31 The Buddha said to Bodhisattva Maitreya, the devas, humans, and others, “The virtue and wisdom of sravakas and bodhisattvas in the Land of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life are beyond verbal expression. Thus, that land is exquisite, blissful, and pure. Why do you not strive to practice the good, be mindful of the spontaneous working of the Way, and realize that all beings in that land attain without discrimination the boundless virtue of enlightenment? Each of you should be diligent and make every effort to seek it for yourself.
“Assuredly you will transcend and leave this world and attain birth in the Land of Peace. The bondage to the five evil courses is severed crosswise, and the evil courses close naturally. You ascend the path without limit. To go there is easy and yet no one is born there. The land not being at variance with the Way, you are drawn there by its spontaneous working. Why then do you not abandon worldly matters and make efforts to seek the virtue of the Way? You will thus be able to attain an infinitely long life and enjoy the life of limitless bliss.
“However, people in the world are so shallow and vulgar as to quarrel among themselves over matters of no urgency. In the midst of grave wickedness and extreme afflictions of the world, they busy themselves in leading their lives. Noble or base, poor or rich, young or old, and male or female, all they worry about is wealth and property. Whether or not they are possessed of fortune, they are all the same in having anxieties. They wander here and there in misery, accumulating worries and troubles. Driven by their own desire, they run about aimlessly and thus do not have a moment’s peace.
“If they have a field, they worry about the field. If they have a house, they worry about the house. In the same way, they worry about their six kinds of domestic animals such as cows and horses, their menservants and maidservants, their money and wealth, clothes and food, and furnishings. Accumulating worries and compounding sighs, they live in constant anxiety and fear.
“Then without warning, a sudden flood or fire, robbers, adversaries, or creditors will deprive them of all their possessions by washing them away, burning them, or plundering them. When their possessions have thus disappeared, extreme torment keeps them in utter confusion and never leaves them. Their minds congeal with anger and they cannot free themselves from agitation. When their hearts and minds become hardened, it becomes impossible to free themselves.
“Furthermore, when their bodies perish and their lives end in the midst of these agonies, they are forced to discard all they have and leave this world with no one to accompany them. ^Even the noble and the wealthy have these worries; they are afflicted in this way by myriad anxieties and fears. They suffer chills and fevers, leading their lives with pain.
“The poor and the lowly are destitute and in constant want. If they have no fields, they become anxious and wish to possess them. If they have no house, they become anxious and wish to possess one. If they have none of the six kinds of domestic animals such as cows and horses, no menservants or maidservants, no money or wealth, no clothes or food or furnishings, they become anxious and wish to possess them.
“If they happen to have one thing, they feel that something else is lacking. If they have this, they feel they do not have that, and thus they wish they had as much as others. Even if, by chance, they come to possess everything they want, they will soon lose it. Then they again anxiously pursue it, but will not be able to reacquire it. Fretting over their losses in vain, they become exhausted in mind and body, and are restless whether sitting or standing.
(The Three Pure Land Sutras, Volume II, p. 68-69)