Conditions for the Lowest Grade of Rebirth in the Pure Land

Original text from the Contemplation Sutra: Regarding the lowest grade of the lowest rank of rebirth. There may be sentient beings who commit unwholesome deeds, including the five heinous crimes and the ten evil acts, possessing all manner of unwholesomeness. Due to such evil karma, this foolish person is destined to fall into the evil realms, undergoing countless kalpas of immeasurable suffering. At the approach of death, such a foolish person encounters a virtuous spiritual friend who offers various words of comfort, expounds the wondrous Dharma, and instructs him to recite the Buddha's name. However, tormented by suffering, the person is unable to engage in Buddha-recitation.

The virtuous friend then advises, "If you cannot recite that Buddha's name, you should instead invoke the name of Amitāyus Buddha." With utmost sincerity, the person continuously utters the name, completing ten recitations of "Homage to Amitābha Buddha." By virtue of reciting the Buddha's name, within each recitation, he eradicates the karmic offenses of eighty koṭis of kalpas of birth and death. At the moment of death, he sees a golden lotus flower, as large as the sun's disk, appear before him. In the time of a single thought, he is immediately reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Within the lotus flower, he dwells for precisely twelve great kalpas before the lotus finally blooms. Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, with voices of great compassion, extensively expound to him the true reality of all dharmas and the methods for eliminating transgressions. Hearing this, he rejoices and immediately generates the Bodhi-mind.

Explanation: The case of the lowest grade of the lowest rank of rebirth describes sentient beings who have committed unwholesome karmic actions, even including the five heinous crimes and ten evil acts, possessing all manner of unwholesome karma. Due to such evil karma, these foolish beings are destined to fall into the three evil realms, undergoing countless kalpas of endless suffering. At the approach of death, such a foolish person encounters a virtuous spiritual friend who provides various teachings, comfort, and encouragement, expounds the wondrous Dharma, and instructs him to recite the Buddha's name. However, the foolish person is already overwhelmed by suffering and cannot recite the Buddha's name.

The virtuous spiritual friend tells him, "If you cannot recite Amitābha Buddha's name, then invoke the name of Amitāyus Buddha." Thereupon, with utmost sincerity, this person continuously recites the Buddha's name, uttering the name "Homage to Amitābha Buddha" ten times without interruption. Because he recites the Buddha's name with utmost sincerity, within each recitation, he eradicates eighty koṭis of kalpas of karmic offenses related to birth and death. At the moment of death, he sees a golden lotus flower as large as the sun's disk suspended before him. In the time of a single thought, he is reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. He dwells within the lotus flower for precisely twelve great kalpas before the lotus finally blooms. After emerging from the lotus, he hears Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva and Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva, with voices of great compassion, extensively expound to him the true reality of all dharmas, eliminating his karmic transgressions. Hearing this, he rejoices immensely and immediately generates the Bodhi-mind.

Those who can recite the Buddha's name with utmost sincerity do so with genuine sincerity, reciting from the depths of their hearts, not merely with their mouths while their minds are elsewhere. It is only when not only the consciousness but also the manas-consciousness believes and recites that each recitation can eradicate eighty koṭis of kalpas of karmic offenses related to birth and death. Once these offenses are eliminated, there are no obstacles, and rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is attained. Because karmic offenses are all associated with the manas-consciousness, only when the manas-consciousness also recites the Buddha's name can each recitation eradicate eighty koṭis of kalpas of karmic offenses. If one merely believes and recites with the consciousness, without utmost sincerity, then karmic offenses cannot be eliminated, much less can rebirth be attained. For those who commit grave evil karma, encountering the guidance of a virtuous spiritual friend at the approach of death is extremely rare. Those who can recite the Buddha's name with utmost sincerity are even harder to find in the Sahā world. Those who recite the Buddha's name throughout their lives yet fail to permeate their manas-consciousness are everywhere. Therefore, for those who commit grave evil karma, attaining rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss at the approach of death is exceedingly rare and precious.

The lowest grade of the lowest rank of rebirth receives those who have committed grave evil karma and have not yet had the opportunity to believe in the Buddha. Such individuals are on the verge of falling into hell at the approach of death; even the fearful manifestations of hell may have already appeared. At this moment, the evil person experiences terror and fear. If a virtuous spiritual friend expounds to him the Pure Land Dharma door of Buddha-recitation in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, and if this person still possesses some residual wholesome roots, coupled with his inner fear and helplessness, he may immediately develop deep faith. By reciting just ten utterances of the Buddha's name, he can attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss at that very moment. Only those who meet such conditions can achieve rebirth in the lowest grade of the lowest rank. Those who previously believed in the Buddha but later commit evil deeds again cannot attain rebirth, because having already believed in and studied the Buddha's teachings, they long ago became lax and insincere in their recitation. When committing such grave offenses, even when hellish manifestations appear at death, they still cannot generate genuine sincerity, and thus cannot attain rebirth.