What do the wholesome roots, merit, and causes and conditions required for rebirth in the Land of Bliss (sukhāvatī) refer to?

The "good" in good roots refers to wholesome karma cultivated with a good mind and a pure mind within the Buddhadharma, and wholesome conduct carried out accordingly. For example: with a deep mind taking refuge in the Three Jewels, making offerings to the Three Jewels, holding right faith in Buddhism, diligently cultivating precepts, meditation (samādhi), and wisdom, possessing a considerable degree of merit and an understanding of the Buddhadharma, no longer taking worldly dharmas as one's refuge or priority, generating the great bodhicitta and vowing to save and deliver all sentient beings. Not violating the teachings of the Three Jewels, deeply believing in all the sūtras spoken by the Buddha, following the teachings, delighting in practicing them without slander, receiving the Buddha's transformation and guidance, feeling deep gratitude for the Buddha's kindness, and vowing to repay the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha with one's body and mind and everything else. The "root" in good roots means spiritual faculties (indriya), meaning that the seeds have already been established, meaning that the foundation is firm, solid, and unshakable, meaning that wholesome dharmas have been deeply planted in the mind, and also the capacity to grow wholesome dharmas and wholesome fruits. Without such good roots, one is not in accord with the land of bliss (sukhāvatī) and the superior wholesome beings there; if not in accord, one cannot dwell together with them in the land of bliss.

The above is a qualitative description of good roots; it cannot be described quantitatively. The criteria for judging the depth of good roots cannot be concretely expressed—only a person with considerable experience and wisdom can judge them in accordance with reality and truth. Without experience and wisdom, even if criteria were given, one could not make a true judgment based on them. This is similar to judgments in worldly affairs: for example, in the evaluation and ranking of university professors and lecturers, even when there are criteria to rely on, elementary and middle school students still cannot make true judgments based on them. Laymen cannot judge experts, and those at lower levels cannot judge those at higher levels.

This is even more so with judging the degree of one's cultivation of the Buddhadharma. The vast majority of people are at the layman and lower-level stage—how could they judge whether a person is a good teacher (kalyāṇamitra), whether they have attained enlightenment or entered the bhūmis, or whether the dharma they teach truly accords with the intent of what the Buddha taught? Even when checking against a standard answer, they cannot judge in accordance with reality. Therefore, regarding demonic heretics who deeply harm sentient beings, it is enough for the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Dharma protectors to deal with them quietly; there is no need to explain the reasons clearly to sentient beings. Some people, after a long period of reflection afterward, will gradually come to understand.

As for merit, of course it must be comparable to the merit of the beings in the land of bliss, comparable to the merit of the devas—one must be qualified to enjoy the blessings of the land of bliss. That is to say, one must have already accumulated a great store of merit so that at the end of life one can be reborn there, and finally enjoy these blessings in the land of bliss. If one has not planted such great karmic blessings, one cannot enjoy great blessings and cannot attain rebirth there. Such blessings mainly refer to pure blessings, such as the blessing of keeping precepts, the blessing of meditative concentration (samādhi), the blessing of recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti), the blessing of wisdom, and the blessing of reverently believing in and delighting in the Three Jewels. These blessings all correspond to the merit of studying Buddhism; they are not the worldly blessings of splendor, wealth, and honor that can be enjoyed in the Sahā world.

What do the conditions for rebirth refer to? Conditions are just causes and conditions. The cause is the seeds of wholesome karma that have been cultivated, such as the merit of recollection of the Buddha with single-minded concentration without confusion, the mind having let go of the conditions of the Sahā world so that the mind is not inverted, being endowed with precepts, meditation (samādhi), and wisdom, having subdued greed, anger, and delusion, and single-mindedly yearning for the land of bliss and aspiring to become a Buddha to deliver sentient beings. The condition is that the karma of wholesome deeds has ripened, good friends come to help, unwholesome karma does not manifest, creditors and karmic adversaries keep far away, there are no obstructions, and the merit and virtue one has cultivated can invoke the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and noble assemblies to extend their hands in welcome at the end of life. Only a person whose good roots, merit, and conditions are all complete can be reborn in the land of bliss; ordinary people whose cultivation is insufficient cannot attain rebirth there.