觀無量壽佛經義疏 1.9

1.9

Third, discerning the essential purport. There are three parts: first, determining the sūtra's essential purport; second, clarifying phenomena and principle; third, discerning differences in contemplation methods. First, determining the sūtra's essential purport. The "essential purport" is the primary meaning; the primary meaning of a sūtra must be distinguished and pointed out. Tiantai says: "This sūtra takes contemplation of mind as its essential purport." This is spoken solely from the standpoint of the contemplating [subject]. When contemplating the Buddha's primary and dependent [rewards], can that be anything other than contemplation of mind? Master [Hui]yuan and Shandao both say: "The essential purports distinguished in the various sūtras are each different. This sūtra takes the samādhi of contemplating the Buddha as its essential purport." This is established comprehensively in terms of both subject and object. Although the contemplations are sixteen and the primary and dependent [rewards] differ, their main [focus] lies in contemplating the Buddha; that is, the text below states: "within this present body, obtain the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi." "Mindfulness" (nian) is indeed "contemplation" (guan), but as the word applies generally to other Buddhas and might still be confused with other sūtras, it may be fully distinguished as in the opening title. The Sūtra on the Samādhi of Contemplating the Buddha says: "The Buddha told Ānanda: 'This samādhi of contemplating the Buddha is medicine for all sentient beings who have committed transgressions, protection for those who have broken the precepts, a guide for those who have lost the way, eyes for the blind, wisdom for the foolish, a lamp in the dark, a valiant general amid the thieves of affliction, the sport of the Buddhas, the World-Honoured Ones, and the source from which great samādhis such as the Śūraṅgama first arise.'" It also says: "'If one can contemplate a single pore of the Buddha, this person is called one who practices the concentration of mindfulness of the Buddha. Because of mindfulness of the Buddha, the Buddhas of the ten directions constantly abide before them and preach the correct Dharma for them; this person is then able to give birth to the seed of all Tathāgatas of the three times—how much more so if one is fully mindful of the Buddha's physical body!'" It also says: "'If disciples of the four assemblies slander the Vaipulya sūtras, commit the five heinous sins, violate the four grave prohibitions, steal the saṅgha's property, defile a nun, break the eight precepts, do various evil deeds, and hold various false views—if they can single-mindedly, for one day and one night, fix their mindfulness before them and contemplate a single mark of excellence of the Buddha, their evil sins and karmic obstacles will all be completely eradicated,'" and so forth. Based on this, one knows that the merit of contemplating the Buddha is inconceivable. This is truly because by gathering in the false mind and merging with the real realm, one borrows His blessings and wisdom to relieve our poverty, and relies on His loving-kindness and compassion to rescue our sinking [selves]; this is the front line in expelling evil and the initial portal for entering the Way. Therefore the Śūraṅgama says: "Without relying on expedients, one naturally attains the opening of the mind. Just as one who is perfumed with incense has fragrance upon their body, this is called adornment with fragrance and light." Briefly presenting the main essentials, the rest will be detailed below. Second, clarifying phenomena and principle. "Principle" is a makeshift name for the empty and serene; "phenomena" is a general heading for activities and deeds. Although two names are established, their substance is truly one and the same—just as water moving becomes waves, and ink written becomes characters; though waves have myriad shapes, the wetness of water is no different, and though characters have a thousand variations, the color of the ink is not two. If one considers the mind merging with serenity and the elimination of subject and object to be the contemplation of principle, and the raising of thoughts and stirring of deliberations with clear choosing and rejecting to be the contemplation of phenomena, then phenomena and principle would stand in opposition, which is not yet perfect integration. Now, relying on Tiantai's Shiyi lun, it states: "The wise fervently seek rebirth in the Pure Land, realizing that the substance of birth is unobtainable; this is true non-arising. The foolish are bound by birth: hearing of 'birth,' they interpret it as birth; hearing of 'non-arising,' they interpret it as non-arising. They do not know that birth is itself non-arising, and non-arising is itself birth. Failing to understand this principle, they arbitrarily judge right and wrong—how mistaken they are!" From this we know that realizing phenomena are themselves principle, and that principle is not outside phenomena, is true non-arising; hence it is called wondrous contemplation. Furthermore, based on Nanshan [Daoxuan], the two repentances of phenomena and principle must be divided between two types of faculties: those of sharp faculties realize principle, so everything is mind-only; those of dull faculties have not yet realized it, so they exclusively rely on phenomenal practice. In other sūtras, contemplation of principle covers only those of superior faculties. In this sūtra, the method of contemplation encompasses both the sharp and the dull: the practice of the sharp-facultied is entirely contemplation of principle; the practice of the dull-facultied entirely returns to phenomenal visualisations. Although the sharp and the dull differ, all attain rebirth—differing only in the shallowness or depth of their stages and the slowness or speed of their progress on the Way once reborn there. However, commentators past and present have differed in their explanations. One says: "The sixteen wondrous realms are none other than contemplation of principle." Another says: "Based on the beginning and end of the sūtra, they are all phenomenal visualisations." Another says: "The preceding and succeeding fifteen are phenomenal; only the ninth, the contemplation of the Buddha, is contemplation of principle." I say now that the first interpretation leaves out the middling and inferior; the second explanation represses the superior faculties; and the latter theory dividing them into two is the least universally applicable. For one who has realized principle, all dharmas are principle; how could this be so and that be not? Having examined the sūtra text, it merely presents the objects to be contemplated, without distinguishing phenomena and principle. Is it not that among those who contemplate, faculties may be sharp or dull and views may be penetrating or obstructed, yet according to their capacity all can enter? In the Tang, the eminent monk Bianxiu once said to someone: "Formerly I heard that the practice of the Western [direction] is Mahāyāna with characteristics." This is a mind tangled like overgrown weeds, not straight, and not the statement of one with penetrating vision. Why? Words spoken are themselves the nature, and thoughts arisen are all Suchness; a single color or a single fragrance is none other than the Middle Way—how much more so our correct mindfulness? Examining this statement carefully, it deeply accords with the sūtra's purport; he merely did not fully realize that this sūtra comprehensively gathers in the middling and inferior. Question: How should one practice the contemplation of principle in this sūtra? Answer: There are two methods of practice: first, the contemplating mind, which takes the present conscious mind's visualising thought as its substance, as below where it says "one should give rise to visualising thoughts and attentively contemplate the sun"; second, the contemplated realm, which takes Amitāyus's primary and dependent adornments as its substance, which are the sixteen kinds of realms listed below. Only when subject and object merge is the practice of contemplation accomplished. Question: If one gives rise to a thought and grasps an object, how can that be called contemplation of principle? Answer: One realizes that this mind and realm are both produced from causes and conditions; what is conditionally produced is unproduced, its substance being neither arising nor ceasing—this is the principle of non-arising. The Shiyi lun states: "As for non-arising and non-ceasing, within conditional production, all dharmas combine without retaining their own nature; seeking the substance of arising, it is utterly unobtainable. When this arising arises, it comes from nowhere, hence it is called non-arising; when this ceasing disperses, it goes nowhere, hence it is said to be non-ceasing. It is not that apart from conditional production there is a separate non-arising and non-ceasing." Now, in clarifying the contemplation of principle, completely following the treatise, one uses a conditionally produced mind to contemplate a conditionally produced realm. Although mind and realm differ, their conditional production is not different. The contemplating [subject] is the mind, and the contemplated [object] is the Buddha; the mind-dharma and the Buddha-dharma are both inconceivable. The Huayan states: "Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—these three are without distinction"; this is its meaning. Therefore, practitioners should first open up wise understanding to be thoroughly clear without doubt, and thereafter morning and evening, thought after thought, fix their visualisations on the superior realms of that region's primary and dependent [rewards], fervently seeking rebirth—without this impeding that the substance of mind and realm is naturally unproduced; it is not that deliberate fabrication causes it to be so. From this we know that among all worldly and world-transcending dharmas, in movement or rest, speech or silence, there is none that is not wondrous principle. Not only this contemplation, but all methods of contemplation established across the Mahāyāna of the Buddha's lifetime are like this. The Lotus Sūtra says: "Contemplate all dharmas as empty, like the true mark, not inverted," and so forth, and also: "All dharmas are entirely non-existent, neither permanently abiding nor arising and ceasing." The Samantabhadra Contemplation Sūtra says: "One should know that all dharmas are precisely the Buddha-dharma." The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: "All dharmas are precisely the marks of bodhi." The Huayan says: "All dharmas are without arising; all dharmas are without ceasing," and also: "Completely knowing all dharmas to have no inherent existence of their own nature—understanding the dharma-nature thus, one immediately sees Vairocana." The Diamond Prajñā says: "All conditioned dharmas are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow," and so forth. Passages such as these are pervasive throughout the canon and will not be cited exhaustively. If one departs from dharmas to speak of wondrous principle, one falls into bias and error, straying completely from the Way. The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: "For example, in building palaces, if one builds on empty ground, one may proceed as desired without obstruction; but if one attempts it in empty space, it can never be accomplished. The Buddhas preach the Dharma always relying on the two truths; without destroying conventional designations, they speak of the true mark of all dharmas." Since the sacred authority is like this and the correct principle is so evident, if one truly wishes to advance in practice, one must investigate it deeply. Third, discerning differences in contemplation methods. The contemplation methods clarified in the teachings of the Buddha's lifetime fall briefly into five categories: 1. Contemplating all dharmas generally, as in sūtras saying "contemplate all dharmas as empty," etc. 2. Contemplating one's own mind specifically, such as cessation and contemplation, the contemplation of returning to the source, the contemplation of the dharmadhātu, the contemplation of the pure mind, and so forth. 3. Or contemplating only form (rūpa), as the sūtra says, "Contemplate the true mark of the body, and contemplate the Buddha likewise," as well as [the contemplations of] impurity, white bones, etc. 4. Contemplating both form and mind together, as the sūtra says, "Illumining and seeing the five aggregates as empty," the twelve bases, eighteen elements, counting breaths, etc. 5. Contemplating facing superior realms, which is like the various sūtras contemplating Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and so forth. This present Contemplation Sūtra corresponds precisely to the fifth. Within contemplating superior realms, there are further five distinctions: 1. Contemplating the ocean of the Buddha's marks, which is contemplating the thirty-two marks of the Buddhas. 2. Contemplating the method of Samantabhadra's practice, which is contemplating the bodily marks of the bodhisattva on the six-tusked white elephant. 3. Contemplating Bhaiṣajyarāja and Bhaiṣajyasamudgata, which is contemplating the practice, vows, and bodily forms of the two bodhisattvas. 4. Contemplating Maitreya's rebirth above, which is contemplating the Tuṣita heaven palace to seek rebirth in its inner court. 5. This present sūtra's contemplating Amitāyus's primary and dependent [rewards] to seek rebirth in the Pure Land. The upper three eradicate karma and shatter obstacles; the lower two express joyous aspiration to seek rebirth. Moreover, among the lower two, the fourth is a heaven realm of the Sahā world, and the fifth is the pure region of Sukhāvatī. However, entering the Way in this realm prioritizes the contemplation of mind; rebirth in the Pure Land necessarily requires visualising the Buddha. Taking now the single category of contemplating the mind in this realm and comparing it with this sūtra, there are briefly six differences: 1. Contemplating the mind gathers visualisations back into the mind, whereas this sūtra directs the mind toward another realm (the sūtra says: "Single-mindedly fix mindfulness and attentively contemplate that Buddha"; Tiantai's commentary says: "The setting sun suspended like a drum is used to mark the direction for sending one's visualisations"). 2. Contemplating the mind is not confined to the four postures, whereas this sūtra strictly requires sitting upright (though the principle extends to other postures). 3. Contemplating the mind is not restricted to a direction, whereas this sūtra strictly requires facing west. 4. Contemplating the mind does not exclude other times, whereas this sūtra requires excluding times of defecation and eating (the Sūtra on Contemplating the Buddha says: "Except when relieving oneself"; the Ground Contemplation says: "Only excluding meal times," etc.). 5. Contemplating the mind cuts off delusions and realizes principle, whereas this sūtra accomplishes karma and evokes rebirth. 6. In contemplating the mind, demonic karma manifests, whereas in this sūtra, the sacred virtues protect and sustain. By briefly explaining these six differences, one knows that the contemplation portal of the Pure Land is as far apart as heaven. Question: Can the sixteen contemplations here be called "contemplation of mind"? Answer: If one realizes that realms are mind-only, then regarding that Amitāyus's body and land, which of them is not mind? But if one were to turn inward to seek the fundamental aggregates and rigidly identify a spark of consciousness, that would belong entirely to other sūtras, not to the correct contemplation here. Question: Some say that the Buddha-dharma is too exalted and the sentient-being-dharma too broad, so only contemplation of mind is essential; does not this sūtra's contemplation of the Buddha contradict that? Answer: Contemplation methods are tailored to capacities, each having its primary purpose. If it is entering the Way in this realm to cut off delusions and realize reality, then contemplation of mind is paramount. If it is attaining rebirth in the Pure Land by cultivating the cause to evoke the retribution, then contemplation of the Buddha is superior. Their explaining the cutting off [of delusion] and realization [of truth] specifically focuses on contemplation of mind, which is why they have this statement; it does not mean that the two dharmas of sentient beings and Buddhas are never open to contemplation. The buddhānusmṛti-samādhi is entirely directed toward the future; its meaning is not established in vain. Question: Mind and Buddha are without distinction; this is the definitive meaning of the supreme vehicle. In clarifying the contemplation method now, why force a distinction? Answer: Although the principle is fundamentally harmonious, the aspects of practice should be distinguished. In order to give practitioners something to rely upon, realm and wisdom must correspond. An ancient master of virtue said: "Contemplating the Buddha has two types: first, the Buddha seen in one's own mind's samādhi; second, the Buddha who responds with the fruition from the cause in the Western [direction]." The contemplation of mind in various sūtras is precisely contemplating the Buddha seen in one's own mind; the sixteen contemplations here are specifically contemplating the fruition Buddha evoked in the Western [direction]. Based on this twofold division, one seeks without doubt or confusion. Therefore Tiantai's Shiyi lun says: "All who seek rebirth raise their minds in aspiration and give rise to visualisations, focusing on the marks, excellence, and radiant light of Amitābha Buddha. They also contemplate the seven-jewel adornments of that land, fully as in the sixteen contemplations of Amitāyus," and so forth. For this sūtra's contemplation of the Buddha, this serves as clear proof. Question: A sūtra says: 'If one sees me by form, or seeks me by sound, this person practices a false path and cannot see the Tathāgata.' Now in contemplating the Buddha's realm, is this not seeing by form and seeking by sound? Answer: The thirty-two marks are like the bright moon falling into a hundred rivers; the four unimpeded eloquence-skills and eight voices are like clear echoes issuing from deep ravines. Yet there are those who plunge into pools to grasp the moon, or enter valleys to chase echoes; failing to realize that their nature is empty, they do not see the Buddha. Penetrating masters are not like this: realizing that form is not form, what hindrance is there to uprightly visualising the sacred countenance? Realizing that sound is not sound, how does it obstruct leaning in to listen to the wondrous Dharma? Thus the Huayan says: 'Bodily marks are not the Buddha, and sound is also likewise. Yet not apart from form and sound does one see the Buddha's spiritual power.' Beholding this wondrous discourse, how could one doubt any longer?