阿彌陀經要解 1.6

1.6

第三明宗者，宗是修行之要徑、會體之樞機，而萬行之綱領也。提其綱則眾目皆張，挈其領則襟袖隨至，故次體之後應須辨宗。此經以信願持名為修行之宗要。非信不足以啟願，非願不足以導行，非持名妙行不足以滿其所願而證所信，是故經中先演極樂依正以生信，次勸應當發願以導行，次示七日持名以徑登不退。信則信自、信他、信因、信果、信事、信理，願則厭離娑婆欣求極樂，行則執持名號一心不亂。信自者，信我現前一念之心本非肉團亦非緣影，竪無初後、橫絕邊涯，終日隨緣、終日不變。十方虛空微塵國土，元我一念心中所現之物，我今雖復昏迷倒惑，苟能一念回心，決定得生自己心中本具極樂，更無疑慮，是名信自。信他者，信彼釋迦如來決無誑語，彌陀世尊決無虛願，六方諸佛廣長舌決無二言，隨順諸佛真實教誨，決志求生更無疑惑，是名信他。信因者，深信散亂稱名猶為成佛種子，何況一心不亂安得不非生淨土因！是名信因。信果者，深信淨土上善聚會皆從念佛三昧得生，譬如種瓜得瓜、種豆得豆，亦如影必隨形、響必應聲，決無虛棄，是名信果。信事者，深信只今現前一念不可盡故，所以依心所現一切十方世界亦不可盡，實有極樂國土在十萬億土之外，最極清淨莊嚴不同莊生寓言，是名信事。信理者，深信極樂國土雖在十萬億土之遠，而實不出我只今現前介爾一念心外，以吾現前一念心性實無外故。又復，深信西方若依正、若主伴，皆吾現前一念妙明真心中所現影，全事即理、全妄即真、全修即性、全他即自，我心遍故佛心亦遍，佛心遍故一切眾生心性亦遍。譬一室千燈光光互遍，重重交攝不相妨礙，是名信理。如此信已，則娑婆即自心所感之穢，而自心穢理應厭離；極樂即自心所感之淨，而自心之淨理應欣求，厭穢須捨至究竟方無可捨，欣淨須取至究竟方無可取。故《妙宗鈔》云：取捨若極，與不取捨亦非異轍。今設不從事於取捨，但尚不取不捨，即是執理廢事，既廢於事，理亦非圓。若達全事即理，則取亦即理、捨亦即理，一取一捨無非法界，故次信之後而明願也。言執持名號一心不亂者，名以召德，德既不可思議，故名號亦功德亦復不可思議，名號功德不可思議，故使散亂稱名為佛種，況執持至一心不亂，安有不徑登不退者乎！然諸經所示淨土要行萬別千差，如觀像、觀想、禮拜、供養、五悔、六念等，一一行成皆生淨土；而惟此持名一法，收機最廣下手最易，故釋迦慈尊於此經中無問自說，特向大智舍利弗拈出，可謂方便中之第一方便，了義中無上了義，圓頓中最極圓頓。故古人云：明珠投於濁水，濁水不得不清；佛號投於亂心，亂心不得不佛也。信願持名以為一乘真因，四種淨土以為一乘妙果，舉因則果必隨之，故以信願持名為經正宗。至於四種淨土之相，詳在《妙宗鈔》及《梵網玄義》，茲不具述，俟後消釋依正文中，當略點示耳。

Third, clarifying the guiding principle: The guiding principle is the essential path of cultivation, the pivotal mechanism for realizing the substance, and the guiding thread of the myriad practices. When the thread is lifted, all meshes open; when the collar is taken up, the lapels and sleeves follow. Therefore, following the substance, one must discern the guiding principle. This sūtra takes faith, aspiration, and recollection of the name as the essential guiding principle of cultivation. Without faith, it is insufficient to give rise to aspiration; without aspiration, it is insufficient to guide practice; without the wonderful practice of recollection of the name, it is insufficient to fulfill what is aspired to and realize what is believed. Therefore, in the sūtra, it first expounds the circumstantial and direct retribution of Sukhāvatī to generate faith; next it encourages that one should generate aspiration to guide practice; next it shows that seven days of holding the name directly leads to ascending to avivartika. Faith means believing in self, believing in other, believing in cause, believing in effect, believing in phenomena, and believing in noumenon. Aspiration means being repulsed by and departing Sahā, and rejoicing in and seeking Sukhāvatī. Practice means holding firmly to the name with one mind undisturbed. Believing in self means believing that my present single thought of the mind is originally neither a lump of flesh nor shadows of conditions; vertically it has no beginning or end, and horizontally it cuts off boundaries; all day it accords with conditions, and all day it is unchanging. The dust-mote lands of the empty space of the ten directions are originally things manifest within my single thought of the mind. Although I am now confused, deluded, and inverted, if I can turn my mind in a single thought, I will certainly be reborn in the Sukhāvatī originally possessed within my own mind, without any further doubt or hesitation: this is called believing in self. Believing in other means believing that Śākyamuni Tathāgata definitely has no deceptive speech, Amitābha the World-Honoured One definitely has no empty vows, and the broad and long tongues of the Buddhas of the six directions definitely have no twofold speech; according with the true instructions of all Buddhas, with a resolved will one seeks rebirth without any further doubt or hesitation: this is called believing in other. Believing in cause means deeply believing that even reciting the name with a scattered mind is still the seed for becoming a Buddha; how much more so with one mind undisturbed—how could it not be the cause of rebirth in the Pure Land! This is called believing in cause. Believing in effect means deeply believing that the gathering of the supremely good persons in the Pure Land is entirely born from buddhānusmṛti-samādhi; just as planting melons yields melons and planting beans yields beans, or as a shadow must follow a form and an echo must answer a sound, it is definitely never in vain: this is called believing in effect. Believing in phenomena means deeply believing that because this present single thought right now cannot be exhausted, all worlds of the ten directions manifest relying on the mind likewise cannot be exhausted; there truly exists the land of Sukhāvatī beyond a hundred thousand koṭis of lands, exquisitely pure and adorned, unlike Master Zhuang's allegories: this is called believing in phenomena. Believing in noumenon means deeply believing that although the land of Sukhāvatī is distant by a hundred thousand koṭis of lands, in truth it does not go beyond my present, minute single thought of the mind right now, because the nature of the mind of our present single thought truly has no exterior. Furthermore, it means deeply believing that the Western direction's circumstantial and direct retributions, whether host or companions, are all shadows manifest within my present single thought of the wondrous, bright, true mind; the entirety of phenomena is noumenon, the entirety of delusion is truth, the entirety of cultivation is nature, and the entirety of other is self. Because my mind is pervasive, the Buddha's mind is also pervasive; because the Buddha's mind is pervasive, the nature of the mind of all sentient beings is also pervasive. For example, in a room with a thousand lamps, the lights pervade each other, interpenetrating layer upon layer without obstructing one another: this is called believing in noumenon. Having believed in this way, Sahā is the defilement felt by one's own mind, and one's own defiled mind ought in principle to be repulsed and departed; Sukhāvatī is the purity felt by one's own mind, and one's own pure mind ought in principle to be rejoiced in and sought. Repulsing defilement must be relinquished to the ultimate before there is nothing left to relinquish; rejoicing in purity must be grasped to the ultimate before there is nothing left to grasp. Therefore, the Miaozong chao says: 'If grasping and relinquishing are taken to the extreme, they are not a different path from non-grasping and non-relinquishing.' Now, if one does not apply oneself to grasping and relinquishing, but merely prizes non-grasping and non-relinquishing, this is clinging to noumenon and abandoning phenomena; having abandoned phenomena, the noumenon is also not perfect. If one penetrates that the entirety of phenomena is noumenon, then grasping is noumenon and relinquishing is also noumenon; every single act of grasping and relinquishing is nothing other than the dharmadhātu. Therefore, after faith, aspiration is clarified. As for 'holding firmly to the name with one mind undisturbed': the name summons virtue; since the virtue is inconceivable, the merit of the name is also inconceivable. Because the merit of the name is inconceivable, it causes even invoking the name with a scattered mind to become the seed of buddhahood; how much more so holding firmly to it to the point of one mind undisturbed—how could one not directly ascend to avivartika! However, the essential practices of the Pure Land shown across the sūtras are myriad and varied, such as contemplating the image, visualization, prostrations, offerings, the five repentances, the six mindfulnesses, and so forth; when each and every practice is perfected, one is reborn in the Pure Land. Yet only this single Dharma of holding firmly to the name gathers the broadest capacities and is easiest to start with. Therefore, the compassionate honored Śākyamuni expounded it without inquiry in this sūtra, specifically picking it out for Śāriputra of Great Wisdom; it can be called the foremost skillful means among skillful means, the unsurpassable definitive meaning among definitive meanings, and the most extremely perfect and sudden among the perfect and sudden. Therefore the ancients said: 'When a bright pearl is cast into turbid water, the turbid water cannot but become clear; when the Buddha's name is cast into a scattered mind, the scattered mind cannot but become Buddha.' Faith, aspiration, and holding firmly to the name serve as the true cause of the ekayāna, and the four kinds of pure lands serve as the wondrous fruit of the ekayāna; when the cause is raised, the fruit must follow. Therefore, faith, aspiration, and holding firmly to the name are taken as the sūtra's correct guiding principle. As for the marks of the four kinds of pure lands, they are detailed in the Miaozong chao and the Fanwang xuanyi and are not fully stated here; when explaining the text on circumstantial and direct retribution later, I shall point them out briefly.