佛果深高，以心往求，故云深心。亦從深理生，亦從厚樂善根生。」 | 〔T37n1750 0193c11〕 |
| 三臺之別 | 「由行強故上上即得金剛臺，由行劣故上中即得紫金臺」 | 〔T37n1753 0274b21〕 | 「一、得道有遲疾；二、所乘有異。初則金剛臺，中紫金臺，下金蓮華。」 | 〔T37n1750 0193c05〕 |
第一事為本單元最重之異——善導判九品同是佛滅後之凡夫，唯遇緣有異；智顗判三品各當一位（道種·性種·習種），是以位次讀九品。善導於玄義分中且逐品舉出他家之判而反對之——「第三、重舉九品返對破者。諸師云：上品上生人是四地至七地已來菩薩者。」〔T37n1753 0248b07〕，其所以反對者曰「以此文證，正是佛去世後，大乘極善上品凡夫，日數雖少，作業時猛，何得判同上聖也。」〔T37n1753 0248b16〕。二家所判判然不同，本帙並錄，不設調停，不以一家為正。
第五事之異有二——①一字之異：善導作「捨」，智顗作「施」。二字所指之行不同（捨＝能捨，施＝布施），而所列六目之數則同。②次第之異：善導作「念佛、法、僧，念戒、捨、天」〔T37n1753 0273c09〕，智顗作「佛、法、僧、施、戒、天」〔T37n1750 0193c14〕——前三目二家同，後三目之序不同，善導以戒居先，智顗以施居先。並錄不判；本帙白話依主鏡作『念捨』，前說錄而不廢（同本帙五苦括注之例）。
六、術語（首見名相·釋義皆自二鏡）
| 名相 | 疏釋逐字 | 錨 | 鏡 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 至誠心 | 「至者真，誠者實。」 | 〔T37n1753 0270c27〕 | 善導 |
| 雜毒之善 | 「雖起三業，名為雜毒之善，亦名虛假之行，不名真實業也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0271a02〕 | 善導 |
| 深心 | 「言深心者，即是深信之心也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0271a27〕 | 善導 |
| 二種深信 | 「一者決定深信，自身現是罪惡生死凡夫，曠劫已來常沒常流轉，無有出離之緣。」 | 〔T37n1753 0271a28〕 | 善導 |
| 正行·雜行 | 「然行有二種：一者正行，二者雜行。」 | 〔T37n1753 0272a29〕 | 善導 |
| 正定之業 | 「一者一心專念彌陀名號，行住坐臥不問時節久近念念不捨者，是名正定之業，順彼佛願故。」 | 〔T37n1753 0272b06〕 | 善導 |
| 助業 | 「若依禮誦等，即名為助業。」 | 〔T37n1753 0272b08〕 | 善導 |
| 迴向發願心 | 「言迴向發願心者，過去及以今生身口意業所修世出世善根」 | 〔T37n1753 0272b13〕 | 善導 |
| 六念 | 「所謂念佛、法、僧，念戒、捨、天等。」 | 〔T37n1753 0273c09〕 | 善導 |
| 無生忍 | 「「無生忍」，言登初地也。」 | 〔T37n1750 0193c15〕 | 智顗 |
| 陀羅尼 | 「「陀羅尼」者，一、能持善，二、能遮惡，是總持也。」 | 〔T37n1750 0193c16〕 | 智顗 |
| 甚深第一義 | 「「甚深第一義」者，謂諸法實相，言語道絕、心行處滅，名之深妙精進最稱第一。」 | 〔T37n1750 0193c20〕 | 智顗 |
| 現前受記 | 「「現前受記」者，四種受記一往現前也。」 | 〔T37n1750 0193c23〕 | 智顗 |
| 百法明門 | 「「得百法明門」者，《地論》云「入百法明門，增長智慧，思惟種種法門義故。」」 | 〔T37n1750 0193c27〕 | 智顗 |
| 歡喜地 | 「「歡喜地」者，初證聖處，多生歡喜也。」 | 〔T37n1750 0193c29〕 | 智顗 |
本帙白話所用之括注，其所從逐條記此：六念之目從善導〔T37n1753 0273c09〕；陀羅尼、歡喜地二條主鏡牒其名而不出其釋（善導唯以二名標科——「至陀羅尼門已來」〔T37n1753 0274a18〕、「至住歡喜地已來」〔T37n1753 0275a08〕），百法明門一條主鏡零命中：三條之釋並從智顗〔T37n1750 0193c16〕〔T37n1750 0193c27〕〔T37n1750 0193c29〕——主鏡無說而取 witness 之說者，於此明記所從（同本軸《阿彌陀經》帙『本帙白話從後說；前說錄而不廢』之例）。
本段經文之梵語音寫唯「阿耨多羅三藐三菩提」一語，二疏於本段未別出梵形，本帙不代擬。
七、譬喻·修辭
經文自用之譬：
| 譬 | 經文逐字 | 錨 | 所顯 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 彈指 | 「如彈指頃」 | 〔T12n0365 0344c24〕 | 上上去時之速 |
| 一念 | 「如一念頃」 | 〔T12n0365 0345a12〕 | 上中去時之速 |
| 大寶花 | 「此紫金臺如大寶花」 | 〔T12n0365 0345a13〕 | 紫金臺之相 |
鏡疏自立之譬（非經文所有，錄以備考，不與經譬相混）：
| 譬 | 疏文逐字 | 錨 | 所顯 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 蛇蝎 | 「貪瞋邪偽奸詐百端，惡性難侵事同蛇蝎」 | 〔T37n1753 0271a01〕 | 內懷虛假之相 |
| 炙頭燃 | 「縱使苦勵身心，日夜十二時急走急作，如炙頭燃者，眾名雜毒之善。」 | 〔T37n1753 0271a04〕 | 無真實心則行雖急亦雜毒 |
| 金剛 | 「此心深信由若金剛，不為一切異見異學、別解別行人等之所動亂破壞」 | 〔T37n1753 0272b19〕 | 迴向發願心之堅 |
| 二河白道 | 「譬如有人欲向西行百千之里，忽然中路見有二河：一是火河在南，二是水河在北。」 | 〔T37n1753 0272c17〕 | 守護信心，以防外邪異見之難 |
| 二河之合喻 | 「言水火二河者，即喻眾生貪愛如水，瞋憎如火也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0273a18〕 | 貪瞋 |
| 白道之合喻 | 「言中間白道四五寸者，即喻眾生貪瞋煩惱中能生清淨願往生心也。」 | 〔T37n1753 0273a19〕 | 煩惱中之淨願 |
二河白道之譬，疏自標其用曰「今更為行者說一譬喻守護信心，以防外邪異見之難」〔T37n1753 0272c15〕，其收處曰「今信順二尊之意，不顧水火二河，念念無遺，乘彼願力之道，捨命已後得生彼國，與佛相見，慶喜何極也。」〔T37n1753 0273b05〕。此譬為疏家所自立，經文無之，本帙分欄別出，不與經譬相混。
修辭上可記者二：①三品之文以同一套次序排比——位名、修因、迴向、臨終所遇、所乘之臺、去時遲疾、華開遲疾、華開得益、結名；九品皆循此式，故疏得以十一門通貫之。②臺之三等（金剛臺·紫金臺·金蓮華）、佛數之三等（無數化佛·千化佛·五百化佛）、華開之三等（即開·經宿·一日一夜）三線並降，一段之內以物之遞減標行之遞降。
八、徵引承衍
- 本帙以外諸帙徵引本單元經文者，零命中——「上品上生」「上輩生想」「迴向發願心」「正定之業」四語於本帙以外之帙皆無一命中。「至誠心」一語他帙雖有命中（《無量壽經》《金光明經》《大智度論》《華嚴經》《十輪經》《摩訶止觀》諸帙），皆是各本文自有之語，非徵引本段之三心。誠實記之。
- 本軸內部之對讀點：《無量壽經》帙之三輩（上輩·中輩·下輩）與本經之九品，古德每相對舉；該帙考據層錄有憬興、慧遠二家會通《觀經》與《大經》之說。二經之對舉屬彼帙之域，本帙不代為裁。
- 本觀在本經內部之承衍：三心之文為本經散善一門之骨，其下中輩、下輩二品之料簡皆以本段所立十一門為式——善導於中輩曰「十五、就中輩觀行善文前總料簡，即為十一門。」〔T37n1753 0275a16〕，於下輩曰「十六、就下輩觀善惡二行文前料簡，即為十一門。」〔T37n1753 0276a25〕。
- 善導以本段之深心開出正行、雜行與正定之業〔T37n1753 0272a29〕〔T37n1753 0272b06〕，是《四帖疏》一書之關要所在；其說之承衍屬宗門後世之事，非本段所自明，本帙記其在疏中之位而止。
九、校本定位
大正藏校記於本單元域內共十八條，另有四條承前條之＊例：
| 錨 | 底本 | 異讀 | 見證 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0344c09 | 「佛」 | 佛佛 | 元 |
| 0344c09 | 「凡生西方有九品人」八字 | 無此八字 | 宋·元·明·敦·流布本 |
| 0344c15 | 「願」 | 願願 | 元·明·敦·流布本 |
| 0344c16 | 「佛」 | 無此字 | 元·明·敦·流布本 |
| 0344c17 | 「猛」 | 猛力 | 宋 |
| 0344c18 | 「及」 | 無此字 | 元·明·敦·流布本 |
| 0344c19 | 「量」 | 數 | 流布本 |
| 0345a03（承前之＊） | 「受」 | 授 | 流布本 |
| 0345a03 | 「至」 | 到 | 流布本 |
| 0345a06 | 「信」 | 信信 | 敦 |
| 0345a08（承前之＊） | 「及」 | 無此字 | 流布本 |
| 0345a14 | 「即」 | 則 | 宋·元·明·流布本 |
| 0345a15 | 「俱放」 | 俱時（宋·元·明）／俱時放（敦·流布本） | 宋·元·明／敦·流布本 |
| 0345a19 | 「飛」 | 飛行遍 | 宋·元·明·流布本 |
| 0345a21 | 「法」 | 無此字 | 宋·元·明·敦·流布本 |
| 0345a21（承前之＊） | 「受」 | 授 | 流布本 |
| 0345a24 | 「彼」 | 無此字 | 宋·元·明·敦·流布本 |
| 0345a24 | 「并」 | 無此字 | 元·明·敦·流布本 |
| 0345a25 | 「眷屬」 | 菩薩 | 宋·元·明 |
| 0345a25 | 「化」 | 無此字 | 元·明 |
| 0345a26 | 「化」 | 無此字 | 敦 |
| 0345b06（承前之＊） | 「作是觀者，名為正觀。若他觀者，名為邪觀」十六字 | 無此十六字 | 宋·元·明·敦 |
第二條為本單元最重之異讀——底本「凡生西方有九品人」八字，宋、元、明、敦、流布本皆無。此八字是全經唯一明標「九品」之處；諸本無之，則九品之名唯見於各品自標之「上品上生者」以下諸目。二鏡於本段之科文皆不牒此八字：善導第一段作「一、從佛告阿難已下，則雙標二意」〔T37n1753 0270c18〕，智顗作「就初中，文為三：第一、標」〔T37n1750 0193c06〕——皆自「佛告阿難」或「上品上生者」起，無一引「凡生西方有九品人」為文。誠實記其零命中，不據以斷疏所據之本，亦不改底本一字。
第十五條之異讀分二支——底本「佛及菩薩俱放光明」，宋、元、明三本作「俱時」，敦本與流布本作「俱時放」。三形並存，誌錄不判。
末十六字承前條之＊——與第一觀末十六字〔T12n0365 0342a04〕同族。不據以改底本一字。
gaiji：本單元零命中。
夾註（place="inline"）：本單元零命中。
全形空格（U+3000）：本單元零命中。
CBETA 新增校注：本單元零命中。
Placement of the passage as a whole. This unit is the fourteenth of the sixteen contemplations and the first of the three grades of the good done in a scattered mind. What the first thirteen contemplations contemplated were objects; from this contemplation onward what is contemplated is persons. The sūtra first marks the whole with 「凡生西方有九品人」—“of all who are born in the West there are persons of nine grades,” and then clarifies severally the three positions of the highest birth, the middle birth, and the lowest birth of the highest grade: for each it gives its cause, the holy assembly met at the end of life, the terrace mounted, the speed or slowness with which the flower opens on arrival there, and what is obtained once the flower has opened; and it closes with a general conclusion and the judgment of right and wrong. The whole passage runs to nine hundred and ninety-two characters and is the longest of the units of the sixteen contemplations. Whether the capacity of the nine grades is that of ordinary persons or of sages is judged differently by the two mirrors: Shandao judges that the nine grades are all ordinary persons of the five turbidities after the Buddha has passed from the world, while Zhiyi judges that the highest grade answers to the seed of the path, the middle grade to the seed of the nature, and the lowest grade to the seed of practice. Both are recorded without adjudication; see the fifth topic.
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
Before this passage Shandao’s Commentary in Four Fascicles first divides the single gate of the good done in a scattered mind into two meanings:
「從此已下，次解三輩散善一門之義。就此義中，即有其二。一明三福以為正因。二明九品以為正行。」—“From here on, the meaning of the single gate of the good done in a scattered mind, in three grades, is next explained. Within this meaning there are two: the first clarifies the three kinds of merit as the right cause; the second clarifies the nine grades as the right practice” 〔T37n1753 0270b13〕.
His way of judging this grade is first to set up eleven articles as a common form:
「十四、就上輩觀行善文前總料簡。即為十一門。」—“Fourteenth: a general sifting made before the text on the contemplation and practice of the good of the highest grade. It comes to eleven articles” 〔T37n1753 0270c01〕. 「今此十一門義者，約對九品之文。就一一品中皆有此十一，即為一百番義也。」—“The meaning of these eleven articles now is set against the text of the nine grades. In each single grade all eleven are present, and so they come to a hundred rounds of meaning” 〔T37n1753 0270c09〕. 「上來雖有十一門不同，廣料簡上輩三品義意竟。」—“Although the eleven articles above differ among themselves, the extensive sifting of the meaning and intent of the three grades of the highest is herewith finished” 〔T37n1753 0270c15〕.
The eleven articles once set up, he opens them grade by grade:
| Position | The commentary’s marking (verbatim) | Segments | Anchor |
|---|---|---|---|
| The highest birth of the highest grade | 「次下先就上品上生位中，亦先舉，次辨，後結。即有其十二。」—“Next, taking first the position of the highest birth of the highest grade, here too there is first the raising, next the distinguishing, and last the conclusion — there are twelve in all.” | 12 | 〔T37n1753 0270c17〕 |
| The middle birth of the highest grade | 「次就上品中生位中，亦先舉，次辨，後結。即有其八。」—“Next, taking the position of the middle birth of the highest grade, here too there is first the raising, next the distinguishing, and last the conclusion — there are eight in all.” | 8 | 〔T37n1753 0274a24〕 |
| The lowest birth of the highest grade | 「次就上品下生位中，亦先舉，次辨，後結。即有其八。」—“Next, taking the position of the lowest birth of the highest grade, here too there is first the raising, next the distinguishing, and last the conclusion — there are eight in all.” | 8 | 〔T37n1753 0274c08〕 |
The name of each of the three positions the commentary fixes for itself:
| Position | The commentary’s fixing of the position (verbatim) | Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| The highest birth of the highest grade | 「一、從佛告阿難已下，則雙標二意。一明告命。二明辨定其位。此即修學大乘上善凡夫人也。」—“First, from ‘the Buddha told Ānanda’ onward, two intents are jointly marked: the first clarifies the charge and command, the second fixes the position. This is the ordinary person of the highest good who studies and cultivates the Great Vehicle.” | 〔T37n1753 0270c18〕 |
| The middle birth of the highest grade | 「一、從上品中生者已下，總舉位名，即是大乘次善凡夫人也。」—“First, from ‘the middle birth of the highest grade’ onward, the name of the position is raised as a whole: this is the ordinary person of the next good in the Great Vehicle.” | 〔T37n1753 0274a25〕 |
| The lowest birth of the highest grade | 「一、從上品下生者已下，總舉位名，即是大乘下善凡夫人也。」—“First, from ‘the lowest birth of the highest grade’ onward, the name of the position is raised as a whole: this is the ordinary person of the lower good in the Great Vehicle.” | 〔T37n1753 0274c09〕 |
This grade once finished, the commentary gathers it up in a praise of eight lines:
「上輩上行上根人，求生淨土斷貪瞋，就行差別分三品，五門相續助三因。一日七日專精進，畢命乘臺出六塵，慶哉難逢今得遇，永證無為法性身。」—“Persons of the highest grade, highest practice, highest faculties, / seeking birth in the Pure Land, cut off craving and anger; / by the differences in their practice three grades are divided, / and the five gates in continuity assist the three causes. / For one day or seven days they are single and energetic; / their lives ended, they mount the terrace and go out from the six dusts. / What good fortune, that what is hard to meet is met with now, / and the unconditioned dharma-nature body is realized forever” 〔T37n1753 0275a11〕. 「上來雖有三位不同，總解上輩一門之義竟。」—“Although the three positions above differ among themselves, the general explanation of the meaning of the single gate of the highest grade is herewith finished” 〔T37n1753 0275a14〕.
The witness column · Zhiyi’s outline (recorded without adjudication):
「第十四上品生觀。此下三觀，觀往生人者。有二義：一、為令識三品往生，捨於中下，修習上品。二、為令識位之上中下，即是大本中三品也。」—“The fourteenth, the contemplation of birth in the highest grade. The three contemplations below this contemplate the persons who are born in that land. There are two meanings: the first, to make one know the three grades of birth in that land, put aside the middle and the lowest, and cultivate the highest grade; the second, to make one know the highest, middle, and lowest of position — these are the three grades in the larger sūtra” 〔T37n1750 0193b09〕.
For each of the three positions Zhiyi makes a threefold division, 「初、標；二、釋；三、結」—“first, the marking; second, the explanation; third, the conclusion” — and within the explanation he opens four further items (cultivating the cause, meeting the condition, attaining birth there, and the benefit after birth): for the highest birth see 〔T37n1750 0193c06〕, for the middle 〔T37n1750 0193c17〕, for the lowest 〔T37n1750 0193c24〕. Shandao runs eleven articles through all nine grades; Zhiyi runs the threefold marking, explanation, and conclusion through them. The two forms are not the same, and both are recorded without adjudication.
II. Collation with the Alternate Translations — recorded without adjudication
There is no second Chinese translation of this sūtra. The titles of the sūtras in the twelfth volume of the Taishō canon, T12n0360 through T12n0396, have now been searched: of works entitled The Sūtra on Contemplating the Buddha of Measureless Life this is the only one, and there is no alternate translation against which to collate. Recorded honestly.
The names of the three grades touch upon those given in The Sūtra of Measureless Life, yet this edition does not collate that text against this one. When Zhiyi judged the three grades of this contemplation he said of himself 「即是大本中三品也」—“these are the three grades in the larger sūtra” 〔T37n1750 0193b11〕, thus binding the two sūtras together by the words of a commentator. This edition records his words, does not collate in his stead, and does not use the three grades of The Sūtra of Measureless Life to alter the nine grades of this sūtra. Recorded without adjudication.
III. Scriptural and Treatise Grounding (the “eye”)
The position of the nine grades lies in the good done in a scattered mind:
「從日觀下至十三觀已來名為定善。三福九品名為散善。」—“From the contemplation of the sun down to the thirteenth contemplation is called the good done in concentration. The three kinds of merit and the nine grades are called the good done in a scattered mind” 〔T37n1753 0247b23〕.
The three minds are the right cause, and Shandao glosses them one by one — the mind of utmost sincerity, the profound mind, and the mind that dedicates and directs and makes the vow, which this passage puts forth, are where the Commentary in Four Fascicles puts out its deepest strength in the whole book:
「經云：「一者至誠心」，至者真，誠者實。」—“The sūtra says, ‘the first is the mind of utmost sincerity.’ Utmost means true; sincerity means real” 〔T37n1753 0270c27〕. 「欲明一切眾生身口意業所修解行，必須真實心中作，不得外現賢善精進之相，內懷虛假」—“This is to clarify that the understanding and practice cultivated by all sentient beings in the karma of body, speech, and mind must be done within a true and real mind; one may not display outwardly the appearance of the worthy, the good, and the energetic while harbouring within what is hollow and false” 〔T37n1753 0270c28〕. 「二者深心，言深心者，即是深信之心也。亦有二種。」—“Second, the profound mind. As for ‘the profound mind,’ it is the mind of profound trust. Of it too there are two kinds” 〔T37n1753 0271a26〕. 「一者決定深信，自身現是罪惡生死凡夫，曠劫已來常沒常流轉，無有出離之緣。」—“The first is to trust profoundly and decisively that one is oneself at present an ordinary person of offence and evil, of birth-and-death, who through vast kalpas has been constantly sinking and constantly drifting, with no condition for going forth” 〔T37n1753 0271a28〕. 「二者決定深信，彼阿彌陀佛四十八願攝受眾生，無疑無慮，乘彼願力定得往生。」—“The second is to trust profoundly and decisively that the forty-eight vows of that Amitābha Buddha embrace sentient beings, and that, without doubt and without misgiving, one who rides upon the power of those vows will decidedly be born in that land” 〔T37n1753 0271a29〕. 「三者迴向發願心。言迴向發願心者，過去及以今生身口意業所修世出世善根」—“Third, the mind that dedicates and directs and makes the vow. As for ‘the mind that dedicates and directs and makes the vow,’ it takes the roots of good, worldly and world-transcending, cultivated in the karma of body, speech, and mind in the past and in the present life...” 〔T37n1753 0272b13〕. 「三心既具，無行不成。願行既成若不生者，無有是處也。」—“The three minds being complete, there is no practice that is not accomplished. Vow and practice being accomplished, that one should not be born there — there is no such case” 〔T37n1753 0273b12〕. 「又此三心亦通攝定善之義，應知。」—“Further, these three minds also embrace throughout the meaning of the good done in concentration. This should be known” 〔T37n1753 0273b13〕.
Under the profound mind the commentary separately sets out two gates, establishing trust with respect to the person and establishing trust with respect to the practice:
「此名就人立信也。」—“This is called establishing trust with respect to the person” 〔T37n1753 0272a28〕. 「次就行立信者，」—“Next, as for establishing trust with respect to the practice,” 〔T37n1753 0272a28〕. 「然行有二種：一者正行，二者雜行。」—“Now, of practice there are two kinds: the first is right practice, the second is mixed practice” 〔T37n1753 0272a29〕. 「一者一心專念彌陀名號，行住坐臥不問時節久近念念不捨者，是名正定之業，順彼佛願故。」—“The first, single-mindedly and exclusively to recollect the name of Amitābha, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, asking nothing of whether the season and time be long or short, and not letting go of it from thought to thought — this is called the act that rightly settles birth, because it accords with that Buddha’s vow” 〔T37n1753 0272b06〕. 「若依禮誦等，即名為助業。除此正助二行已外，自餘諸善悉名雜行。」—“If one relies upon doing homage and reciting and the like, that is called the auxiliary act. Apart from these two practices, the right and the auxiliary, all the remaining goods are called mixed practice” 〔T37n1753 0272b08〕.
What is cited here is cited in the commentaries and not in the sūtra — this passage of the sūtra cites no other sūtra and no treatise of its own. What the two mirrors cite is this: Shandao cites The Amitābha Sūtra to prove that the buddhas of the ten directions praise alike 〔T37n1753 0272a15〕; Zhiyi cites the Sūtra of the Ten Grounds and the Nirvāṇa Sūtra to gloss the profound mind 〔T37n1750 0193c13〕, cites the Treatise on the Ten Grounds to gloss the hundred-dharma gate of illumination 〔T37n1750 0193c27〕, and cites the Treatise on Birth in That Land to raise the question of the birth of those of the two vehicles 〔T37n1750 0193b12〕. What they put forth is recorded honestly.
IV. Essentials of the Commentary on This Passage (the Commentary in Four Fascicles, line by line)
The first of the three minds, the mind of utmost sincerity — the commentary sets its boundary by the two words true and real, and rebukes the good that is mixed with poison:
「經云：「一者至誠心」，至者真，誠者實。」—“The sūtra says, ‘the first is the mind of utmost sincerity.’ Utmost means true; sincerity means real” 〔T37n1753 0270c27〕. 「雖起三業，名為雜毒之善，亦名虛假之行，不名真實業也。」—“Though the three kinds of karma be set going, it is called good mixed with poison, and is also called a practice that is hollow and false; it is not called true and real karma” 〔T37n1753 0271a02〕. 「欲迴此雜毒之行求生彼佛淨土者，此必不可也。」—“To wish to turn this poison-mixed practice toward seeking birth in that Buddha’s pure land — this is by no means possible” 〔T37n1753 0271a05〕.
The reason why is bound to what that Buddha practised while in the causal stage:
「正由彼阿彌陀佛因中行菩薩行時，乃至一念一剎那三業所修皆是真實心中作」—“It is precisely because, when that Amitābha Buddha was practising the bodhisattva practice in the causal stage, everything cultivated in the three kinds of karma, down to a single thought and a single instant, was done within a true and real mind” 〔T37n1753 0271a07〕.
The second of the three minds, the two kinds of profound trust within the profound mind — see what is cited in the third topic 〔T37n1753 0271a28〕〔T37n1753 0271a29〕. The commentary further sets up the meaning of not being shaken by divergent understandings:
「又深心深信者，決定建立自心，順教修行，永除疑錯，不為一切別解別行、異學異見異執之所退失傾動也。」—“Again, as for trusting profoundly with the profound mind: one decisively establishes one’s own mind, cultivates in accord with the teaching, forever removes doubt and error, and is not made to fall back or be tilted and shaken by any divergent understanding or divergent practice, by any different learning, different view, or different clinging” 〔T37n1753 0271b25〕.
The third of the three minds, the mind that dedicates and directs and makes the vow — the commentary figures its trust as adamantine:
「此心深信由若金剛，不為一切異見異學、別解別行人等之所動亂破壞」—“The profound trust of this mind is as it were adamantine, and is not stirred, confounded, or destroyed by any persons of different view or different learning, of divergent understanding or divergent practice” 〔T37n1753 0272b19〕.
And it separately sets out the meaning of the returning aspect:
「又言迴向者，生彼國已還起大悲，迴入生死教化眾生，亦名迴向也。」—“Again, as for ‘dedicating and directing’: once born in that land, to raise up great compassion again, turn back into birth-and-death, and teach and transform sentient beings — this too is called dedicating and directing” 〔T37n1753 0273b10〕.
The third of the three kinds of sentient beings, the six recollections —
「三、明修行六念者。所謂念佛、法、僧，念戒、捨、天等。」—“Third, clarifying those who cultivate the six recollections. That is to say, recollection of the Buddha, of the Dharma, and of the Saṅgha, recollection of the precepts, of relinquishment, and of the gods, and the rest” 〔T37n1753 0273c08〕.
The time and season of the practice —
「八、從具此功德已下，正明修行時節延促。上盡一形，下至一日、一時、一念等」—“Eighth, from ‘complete in merit such as this’ onward directly clarifies whether the season and time of the practice be drawn out or short: at the upper limit exhausting a whole lifetime, at the lower reaching to one day, one hour, one thought, and the like” 〔T37n1753 0273c27〕. 「大意者，一發心已後誓畢此生，無有退轉，唯以淨土為期。」—“The general intent is that once the mind is aroused one vows to finish out this life without retrogression, taking the Pure Land alone as one’s term” 〔T37n1753 0274a01〕.
The difference among the three terraces is bound to the strength or weakness of the practice —
「由行強故上上即得金剛臺，由行劣故上中即得紫金臺，生在寶池逕宿如開也。」—“Because the practice is strong, the highest of the highest obtains the adamantine terrace; because the practice is inferior, the middle of the highest obtains the purple-gold terrace, and being born within the jeweled pond it opens as after the passing of a night” 〔T37n1753 0274b21〕.
To which side the seven days of 「經於七日」, ‘after seven days have passed,’ belong — here the commentary sets up a distinction:
「言七日者，恐此間七日，不指彼國七日也。此間逕於七日者，彼處即是一念須臾間也。」—“As for ‘seven days,’ it is likely the seven days of this world, and does not point to seven days of that land. What passes here as seven days is, in that place, an instant of a single thought” 〔T37n1753 0274b29〕.
Why the lowest birth of the highest grade says 「亦信因果」, ‘also believes in cause and effect’ —
「一明所信因果不定，或信不信，故名為亦，或可亦同前深信也。」—“The first clarifies that what is believed of cause and effect is not fixed — sometimes he believes and sometimes not — and therefore it is called ‘also’; or it may be that ‘also’ is the same as the profound trust above” 〔T37n1753 0274c12〕. 「若深信生死苦者，罪業畢竟不重犯。若深信淨土無為樂者，善心一發永無退失也。」—“If one trusts profoundly in the suffering of birth-and-death, one will in the end not commit offences again; if one trusts profoundly in the unconditioned bliss of the Pure Land, then once the good mind is aroused it will never be lost through retrogression” 〔T37n1753 0274c15〕.
V. Divergent Readings of the Commentators (in parallel columns — recorded without adjudication)
| Point | Shandao, Commentary in Four Fascicles (Tang) | Anchor | Zhiyi’s commentary (Sui, Tiantai) | Anchor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the capacity of the nine grades is that of ordinary persons or of sages | 「又看此《觀經》定善，及三輩上下文意，總是佛去世後，五濁凡夫，但以遇緣有異，致令九品差別。」—“Again, looking at the good done in concentration in this Contemplation Sūtra, and at the sense of the text above and below concerning the three grades, all are ordinary persons of the five turbidities after the Buddha has passed from the world; it is only because the conditions they meet differ that the nine grades come to be distinguished.” | 〔T37n1753 0249a29〕 | 「就三品中更為九，上品之人，始從習種，終至解行菩薩。中品者，從外凡十信已下。下品，即是今時悠悠凡夫。」—“Within the three grades a further nine are made. The persons of the highest grade begin from the seed of practice and end at the bodhisattva of understanding and practice. Those of the middle grade are from the ten faiths of the outer ordinary and below. The lowest grade is precisely the drifting ordinary person of the present time.” | 〔T37n1750 0193b28〕 |
| To what the division of the nine grades is bound | 「上品三人，是遇大凡夫。中品三人，是遇小凡夫。下品三人，是遇惡凡夫。」—“The three persons of the highest grade are ordinary persons who met the Great Vehicle. The three of the middle grade are ordinary persons who met the Lesser. The three of the lowest grade are ordinary persons who met evil.” | 〔T37n1753 0249b02〕 | 「上品位當道種，中品位當性種，下品位當習種。」—“The position of the highest grade answers to the seed of the path, that of the middle grade to the seed of the nature, that of the lowest grade to the seed of practice.” | 〔T37n1750 0193c03〕 |
| For whom the sixteen contemplations are taught | 「證明如來說此十六觀法但為常沒眾生，不干大小聖也。」—“This proves that the Tathāgata taught these sixteen methods of contemplation only for the sentient beings who are constantly sinking, and that they have nothing to do with the sages, great or small.” | 〔T37n1753 0249c08〕 | This passage sets up no such judgment | — |
| The position of the highest birth of the highest grade | 「此即修學大乘上善凡夫人也。」—“This is the ordinary person of the highest good who studies and cultivates the Great Vehicle.” | 〔T37n1753 0270c19〕 | 「上品見佛聞法便悟無生故，是道種人。」—“Because those of the highest grade, seeing the Buddha and hearing the Dharma, straightway awaken to non-arising, they are persons of the seed of the path.” | 〔T37n1750 0193c02〕 |
| The items of the six recollections | 「所謂念佛、法、僧，念戒、捨、天等。」—“That is to say, recollection of the Buddha, of the Dharma, and of the Saṅgha, recollection of the precepts, of relinquishment, and of the gods, and the rest.” (relinquishment) | 〔T37n1753 0273c09〕 | 「「六念」者，佛、法、僧、施、戒、天。」—“As for ‘the six recollections’: the Buddha, the Dharma, the Saṅgha, giving, the precepts, and the gods.” (giving) | 〔T37n1750 0193c14〕 |
| The gloss on the mind of utmost sincerity | 「至者真，誠者實。」—“Utmost means true; sincerity means real.” | 〔T37n1753 0270c27〕 | 「「至誠心」者，即實行眾生。至之言專，誠之言實。」—“As for ‘the mind of utmost sincerity’: it is the sentient being of real practice. Utmost speaks of the exclusive; sincerity speaks of the real.” | 〔T37n1750 0193c10〕 |
| The gloss on the profound mind | 「言深心者，即是深信之心也。」—“As for ‘the profound mind,’ it is the mind of profound trust.” | 〔T37n1753 0271a27〕 | 「「深」者，佛果深高，以心往求，故云深心。亦從深理生，亦從厚樂善根生。」—“As for ‘profound’: the buddha-fruit is profound and high, and one seeks toward it with the mind, and therefore it is called the profound mind. It also arises from the profound principle, and arises from roots of good that are richly delighted in.” | 〔T37n1750 0193c11〕 |
| The difference among the three terraces | 「由行強故上上即得金剛臺，由行劣故上中即得紫金臺」—“Because the practice is strong, the highest of the highest obtains the adamantine terrace; because the practice is inferior, the middle of the highest obtains the purple-gold terrace.” | 〔T37n1753 0274b21〕 | 「一、得道有遲疾；二、所乘有異。初則金剛臺，中紫金臺，下金蓮華。」—“First, in attaining the path there is slowness and speed; second, what is mounted differs. The first is the adamantine terrace, the middle the purple-gold terrace, the lowest the golden lotus flower.” | 〔T37n1750 0193c05〕 |
The first point is the weightiest divergence in this unit: Shandao judges the nine grades to be alike ordinary persons after the Buddha’s passing, differing only in the conditions they met; Zhiyi judges each of the three grades to answer to a position in the stages (the seed of the path, the seed of the nature, the seed of practice), reading the nine grades by rank. In the Section on the Profound Meaning Shandao further raises grade by grade the judgments of other houses and opposes them — 「第三、重舉九品返對破者。諸師云：上品上生人是四地至七地已來菩薩者。」—“Third, raising the nine grades again and refuting them by opposition. The other masters say: the person of the highest birth of the highest grade is a bodhisattva from the fourth ground up to the seventh ground” 〔T37n1753 0248b07〕 — and the reason for his opposition he states thus: 「以此文證，正是佛去世後，大乘極善上品凡夫，日數雖少，作業時猛，何得判同上聖也。」—“By the witness of this text, he is precisely an ordinary person of the highest grade, of the utmost good in the Great Vehicle, after the Buddha has passed from the world; though the number of days be few, the doing of the act was fierce at the time. How can he be judged the same as the sages above?” 〔T37n1753 0248b16〕. What the two houses judge is plainly not the same. This edition records both, imposes no reconciliation, and takes neither house as the correct one.
The fifth point has two divergences within it: first, a divergence of one character: Shandao has 「捨」, relinquishment, and Zhiyi has 「施」, giving. The practices the two characters point to are not the same (relinquishment is the capacity to let go, giving is the giving of gifts), while the number of the six items listed is the same. Second, a divergence of order: Shandao has 「念佛、法、僧，念戒、捨、天」—“recollection of the Buddha, of the Dharma, and of the Saṅgha, recollection of the precepts, of relinquishment, and of the gods” 〔T37n1753 0273c09〕, and Zhiyi has 「佛、法、僧、施、戒、天」—“the Buddha, the Dharma, the Saṅgha, giving, the precepts, the gods” 〔T37n1750 0193c14〕 — the first three items are the same for the two houses, while the order of the last three differs, Shandao placing the precepts first and Zhiyi placing giving first. Recorded without adjudication; the Plain Reading of this edition follows the principal mirror in reading ‘recollection of relinquishment,’ and the former account is recorded and not discarded (as in the parenthetical gloss on the five sufferings in this edition).
VI. Terms (first occurrences — all glosses drawn from the two mirrors)
| Term | The commentary’s gloss, verbatim | Anchor | Mirror |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mind of utmost sincerity | 「至者真，誠者實。」—“Utmost means true; sincerity means real.” | 〔T37n1753 0270c27〕 | Shandao |
| Good mixed with poison | 「雖起三業，名為雜毒之善，亦名虛假之行，不名真實業也。」—“Though the three kinds of karma be set going, it is called good mixed with poison, and is also called a practice that is hollow and false; it is not called true and real karma.” | 〔T37n1753 0271a02〕 | Shandao |
| The profound mind | 「言深心者，即是深信之心也。」—“As for ‘the profound mind,’ it is the mind of profound trust.” | 〔T37n1753 0271a27〕 | Shandao |
| The two kinds of profound trust | 「一者決定深信，自身現是罪惡生死凡夫，曠劫已來常沒常流轉，無有出離之緣。」—“The first is to trust profoundly and decisively that one is oneself at present an ordinary person of offence and evil, of birth-and-death, who through vast kalpas has been constantly sinking and constantly drifting, with no condition for going forth.” | 〔T37n1753 0271a28〕 | Shandao |
| Right practice · mixed practice | 「然行有二種：一者正行，二者雜行。」—“Now, of practice there are two kinds: the first is right practice, the second is mixed practice.” | 〔T37n1753 0272a29〕 | Shandao |
| The act that rightly settles birth | 「一者一心專念彌陀名號，行住坐臥不問時節久近念念不捨者，是名正定之業，順彼佛願故。」—“The first, single-mindedly and exclusively to recollect the name of Amitābha, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, asking nothing of whether the season and time be long or short, and not letting go of it from thought to thought — this is called the act that rightly settles birth, because it accords with that Buddha’s vow.” | 〔T37n1753 0272b06〕 | Shandao |
| The auxiliary act | 「若依禮誦等，即名為助業。」—“If one relies upon doing homage and reciting and the like, that is called the auxiliary act.” | 〔T37n1753 0272b08〕 | Shandao |
| The mind that dedicates and directs and makes the vow | 「言迴向發願心者，過去及以今生身口意業所修世出世善根」—“As for ‘the mind that dedicates and directs and makes the vow,’ it takes the roots of good, worldly and world-transcending, cultivated in the karma of body, speech, and mind in the past and in the present life...” | 〔T37n1753 0272b13〕 | Shandao |
| The six recollections | 「所謂念佛、法、僧，念戒、捨、天等。」—“That is to say, recollection of the Buddha, of the Dharma, and of the Saṅgha, recollection of the precepts, of relinquishment, and of the gods, and the rest.” | 〔T37n1753 0273c09〕 | Shandao |
| The patience of non-arising | 「「無生忍」，言登初地也。」—“‘The patience of non-arising’ speaks of ascending the first ground.” | 〔T37n1750 0193c15〕 | Zhiyi |
| Dhāraṇī | 「「陀羅尼」者，一、能持善，二、能遮惡，是總持也。」—“As for ‘dhāraṇī’: first, it can hold the good; second, it can block the evil. This is total retention.” | 〔T37n1750 0193c16〕 | Zhiyi |
| The utterly profound ultimate meaning | 「「甚深第一義」者，謂諸法實相，言語道絕、心行處滅，名之深妙精進最稱第一。」—“As for ‘the utterly profound ultimate meaning’: it means the real character of all dharmas, where the road of speech is cut off and the place of mental activity is extinguished; it is named profound and wondrous, and energy toward it is best called first.” | 〔T37n1750 0193c20〕 | Zhiyi |
| Receiving the prediction there present | 「「現前受記」者，四種受記一往現前也。」—“As for ‘receiving the prediction there present’: of the four kinds of prediction, this is the one that comes present before one.” | 〔T37n1750 0193c23〕 | Zhiyi |
| The hundred-dharma gate of illumination | 「「得百法明門」者，《地論》云「入百法明門，增長智慧，思惟種種法門義故。」」—“As for ‘attaining the hundred-dharma gate of illumination’: the Treatise on the Ten Grounds says, ‘entering the hundred-dharma gate of illumination, wisdom grows, and one reflects upon the meaning of the manifold gates of the Dharma.’” | 〔T37n1750 0193c27〕 | Zhiyi |
| The Ground of Joy | 「「歡喜地」者，初證聖處，多生歡喜也。」—“As for ‘the Ground of Joy’: it is realizing the holy place for the first time, and much joy arising.” | 〔T37n1750 0193c29〕 | Zhiyi |
Whence the parenthetical glosses used in the Plain Reading of this edition are taken, recorded item by item: the items of the six recollections come from Shandao 〔T37n1753 0273c09〕; for the two items dhāraṇī and the Ground of Joy the principal mirror cites the names but gives no gloss of them (Shandao marks the outline by the two names only — 「至陀羅尼門已來」—“down to ‘the gates of dhāraṇī’” 〔T37n1753 0274a18〕, 「至住歡喜地已來」—“down to ‘abides in the Ground of Joy’” 〔T37n1753 0275a08〕), and for the item of the hundred-dharma gate of illumination the principal mirror yields nothing at all: the glosses of these three all follow Zhiyi 〔T37n1750 0193c16〕〔T37n1750 0193c27〕〔T37n1750 0193c29〕 — where the principal mirror has no account and the account of the witness is taken, what is followed is here plainly recorded (as in the precedent of the Amitābha Sūtra edition of this corpus, ‘the Plain Reading of this edition follows the latter account; the former account is recorded and not discarded’).
The only Sanskrit transcription in this passage of the sūtra is the one word 「阿耨多羅三藐三菩提」, unsurpassed perfect awakening, and the two commentaries give no Sanskrit form for it here; this edition does not supply one in their stead.
VII. Similes and Rhetoric
Similes the sūtra uses of itself:
| Simile | The sūtra verbatim | Anchor | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| The snap of the fingers | 「如彈指頃」—“in the time of a single snap of the fingers” | 〔T12n0365 0344c24〕 | The speed of the going of the highest of the highest |
| A single thought | 「如一念頃」—“in the space of a single thought” | 〔T12n0365 0345a12〕 | The speed of the going of the middle of the highest |
| A great jeweled flower | 「此紫金臺如大寶花」—“this purple-gold terrace is like a great jeweled flower” | 〔T12n0365 0345a13〕 | The appearance of the purple-gold terrace |
Similes set up by the mirror commentaries (not present in the sūtra, recorded here for reference and not to be confounded with the sūtra’s own similes):
| Simile | The commentary verbatim | Anchor | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snakes and scorpions | 「貪瞋邪偽奸詐百端，惡性難侵事同蛇蝎」—“craving and anger, crookedness and falsity, cunning and deceit in a hundred forms; an evil nature hard to encroach upon, the matter being as with snakes and scorpions” | 〔T37n1753 0271a01〕 | The look of one who harbours what is hollow and false within |
| A head on fire | 「縱使苦勵身心，日夜十二時急走急作，如炙頭燃者，眾名雜毒之善。」—“Even should one drive body and mind bitterly on, running hard and working hard through the twelve hours of day and night as though one’s head were burning, all of it is named good mixed with poison.” | 〔T37n1753 0271a04〕 | That without a true and real mind the practice, however urgent, is still mixed with poison |
| Adamant | 「此心深信由若金剛，不為一切異見異學、別解別行人等之所動亂破壞」—“The profound trust of this mind is as it were adamantine, and is not stirred, confounded, or destroyed by any persons of different view or different learning, of divergent understanding or divergent practice” | 〔T37n1753 0272b19〕 | The firmness of the mind that dedicates and directs and makes the vow |
| The two rivers and the white path | 「譬如有人欲向西行百千之里，忽然中路見有二河：一是火河在南，二是水河在北。」—“It is as though a man wished to travel westward a hundred thousand leagues, and suddenly midway saw two rivers: one a river of fire to the south, the other a river of water to the north.” | 〔T37n1753 0272c17〕 | Guarding the mind of trust, so as to ward off the trouble of outward crookedness and divergent views |
| The correlation of the two rivers | 「言水火二河者，即喻眾生貪愛如水，瞋憎如火也。」—“As for ‘the two rivers of water and fire,’ they figure the craving and affection of sentient beings as water and their anger and hatred as fire.” | 〔T37n1753 0273a18〕 | Craving and anger |
| The correlation of the white path | 「言中間白道四五寸者，即喻眾生貪瞋煩惱中能生清淨願往生心也。」—“As for ‘the white path four or five inches wide in the middle,’ it figures the pure mind that can arise amid the afflictions of craving and anger in sentient beings, the mind that vows for birth in that land.” | 〔T37n1753 0273a19〕 | The pure vow amid the afflictions |
Of the simile of the two rivers and the white path the commentary marks its own use of it, saying 「今更為行者說一譬喻守護信心，以防外邪異見之難」—“I shall now speak one further simile for the practitioner, to guard the mind of trust and ward off the trouble of outward crookedness and divergent views” 〔T37n1753 0272c15〕, and where it closes it says 「今信順二尊之意，不顧水火二河，念念無遺，乘彼願力之道，捨命已後得生彼國，與佛相見，慶喜何極也。」—“Now, trusting and according with the intent of the two Honored Ones, paying no heed to the two rivers of water and fire, letting nothing fall from thought to thought, riding the path that is the power of that vow, then after casting off this life he attains birth in that land and meets face to face with the Buddha — what limit is there to such gladness and joy?” 〔T37n1753 0273b05〕. This simile is set up by the commentator himself; the sūtra has nothing of it; this edition sets it out in a separate column and does not confound it with the sūtra’s own similes.
Two things may be recorded as rhetoric. First, the text of the three grades is set out in parallel by one and the same order: the name of the position, the cultivation of the cause, the dedicating and directing, what is met at the end of life, the terrace mounted, the speed of the going, the speed with which the flower opens, the benefit once the flower has opened, and the concluding name; all nine grades follow this form, and it is for this reason that the commentary can run its eleven articles through them all. Second, the three ranks of terrace (the adamantine terrace, the purple-gold terrace, the golden lotus flower), the three ranks in the number of buddhas (countless manifested buddhas, a thousand manifested buddhas, five hundred manifested buddhas), and the three ranks in the opening of the flower (opening at once, after the passing of a night, after one day and one night) descend in three parallel lines: within a single passage, the successive lessening of things marks the successive descent of the practice.
VIII. Citation and Carrying Forward
- Editions outside this one that cite the scriptural text of this unit: nothing found. The four expressions 「上品上生」 (the highest birth of the highest grade), 「上輩生想」 (the image of birth in the highest grade), 「迴向發願心」 (the mind that dedicates and directs and makes the vow), and 「正定之業」 (the act that rightly settles birth) yield not a single hit in any edition outside this one. The expression 「至誠心」 (the mind of utmost sincerity) does yield hits in other editions (The Sūtra of Measureless Life, the Golden Light Sūtra, the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, the Flower Ornament Sūtra, the Sūtra of the Ten Wheels, the Great Calming and Contemplation), but all of these are expressions belonging to those texts themselves and are not citations of the three minds of this passage. Recorded honestly.
- The point of cross-reading within this axis: the ancient masters constantly set the three grades of the edition of The Sūtra of Measureless Life (highest, middle, and lowest grade) over against the nine grades of this sūtra; the apparatus layer of that edition records the accounts of Jingxing and Huiyuan reconciling the Contemplation Sūtra with the larger sūtra. The setting of the two sūtras over against each other belongs to the domain of that edition, and this edition does not adjudicate it in its stead.
- How this contemplation carries forward inside the sūtra itself: the text of the three minds is the bone of the single gate of the good done in a scattered mind in this sūtra, and the siftings of the two grades below it, the middle and the lowest, both take the eleven articles set up in this passage as their form — Shandao says of the middle grade 「十五、就中輩觀行善文前總料簡，即為十一門。」—“Fifteenth: a general sifting made before the text on the contemplation and practice of the good of the middle grade; it comes to eleven articles” 〔T37n1753 0275a16〕, and of the lowest grade 「十六、就下輩觀善惡二行文前料簡，即為十一門。」—“Sixteenth: a sifting made before the text on the contemplation of the two practices, good and evil, of the lowest grade; it comes to eleven articles” 〔T37n1753 0276a25〕.
- From the profound mind of this passage Shandao opens out right practice, mixed practice, and the act that rightly settles birth 〔T37n1753 0272a29〕〔T37n1753 0272b06〕, and this is where the pivot of the Commentary in Four Fascicles as a book lies; how his account carries forward is a matter of the later lineage and is not made plain by this passage itself, so this edition records its place within the commentary and stops there.
IX. Placement Among the Recensions
The Taishō collation notes within the domain of this unit come to eighteen in all, with four further items carrying the asterisk of a preceding note:
| Anchor | Base text | Variant | Witnesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0344c09 | 「佛」 (Buddha) | 佛佛 (Buddha Buddha) | Yuan |
| 0344c09 | The eight characters 「凡生西方有九品人」 (of all who are born in the West there are persons of nine grades) | These eight characters absent | Song · Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0344c15 | 「願」 (vow) | 願願 (vow vow) | Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0344c16 | 「佛」 (Buddha) | This character absent | Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0344c17 | 「猛」 (courageous) | 猛力 (courageous in strength) | Song |
| 0344c18 | 「及」 (and) | This character absent | Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0344c19 | 「量」 (measure) | 數 (number) | current-circulation printing |
| 0345a03 (carrying the asterisk of the preceding note) | 「受」 (receive) | 授 (confer) | current-circulation printing |
| 0345a03 | 「至」 (to) | 到 (arrive at) | current-circulation printing |
| 0345a06 | 「信」 (believe) | 信信 (believe believe) | Dunhuang |
| 0345a08 (carrying the asterisk of the preceding note) | 「及」 (and) | This character absent | current-circulation printing |
| 0345a14 | 「即」 (at once) | 則 (then) | Song · Yuan · Ming · current-circulation printing |
| 0345a15 | 「俱放」 (together send forth) | 俱時 (together at the same time · Song · Yuan · Ming) ／ 俱時放 (together at the same time send forth · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing) | Song · Yuan · Ming ／ Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0345a19 | 「飛」 (fly) | 飛行遍 (fly and range everywhere) | Song · Yuan · Ming · current-circulation printing |
| 0345a21 | 「法」 (Dharma) | This character absent | Song · Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0345a21 (carrying the asterisk of the preceding note) | 「受」 (receive) | 授 (confer) | current-circulation printing |
| 0345a24 | 「彼」 (that) | This character absent | Song · Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0345a24 | 「并」 (together with) | This character absent | Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang · current-circulation printing |
| 0345a25 | 「眷屬」 (retinue) | 菩薩 (bodhisattvas) | Song · Yuan · Ming |
| 0345a25 | 「化」 (manifested) | This character absent | Yuan · Ming |
| 0345a26 | 「化」 (manifested) | This character absent | Dunhuang |
| 0345b06 (carrying the asterisk of the preceding note) | The sixteen characters 「作是觀者，名為正觀。若他觀者，名為邪觀」 (to make this contemplation is called right contemplation; to make another contemplation is called wrong contemplation) | These sixteen characters absent | Song · Yuan · Ming · Dunhuang |
The second is the weightiest variant in this unit — the eight characters of the base text, 「凡生西方有九品人」, are absent from the Song, the Yuan, the Ming, the Dunhuang witness, and the current-circulation printing alike. These eight characters are the one place in the whole sūtra that expressly marks 「九品」, the nine grades; if the witnesses lack them, then the name of the nine grades is to be found only in the headings each grade marks for itself, from 「上品上生者」, ‘as for the highest birth of the highest grade,’ onward. Neither of the two mirrors cites these eight characters in its outline of this passage: Shandao’s first segment reads 「一、從佛告阿難已下，則雙標二意」—“First, from ‘the Buddha told Ānanda’ onward, two intents are jointly marked” 〔T37n1753 0270c18〕, and Zhiyi reads 「就初中，文為三：第一、標」—“Within the first, the text has three parts: the first is the marking” 〔T37n1750 0193c06〕 — both begin from 「佛告阿難」, ‘the Buddha told Ānanda,’ or from 「上品上生者」, ‘as for the highest birth of the highest grade,’ and neither cites 「凡生西方有九品人」 as text. Their yielding nothing is recorded honestly; it is not used to determine which recension the commentaries had before them, nor is one character of the base text altered.
The fifteenth note has two branches — the base text reads 「佛及菩薩俱放光明」, the Buddha and the bodhisattvas together send forth light; the Song, Yuan, and Ming witnesses read 「俱時」, together at the same time, and the Dunhuang witness and the current-circulation printing read 「俱時放」, together at the same time send forth. The three forms stand side by side, recorded without adjudication.
The last sixteen characters carry the asterisk of the preceding note — they are of the same family as the last sixteen characters of the first contemplation 〔T12n0365 0342a04〕. Not one character of the base text is altered on that account.
Gaiji: nothing found in this unit.
Inline glosses (place="inline"): nothing found in this unit.
Ideographic space (U+3000): nothing found in this unit.
Newly added CBETA collation notes: nothing found in this unit.