佛說無量壽經 下卷題及聞名正定
聽見以前，十方已經開口
有些名字只用來指認一個人；有些名字來到耳邊時，連同一條道路一起到來。經先寫十方無數諸佛共同讚歎，而後才寫眾生聽見。這個次第使聞名不是孤立的聲音，而是一場早已由無量覺者共同指向的相遇。
眾生起初仍在彼國之外，能做的第一件事只是聽見。經沒有輕看這個最平常的動作，因為若無所聞，心便無從回應。門還沒有走過，方向已先來到面前。
信不是逼迫，喜也不是熱鬧
聽見之後，經連寫「聞其名號信心歡喜」〔T12n0360 0272b11〕。信心使人不把所聞立刻推開，歡喜使這份不拒絕有了內在的樂受；二者相連，不是一項外在命令。
被逼出來的同意很難歡喜，只追逐熱鬧的歡喜也未必有信。經把兩字並列，像一扇門同時有門軸與開向：心有可信之處，也願意朝它打開。
一念雖少，方向不能省
人容易因路長而不敢起步，也容易因起了一步便把全路說成走完。經把行相說到乃至一念。它沒有要求那一念冒充漫長修行，也沒有因其數少便說它毫無重量。
一念使當下的心有了明確所向。行相可以極少，心卻不能因此空白；所以一念後面立刻跟著至心、迴向與願生。少的是數，不是誠意。
心轉過身，遠方才成為所願
『迴向』像心轉過身。原先一切努力可能只繞著自己，現在它們有了新的去處；原先彼國只是聽來的遠方，現在成為願意前往的方向。經把這一步寫成至心迴向，願生彼國〔T12n0360 0272b12〕。
願不是把遠方拖到自己面前，而是承認自己要朝哪裡走。至心使這個方向不虛，迴向使它不封閉，願生使它不含糊。三者合在一起，一念才不只是一閃而過的念頭。
門很近，門邊仍有難文
經沒有因法門廣大便抹去最後一句，仍把五逆與誹謗正法列為例外。這句很硬，也與前面『諸有眾生』的廣語並立，成為不能草率略過的難處。保留它，不等於拿它替別人宣判；拿走它，也不是慈悲。
真正的誠實，是讓開門之語與難文同時留在原處。信心歡喜不能被說成無論心向何處都一樣，例外也不能被擴成拒人於千里之外的工具。經說到哪裡，便守到哪裡。
所到之處，不再失去方向
卷下第一個結果不是華香樓閣，而是「皆悉住於正定之聚」〔T12n0360 0272b08〕。這使聞名、一念與願生都有了深於安樂的終點：不是只換一處生活，而是所行不再落入邪向與進退無定。
一個名字由耳邊進到心裡，一念由當下轉成方向，願由此岸指向彼國。路看似從極小處開始，所守的卻是不退。門近到一念可入，遠方則一直通向覺悟。
Before Anyone Hears, the Ten Directions Have Already Spoken
Some names do no more than identify a person. Other names arrive at the ear bearing an entire path. The sūtra first writes that measureless buddhas of the ten directions praise together, and only afterward writes that beings hear. This order means that hearing the Name is not an isolated sound, but an encounter toward which measureless awakened ones have already pointed together.
At first, beings still stand outside that land. The first thing they can do is simply hear. The sūtra does not make light of this most ordinary action, for without something heard, the mind has nothing to which it can respond. The gate has not yet been crossed, but a direction has already arrived before them.
Trust Is Not Coercion, and Joy Is Not Excitement
After hearing, the sūtra writes in one sequence that beings hear his Name, give rise to trust, and rejoice. Trust keeps a person from immediately pushing away what has been heard; joy gives this non-rejection an inward gladness. Joined together, they are not an external command.
Assent forced from someone seldom brings joy, while joy that chases excitement does not necessarily contain trust. The sūtra places the two side by side, like a gate with both hinge and opening: the mind finds something worthy of trust and is also willing to open toward it.
Though a Single Thought Is Little, Its Direction Cannot Be Omitted
People easily refuse to begin because the road is long, and just as easily pretend that taking one step means they have completed the whole road. The sūtra brings the form of practice down to even a single thought. It does not ask that one thought impersonate long cultivation, nor does it say that its small number gives it no weight.
A single thought gives the present mind a definite direction. The form of practice may be extremely slight, but the mind cannot therefore be blank; this is why utmost sincerity, dedication and direction, and the vow for birth follow immediately after the single thought. What is small is the number, not the sincerity.
When the Mind Turns, a Distant Land Becomes What Is Vowed
“Dedication and direction” is like the mind turning around. Previously, every effort might have circled only around oneself; now those efforts have a new destination. Previously, that land was merely a distant place one had heard about; now it becomes the direction in which one vows to go. The sūtra describes this step as dedicating and directing with utmost sincerity and vowing for birth in that land.
A vow does not drag the distant land before oneself. It acknowledges where one intends to go. Utmost sincerity keeps this direction from being hollow; dedication and direction keep it from being closed within the self; the vow for birth keeps it unambiguous. Only together do they prevent a single thought from being merely a thought that flashes and vanishes.
The Gate Is Near, Yet a Difficult Sentence Still Stands Beside It
The sūtra does not erase its final sentence because the Dharma-gate is vast. It still lists the five heinous acts and slander of the right Dharma as exceptions. The sentence is severe. Set beside the preceding breadth of “any beings,” it remains a difficulty that cannot be passed over casually. To preserve it is not to use it to pronounce judgment upon others; to remove it is not compassion.
Genuine honesty lets the words that open the gate and the difficult sentence remain together in their proper places. Trust and joy cannot be made to mean that the direction of one’s mind is irrelevant, nor may the exception be expanded into a tool for holding people at a distance. We keep exactly to the extent of what the sūtra says.
At the Destination, Direction Is No Longer Lost
The first result in the second fascicle is not flowers, fragrance, or jeweled towers, but that all dwell in the rightly fixed group. This gives hearing the Name, a single thought, and the vow for birth an end deeper than pleasure: one does not merely exchange one place of life for another; one’s path no longer falls into a wrong direction or remains unfixed between advance and retreat.
A name enters the mind through the ear. A single present thought becomes a direction. A vow points from this shore toward that land. The road seems to begin at the smallest possible point, yet what it preserves is non-retrogression. The gate is near enough to enter in one thought; the far shore opens all the way to awakening.
大正藏 T12n0360〔起 T12 0272b05〕。段／行首〔T12 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔T12 0272b05〕佛說無量壽經卷下 曹魏天竺三藏康僧鎧譯 佛告阿難：「其有眾生生彼國者，皆悉住於正定之聚。所以者何？彼佛國中無諸邪聚及不定之聚，十方恒沙諸佛如來皆共讚歎無量壽佛威神功德不可思議。諸有眾生聞其名號信心歡喜，乃至一念，至心迴向願生彼國，即得往生住不退轉，唯除五逆、誹謗正法。」
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.
大正藏 T12n0360 卷下，自卷端題署至聞名往生、住不退轉及例外句。段首（…）＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔一·卷端題署〕（0272b05）《佛說無量壽經》卷下。卷端題署記作：曹魏時代，天竺三藏康僧鎧譯。
〔二·生彼國者皆住正定〕（0272b08）佛告訴阿難：凡是生到彼國的眾生，全都安住在正定的一類之中。為什麼？因為那位佛的國土中，沒有趣向邪道的一類眾生，也沒有進退未定的一類眾生。
〔三·十方諸佛共同讚歎〕（0272b10）十方世界中數如恒河沙的一切諸佛如來，都共同讚歎無量壽佛的威神與功德不可思議。
〔四·聞名、信喜、迴向願生〕（0272b11）任何眾生聽到無量壽佛的名號，生起信心而歡喜，乃至只有一念，也以至誠心迴轉所向，願生彼國，便能往生，安住於不退轉。
〔五·經末所列例外〕（0272b13）只有五逆、誹謗正法者除外。
Taishō canon T12n0360, second fascicle, from the fascicle-front title and attribution through hearing the Name, birth in that land, dwelling in non-retrogression, and the statement of exceptions. The figures at the head of each segment give the Taishō page, register, and line.
〔一 · Fascicle-Front Title and Attribution〕（0272b05）The Sūtra of Measureless Life, second fascicle. The fascicle front gives the attribution: translated by Kang Sengkai, Tripiṭaka master from India, during the Cao-Wei dynasty.
〔二 · All Born in That Land Dwell in the Rightly Fixed Group〕（0272b08）The Buddha told Ānanda: all beings born in that land dwell in the rightly fixed group. Why is this? In that buddha-land there is no group of beings directed toward what is wrong and no group whose advance or retreat remains unfixed.
〔三 · The Buddhas of the Ten Directions Praise Together〕（0272b10）All buddha-tathāgatas throughout the worlds of the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Gaṅgā, together praise the inconceivable majestic power and merit of the Buddha of Measureless Life.
〔四 · Hearing the Name, Trust and Joy, Dedication, and the Vow for Birth〕（0272b11）Any beings who hear the Name of the Buddha of Measureless Life, give rise to trust and rejoice—even for as little as a single thought—and, with utmost sincerity, dedicate and direct what they have cultivated and vow for birth in that land immediately attain birth in that land and dwell in non-retrogression.
〔五 · Exceptions Listed at the End of the Passage〕（0272b13）Excepted are only those who commit the five heinous acts or slander the right Dharma.
這一講依憬興《連義述文贊》所判『遂攝眾生願而申往生』讀本願如何落成果，又參照慧遠《義疏》對正定、聞名與三輩的先後安排，最後以曇鸞《往生論註》對『普共諸眾生』及逆謗難題的展開照其承衍。三家對五逆與《觀經》如何相會並不一致；不同處照實保留，不把任何一家悄悄寫成經文自己的唯一答案。
卷一下翻，經先說的不是方法
卷下題署以後，佛沒有立刻列三輩，也沒有先問眾生能修多少。第一句直接說果：「其有眾生生彼國者，皆悉住於正定之聚。」〔T12n0360 0272b08〕 這個次第很重要。上卷用了極長篇幅說願、修願與國土成就；卷下轉向眾生時，先交代所到之處是什麼樣的道路，而後才分說各種修因。
正定不是對出發前身分的誇獎。經沒有說只有已達某一地位的人才能住在其中，而說凡生彼國者『皆悉』如此。古來大小乘對正定、邪定、不定的分位各有不同，經在此不忙著替每一套位次表作裁；它只說彼國沒有邪聚，也沒有不定聚。因此，第一個落點是方向：一旦生彼，向涅槃、向善行、向不退的方向不再翻轉。
這也不等於每個人的功德智慧當下全無差別。緊接的三輩仍分上、中、下，並明說中輩次如上輩、下輩次如中輩。共同安住正定，與修因、見佛、所得功德有次第，可以同時成立。若把正定讀成一切階位立刻齊平，便會使後文三篇失去自己的語義；若把次第讀成有人仍可能邪定，又會違背本段的『皆悉』。
所以經先把共同的終向立穩，再容許行者各帶不同因緣進門。這不是模糊差異，而是使差異不再通往相反的終局。我們由此讀見：淨土所攝，不是把所有人寫成一種人，而是不讓任何已生者掉回沒有方向的境地。
沒有邪與不定，究竟少了什麼
『邪定』與『不定』容易被讀成對人的永久標籤；經的說法卻落在國土中沒有這兩聚。它關心的不是替尚在此土的眾生分配身分，而是說彼國如何承接一個人。邪定是方向背反，不定是數進數退；兩者都帶著道路可能中斷、反向或失落的危險。經用一個『無』字，把這種危險從彼土的條件中除去。
因此，正定之聚首先是一個不再被放棄的世界。行者的智慧可以未滿，功德可以有深淺，卻不再因所處國土而被推回邪向。後文上、中二輩明說住不退轉；下輩雖不重出此四字，卻明說亦得往生，而本段已先總判生彼者皆住正定。總判說那裡沒有哪兩條歧路，分判再說各類眾生如何到達、到達後獲何利益。
我們若只把三聚當作名相表，會錯過經把它放在卷下第一句的用意。這一句先替後文定下尺度：讀任何往生之因，都不可把它講成只求換一處安樂；它所到的地方，必須是向覺悟不退的地方。若果上沒有這個方向，後文的捨家、修善或一念，都只剩交換果報的手段。
經也沒有讓『正定』成為驕慢的理由。它說的是生彼者受何攝持，不是尚未生者據此自稱已在何位。法教在這裡給的是歸向，不是一張可以拿來高下他人的名牌。
為何先由十方諸佛開口
說完彼國唯有正定，經忽然把視野推到十方：「十方恒沙諸佛如來皆共讚歎無量壽佛威神功德不可思議。」〔T12n0360 0272b10〕 眾生尚未聞名以前，諸佛已共同讚歎；一個人的信，不必從孤立的自我暗示開始，而是先遇見十方覺者共同指向的佛德。
這個次第也使『名號』不成為一個空聲。經不是先說聽見幾個音節便如何，後面才補佛有何德；恰恰相反，威神功德不可思議在前，聞其名號在後。所聞的名，帶著被十方諸佛共同稱歎的佛德而來。名不是把佛縮成聲音，而是讓有限之耳能與不可思議功德相遇的入口。
十方共同讚歎，也不是用數量代替真理。它在敘事中負責把法門從一場法會送往恒沙世界：無量壽佛的名不是只在阿難面前被說，諸佛各在其國為眾生開出聞名的因緣。到了眾生一端，才有下一句的聞、信與喜。諸佛之讚是先行的給予，眾生之信是遇見以後的回應。
因此，信心不是逼自己相信一項沒有來由的許諾。它先有所聞，所聞又有諸佛共歎；歡喜則表示這份所聞不只停在耳邊，心已與它相應。經把證成與回應依次安放，使往生之願既不從虛空生，也不由別人替自己完成。
從聞見名號，到心有一個所向
短短一句裡，經依次放了七個動作：聞名、信心、歡喜、乃至一念、至心、迴向、願生。每一個都不能由後一個取消。只聽見而不信，名仍在門外；信而不喜，心尚未真正樂受；有一念而無至心，念沒有質地；有至心而不迴向，力量沒有轉向；有迴向而不願生，方向仍未說明。
『迴向』尤其不能只解成回頭想起。它處在至心與願生之間，是把所有善向一處轉，使它不封閉於自受。後來論中說迴己功德普施眾生，共見彌陀、同生安樂，正把這個『回』字由個人願求推向共同受益。可是本段自身先保持簡明：心至誠，方向轉定，所願是生彼國。
你若問這一連串裡哪一個字最重要，經沒有讓我們抽走其中一項另立口訣。它的力量正在次第相續：聞使佛德可遇，信使所聞不被拒絕，喜使心不再勉強，一念使歸向在當下發生，至心使它不虛浮，迴向使它不困於己，願生使道路有了明確所至。
這也說明，聞名不是被動接收資訊。從聞到願，中間每一步都在改變心的方向；最後的往生不是偶然落下的獎賞，而與前面的信、喜、至心、迴向相應。經沒有把這些字寫得很長，卻一個也沒有省。
一念之小，為何不是願心之薄
經把門推到「乃至一念」〔T12n0360 0272b12〕。『乃至』表示由多至少，一念是可說的最小處；它沒有表示佛道只剩一瞬，也沒有說此後不再有行。前面的第十八願說乃至十念，此處改說一念，古來解為最少與較多互相舉出，並非兩段彼此排斥。
數目雖小，句中的條件並未跟著縮小。一念仍與信心歡喜、至心迴向、願生彼國相連。若只留下『一』，把信、喜、至心與願全部刪掉，那就不是經所說的一念，而是後人從完整句中切下的一個數字。真正的短，不是內容被掏空；是整個方向在極短時中也能成立。
古德談念的輕重，又說不只看時節久近多少，而須看心、所緣與決定。這不是把長久修行貶低，也不是替散亂找藉口；它只提醒我們，時間長不自動等於方向真，時間短也不自動等於力量薄。《往生論註》譬作「千歲闇室，光若暫至即便明朗」〔T40n1819 0834b29〕；所說的是光的性質與所緣，不是黑暗從未存在。
所以一念的教學力量，在於不讓人以『我已太遲』封死入口；它的分寸，則在不讓人以『只要一瞬』抹去至心。門可以在當下一念開，所開的卻是正定、不退的長路。小的是可入之時，不是所向之果。
即得往生，不等於可以代佛許諾
經接著說：「即得往生住不退轉」〔T12n0360 0272b13〕。『即得』把願成之力寫得直接，不在信願之後另加一串經文沒有說的隱藏條件；『住不退轉』又把結果從到達一國推向菩提方向的堅固。往生與不退在一句中，不容把前者只讀成換一個舒適所在。
然而，經直說果，不等於任何講說者可以替一個具體的人宣布何時、以何相必定發生。這段說的是法門的因果結構；個人的內心是否至誠、是否真信、是否迴向，旁人無從代知。法師之語到此只須把經的判準交還：聞名不是終點，信喜不是裝飾，一念不是空數，迴向願生也不是可刪的尾語。
不退轉更不是世間萬事從此不再困難。後文仍有上中下三輩、真佛化佛夢見的不同，也有功德智慧次第。『不退』所守的是向覺悟的終向，不是替現前生活許下沒有逆境的保證。經所給的安穩深於順境，卻也因此不能被講成一種順境承諾。
我們若守住這個分寸，『即得』便既不被削弱，也不被濫用。它仍然是本願成就的有力直陳；而講者不越過經文，替眾生判心、判時、判果。
門邊那句難文，為何不能悄悄拿走
全段最寬廣處說諸有眾生，最末卻留下「唯除五逆、誹謗正法」〔T12n0360 0272b13〕。同一句也見於第十八願。另一方面，《觀經》又說造五逆十惡者臨終得遇善知識、具足十念而往生。兩部經並讀，張力是真實的；若把其中一句刪掉，問題看似消失，所失去的卻是經典本來的聲音。
古來會釋並不只有一條。有人從『人』分：久發大心、造逆後重悔者，與未發大心又無重悔者不同；有人從『行』分：能修正觀滅罪與不能修觀不同。另一讀法說，本經所除是五逆與謗法兩罪俱具，只有五逆而不謗法者仍可得生。又有讀法把本經上三生與《觀經》下下生分開，並特別指出謗法之重。這些解釋各有古文所據，也彼此不能簡化成同一答案。
因此，這一節的落點不是替三家投票。能忠實做到的，是把例外句原樣留下，把《觀經》的相違文原樣看見，再把各家如何分人、分行、分罪逐一說清。若急著宣布矛盾已解，常會在不知不覺中刪去某一邊；若只說互相矛盾而不讀古德，也會錯失歷代為何如此細分。
這句難文也阻止我們把聞名法門講成廉價保證。經一面把門開到一念，一面把正法能否被信受放在門的核心。至少可以確定：歡喜信心與誹謗正法，在同一段中方向相反。再往下如何會通五逆，諸家不同，經沒有要求後人偽裝成只有一種讀法。
承衍——『普共』二字把誰帶進來
憬興由本願成就讀本段，先說彼國唯有正定，再把十方佛歎看成增長眾生求生之心；慧遠亦以正定、聞名、三輩為三步，使此段成為後文各類修因的共同門額。逐文主鏡與義疏見證都不把 04 併入上輩，故三輩各篇仍能有自己的綱。
曇鸞從天親的迴向偈追問：『普共諸眾生』究竟共誰？他直接徵引本段，答到一切外凡夫人；又把迴向說成回己功德、普施眾生，共見彌陀、同生安樂。聞名願生由此不只是一人逃離苦處，也帶著與眾生共向彼國的廣度。
至於逆謗難題，三面古鏡各守其說，不相調停。它們共同保住的，仍是經本身的完整次第：彼國無邪無定，十方諸佛共歎，眾生聞名信喜，乃至一念至心迴向，願生而得不退；最末的例外也一字不藏。道路開得極近，所向卻極深；門在一念之中，門後仍是正定與菩提。
This exposition follows Jingxing’s division in the Linked-Meaning Expository Praise—“thereupon, in fulfillment of the vows to embrace beings, it sets forth birth in that land”—to read how the original vows become accomplished results. It also consults Huiyuan’s Commentary on the sequence of right fixity, hearing the Name, and the three grades, and finally uses Tanluan’s Commentary on the Treatise on Birth in That Land to illuminate the later development of “universally together with all beings” and the difficult question of heinous acts and slander. The three masters do not agree on how the five heinous acts and the Contemplation Sūtra meet. Their differences are preserved as they stand; no master is quietly written into the sūtra as its sole answer.
When the Fascicle Turns, the Sūtra Does Not Begin with a Method
After the heading of the second fascicle, the Buddha does not immediately enumerate the three grades or first ask how much beings can practice. The opening sentence states the result directly: all beings born in that land dwell in the rightly fixed group. This order matters. The first fascicle devotes great length to the vows, their cultivation, and the accomplishment of the land. When the second fascicle turns toward beings, it first tells us what kind of path lies at the destination and only then distinguishes the various causes of practice.
Right fixity is not praise for a person’s status before departure. The sūtra does not say that only those who have reached a certain stage can dwell there; it says that all born in that land do so. Ancient teachings, both Śrāvakayāna and Mahāyāna, differ in how they assign stages to the rightly fixed, wrongly fixed, and unfixed groups. Here the sūtra does not hurry to adjudicate every scheme of stages. It simply says that in that land there is neither a wrongly fixed group nor an unfixed group. The first point, therefore, is direction: once born there, one’s direction toward nirvāṇa, wholesome conduct, and non-retrogression no longer turns back.
This does not mean that every person’s merit and wisdom instantly become identical. The three grades that follow remain highest, middle, and lowest, and the text explicitly says that the middle grade is next to the highest and the lowest next to the middle. Common dwelling in right fixity can coexist with gradations in causal practice, seeing the Buddha, and meritorious attainment. If right fixity were taken to mean that every stage instantly became level, the following three units would lose their own meaning. If gradation meant that some might still be wrongly fixed, it would contradict the “all” in this passage.
The sūtra therefore establishes the final direction shared by all before allowing practitioners to enter with different causes and conditions. This does not blur differences; it keeps those differences from leading toward opposite ends. Here we see that the Pure Land does not embrace beings by writing everyone as the same kind of person. It prevents anyone already born there from falling back into a condition without direction.
When Wrong Fixity and the Unfixed Are Absent, What Exactly Is Missing?
“Wrongly fixed” and “unfixed” are easily read as permanent labels attached to persons. Yet the sūtra says that these two groups are absent from that land. Its concern is not to assign identities to beings still in this world, but to tell how that land receives a person. Wrong fixity is a direction turned against the path; the unfixed condition is repeated advance and retreat. Both contain the danger that the path may be broken off, reversed, or lost. With one word—“none”—the sūtra removes that danger from the conditions of the land.
The rightly fixed group is therefore, first of all, a world in which one is no longer abandoned. A practitioner’s wisdom may remain incomplete and merit may differ in depth, yet the land itself no longer drives anyone back toward what is wrong. Later, the highest and middle grades explicitly state that those born there dwell in non-retrogression. Although the lowest grade does not repeat those four Chinese characters, it expressly says that they too attain birth in that land, while this passage has already stated universally that all born there dwell in the rightly fixed group. The universal judgment says which two divergent roads are absent; the differentiated judgments then say how each kind of being arrives and what benefit each receives after arrival.
If we treat the three groups only as a chart of terms, we miss why the sūtra places them in the first sentence of the second fascicle. The sentence first sets the measure for everything that follows: no cause of birth in that land may be taught as merely seeking to exchange one pleasure for another. The destination must be a place where the movement toward awakening does not retreat. Without that direction in the result, the later renunciation of home, cultivation of good, or single thought would be reduced to techniques for bargaining for a reward.
Nor does the sūtra allow “right fixity” to become a ground for arrogance. It describes the sustaining embrace received by those born there; it does not authorize people not yet born there to claim a rank and use it to place themselves above or below others. What the teaching gives here is a direction of refuge, not a badge for ranking people.
Why Do the Buddhas of the Ten Directions Speak First?
After saying that only the rightly fixed group is present in that land, the sūtra suddenly expands its view to the ten directions: buddha-tathāgatas as numerous as the sands of the Gaṅgā all together praise the inconceivable majestic power and merit of the Buddha of Measureless Life. Before beings hear the Name, the buddhas have already praised together. A person’s trust need not begin in isolated self-suggestion, but first encounters the Buddha’s virtue toward which the awakened ones of the ten directions point together.
This order also prevents the “Name” from becoming an empty sound. The sūtra does not say first that merely hearing some syllables produces a result and only afterward supplement them with the Buddha’s virtues. Quite the reverse: inconceivable majestic power and merit come first; hearing his Name comes next. The Name that is heard carries with it the Buddha’s virtue praised together by the buddhas of the ten directions. The Name does not reduce the Buddha to sound; it is the entrance through which finite ears encounter inconceivable merit.
Nor does praise by the ten directions substitute quantity for truth. Within the narrative, it carries the Dharma-gate from one Dharma assembly into worlds as numerous as the sands of the Gaṅgā. The Name of the Buddha of Measureless Life is not spoken only before Ānanda. In their own lands, the buddhas open conditions through which beings hear the Name. Only then, on the side of beings, do hearing, trust, and joy arise in the next sentence. The buddhas’ praise is a gift that goes before; beings’ trust is the response after encounter.
Trust, therefore, is not forcing oneself to believe a promise with no ground. There is first something heard, and what is heard rests upon the praise of the buddhas. Joy means that what was heard does not stop at the ear, for the mind has begun to correspond with it. The sūtra places attestation and response in sequence, so that the vow for birth neither arises from empty space nor can be completed by another person on one’s behalf.
From Encountering the Name to the Mind’s Acquiring a Direction
Within one short sentence, the sūtra places seven actions in sequence: hearing the Name, trust, joy, even a single thought, utmost sincerity, dedication and direction, and the vow for birth. No later one cancels an earlier one. If one hears but does not trust, the Name remains outside the gate. If one trusts but does not rejoice, the mind has not truly delighted in what it receives. If there is one thought without utmost sincerity, the thought has no substance. If there is sincerity without dedication and direction, its power has no direction. If there is dedication without the vow for birth, the destination remains unstated.
“Dedication and direction,” in particular, cannot mean merely remembering something again. It stands between utmost sincerity and the vow for birth: all good is turned toward one place so that it does not remain enclosed within one’s own enjoyment. A later treatise speaks of turning one’s own merit and giving it universally to beings so that all may see Amitābha and be born together in Peace and Bliss. This carries the sense of “turning” from an individual aspiration toward shared benefit. Yet the present passage itself remains concise: the mind is utterly sincere, its direction turns and becomes fixed, and what it vows is birth in that land.
If asked which character in this sequence is most important, the sūtra does not permit us to extract one and make it a separate formula. Its force lies in their continuous order. Hearing makes the Buddha’s virtue encounterable; trust keeps what is heard from being rejected; joy frees the mind from compulsion; one thought lets the return toward the goal happen now; utmost sincerity keeps it from being hollow; dedication and direction keep it from being trapped in the self; the vow for birth gives the road a definite destination.
This also shows that hearing the Name is not passive receipt of information. From hearing to vowing, every step changes the mind’s direction. The birth that follows is not a reward dropped down by chance; it corresponds with the trust, joy, utmost sincerity, and dedication that precede it. The sūtra does not write these words at length, but neither does it omit a single one.
Why Does the Littleness of One Thought Not Mean a Thin Vow-Mind?
The sūtra pushes the gate open as far as even a single thought. “Even” moves from many to few, and one thought is the least that can be stated. It does not mean that the Buddha-path lasts only an instant or that no practice follows. The Eighteenth Vow above says “even ten thoughts,” whereas this passage says “one thought.” The ancient explanation takes them as mutually indicating a greater and a least number, not as two passages that exclude each other.
Although the number is small, the conditions in the sentence do not shrink with it. A single thought remains joined to trust and joy, utmost sincerity, dedication and direction, and the vow for birth in that land. If “one” alone is kept while trust, joy, sincerity, and vow are all cut away, the result is not the one thought taught by the sūtra, but a number severed from the complete sentence by a later reader. Genuine brevity is not emptiness of content; the entire direction can become established even within the shortest moment.
When ancient masters discuss the weight of a thought, they say that it depends not only on how long or short a period is, but also on the mind, its object, and decisiveness. This does not belittle long cultivation or excuse distraction. It reminds us that length of time does not automatically make a direction genuine, and brevity does not automatically make its power thin. The Commentary on the Treatise on Birth in That Land compares it to a chamber dark for a thousand years that immediately becomes bright if light arrives even briefly. The point concerns the nature of the light and its object, not a claim that darkness never existed.
The teaching power of a single thought is therefore that no one need seal the entrance with “I am already too late.” Its measure is that no one may erase utmost sincerity by saying, “only an instant is needed.” The gate may open in a present thought, but what opens is the long path of right fixity and non-retrogression. What is small is the moment in which one may enter, not the result toward which one turns.
Immediately Attaining Birth Does Not Authorize Anyone to Promise on the Buddha’s Behalf
The sūtra next says that they immediately attain birth in that land and dwell in non-retrogression. “Immediately attain” states the power of fulfilled vows directly, without adding after trust and vow a series of hidden conditions that the sūtra does not mention. “Dwell in non-retrogression” carries the result beyond arrival in a land to firmness in the direction of awakening. Birth and non-retrogression share a single sentence, so the former cannot be read as merely exchanging one comfortable place for another.
Yet the sūtra’s direct statement of the result does not mean that a teacher may announce for a particular person exactly when and in what form it will certainly occur. This passage states the causal structure of the Dharma-gate. Another person cannot know from within whether an individual’s mind is utterly sincere, whether the trust is genuine, or whether dedication and direction have actually occurred. A Dharma teacher need only return the sūtra’s own criteria: hearing the Name is not the end, trust and joy are not decoration, one thought is not an empty number, and dedication and the vow for birth are not an expendable tail.
Nor does non-retrogression mean that every worldly matter will cease to be difficult. The following passage still distinguishes highest, middle, and lowest grades, real buddhas and transformation buddhas, waking visions and dreams, and gradations of merit and wisdom. What “non-retrogression” guards is the final direction toward awakening, not a promise that present life will contain no adversity. The security offered by the sūtra is deeper than favorable circumstances, and for that very reason it cannot be taught as a promise of favorable circumstances.
If we keep this measure, “immediately attain” is neither weakened nor abused. It remains a powerful direct statement of the original vows’ fulfillment, while the teacher does not overstep the sūtra by judging another person’s mind, timing, or result.
Why Can the Difficult Sentence Beside the Gate Not Be Quietly Removed?
At its broadest point the passage speaks of any beings, yet at the very end it leaves intact the exception of those who commit the five heinous acts or slander the right Dharma. The same sentence occurs in the Eighteenth Vow. The Contemplation Sūtra, on the other hand, says that one who has committed the five heinous acts and ten evils may meet a good spiritual friend at life’s end, complete ten thoughts, and be born in that land. When the two sūtras are read together, the tension is real. Removing either sentence makes the question appear to disappear, but loses the scriptures’ own voices.
Ancient reconciliations do not offer only one path. Some distinguish the persons: those who aroused the great mind long ago and afterward committed a heinous act but deeply repented differ from those who had neither aroused that mind nor repented deeply. Others distinguish the practices: those able to cultivate right contemplation and extinguish offenses differ from those unable to cultivate contemplation. Another reading says that the present sūtra excludes only those who combine the two offenses of the five heinous acts and slander of the Dharma, while those who commit the heinous acts without slandering the Dharma can still attain birth. Still another separates the three grades in this sūtra from the lowest of the lowest grade in the Contemplation Sūtra and especially emphasizes the gravity of slandering the Dharma. Each interpretation has ancient textual support, and they cannot be flattened into a single answer.
The point of this section is therefore not to vote among three masters. Fidelity requires leaving the exception exactly where it stands, seeing the discordant passage of the Contemplation Sūtra exactly as it stands, and stating clearly how each master distinguishes persons, practices, and offenses. A hasty announcement that the contradiction has been resolved often quietly deletes one side. To say only that the texts contradict without reading the ancient masters would lose the reasons for their careful distinctions.
This difficult sentence also prevents the Dharma-gate of hearing the Name from becoming a cheap guarantee. The sūtra opens the gate as far as one thought while placing at the gate’s heart the question whether the right Dharma is received in trust. At minimum, it is certain that joyful trust and slander of the right Dharma point in opposite directions within the same passage. Beyond that, the masters differ on how to reconcile the five heinous acts, and the sūtra does not require later readers to pretend there is only one interpretation.
Carrying Forward — Whom Do the Words “Universally Together” Bring In?
Reading this passage as the fulfillment of the vows, Jingxing first says that the land contains only the rightly fixed group, then takes the praise of the buddhas of the ten directions as increasing beings’ aspiration to seek birth there. Huiyuan likewise treats right fixity, hearing the Name, and the three grades as three successive steps, making this passage the common lintel above the different causes of practice that follow. Neither the passage-by-passage primary lens nor the witness of the Commentary merges unit 04 into the highest grade; each of the three grade-units therefore retains its own outline.
Beginning from Vasubandhu’s dedication verse, Tanluan asks: with whom are beings “universally together”? He directly cites the present passage and answers: all external ordinary persons. He further defines dedication as turning one’s own merit and universally giving it to beings, so that all may see Amitābha and be born together in Peace and Bliss. The vow for birth that follows hearing the Name thereby becomes more than one person’s escape from suffering; it bears the breadth of moving together with beings toward that land.
On the difficult question of heinous acts and slander, the three ancient mirrors each retain their own reading and are not harmonized. What they preserve together is still the sūtra’s full sequence: in that land there are no wrongly fixed or unfixed groups; the buddhas of the ten directions praise together; beings hear the Name, trust, and rejoice; even in a single thought they dedicate and direct with utmost sincerity, vow for birth, and attain non-retrogression. Not one word of the final exception is hidden. The road opens extremely near, yet its direction is extremely deep. The gate stands within a single thought; beyond it still lie right fixity and awakening.
考據Apparatus
全段定位 本段自卷下題名、署譯起，以彼國唯有正定聚承接上卷願成，再由十方諸佛共歎推至眾生聞名、信喜、一念、至心迴向、願生、往生與不退，末列五逆、誹謗正法之例外。下一單元始總標三輩；本段不是三輩之一，而是三輩以前的共同定向。
一、科判定位
憬興《無量壽經連義述文贊》在卷下開端另起眾生往生因果：
「第二、辨眾生往生因果。即遂攝眾生願而申往生。往生有四：一、凡小往生；二、大聖往生；三、雙以得失勸凡小生；四、歎彼土勝令大聖求。」〔T37n1748 0158a15〕
本單元收其中第一科『凡小往生』之前二子科：先彰生彼者皆住正定，次舉十方諸佛共歎、聞名願生。至下一單元『佛告阿難……凡有三輩』，才進第三子科『正辨生業』。
慧遠《無量壽經義疏》同樣先把全段列為無量壽佛『所攝』四科，再細分本段：
「初中有三：一彰生彼住正定聚，令人慕求；二「十方佛皆共讚」下，舉聞名者皆得往生，增人去心。三「佛告阿難」下，正辨生業，教修往生。」〔T37n1745 0107a10〕
兩家都把 04/05 的界放在三輩總標以前；故本單元雖極短，科義自足，沒有把上輩修因截入其中。
二、異譯對勘（四譯一會·異同誌錄不判）
| 本 | 平行結構 | 逐字與錨 |
|---|---|---|
| 康僧鎧本 T360 | 後置獨立段：正定、諸佛讚、聞名信喜、一念迴向、願生不退、逆謗例外連寫 | 「諸有眾生聞其名號信心歡喜，乃至一念，至心迴向願生彼國，即得往生住不退轉，唯除五逆、誹謗正法。」〔T12n0360 0272b11〕 |
| 支婁迦讖本 T361 | 無同位獨立段；功能分散在願十七至十九與三輩總起 | 「令我名聞八方上下無數佛國，諸佛各於弟子眾中歎我功德國土之善，諸天、人民、蠕動之類聞我名字，皆悉踊躍來生我國」〔T12n0361 0281b27〕 |
| 支謙本 T362 | 無同位獨立段；聞名、諸佛說德、悔過作善、求生分列願四至七 | 「令我名字，皆聞八方、上下無央數佛國。皆令諸佛，各於比丘僧大坐中，說我功德國土之善。」〔T12n0362 0301b08〕 |
| 法賢本 T363 | 有後置獨立段，十方諸佛稱讚後明聞名、憶念受持、求生不退 | 「欲令眾生聞彼佛名，發清淨心憶念受持，歸依供養求生彼土。是人命終，皆得往生極樂世界，不退轉於阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。」〔T12n0363 0323b10〕 |
| 菩提流志會五 T310 | 有後置獨立段；同列一念淨信、善根迴向、隨願皆生與例外，並另增謗聖者 | 「他方佛國所有眾生聞無量壽如來名號，乃至能發一念淨信歡喜愛樂，所有善根迴向願生無量壽國者，隨願皆生，得不退轉乃至無上正等菩提，除五無間、誹毀正法及謗聖者。」〔T11n0310 0097c22〕 |
T361、T362 是分散式功能對應，不可因無同位獨立段便說全經無聞名往生之義；T363、T310 則保存與 T360 相近的後置段。例外項、修因展開與果位用語各有增減，並錄而不會同。
三、經論宗依（眼）
本段之眼，是願成以後，眾生如何實際受攝。第十八願原說：
「十方眾生至心信樂欲生我國，乃至十念，若不生者，不取正覺，唯除五逆、誹謗正法。」〔T12n0360 0268a26〕
至本段，願文的『若不生者，不取正覺』轉為果上直陳：聞名、信喜、一念、迴向、願生者「即得往生住不退轉」〔T12n0360 0272b13〕。憬興因此以『遂攝眾生願而申往生』定位本段；不是另添一條與本願無關的捷徑，而是把願如何落在眾生身上說出。
曇鸞《往生論註》徵引本段以回答『普共諸眾生』所指何人，讀作：「一切外凡夫人皆得往生。」〔T40n1819 0833c27〕 由此，聞名段的重點不在先行建立狹窄位階，而在十方眾生受攝；然而經末例外句與《觀經》五逆得生之文如何相會，古德有不同釋法，見目五，只誌錄不判。
四、本段釋要
本段可依經文次第分為七步：
- 卷下題署：卷題與署譯照底本保留，正文自佛告阿難起。
- 果地總判：凡已生彼國者『皆悉』住正定聚；經沒有另留一部分作邪定聚或不定聚。
- 所以釋成：正因彼國無邪、不定二聚，前句的全稱才有根據。此處說共同定向，不抹去後文三輩功德智慧的次第差別。
- 十方共讚：不是一佛自說其德，十方恒沙諸佛共同讚歎無量壽佛不可思議威神功德；聞名之可信先由諸佛共歎托住。
- 聞而信喜：眾生先聞名號，繼而信心、歡喜；經把所聞、能信與心中樂受連成一線。
- 一念而有方向：乃至一念，仍須與至心迴向、願生彼國連讀。『一念』說最少，『至心』『迴向』『願生』則說這一念的質地與所向；不能只取數量詞而刪去後三者。
- 往生不退與例外：結果是往生、住不退轉；句末同時保留五逆、誹謗正法。此例外在本經第十八願與願成段兩度出現，既不能抹去，也不能越過諸家異釋替經強定會通。
憬興將前願『十念』與此處『一念』解作上下限互舉：「而前十念，此言一念者，最少極多互綺舉，故不相違。」〔T37n1748 0158b22〕 曇鸞則提醒，念不只按短長計：「此中云念者，不取此時節也，但言憶念阿彌陀佛若總相若別相，隨所觀緣心無他想，十念相續名為十念。」〔T40n1819 0834c14〕 兩段共同防止把一念、十念讀成與信、願、所緣分離的空數目。
五、諸家異釋（分欄並錄）
| 義位 | 憬興《連義述文贊》T1748 | 慧遠《義疏》T1745 | 曇鸞《往生論註》T1819 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 正定聚 | 淨土不問凡聖，皆定向善道、六度與解脫：「唯有正定聚而無餘二也。」〔T37n1748 0158b12〕 | 先列大小乘對三聚的不同分位，再就彼土說：「莫問大乘小乘眾生，生彼國者皆住正定。」〔T37n1745 0107a24〕 | 以本段證外凡夫得生，並在後文說往生即入大乘正定之聚、畢竟不退 |
| 十念與一念 | 判作最少、極多互舉，見目四 | 下輩另把十念與一念分作兩項修因；不以一念抹去信樂、不疑、至誠與願生 | 不以時節久近定念，重在所緣與相續，見目四 |
| 五逆與《觀經》 | 判本經上三生本無作逆，故列除；《觀經》下生若備十念則得生；又把謗法另列為深重 | 提出依人、依行兩路：久發大心而重悔，或能修正觀者得生；先無大心、多無重悔，或不能修觀者不生 | 把本經句讀作五逆兼謗法二罪俱具才不得生：「一經以具二種重罪，一者五逆、二者誹謗正法。」〔T40n1819 0834a17〕 |
| 謗法 | 另說謗法即使具十聲亦不得生 | 釋為立邪毀正，與五逆分釋 | 釋其相為決定說無佛、佛法、菩薩、菩薩法；並把不謗正法作五逆者得生的分界 |
三家都不刪經末例外，卻以不同方式處理本經與《觀經》的張力。此處保存各家所據與結論，不以後出會釋改寫 T360 本文，也不選定其中一家為本經唯一句解。
六、術語
| 名相 | 所據釋義與範圍 |
|---|---|
| 正定聚 | 方向堅固而不退的一類。憬興就彼土總說：「若生淨土，不問凡聖定向涅槃、定趣善行、定生善道、定行六度，定得解脫故，唯有正定聚而無餘二也。」〔T37n1748 0158b10〕 |
| 邪定聚／不定聚 | 前者方向決定於邪，後者進退未定；諸論分位不一。本段只明彼國無此二聚，不借一套地位表改寫經文。 |
| 名號 | 本段所聞為無量壽佛之名；與十方諸佛共歎其威神功德相連，不把名與佛德拆開。 |
| 至心迴向 | 至誠地把心與所修方向轉向願生彼國；『迴向』不是只回想名號，經文語序把它置於一念與願生之間。 |
| 不退轉 | 與正定聚前後相應；古疏以小經阿鞞跋致互照：「阿鞞跋致即不退故。」〔T37n1748 0158b06〕 |
| 五逆 | 慧遠逐項列為：「殺父、殺母、殺阿羅漢、破和合僧、出佛身血，此是其五也。」〔T37n1745 0107a29〕 |
| 誹謗正法 | 曇鸞所舉之相是：「若言無佛無佛法、無菩薩無菩薩法。如是等見，若心自解、若從他受，其心決定，皆名誹謗正法。」〔T40n1819 0834b04〕 本段自身只列其名，未在此展開定義。 |
本段無古德所傳之梵語音寫需要另立；正定、邪定、不定與不退均守漢文義脈，不以現代梵本補造語源。
七、譬喻·修辭
本段沒有自具譬喻，修辭力量在三組全稱與一組階梯。第一組是生彼國者『皆悉』住正定；第二組是十方恒沙諸佛『皆共』讚歎；第三組是聞名信喜的『諸有眾生』。三組由果地住處、諸佛證成一路推到眾生受攝，使短段具有由彼土向十方展開的廣度。
修因則由聞、信、喜、念、至心、迴向、願生七步遞進；『乃至』把門檻推到一念，卻沒有刪除至心與願向。末句忽以『唯除』轉折，把不可輕率抹平的難處留在門邊。全段因此既廣說受攝，也不把受攝寫成無因、無向、無分寸的許諾。
八、徵引承衍
曇鸞《往生論註》以天親迴向偈為問端：「我作論說偈，願見彌陀佛，普共諸眾生，往生安樂國。」〔T40n1819 0833c15〕 隨即徵引本段，將『普共』落到外凡夫人也在受攝之中；又釋迴向為：「迴己功德普施眾生，共見阿彌陀如來生安樂國。」〔T40n1819 0833c16〕 這使本段的至心迴向，不只保留個人求生之向，也進入論中與眾生共同往生的回施義。
同一部《論註》又以《觀經》下品下生追問逆罪、十念與往生，遂展開『在心、在緣、在決定』的輕重論及逆謗會釋；釋「在心」〔T40n1819 0834b26〕時譬作「千歲闇室，光若暫至即便明朗」〔T40n1819 0834b29〕。這些是古德對經間張力的承衍，不反寫成 T360 本段自身已明說的答案。
九、校本定位
本單元取 T12n0360 0272b05–0272b14，含卷下題、署譯與一段正文，共 3 個 XML block、133 code points。正文起於「佛告阿難」〔T12n0360 0272b08〕，止於「誹謗正法」〔T12n0360 0272b13〕；下一行已閉引號，0272b15 才另起三輩總標。
此範圍校勘層有兩項：署譯之『天竺三藏』，宋、元、明三本不具；0272b10 底本『不定之聚』之『之』，宋、元、明與流布本不具。今文依大正藏底本照錄，不據別本刪字。正文 gaiji 零、inline note 零。卷端題署只依底本保存；歷史譯者歸屬沿全帙規則誌錄不判，不在本段另作判定。
Placement of the passage as a whole. This passage begins with the second-fascicle title and attribution. It carries the accomplishment of the vows in the first fascicle forward through the statement that only the rightly fixed group exists in that land, then moves from the shared praise of the buddhas of the ten directions to beings’ hearing the Name, trust, joy, one thought, utmost sincerity, dedication and direction, vow for birth, birth in that land, and non-retrogression. It ends by naming the five heinous acts and slander of the right Dharma as exceptions. The next unit opens by announcing the three grades. The present passage is not one of those grades; it provides their common direction before they are distinguished.
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
At the beginning of the second fascicle, Jingxing’s Linked-Meaning Expository Praise on the Sūtra of Measureless Life opens a distinct division concerning the causes and results of beings’ birth in that land:
「第二、辨眾生往生因果。即遂攝眾生願而申往生。往生有四：一、凡小往生；二、大聖往生；三、雙以得失勸凡小生；四、歎彼土勝令大聖求。」—“Second, it distinguishes the causes and results of beings’ birth in that land. Thereupon, in fulfillment of the vows to embrace beings, it sets forth birth in that land. Birth has four divisions: first, the birth of ordinary beings and lesser-vehicle practitioners; second, the birth of great sages; third, exhorting ordinary beings and lesser-vehicle practitioners to birth by setting gain and loss side by side; fourth, praising the excellence of that land so that great sages will seek it” 〔T37n1748 0158a15〕.
The present unit contains the first two subparts that precede the “practice for birth” within the first of those divisions: first, it reveals that those born there all dwell in right fixity; second, it brings forward the shared praise of the buddhas of the ten directions and hearing the Name with the vow for birth. Only in the next unit, with “The Buddha told Ānanda ... there are in all three grades,” does the third subpart, “properly distinguishing the practices for birth,” begin.
Huiyuan’s Commentary on the Sūtra of Measureless Life likewise first divides what the Buddha of Measureless Life “embraces” into four parts, then subdivides the present passage:
「初中有三：一彰生彼住正定聚，令人慕求；二「十方佛皆共讚」下，舉聞名者皆得往生，增人去心。三「佛告阿難」下，正辨生業，教修往生。」—“Within the first are three parts: first, revealing that those born there dwell in the rightly fixed group, causing people to admire and seek; second, from ‘the buddhas of the ten directions all praise together’ onward, stating that all who hear the Name attain birth in that land, thereby increasing people’s resolve to go; third, from ‘The Buddha told Ānanda’ onward, properly distinguishing the practices for birth and teaching the cultivation that leads to birth in that land” 〔T37n1745 0107a10〕.
Both masters place the boundary between units 04 and 05 before the general announcement of the three grades. The present unit is therefore short but complete in its doctrinal outline; it does not cut the practices of the highest grade away from the following unit and append them here.
II. Collation with the Alternate Translations (Four Translations and One Assembly) — recorded without adjudication
| Witness | Parallel structure | Wording and anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Kang Sengkai recension, T360 | A distinct passage placed later in the text: right fixity, praise by the buddhas, hearing the Name with trust and joy, dedication in one thought, the vow for birth and non-retrogression, and the exceptions of heinous acts and slander are written in one sequence | 「諸有眾生聞其名號信心歡喜，乃至一念，至心迴向願生彼國，即得往生住不退轉，唯除五逆、誹謗正法。」—“Any beings who hear his Name, give rise to trust and rejoice—even for a single thought—and with utmost sincerity dedicate and direct and vow for birth in that land immediately attain birth in that land and dwell in non-retrogression, except only those who commit the five heinous acts or slander the right Dharma” 〔T12n0360 0272b11〕 |
| Lokakṣema recension, T361 | No distinct passage in the same position; its functions are distributed among Vows Seventeen through Nineteen and the general opening of the three grades | 「令我名聞八方上下無數佛國，諸佛各於弟子眾中歎我功德國土之善，諸天、人民、蠕動之類聞我名字，皆悉踊躍來生我國」—“May my name be heard throughout countless buddha-realms in the eight directions, above and below. May the buddhas, each among the assembly of disciples, praise my merit and the goodness of my land. When gods, humans, and crawling creatures hear my name, may they all leap with joy and come to be born in my realm” 〔T12n0361 0281b27〕 |
| Zhi Qian recension, T362 | No distinct passage in the same position; hearing the Name, the buddhas’ proclamation of virtue, repentance and doing good, and seeking birth are distributed among Vows Four through Seven | 「令我名字，皆聞八方、上下無央數佛國。皆令諸佛，各於比丘僧大坐中，說我功德國土之善。」—“May my name be heard throughout measureless buddha-realms in the eight directions, above and below. May all the buddhas, each seated in the great assembly of the bhikṣu saṅgha, speak of my merit and the goodness of my land” 〔T12n0362 0301b08〕 |
| Faxian recension, T363 | A distinct passage placed later in the text: after praise by the buddhas of the ten directions it describes hearing the Buddha’s name, recollecting and upholding it, seeking birth, and non-retrogression | 「欲令眾生聞彼佛名，發清淨心憶念受持，歸依供養求生彼土。是人命終，皆得往生極樂世界，不退轉於阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。」—“They wish beings to hear that buddha’s name, arouse a pure mind, recollect, receive, and uphold it, take refuge, make offerings, and seek birth in that land. When these persons’ lives end, they all attain birth in the World of Ultimate Bliss and do not retreat from unsurpassed perfect awakening” 〔T12n0363 0323b10〕 |
| Bodhiruci, Assembly Five, T310 | A distinct passage placed later in the text: it likewise sets out one thought of pure trust, dedication of roots of goodness, birth according to one’s vow, and exceptions, and adds slander of noble ones | 「他方佛國所有眾生聞無量壽如來名號，乃至能發一念淨信歡喜愛樂，所有善根迴向願生無量壽國者，隨願皆生，得不退轉乃至無上正等菩提，除五無間、誹毀正法及謗聖者。」—“When beings in other buddha-realms hear the Name of the Tathāgata of Measureless Life, if they can give rise even to one thought of pure trust, joy, gladness, and delight, and dedicate whatever roots of goodness they possess while vowing for birth in the Realm of Measureless Life, all are born there according to their vows and attain non-retrogression up to unsurpassed perfect awakening, excepting the five acts of immediate retribution, denigration of the right Dharma, and slander of noble ones” 〔T11n0310 0097c22〕 |
T361 and T362 provide distributed functional parallels. Their lack of a distinct passage at the same position does not mean that their full sūtras lack the teaching of hearing the Name and birth in that land. T363 and T310 preserve a later distinct passage close to T360. The witnesses add or omit different exceptions, unfold the causes of practice differently, and use different terms for the result. These differences are recorded without harmonization.
III. Scriptural and Treatise Grounding (the “eye”)
The “eye” of this passage is how beings are actually embraced after the vows have been fulfilled. The Eighteenth Vow originally says:
「十方眾生至心信樂欲生我國，乃至十念，若不生者，不取正覺，唯除五逆、誹謗正法。」—“If beings of the ten directions, with wholehearted trust and joy, desire birth in my realm, and even have ten thoughts, yet are not born there, may I not attain perfect awakening—excepting only those who commit the five heinous acts or slander the right Dharma” 〔T12n0360 0268a26〕.
In the present passage, the vow’s “if they are not born there, may I not attain perfect awakening” becomes a direct statement from the side of the result. Those who hear the Name, trust and rejoice, dedicate and direct in one thought, and vow for birth 「即得往生住不退轉」—“immediately attain birth in that land and dwell in non-retrogression” 〔T12n0360 0272b13〕. Jingxing accordingly places this passage under “thereupon, in fulfillment of the vows to embrace beings, it sets forth birth in that land.” It is not a shortcut unrelated to the original vow, but an account of how the vow takes effect in beings.
Tanluan’s Commentary on the Treatise on Birth in That Land cites the present passage to answer whom “universally together with all beings” includes, and reads it as follows: 「一切外凡夫人皆得往生。」—“All external ordinary persons attain birth in that land” 〔T40n1819 0833c27〕. The focus of the hearing-the-Name passage is thus not to establish a narrow stage in advance, but to show that beings throughout the ten directions are embraced. The ancient masters nevertheless differ on how the final exception meets the Contemplation Sūtra passage in which one who has committed the five heinous acts attains birth. Those interpretations are recorded without adjudication in Topic V.
IV. Essentials of the Commentary on This Passage
The passage unfolds in seven steps, following the order of the sūtra:
- Second-fascicle title and attribution. The fascicle title and translation attribution are preserved as they stand in the base text. The body begins when the Buddha addresses Ānanda.
- Universal judgment from the result. All who have been born in that land dwell in the rightly fixed group. The sūtra leaves no separate portion there as a wrongly fixed or unfixed group.
- Explanation of the ground. It is precisely because the two other groups are absent in that land that the universal term in the preceding sentence has a ground. This describes a common direction without erasing the graded differences in merit and wisdom among the three grades that follow.
- Praise throughout the ten directions. One buddha is not alone in speaking of his own virtue. Buddhas of the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Gaṅgā, together praise the inconceivable majestic power and merit of the Buddha of Measureless Life. The trustworthiness of hearing the Name is upheld in advance by the buddhas’ shared praise.
- Hearing, then trust and joy. Beings first hear the Name and then trust and rejoice. The sūtra places what is heard, the capacity to trust it, and the mind’s glad reception in a single line of movement.
- One thought with a direction. Even one thought must still be read together with utmost sincerity, dedication and direction, and the vow for birth in that land. “One thought” states the least; “utmost sincerity,” “dedication and direction,” and “vow for birth” state the quality and direction of that thought. The number cannot be isolated while the following three are discarded.
- Birth, non-retrogression, and the exceptions. The result is birth in that land and dwelling in non-retrogression. The same sentence preserves the five heinous acts and slander of the right Dharma as exceptions. The exception occurs twice in this sūtra, in the Eighteenth Vow and in the passage on its fulfillment. It can neither be erased nor made the object of a forced reconciliation that passes beyond the commentators’ divergent interpretations.
Jingxing reads the earlier vow’s “ten thoughts” and the present passage’s “one thought” as mutually giving an upper and a lower bound: 「而前十念，此言一念者，最少極多互綺舉，故不相違。」—“The earlier passage says ten thoughts and this passage says one thought: the least and the greatest are mutually and interwovenly stated, and therefore do not conflict” 〔T37n1748 0158b22〕. Tanluan in turn cautions that thought is not measured only by length: 「此中云念者，不取此時節也，但言憶念阿彌陀佛若總相若別相，隨所觀緣心無他想，十念相續名為十念。」—“The ‘thought’ spoken of here is not taken in terms of a span of time. It means recollecting Amitābha Buddha, whether in a general or a particular aspect; following the contemplated object, the mind has no other thought. Ten thoughts in succession are called ten thoughts” 〔T40n1819 0834c14〕. Together, the two passages prevent one thought or ten thoughts from becoming empty numbers severed from trust, vow, and object.
V. Divergent Readings of the Commentators — recorded without adjudication
| Doctrinal position | Jingxing, Linked-Meaning Expository Praise, T1748 | Huiyuan, Commentary, T1745 | Tanluan, Commentary on the Treatise on Birth in That Land, T1819 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rightly fixed group | In the Pure Land, whether ordinary or noble, all are fixed in the direction of the good paths, the six perfections, and liberation: 「唯有正定聚而無餘二也。」—“Only the rightly fixed group exists, and neither of the other two” 〔T37n1748 0158b12〕 | First lists the different Śrāvakayāna and Mahāyāna assignments of stages to the three groups, then says of that land: 「莫問大乘小乘眾生，生彼國者皆住正定。」—“Whether beings belong to Mahāyāna or the lesser vehicle, all who are born in that land dwell in right fixity” 〔T37n1745 0107a24〕 | Uses the present passage to establish birth there for external ordinary persons and later says that birth in that land is entry into the Mahāyāna rightly fixed group and ultimate non-retrogression |
| Ten thoughts and one thought | Takes them as mutually stating the least and greatest; see Topic IV | In the lowest grade, treats ten thoughts and one thought as two separate causes of practice; does not use one thought to erase trust and gladness, freedom from doubt, utmost sincerity, and the vow for birth | Does not determine a thought by the length of time, but emphasizes the object and continuity; see Topic IV |
| The five heinous acts and the Contemplation Sūtra | Holds that the three grades in this sūtra originally did not commit the heinous acts and so the exception is listed; those in the lowest grade of the Contemplation Sūtra attain birth if they complete ten thoughts; also treats slander of the Dharma separately as grave | Gives two approaches, one based on persons and one on practice: those who long ago aroused the great mind and deeply repent, or those able to practice right contemplation, attain birth; those who formerly lacked the great mind and mostly lack deep repentance, or who cannot practice contemplation, do not | Reads the present sūtra as excluding those who combine the two grave offenses of the five heinous acts and slander of the Dharma: 「一經以具二種重罪，一者五逆、二者誹謗正法。」—“One sūtra speaks of possessing two kinds of grave offense: first, the five heinous acts; second, slander of the right Dharma” 〔T40n1819 0834a17〕 |
| Slander of the Dharma | Separately says that one who slanders the Dharma cannot attain birth even if ten vocal recitations are complete | Explains it as establishing what is wrong and destroying what is right, and treats it separately from the five heinous acts | Defines its form as decisively saying that there is no buddha, Buddha-Dharma, bodhisattva, or bodhisattva-Dharma, and uses not slandering the right Dharma as the dividing line for one who has committed the five heinous acts to attain birth |
All three masters preserve the final exception but treat the tension between this sūtra and the Contemplation Sūtra differently. The apparatus keeps their evidence and conclusions distinct. It neither rewrites the T360 passage through a later reconciliation nor selects one master’s reading as the sūtra’s sole interpretation.
VI. Terms
| Term | Grounded sense and range |
|---|---|
| Rightly fixed group | A group firm in direction and not retreating. Jingxing says universally of that land: 「若生淨土，不問凡聖定向涅槃、定趣善行、定生善道、定行六度，定得解脫故，唯有正定聚而無餘二也。」—“If born in the Pure Land, whether ordinary or noble, they are fixed in direction toward nirvāṇa, fixed in advancing through wholesome conduct, fixed in birth in the good paths, fixed in practicing the six perfections, and fixed in attaining liberation. Therefore only the rightly fixed group exists, and neither of the other two” 〔T37n1748 0158b10〕 |
| Wrongly fixed group / unfixed group | The former is decidedly directed toward what is wrong; the latter remains undecided between advance and retreat. The treatises assign their stages differently. The present passage says only that these two groups do not exist in that land and does not rewrite the sūtra according to any single chart of stages. |
| Name | What is heard in this passage is the Name of the Buddha of Measureless Life. It is joined to the shared praise by the buddhas of the ten directions of his majestic power and merit; the Name is not separated from the Buddha’s virtue. |
| Utmost sincerity, dedication and direction | Sincerely turning the mind and what has been cultivated toward the vow for birth in that land. “Dedication and direction” does not mean merely remembering the Name; the sūtra’s syntax places it between one thought and the vow for birth. |
| Non-retrogression | Corresponds before and after with the rightly fixed group. An ancient commentary illuminates it with the transmitted Chinese expression in the shorter sūtra: 「阿鞞跋致即不退故。」—“The transmitted term means precisely non-retrogression” 〔T37n1748 0158b06〕 |
| Five heinous acts | Huiyuan enumerates them: 「殺父、殺母、殺阿羅漢、破和合僧、出佛身血，此是其五也。」—“Killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing an arhat, disrupting the harmony of the saṅgha, and drawing blood from a buddha—these are the five” 〔T37n1745 0107a29〕 |
| Slander of the right Dharma | Tanluan gives its form as follows: 「若言無佛無佛法、無菩薩無菩薩法。如是等見，若心自解、若從他受，其心決定，皆名誹謗正法。」—“If one says there is no buddha and no Buddha-Dharma, no bodhisattva and no bodhisattva-Dharma—views of this kind, whether understood by one’s own mind or received from another, are all called slander of the right Dharma when the mind is decided in them” 〔T40n1819 0834b04〕. The present passage itself names the offense but does not define it here. |
No ancient Indic transcription transmitted by the commentators in connection with this passage needs a separate entry. Right fixity, wrong fixity, the unfixed condition, and non-retrogression are kept within their Chinese semantic line; no etymology is manufactured from a modern Sanskrit edition.
VII. Similes and Rhetoric
The passage contains no simile of its own. Its rhetorical force lies in three universal expressions and one ascending sequence. First, all those born in that land dwell in right fixity. Second, buddhas throughout the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Gaṅgā, all praise together. Third, the teaching embraces any beings who hear the Name and rejoice in trust. The three move from the state of those who have reached the land, through the buddhas’ attestation, to the embracing of beings, giving this short passage a breadth that unfolds from that land into the ten directions.
The causes of practice then ascend through hearing, trust, joy, thought, utmost sincerity, dedication and direction, and the vow for birth. “Even” lowers the threshold to one thought without removing utmost sincerity or the vow’s direction. The final “except” turns sharply and leaves a difficulty that cannot be casually leveled away beside the gate. The passage thus speaks broadly of being embraced without turning that embrace into a promise lacking cause, direction, or measure.
VIII. Citation and Carrying Forward
Tanluan’s Commentary on the Treatise on Birth in That Land begins from Vasubandhu’s dedication verse: 「我作論說偈，願見彌陀佛，普共諸眾生，往生安樂國。」—“I compose this treatise and speak these verses, vowing to see Amitābha Buddha and, universally together with all beings, to be born in the Land of Peace and Bliss” 〔T40n1819 0833c15〕. It immediately cites the present passage and takes “universally together” to include external ordinary persons among those embraced. It then defines dedication and direction: 「迴己功德普施眾生，共見阿彌陀如來生安樂國。」—“Turning one’s own merit and giving it universally to beings, all together see Amitābha Tathāgata and are born in the Land of Peace and Bliss” 〔T40n1819 0833c16〕. Thus the utmost sincerity and dedication of the present passage preserve the individual direction of seeking birth while also entering the treatise’s sense of giving back so that one is born together with beings.
The same Commentary uses the lowest of the lowest grade in the Contemplation Sūtra to ask about heinous offenses, ten thoughts, and birth in that land. It then unfolds the relative weight of “in the mind,” “in the object,” and “in decisiveness,” together with its reconciliation of heinous acts and slander. While explaining 「在心」—“in the mind” 〔T40n1819 0834b26〕, it gives the simile 「千歲闇室，光若暫至即便明朗」—“In a chamber dark for a thousand years, if light arrives even briefly, it immediately becomes bright” 〔T40n1819 0834b29〕. These are ancient developments addressing tension between sūtras; they are not written backward into T360 as though the present passage stated them itself.
IX. Placement Among the Recensions
This unit takes T12n0360 0272b05–0272b14, including the second-fascicle title, translation attribution, and one paragraph of body text. It contains 3 XML blocks and 133 code points. The body begins with 「佛告阿難」—“The Buddha told Ānanda” 〔T12n0360 0272b08〕 and ends with 「誹謗正法」—“slander the right Dharma” 〔T12n0360 0272b13〕. The quotation closes on the next line, and the general announcement of the three grades does not begin until 0272b15.
The collation layer for this range contains two entries. In the translation attribution, “Tripiṭaka master from India” is absent from the Song, Yuan, and Ming editions. At 0272b10, the character “zhi” in the base text’s phrase “unfixed group” is absent from those three editions and the received edition. The present text follows the Taishō base text and does not delete either phrase on the authority of another edition. The body contains no gaiji and no inline notes. The fascicle-front title and attribution are preserved solely according to the base text. The historical attribution of the translator follows the rule for the work as a whole: it is recorded without adjudication and is not independently decided in this passage.