Firstly, all who are assured of birth, and all who are born in the Pure Land, are on the "Rightly Established Stage" and unfailingly reach Nirvāṇa. This is in the 11th vow.
Later is explained that their nature, by virtue of being born there, is no longer that of a "human" or "heavenly being," but rather they are endowed with bodies of "naturalness, emptiness and infinity" which is equal to Buddhahood.
To be born there as a human or heavenly being would be the result of past karma, but in the Pure Land beings are born through the power of Amida's vow:Larger Sūtra wrote: [11th vow]
If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not dwell in the Rightly Established Stage and unfailingly reach Nirvana, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment. ...
[Fulfillment]
Sentient beings who are born in that Buddha-land all reside among those who are rightly established, because in that Buddha-land there are neither those who are wrongly established nor those who are not definitely established. ...
[That being born there is equal to Nirvāṇa]
That Buddha-land is pure and serene, resplendent and blissful. It borders on the Unconditioned Nirvana. The shravakas, bodhisattvas, heavenly beings and humans there have lofty and brilliant wisdom, and are masters of supernatural powers. They are all of one form, without any differences, but are called 'heavenly beings' and 'humans' simply by analogy with states of existence in other worlds. They are of noble and majestic countenance, unequaled in all the worlds, and their appearance is superb, unmatched by any being, heavenly or human. They are all endowed with bodies of naturalness, emptiness and infinity. ...
Sentient beings of that land and those to be born there will fully realize the supreme Bodhi and reach the Nirvanic state. For what reason? Because those who are in the wrongly established stage and those who are not definitely established stage are unable to understand that the cause [of birth] has been established [by the Buddha].
The nine grades, therefore, are an expedient. We also know this from how the highest grade of the highest rank and the lowest grade of the lowest rank can both be born through faith alone and the Nembutsu. Those born by self-power, i.e. merits, and recitation of the Nembutsu manifest the "borderland" prior to Nirvāṇa. Therefore just birth with faith (shinjin) is Nirvāṇa—all states based on karmic bonds are irrelevant after birth.Tanluan's Commentary on Vasubandhu's Discourse on the Pure Land wrote:In the realms of various births, whether from womb, from an egg, from moisture or by metamorphosis, one's kinsmen are many, and there are tens of thousands of varieties of pleasure and pain resulting from the inhabitants' different acts [in the past]. In the Land of Peace and Bliss there is no one who is not born transformed from within the pure flower of Amida Tathagata's Enlightenment. [They are so born] by one and the same path of the Nembutsu, and not by other paths. Within the four seas, all [Nembutsu practicers], even those living in the remotest places, are their brothers. Hence, their kinsmen are innumerable.
The ten bodhisattva stages are a framework the Śākyamuni Buddha teaches for this world, but they are not applicable in the Pure Land, where all Bodhisattvas abide in a single Nirvāṇic state:Tanluan wrote:Those who wish to be born in the Pure Land are originally divided into nine classes but [after they have been born there] there are no differences, just as the water of the Tzu and that of the river Sheng become of one taste [upon entering the sea]. ...
Accomplishment of the glorious merit of purity is described in the verse as: When I contemplate the nature of that Land I find that it surpasses all states of existence in the three worlds. Why is this inconceivable? When ordinary men full of evil passions attain birth in the Pure Land, the karmic bonds of the three worlds will not affect them any more. Even without severing evil passions, they will attain the state of Nirvana.
Larger Sūtra wrote:If, when I attain Buddhahood, bodhisattvas in the Buddha-lands of the other quarters who visit my land should not ultimately and unfailingly reach the Stage of Becoming a Buddha after One More Life, may I not attain perfect Bodhi. Excepted are those who wish to teach and guide sentient beings in accordance with their original vows. For they wear the armor of great vows, accumulate merits, deliver all beings from birth-and-death, visit Buddha-lands to perform the bodhisattva practices, make offerings to Buddhas, Tathagatas, throughout the ten quarters, enlighten countless sentient beings as numerous as the sands of the River Granges, and establish them in the highest, perfect Enlightenment. Such bodhisattvas transcend the course of practice of the ordinary bodhisattva stages, manifest the practices of all the bodhisattva stages, and actually cultivate the virtues of Samantabhadra.
Tanulan wrote:Reading this sutra, one may assume that bodhisattvas in that Land do not rise from one stage to the next. The ten-stage system appears to be a method of guidance provided by Shakyamuni Tathagata for inhabitants of Jambudvipa. Why should other pure lands necessarily be the same? Among the five inconceivabilities, the Buddha Dharma is the most inconceivable.
Shinran also states "Because the cause is pure, the effect is also pure. This we should know." We cannot produce Nirvāṇa with our defiled karmic bodies. Only a Buddha can produce a Buddha. Faith or Shinjin is the Buddha Nature connecting with our defiled minds and enabling our Nirvāṇa. Only by relying on Buddha Nature can we realise the Dharmakāya.Shandao wrote:Let us return home!
We should not stay in our native land of maras.
Since innumerable kalpas ago, we have been transmigrating In the six realms, taking up our abodes everywhere. Nowhere have we seen any pleasure;
We only hear the voices of samsaric pain.
After the end of this life,
Let us enter the Capital of Nirvana.
Nangaku one day goes to Baso’s hut, where Baso stands waiting. Nangaku asks, “What are you doing these days?”
Baso says, “These days Dōitsu just sits.”
Nangaku says, “What is the aim of sitting in zazen?”
Baso says, “The aim of sitting in zazen is to become Buddha.”
Nangaku promptly fetches a tile and polishes it on a rock near Baso’s hut.
Baso, on seeing this, asks, “What is the master doing?”
Nangaku says, “Polishing a tile.”
Baso says, “What is the use of polishing a tile?”
Nangaku says, “I am polishing it into a mirror.”
Baso says, “How can polishing a tile make it into a mirror?”
Nangaku says, “How can sitting in zazen make you into a buddha?”