What Are the Roots of Goodness, Merit, and Favorable Conditions Required for Rebirth in the Land of Bliss (Sukhāvatī)?

The "good" in good roots refers to wholesome karma and wholesome conduct cultivated in the Buddhadharma with a wholesome mind and a pure mind. For example: deeply taking refuge in the Three Jewels from the depths of one's heart, making offerings to the Three Jewels, holding right faith in Buddhism, diligently cultivating precepts, meditation, and wisdom, possessing a considerable degree of merit and 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. It means not going against the teachings of the Three Jewels, deeply believing in all the scriptures spoken by the Buddha, following the teachings, delighting in practicing them without slandering them, receiving the Buddha's transformation and guidance, feeling profound gratitude for the Buddha's kindness, and being willing 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, meaning that 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 meaning 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 articulated—only a person with considerable experience and wisdom can judge them in accordance with reality as it truly is. 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. Outsiders cannot judge insiders, and those at lower levels cannot judge those at higher levels.

This is even more so with judgments of one's degree of cultivation in the Buddhadharma. The vast majority of people are at the stage of being outsiders and at lower levels—how could they judge whether a person is a good teacher (kalyāṇamitra), whether they have attained enlightenment and 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 truthfully. Therefore, regarding demons and heterodox paths that deeply harm sentient beings, it is enough for the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Dharma protectors to handle 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, it must of course be comparable to the merit of the beings in the land of bliss, comparable to the merit of heavenly beings. To be qualified to enjoy the blessings of the land of bliss means that one has already accumulated a great store of merit as provisions, so that one can attain rebirth at the end of life and finally enjoy these blessings in the land of bliss. If one has not planted such great meritorious karma, one cannot enjoy great blessings and cannot attain rebirth. This kind of blessing mainly refers to pure blessings, such as the blessing of holding precepts, the blessing of meditative concentration, 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 and wealth that can be enjoyed in the Sahā world.

What do the causes and conditions for rebirth refer to? Causes and conditions are the conditions: the cause is the seeds of wholesome karma that have been cultivated, such as the merit of single-minded recollection of the Buddha 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, 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 conditions are the ripening of wholesome karma, the assistance of good friends, evil karma not manifesting, karmic creditors staying far away, and there being no obstructions, so that 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 causes and conditions are all complete can be reborn in the land of bliss; ordinary people whose cultivation is insufficient cannot attain rebirth.