The Adornments of Utmost Bliss
The Main Teaching opens, and with it the sūtra's own extended description of Sukhāvatī. Ouyi reads every physical detail as doctrinally exact rather than merely decorative: the three kinds of suffering this land is free of, the sevenfold railings and trees matched one-for-one against the thirty-seven factors of the path, and — in a recurring pattern this page sets up for the rest of the description — every adornment correlated across all four kinds of Pure Land at once.
Why It Is Called Utmost Bliss
舍利弗！彼土何故名為極樂？其國眾生無有眾苦，但受諸樂，故名極樂。
Śāriputra, why is that land called Utmost Bliss? Because the beings born in that country have no suffering of any kind and experience only joy — that is why it is called Utmost Bliss.
二、正宗分，二：初、廣陳彼土依正妙果以啟信；二、正勸眾生發願持名以成因。信願持名一經要旨，信願為慧行，持名為行行，得生不得生全由信願之有無，品位高下全由持名之深淺，故慧行為前導，行行為正修，如目足並運也。初文為二：初、陳依報國土妙；二、陳正報主伴妙。初又二：初、總標名義；二、別釋莊嚴。今初。娑婆苦樂相雜，苦是苦苦，逼身心故；樂是壞苦，不久住故；不苦不樂是行苦，性遷流故。彼土永離三苦，不同此土對苦之樂，乃名極樂。蓋凡聖同居淨土五濁輕，故無分段八苦，但受不病不死、自在遊行、天食天衣、上善聚會等樂。方便有餘淨土，體觀既巧，故無沈空滯寂之苦，但受遊戲神通等樂。實報莊嚴淨土，一心圓證，故無隔別不融之苦，但受無礙不思議樂。寂光淨土，究竟平等，故無法身滲漏真常流注之苦，但受稱性圓滿究竟樂也。
Second, the Main Teaching, in two parts: first, broadly setting forth the wondrous fruits of that land's dependent and direct rewards, in order to give rise to faith; second, directly exhorting sentient beings to make the vow and hold the name, in order to accomplish the cause. Faith, vow, and holding the name are the essential purport of this entire sūtra: faith and vow are the practice of wisdom, holding the name is the practice of action. Whether one is reborn at all depends entirely on whether faith and vow are present; the grade and rank one attains depends entirely on the depth of one's holding the name. Hence the practice of wisdom serves as the leading guide, and the practice of action as the proper cultivation — like eye and foot moving together. The first section has two parts: first, setting forth the wondrous dependent reward, the land itself; second, setting forth the wondrous direct reward, the host and retinue. The first again has two: first, generally stating the name and its meaning; second, distinguishing and explaining the adornments in detail. Here is the first.
In the sahā world, suffering and joy are mixed together: suffering is the suffering of suffering, pressing upon body and mind; joy is the suffering of decay, since it does not last; and neither-suffering-nor-joy is the suffering of process, since its very nature is to flow and shift. That land is forever free of all three kinds of suffering — unlike this world's joy, which stands only in contrast to suffering — and so it is called Utmost Bliss. In the pure land of common dwelling, the five turbidities are light, and so there is no suffering of the eight kinds tied to segmented birth-and-death; one experiences only such joys as freedom from illness and death, unobstructed roaming, heavenly food and heavenly robes, and the gathering-together of supremely good people. In the expedient land with residue remaining, the contemplation of embodying emptiness is already skillful, and so there is no suffering of sinking into emptiness or being fixed in stillness; one experiences only such joys as playful spiritual powers. In the realm of real reward, adorned and complete, the single mind is realized in full and complete, and so there is no suffering of separation and non-fusion; one experiences only unobstructed, inconceivable joy. In the land of tranquil light, realization is ultimate and equal throughout, and so there is no suffering of the Dharma-body still leaking within the true and constant; one experiences only the ultimate joy, perfect and complete, of according fully with one's own nature.
The three kinds of suffering (苦苦/壞苦/行苦) are a standard Abhidharma classification, cutting across the eight specific sufferings tied to ordinary embodied life named just below. Ouyi's point in opening this way is precise rather than merely rhetorical: "Utmost Bliss" does not mean an especially intense version of ordinary pleasure, since ordinary pleasure — the "suffering of decay" — is itself one of the three sufferings this land is free of. What replaces it, at each of the four levels of Pure Land, is a joy defined by the specific absence proper to that level: from freedom out of illness and death at the most accessible level, up to the "ultimate joy of according fully with one's own nature" at the level of tranquil light itself.
The Ground and the Rows of Trees
又，舍利弗！極樂國土，七重欄楯、七重羅網、七重行樹，皆是四寶，周匝圍繞，是故彼國名為極樂。
And, Śāriputra, the land of Utmost Bliss is everywhere encircled by seven tiers of railings, seven tiers of netting, and seven rows of trees, all made of the four treasures — this too is why that land is called Utmost Bliss.
二、別釋莊嚴，四：初、明地樹莊嚴；二、明池樓華色莊嚴；三、明天樂華雨莊嚴；四、明法音莊嚴。今初。欄楯以嚴際畔，羅網以嚴空界，行樹以嚴露地。各言七重者，表七科道品。皆是四寶者，表常樂我淨四德。周匝圍繞者，彼土佛及菩薩并諸聲聞其數無量，則有無量住處，亦有無量七重欄楯羅網行樹遍滿彼國，處處莊嚴不可窮盡，故云周匝圍繞也。同居淨土此等莊嚴，則是增上善業所感，亦是圓五品觀所感，以緣生微妙五塵為體。方便淨土此等莊嚴，則是即空觀智所感，亦相似三觀所感，以妙真諦無漏五塵為體。實報淨土此等莊嚴，則是妙假觀智所感，亦分證三觀所感，以妙俗諦無盡五塵為體。常寂光土此等莊嚴，則是即中觀智所感，亦是究竟三觀所感，以妙中諦稱性五塵為體。欲令易解作此分別，得意為言，四土莊嚴一一無非因緣生法，一一無不即空假中。下皆倣此，不復繁述。
問：「同居、方便、實報三土，得言欄楯行樹池樓華雨等一切莊嚴，常寂光土既惟理性，何得亦有此等莊嚴？」答：「一一莊嚴無非全體理性，一一理性具足無量莊嚴，方是諸佛究竟依果。若謂寂光不具勝妙五塵，何異小乘所證偏真法性。」
Second, distinguishing and explaining the adornments in detail, in four parts: first, clarifying the adornment of the ground and trees; second, clarifying the adornment of the ponds, pavilions, and lotus colors; third, clarifying the adornment of heavenly music and the rain of flowers; fourth, clarifying the adornment of the Dharma sound. Here is the first. Railings adorn the boundaries and edges; netting adorns the space above; rows of trees adorn the open ground. Each is said to be sevenfold in order to represent the seven categories of the factors of the path. That they are all made of the four treasures represents the four virtues of constancy, bliss, self, and purity. As for "everywhere encircled": the buddha, bodhisattvas, and śrāvakas of that land are immeasurable in number, and so there are immeasurable dwelling-places, and likewise immeasurable sets of sevenfold railings, netting, and rows of trees filling that whole country — adornment upon adornment, inexhaustible everywhere one turns — hence it is said "everywhere encircled." In the pure land of common dwelling, these adornments are brought about by superior wholesome karma, and are also brought about by the perfect contemplation of the five grades, taking as their essence the subtle five sense-objects arising from conditions. In the expedient land, these adornments are brought about by the wisdom of contemplating emptiness directly, and are also brought about by the resemblance-level three contemplations, taking as their essence the wondrous, uncontaminated five sense-objects of the truth of the real. In the realm of real reward, these adornments are brought about by the wisdom of the wondrous provisional contemplation, and are also brought about by the three contemplations realized in part, taking as their essence the wondrous, inexhaustible five sense-objects of the conventional truth. In the land of eternal, tranquil light, these adornments are brought about by the wisdom of contemplating the middle directly, and are also brought about by the three contemplations realized to their ultimate, taking as their essence the wondrous five sense-objects of the truth of the middle, in full accord with one's own nature. To make this easier to understand, this distinction has been drawn — but to grasp the real point: the adornments of all four lands are, without exception, dharmas arisen from causes and conditions, and, without exception, identical at once with emptiness, the provisional, and the middle. What follows below all follows this same pattern, and will not be elaborated again.
Question: "For the three lands of common dwelling, expedient means, and real reward, one may speak of railings, rows of trees, ponds, pavilions, the rain of flowers, and every other kind of adornment — but the land of eternal, tranquil light is nothing but principle-nature itself. How, then, could it too possess adornments such as these?"
Answer: "Each and every adornment is nothing other than the whole substance of principle-nature itself; each and every instance of principle-nature is fully endowed with immeasurable adornment — only this is the ultimate dependent fruit of every buddha. To claim that tranquil light does not possess the supreme, wondrous five sense-objects would be no different from the one-sided true dharma-nature realized by the Lesser Vehicle."
"The seven categories of the factors of the path" (七科道品) refers to the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment, traditionally grouped into seven sub-lists — Ouyi assumes familiarity with this grouping and does not enumerate it here; it appears in full when the sūtra itself names the factors directly, in the reading notes to Part 6. "The four virtues" (常樂我淨) — constancy, bliss, true self, and purity — are the four attributes the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra ascribes to nirvāṇa itself, deliberately inverting the four negative marks (impermanence, suffering, no-self, impurity) ordinary Buddhist teaching uses to characterize saṃsāra. This closing Q&A anticipates and forecloses a natural misreading of the four-land scheme: that the land of tranquil light, being "merely principle," must be a bare, feature-less abstraction. Ouyi's answer is that principle and phenomena are not in competition in the way that misreading assumes — a claim this commentary has already made at length about the true mark itself, back on Part 1.
The Jeweled Ponds and Lotus Flowers of Light
又，舍利弗！極樂國土有七寶池、八功德水充滿其中，池底純以金沙布地，四邊階道金銀、瑠璃、玻瓈合成，上有樓閣亦以金銀、瑠璃、玻瓈、硨磲、赤珠、瑪瑙而嚴飾之。池中蓮華大如車輪，青色青光、黃色黃光、赤色赤光、白色白光，微妙香潔。舍利弗！極樂國土成就如是功德莊嚴。
And, Śāriputra, the land of Utmost Bliss has ponds of seven jewels, filled with water possessing eight virtues; the floor of each pond is spread with pure golden sand. On all four sides are stairways made of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and crystal; above stand pavilions likewise adorned with gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, mother-of-pearl, red pearls, and carnelian. In the ponds are lotus flowers as large as carriage wheels — blue flowers with blue light, yellow flowers with yellow light, red flowers with red light, white flowers with white light — each one subtle, wondrous, fragrant, and pure. Śāriputra, the land of Utmost Bliss is accomplished with just such adornments of merit.
二、明池樓華色莊嚴。七寶池者，金銀等七寶所成之池，不同此方土石所成也。八功德者：一、澄淨；二、清冷；三、甘美；四、輕軟；五、潤澤；六、安和；七、除饑渴；八、長養諸根也。充滿其中者，不同此方或時枯竭或時汎濫也。池底純布金沙者，不同此方惟是污泥也。池邊階道四寶合成者，不同此方惟是磚石也。陛級名階，坦途名道，重屋名樓，岑樓名閣，亦以七寶嚴飾，不同此方惟是土木丹青也。蓮華大如車輪者，輪王金輪大四十里，且舉華之最小者言。若據《觀經》及《寶積．無量壽會》，則大小品類實不可量。青色名優鉢羅，黃色名拘勿頭，赤色名鉢頭摩，白色名芬陀利。色必有光，蓋由淨業所感，不同此方之華有色無光也。又極樂蓮華光色無量，此經亦略言耳。微妙香潔是略歎蓮華四德。結云成就如是功德莊嚴者，明上來所說種種莊嚴，皆是阿彌陀佛大願大行稱性功德之所成就，故能普遍莊嚴四種淨土，普攝十方三世一切凡聖令往生也。
Second, clarifying the adornment of the ponds, pavilions, and lotus colors. As for "ponds of seven jewels": ponds formed of gold, silver, and the other seven treasures, unlike this world's ponds formed of soil and stone. As for "the eight virtues": first, clarity; second, coolness; third, sweetness; fourth, lightness and softness; fifth, moistness; sixth, harmoniousness; seventh, settling hunger and thirst; eighth, nourishing every faculty. As for "filled with... in it": unlike this world's ponds, which are sometimes dried up and sometimes overflowing. As for "the floor... spread with pure golden sand": unlike this world's, which are nothing but mud. As for "stairways on the pond's edges... made of the four treasures": unlike this world's, which are nothing but brick and stone. A flight of steps is called a "stairway"; a level path is called a "walk"; a many-storied structure is called a "tower"; a lofty tower is called a "pavilion" — these too are adorned with the seven treasures, unlike this world's, which are nothing but earth, timber, and painted colors. As for "lotus flowers as large as carriage wheels": a wheel-turning king's golden wheel measures forty li across, and this is merely citing the smallest of the flowers there; according to the Contemplation Sūtra and the "Assembly on Immeasurable Life" of the Ratnakūṭa, their size and variety are in fact beyond measure. The blue flower is called utpala; the yellow, kumuda; the red, padma; the white, puṇḍarīka. Color is necessarily accompanied by light, brought about entirely through pure karma — unlike the flowers of this world, which have color but no light. Moreover, the light and colors of the lotuses of Utmost Bliss are truly immeasurable; this sūtra merely speaks of them briefly. "Subtle, wondrous, fragrant, and pure" briefly praises the lotus's four virtues. The closing statement "accomplished with just such adornments of merit" makes clear that every kind of adornment spoken of above is, in each case, accomplished through Amitābha Buddha's own great vow and great practice, merit and virtue in full accord with his own nature — and is therefore able to adorn all four kinds of Pure Land universally, gathering in every ordinary being and sage of the ten directions and three time-periods alike, causing them to be reborn there.
Compare this full eightfold list with the abbreviated version in the reading note to Section 3 of the sūtra's own page, which currently omits the fifth item, moistness (潤澤). The recurring refrain "accomplished with just such adornments of merit" (成就如是功德莊嚴) closes each descriptive unit of the sūtra in turn; Ouyi's gloss here — that every feature named is functional, the direct fruit of Amitābha's vow and practice rather than incidental scenery — governs his reading of the refrain each time it recurs through the rest of this description.
Part 5 Complete
This closes the first two of four adornment-categories: the ground and trees, matched to the thirty-seven factors of the path, and the ponds, pavilions, and lotus flowers, each detail read against this world's own corresponding lack. Part 6 continues with the remaining two: the heavenly music and ceaseless rain of flowers, and the birds and wind-stirred trees that preach the Dharma without a speaker — including the passage Ouyi uses to argue directly against a purely inward reading of the Pure Land.
Continue to Part 6 — The Birds and Trees That Preach the Dharma →