Conditions for Rebirth in the Lowest Grade of the Lowest Class

Original text of the Contemplation of the Immeasurable Life Sutra: 下品下生者。或有众生。作不善业。五逆十恶。具诸不善。如此愚人。以恶业故。应堕恶道。经历多劫。受苦无穷。如此愚人。临命终时。遇善知识。种种安慰。为说妙法。教令念佛。彼人苦逼。不遑念佛。善友告言。汝若不能念彼佛者。应称无量寿佛。如是至心。令声不绝。具足十念。称南无阿弥陀佛。称佛名故。所念念中。除八十亿劫生死之罪。命终之时。见金莲华。犹如日轮。住其人前。如一念顷。即得往生极乐世界。于莲华中。满十二大劫。莲华方开。观世音。大势至。以大悲音声。为其广说诸法实相。除灭罪法。闻已欢喜。应时即发菩提之心。

Explanation: The case of rebirth in the lowest grade of the lowest tier is as follows: some sentient beings have committed unwholesome karmic deeds, even the karma of the five rebellious acts and the ten evil deeds, complete with all unwholesome karma. Such foolish people, because of these evil deeds, should fall into the three evil destinies, passing through many kalpas and suffering endless torment. When such a foolish person is on the verge of death, he meets a good spiritual friend, who gives him various kinds of teaching, comfort, and encouragement, expounds wondrous dharma to him, and instructs him to practice recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti). But that foolish person, overwhelmed by suffering, is unable to recite the Buddha's name.

The good spiritual friend tells him, "If you cannot be mindful of that Buddha, then call out the name of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life (Amitāyus)." Thereupon, with utmost sincerity, this person recites the Buddha's name, his voice unbroken, fully reciting ten times, "Homage to Amitābha Buddha." Because he calls the Buddha's name with utmost sincerity, in each moment of recitation he eradicates the karmic offenses of birth and death of eighty billion kalpas. At the moment of death, he sees a golden lotus flower as large as a sun disc, suspended before him, and in the space of a single thought-moment he is reborn in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī). He stays inside the lotus flower for a full twelve great kalpas before the lotus opens. 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 and the dharma for eradicating karmic offenses. Having heard this, he is filled with joy and immediately gives rise to the mind of bodhi (bodhicitta).

Those who can recite the Buddha's name with utmost sincerity are all reciting with a sincere mind, reciting from the depths of the heart, not reciting with the mouth while the mind does not recite. Only when not only the mind consciousness accepts with faith and recites, but the manas also accepts with faith and recites, can each thought-moment eradicate the karmic offenses of birth and death of eighty billion kalpas. Once these offenses are eradicated, there are no obstructions, and one is reborn in the land of bliss. Because karmic offenses all correspond to the manas, only when the manas too recites the Buddha's name can the offenses of eighty billion kalpas be eradicated moment by moment. If only the mind consciousness believes in the Buddha and recites, without sincerity, then the karma cannot be eradicated, let alone enable rebirth there. For a person who has committed great evil karma, it is extremely difficult to happen upon the acceptance and guidance of a good spiritual friend at the moment of death; and those who can recite the Buddha's name with utmost sincerity are even harder to find in the Sahā world. People who have recited the Buddha's name their whole lives without ever perfuming the manas are everywhere. Therefore, for a person who has committed great evil karma to be able to be reborn in the land of bliss at the time of death is rare and hard to come by.

Rebirth in the lowest grade of the lowest tier embraces only those who have committed great evil karma and moreover have not yet had the opportunity to believe in the Buddha. When such a person is on the verge of death, he is about to fall into hell immediately; the evil signs of hell may even have already appeared. At this moment, this evil person's mind gives rise to fear, and a good spiritual friend expounds to him the Pure Land dharma gate of recollection of the Buddha. Because this person still has some good roots, and because of the fear and helplessness in his heart, he immediately accepts it with great faith. Having recited only ten utterances of the Buddha's name, he can be reborn in the land of bliss right then. Only a person possessing such conditions can attain rebirth in the lowest grade of the lowest tier. Those who had already believed in the Buddha beforehand, if they then commit evil deeds, cannot attain rebirth, because having already believed in the Buddha and studied Buddhism, they have long been lax and insincere in reciting the Buddha's name. Having committed such great offenses, when the evil signs appear at the time of death, their utmost sincerity still cannot arise, and therefore they cannot attain rebirth.