Closing the Eighth Grade
Six kalpas pass within the pool of seven jewels before this grade's own lotus opens — the longest wait yet among the nine grades — and when it finally does, Avalokiteśvara's own voice offers not correction for this being's broken precepts, but consolation, and a profound teaching that awakens the aspiration for the supreme path itself.
Six Kalpas, and a Voice That Consoles
五、從七寶池中下，至六劫已來，正明第十門中到彼華開時節不同。六、從蓮華乃敷下，至發無上道心已來，正明第十一門中華開已後得益有異。即有其三。一明華既開已，觀音等梵聲安慰。二明為說甚深妙典。三明行者領解發心。七、從是名已下，總結。上來雖有七句不同，廣解下品中生竟。
Fifth, from "within the pool of seven jewels" down through "six kalpas," this makes plain, within the tenth gate, the differing timing of the lotus opening once that land is reached.
Sixth, from "the lotus flower then opens" down through "gives rise to the aspiration for the supreme path," this makes plain, within the eleventh gate, the differing benefits gained once this flower has opened. There are three points within it. First, this makes plain that, once this flower has opened, Avalokiteśvara and the rest offer consolation with their own pure Brahmā-voice. Second, this makes plain expounding, on this being's behalf, a profound and wondrous scripture. Third, this makes plain this practitioner comprehending it and giving rise to this aspiration.
Seventh, from "this, then, is" onward, this gathers together the general conclusion. Though the above has unfolded across seven distinct points, this concludes the full explanation of the middle rebirth of the lower rank.
That Avalokiteśvara's first act, once this flower opens, is named explicitly as consolation — not exhortation, not a recounting of this being's own former offenses — carries its own quiet weight. Six kalpas sealed within an unopened flower is itself already the full weight of this grade's own karmic consequence; nothing further is required once it has passed. What meets this being on the other side of that long confinement is comfort, followed only then by teaching.
Eighth Grade Complete
This closes Part 99, and with it the eighth grade, the middle rebirth of the lower rank, in full. Part 100 turns to the ninth and final grade (下品下生) — the being who has committed the five heinous crimes themselves, and this commentary's second great historically significant question: why does the Sūtra of Immeasurable Life exclude those who commit the five heinous crimes or slander the Dharma from rebirth, while this very sūtra now includes them?
Continue to Part 100 — The Ninth Grade Begins →