The Truth About Rebirth in Sukhāvatī

Those of the highest grade of the highest birth who have seen the mind, and those of the highest grade of the middle birth who have realized the fruits, will see the Buddha immediately upon arriving in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī), and can go freely to the worlds of the ten directions, without being wrapped in a lotus flower; they will immediately see all the Buddhas of the ten directions and make offerings to them. Those born in all the other grades need to be wrapped inside lotus-flower palaces, slowly subduing their afflictions and letting the seeds of unwholesome karma wither. Amitābha Buddha is best at dealing with those sentient beings who have afflictions and will commit unwholesome deeds whenever they get the chance: He makes them live alone in the lotus-flower palace, giving them no opportunity at all to create unwholesome karma—and of course, creating wholesome karma becomes impossible too. They can only let their former karmic seeds slowly wither and shrink. When they no longer have any thought of creating karma, their minds become pure and their roots of goodness become deep. Only then can they emerge from the lotus-flower palace and come face to face with Amitābha Buddha, or with Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva and Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva, or with the transformation bodies of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, to hear the Dharma in person, and thereby see the mind and attain enlightenment.

Look at how those born in the lower grades are treated in the Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Sūtra; those with wisdom will consider whether or not they want to go there. Even if one falls into hell and then comes out to cultivate, it would be many times faster than living alone in a lotus-flower palace in the land of bliss for twelve great kalpas. Although hell is extremely painful, after coming out, the speed of cultivating toward Buddhahood is much faster than in the land of bliss. The key lies in what each person is pursuing.

Those of the lowest grade of the lowest birth dwell in a lotus flower in the land of bliss for twelve great kalpas—not twelve great kalpas of the Sahā world. Use a computer to calculate just how long a span of distant kalpas that is. Such a long time is indeed very enjoyable, but if you eat dumplings every day, you will get tired of them too; once you are used to it, it feels like nothing special.