Non-Retrogression, and the Assembly Gathers

Fourth, clarifying power and function. Rebirth together with non-retrogression constitute the power and function of this teaching. Rebirth admits of four kinds of Pure Land, and within each of these one may further speak of nine grades — here I will only briefly clarify the marks of attaining birth in the four kinds of land. If one holds fast to the name without yet having severed views and habituated thought, then, whether in a scattered or a concentrated state of mind, one is born within the land of ordinary beings and sages dwelling together, divided into three ranks and nine grades. If one holds fast to the name all the way to phenomenal one-pointedness, undistracted, such that views and habituated thought spontaneously fall away first of themselves, then one is born in the expedient land with residue remaining. If one holds fast to the name all the way to noumenal one-pointedness, undistracted, breaking through even a single portion of ignorance — or as many as forty-one portions — then one is born in the realm of real reward, adorned and complete, which is also called a partial realization of the land of eternal, tranquil light. If ignorance is exhausted entirely, then this is the very highest grade of real reward, and is likewise the ultimate, complete tranquil light itself.

Non-retrogression carries four senses: first, non-retrogression in thought; second, non-retrogression in practice; third, non-retrogression in stage; fourth, non-retrogression in the end. First, non-retrogression in thought means breaking through ignorance and manifesting buddha-nature, being born directly into the realm of real reward, a partial realization of tranquil light. Second, non-retrogression in practice means that, views and habituated thought having already fallen away, dust-and-sand delusion is likewise broken, and one is born in the expedient land, advancing onward toward the ultimate fruit. Third, non-retrogression in stage means being born carrying one's karma along, within the land of ordinary beings and sages dwelling together — one's very substance entrusted to a lotus flower, forever parted from any condition that could cause backsliding. Fourth, non-retrogression in the end means that, whether one recites with utmost sincerity or with a scattered mind, whether with intention or without it, whether understanding or not understanding — so long as Amitābha's name has once passed through the gate of one's ear, or the names of the buddhas of the six directions, or even the name of this very sūtra has once been heard, then, though it may take a thousand or ten thousand kalpas, one will in the end, on account of this, be liberated. It is like hearing the poison-smeared drum, whose sound fells near and far alike; or like swallowing even a small fragment of vajra, which is certain never to be digested and dissolved.

Fifth, doctrinal classification. This sūtra is subsumed within the Mahāyāna bodhisattva canon, and is moreover a teaching spoken entirely unprompted, without being asked — sustained by the empowerment of the Buddha's own thoroughgoing great compassion, able to enable beings of the degenerate age, heavily obstructed as they are, to rely on it and ascend directly to non-retrogression. This is why, even after the Dharma itself has entirely perished, the Buddha, out of his compassionate heart and vast vow, has specially left this sūtra to remain in the world for a further hundred years, broadly liberating sentient beings. It is like the universal medicine that holds all ten thousand illnesses at once — absolute, perfectly fused, and inconceivable. The hidden treasury of the Avataṃsaka, the secret marrow of the Lotus Sūtra, the essential heart of every buddha, the compass guiding the ten thousand practices of every bodhisattva — none of these extend beyond what is contained here. Were one to attempt to praise and expound it fully, one could exhaust every kalpa and never come to the end of it; those of wisdom will know this for themselves.

Entering the text, there are three parts: first, the Introduction; second, the Main Teaching; third, the Transmission. These three parts are called good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end — not one of them can be omitted. The Introduction is like a person's head, with all five sense-organs intact. The Main Teaching is like a person's body, with none of the internal organs missing. The Transmission is like a person's hands and feet, moving about without obstruction. This is why Great Master Zhiyi, in explaining the Lotus Sūtra, took the first chapter as the Introduction, the middle fifteen and a half chapters as the Main Teaching, and the final eleven and a half chapters entirely as the Transmission. And again, since the trace gate and the origin gate are, at the same time, each further divided into their own three parts, the five chapters from "The Teacher of the Dharma" through "Peaceful Practices" all serve as the Transmission of the trace gate specifically. For the Introduction must, in every case, gather up the whole guiding thread of a sūtra, and the Transmission alone ensures that the gift of the Dharma is not obstructed from reaching ages yet to come — the stakes involved here are anything but slight. Later readers, failing to grasp this, need only glimpse a scriptural passage that touches somewhat on doctrine before classifying it, without exception, into the Main Teaching — reducing the Introduction and the Transmission to nothing more than a single cap eight inches wide, a single pair of straw sandals. How, then, could one still speak of "good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end" at all?

First, the Introduction, in two parts: first, the general preface; second, the specific preface. Within the first, two further parts: first, marking the time and place of the Dharma assembly; second, citing the assembly gathered to hear it together. Here is the first. "Thus" marks trustworthy accordance; "I heard" marks the transmission received from one's teacher; "at one time" marks the meeting of capacity and occasion; "the Buddha" marks the teaching-lord; "Śrāvastī, Jetavana, in Anāthapiṇḍada's Park" marks the place where the sūtra was spoken. As for "thus" [如]: the wondrous principle of the true mark does not change across past and present, and is therefore called "thus"; and relying on the principle of the true mark to recollect the Buddha and seek birth in the Pure Land is certainly beyond dispute, and is therefore called "is" [是]. As for "I heard": this is Ānanda, who, having fully understood the principle of the true mark as neither self nor no-self, does not thereby destroy the conventional designation, and so still calls himself "I." His ear-faculty gave rise to ear-consciousness, personally receiving the perfect sound — like emptiness sealing emptiness — and so it is called "hearing." As for "at one time": time has no substantial dharma of its own; it is only because teacher and disciples' capacities came together in accord, the whole assembly's speaking and listening reaching completion and fulfillment together, that it is called "one time." As for "the Buddha": one who is self-awakened, awakens others, and whose practice of awakening is perfect and complete — the great teacher of humans and gods — hence called Buddha. "Śrāvastī" means "hearing of things," the name of a great kingdom in central India, the capital where King Prasenajit resided. As for "Jetavana, in Anāthapiṇḍada's Park": King Prasenajit's crown prince was named Jeta, meaning "victorious in battle"; the king's great minister was the elder Sudatta, whose name translates as "Anāthapiṇḍada," "one who gives to the orphaned and destitute." The elder Anāthapiṇḍada spread gold to purchase the park, in order to offer it to the Buddha and the Saṅgha; a small remaining portion of land had not yet been covered with gold when Prince Jeta, moved by this, no longer took payment but donated this remaining small portion himself — and so both their two names are preserved together in the park's title.

Second, citing the assembly gathered to hear it together, in three parts: first, the assembly of śrāvakas; second, the assembly of bodhisattvas; third, the assembly of gods and humans. The śrāvakas are placed first for three reasons: first, because theirs is the mark of one who has left the world; second, because they constantly accompanied the Buddha; third, because the Buddha-dharma depends on the Saṅgha for its transmission. The bodhisattvas are placed in the middle for three reasons: first, because their outward form is not fixed; second, because they did not constantly accompany him; third, because they signify the meaning of the middle way. The gods and humans are listed last for three reasons: first, because theirs is a worldly mark; second, because ordinary beings and sages are mixed together among them; third, because it is fitting that this shows how the Dharma is properly attended and protected from without. The assembly of śrāvakas itself has three parts: first, clarifying their kind and stating their number; second, indicating their rank and praising their virtue; third, listing the names of the foremost among them. Here is the first.

"Together with" means "in company with." "Great monks" [大比丘] are those who have left the household life and received the full precepts. "Bhikṣu" is a Sanskrit word carrying three senses, and so is left untranslated: first, "one who begs for sustenance" [乞士], meaning one who supports his body with a single alms-bowl, hoarding nothing, seeking only the essential way out; second, "one who destroys evil" [破惡], meaning one who, through correct wisdom and observation, destroys the evil of afflictions and does not fall into craving or wrong views; third, "one who strikes fear into Māra" [怖魔], meaning that once the resolve is made, the precepts received, and the formal ordination accomplished, Māra himself takes fright. "Saṅgha," in full "saṃgha," translates as "a harmonious assembly": harmonious in principle, they together realize unconditioned liberation; harmonious in practice, there are six kinds — harmony of body in dwelling together, harmony of speech in freedom from dispute, harmony of mind in shared joy, harmony of view in shared understanding, harmony of precept in shared cultivation, and harmony of gain in equal sharing. As for the twelve hundred and fifty: the three Kāśyapa brothers together with their own disciples made up a thousand; Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana together with their disciples made up two hundred; and the elder's son Yaśas together with fifty others — all of these had, not long after the Buddha's own attainment of the path, been the very first to be liberated, and, moved by the depth of the Buddha's kindness, became his constantly accompanying assembly.

Second, indicating their rank and praising their virtue. "Great arhat" indicates their rank; "known and recognized by all" praises their virtue. "Arhat" carries three senses: first, "worthy of offerings" [應供], the fruit corresponding to "one who begs for sustenance"; second, "slayer of the thief" [殺賊], the fruit corresponding to "one who destroys evil"; third, "one beyond further birth" [無生], the fruit corresponding to "one who strikes fear into Māra." There are, moreover, three distinct kinds — liberation through wisdom, liberation both ways, and liberation beyond all doubt — and here it is specifically liberation beyond all doubt, hence they are called "great." And in fact, these are truly great beings of the Dharma-body, who have manifested themselves as śrāvakas in order to bear witness to this inconceivable teaching of the Pure Land — hence, too, they are called "great." Turning the wheel [of the Dharma] in the Buddha's train, broadly benefiting humans and gods alike, they are therefore "known and recognized by all."

Third, listing the names of the foremost among them. Being venerable both in virtue and in years of ordination, they are called "elders." Śāriputra means "Son of Śārikā," also "Body's Son" — his mother's body was of perfect elegance, her eyes like those of the śāri bird, and he took his name from his mother; he is foremost in wisdom among the assembly of śrāvakas. Mahāmaudgalyāyana means "of the great bean-picker clan," foremost in spiritual powers. Mahākāśyapa means "great drinker of light," his body possessing a golden radiance; foremost in the ascetic practices, he transmitted the Buddha's own seal of mind and became the first patriarch of the Western lands. Mahākātyāyana means "greatly adorned in learning," of a brahmin lineage of southern India; foremost in debate. Mahākauṣṭhila means "great knee," Śāriputra's own maternal uncle; foremost in answering questions. Revata means "constellation," foremost in freedom from confusion and disorder. Cūḍapanthaka means "continuer of the path" — his faculties being dull, he attained awakening only by regulating his breath, and though he could hold only a single verse, once entered into concentration his eloquence in expounding it was inexhaustible; foremost in upholding meaning. Nanda means "joy," the Buddha's own half-brother, foremost in dignified bearing. Ānanda means "joyful delight," the Buddha's cousin and also his attendant, foremost in learning widely. Rāhula means "hindrance concealed" [覆障], the Buddha's own son as crown prince, foremost in hidden practice. Gavāṃpati means "one who chews the cud like a cow," a residual karmic effect of coarse speech in a past life, foremost in receiving offerings from the heavens. Piṇḍola — the venerable one's given name — means "unmoving"; Bharadvāja — his clan name — means "of sharp faculties"; he remains long in the world to receive offerings even in the final age, foremost as a field of merit. Kālodāyin means "one of dark radiance," the Buddha's own messenger, foremost in teaching and converting others. Mahākapphiṇa means "constellation of the chamber," foremost in the knowledge of the stars. Vakkula means "of excellent countenance," foremost in longevity. Aniruddha, also called Anuruddha, translates variously as "without poverty," "without extinction," or "as one wishes," also the Buddha's cousin, foremost in the heavenly eye. "Great disciples such as these" closes the list briefly, pointing to the rest by example. These great disciples are, at root, great beings of the Dharma-body, who have likewise taken the form of śrāvakas to serve as an echoing assembly; now, at this gathering, hearing together of the merit by which the Pure Land gathers beings in, they are able to attain the benefit of the ultimate siddhānta, spontaneously advancing the path and diminishing further birth, purifying their own buddha-land — and so they are also called "the assembly directly addressed" [當機眾].

Second, the assembly of bodhisattvas. "Together with" carries forward what was just said of the assembly of śrāvakas. "Bodhisattva-mahāsattva" translates as "a sentient being who has accomplished the great mind of the path" — a title for one who cultivates compassion and wisdom together, benefiting both self and others at once. "Mañjuśrī" translates as "Wondrous Auspiciousness," also as "Wondrous Virtue." Since the Buddha is the King of the Dharma, a bodhisattva who inherits the Buddha's own family enterprise is called a "Dharma Prince" — foremost in wisdom among the assembly of bodhisattvas; without valiant, genuine wisdom of just this kind, one could not realize and understand the Pure Land teaching, and so he is listed first. "Ajita" translates as "Unsurpassed Victor" — this is the very name of the bodhisattva Maitreya, who is to descend and become a buddha in a future age, presently abiding at the stage of equal enlightenment, whose essential task is precisely the ultimate adornment and purification of a buddha-land, and so he is listed next. "Gandhahastin" translates as "Never Resting," since he cultivates practice across vast kalpas without ever pausing. "Nityodyukta" refers to one untiring in benefiting both himself and others. "And great bodhisattvas such as these" likewise closes the list, giving one example to stand for the rest. These bodhisattvas of profound attainment, too, without exception seek birth in the Pure Land — for it is only by never being apart from beholding the Buddha, never being apart from hearing the Dharma, never being apart from drawing near to and making offerings to the assembly of monks, that they are able to swiftly and completely perfect bodhi.

Third, the assembly of gods and humans. "And" here likewise continues on from the śrāvakas and bodhisattvas spoken of above. "Śakra, chief of the gods," translates as "one able to be lord" — this is the king of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, lord over the Four Continents. "And so forth" extends downward to include the Four Heavenly Kings, and upward to include Yāma, Tuṣita, Nirmāṇarati, Paranirmitavaśavartin, and on up to the realms of form and formlessness — hence it is said "an immeasurable host of devas." Speaking further of "the assembled host": this refers to the eight kinds of divine and semi-divine beings, the asuras, humans and non-humans, and so forth — none of them absent from this assembly, none of them anything other than capacities gathered in by the Pure Land teaching. This closes the general preface.