Important Knowledge in the Pure Land Teaching
淨土小常識
175. The Five Kinds of Difficulties (2 /5)
The first group explains matters in terms of “the age of the five defilements” and “a time when there is no Buddha in the world.”
The first three difficulties belong to the “defilement of views”.
The fourth—“inverted views of wholesome results that can ruin pure practice”— belongs to the “defilement of afflictions”.
The fifth—“reliance solely on self-power, without the support of other-power”— corresponds to a time without a Buddha in the world, when there is no Buddha who serves as a superior supporting condition. What is meant by other-power is the power of Amitabha Buddha.
The second group analyzes the difficulties in terms of two kinds of obstructions— those of persons and those of teachings, as well as their general and specific relationships.
Non-Buddhists, adherents of the Lesser Vehicle, and evil persons can create obstructions arising from persons.
The fourth difficulty —“inverted wholesome results that can ruin pure practice”— is an obstruction arising from teachings, in which methods that cannot lead to liberation are mistakenly taken to be liberating. This is what is meant by inversion.
The fifth —“reliance solely on self-power, without the support of other-power”— is the most fundamental and overarching difficulty among them all. This is because ordinary beings lack the strength to cultivate. Their afflictions are deep and their karmic obstacles heavy.
Once they think of practice, all obstacles and habitual tendencies immediately surface. Not only is there no power for practice; but, one is also born in a time with no Buddha to rely upon. Under such conditions, attaining non-retrogression (avaivartika) is impossible. If there were a Buddha to rely upon, all of these difficulties would cease to exist.
The third chart presents these points in terms of corresponding contrasts:
(to be continued tomorrow)
175 五種難 (2/ 4)
這五種難可從三組來看：
第一個組是就「五濁之世」(前四種)與「無佛時」(第五種)來講。
前三種是見濁，第四種「顛倒善果，能壞梵行」是煩惱濁；第五種「唯是自 力，無他力持」是無佛時，沒有佛做增上緣。所謂他力，就是佛力。
第二組分「人」(前三種)、「法」(第四種)二障，與「總」(第五種)、「別」(前四 種)關係。
前三種難分別是「外道、小乘、惡人」是「人」的障礙。第四種是「顛倒善 果，能壞梵行」是「法」的障礙，把不能成就解脫的法，錯當能解脫，那就顛倒 了。這四種難是「個別」的難。
第五種「唯是自力，無他力持」，這是所有困難中最根本、「總」的困難。 因為凡夫修行沒有力量，煩惱深、業障重，一想起修行，所有的障礙、習氣就 都浮現了，不但修行無力，又生於無佛時，沒有佛可依靠，因此，想要得到阿 毗跋致不退轉的境界是不可能的。若有佛可依靠，所有困難就不存在了。
第三組是相對的關係。
Namo Amituofo!
