維摩詰所說經 佛國品第一
寶積帶著五百位長者子，以五百柄七寶蓋供養佛陀。佛陀使諸蓋合成一蓋：三千大千世界的山海、日月、宮殿，十方諸佛與祂們正在宣說的法，全都顯現在其中。
寶積看見一柄小蓋容現廣大世界，便讚佛、問佛：菩薩怎樣使佛國土清淨？
佛陀沒有先說珍寶，也沒有先說平坦的地面。祂說，眾生之類就是菩薩佛土。菩薩依所要教化、所要調伏的眾生而取佛土，也依眾生如何進入佛智慧、如何生起菩薩根而取佛土。淨國從一開始，就是就著眾生說的。
經中有一個造室譬喻：空地可以造宮室，虛空不能直接成為宮室。菩薩願取佛國，是為成就眾生；經說，願取佛國並非憑空而成。
所以，佛陀接著說的不是國土的樣貌，而是十七種行：直心、深心、菩提心，布施、持戒、忍辱、精進、禪定、智慧，慈、悲、喜、捨，四攝、方便、三十七道品、迴向、除八難、不譏他人過失與十善。每一種行都指向一種眾生、一種功德或一種國土。你如何待人、如何守心、如何說話，已在回答你要成就怎樣的佛土。
而『心淨土淨』也不是一念跳到終點。經文把中間道路逐步說出：直心要發為行，行要深入，深心要調伏，調伏後要如說而行；如說行還要迴向，迴向還要有方便，方便還要成就眾生。眾生成就，才說到佛土淨；佛土淨，又接著說法淨、智慧淨、心淨與一切功德淨。
舍利弗卻看見丘陵、坑坎、荊蕀、沙礫、土石與諸山。螺髻梵王看見的同一佛土，如自在天宮。佛陀以足指按地，珍寶莊嚴顯現，大眾各自看見自己坐在寶蓮華上；接著，祂又說諸天共用一個寶器，飯色卻隨福德而不同。
同一國土，所見可以不同。這不是叫人假裝沒有丘陵沙礫，而是把問題帶回來：你的心是否有高下？你是否平等看待一切眾生？直心有沒有成為行？方便有沒有成就眾生？
你想找一片淨土，佛陀為什麼先把眾生放進答案裡？因為淨土不是離開眾生以後剩下的美景。從直心到十善，從如說行到成就眾生，從心淨到所見莊嚴——佛國不是別處另有的地方，而是每一種行正在共同成就的國土。
Jewel Accumulation comes with five hundred householders’ sons, and together they offer the Buddha five hundred canopies of the seven jewels. The Buddha causes the many canopies to merge into one. The mountains and seas, sun and moon, and palaces of the three-thousand-great-thousand world-system, together with the buddhas of the ten directions and the Dharma They are teaching, all appear within it.
Seeing a vast world appear within one small canopy, Jewel Accumulation praises the Buddha and asks Him: How does a bodhisattva purify a buddha-land?
The Buddha does not begin with jewels or with level ground. He says that the kinds of sentient beings are the bodhisattva’s buddha-land. A bodhisattva chooses a buddha-land according to the sentient beings to be transformed and disciplined, and also according to how sentient beings will enter the Buddha’s wisdom and produce bodhisattva roots. From the outset, a pure land is taught in relation to sentient beings.
The sūtra gives a simile of building a dwelling. A palace can be built on open ground, but empty space cannot directly become a palace. A bodhisattva vows to choose a buddha-land in order to bring sentient beings to accomplishment. The sūtra says that the vow to choose a buddha-land is not accomplished out of empty space.
The Buddha therefore proceeds not by describing the appearance of the land, but by teaching seventeen practices: a straightforward mind, a profound mind, the mind of awakening; giving, ethical discipline, patience, diligent effort, meditation, and wisdom; loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity; the four means of gathering, skillful means, the thirty-seven factors of the path, dedication, removal of the eight difficulties, not criticizing the faults of others, and the ten wholesome actions. Each practice points toward a kind of sentient being, a kind of merit, or a kind of land. How you treat others, guard the mind, and speak is already answering what kind of buddha-land you are bringing to accomplishment.
Nor does the pure land teaching “when the mind is pure, the buddha-land is pure” leap from one thought directly to the endpoint. The sūtra sets out the intervening path step by step. A straightforward mind must give rise to practice, practice must deepen, and a profound mind must be disciplined. Once disciplined, one must practice according to what has been taught. Practice in accord with the teaching must still be dedicated; dedication must still possess skillful means; and skillful means must still bring sentient beings to accomplishment. Only when sentient beings are brought to accomplishment does the sūtra speak of a pure buddha-land. Purity of the buddha-land then leads onward to purity of teaching, wisdom, mind, and every merit.
Śāriputra, however, sees hills, pits, thorns, gravel, soil, rocks, and mountains. Brahmā King Conch-Crest sees the same buddha-land as a palace in the Heaven of Mastery. The Buddha presses the earth with His toe, jeweled adornments appear, and everyone in the assembly sees himself seated upon a jeweled lotus. He then says that the devas share one jeweled vessel, while the color of the rice differs according to each one’s merit.
The same land can be perceived differently. This does not tell anyone to pretend that the hills and gravel are absent. It brings the question back: Does your mind have high and low? Do you regard every sentient being equally? Has a straightforward mind become practice? Have skillful means brought sentient beings to accomplishment?
You wish to find a pure land, so why does the Buddha first place sentient beings inside the answer? Because a pure land is not a beautiful landscape left over after sentient beings have been abandoned. From a straightforward mind through the ten wholesome actions, from practice according to the teaching through bringing sentient beings to accomplishment, and from purity of mind to the adornment one perceives, a buddha-land is not a separate place elsewhere. It is the land these practices are bringing to accomplishment together.
姚秦三藏鳩摩羅什譯《維摩詰所說經》卷上〈佛國品第一〉· 大正藏 T14n0475〔起 T14 0537a03〕。段/行首〔T14 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨。
〔T14 0537a03〕維摩詰所說經
姚秦三藏鳩摩羅什譯
佛國品第一
如是我聞：
一時，佛在毘耶離菴羅樹園，與大比丘眾八千人俱，菩薩三萬二千——眾所知識，大智本行，皆悉成就；諸佛威神之所建立，為護法城，受持正法；能師子吼，名聞十方；眾人不請，友而安之；紹隆三寶，能使不絕；降伏魔怨，制諸外道，悉已清淨，永離蓋纏；心常安住，無礙解脫；念、定、總持、辯才不斷；布施、持戒、忍辱、精進、禪定、智慧及方便力，無不具足；逮無所得不起法忍；已能隨順，轉不退輪；善解法相，知眾生根；蓋諸大眾得無所畏、功德智慧，以修其心；相好嚴身，色像第一，捨諸世間所有飾好；名稱高遠，踰於須彌；深信堅固，猶若金剛；法寶普照，而雨甘露；於眾言音，微妙第一；深入緣起，斷諸邪見，有無二邊，無復餘習；演法無畏，猶師子吼，其所講說，乃如雷震，無有量，已過量；集眾法寶，如海導師，了達諸法深妙之義；善知眾生往來所趣及心所行；近無等等佛自在慧、十力、無畏、十八不共；關閉一切諸惡趣門，而生五道以現其身；為大醫王，善療眾病，應病與藥，令得服行；無量功德皆成就，無量佛土皆嚴淨；其見聞者，無不蒙益，諸有所作，亦不唐捐：如是一切功德，皆悉具足——
其名曰：等觀菩薩、不等觀菩薩、等不等觀菩薩、定自在王菩薩、法自在王菩薩、法相菩薩、光相菩薩、光嚴菩薩、大嚴菩薩、寶積菩薩、辯積菩薩、寶手菩薩、寶印手菩薩、常舉手菩薩、常下手菩薩、常慘菩薩、喜根菩薩、喜王菩薩、辯音菩薩、虛空藏菩薩、執寶炬菩薩、寶勇菩薩、寶見菩薩、帝網菩薩、明網菩薩、無緣觀菩薩、慧積菩薩、寶勝菩薩、天王菩薩、壞魔菩薩、電德菩薩、自在王菩薩、功德相嚴菩薩、師子吼菩薩、雷音菩薩、山相擊音菩薩、香象菩薩、白香象菩薩、常精進菩薩、不休息菩薩、妙生菩薩、華嚴菩薩、觀世音菩薩、得大勢菩薩、梵網菩薩、寶杖菩薩、無勝菩薩、嚴土菩薩、金髻菩薩、珠髻菩薩、彌勒菩薩、文殊師利法王子菩薩，如是等三萬二千人。
復有萬梵天王尸棄等，從餘四天下來詣佛所而聽法；復有萬二千天帝，亦從餘四天下來在會坐；并餘大威力諸天、龍神、夜叉、乾闥婆、阿脩羅、迦樓羅、緊那羅、摩睺羅伽等，悉來會坐；諸比丘、比丘尼、優婆塞、優婆夷，俱來會坐。彼時佛與無量百千之眾，恭敬圍繞而為說法，譬如須彌山王顯于大海，安處眾寶師子之座，蔽於一切諸來大眾。
爾時毘耶離城有長者子，名曰寶積，與五百長者子，俱持七寶蓋來詣佛所，頭面禮足，各以其蓋共供養佛。佛之威神，令諸寶蓋合成一蓋，遍覆三千大千世界，而此世界廣長之相悉於中現；又此三千大千世界諸須彌山、雪山、目真隣陀山、摩訶目真隣陀山、香山、寶山、金山、黑山、鐵圍山、大鐵圍山，大海江河，川流泉源及日月星辰、天宮、龍宮、諸尊神宮，悉現於寶蓋中；又十方諸佛、諸佛說法，亦現於寶蓋中。爾時一切大眾，覩佛神力，歎未曾有！合掌禮佛，瞻仰尊顏，目不暫捨。於是長者子寶積即於佛前，以偈頌曰：
「目淨脩廣如青蓮，心淨已度諸禪定，
久積淨業稱無量，導眾以寂故稽首。
既見大聖以神變，普現十方無量土，
其中諸佛演說法，於是一切悉見聞。
法王法力超群生，常以法財施一切，
能善分別諸法相，於第一義而不動，
已於諸法得自在，是故稽首此法王。
說法不有亦不無，以因緣故諸法生，
無我無造無受者，善惡之業亦不亡。
始在佛樹力降魔，得甘露滅覺道成，
已無心意無受行，而悉摧伏諸外道。
三轉法輪於大千，其輪本來常清淨，
天人得道此為證，三寶於是現世間。
以斯妙法濟群生，一受不退常寂然，
度老病死大醫王，當禮法海德無邊。
毀譽不動如須彌，於善不善等以慈，
心行平等如虛空，孰聞人寶不敬承？
今奉世尊此微蓋，於中現我三千界，
諸天龍神所居宮，乾闥婆等及夜叉。
悉見世間諸所有，十力哀現是化變，
眾覩希有皆歎佛，今我稽首三界尊。
大聖法王眾所歸，淨心觀佛靡不欣，
〔T14 0538a01〕 各見世尊在其前，斯則神力不共法；
佛以一音演說法，眾生隨類各得解，
皆謂世尊同其語，斯則神力不共法；
佛以一音演說法，眾生各各隨所解，
普得受行獲其利，斯則神力不共法；
佛以一音演說法，或有恐畏或歡喜，
或生厭離或斷疑，斯則神力不共法。
稽首十力大精進，稽首已得無所畏，
稽首住於不共法，稽首一切大導師，
稽首能斷眾結縛，稽首已到於彼岸，
稽首能度諸世間，稽首永離生死道。
悉知眾生來去相，善於諸法得解脫，
不著世間如蓮華，常善入於空寂行，
達諸法相無罣礙，稽首如空無所依。」
爾時長者子寶積說此偈已，白佛言：「世尊！是五百長者子，皆已發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，願聞得佛國土清淨，唯願世尊說諸菩薩淨土之行！」
佛言：「善哉！寶積！乃能為諸菩薩，問於如來淨土之行。諦聽，諦聽！善思念之，當為汝說！」於是寶積及五百長者子受教而聽。
佛言：「寶積！眾生之類是菩薩佛土。所以者何？菩薩隨所化眾生而取佛土，隨所調伏眾生而取佛土，隨諸眾生應以何國入佛智慧而取佛土，隨諸眾生應以何國起菩薩根而取佛土。所以者何？菩薩取於淨國，皆為饒益諸眾生故。譬如有人，欲於空地造立宮室，隨意無礙；若於虛空，終不能成！菩薩如是，為成就眾生故，願取佛國，願取佛國者，非於空也。
「寶積！當知：直心是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，不諂眾生來生其國；深心是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，具足功德眾生來生其國；菩提心是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，大乘眾生來生其國；布施是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，一切能捨眾生來生其國；持戒是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，行十善道滿願眾生來生其國；忍辱是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，三十二相莊嚴眾生來生其國；精進是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，勤修一切功德眾生來生其國；禪定是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，攝心不亂眾生來生其國；智慧是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，正定眾生來生其國；四無量心是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，成就慈、悲、喜、捨眾生來生其國；四攝法是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，解脫所攝眾生來生其國；方便是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，於一切法方便無礙眾生來生其國；三十七道品是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，念處、正勤、神足、根、力、覺、道眾生來生其國；迴向心是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，得一切具足功德國土；說除八難是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，國土無有三惡、八難；自守戒行、不譏彼闕是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，國土無有犯禁之名；十善是菩薩淨土——菩薩成佛時，命不中夭、大富、梵行、所言誠諦、常以軟語、眷屬不離善和諍訟、言必饒益、不嫉、不恚、正見眾生來生其國。
「如是，寶積！菩薩隨其直心，則能發行；隨其發行，則得深心；隨其深心，則意調伏；隨意調伏，則如說行；隨如說行，則能迴向；隨其迴向，則有方便；隨其方便，則成就眾生；隨成就眾生，則佛土淨；隨佛土淨，則說法淨；隨說法淨，則智慧淨；隨智慧淨，則其心淨；隨其心淨，則一切功德淨。是故，寶積！若菩薩欲得淨土，當淨其心；隨其心淨，則佛土淨。」
爾時舍利弗承佛威神作是念：「若菩薩心淨，則佛土淨者，我世尊本為菩薩時，意豈不淨，而是佛土不淨若此？」
佛知其念，即告之言：「於意云何？日月豈不淨耶，而盲者不見？」
對曰：「不也，世尊！是盲者過，非日月咎。」
「舍利弗！眾生罪故，不見如來佛土嚴淨，非如來咎；舍利弗！我此土淨，而汝不見。」
爾時螺髻梵王語舍利弗：「勿作是意，謂此佛土以為不淨。所以者何？我見釋迦牟尼佛土清淨，譬如自在天宮。」
舍利弗言：「我見此土丘陵坑坎、荊蕀沙礫、土石諸山、穢惡充滿。」
螺髻梵王言：「仁者心有高下，不依佛慧，故見此土為不淨耳！舍利弗！菩薩於一切眾生悉皆平等，深心清淨，依佛智慧，則能見此佛土清淨。」
於是佛以足指按地，即時三千大千世界，若干百千珍寶嚴飾，譬如寶莊嚴佛無量功德寶莊嚴土，一切大眾歎未曾有，而皆自見坐寶蓮華。佛告舍利弗：「汝且觀是佛土嚴淨？」
舍利弗言：「唯然，世尊！本所不見，本所不聞，今佛國土嚴淨悉現。」
佛語舍利弗：「我佛國土常淨若此，為欲度斯下劣人故，示是眾惡不淨土耳！譬如諸天，共寶器食，隨其福德，飯色有異。如是，舍利弗！若人心淨，便見此土功德莊嚴。」
當佛現此國土嚴淨之時，寶積所將五百長者子皆得無生法忍，八萬四千人皆發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心。佛攝神足，於是世界還復如故；求聲聞乘三萬二千天及人，知有為法皆悉無常，遠塵離垢，得法眼淨；八千比丘，不受諸法，漏盡意解。
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.
底本：姚秦鳩摩羅什譯《維摩詰所說經》卷上〈佛國品第一〉。以下依本品次第逐段今譯；菩薩德目、五十二位菩薩、全部會眾、三十六偈行、十七淨土行、十二重展轉與四類法益逐項保留。
菴羅樹園的大眾
以下是我親自聽聞的內容：
有一個時候，佛陀住在毘耶離城的菴羅樹園，與八千位大比丘同在。法會中另有三萬二千位菩薩。他們的德行如下：
一、他們為大眾所熟知，大智的根本修行都已成就。
二、他們由諸佛威神所建立，守護佛法之城，受持正法。
三、他們能作無所畏的師子吼，名聲遍聞十方。
四、眾生雖未請求，他們仍主動作眾生的朋友，使眾生安穩。
五、他們能使佛、法、僧三寶相續興盛，不致斷絕。
六、他們已降伏魔怨、制伏外道，身心清淨，永遠離開覆蔽與纏縛。
七、他們的心常安住於沒有障礙的解脫。
八、他們的正念、禪定、總持與辯才相續不斷。
九、他們對布施、持戒、忍辱、精進、禪定、智慧與方便之力，全都具足。
十、他們已到無所得而法不生起的忍可。
十一、他們已能隨順正法，轉動不退轉的法輪。
十二、他們善於了解一切法的相狀，也知道眾生根性的差別。
十三、他們在大眾中超然無畏，以功德與智慧修治自己的心。
十四、他們以相好莊嚴身體，形色最為殊勝，卻捨離世間所有的飾好。
十五、他們的名聲高遠，超過須彌山。
十六、他們的深信堅固，如同金剛。
十七、他們的法寶普遍照耀，又降下甘露。
十八、他們在眾多語言音聲之中，所說最為微妙。
十九、他們深入緣起，斷除邪見以及執有、執無兩邊，沒有殘餘習氣。
二十、他們說法無所畏懼，如師子吼；所說之法如雷震響，無量而且超越衡量。
二十一、他們匯集眾多法寶，如大海中的導師，通達諸法深妙的義理。
二十二、他們善知眾生來去所趨，也知道眾生心中的行向。
二十三、他們已接近無與倫比的佛自在智慧，也接近佛的十力、四無所畏與十八不共法。
二十四、他們關閉一切通向惡趣的門，卻又在五道中示現各種身形。
二十五、他們如大醫王，善於治療眾生的種種病，依病施藥，使眾生服用、實行。
二十六、他們已成就無量功德，也已嚴淨無量佛土。
二十七、凡是見到、聽到他們的眾生，無不蒙受利益；他們所作的一切都不會徒然落空。以上一切功德，他們全都具足。
這些菩薩依次名為：
一、等觀菩薩。二、不等觀菩薩。三、等不等觀菩薩。四、定自在王菩薩。五、法自在王菩薩。六、法相菩薩。七、光相菩薩。八、光嚴菩薩。九、大嚴菩薩。十、寶積菩薩。十一、辯積菩薩。十二、寶手菩薩。十三、寶印手菩薩。十四、常舉手菩薩。十五、常下手菩薩。十六、常慘菩薩。十七、喜根菩薩。十八、喜王菩薩。十九、辯音菩薩。二十、虛空藏菩薩。二十一、執寶炬菩薩。二十二、寶勇菩薩。二十三、寶見菩薩。二十四、帝網菩薩。二十五、明網菩薩。二十六、無緣觀菩薩。二十七、慧積菩薩。二十八、寶勝菩薩。二十九、天王菩薩。三十、壞魔菩薩。三十一、電德菩薩。三十二、自在王菩薩。三十三、功德相嚴菩薩。三十四、師子吼菩薩。三十五、雷音菩薩。三十六、山相擊音菩薩。三十七、香象菩薩。三十八、白香象菩薩。三十九、常精進菩薩。四十、不休息菩薩。四十一、妙生菩薩。四十二、華嚴菩薩。四十三、觀世音菩薩。四十四、得大勢菩薩。四十五、梵網菩薩。四十六、寶杖菩薩。四十七、無勝菩薩。四十八、嚴土菩薩。四十九、金髻菩薩。五十、珠髻菩薩。五十一、彌勒菩薩。五十二、文殊師利法王子菩薩。如是等菩薩，合計三萬二千人。
另有尸棄等一萬位梵天王，從其餘四天下前來佛所聽法；又有一萬二千位天帝，也從其餘四天下來到會中安坐。其餘具大威力的諸天、龍神、夜叉、乾闥婆、阿脩羅、迦樓羅、緊那羅、摩睺羅伽，全都前來會坐。比丘、比丘尼、優婆塞、優婆夷四眾，也一同來到法會。
當時，佛陀在無量百千大眾恭敬圍繞之中說法。祂如須彌山王顯現在大海之上，安坐於眾寶莊嚴的師子座，威德映蔽一切前來的大眾。
五百寶蓋合成一蓋
那時，毘耶離城有一位長者子，名叫寶積。他與五百位長者子各持一柄七寶傘蓋來到佛前，以頭面禮佛足，各自奉上寶蓋供養佛陀。
佛陀以威神之力，使許多寶蓋合成一柄寶蓋，遍覆三千大千世界。這個世界的長、寬形貌，全都顯現在寶蓋之中。三千大千世界中的須彌山、雪山、目真隣陀山、摩訶目真隣陀山、香山、寶山、金山、黑山、鐵圍山、大鐵圍山，也一一顯現；大海、江河、川流、泉源，以及日、月、星辰，天宮、龍宮、諸尊神宮，也都顯現其中。十方諸佛與諸佛正在宣說的法，同樣顯現在寶蓋之中。
全體大眾看見佛陀的神力，讚歎這是從未有過的事。他們合掌禮佛，仰望佛陀的尊顏，目光片刻也不離開。長者子寶積就在佛前，以偈頌讚佛。以下三十六個今語單位，各對應原典一個偈行，所讚的對象皆是佛陀：
一、 『您的雙眼清淨、修長而廣闊，如青色蓮花；您的心已清淨，並已越過一切禪定。』
二、 『您久遠積集清淨之業，名德不可衡量；您以寂滅之道引導眾生，所以我向您稽首。』
三、 『我們已看見大聖以神力變現，普遍顯示十方無量國土。』
四、 『那些國土中的諸佛正在說法；這一切，在此都能看見、都能聽聞。』
五、 『法王以法的力量超越群生，恆常以法財布施一切眾生。』
六、 『您善能分別一切法相，卻在第一義中安然不動。』
七、 『您已於一切法獲得自在，所以我向這位法王稽首。』
八、 『您說一切法不能定說為有，也不能定說為無；一切法依因緣而生。』
九、 『其中沒有一個實有的我，沒有實有的造作者與受者；然而善業、惡業也不會亡失。』
十、 『您最初在菩提樹下以力降伏魔眾，證得如甘露般的寂滅，成就覺道。』
十一、 『您已不落在心、意、領受與造作之中，卻能摧伏一切外道。』
十二、 『您在三千大千世界三轉法輪；這法輪本來恆常清淨。』
十三、 『天與人得道，便是這件事的證明；佛、法、僧三寶也在此時出現於世間。』
十四、 『您以這微妙之法救濟群生；一經領受便不退轉，恆常寂然。』
十五、 『您是度脫老、病、死的大醫王；我應禮敬這功德無邊的法海。』
十六、 『毀謗或讚譽都不能動搖您，如同須彌山；您對善與不善的眾生平等施予慈心。』
十七、 『您的心行平等，如同虛空；有誰聽聞這位人中之寶而不敬奉？』
十八、 『如今我把這柄小小寶蓋奉獻世尊；我的三千大千世界竟顯現在其中。』
十九、 『諸天、龍神所居的宮殿，以及乾闥婆等和夜叉，也都顯現。』
二十、 『世間所有一切都能看見；具足十力的世尊憐愍我們，顯現這番化變。』
二十一、 『大眾看見這從未有過的事，全都讚歎佛陀；現在我向三界至尊稽首。』
二十二、 『大聖法王是一切大眾所歸依；以清淨心觀佛的眾生，沒有一個不歡喜。』
二十三、 『每一位眾生都看見世尊在自己面前；這就是佛陀神力所具的不共法。』
二十四、 『佛陀以同一音聲宣說正法，眾生依自己的類別，各自得到理解。』
二十五、 『每一類眾生都以為世尊正使用自己的語言；這就是佛陀神力所具的不共法。』
二十六、 『佛陀以同一音聲宣說正法，眾生各依自己所理解的內容而聽聞。』
二十七、 『眾生普遍都能領受、實行，並獲得相應利益；這就是佛陀神力所具的不共法。』
二十八、 『佛陀以同一音聲宣說正法；聽者有的恐懼，有的歡喜。』
二十九、 『有的聽者生起厭離，有的斷除疑惑；這就是佛陀神力所具的不共法。』
三十、 『我向具足十力而大精進的佛陀稽首；我向已得無所畏的佛陀稽首。』
三十一、 『我向安住不共法的佛陀稽首；我向一切眾生的大導師稽首。』
三十二、 『我向能斷眾多結縛的佛陀稽首；我向已到彼岸的佛陀稽首。』
三十三、 『我向能度脫一切世間的佛陀稽首；我向永遠離開生死道路的佛陀稽首。』
三十四、 『您完全知道眾生來去的相狀，也善能於一切法得到解脫。』
三十五、 『您如蓮花不染著世間，恆常善於進入空寂之行。』
三十六、 『您通達一切法相而沒有障礙；我向如虛空般無所依止的佛陀稽首。』
寶積請問淨土之行
寶積說完偈頌，向佛陀稟白：『世尊！這五百位長者子都已發無上正等正覺之心。他們願意聽聞怎樣才能使佛國土清淨。唯願世尊為我們宣說菩薩清淨佛土的修行！』
佛陀說：『很好，寶積！你能代諸菩薩向如來請問淨土之行。仔細聽，仔細聽！好好思念其中的義理，我現在就為你們宣說。』
寶積與五百位長者子接受教誨，專心聽聞。
眾生是菩薩的佛土
佛陀說：『寶積！一切眾生之類，就是菩薩的佛土。為什麼這樣說？
『第一，菩薩依自己所要教化的眾生而選取佛土。
『第二，菩薩依自己所要調伏的眾生而選取佛土。
『第三，菩薩依眾生應在怎樣的國土進入佛的智慧而選取佛土。
『第四，菩薩依眾生應在怎樣的國土生起菩薩善根而選取佛土。
『為什麼？菩薩選取清淨國土，全是為了饒益眾生。譬如有人想在空曠土地上建造宮室，便能隨自己的心意施作，沒有妨礙；如果想直接在虛空中建造，終究不能完成。菩薩也是如此：為了成就眾生，才發願選取佛國。發願選取佛國，並非憑空而成。』
十七種淨土之行
佛陀接著說：『寶積！你應當知道以下十七種修行與所成佛土：
一、直心
『真直誠實之心就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，不諂曲的眾生來生祂的國土。』
二、深心
『深切修行之心就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，具足功德的眾生來生祂的國土。』
三、菩提心
『求無上菩提之心就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，志向大乘的眾生來生祂的國土。』
四、布施
『布施就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，一切能夠捨離、施予的眾生來生祂的國土。』
五、持戒
『持戒就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，實行十善道而圓滿所願的眾生來生祂的國土。』
六、忍辱
『忍辱就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，以三十二相莊嚴自身的眾生來生祂的國土。』
七、精進
『精進就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，勤修一切功德的眾生來生祂的國土。』
八、禪定
『禪定就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，收攝心念、不令散亂的眾生來生祂的國土。』
九、智慧
『智慧就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，安住正定的眾生來生祂的國土。』
十、四無量心
『四無量心就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，成就慈、悲、喜、捨四種無量心的眾生來生祂的國土。』
十一、四攝法
『四攝法就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，受到解脫所攝受的眾生來生祂的國土。』
十二、方便
『善巧方便就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，對一切法運用方便而沒有障礙的眾生來生祂的國土。』
十三、三十七道品
『三十七道品就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，修習四念處、四正勤、四神足、五根、五力、七覺支、八正道的眾生來生祂的國土。』
十四、迴向心
『把功德迴向菩提與眾生之心就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，祂所得的國土具足一切功德。』
十五、宣說除去八難
『宣說如何除去八難就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，祂的國土沒有地獄、餓鬼、畜生三惡趣，也沒有八難。』
十六、自守戒行，不譏他人過失
『自己守護戒行而不譏刺別人的缺失，就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，祂的國土連犯戒的名稱也沒有。』
十七、十善
『十善就是菩薩的淨土。菩薩成佛時，以下十種眾生來生祂的國土：一、壽命不會中途夭折；二、擁有廣大財富；三、修持清淨梵行；四、所說真實誠諦；五、恆常使用柔軟言語；六、眷屬不相離散並善於調和爭訟；七、言語必定使人得到利益；八、不嫉妒；九、不瞋恚；十、具有正見。』
從直心到一切功德清淨
佛陀又說：『寶積！這條修行次第如此展開：
『第一，隨著菩薩的心真直誠實，便能發起實際的修行。
『第二，隨著實際修行已經發起，便能得到更深的修行之心。
『第三，隨著深心得到成就，心意便能調伏。
『第四，隨著心意調伏，便能按照所說的法去實行。
『第五，隨著如法而行，便能把所修功德迴向菩提與眾生。
『第六，隨著迴向，便具有善巧方便。
『第七，隨著善巧方便具足，便能成就眾生。
『第八，隨著眾生得到成就，佛土便清淨。
『第九，隨著佛土清淨，所說之法也清淨。
『第十，隨著所說之法清淨，智慧也清淨。
『第十一，隨著智慧清淨，菩薩自己的心也清淨。
『第十二，隨著菩薩的心清淨，一切功德也清淨。
『所以，寶積！菩薩如果想得到清淨佛土，應當先清淨自己的心；隨著自己的心清淨，佛土也就清淨。』
舍利弗所見與螺髻梵王所見
這時，舍利弗承受佛陀威神之力，心中生起一個疑問：『如果菩薩的心清淨，佛土便清淨，那麼世尊往昔修菩薩行時，心意難道不清淨嗎？為什麼現在這個佛土如此不清淨？』
佛陀知道舍利弗心中的念頭，便問他：『你的意思如何？日月難道不清淨嗎？可是盲者看不見日月。』
舍利弗回答：『不是的，世尊！這是盲者自身的過失，不是日月的過失。』
佛陀說：『舍利弗！眾生因自身罪業而不能看見如來佛土的嚴淨，這不是如來的過失。舍利弗！我的國土清淨，只是你現在沒有看見。』
當時，螺髻梵王對舍利弗說：『請不要生起這樣的想法，認為這個佛土不清淨。為什麼？我所看見的釋迦牟尼佛國土清淨，如同自在天宮。』
舍利弗說：『我所看見的這片國土，遍布丘陵、坑坎、荊蕀、沙礫、土石與諸山，充滿穢惡。』
螺髻梵王說：『仁者！你的心有高有下，不依佛的智慧觀察，所以看見這片國土不清淨。舍利弗！菩薩對一切眾生都平等，深心清淨，依止佛的智慧，便能看見這片佛土清淨。』
足指按地，嚴淨國土顯現
這時，佛陀以足指按地。就在當下，三千大千世界由若干百千珍寶嚴飾，如同寶莊嚴佛的無量功德寶莊嚴國土。全體大眾讚歎這是從未有過的事，每一個人也都看見自己坐在寶蓮華上。
佛陀問舍利弗：『你現在姑且看看，這片佛土是不是嚴淨？』
舍利弗回答：『是的，世尊！這是我從前未曾看見、未曾聽聞的；如今佛國土的嚴淨已完全顯現。』
佛陀對舍利弗說：『我的佛國土恆常如此清淨。為了度化根性下劣的人，所以才示現這個充滿眾惡的不清淨國土。譬如諸天共用一個寶器進食，飯的顏色卻隨各自福德而有差異。舍利弗！同樣地，人的心若清淨，便能看見這片國土的功德莊嚴。』
四類法益
佛陀顯現這片國土嚴淨的時候，寶積所帶領的五百位長者子全都得到無生法忍；八萬四千人全都發起無上正等正覺之心。
佛陀收攝神力，這個世界回復原來的樣子。三萬二千位求聲聞乘的天人與人，看見一切有為法全都無常，遠離塵垢，得到清淨法眼；八千位比丘不領受、不染著一切法，諸漏滅盡，心得解脫。
Base text: Kumārajīva’s Yao-Qin translation, The Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Upper Scroll, Chapter 01, “Buddha-Lands.” What follows renders the chapter passage by passage in its transmitted sequence; the bodhisattvas’ attributes, the fifty-two named bodhisattvas, the entire assembly, all thirty-six verse lines, the seventeen practices of a pure land, the twelve successive links, and the four classes of Dharma benefit are preserved item by item.
The Assembly in the Āmra Grove
Thus have I heard:
At one time, the Buddha was dwelling in the Āmra Grove at Vaiśālī, together with eight thousand great bhikṣus. Also present in the Dharma assembly were thirty-two thousand bodhisattvas. Their virtues were as follows:
First, they were well known to the assembly and had fully accomplished the foundational practices of great wisdom.
Second, established by the awe-inspiring spiritual power of the buddhas, they guarded the city of the Buddha-Dharma and upheld the true Dharma.
Third, they could sound the fearless lion’s roar, and their renown was heard throughout the ten directions.
Fourth, although sentient beings had not asked them, they still took the initiative to befriend sentient beings and bring them peace and security.
Fifth, they could ensure that the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha continued to flourish without interruption.
Sixth, they had subdued the enmity of Māra and overcome the non-Buddhist paths. Pure in body and mind, they had forever left behind the coverings and entanglements.
Seventh, their minds constantly abided in unobstructed liberation.
Eighth, their right mindfulness, meditative concentration, dhāraṇī, and eloquence continued without interruption.
Ninth, they were fully endowed with the powers of giving, ethical discipline, patience, diligent effort, meditation, wisdom, and skillful means.
Tenth, they had reached the acceptance of non-attainment in which dharmas do not arise.
Eleventh, they could already accord with the true Dharma and turn the irreversible Dharma-wheel.
Twelfth, they skillfully understood the marks of all dharmas and also knew the differences among the faculties of sentient beings.
Thirteenth, they stood transcendent and fearless within the assembly, cultivating their own minds through merit and wisdom.
Fourteenth, they adorned their bodies with the excellent marks and characteristics and were supreme in physical form, yet had relinquished every worldly ornament.
Fifteenth, their lofty renown surpassed Mount Sumeru.
Sixteenth, their profound faith was firm like vajra.
Seventeenth, their treasury of Dharma shone everywhere and rained down ambrosia.
Eighteenth, amid the many sounds of language, what they taught was the most subtle and wondrous.
Nineteenth, they entered deeply into dependent origination, cut off wrong views and both extremes of grasping existence and grasping nonexistence, and retained no residual habits.
Twentieth, they taught the Dharma fearlessly, like a lion’s roar; the Dharma they proclaimed resounded like thunder, immeasurable and beyond all reckoning.
Twenty-first, they gathered many treasures of Dharma, like guides upon the great ocean, and comprehended the profound and wondrous meanings of all dharmas.
Twenty-second, they skillfully knew where sentient beings came from and where they were going, and also knew the directions in which their minds moved.
Twenty-third, they had drawn near the Buddha’s mastery of wisdom, without equal or peer, as well as the Buddha’s ten powers, four fearlessnesses, and eighteen qualities not shared with others.
Twenty-fourth, they closed every gate leading to the evil destinies, yet manifested various bodies throughout the five paths.
Twenty-fifth, like great kings of physicians, they skillfully treated the many illnesses of sentient beings, prescribing medicine according to each illness and causing sentient beings to take it and put it into practice.
Twenty-sixth, they had accomplished immeasurable merit and purified immeasurable buddha-lands.
Twenty-seventh, every sentient being who saw or heard them received benefit, and nothing they did ever came to nothing. They were fully endowed with all the virtues stated above.
These bodhisattvas were named in sequence:
(1) Bodhisattva Equal Contemplation; (2) Bodhisattva Unequal Contemplation; (3) Bodhisattva Contemplating Equality and Inequality; (4) Bodhisattva King of Mastery in Concentration; (5) Bodhisattva King of Mastery in Dharma; (6) Bodhisattva Dharma-Mark; (7) Bodhisattva Light-Mark; (8) Bodhisattva Adornment of Light; (9) Bodhisattva Great Adornment; (10) Bodhisattva Jewel Accumulation; (11) Bodhisattva Accumulation of Eloquence; (12) Bodhisattva Jewel-Hand; (13) Bodhisattva Jewel-Seal Hand; (14) Bodhisattva Ever-Raised Hand; (15) Bodhisattva Ever-Lowered Hand; (16) Bodhisattva Ever-Sorrowful; (17) Bodhisattva Root of Joy; (18) Bodhisattva King of Joy; (19) Bodhisattva Eloquent Voice; (20) Bodhisattva Treasury of Space; (21) Bodhisattva Holder of the Jewel Torch; (22) Bodhisattva Jewel-Courage; (23) Bodhisattva Jewel-Vision; (24) Bodhisattva Indra’s Net; (25) Bodhisattva Luminous Net; (26) Bodhisattva Objectless Contemplation; (27) Bodhisattva Accumulation of Wisdom; (28) Bodhisattva Jewel-Supreme; (29) Bodhisattva Deva-King; (30) Bodhisattva Destroyer of Māra; (31) Bodhisattva Lightning Virtue; (32) Bodhisattva King of Mastery; (33) Bodhisattva Adorned with the Mark of Merit; (34) Bodhisattva Lion’s Roar; (35) Bodhisattva Thunder-Voice; (36) Bodhisattva Sound of Mountains Striking One Another; (37) Bodhisattva Fragrant Elephant; (38) Bodhisattva White Fragrant Elephant; (39) Bodhisattva Ever Diligent; (40) Bodhisattva Never Resting; (41) Bodhisattva Wondrous Birth; (42) Bodhisattva Floral Adornment; (43) Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara; (44) Bodhisattva Attainment of Great Power; (45) Bodhisattva Brahmā’s Net; (46) Bodhisattva Jewel Staff; (47) Bodhisattva Unsurpassed; (48) Bodhisattva Adorner of Lands; (49) Bodhisattva Golden Topknot; (50) Bodhisattva Jeweled Topknot; (51) Bodhisattva Maitreya; and (52) Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, Prince of Dharma. Bodhisattvas such as these numbered thirty-two thousand in all.
There were also ten thousand Brahmā kings, Śikhin among them, who had come from other four-continent worlds to hear the Dharma from the Buddha. Twelve thousand lords of the devas likewise came from other four-continent worlds and took their seats in the assembly. All the other powerful devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, and mahoragas also came and sat in the assembly. The fourfold community of bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās likewise came to the Dharma gathering.
At that time, the Buddha taught the Dharma while immeasurable hundreds of thousands in the assembly reverently surrounded Him. Like King Sumeru rising above the ocean, He sat upon a lion throne adorned with many jewels, and His majestic virtue outshone the entire assembled multitude.
Five Hundred Jeweled Canopies Become One
At that time in the city of Vaiśālī was a householder’s son named Jewel Accumulation. He and five hundred householders’ sons each brought a canopy of the seven jewels before the Buddha. They bowed with their heads and faces at the Buddha’s feet, and each presented his jeweled canopy as an offering to the Buddha.
Through His spiritual power, the Buddha caused the many jeweled canopies to merge into a single canopy that covered the entire three-thousand-great-thousand world-system. The length, breadth, and shape of this world were all revealed within it. Mount Sumeru, Snow Mountain, Mount Mucilinda, Mount Mahāmucilinda, Fragrant Mountain, Jewel Mountain, Golden Mountain, Black Mountain, Iron-Enclosing Mountain, and Great Iron-Enclosing Mountain within the three-thousand-great-thousand world-system each appeared. The oceans, great rivers, streams, and springs, as well as the sun, moon, stars, palaces of the devas, palaces of the nāgas, and palaces of the honored spirits, all appeared within it. The buddhas of the ten directions and the Dharma those buddhas were teaching likewise appeared within the jeweled canopy.
The entire assembly saw the Buddha’s spiritual power and praised it as something never before experienced. Joining their palms, they bowed to the Buddha and gazed up at His honored countenance without looking away even for a moment. Jewel Accumulation, the householder’s son, then praised the Buddha in verse before Him. Each of the following thirty-six present-day units corresponds to one verse line in the canonical text, and the object praised in every line is the Buddha:
Line 1: “Your eyes are pure, long, and broad, like blue lotuses; Your mind is pure and has passed beyond every meditative concentration.”
Line 2: “Over long ages You have accumulated pure karma, and Your renown and virtue are beyond measure. You guide sentient beings by the path of quiescent cessation; therefore I bow my head to You.”
Line 3: “We have seen the Great Sage manifest through spiritual power, universally revealing immeasurable lands throughout the ten directions.”
Line 4: “The buddhas in those lands are teaching the Dharma; all of this can be seen and heard right here.”
Line 5: “The Dharma-King surpasses all sentient beings through the power of Dharma and constantly gives the wealth of Dharma to every sentient being.”
Line 6: “You skillfully distinguish the marks of all dharmas, yet remain peacefully unmoved within ultimate truth.”
Line 7: “You have attained mastery over all dharmas; therefore I bow my head to this Dharma-King.”
Line 8: “You teach that no dharma can definitively be called existent or nonexistent; all dharmas arise through causes and conditions.”
Line 9: “Within them there is no truly existent self, no truly existent maker, and no truly existent recipient; yet wholesome and unwholesome karma are never lost.”
Line 10: “At first, beneath the tree of awakening, You used Your power to subdue Māra’s hosts, realized ambrosia-like quiescent cessation, and accomplished the path of awakening.”
Line 11: “You no longer fall within mind, mentation, reception, or fabrication, yet You can overcome every non-Buddhist path.”
Line 12: “Within the three-thousand-great-thousand world-system, You turned the Dharma-wheel three times; this Dharma-wheel has always been pure.”
Line 13: “The attainment of the path by devas and humans bears witness to this; the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha then appeared in the world.”
Line 14: “Through this subtle and wondrous Dharma, You rescue all sentient beings. Once they receive it, they do not turn back and remain forever quiescent.”
Line 15: “You are the great king of physicians who frees beings from old age, illness, and death. I should honor this ocean of boundless merit.”
Line 16: “Neither slander nor praise can move You, just as Mount Sumeru cannot be moved. You bestow loving-kindness equally upon wholesome and unwholesome sentient beings.”
Line 17: “Your mental conduct is equal like space. Who could hear of this jewel among humans and fail to honor Him?”
Line 18: “Now I offer this small jeweled canopy to the World-Honored One; astonishingly, my three-thousand-great-thousand world-system appears within it.”
Line 19: “The palaces inhabited by devas and nāgas, as well as the gandharvas, yakṣas, and others, all appear within it.”
Line 20: “Everything in the world can be seen. The World-Honored One, complete in the ten powers, has compassion for us and manifests this transformation.”
Line 21: “The assembly sees this unprecedented event and praises the Buddha together. I now bow my head to the Supreme One of the three realms.”
Line 22: “The Great Sage, the Dharma-King, is the refuge of the entire assembly. No sentient being who contemplates the Buddha with a pure mind fails to rejoice.”
Line 23: “Every sentient being sees the World-Honored One directly before himself. This is an exclusive quality of the Buddha’s spiritual power.”
Line 24: “The Buddha proclaims the true Dharma in a single voice, and sentient beings each understand it according to their own kind.”
Line 25: “Each kind of sentient being thinks that the World-Honored One is using its own language. This is an exclusive quality of the Buddha’s spiritual power.”
Line 26: “The Buddha proclaims the true Dharma in a single voice, and sentient beings each hear according to what they themselves understand.”
Line 27: “Sentient beings everywhere can receive it, put it into practice, and gain the corresponding benefit. This is an exclusive quality of the Buddha’s spiritual power.”
Line 28: “The Buddha proclaims the true Dharma in a single voice; some who hear it become afraid, while others rejoice.”
Line 29: “Some who hear it develop disenchantment, while others cut off their doubts. This is an exclusive quality of the Buddha’s spiritual power.”
Line 30: “I bow my head to the greatly diligent Buddha who possesses the ten powers. I bow my head to the Buddha who has attained fearlessness.”
Line 31: “I bow my head to the Buddha who abides in the exclusive qualities. I bow my head to the great guide of all sentient beings.”
Line 32: “I bow my head to the Buddha who can cut through the many bonds. I bow my head to the Buddha who has reached the other shore.”
Line 33: “I bow my head to the Buddha who can free the entire world. I bow my head to the Buddha who has forever left the paths of birth and death.”
Line 34: “You completely know the marks of sentient beings’ coming and going and are skillful at attaining liberation in all dharmas.”
Line 35: “Like a lotus unstained by the world, You constantly and skillfully enter the practice of empty quiescence.”
Line 36: “You comprehend the marks of all dharmas without obstruction. I bow my head to the Buddha, unsupported like space.”
Jewel Accumulation Asks about the Practice of a Pure Land
After reciting the verses, Jewel Accumulation addressed the Buddha: “World-Honored One! These five hundred householders’ sons have all set their minds on unsurpassed perfect awakening. They wish to hear how a buddha-land can be purified. May the World-Honored One teach us the bodhisattva’s practice of purifying a buddha-land!”
The Buddha said, “Excellent, Jewel Accumulation! You are able to ask the Tathāgata on behalf of the bodhisattvas about the practice of a pure land. Listen carefully, listen carefully! Reflect well upon its meaning, and I will now explain it to you.”
Jewel Accumulation and the five hundred householders’ sons accepted the instruction and listened single-mindedly.
Sentient Beings Are the Bodhisattva’s Buddha-Land
The Buddha said, “Jewel Accumulation! Every kind of sentient being is the bodhisattva’s buddha-land. Why is this so?
“First, a bodhisattva chooses a buddha-land according to the sentient beings he intends to teach and transform.
“Second, a bodhisattva chooses a buddha-land according to the sentient beings he intends to discipline.
“Third, a bodhisattva chooses a buddha-land according to the kind of land in which sentient beings should enter the Buddha’s wisdom.
“Fourth, a bodhisattva chooses a buddha-land according to the kind of land in which sentient beings should produce bodhisattva roots of goodness.
“Why? A bodhisattva chooses a pure land entirely for the benefit of sentient beings. Suppose someone wishes to build a palace on open ground: he can build as he pleases, without obstruction. If he wishes to build it directly in empty space, he can never complete it. A bodhisattva is just the same. It is in order to bring sentient beings to accomplishment that he vows to choose a buddha-land. A vow to choose a buddha-land is not accomplished out of empty space.”
Seventeen Practices of a Pure Land
The Buddha continued, “Jewel Accumulation! You should know the following seventeen practices and the buddha-lands they bring to accomplishment:
1. A Straightforward Mind
“A truly straightforward and sincere mind is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings free of deceit and crookedness are born in His land.”
2. A Profound Mind
“A mind of profound practice is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings complete in merit are born in His land.”
3. The Mind of Awakening
“The mind that seeks unsurpassed awakening is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings whose aspiration is directed toward the Great Vehicle are born in His land.”
4. Giving
“Giving is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, all sentient beings capable of relinquishing and giving are born in His land.”
5. Ethical Discipline
“Ethical discipline is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who practice the ten wholesome paths and completely fulfill their vows are born in His land.”
6. Patience
“Patience is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who adorn their bodies with the thirty-two marks are born in His land.”
7. Diligent Effort
“Diligent effort is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who diligently cultivate every merit are born in His land.”
8. Meditation
“Meditation is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who gather in their thoughts and do not let them scatter are born in His land.”
9. Wisdom
“Wisdom is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who abide in right concentration are born in His land.”
10. The Four Immeasurable Minds
“The four immeasurable minds are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who accomplish the four immeasurables of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity are born in His land.”
11. The Four Means of Gathering
“The four means of gathering are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings gathered and embraced by liberation are born in His land.”
12. Skillful Means
“Skillful means are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who apply skillful means to all dharmas without obstruction are born in His land.”
13. The Thirty-Seven Factors of the Path
“The thirty-seven factors of the path are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who cultivate the four establishments of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of spiritual power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of awakening, and the Noble Eightfold Path are born in His land.”
14. The Mind of Dedication
“The mind that dedicates merit to awakening and sentient beings is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, the land He attains is complete in every merit.”
15. Teaching the Removal of the Eight Difficulties
“Teaching how to remove the eight difficulties is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, His land has neither the three evil destinies of hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals, nor the eight difficulties.”
16. Guarding One’s Own Ethical Conduct without Criticizing the Faults of Others
“Guarding one’s own ethical conduct without criticizing the failings of others is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, even the name ‘violation of the precepts’ is absent from His land.”
17. The Ten Wholesome Actions
“The ten wholesome actions are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, the following ten kinds of sentient beings are born in His land: (1) those whose lives are not cut short by untimely death; (2) those who possess great wealth; (3) those who cultivate pure brahmacarya; (4) those whose words are true and sincere; (5) those who constantly use gentle speech; (6) those whose families are not separated and who skillfully reconcile disputes; (7) those whose speech invariably benefits others; (8) those free of envy; (9) those free of anger; and (10) those endowed with right view.”
From a Straightforward Mind to the Purification of Every Merit
The Buddha further said, “Jewel Accumulation! This sequence of practice unfolds as follows:
“First, as a bodhisattva’s mind becomes straightforward and sincere, actual practice is set in motion.
“Second, as actual practice is set in motion, a more profound mind is attained.
“Third, as the profound mind is accomplished, one’s intention is disciplined.
“Fourth, as one’s intention is disciplined, one practices according to the Dharma that has been taught.
“Fifth, as one practices in accordance with the Dharma, one can dedicate the merit cultivated to awakening and sentient beings.
“Sixth, with dedication, one possesses skillful means.
“Seventh, when skillful means are complete, one can bring sentient beings to accomplishment.
“Eighth, as sentient beings are brought to accomplishment, the buddha-land becomes pure.
“Ninth, as the buddha-land becomes pure, the Dharma that is taught also becomes pure.
“Tenth, as the Dharma that is taught becomes pure, wisdom also becomes pure.
“Eleventh, as wisdom becomes pure, the bodhisattva’s own mind also becomes pure.
“Twelfth, as the bodhisattva’s mind becomes pure, every merit also becomes pure.
“Therefore, Jewel Accumulation, if a bodhisattva wishes to attain a pure buddha-land, he should first purify his own mind. As his own mind becomes pure, the buddha-land becomes pure.”
What Śāriputra Saw and What Brahmā King Conch-Crest Saw
At that time, through the Buddha’s spiritual power, a doubt arose in Śāriputra’s mind: “If the buddha-land becomes pure when the bodhisattva’s mind is pure, was the World-Honored One’s mind not pure in the past when He practiced the bodhisattva conduct? Why, then, is this buddha-land not pure now?”
Knowing the thought in Śāriputra’s mind, the Buddha asked him, “What do you think? Are the sun and moon impure merely because a blind person does not see them?”
Śāriputra answered, “No, World-Honored One! That is the blind person’s own fault, not the fault of the sun and moon.”
The Buddha said, “Śāriputra! Because of their own karmic wrongdoing, sentient beings cannot see the adornment and purity of the Tathāgata’s buddha-land. This is not the Tathāgata’s fault. Śāriputra! My land is pure; you simply do not see it now.”
At that time, Brahmā King Conch-Crest said to Śāriputra, “Please do not give rise to the thought that this buddha-land is impure. Why? I see Śākyamuni Buddha’s buddha-land as pure, like a palace in the Heaven of Mastery.”
Śāriputra said, “I see this land covered everywhere with hills, pits, thorns, gravel, soil, rocks, and mountains, and filled with impurity and evil.”
Brahmā King Conch-Crest said, “Good sir! Your mind has high and low and does not rely upon the Buddha’s wisdom in its contemplation; therefore you see this land as impure. Śāriputra! A bodhisattva is equal toward all sentient beings, has a pure and profound mind, and relies upon the Buddha’s wisdom; therefore he can see this buddha-land as pure.”
The Buddha Presses the Earth with His Toe, Revealing the Adorned and Pure Land
At that time, the Buddha pressed the earth with His toe. At that very moment, the three-thousand-great-thousand world-system was adorned with many hundreds of thousands of precious jewels, like the Immeasurable-Merit Jewel-Adorned Land of Buddha Jewel Adornment. The entire assembly praised this as something never before experienced, and every person saw himself seated upon a jeweled lotus.
The Buddha asked Śāriputra, “Now take a look: is this buddha-land adorned and pure?”
Śāriputra answered, “Yes, World-Honored One! I had never seen or heard of this before. Now the adornment and purity of the buddha-land have been fully revealed.”
The Buddha said to Śāriputra, “My buddha-land is always as pure as this. In order to liberate people of inferior faculties, I manifest this land filled with many evils and not pure. It is like the devas who eat together from a single jeweled vessel, while the color of the rice differs according to each one’s merit. Śāriputra! In the same way, when a person’s mind is pure, he can see the meritorious adornments of this land.”
Four Classes of Dharma Benefit
When the Buddha revealed the adornment and purity of this land, all five hundred householders’ sons led by Jewel Accumulation attained acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, and all eighty-four thousand people set their minds on unsurpassed perfect awakening.
The Buddha withdrew His spiritual power, and this world returned to its former appearance. Thirty-two thousand devas and humans seeking the śrāvaka vehicle saw that all conditioned dharmas are impermanent, left dust and defilement behind, and attained the pure Dharma-eye. Eight thousand bhikṣus neither received nor clung to any dharma; their outflows were exhausted, and their minds attained liberation.
本品一開始，佛陀坐在毘耶離菴羅樹園的眾寶師子座。八千比丘、三萬二千菩薩、一萬梵天王、一萬二千天帝、諸天、龍神、夜叉、乾闥婆、阿脩羅、迦樓羅、緊那羅、摩睺羅伽與四眾，同來會坐。經文先用很長的篇幅說菩薩功德，再列五十二位菩薩之名。佛國之問尚未提出，護法、利生、六度、方便、知眾生根、應病與藥、嚴淨佛土，已先在法會大眾身上展開。
接著，寶積與五百長者子持七寶蓋供養佛陀。許多寶蓋合成一蓋，遍覆三千大千世界；世界的廣長形貌、十座山、大海江河、川流泉源、日月星辰、天宮、龍宮、諸尊神宮，以及十方諸佛與諸佛說法，都顯現在蓋中。寶積看見神變，便以三十六偈行讚佛。偈中由佛陀的目淨、心淨與淨業，說到因緣、業不亡、降魔、法輪、三寶與大醫王；又由寶蓋所現，說到眾會觀佛與一音說法；最後以連續稽首，收在通達法相、如空無依。
這兩段不是淨土問答以外的序幕。獻上的小蓋中顯出廣大世界，世界中又有諸佛說法；寶積由所見而讚佛，再由讚佛而請問佛國土怎樣清淨。經文讓『國土』先被看見，繼而被詢問，然後才進入菩薩如何修淨土的回答。
一音說法，三次各有不同落點
寶積的偈頌三次重說佛陀以一音演說法。第一組說眾生隨自己的類別各得理解，又都以為世尊正在使用自己的語言；第二組說眾生各隨所解，普遍得以領受、實行並獲利益；第三組說同在聞法之時，有的恐畏、有的歡喜，有的生厭離、有的斷除疑惑。
三組偈行沒有把理解、語言、實行與聞法反應混作一件事。寶積先讚眾生能各自聽懂，再讚各自領受實行而獲益，最後列出恐畏、歡喜、厭離、斷疑四種反應。這一段仍在讚佛：每一組都以佛陀神力所具的不共法收束，隨後才進入對十力、無所畏、不共法、大導師、斷結縛與到彼岸的連續稽首。
淨土之問，為什麼先答眾生？
寶積代五百長者子請問淨土之行，佛陀第一句回答的不是珍寶、宮殿或平坦地面，而是眾生之類就是菩薩佛土。經文隨即把這句話分作四重：依所要教化的眾生而取佛土，依所要調伏的眾生而取佛土，依眾生應在何國進入佛智慧而取佛土，依眾生應在何國生起菩薩根而取佛土。四句之後，佛陀直說取淨國全為饒益眾生。
空地造室的譬喻也落在這裡。有人在空地建造宮室，可以隨意而無礙；若要直接在虛空造室，終不能成。菩薩願取佛國，是為成就眾生；經接著說，願取佛國並非憑空而成。經文把『眾生是佛土』與『成就眾生』前後相接，使淨土之問從一開始便具有明確所向。
十七種行，各有一個所成之國
佛陀接著列十七種淨土行。每一項都不是單列德目，而是先說菩薩所修，再說成佛時何種眾生來生其國，或國土呈現何種功德。
直心所成之國，有不諂眾生；深心所成之國，有具足功德眾生；菩提心所成之國，有大乘眾生。這三心列在一切具體行法之前。
布施所成之國，有一切能捨眾生；持戒所成之國，有行十善道而滿願的眾生；忍辱所成之國，有三十二相莊嚴眾生；精進所成之國，有勤修一切功德眾生；禪定所成之國，有攝心不亂眾生；智慧所成之國，有正定眾生。六項依次展開，不以其中一項代替其餘五項。
四無量心所成之國，有成就慈、悲、喜、捨的眾生；四攝法所成之國，有解脫所攝眾生；方便所成之國，有於一切法方便無礙眾生；三十七道品所成之國，有具念處、正勤、神足、根、力、覺、道的眾生。慈悲喜捨、攝受眾生、方便無礙與修道品，在經文中各自成項。
迴向心所成的是一切功德具足的國土；宣說除去八難，所成國土沒有三惡趣與八難；自己守戒而不譏他人過失，所成國土沒有犯禁之名。十善一項又完整列出命不中夭、大富、梵行、所言誠諦、常以軟語、眷屬不離而善和諍訟、言必饒益、不嫉、不恚、正見十種結果。
從前三心、六種行，到四無量、四攝、方便、道品、迴向、除難、不譏與十善，本品把佛土嚴淨安放在一組可逐項實行的次第中。國土之果不離行，行所指向的又是一類一類眾生。
心淨土淨，中間有十二重展轉
十七行之後，經文沒有立刻停在心淨土淨，而是先說十二重相續。直心使修行發起，發行使深心得成；深心使意調伏，意調伏使人如所說而行；如說行使人能迴向，迴向使方便具足；方便使眾生得到成就，眾生成就使佛土清淨；佛土清淨使所說之法清淨，說法清淨使智慧清淨；智慧清淨使自己的心清淨，心清淨使一切功德清淨。
到了這裡，佛陀才勸菩薩若欲得淨土，應當清淨自己的心，並以心淨則佛土淨作結。結句很短，前面卻有十七種行與十二重展轉。直心不是終點，心淨也不是孤立起點；經文所呈現的是從發行、深心、調伏、如說行，一路經過迴向、方便與成就眾生，才到佛土、說法、智慧、心與功德俱淨。
同一佛土，為什麼有兩種所見？
舍利弗正是在聽到心淨土淨之後起疑：如果菩薩心淨，佛土就淨，世尊往昔行菩薩道時的心難道不淨？為什麼眼前佛土如此不淨？佛陀先以日月問他。盲者看不見日月，不等於日月本身不淨。佛陀接著明說，眾生因罪而不見如來佛土嚴淨；祂的國土清淨，舍利弗卻尚未看見。
螺髻梵王與舍利弗就在同一段經文中陳述兩種所見。梵王看見釋迦牟尼佛土清淨，如自在天宮；舍利弗看見丘陵、坑坎、荊蕀、沙礫、土石與諸山，穢惡充滿。梵王說，若心有高下、不依佛慧，所見便是不淨；菩薩若平等看待一切眾生，深心清淨而依佛智慧，便能看見佛土清淨。
本品並未讓兩人的話停在辯論。佛陀以足指按地，三千大千世界當下由百千珍寶嚴飾，全體大眾各自看見自己坐在寶蓮華上。舍利弗承認，現在顯現的嚴淨佛土是自己從前未見、未聞的。
佛陀隨後說，祂的佛國土常淨如此，為度根性下劣之人，才示現眾惡不淨之土。祂又舉諸天共用寶器進食為喻：共用一器，飯色卻隨各自福德而異；人的心若清淨，便見此土功德莊嚴。日月、兩種地貌、足指按地與飯色四段相續，把舍利弗最初的疑問帶回所見淨穢與心淨之間。
顯現之後，經文記下四類法益
佛陀顯現嚴淨國土時，五百長者子得到無生法忍，八萬四千人發無上菩提心。佛陀收攝神力，世界回復原狀。三萬二千位求聲聞乘的天人與人知道有為法悉皆無常，遠塵離垢，得法眼淨；八千比丘不受諸法，漏盡意解。
四類法益各依經文並列。五百人所得、八萬四千人所發、三萬二千天人所見與八千比丘所證，都發生在品末同一敘事段中；經文沒有把其中一類寫成另一類的原因。嚴淨國土顯現與世界還復原狀，也一前一後同在本品：所見可以轉變，所聞的修行次第與所得法益則由經文逐項留下。
本品從大眾德行與寶蓋世界起步，經過寶積讚佛與請問，再把佛土落在眾生、十七行、十二重展轉與清淨自心之上；最後讓舍利弗與螺髻梵王對同一國土陳述不同所見，由佛陀親自顯示嚴淨。『佛國常淨，何以看見丘陵沙礫』並沒有被化成一句抽象答案：經文先問心如何行、眾生如何成就，再問所見如何淨，並以四類法益收束全品。
二鏡並照
上來只順羅什本〈佛國品〉自身開講。古德面對眾生為土、十七行、心淨土淨與淨穢顯現，又各依所傳經本立說。以下並列什門三家與慈恩一系；兩路各還其本，彼此不裁。
什門之鏡：三因、行次與同土異見
什曰把淨土因緣列作菩薩功德、眾生、眾生功德三事，並說：「三因既淨，則得淨土。」他又以誠實、心深、正趣佛慧解直心、深心、菩提心，至十二重展轉時，逐層說發行、調伏、如說行、迴向、方便與成就眾生，讓結句仍有可循次第。
肇曰著力於同土異見，說：「土之淨穢繫于眾生，故曰眾生之類是菩薩佛土也。」到心土結句，他以影響相應為喻；到足指按地，又說：「佛土常淨，豈待變而後飾？」生曰則先分行與土，說：「淨土行者，行致淨土，非造之也。」對按地現淨，他另從出穢為淨與示無定相立說。三家同依羅什本，仍各有落點。
慈恩之鏡：有情器界、十八嚴因與清淨自心
窺基依玄奘本，先把土分開說明：「凡土有二：一有情世間、二器世間。」他把淨佛土之問分成土相與修因，又依其本五重有情句，著重菩薩為有情增長饒益、令其發起清淨功德。這一路所用句式與羅什本四重隨取不同。
對行目，他明記：「今有十八嚴淨土行，舊有十七，無此第三。」所多的一項是善加行土；因此慈恩的十八行與什門所釋十七行只宜分本並讀。到心土關係，他說：「諸修行者自心嚴淨，外感有情器土亦淨。」又以變化土隨眾所宜而現，說明按地前後的淨穢所見。此路不增補羅什本行目，也不改寫羅什本人物。
兩鏡都將眾生、行、心與國土連在同一品中，卻使用不同層次與詞彙：什門分出三因、三心次第與淨穢異見，慈恩分出有情器界、十八嚴因與自心嚴淨。並照的意義不在把兩路熔成一說，而在看清每一路從哪一經本出發、在哪一節點用力。
本品真正留下的承衍，也不只是『心淨土淨』四字。什門保存十七行與十二轉的次第、同土異見的辨析；慈恩保存有情與器界、十八行與佛土顯現的另一套分科。經文居於兩鏡之間：寶積仍問淨土之行，佛陀仍先答眾生，最後仍由顯土與四類法益收束；後來的光可以照出紋理，卻不取代這條經文次第。
At the beginning of this chapter, the Buddha sits upon a lion throne adorned with many jewels in the Āmra Grove at Vaiśālī. Eight thousand bhikṣus, thirty-two thousand bodhisattvas, ten thousand Brahmā kings, twelve thousand lords of the devas, devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, and the fourfold community all come and sit in the assembly. The sūtra first devotes a long passage to the bodhisattvas’ virtues, then lists fifty-two bodhisattvas by name. Before the question about a buddha-land has even been posed, upholding the Dharma, benefiting sentient beings, the six perfections, skillful means, knowing the faculties of sentient beings, prescribing medicine according to illness, and purifying buddha-lands have already unfolded in the members of the Dharma assembly.
Jewel Accumulation and five hundred householders’ sons next offer canopies of the seven jewels to the Buddha. The many canopies merge into one and cover the three-thousand-great-thousand world-system. The world’s length and breadth, its ten mountains, great oceans and rivers, streams and springs, sun, moon, stars, palaces of the devas and nāgas, palaces of the honored spirits, and the buddhas of the ten directions together with the Dharma those buddhas teach all appear within it. Seeing this spiritual transformation, Jewel Accumulation praises the Buddha in thirty-six verse lines. The verses move from the Buddha’s pure eyes, pure mind, and pure karma into causes and conditions, the non-loss of karma, the subjugation of Māra, the Dharma-wheel, the Three Jewels, and the great king of physicians. They then return through what the jeweled canopy revealed to the assembly contemplating the Buddha and the teaching in one voice, and finally close with repeated bows to the Buddha who comprehends the marks of dharmas and is unsupported like space.
These two passages are not a prologue detached from the question and answer about a pure land. The small canopies that are offered reveal a vast world, and within that world buddhas are teaching the Dharma. From what he sees, Jewel Accumulation praises the Buddha; from that praise, he proceeds to ask how a buddha-land is purified. The sūtra first lets the land be seen, then questioned, and only afterward enters the answer concerning the bodhisattva’s practice of a pure land.
The Single Voice Teaches the Dharma, with Three Distinct Outcomes
Jewel Accumulation’s verses say three times that the Buddha expounds the Dharma in a single voice. The first group says that sentient beings each understand according to their own kind and each thinks the World-Honored One is using its own language. The second says that sentient beings each hear according to their own understanding and are universally able to receive the teaching, put it into practice, and gain benefit. The third says that, while hearing the Dharma together, some become afraid and others rejoice, while some develop disenchantment and others cut off doubt.
The three groups of verse lines do not merge understanding, language, practice, and responses to hearing into one event. Jewel Accumulation first praises the fact that sentient beings each understand, then that each receives the teaching and puts it into practice to gain benefit, and finally lists the four responses of fear, joy, disenchantment, and the cutting off of doubt. This passage is still praise of the Buddha. Each group concludes with the exclusive qualities of the Buddha’s spiritual power, after which the verses proceed into continuous bows to the ten powers, fearlessnesses, exclusive qualities, the great guide, the one who cuts the bonds, and the one who has reached the other shore.
Why Does the Question about a Pure Land Begin with Sentient Beings?
Jewel Accumulation asks on behalf of the five hundred householders’ sons about the practice of a pure land. The Buddha’s first answer does not concern jewels, palaces, or level ground. It says that the kinds of sentient beings are the bodhisattva’s buddha-land. The sūtra immediately unfolds this statement in four levels: a bodhisattva chooses a buddha-land according to the sentient beings to be transformed; according to those to be disciplined; according to the land in which sentient beings should enter the Buddha’s wisdom; and according to the land in which sentient beings should produce bodhisattva roots. After these four statements, the Buddha explicitly says that choosing a pure land is entirely for the benefit of sentient beings.
The simile of building upon open ground also occurs here. Someone who builds a palace on open ground may do so freely and without obstruction, but one who tries to build it directly in empty space can never complete it. A bodhisattva vows to choose a buddha-land in order to bring sentient beings to accomplishment, and the sūtra then says that this vow to choose a buddha-land is not accomplished out of empty space. By placing “sentient beings are the buddha-land” beside “bringing sentient beings to accomplishment,” the sūtra gives the question of a pure land a definite direction from the outset.
Seventeen Practices, Each Bringing a Land to Accomplishment
The Buddha next lists seventeen practices of a pure land. Each is more than the name of a virtue. First the sūtra states what the bodhisattva cultivates, then what kind of sentient beings are born in that bodhisattva’s land when he becomes a Buddha, or what kind of merit the land displays.
The land brought to accomplishment by a straightforward mind has sentient beings free of deceit. The land brought to accomplishment by a profound mind has sentient beings complete in merit. The land brought to accomplishment by the mind of awakening has sentient beings of the Great Vehicle. These three minds come before all the specific practices.
The land brought to accomplishment by giving has sentient beings able to relinquish. That brought to accomplishment by ethical discipline has sentient beings who practice the ten wholesome paths and fulfill their vows. That brought to accomplishment by patience has sentient beings adorned with the thirty-two marks. That brought to accomplishment by diligent effort has sentient beings who diligently cultivate every merit. That brought to accomplishment by meditation has sentient beings whose minds are gathered and undistracted. That brought to accomplishment by wisdom has sentient beings established in right concentration. The six practices unfold in sequence, without any one of them replacing the other five.
The land brought to accomplishment by the four immeasurables has sentient beings who accomplish loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. That brought to accomplishment by the four means of gathering has sentient beings gathered into liberation. That brought to accomplishment by skillful means has sentient beings who employ skillful means without obstruction with respect to all dharmas. That brought to accomplishment by the thirty-seven factors of the path has sentient beings complete in the establishments of mindfulness, right efforts, bases of spiritual power, faculties, powers, factors of awakening, and the path. Loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity; gathering sentient beings; skillful means without obstruction; and cultivation of the factors of the path each form a distinct item in the sūtra.
The mind of dedication brings to accomplishment a land complete in every merit. Teaching the removal of the eight difficulties brings to accomplishment a land without the three evil destinies and the eight difficulties. Guarding one’s own precepts without criticizing the faults of others brings to accomplishment a land in which even the name of violating a precept is absent. The ten wholesome actions then unfold all ten results: a life not cut short, great wealth, brahmacarya, truthful speech, constant gentle speech, families that do not separate and skillfully reconcile disputes, speech that invariably benefits, freedom from envy, freedom from anger, and right view.
From the first three minds and the six practices through the four immeasurables, four means of gathering, skillful means, factors of the path, dedication, removal of difficulties, refraining from criticism, and the ten wholesome actions, this chapter places the adornment and purification of a buddha-land within a sequence of practices that can each be carried out. The fruit of the land is not separate from practice, and practice is directed toward one kind of sentient being after another.
The Pure Land Teaching of Mind and Buddha-Land Has Twelve Successive Movements
After the seventeen practices, the sūtra does not immediately stop with the pure land teaching that when the mind is pure, the buddha-land is pure. It first presents twelve successive links. A straightforward mind brings practice forth, and practice gives rise to a profound mind. A profound mind disciplines intention, and disciplined intention enables one to practice according to what has been taught. Practice in accord with the teaching leads to dedication, and dedication leads to skillful means. Skillful means bring sentient beings to accomplishment, and the accomplishment of sentient beings purifies the buddha-land. The purification of the buddha-land purifies the Dharma that is taught; the purification of that teaching purifies wisdom; the purification of wisdom purifies one’s own mind; and the purification of mind purifies every merit.
Only at this point does the Buddha exhort the bodhisattva who wishes to attain a pure land to purify his own mind, concluding that as the mind is pure, the buddha-land is pure. The concluding sentence is short, but it is preceded by seventeen practices and twelve successive movements. A straightforward mind is not the endpoint, and a pure mind is not an isolated starting point. The sūtra presents a path that begins with bringing practice forth and proceeds through profundity of mind, discipline, practice according to the teaching, dedication, skillful means, and bringing sentient beings to accomplishment before reaching the purity of buddha-land, teaching, wisdom, mind, and every merit.
Why Are There Two Perceptions of the Same Buddha-Land?
Śāriputra’s doubt arises precisely after he hears the pure land teaching that when the mind is pure, the buddha-land is pure. If a bodhisattva’s mind purifies the buddha-land, was the World-Honored One’s mind impure when He practiced the bodhisattva path in the past? Why, then, does the present buddha-land appear so impure? The Buddha first asks him about the sun and moon. A blind person’s inability to see them does not mean that the sun and moon themselves are impure. The Buddha then states directly that sentient beings fail to see the adornment and purity of the Tathāgata’s buddha-land because of their wrongdoing. His land is pure, but Śāriputra has not yet seen it.
Brahmā King Conch-Crest and Śāriputra describe two perceptions in the same passage of the sūtra. The Brahmā king sees Śākyamuni Buddha’s buddha-land as pure, like a palace in the Heaven of Mastery. Śāriputra sees hills, pits, thorns, gravel, soil, rocks, and mountains, everywhere filled with impurity and evil. The Brahmā king says that if the mind has high and low and does not rely upon the Buddha’s wisdom, the land is seen as impure; if a bodhisattva regards all sentient beings equally, has a pure profound mind, and relies upon the Buddha’s wisdom, that bodhisattva can see the buddha-land as pure.
The chapter does not let the two statements remain a debate. The Buddha presses the earth with His toe, and the three-thousand-great-thousand world-system is immediately adorned with hundreds of thousands of precious jewels. Everyone in the assembly sees himself seated upon a jeweled lotus. Śāriputra acknowledges that he had never before seen or heard of the adorned and pure buddha-land now revealed.
The Buddha then says that His buddha-land is always as pure as this and that He manifests a land filled with many evils and impurities only to liberate people of inferior faculties. He next gives the simile of the devas eating together from a jeweled vessel: although they share a single vessel, the color of the rice differs according to each one’s merit. When a person’s mind is pure, that person sees the meritorious adornments of this land. The four successive passages of the sun and moon, the two kinds of terrain, the Buddha’s pressing the earth with His toe, and the different colors of rice bring Śāriputra’s initial doubt back to the relation between pure and impure perception and the purity of mind.
After the Manifestation, the Sūtra Records Four Classes of Dharma Benefit
When the Buddha reveals the adorned and pure buddha-land, five hundred householders’ sons attain acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, and eighty-four thousand people produce the mind of unsurpassed awakening. The Buddha withdraws His spiritual power, and the world returns to its former appearance. Thirty-two thousand devas and humans seeking the śrāvaka vehicle know that every conditioned dharma is impermanent, leave dust and defilement behind, and attain the pure Dharma-eye. Eight thousand bhikṣus do not receive any dharma; their outflows are exhausted and their intentions liberated.
The four classes of Dharma benefit are presented side by side exactly as the sūtra records them. What the five hundred attain, what the eighty-four thousand produce, what the thirty-two thousand devas and humans see, and what the eight thousand bhikṣus realize all occur within the same narrative passage at the chapter’s end. The sūtra does not make one class the cause of another. The manifestation of the adorned and pure land and the world’s return to its former appearance likewise stand one after the other within the same chapter: what is perceived can change, while the sequence of practice that has been heard and the Dharma benefits attained are preserved item by item in the text.
This chapter begins with the assembly’s virtues and the world appearing within the jeweled canopy, passes through Jewel Accumulation’s praise and question, and then grounds a buddha-land in sentient beings, the seventeen practices, the twelve successive movements, and the purification of one’s own mind. Finally, it has Śāriputra and Brahmā King Conch-Crest state different perceptions of the same buddha-land, after which the Buddha personally reveals its adornment and purity. The question “If the buddha-land is always pure, why are hills and gravel seen?” is not reduced to an abstract sentence. The sūtra first asks how the mind practices and how sentient beings are brought to accomplishment, then asks how perception becomes pure, and closes the entire chapter with four classes of Dharma benefit.
Two Mirrors Shining Side by Side
The exposition above has followed Kumārajīva’s Chapter “Buddha-Lands” alone. When the ancient masters addressed sentient beings as the land, the seventeen practices, the pure land teaching of mind and buddha-land, and the manifestation of purity and impurity, each taught according to the recension he received. The three masters of the Kumārajīva line and the Ci’en line are presented below. Each path is returned to its own recension, and neither adjudicates the other.
The Kumārajīva-Line Mirror: Three Causes, the Sequence of Practice, and Different Perceptions of the Same Land
Kumārajīva lists the causes and conditions of a pure land as three things: the bodhisattva’s merit, sentient beings, and the merit of sentient beings. He says, 「三因既淨，則得淨土。」 — “When the three causes are pure, a pure land is attained.” He further explains a straightforward mind, a profound mind, and the mind of awakening through sincerity, depth of mind, and correct orientation toward the Buddha’s wisdom. When treating the twelve successive movements, he explains each stage through the arising of practice, discipline, practice according to the teaching, dedication, skillful means, and bringing sentient beings to accomplishment, so that the concluding statement still has a sequence that can be followed.
Sengzhao emphasizes the differing perceptions of the same land, saying, 「土之淨穢繫于眾生，故曰眾生之類是菩薩佛土也。」 — “The purity or impurity of a land is tied to sentient beings; therefore it is said that the kinds of sentient beings are the bodhisattva’s buddha-land.” At the conclusion concerning mind and land, he uses echo and shadow as similes for their correspondence. When the Buddha presses the earth with His toe, he further says, 「佛土常淨，豈待變而後飾？」 — “The buddha-land is always pure; how could it wait to be transformed before being adorned?” Daosheng first distinguishes practice from land, saying, 「淨土行者，行致淨土，非造之也。」 — “The practice of a pure land is conduct that brings one to a pure land; it is not the construction of one.” Concerning the manifestation of purity when the Buddha presses the earth, he separately explains the revealing of the impure as pure and the display of no fixed mark. All three masters follow Kumārajīva’s recension, yet each has his own point of emphasis.
The Ci’en Mirror: Sentient Beings and the Physical World, Eighteen Causes of Adornment, and Purifying One’s Own Mind
Following Xuanzang’s recension, Kuiji first explains the land by dividing it: 「凡土有二：一有情世間、二器世間。」 — “Lands are generally of two kinds: first, the world of sentient beings; second, the physical world.” He divides the question of purifying a buddha-land into the land’s characteristics and the causes for its cultivation. Following the fivefold statements about sentient beings in his recension, he emphasizes the bodhisattva’s work of increasing and benefiting sentient beings and causing them to produce pure merit. The syntax of this path differs from the fourfold choosing in Kumārajīva’s recension.
Concerning the practices, Kuiji explicitly records, 「今有十八嚴淨土行，舊有十七，無此第三。」 — “The present text has eighteen practices that adorn and purify a land; the old translation has seventeen and lacks this third item.” The additional item is the land of excellent preparatory practice; therefore the Ci’en line’s eighteen practices and the Kumārajīva line’s seventeen should be read separately by recension. On the relation between mind and land, he says, 「諸修行者自心嚴淨，外感有情器土亦淨。」 — “When practitioners adorn and purify their own minds, the sentient beings and physical lands they outwardly bring forth are likewise pure.” He also explains the perceptions of purity and impurity before and after the Buddha presses the earth through a transformation-land that manifests according to what is appropriate for the assembly. This path neither supplements the practice-items of Kumārajīva’s recension nor rewrites its persons.
Both mirrors connect sentient beings, practice, mind, and land within the same chapter, yet they use different levels and vocabularies. The Kumārajīva line distinguishes the three causes, the sequence of the three minds, and differing perceptions of purity and impurity. The Ci’en line distinguishes sentient beings and the physical world, eighteen causes of adornment, and the purification of one’s own mind. Setting them side by side does not fuse the two paths into one statement; it makes clear which recension each begins from and where each places its emphasis.
What this chapter truly leaves for later transmission is also more than the four words “when the mind is pure, the buddha-land is pure.” The Kumārajīva line preserves the sequence of the seventeen practices and twelve transitions, as well as its analysis of different perceptions of the same land. The Ci’en line preserves a different classification of sentient beings and the physical world, eighteen practices, and the manifestation of a buddha-land. The sūtra remains between the two mirrors: Jewel Accumulation still asks about the practice of a pure land; the Buddha still begins His answer with sentient beings; and the chapter still closes through the manifestation of the land and four classes of Dharma benefit. Later light may reveal the pattern, but it does not replace this scriptural sequence.
考據Apparatus
全品定位 本品位於卷上之首。經先列菴羅樹園大眾及菩薩德目，次敘寶積與五百長者子獻七寶蓋；諸蓋合一，三千大千世界與十方諸佛說法悉現其中。寶積以三十六偈行讚佛，繼而請問菩薩淨土之行。佛以眾生為佛土所依，列十七種淨土行與十二重心行展轉，再由舍利弗所疑、日月盲者之問、螺髻梵王所見、足指按地及寶器飯色之喻，明淨穢所見。品末分載五百長者子、八萬四千人、三萬二千天人與八千比丘所得法益。
一、科判定位
| 節點 | 定位 |
|---|---|
| 卷品 | 卷上 · 第一〈佛國品〉 |
| 經題 | T14n0475 0537a03 |
| 品題 | T14n0475 0537a06 |
| 聞成就、時主處與菩薩德目 | 0537a07–0537b01 |
| 五十二菩薩列名 | 0537b02–0537b16 |
| 梵天、天帝、八部與四眾 | 0537b17–0537b24 |
| 寶積獻蓋與合蓋現界 | 0537b25–0537c07 |
| 寶積三十六偈行 | 0537c08–0538a14 |
| 寶積問、佛許說 | 0538a15–0538a20 |
| 眾生之類、四重隨取與造室喻 | 0538a21–0538a28 |
| 十七淨土行 | 0538a29–0538b25 |
| 十二重心行展轉與心淨土淨 | 0538b26–0538c05 |
| 舍利弗疑、日月問答 | 0538c06–0538c11 |
| 螺髻梵王與舍利弗論淨穢所見 | 0538c12–0538c19 |
| 足指按地、寶器飯色與四類得益 | 0538c20–0539a06 |
| 下一品題 | 第二〈方便品〉，0539a07 |
全品可依序分作眾成就、供養讚佛、請問淨土、正說行因、淨穢決疑、現土得益六段。供養讚佛又有獻蓋與偈讚兩層；正說行因又有眾生為土、十七行、十二轉與結勸四層；淨穢決疑則由起疑、譬問、兩人異見、現土、喻明五步展開。品首至末字皆在本品界內，第二品題始於 0539a07，不把下一品卷文併入。
二、異譯對勘
三譯各守本名：支謙本、羅什本用維摩詰詞系，玄奘本用無垢稱詞系。對勘只傳各本所見，不以較長本補較短本，也不把玄奘人名回寫羅什本。
一、品題與人物詞系
| 節點 | 支謙 T474 | 羅什 T475 | 玄奘 T476 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 經題 | 「佛說維摩詰經」（T14n0474 0519a04） | 「維摩詰所說經」（T14n0475 0537a03） | 「說無垢稱經」（T14n0476 0557c03） |
| 品題 | 「佛國品第一」（T14n0474 0519a08） | 「佛國品第一」（T14n0475 0537a06） | 「序品第一」（T14n0476 0557c06） |
| 文殊詞系 | 「濡首菩薩」（T14n0474 0519b18） | 「文殊師利法王子菩薩」（T14n0475 0537b15） | 「妙吉祥菩薩」（T14n0476 0558a22） |
| 獻蓋者 | 羅隣那竭，0519b28；後作童子寶事，0519c11 | 寶積，0537b25 | 寶性，0558b06 |
| 疑者 | 舍利弗，0520b26 | 舍利弗，0538c06 | 舍利子，0559c26 |
| 梵眾說者 | 編髮梵志，0520c01 | 螺髻梵王，0538c12 | 持髻梵王，0560a04 |
三本的首品名稱不全相同；人物譯名也各成一系。以下凡引窺基疏，依其所釋玄奘本書無垢稱、妙吉祥、寶性、舍利子與持髻梵王；凡引什、肇、生，依其所釋羅什本書維摩詰、文殊師利、寶積、舍利弗與螺髻梵王。
二、獻蓋、神變與偈頌
| 譯本 | 品內形態 | 偈行數 |
|---|---|---|
| 支謙 T474 | 五百長者子以寶蓋共覆佛上；一蓋覆三千佛國，山海宮殿及十方佛土說法現其中 | 20 |
| 羅什 T475 | 五百長者子各以其蓋供養；諸蓋合成一蓋，遍覆三千大千世界，山海、日月、諸宮與十方佛說法現其中 | 36 |
| 玄奘 T476 | 五百童子各奉七寶蓋，頂禮、右繞而立；諸蓋合一，現此方世界與十方佛說法 | 39 |
羅什本偈中的眾會觀佛與三重一音段，支謙本本品未見；玄奘本則自有相應詞句。羅什本作「佛以一音演說法，眾生隨類各得解，」（T14n0475 0538a02）；玄奘本同句見 T14n0476 0558c19，續句各自依本。這種相應不等於其餘偈行可以彼此拼接。
偈頌所讚對象以寶積讚佛為總脈絡。什曰明其由財供轉入法供：「上以身力供養，今以心口供養。上以財養，今以法養。」（T38n1775 0332b16）肇曰亦說：「形敬不足以寫心，故復讚之詠之者矣。」（T38n1775 0332b20）窺基依玄奘本則分身行、語行，說「上修身行、下修語行。」（T38n1782 1019c15）三路都把頌置於獻蓋後的讚佛次第，不把偈中受詞另掛他人。
三、眾生／有情為土與造室喻
| 譯本 | 總句 | 隨取層次 | 造室譬喻 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 支謙 T474 | 「蚑行喘息人物之土，則是菩薩佛國。」（0520a09） | 四重 | 「欲度空中造立宮室，終不能成。」（0520a14） |
| 羅什 T475 | 「眾生之類是菩薩佛土。」（0538a21） | 四重 | 「欲於空地造立宮室，隨意無礙；若於虛空，終不能成！」（0538a26） |
| 玄奘 T476 | 「諸有情土是為菩薩嚴淨佛土。」（0559a13） | 五重 | 「欲於空地造立宮室，或復莊嚴隨意無礙，若於虛空終不能成。」（0559a24） |
羅什本四重依次為隨所化、隨所調伏、隨應以何國入佛智慧、隨應以何國起菩薩根。玄奘本另立有情增長饒益與發起清淨功德，合為五重。支謙本句法與名目自成一路。三本都以眾生／人民／有情及造室譬喻說明取國所為；數目與措辭仍分本保存。
四、淨土行與心行展轉
| 譯本 | 淨土行列舉 | 獨見項 | 展轉形態 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 支謙 T474 | 17 | 本品未見善加行土 | 由應行、名譽、善處、福、分德、善權至國淨、人物淨、淨智、淨教、受清淨 |
| 羅什 T475 | 17 | 本品未見善加行土 | 十二重『隨』句，從直心發行至一切功德淨，末結心淨土淨 |
| 玄奘 T476 | 18 | 「善加行土」（T14n0476 0559b04） | 十七轉，從發菩提心至清淨諸妙功德，末勸先淨自心 |
羅什本前三項為直心、深心、菩提心；玄奘本前四項為發起無上菩提心土、純意樂土、善加行土、上意樂土。窺基明記「今有十八嚴淨土行，舊有十七，無此第三。」（T38n1782 1024a25）這是疏家所見新舊本差異；不據此刪補任何一譯。
五、淨穢所見與品末法益
| 節點 | 支謙 T474 | 羅什 T475 | 玄奘 T476 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 梵眾所見 | 如清明天宮 | 如自在天宮 | 如他化自在天宮，有無量寶功德莊嚴 |
| 足指按地 | 世界震動，百千珍寶積嚴 | 百千珍寶嚴飾，大眾坐寶蓮華 | 無量百千妙寶莊嚴，大眾坐寶蓮華 |
| 五百所得 | 柔順法忍 | 無生法忍 | 無生法忍 |
| 八萬四千所得 | 發無上正真道意 | 發無上菩提心 | 發無上正等覺心 |
| 聲聞眾所得 | 三萬二千天人法眼生；八千人漏盡意解 | 三萬二千天人法眼淨；八千比丘漏盡意解 | 三萬二千天人法眼淨；八千苾芻心善解脫 |
支謙本五百童子所得作柔順法忍，後二譯作無生法忍；羅什本作「不受諸法，漏盡意解」（T14n0475 0539a05），玄奘本作「永離諸漏，心善解脫」（T14n0476 0560b04）。各本所載並列，不以相近術語互換。
三、經論宗依（眼）
本品之眼先在本品實文。佛答寶積，不先以器界珍寶界定淨土，而先說「眾生之類是菩薩佛土」（T14n0475 0538a21）。其後四重隨取都以眾生為所向，並直明「菩薩取於淨國，皆為饒益諸眾生故。」（T14n0475 0538a25）造室之喻把成就眾生與願取佛國相連；十七種行逐項具因與所感眾生；十二重展轉則從直心一路到心淨、功德淨、佛土淨。末段以同一佛土所見有淨有穢，再以足指按地顯示嚴淨。
什曰把品題放在全經淨國首尾中：「經始終由於淨國，故以佛國冠於篇也。」（T38n1775 0328a10）就「眾生之類」（T14n0475 0538a21）一句，他列菩薩功德、眾生、眾生功德三事，說「三因既淨，則得淨土。」（T38n1775 0334b13）肇曰從眾生業行不同說淨穢異見，並說土之淨穢繫於眾生；生曰則分明修行與造土，說「淨土行者，行致淨土，非造之也。」（T38n1775 0334b28）三說同在什門而落點不同，故分別具名。
窺基依玄奘本，把提問分作淨佛土相與修淨佛土因兩面；釋「諸有情土」（T14n0476 0559a13）時，分有情世間與器世間，並說菩薩所為在成熟有情。其十八行之科把六度合為止息諸障，把四無量、四攝事、巧方便、菩提分合為發起，把息八無暇、自守戒行、十善業道合為寂靜。這套科判只屬玄奘詞系，不回排羅什本十七行。
因此，本品可由四個經內節點把握：眾生是土之所依，淨土行以成就眾生為所向，心行次第不容跳越，淨穢之見又在末段由現土與法益驗明。古德兩鏡則分別解釋這四節點，不替代經文自身的先後。
四、本品釋要
一、眾成就不是單一名簿
經首先列八千比丘與三萬二千菩薩，再用二十七組德目鋪陳菩薩行：護持正法、為不請之友、紹隆三寶、離蓋纏、住無礙解脫、念定總持辯才不斷、六度與方便具足、知法相與眾生根、近佛智慧、應病與藥、嚴淨佛土、見聞蒙益。其後五十二位菩薩逐名列出，才接萬梵天王、萬二千天帝、八部與四眾。佛於眾寶師子座說法，經以須彌山王顯於大海為喻。
二、諸蓋合一，世界與說法同現
寶積與五百長者子各持七寶蓋供養。佛威神使諸蓋合成一蓋；蓋中不只現山海、川流、泉源、日月、星辰與諸宮，也現十方諸佛及諸佛說法。大眾合掌仰觀，寶積隨即起偈。長行所現與偈中所讚互相承接：前段由目淨、心淨、淨業與導眾讚佛，次述法王說法、因緣業果、降魔成道、三轉法輪與大醫王，再牒微蓋所現，後述眾會觀佛、佛以一音而眾生得不同理解與利益，末以連續稽首收束。
三十六偈行應逐行讀，不把兩個偈行合成一句。什曰、肇曰都把整體定位於寶積由形敬、財供進至心口、法供的讚佛；窺基依玄奘本又把偈分作牒前事讚揚、陳眾益稱歎、敘別德歸誠。分科雖依不同譯本，所讚之主皆是佛。
三、從眾生為土到十七行
寶積所問是菩薩淨土之行。佛先答取土所為：隨所化與所調伏眾生，隨其入佛智慧與起菩薩根所應之國而取；根本目的明言為饒益眾生。空地可造宮室、虛空終不能成的譬喻，緊接「為成就眾生故」（T14n0475 0538a28）而說。
十七行各有行與所感兩面：直心對不諂，深心對具足功德，菩提心對大乘；布施、持戒、忍辱、精進、禪定、智慧各有所感；四無量、四攝、方便、三十七道品、迴向、除八難、不譏彼闕、十善亦逐項說明。最後十善一項仍須展開十種結果：命不中夭、大富、梵行、所言誠諦、常以軟語、眷屬不離善和諍訟、言必饒益、不嫉、不恚、正見。
四、十二轉不是一句口號
直心先發為行，行進而深，深心使意調伏，調伏後如所說而行；如說行後迴向，迴向後有方便，方便成就眾生；眾生成就而佛土淨，佛土淨而說法淨，說法淨而智慧淨，智慧淨而心淨，心淨而一切功德淨。末句再由「當淨其心」（T14n0475 0538c04）回到佛土淨。經文以十二個相續環節說展轉，不把中間修行壓成從心念直接變換外境。
五、同一品中並置淨穢異見
舍利弗因心淨土淨而起疑；佛沒有以因果推演回答，先問日月是否不淨而盲者不見。螺髻梵王所見如自在天宮，舍利弗所見則是丘陵、坑坎、荊蕀、沙礫、土石與諸山。佛以足指按地，珍寶嚴飾與寶蓮華悉現；舍利弗承認先前未見未聞。佛再舉諸天共寶器食而飯色隨福德有異之喻，結到心淨與功德莊嚴所見。
品末以「當佛現此國土嚴淨之時」（T14n0475 0538c29）記四類法益。五百長者子得無生法忍，八萬四千人發菩提心；佛攝神足，世界還復如故；三萬二千天人知有為無常而得法眼淨，八千比丘不受諸法而漏盡意解。經只記同時所得，不另說前兩類法益由後兩類法益所致，也不以現土一事杜撰單線因果。
五、諸家異釋（雙鏡並錄）
一、寶積何以起偈
什曰把獻蓋與偈讚分作身力、心口，財養、法養，又說大眾雖見神變而未知所由，寶積以偈令其推宗有在。肇曰以「形敬不足以寫心」（T38n1775 0332b20）說由禮敬進至讚詠。二說都依羅什本的寶積、三十六偈行與獻蓋次第。
窺基依玄奘本，把獻蓋歸入修身行，把伽他歸入修語行；其分科以十一頌半牒前事、四頌陳眾益、四頌敘別德。玄奘本有三十九偈行，數目與羅什本不同，故這一分科只用來照見其本，不拿來重切羅什本的三十六行。
二、眾生之類／諸有情土
什曰把淨土因緣分成菩薩功德、眾生、眾生功德，並以「因中說果」（T38n1775 0334b14）解眾生即佛土。肇曰著力於群生業行不同而淨穢異見，也說國土無固定淨穢之相；生曰則說行能致淨土，造土者為眾生之類。三家各有重心，不合署為一人之說。
窺基依「諸有情土」（T14n0476 0559a13）分有情世間與器世間，說離有情與器界無別土；又以成熟有情為根本所為。其後五重隨取分攝生、調伏、入佛智與起聖根行。這是依玄奘本五重句式所作解釋，與羅什本四重隨取並錄，不相刪改。
三、空地與虛空
什曰先保存梵本「空中造立宮室自在無礙」（T38n1775 0335a27）的說法，再分兩路解釋：一說空不可用作宮室，故不離眾生得淨國；一說空中雖可造室，仍須材木，不能只以空為室。生曰另以宮室譬成就眾生、空地譬無妨礙處。兩說在什門中並存。
窺基依玄奘本，把譬喻分作人、空地、宮室莊嚴、虛空四項，又以所執、依他與圓成說合喻。這些判釋不回填羅什本白話；考據層只標明兩鏡如何各讀同一組空地／虛空語彙。
四、十七行、十八行與展轉
肇曰把直心、深心、菩提心看作始學次第，然後接六度；什曰以誠實、道識轉深、正趣佛慧說三心，又把行善與報生善分開。對十二轉，什曰逐層說信、發善、心深、調伏、如說行、迴向、方便、成就眾生與三因具足；肇曰總結為積德不已以淨其心；生曰以功德為殊妙果，返本其所從。
窺基依玄奘本明記十八行，所多者為善加行土；又把其本十七轉分成前八轉牒行、後九轉明果。其疏同時指出舊本十三轉的次第與玄奘本不同。此處只傳版本與科判差，不把善加行增入羅什本，也不把羅什本十二轉改排成玄奘本十七轉。
五、心淨土淨與淨穢顯現
肇曰以聲、響與形、影譬心土相應，說「淨土蓋是心之影響耳。」（T38n1775 0337b04）對足指按地，他說佛土常淨，按地是變眾人罪所見；生曰則以神力變地顯出穢為淨，並說示無定相以遣封穢之情。寶器飯色處，肇曰詳述同器而食色隨福不同；生曰以慧心明淨與闇心而取分說所見。
窺基依玄奘本，以自心嚴淨、有情及器土清淨說心土關係；對足指按地，判為令聲聞與凡眾暫見化淨土，並以變化土隨所宜而現解其淨穢。對末段法益，他以見土轉變解知有為無常，以遠塵、離垢分無間道與解脫道，以永離諸漏、心善解脫解阿羅漢果。兩鏡分用羅什與玄奘原詞，各自成路。
六、術語與譬喻
一、主要術語
| 詞 | 本品用法 |
|---|---|
| 佛國／佛土／淨土 | 品題作佛國；問答中佛國、佛土、淨國、淨土互見，中心是菩薩取國與眾生、行、心之關係 |
| 直心 | 十七行之首；所感為不諂眾生 |
| 深心 | 所感為具足功德眾生；又在十二轉中承發行而得 |
| 菩提心 | 所感為大乘眾生；品末八萬四千人亦發無上菩提心 |
| 四無量心 | 慈、悲、喜、捨四項全列 |
| 四攝法 | 肇曰釋為惠施、愛語、利語、同事；窺基依玄奘本作布施、愛語、利行、同事 |
| 三十七道品 | 本品自列念處、正勤、神足、根、力、覺、道七組 |
| 無生法忍 | 五百長者子於現淨土時所得；支謙本此處作柔順法忍 |
| 法眼淨 | 三萬二千求聲聞乘天人知有為無常、遠塵離垢所得 |
| 漏盡意解 | 八千比丘不受諸法後所記法益；玄奘本相應處作永離諸漏、心善解脫 |
二、本品譬喻與影像
| 影像 | 經內功能 |
|---|---|
| 須彌山王顯於大海 | 佛安處眾寶師子座、蔽諸來眾之喻 |
| 諸蓋合成一蓋 | 佛威神所現；三千大千世界與十方佛說法同現其中 |
| 空地造室、虛空不成 | 緊接成就眾生與願取佛國而說 |
| 日月與盲者 | 回應舍利弗對佛土不淨的疑問 |
| 丘陵坑坎與自在天宮 | 舍利弗、螺髻梵王對同一佛土的不同所見 |
| 足指按地、寶蓮華 | 佛現嚴淨國土，大眾各見自身坐寶蓮華 |
| 共寶器食、飯色有異 | 說諸天同器而食，所見飯色隨福德有異 |
這些影像都有本品明文。後世解釋可說其義，不宜另造光線、宮殿動作或地貌變化等經文未載的物理場景。
七、徵引承衍
本品後來常被提挈的『心淨土淨』，在原經中不是孤立一句。它之前有眾生之類為佛土、四重隨取、造室譬喻、十七淨土行與十二重展轉；之後有舍利弗疑問、日月盲者、螺髻梵王異見、足指按地與寶器飯色。徵引若只留下結句，便容易失去眾生、行與次第三層。
什門對品末聲聞法益亦有明確承接。肇曰以「國土穢而可淨，淨而復穢，因悟無常，故得法眼淨。」（T38n1775 0338b29）解三萬二千天人所得；又以「無著之道，於法無受無染。」（T38n1775 0338c04）解八千比丘不受諸法。兩句都牒羅什本末段，不移作玄奘本原語。
慈恩疏在清淨自心處引《佛地經》「最極自在，淨識為相。」（見 T38n1782 1027a18），繼而說自心、有情與器土的清淨。這是窺基疏中的經證，不是羅什本〈佛國品〉自有句；收入承衍，仍須標明引者與所在疏文。
什門承衍保存三個不同聲音：什曰多標譯本、因緣與行次，肇曰多從淨穢異見、心土相應與法益立說，生曰多辨行致淨土、所見與無定相。三家雖同收於一注，署名不可混作一人。
慈恩承衍則依玄奘本另立序品科判，細分有情土、十八嚴因、十七轉與佛土種類；它牒引的是無垢稱經詞系。其善加行土、五重隨取、寶性與持髻梵王，都是玄奘本相應形態，宜與羅什本分欄並觀。
三譯與兩鏡共同保留一條可辨的經義承衍：由法會與供養起，由讚佛而請問，由眾生與修行說淨土，再以同土異見與現土得益收束。各家對土、心、行、所見的解釋未必同詞；並錄其差別，正可避免把一句流行提挈倒置為全品唯一內容。
八、校本定位
一、底本與品界
本層以《大正藏》T14n0475 為羅什本底本。經題起於 0537a03，品題在 0537a06，品末字在 0539a06；0539a07 已是第二〈方便品〉。經題旁「一名不可思議解脫上卷」（T14n0475 0537a03）屬夾注，不立作正文中的另一經題，也不把「上卷」（同處）併入〈佛國品〉品名。
支謙本 T14n0474 的品題在 0519a08，本品至 0520c22；玄奘本 T14n0476 的品題在 0557c06，本品至 0560b04。三譯品界各自保存，不以同為首品便假定段數、偈數或行目全同。
雙鏡座標各自獨立：什、肇、生注見 T38n1775，本品注釋範圍為 0328a10–0338c12；窺基疏見 T38n1782，本品相應疏釋範圍為 0993a06–1033b06。前者牒羅什本，後者牒玄奘本；兩者不能只憑句義相近而互換經句。
二、本品二十八條校勘記
見證代碼依底本校記保存為【大】【CB】【宋】【元】【明】【聖】【宮】【房山-CB】。本品共有二十八條校勘槽位；第七條內含兩重細校，故第八、九條另列其內層讀法。以下只傳底本、異讀與見證。
| 序 | 位置 | 底本讀法 | 異讀與見證 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0537a03 | 經【大】 | 經卷上【宋】【元】【明】 |
| 2 | 0537a03 | 一名【大】 | 亦名【明】 |
| 3 | 0537a03 | 解脫【大】 | 解脫經【明】 |
| 4 | 0537a03 | 上卷【大】 | 無【宋】【元】【明】【聖】 |
| 5 | 0537a05 | 三藏【大】 | 三藏法師【宋】【元】【明】 |
| 6 | 0537a05 | 譯【大】 | 奉詔譯【元】【明】 |
| 7 | 0537a05 | 姚秦三藏鳩摩羅什譯【大】 | 全缺【聖】；內含三藏、譯二重細校 |
| 8 | 0537a05 | 三藏【大】 | 三藏法師【宋】【元】【明】；上條內層 |
| 9 | 0537a05 | 譯【大】 | 奉詔譯【元】【明】；上條內層 |
| 10 | 0537b18 | 而【大】 | 而為【元】【明】 |
| 11 | 0537c02 | 寶山、金山【大】 | 無【明】 |
| 12 | 0537c06 | 於是【大】 | 無【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 |
| 13 | 0537c12 | 生【大】 | 至【元】 |
| 14 | 0537c27 | 諸【大】 | 之【聖】 |
| 15 | 0538a07 | 疑【大】 | 法【聖】 |
| 16 | 0538a08 | 力【大】 | 方【明】 |
| 17 | 0538a12 | 來去【大】 | 去來【聖】 |
| 18 | 0538a14 | 達【大】 | 遠【聖】 |
| 19 | 0538a16 | 已【大】 | 以【聖】 |
| 20 | 0538b03 | 菩提心【大】 | 大乘心【房山-CB】 |
| 21 | 0538b08 | 眾生【大】 | 眾生其身柔和【聖】 |
| 22 | 0538b28 | 意【大】 | 其【宋】【元】【明】 |
| 23 | 0538c11 | 佛土【大】 | 國土【宋】【元】【明】；佛國【聖】 |
| 24 | 0538c13 | 意【大】 | 念【元】【明】 |
| 25 | 0538c16 | 梵王【CB】 | 梵【大】；梵王【元】【明】 |
| 26 | 0538c25 | 語【大】 | 告【元】【明】 |
| 27 | 0539a04 | 乘【大】 | 乘者【宋】【元】【明】 |
| 28 | 0539a04 | 天【大】 | 諸天【元】【明】 |
校記只傳底本、異讀與見證，不在此裁定高下。尤其『菩提心／大乘心』、『佛土／國土／佛國』及『梵王／梵』都可能影響讀者提挈，故保留原位置，不以順文改寫消除差異。
本品的文本承衍由三層共同成立：羅什本自身的二十一段與三十六偈行，支謙、玄奘兩譯的分本對照，什門與慈恩兩鏡的異路解釋。底本居中，異譯不補本，注疏不代經；如此，眾生、行、心與所見四條線才能各守其證而彼此照明。
Chapter location. This chapter stands at the beginning of the Upper Scroll. The sūtra first presents the assembly in the Āmra Grove and the bodhisattvas’ attributes, then relates how Jewel Accumulation and five hundred householders’ sons offer canopies of the seven jewels. The many canopies become one, within which the three-thousand-great-thousand world-system and the teaching of the buddhas of the ten directions all appear. Jewel Accumulation praises the Buddha in thirty-six verse lines and then asks about the bodhisattva’s practice of a pure land. Taking sentient beings as the basis of a buddha-land, the Buddha sets out seventeen pure-land practices and twelve successive movements of mental conduct. Through Śāriputra’s doubt, the question of the sun, moon, and the blind, what Brahmā King Conch-Crest sees, the Buddha’s pressing the earth with His toe, and the simile of rice of different colors in a jeweled vessel, the chapter clarifies perceptions of purity and impurity. At its end, it separately records the Dharma benefits attained by the five hundred householders’ sons, eighty-four thousand people, thirty-two thousand devas and humans, and eight thousand bhikṣus.
1. Structural Location
| Node | Location |
|---|---|
| Scroll and chapter | Upper Scroll · Chapter 01, “Buddha-Lands” |
| Sūtra title | T14n0475 0537a03 |
| Chapter title | T14n0475 0537a06 |
| Fulfillment of hearing, time, teacher, place, and bodhisattva attributes | 0537a07–0537b01 |
| Names of the fifty-two bodhisattvas | 0537b02–0537b16 |
| Brahmā kings, lords of the devas, the eight classes, and the fourfold community | 0537b17–0537b24 |
| Jewel Accumulation offers the canopies, and the merged canopy reveals the world | 0537b25–0537c07 |
| Jewel Accumulation’s thirty-six verse lines | 0537c08–0538a14 |
| Jewel Accumulation asks, and the Buddha agrees to teach | 0538a15–0538a20 |
| The kinds of sentient beings, fourfold choosing of a land, and the simile of building a dwelling | 0538a21–0538a28 |
| Seventeen practices of a pure land | 0538a29–0538b25 |
| Twelve successive movements of mental conduct and the teaching of a pure land: when the mind is pure, the buddha-land is pure | 0538b26–0538c05 |
| Śāriputra’s doubt and the exchange concerning the sun and moon | 0538c06–0538c11 |
| Brahmā King Conch-Crest and Śāriputra discuss pure and impure perception | 0538c12–0538c19 |
| The Buddha presses the earth with His toe; the simile of the jeweled vessel and rice; four classes of attainment | 0538c20–0539a06 |
| Title of the next chapter | Chapter 02, “Skillful Means,” 0539a07 |
The chapter can be divided in sequence into six parts: the assembly, offering and praise of the Buddha, the question concerning a pure land, the direct teaching of the causes of practice, the resolution of doubts about purity and impurity, and the manifestation of the land and attainment of benefit. Offering and praise have two levels, the presentation of the canopies and the praise in verse. The direct teaching of the causes of practice has four levels: sentient beings as the land, the seventeen practices, the twelve successive movements, and the concluding exhortation. The resolution of doubts about purity and impurity unfolds in five steps: the arising of doubt, the illustrative question, the differing perceptions of two persons, the manifestation of the land, and clarification through a simile. The chapter begins and ends wholly within its own span. The title of Chapter 02 begins at 0539a07, and no text from the next chapter is included here.
2. Comparison of Alternative Translations
Each of the three translations retains its own names. The Zhi Qian and Kumārajīva recensions use the Vimalakīrti system of names, while the Xuanzang recension uses the Stainless Renown system. Comparison transmits only what each recension contains. A longer recension is not used to supplement a shorter one, and Xuanzang’s personal names are not written back into Kumārajīva’s recension.
1. Chapter Titles and Systems of Personal Names
| Node | Zhi Qian T474 | Kumārajīva T475 | Xuanzang T476 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sūtra title | 「佛說維摩詰經」（T14n0474 0519a04） — “The Sūtra Spoken by Vimalakīrti” | 「維摩詰所說經」（T14n0475 0537a03） — “The Vimalakīrti Sūtra” | 「說無垢稱經」（T14n0476 0557c03） — “The Sūtra Spoken by Stainless Renown” |
| Chapter title | 「佛國品第一」（T14n0474 0519a08） — “Chapter 01, Buddha-Lands” | 「佛國品第一」（T14n0475 0537a06） — “Chapter 01, Buddha-Lands” | 「序品第一」（T14n0476 0557c06） — “Chapter 01, Introduction” |
| Mañjuśrī name-system | 「濡首菩薩」（T14n0474 0519b18） — “Bodhisattva Gentle-Head” | 「文殊師利法王子菩薩」（T14n0475 0537b15） — “Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, Prince of Dharma” | 「妙吉祥菩薩」（T14n0476 0558a22） — “Bodhisattva Wondrous Auspiciousness” |
| Offerer of the canopies | The transmitted name 羅隣那竭, 0519b28; later called the youth Jewel-Matter, 0519c11 | Jewel Accumulation, 0537b25 | Jewel-Nature, 0558b06 |
| One who doubts | Śāriputra, 0520b26 | Śāriputra, 0538c06 | Son of Śāri, 0559c26 |
| Speaker from the Brahmā assembly | The braided-haired brahman, 0520c01 | Brahmā King Conch-Crest, 0538c12 | Brahmā King Topknot-Bearer, 0560a04 |
The titles of the opening chapter are not identical in all three recensions, and each recension also has its own system of translated personal names. Accordingly, whenever Kuiji’s commentary is cited below, its Xuanzang-recension names are Stainless Renown, Wondrous Auspiciousness, Jewel-Nature, Son of Śāri, and Brahmā King Topknot-Bearer. Whenever Kumārajīva, Sengzhao, or Daosheng is cited, the names belonging to their Kumārajīva recension are Vimalakīrti, Mañjuśrī, Jewel Accumulation, Śāriputra, and Brahmā King Conch-Crest.
2. Offering the Canopies, the Spiritual Transformation, and the Verses
| Translation | Form within the Chapter | Verse Lines |
|---|---|---|
| Zhi Qian T474 | Five hundred householders’ sons together hold jeweled canopies above the Buddha; one canopy covers three thousand buddha-lands, within which mountains, seas, palaces, the buddha-lands of the ten directions, and the teaching of Dharma appear | 20 |
| Kumārajīva T475 | Five hundred householders’ sons each offer his canopy; the many canopies merge into one and cover the three-thousand-great-thousand world-system, within which mountains, seas, the sun and moon, palaces, and the teaching of the buddhas of the ten directions appear | 36 |
| Xuanzang T476 | Five hundred youths each present a canopy of the seven jewels, bow with their heads, circumambulate to the right, and stand; the many canopies merge into one, revealing this world-system and the teaching of the buddhas of the ten directions | 39 |
The Kumārajīva recension’s verses on the assembly contemplating the Buddha and its threefold sequence concerning the single voice are not found in this chapter of the Zhi Qian recension; the Xuanzang recension has its own corresponding wording. Kumārajīva’s recension says, 「佛以一音演說法，眾生隨類各得解，」 — “The Buddha expounds the Dharma in a single voice, and sentient beings each understand it according to their own kind” (T14n0475 0538a02). A corresponding line appears in Xuanzang’s recension at T14n0476 0558c19, but each recension continues in its own words. Such correspondence does not license splicing the remaining verse lines together.
The object praised throughout the verses is the Buddha, as established by the overall setting of Jewel Accumulation’s praise. Kumārajīva explains the movement from an offering of wealth to an offering of Dharma: 「上以身力供養，今以心口供養。上以財養，今以法養。」 — “Above, he made an offering with the strength of his body; now he makes an offering with mind and mouth. Above was an offering of wealth; now is an offering of Dharma.” (T38n1775 0332b16) Sengzhao likewise says, 「形敬不足以寫心，故復讚之詠之者矣。」 — “Physical reverence is insufficient to express the mind, so he further praises and chants.” (T38n1775 0332b20) Following Xuanzang’s recension, Kuiji divides the bodily and verbal practices, saying, 「上修身行、下修語行。」 — “Above, bodily practice is cultivated; below, verbal practice is cultivated.” (T38n1782 1019c15) All three place the verses within the sequence in which the Buddha is praised after the canopies are offered; none redirects the object of a verse to someone else.
3. Sentient Beings as the Land and the Simile of Building a Dwelling
| Translation | Principal Statement | Successive Levels of Choosing | Simile of Building a Dwelling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhi Qian T474 | 「蚑行喘息人物之土，則是菩薩佛國。」 — “The land of crawling and breathing living beings and persons is the bodhisattva’s buddha-land.” (0520a09) | Four | 「欲度空中造立宮室，終不能成。」 — “If one wishes to establish a palace in empty space, it can never be completed.” (0520a14) |
| Kumārajīva T475 | 「眾生之類是菩薩佛土。」 — “The kinds of sentient beings are the bodhisattva’s buddha-land.” (0538a21) | Four | 「欲於空地造立宮室，隨意無礙；若於虛空，終不能成！」 — “If one wishes to build a palace on open ground, one may do so at will without obstruction; if one attempts it in empty space, it can never be completed!” (0538a26) |
| Xuanzang T476 | 「諸有情土是為菩薩嚴淨佛土。」 — “The lands of sentient beings are the bodhisattva’s adorned and pure buddha-lands.” (0559a13) | Five | 「欲於空地造立宮室，或復莊嚴隨意無礙，若於虛空終不能成。」 — “If one wishes to build or adorn a palace on open ground, one may do so at will without obstruction; if one attempts it in empty space, it can never be completed.” (0559a24) |
The four levels in Kumārajīva’s recension proceed according to those to be transformed, those to be disciplined, the land in which they should enter the Buddha’s wisdom, and the land in which they should produce bodhisattva roots. Xuanzang’s recension separately includes the growth and benefit of sentient beings and their production of pure merits, making five levels in all. Zhi Qian’s syntax and categories form another distinct line. All three use sentient beings, people, or living beings together with the simile of constructing a dwelling to explain why a land is chosen, while their respective numbers and wording remain distinct.
4. Practices of a Pure Land and the Successive Movement of Mental Conduct
| Translation | Practices of a Pure Land Enumerated | Item Unique to That Recension | Form of the Successive Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhi Qian T474 | 17 | No land of excellent preparatory practice is found in this chapter | From appropriate conduct, renown, good destination, merit, shared virtue, and skillful means to purity of the land, people, wisdom, teaching, and reception |
| Kumārajīva T475 | 17 | No pure land of excellent preparatory practice is found in this chapter | Twelve statements beginning with “according to,” from practice arising through a straightforward mind to the purification of every merit, concluding that when the mind is pure, the buddha-land is pure |
| Xuanzang T476 | 18 | 「善加行土」（T14n0476 0559b04） — “the land of excellent preparatory practice” | Seventeen transitions, from producing the mind of awakening to purifying every wondrous merit, concluding with an exhortation first to purify one’s own mind |
The first three items in Kumārajīva’s recension are a straightforward mind, a profound mind, and the mind of awakening. The first four in Xuanzang’s recension are the land of producing the mind of unsurpassed awakening, the land of pure intention, the land of excellent preparatory practice, and the land of higher intention. Kuiji explicitly records, 「今有十八嚴淨土行，舊有十七，無此第三。」 — “The present text has eighteen practices that adorn and purify a land; the old translation has seventeen and lacks this third item.” (T38n1782 1024a25) This is the difference between the old and new translations as seen by the commentator. It is not used to delete from or supplement any recension.
5. Perceptions of Purity and Impurity and the Dharma Benefits at the Chapter’s End
| Node | Zhi Qian T474 | Kumārajīva T475 | Xuanzang T476 |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the Brahmā speaker sees | Like a clear and luminous deva palace | Like a palace in the Heaven of Mastery | Like a palace in the Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Creations, adorned with immeasurable jeweled merit |
| The Buddha presses the earth with His toe | The world shakes and is adorned with hundreds of thousands of accumulated jewels | It is adorned with hundreds of thousands of precious jewels, and the assembly sits upon jeweled lotuses | It is adorned with immeasurable hundreds of thousands of wondrous jewels, and the assembly sits upon jeweled lotuses |
| Attainment of the five hundred | Acceptance in pliancy and accord | Acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas | Acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas |
| Attainment of the eighty-four thousand | They set their intentions on unsurpassed true awakening, with nothing higher | They produce the mind of unsurpassed awakening, with nothing higher | They produce the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening, with nothing higher |
| Attainment of the śrāvaka assembly | The Dharma-eye arises in thirty-two thousand devas and humans; the outflows of eight thousand people are exhausted and their intentions liberated | The Dharma-eye of thirty-two thousand devas and humans becomes pure; the outflows of eight thousand bhikṣus are exhausted and their intentions liberated | The Dharma-eye of thirty-two thousand devas and humans becomes pure; the minds of eight thousand bhikṣus are skillfully liberated |
In Zhi Qian’s recension, the five hundred youths attain acceptance in pliancy and accord, while the two later translations have acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. Kumārajīva’s recension says, 「不受諸法，漏盡意解」 — “They do not receive any dharma; their outflows are exhausted and their intentions liberated” (T14n0475 0539a05), while Xuanzang’s says, 「永離諸漏，心善解脫」 — “They forever leave every outflow, and their minds are skillfully liberated” (T14n0476 0560b04). Each recension is presented in parallel without exchanging nearby technical terms.
3. Canonical and Treatise Foundations (The Eye)
The eye of this chapter lies first in its own actual words. When the Buddha answers Jewel Accumulation, He does not begin by defining a pure land through the jewels of its physical environment. He first says, 「眾生之類是菩薩佛土」 — “The kinds of sentient beings are the bodhisattva’s buddha-land” (T14n0475 0538a21). The ensuing fourfold choosing of a land is directed throughout toward sentient beings, and the sūtra explicitly states, 「菩薩取於淨國，皆為饒益諸眾生故。」 — “A bodhisattva chooses a pure land entirely for the benefit of all sentient beings.” (T14n0475 0538a25) The simile of building a dwelling links bringing sentient beings to accomplishment with the vow to choose a buddha-land. Each of the seventeen practices has both a cause and the sentient beings who are drawn by it. The twelve successive movements proceed from a straightforward mind through the purity of mind, merit, and buddha-land. The final section places pure and impure perception of the same buddha-land side by side and then reveals its adornment and purity when the Buddha presses the earth with His toe.
Kumārajīva locates the chapter title within the pure-land theme that frames the sūtra from beginning to end: 「經始終由於淨國，故以佛國冠於篇也。」 — “The sūtra begins and ends with a pure land; therefore ‘Buddha-Lands’ crowns the work.” (T38n1775 0328a10) On the phrase 「眾生之類」 — “the kinds of sentient beings” (T14n0475 0538a21), he lists three things: the bodhisattva’s merit, sentient beings, and the merit of sentient beings, saying, 「三因既淨，則得淨土。」 — “When these three causes are pure, a pure land is attained.” (T38n1775 0334b13) Sengzhao explains differing perceptions of purity and impurity through the differing karmic conduct of sentient beings and says that the purity or impurity of a land is tied to sentient beings. Daosheng clearly separates cultivating the practice from constructing the land, saying, 「淨土行者，行致淨土，非造之也。」 — “The practice of a pure land is conduct that brings one to a pure land; it is not the construction of one.” (T38n1775 0334b28) These three explanations belong to the same Kumārajīva-line mirror but have different points of emphasis, so each is individually attributed.
Following Xuanzang’s recension, Kuiji divides the question into the characteristics of a pure buddha-land and the causes for cultivating a pure buddha-land. In explaining 「諸有情土」 — “the lands of sentient beings” (T14n0476 0559a13), he distinguishes the world of sentient beings from the physical world and says that the bodhisattva’s work lies in bringing sentient beings to maturity. In classifying the eighteen practices, he groups the six perfections under bringing obstructions to rest; the four immeasurables, four means of gathering, skillful means, and factors of awakening under bringing practice forth; and the removal of the eight inopportune states, guarding one’s own ethical conduct, and the ten wholesome paths of action under quiescence. This classification belongs only to Xuanzang’s system of terms and does not rearrange the seventeen practices of Kumārajīva’s recension.
This chapter can therefore be grasped through four internal nodes: sentient beings are the basis of the land; practice of a pure land is directed toward bringing sentient beings to accomplishment; the sequence of mental conduct cannot be skipped; and perceptions of purity and impurity are finally confirmed through the manifestation of the land and the Dharma benefits attained. The two ancient mirrors explain these four nodes separately without replacing the sūtra’s own sequence.
4. Explanation of This Chapter
1. The Assembly Is Not a Single Roster
The sūtra first lists eight thousand bhikṣus and thirty-two thousand bodhisattvas, then uses twenty-seven groups of attributes to unfold the bodhisattva conduct: upholding the true Dharma, becoming unasked friends, sustaining the Three Jewels, leaving the coverings and entanglements, abiding in liberation without obstruction, maintaining mindfulness, concentration, dhāraṇī, and eloquence without interruption, completing the six perfections and skillful means, knowing the marks of dharmas and the faculties of sentient beings, drawing near the Buddha’s wisdom, prescribing medicine according to illness, purifying buddha-lands, and benefiting all who see and hear them. Only after this does it list the fifty-two bodhisattvas by name, followed by ten thousand Brahmā kings, twelve thousand lords of the devas, the eight classes, and the fourfold community. The Buddha teaches the Dharma from a lion throne adorned with many jewels, and the sūtra compares Him to King Sumeru rising above the ocean.
2. The Many Canopies Become One, and the World and the Teaching of Dharma Appear Together
Jewel Accumulation and the five hundred householders’ sons each offer a canopy of the seven jewels. The Buddha’s spiritual power causes the many canopies to merge into one. Within it appear not only mountains and seas, rivers and streams, springs, the sun, moon, stars, and many palaces, but also the buddhas of the ten directions and the Dharma those buddhas teach. The assembly joins its palms and gazes upward, and Jewel Accumulation immediately begins his verses. What appears in the prose narrative and what is praised in the verses follow one another. The first portion praises the Buddha’s pure eyes, pure mind, pure karma, and guidance of sentient beings. It then treats the Dharma-King’s teaching, cause and condition, the non-loss of karma and its results, the subjugation of Māra, awakening, the three turnings of the Dharma-wheel, and the great king of physicians. It next repeats what appeared beneath the small canopy, then turns to the assembly contemplating the Buddha, the Buddha teaching in one voice while sentient beings gain different understandings and benefits, and finally closes with a continuous sequence of bows.
The thirty-six verse lines should be read line by line, without joining two lines into one sentence. Kumārajīva and Sengzhao both locate the verses as Jewel Accumulation’s movement from physical reverence and an offering of wealth to an offering made through mind, mouth, and Dharma. Following Xuanzang’s recension, Kuiji divides the verses into a recapitulation and praise of the preceding events, a statement and celebration of the assembly’s benefit, and a presentation of distinct virtues and taking of refuge. Although the classifications follow different recensions, the one praised in every case is the Buddha.
3. From Sentient Beings as the Land to the Seventeen Practices
Jewel Accumulation asks about the bodhisattva’s practice of a pure land. The Buddha first answers why a land is chosen: according to the sentient beings to be transformed and disciplined, and according to the land in which they should enter the Buddha’s wisdom and produce bodhisattva roots. The fundamental purpose is explicitly stated to be the benefit of sentient beings. The simile of building a palace on open ground but never completing one in empty space immediately follows the words 「為成就眾生故」 — “in order to bring sentient beings to accomplishment” (T14n0475 0538a28).
Each of the seventeen practices has both the practice and what it brings forth. A straightforward mind corresponds to sentient beings free of deceit; a profound mind to sentient beings complete in merit; the mind of awakening to sentient beings of the Great Vehicle. Giving, ethical discipline, patience, diligent effort, meditation, and wisdom each have what they draw forth. The four immeasurables, the four means of gathering, skillful means, the thirty-seven factors of the path, dedication, removing the eight difficulties, not criticizing the failings of others, and the ten wholesome actions are likewise explained item by item. The final item, the ten wholesome actions, must still unfold all ten results: a life not cut short, great wealth, brahmacarya, truthful words, constant gentle speech, families that do not separate and skillfully reconcile disputes, speech that invariably benefits, absence of envy, absence of anger, and right view.
4. The Twelve Transitions Are Not a Slogan
A straightforward mind first brings practice forth; practice deepens; a profound mind disciplines intention; with intention disciplined, one practices according to what has been taught. Practice in accord with the teaching leads to dedication, and dedication to skillful means; skillful means bring sentient beings to accomplishment. As sentient beings are brought to accomplishment, the buddha-land becomes pure; as the buddha-land becomes pure, the Dharma taught becomes pure; as the Dharma taught becomes pure, wisdom becomes pure; as wisdom becomes pure, the mind becomes pure; and as the mind becomes pure, every merit becomes pure. The final statement returns through 「當淨其心」 — “one should purify one’s own mind” (T14n0475 0538c04) to the purity of the buddha-land. The sūtra presents twelve successive links and does not compress the intervening practice into a direct transformation of the external world by a single thought.
5. Pure and Impure Perceptions Are Placed Side by Side in the Same Chapter
Śāriputra’s doubt arises from the pure land teaching that when the mind is pure, the buddha-land is pure. The Buddha does not answer through an inference about cause and result; He first asks whether the sun and moon are impure because a blind person cannot see them. Brahmā King Conch-Crest sees a palace in the Heaven of Mastery, while Śāriputra sees hills, pits, thorns, gravel, soil, rocks, and mountains. When the Buddha presses the earth with His toe, precious adornments and jeweled lotuses appear, and Śāriputra acknowledges that he had never seen or heard of them before. The Buddha then gives the simile of devas eating from one jeweled vessel while the color of the rice differs according to their merit and concludes with the relation between a pure mind and seeing the meritorious adornments of the land.
The chapter’s end records four classes of Dharma benefit with the words 「當佛現此國土嚴淨之時」 — “when the Buddha revealed the adornment and purity of this land” (T14n0475 0538c29). The five hundred householders’ sons attain acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, and eighty-four thousand people produce the mind of awakening. The Buddha withdraws His spiritual power, and the world returns to its former appearance. Thirty-two thousand devas and humans know that conditioned things are impermanent and attain the pure Dharma-eye; eight thousand bhikṣus do not receive any dharma, their outflows are exhausted, and their intentions are liberated. The sūtra records only what each group attains at the same time. It does not say that the first two Dharma benefits are caused by the latter two or invent a single chain of causation from the manifestation of the land.
5. Divergent Interpretations of the Ancient Masters (Two Mirrors Presented Side by Side)
1. Why Does Jewel Accumulation Begin to Recite Verses?
Kumārajīva divides the offering of canopies and praise in verse into body and strength versus mind and mouth, and into an offering of wealth versus an offering of Dharma. He also says that although the assembly had seen the spiritual transformation, it did not yet know its source; through his verses, Jewel Accumulation enabled the assembly to trace it to its cardinal ground. Sengzhao explains the movement from reverence into praise and chanting with the words 「形敬不足以寫心」 — “Physical reverence is insufficient to express the mind” (T38n1775 0332b20). Both explanations follow the sequence of Jewel Accumulation, the thirty-six verse lines, and the offering of the canopies in Kumārajīva’s recension.
Following Xuanzang’s recension, Kuiji assigns the offering of the canopies to the cultivation of bodily practice and the gāthās to the cultivation of verbal practice. His classification has eleven and a half verses recapitulate the preceding events, four verses state the assembly’s benefit, and four verses set out distinct virtues. Xuanzang’s recension has thirty-nine verse lines, a different number from Kumārajīva’s recension; this classification therefore illuminates only its own recension and is not used to recut the thirty-six lines of Kumārajīva’s recension.
2. The Kinds of Sentient Beings and the Lands of Sentient Beings
Kumārajīva divides the causes and conditions of a pure land into the bodhisattva’s merit, sentient beings, and the merit of sentient beings, and explains that sentient beings are the buddha-land through 「因中說果」 — “speaking of the result within the cause” (T38n1775 0334b14). Sengzhao emphasizes that sentient beings’ differing karmic conduct produces differing perceptions of purity and impurity and also says that a land has no fixed mark of purity or impurity. Daosheng says that practice can bring one to a pure land, while the makers of the land are the kinds of sentient beings. The three masters have distinct emphases and are not jointly attributed to a single speaker.
Following 「諸有情土」 — “the lands of sentient beings” (T14n0476 0559a13), Kuiji distinguishes the world of sentient beings from the physical world and says there is no separate land apart from sentient beings and the physical world. He also takes bringing sentient beings to maturity as the fundamental purpose. The subsequent fivefold choosing of a land distinguishes gathering sentient beings, disciplining them, entering the Buddha’s wisdom, and producing conduct rooted in the noble path. This explanation follows the fivefold syntax of Xuanzang’s recension. It is recorded beside the fourfold choosing in Kumārajīva’s recension, without either deleting or altering the other.
3. Open Ground and Empty Space
Kumārajīva first preserves the Sanskrit wording 「空中造立宮室自在無礙」 — “building a palace in empty space freely and without obstruction” (T38n1775 0335a27), then explains it in two ways. One says that empty space cannot be used as a palace, so a pure land cannot be attained apart from sentient beings. The other says that although one can build a dwelling in empty space, timber is still required; empty space alone cannot serve as the dwelling. Daosheng separately takes the palace as a simile for bringing sentient beings to accomplishment and open ground as a simile for a place without obstruction. Both explanations coexist within the Kumārajīva line.
Following Xuanzang’s recension, Kuiji divides the simile into four elements: a person, open ground, the palace and its adornment, and empty space. He also coordinates the simile with the imagined, the other-dependent, and the perfected. These interpretations are not backfilled into the Vernacular of Kumārajīva’s recension. The Apparatus marks only how the two mirrors respectively read the same vocabulary of open ground and empty space.
4. Seventeen Practices, Eighteen Practices, and Their Successive Movement
Sengzhao sees a straightforward mind, a profound mind, and the mind of awakening as the sequence for a beginning practitioner, followed by the six perfections. Kumārajīva explains the three minds through sincerity, deepening knowledge of the path, and correct orientation toward the Buddha’s wisdom, while keeping wholesome practice distinct from a wholesome rebirth as its result. For the twelve transitions, Kumārajīva explains each successive level through faith, the production of goodness, profundity of mind, discipline, practice according to the teaching, dedication, skillful means, bringing sentient beings to accomplishment, and completion of the three causes. Sengzhao summarizes the sequence as accumulating merit without cease in order to purify the mind, while Daosheng returns from merit as the wondrous result to the source from which it came.
Following Xuanzang’s recension, Kuiji explicitly records eighteen practices, with the additional one being the land of excellent preparatory practice. He further divides the seventeen transitions in his recension into the first eight, which recapitulate practice, and the final nine, which clarify the result. His commentary also notes that the sequence of thirteen transitions in the old translation differs from that of Xuanzang’s recension. This section transmits only the differences in recension and classification. It neither adds excellent preparatory practice to Kumārajīva’s recension nor rearranges Kumārajīva’s twelve transitions into Xuanzang’s seventeen.
5. The Pure Land Teaching of Mind and Buddha-Land and the Manifestation of Purity and Impurity
Sengzhao uses the similes of voice and echo and of form and shadow for the correspondence of mind and land, saying, 「淨土蓋是心之影響耳。」 — “A pure land is simply the echo and shadow of the mind.” (T38n1775 0337b04) Concerning the Buddha’s pressing the earth with His toe, he says the buddha-land is always pure and the pressing transforms what the assembly perceives through the obstruction of wrongdoing. Daosheng instead speaks of spiritual power transforming the ground and revealing the impure as pure, and says that showing the absence of a fixed mark dispels the disposition that seals impurity into place. At the jeweled vessel and rice of different colors, Sengzhao describes in detail how those eating from one vessel see different colors according to their differing merit. Daosheng distinguishes perception according to the clarity and purity of the wisdom-mind or the darkness of the mind.
Following Xuanzang’s recension, Kuiji explains the relation between mind and land through the purity of one’s own mind, sentient beings, and the physical land. When the Buddha presses the earth with His toe, he classifies this as temporarily enabling śrāvakas and ordinary beings to see a pure land of transformation and explains purity and impurity as the manifestation of a transformation-land according to what is appropriate. For the Dharma benefits at the end, he explains knowledge of the impermanence of the conditioned through seeing the land transformed; interprets separation from dust and defilement through the uninterrupted path and path of liberation; and explains permanent separation from the outflows and skillful liberation of mind through the fruit of arhatship. The two mirrors respectively use the original terms of the Kumārajīva and Xuanzang recensions and form distinct paths.
6. Terms and Similes
1. Principal Terms
| Term | Use in This Chapter |
|---|---|
| Buddha-land / pure land | The chapter title uses buddha-land. Buddha-land, pure buddha-land, pure realm, and pure land all appear in the question and answer; the center is the relation of the bodhisattva’s choosing of a land to sentient beings, practice, and mind |
| Straightforward mind | The first of the seventeen practices; it draws sentient beings free of deceit |
| Profound mind | It draws sentient beings complete in merit and, within the twelve transitions, is attained after practice has arisen |
| Mind of awakening | It draws sentient beings of the Great Vehicle; at the end of the chapter, eighty-four thousand people also produce the mind of unsurpassed awakening |
| Four immeasurable minds | All four are listed: loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity |
| Four means of gathering | Sengzhao explains them as generous giving, kind speech, beneficial speech, and shared activity; following Xuanzang’s recension, Kuiji has giving, kind speech, beneficial action, and shared activity |
| Thirty-seven factors of the path | This chapter itself lists the seven groups of establishments of mindfulness, right efforts, bases of spiritual power, faculties, powers, factors of awakening, and the path |
| Acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas | Attained by the five hundred householders’ sons when the pure land is manifested; Zhi Qian’s recension has acceptance in pliancy and accord here |
| Pure Dharma-eye | Attained by the thirty-two thousand devas and humans seeking the śrāvaka vehicle after they know the impermanence of the conditioned and leave dust and defilement behind |
| Exhaustion of the outflows and liberation of intention | The Dharma benefit recorded for the eight thousand bhikṣus after they do not receive any dharma; the corresponding passage in Xuanzang’s recension has permanent separation from the outflows and skillful liberation of mind |
2. Similes and Images Native to This Chapter
| Image | Function within the Sūtra |
|---|---|
| King Sumeru rising above the ocean | Simile for the Buddha seated on the lion throne adorned with many jewels and outshining the entire arriving assembly |
| The many canopies becoming one | Manifested through the Buddha’s spiritual power; the three-thousand-great-thousand world-system and the teaching of the buddhas of the ten directions appear together within it |
| Building a dwelling on open ground but not in empty space | Immediately follows bringing sentient beings to accomplishment and the vow to choose a buddha-land |
| The sun, moon, and a blind person | Responds to Śāriputra’s doubt about the impurity of the buddha-land |
| Hills and hollows versus a palace in the Heaven of Mastery | Śāriputra’s and Brahmā King Conch-Crest’s different perceptions of the same buddha-land |
| The Buddha pressing the earth with His toe and the jeweled lotuses | The Buddha manifests the adorned and pure buddha-land, and every person in the assembly sees himself seated upon a jeweled lotus |
| Eating from one jeweled vessel while the rice has different colors | The devas eat from the same vessel, while the color of the rice they perceive differs according to their merit |
Every image above is explicitly present in this chapter. Later explanations may interpret their meaning but should not invent physical scenes absent from the sūtra, such as new movements of light, palaces, or terrain.
7. Citations and Transmission
The later pure land citation often used to epitomize this chapter, “when the mind is pure, the buddha-land is pure,” is not an isolated sentence in the original sūtra. Before it come the kinds of sentient beings as the buddha-land, the fourfold choosing of a land, the simile of building a dwelling, the seventeen practices of a pure land, and the twelve successive movements. After it come Śāriputra’s doubt, the sun and moon and the blind, Brahmā King Conch-Crest’s different perception, the Buddha’s pressing the earth with His toe, and the different colors of rice in the jeweled vessel. A citation that preserves only the concluding sentence can easily lose the three levels of sentient beings, practice, and sequence.
The Kumārajīva line also explicitly carries forward the śrāvaka attainments at the chapter’s end. Sengzhao explains what the thirty-two thousand devas and humans attain with 「國土穢而可淨，淨而復穢，因悟無常，故得法眼淨。」 — “The land is impure yet can become pure, and pure yet can again become impure; through this they awaken to impermanence and therefore attain the pure Dharma-eye.” (T38n1775 0338b29) He further explains the eight thousand bhikṣus’ not receiving any dharma with 「無著之道，於法無受無染。」 — “The path of non-attachment neither receives nor is defiled by any dharma.” (T38n1775 0338c04) Both statements recapitulate the final section of Kumārajīva’s recension and are not transferred into the original wording of Xuanzang’s recension.
At the passage on purifying one’s own mind, the Ci’en commentary cites 《佛地經》, the Buddha-Land Sūtra: 「最極自在，淨識為相。」 — “Its mark is pure consciousness at the utmost mastery.” (see T38n1782 1027a18) It then speaks of the purity of one’s own mind, sentient beings, and the physical land. This is scriptural evidence within Kuiji’s commentary, not a sentence intrinsic to Kumārajīva’s Chapter “Buddha-Lands.” When included in the transmission, its citer and location in the commentary must remain explicit.
The Kumārajīva-line transmission preserves three distinct voices. Kumārajīva most often marks differences of translation, causes and conditions, and the sequence of practice. Sengzhao most often interprets the differing perceptions of purity and impurity, the correspondence of mind and land, and the Dharma benefits attained. Daosheng most often distinguishes practice that brings one to a pure land, perception, and the absence of a fixed mark. Although all three are collected in a single commentary, their attributions cannot be merged into one person.
The Ci’en transmission follows the Xuanzang recension in separately establishing its classification of the introductory chapter, the lands of sentient beings, eighteen causes of adornment, seventeen transitions, and kinds of buddha-land. The land of excellent preparatory practice, the fivefold choosing, Jewel-Nature, and Brahmā King Topknot-Bearer are all corresponding forms in the Xuanzang recension and should be contemplated in a separate column beside the Kumārajīva recension.
The three translations and two mirrors together preserve a discernible transmission of this chapter’s meaning: beginning with the Dharma gathering and offering, moving from praise of the Buddha into the question, teaching a pure land through sentient beings and practice, and closing through differing perceptions of the same land and the benefits attained when it is manifested. The masters do not necessarily explain land, mind, practice, and perception in the same terms. Recording their differences without adjudication prevents a single popular epitome from being turned backward into the sole content of the entire chapter.
8. Textual Positioning
1. Base Text and Chapter Boundaries
This layer takes Taishō T14n0475 as the base text of Kumārajīva’s recension. The sūtra title begins at 0537a03, the chapter title stands at 0537a06, and the chapter’s last character is at 0539a06; 0539a07 has already entered Chapter 02, “Skillful Means.” The inline note 「一名不可思議解脫上卷」 — “also called ‘Inconceivable Liberation, Upper Scroll’” (T14n0475 0537a03) beside the sūtra title is not established as a second title in the body, and 「上卷」 — “Upper Scroll” (at the same location) is not incorporated into the title of Chapter “Buddha-Lands.”
The chapter title of Zhi Qian’s T14n0474 stands at 0519a08, and its chapter runs through 0520c22. The chapter title of Xuanzang’s T14n0476 stands at 0557c06, and its chapter runs through 0560b04. The boundaries of the three translations are preserved separately; the fact that each is the opening chapter does not establish that their numbers of paragraphs, verses, or practice-items are identical.
The coordinates of the two mirrors are likewise independent. The comments of Kumārajīva, Sengzhao, and Daosheng appear in T38n1775, whose commentary on this chapter spans 0328a10–0338c12. Kuiji’s commentary appears in T38n1782, whose corresponding exposition spans 0993a06–1033b06. The former cites Kumārajīva’s recension, and the latter cites Xuanzang’s. Scriptural sentences cannot be exchanged between them merely because their meanings appear similar.
2. Twenty-Eight Textual Notes in This Chapter
Witness codes are retained from the base-text notes as 【大】【CB】【宋】【元】【明】【聖】【宮】【房山-CB】. This chapter has twenty-eight textual-note slots. The seventh includes two nested collations, so the eighth and ninth entries separately record its inner readings. The following table transmits only the base reading, variant, and witnesses.
| Index | Location | Taishō Base Reading | Variant Reading and Witnesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0537a03 | 經【大】 — “sūtra,” 【Taishō】 | 經卷上【宋】【元】【明】 — “Sūtra, Upper Scroll,” 【Song】【Yuan】【Ming】 |
| 2 | 0537a03 | 一名【大】 — “also called,” 【Taishō】 | 亦名【明】 — “also named,” 【Ming】 |
| 3 | 0537a03 | 解脫【大】 — “liberation,” 【Taishō】 | 解脫經【明】 — “Liberation Sūtra,” 【Ming】 |
| 4 | 0537a03 | 上卷【大】 — “Upper Scroll,” 【Taishō】 | 無【宋】【元】【明】【聖】 — omitted in 【Song】【Yuan】【Ming】【Shōgozō】 |
| 5 | 0537a05 | 三藏【大】 — “Tripiṭaka Master,” 【Taishō】 | 三藏法師【宋】【元】【明】 — “Tripiṭaka Dharma Master,” 【Song】【Yuan】【Ming】 |
| 6 | 0537a05 | 譯【大】 — “translated,” 【Taishō】 | 奉詔譯【元】【明】 — “translated by imperial command,” 【Yuan】【Ming】 |
| 7 | 0537a05 | 姚秦三藏鳩摩羅什譯【大】 — “Translated by Tripiṭaka Master Kumārajīva of the Yao-Qin,” 【Taishō】 | 全缺【聖】；內含三藏、譯二重細校 — entirely omitted in 【Shōgozō】; contains the two nested collations on “Tripiṭaka Master” and “translated” |
| 8 | 0537a05 | 三藏【大】 — “Tripiṭaka Master,” 【Taishō】 | 三藏法師【宋】【元】【明】；上條內層 — “Tripiṭaka Dharma Master,” 【Song】【Yuan】【Ming】; inner reading of the preceding entry |
| 9 | 0537a05 | 譯【大】 — “translated,” 【Taishō】 | 奉詔譯【元】【明】；上條內層 — “translated by imperial command,” 【Yuan】【Ming】; inner reading of the preceding entry |
| 10 | 0537b18 | 而【大】 — “and,” 【Taishō】 | 而為【元】【明】 — “and became,” 【Yuan】【Ming】 |
| 11 | 0537c02 | 寶山、金山【大】 — “Jewel Mountain, Golden Mountain,” 【Taishō】 | 無【明】 — omitted in 【Ming】 |
| 12 | 0537c06 | 於是【大】 — “thereupon,” 【Taishō】 | 無【宋】【元】【明】【宮】 — omitted in 【Song】【Yuan】【Ming】【Palace】 |
| 13 | 0537c12 | 生【大】 — “arise,” 【Taishō】 | 至【元】 — “reach,” 【Yuan】 |
| 14 | 0537c27 | 諸【大】 — “the several,” 【Taishō】 | 之【聖】 — “of,” 【Shōgozō】 |
| 15 | 0538a07 | 疑【大】 — “doubt,” 【Taishō】 | 法【聖】 — “Dharma,” 【Shōgozō】 |
| 16 | 0538a08 | 力【大】 — “power,” 【Taishō】 | 方【明】 — “means,” 【Ming】 |
| 17 | 0538a12 | 來去【大】 — “coming and going,” 【Taishō】 | 去來【聖】 — “going and coming,” 【Shōgozō】 |
| 18 | 0538a14 | 達【大】 — “comprehend,” 【Taishō】 | 遠【聖】 — “far,” 【Shōgozō】 |
| 19 | 0538a16 | 已【大】 — “already,” 【Taishō】 | 以【聖】 — “by means of,” 【Shōgozō】 |
| 20 | 0538b03 | 菩提心【大】 — “mind of awakening,” 【Taishō】 | 大乘心【房山-CB】 — “Great Vehicle mind,” 【Fangshan-CBETA】 |
| 21 | 0538b08 | 眾生【大】 — “sentient beings,” 【Taishō】 | 眾生其身柔和【聖】 — “sentient beings whose bodies are gentle,” 【Shōgozō】 |
| 22 | 0538b28 | 意【大】 — “intention,” 【Taishō】 | 其【宋】【元】【明】 — “their,” 【Song】【Yuan】【Ming】 |
| 23 | 0538c11 | 佛土【大】 — “buddha-land,” 【Taishō】 | 國土【宋】【元】【明】；佛國【聖】 — “land,” 【Song】【Yuan】【Ming】; “buddha-land,” 【Shōgozō】 |
| 24 | 0538c13 | 意【大】 — “intention,” 【Taishō】 | 念【元】【明】 — “thought,” 【Yuan】【Ming】 |
| 25 | 0538c16 | 梵王【CB】 — “Brahmā king,” 【CBETA】 | 梵【大】；梵王【元】【明】 — “Brahmā,” 【Taishō】; “Brahmā king,” 【Yuan】【Ming】 |
| 26 | 0538c25 | 語【大】 — “said,” 【Taishō】 | 告【元】【明】 — “told,” 【Yuan】【Ming】 |
| 27 | 0539a04 | 乘【大】 — “vehicle,” 【Taishō】 | 乘者【宋】【元】【明】 — “followers of the vehicle,” 【Song】【Yuan】【Ming】 |
| 28 | 0539a04 | 天【大】 — “devas,” 【Taishō】 | 諸天【元】【明】 — “the several devas,” 【Yuan】【Ming】 |
The textual notes transmit only the base readings, variants, and witnesses and make no adjudication among them. In particular, “the mind of awakening / the Great Vehicle mind,” “buddha-land / land / buddha-land,” and “Brahmā king / Brahmā” may affect how readers epitomize the chapter. Their original locations are therefore retained rather than having their differences removed for smoother reading.
The textual transmission of this chapter is jointly established on three levels: the twenty-one prose passages and thirty-six verse lines of Kumārajīva’s recension itself, the recension-specific comparison with the Zhi Qian and Xuanzang translations, and the divergent explanations of the Kumārajīva-line and Ci’en mirrors. The base text remains central; alternative translations do not supplement it, and commentaries do not replace the sūtra. In this way, the four lines of sentient beings, practice, mind, and perception can each retain their own evidence while illuminating one another.