略論安樂淨土義 1.47

1.47

"At first glance, speaking of the continuity of ten thoughts seems not difficult. Yet the minds of ordinary beings are like wild horses and their consciousnesses worse than monkeys, galloping across the six sense dusts without ceasing even for a moment. One should cultivate sincere faith and discipline one's thoughts in advance, so that through accumulated habit it becomes one's nature and one's wholesome roots become firm. As the Buddha told King Bimbisāra: 'When a person accumulates wholesome deeds, at death they will have no unwholesome thoughts. Just as a tree that leans to the west will certainly fall in the direction of its slant.' If the knife-winds suddenly arrive and a hundred sufferings converge upon the body, if the prior practice is not already held in the mind, how could mindfulness be accomplished?