Practice Centers Should Be Divided into Levels.

Those who have seen the mind and attained enlightenment, when reborn in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī) in the highest grade (agra-agra-varga/uttamottamavarga), need not be enclosed within a lotus flower; those who have attained the fruits, reborn in the highest grade of the middle grade, likewise need not be enclosed within a lotus flower. But those who have neither attained the fruits nor seen the mind and attained enlightenment, when reborn in the land of bliss, must be enclosed within a lotus flower for a certain number of kalpas. Why is this?

This question should be contemplated as follows: First, what is the difference between the land of bliss and the Saha world? Second, what is the difference between the sentient beings in the land of bliss and those in the Saha world? Then contemplate further: given that such differences exist, third, what consequences would arise if the sentient beings of the Saha world were all to roam about freely in the land of bliss?

Because ordinary beings (pṛthagjana) have such heavy afflictions, if they were not enclosed within lotus buds, the land of bliss would gradually become another Saha world. Why did Amitābha Buddha establish the land of bliss? Why did he design the land of bliss in this way? Why does he also select sentient beings? Why does he not, out of great compassion and great mercy, take in everyone, including all the sentient beings of the three evil paths? Sentient beings always hope that others will be greatly compassionate and merciful toward them, but if things truly went as they wished, the result might well be an evil outcome—which would then not be compassionate at all. The compassion that sentient beings like often easily leads to disaster.

Those who have not attained the fruits or seen the mind cannot roam about freely in the land of bliss, nor can they go to the worlds of the ten directions to make offerings to the Buddhas; this is to prevent the afflictions of these sentient beings from disturbing the land of bliss. From this we can know that those who have attained the fruits and seen the mind will not disturb the practice grounds of the land of bliss, because their afflictions have already been subdued; although not eradicated, they will not manifest.

Therefore, those who have attained the fruits and seen the mind in the Saha world must be people who have subdued their afflictions, must be people without serious manifest afflictions, and must be people who will not harass others. If someone has serious afflictions manifesting, or casually harasses others or other places, then that person certainly has not attained the fruits or seen the mind, and their self-proclaimed attainment of the fruits and seeing of the mind must be a great misunderstanding.

Therefore, practice grounds should be divided into different grades and levels; people of various levels should not be mixed together. Otherwise, the practice ground becomes chaotic, afflictions blaze fiercely, no practice can be accomplished, and the practice ground becomes a crime scene of afflictions. A practice ground without the six kinds of harmony and reverence (ṣaḍabheda) will certainly be chaotic. Those whose views are not in harmony should not gather together; those of different levels of practice must never gather together, otherwise someone will certainly create great unwholesome karma.