Sutra Function
Fourth, there is the sutra's function.
The powerful function of this sutra is to enable us to be reborn in the Pure Land and never fall back. Rebirth in the Pure Land can be categorized in terms of the Four Pure Lands, and also into nine lotus grades in each Land.
Here I will give a brief explanation of the characteristics of the Four Lands.
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If you recite the Buddha-name without cutting off your Delusions of Views and Thoughts, depending on how scattered or how concentrated you are, you are reborn within the nine lotus grades of the Land Where Saints and Ordinary Beings Live Together.
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If you recite the Buddha-name to the point of singlemindedness (phenomenal level), your Delusions of Views and Thoughts are cut off and you are reborn in the Land of Expedient Liberation of Arhats and Pratyeka Buddhas.
If you recite the Buddha-name to the point of singlemindedness (noumenon or inner truth level), and you smash from one to forty-one levels of ignorance and delusion, then you are born in the Land of Real Reward where Bodhisattvas live.
However, if you recite the Buddha-name to the point where all forty-two levels of ignorance and delusion are totally cut off, this is the highest reward and you will be reborn in the Land of Eternally Quiescent Light where the Buddhas dwell.
The Amitabha Sutra has this kind of powerful function, which no text can describe. The powerful function of the Amitabha Sutra should not be mentioned on the same day as the [far more pessimistic teaching] that lifetime after lifetime of cultivation (with all the dangers of retrogression) is necessary before you can expect enlightenment. How can Zen Buddhists and Scriptural Buddhists fail to consider this?
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