釋淨土群疑論 7.51

7.51

釋曰：斯益也無量無邊，備在《花嚴》、《賢護經》等廣陳其益，豈茲能述？然略舉三五以相顯示。一見聖眾、二聞正法、三滅重罪、四生淨土、五諸定根本、六當成佛。一見聖眾者，如《賢護經》第一卷說「善男子善女人，端坐係念，專心想彼阿彌陀佛，如是相好、如是威儀、如是大眾、如是說法。如聞係念，一心相續，次第不亂。或經一日一夜如是，或至七日七夜，必覩阿彌陀如來。若晝時不見，或睡夢中必當見也。」二聞正法者，以見阿彌陀佛世尊為說甚深妙法，謂一切法本來不壞，亦無壞者。如不壞色，乃至不壞識等諸陰。聞如是等大乘言教。三滅重罪者，《觀佛三昧海經》言「此三昧，是一切眾生犯戒者藥，破戒者護、失道者導、盲瞑者眼、愚癡者慧、黑闇者燈、煩惱賊中是勇猛將。」又下經言「如來今者為未來世五苦眾生、犯戒比丘、不善惡人、五逆誹謗、行十六種惡律儀者，為如是等說除罪法。」四生淨土者，《華嚴經》言「念佛三昧必見佛，命終之後生佛前。見彼臨終勸念佛，又示尊像令瞻敬。」又《觀經》言「行此三昧者，現身得見無量壽佛及二大士觀音勢至而為勝友，當坐道場，生諸佛家。」五諸定根本者，《觀佛三昧海經》說「諸大三昧始出生處。」六當成佛者，《賢護經》說「彼於當來必得成佛，號曰善覺如來。」又賢護菩薩以一百二十問問世尊：「菩薩具足成就何等三昧，而能得彼大功德聚？」如是一百二十問，乃至問：「云何當得一剎那時間行即能遍至一切諸佛前？即復云何當得住此佛剎，遍見一切十方諸佛，聽聞正法供養眾僧。非但未得出世六通，而實未得世間五通，而亦未捨此世界身，亦無生彼諸佛國土。唯住此土，見餘世界諸佛世尊，悉聞諸佛所宣正法，一切聽受，如說修行。譬如今時聖者阿難，於世尊前親聞法已，皆悉受持？」佛告賢護：「有三昧，名曰思惟諸佛現前三昧。若有菩薩具足修習如是三昧，當得成就如上所問諸功德等。賢護當知，更有無量無邊勝上功德，說不可盡。」故知此三昧所獲勝利，卒陳難盡。

I explain: These benefits are immeasurable and boundless; they are fully set forth in the Avataṃsaka, the Bhadrapāla Sūtra, and so forth, in extensive detail—how could they be recounted here? Yet I shall briefly mention five or six to indicate them: first, seeing the noble assembly; second, hearing the true Dharma; third, extinguishing grave sins; fourth, being born in the pure land; fifth, serving as the root of all meditative concentrations; sixth, becoming a buddha in the future. First, seeing the noble assembly: as stated in the first fascicle of the Bhadrapāla Sūtra, "Good sons and good daughters, sitting upright with focused mindfulness, visualize that Amitābha Buddha single-mindedly—his marks and characteristics like this, his demeanor like this, his great assembly like this, his teaching of the Dharma like this. Focusing mindfulness as heard, in unbroken single-minded succession without confusion: doing so for one day and one night, or up to seven days and seven nights, they will surely behold Amitābha Tathāgata. If they do not see him in the daytime, they will surely see him in a dream." Second, hearing the true Dharma: because they see the World-Honoured One Amitābha preach the profound and wondrous Dharma for them, saying that all dharmas are originally indestructible, nor is there anyone who destroys them; just as form is indestructible, up to consciousness and the other aggregates are indestructible. They hear such Mahāyāna spoken teachings. Third, extinguishing grave sins: the Guanfo sanmei hai jing says, "This samādhi is medicine for all sentient beings who have violated the precepts, a protector for those who have broken the precepts, a guide for those who have lost the path, eyes for the blind, wisdom for the foolish, a lamp in darkness, and a valiant general amidst the bandits of affliction." Furthermore, a later passage of the sūtra states, "The Tathāgata now, for the sake of sentient beings of the future age suffering the five afflictions, monks who have violated the precepts, unwholesome and evil persons, those who have committed the five heinous sins or slander, and those who practice the sixteen kinds of evil discipline—for all such persons he preaches the Dharma that eradicates sin." Fourth, being born in the pure land: the Avataṃsaka Sūtra states, "With the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi one will surely see the buddhas, and after life ends one will be born before the buddhas. Seeing those facing the end of life, one urges them to buddhānusmṛti, and also displays the revered image to cause them to gaze in reverence." Also, the Guan jing says, "Those who practice this samādhi will in their present bodies see the Buddha of Immeasurable Life and the two great beings Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta as superior friends; they will sit in the place of awakening and be born into the house of the buddhas." Fifth, serving as the root of all meditative concentrations: the Guanfo sanmei hai jing says that it is "the place from which all great samādhis first arise." Sixth, becoming a buddha in the future: the Bhadrapāla Sūtra says, "In the future, they will surely attain buddhahood, with the name Good Awakening Tathāgata." Furthermore, the Bodhisattva Bhadrapāla asked the World-Honoured One with one hundred and twenty questions: "Equipped with and accomplishing what kind of samādhi can a bodhisattva obtain that great mass of merit?" Such were the one hundred and twenty questions, down to asking: "How can one, in the space of a single moment, travel swiftly and reach before all buddhas everywhere? How can one further dwell in this buddha-field and yet see all the buddhas of the ten directions everywhere, hear the true Dharma, and make offerings to the saṃgha? Not only without having attained the six supramundane supernormal powers, but without even having attained the five mundane supernormal powers, and also without abandoning the body of this world or being born in those buddha-lands, merely by dwelling in this land, see the World-Honoured Buddhas of other worlds, hear all the true Dharma proclaimed by the buddhas, listen to and receive everything, and practice as taught—just as the noble Ānanda at present, having personally heard the Dharma before the World-Honoured One, receives and retains it all?" The Buddha told Bhadrapāla: "There is a samādhi called the samādhi of contemplating the buddhas standing before one. If there is a bodhisattva who fully cultivates such a samādhi, he will accomplish the various merits and so forth inquired about above. Bhadrapāla, you should know that there are further immeasurable and boundless superior merits, beyond description." Therefore, one knows that the superior benefits gained by this samādhi can hardly be set forth in full.