釋淨土群疑論 5
English (machine translation) 5
- Language
- English
5.1
Composed by the Great Worthy Huaigan of Qianfu Monastery in the Western Capital
5.2
Question: The Buddhapiṭaka Sūtra states: 'What is called an evil spiritual friend? What is called a good spiritual friend? The Buddha told Śāriputra: "If there is a monk who teaches other monks, 'You should be mindful of the Buddha, mindful of the Dharma, mindful of the Saṅgha, mindful of the precepts, mindful of generosity, mindful of the heavens. In such things, only contemplate nirvāṇa as peaceful, tranquil, and extinguished, and only cherish ultimate purity'—one who teaches in this way is called a false teacher and an evil spiritual friend. This person is called one who slanders me and assists the non-Buddhists. For such an evil person, I do not permit receiving even a single drink of water to sustain themselves as one who practices the teachings of Māra."' It also states: 'It is better to commit the grave sins of the five inexpiables than to form the view of a self, the view of a sentient being, the view of a soul, the view of a life-principle, the views of the aggregates, realms, and bases, and so forth—all of which consist in practicing buddhānusmṛti and the like with a mind of apprehension (upalambha).' The World-Honoured One offered various reproaches such as these. The same sūtra text also states: 'Hearing the Dharma of emptiness and non-apprehension, one spontaneously realizes: "What I previously held were all wrong views; regarding the Dharma of emptiness and non-apprehension I have no doubts and no regrets, penetrating it deeply, and not relying on any views of a self or views of a person." I say that this person is one of pure brahmacarya, and so forth.' Now, since you encourage people to engage in buddhānusmṛti with characteristics using a mind of apprehension, is this not reproached by the Buddhas?
5.3
Explanation: When the Buddhas teach the Dharma, it is always to adapt to capacities. Capacities have the distinctions of deep and shallow, great and small; delusions have the differences of persons and dharmas, of view and cultivation. Therefore they present the essentials of the Dharma to transform those capacities of living beings, sometimes reproaching existence and praising emptiness, sometimes deprecating emptiness and extolling existence, sometimes causing them to abandon the Small and study the Great, or sometimes causing them to study the Small Vehicle first and then study the Great Vehicle. Thus, capacities have ten thousand paths, and the Dharma amounts to eighty thousand [teachings]; transforming living beings in accordance with conditions is difficult to conceive. Just as this sūtra says, reproaching the mind of apprehension, it is better to commit the sins of the five inexpiables; yet other holy teachings also state: 'It is better to arouse the view of a self as high as Mount Sumeru than to arouse the view of emptiness even as small as a mustard seed.' Moreover, just as the Lotus Sūtra states, 'One must not associate with scholars of the Small Vehicle Tripiṭaka,' while the Daśacakra Sūtra states, 'Lacking the power to drink from ponds and rivers, how could one swallow the great ocean? Without practicing the Small Vehicle Dharma, how could one study the Great Vehicle?' Such Mahāyāna sūtras as these, reproaching existence and reproaching emptiness, praising the Great and praising the Small, have no fixed doctrine; they are all due to adapting to different capacities. Furthermore, the Buddha has the two bodies of the true and the responsive, and practitioners have the two differences of beginners and advanced. The dharmakāya is profound and subtle, free from existence and free from non-existence, with the four propositions both eradicated and the hundred negations entirely extinguished. This is when practitioners of deep study can remain unperturbed in mind regarding the ultimate truth, yet they still dwell upon and cling to characteristics, unable to extinguish the mind of discrimination. Therefore, this sūtra reproaches the mind of apprehension, causing them to eliminate the two attachments to person and dharmas, bringing them to contemplate the Dharma of non-apprehension and practice mindfulness of the Buddha of the dharmakāya. Hence this sūtra text states, 'Seeing non-existence is called buddhānusmṛti.' If beginners abandon the heterodox and return to the orthodox, generate the bodhicitta, and aspire to be born in the pure land, they have not yet understood how to settle their minds in non-apprehension; or if they contemplate emptiness and say that cause and effect are extinguished, they will consequently have no heart to fear sin and will arouse further hindrances and bondages. If one does not expound for them the causes and effects of good and evil, the distinctions of purity and defilement, and the inconceivable physical marks of the Buddhas, how could they generate that good mind, fear these sinful hindrances, loathe this defiled land, delight in that pure realm, focus their thoughts on the white curl between the eyebrows, attentively contemplate the marks, eliminate their accumulation of sins, and accomplish those superior causes? Therefore, contemplating the physical body is encouraged to teach these beginners. Hence, the first fascicle of the Bhadrapāla Sūtra states: 'Bhadrapāla! If monks, nuns, and others purely maintain the precepts and are complete in all practices, thus reflecting on whatever direction, such as the Western Amitābha Buddha, thinking and recollecting thus: "That Buddha, the Perfectly Awakened One, is now in the West." Binding their thoughts, reflecting, and contemplating without ceasing, clear and distinct, they will ultimately succeed in seeing that Amitābha Buddha. In this way they contemplate the physical body.' Further below, the sūtra also states: 'Now Amitābha Tathāgata, the Arhat, the Perfectly Awakened One, possesses such thirty-two marks and eighty minor characteristics, the light of his body color being like a heap of molten gold... in this way, even down to not being mindful of that Tathāgata, nor apprehending that Tathāgata's physical form—in this sequence one attains the samādhi of emptiness. Good son! This is the samādhi of the Buddhas' presence.' Furthermore, the Guanfo sanmei hai jing says: 'The Tathāgata also possesses the dharmakāya's ten powers, four fearlessnesses, three liberations, and various supernatural workings. Such subtle points are not the sphere of study for you ordinary people; you should only generate thoughts of rejoicing with a deep mind. Having generated this thought, you should again bind your mindfulness and be mindful of the Buddha's virtues.' Therefore, we know that beginners contemplate that physical body, while advanced practitioners are mindful of the dharmakāya; hence it says 'in this sequence one attains the samādhi of emptiness.' Furthermore, for those who take joy in contemplating the Buddha of principle, he manifests the formless body; for those who seek to be mindful of the phenomenal body, he expounds the form possessing the physical marks. One must properly comprehend the sūtra's intention and not give rise to a mind of deprecation or praise, marveling at how the Great Sage skillfully adapts to faculties and capacities.
5.4
Question: The pure lands of the ten directions are immeasurable and boundless, and there are also teachings encouraging cultivation to be born in various Buddha lands. For what reason is one now solely encouraged to attain rebirth in Sukhāvatī?
5.5
Explanation: There are three explanations for this: first, there is exposition without encouragement; second, there is encouragement but few [suitable] capacities; third, the text of encouragement is incomplete. First, regarding 'exposition without encouragement': as the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says, 'Passing beyond forty-two Ganges-sands of worlds to the west of here, there is a marvelous pure land named Aparājita, which is entirely identical to the Western Sukhāvatī without any difference. The Tathāgata relinquished that pure land and came to be born in this Sahā world to teach and transform sentient beings.' If any pure land can simply be aspired to, why did Śākyamuni Tathāgata not encourage rebirth in his own pure land, but solely encouraged rebirth in Sukhāvatī? Even across the various Mahāyāna sūtras, although pure lands are expounded, there are no passages encouraging rebirth [there]. Second, regarding 'encouragement but few [suitable] capacities': as when Vimalakīrti brought the Abhirati world from afar and set it down in this land to show it to the great assembly, the Buddha encouraged the great assembly to be born in that land. There were fourteen nayutas of people who generated the bodhicitta and aspired to be born in that land, and the Buddha predicted their future birth. Then it says below: 'The Abhirati world, having completed what it should do to benefit this land, returned to its original place.' If all sentient beings were fittingly able to be born in this pure land, why did the Tathāgata, aside from those fourteen nayutas of people, ultimately not universally encourage the original sentient beings to be born in Abhirati, saying instead that Abhirati had completed its benefiting, and so forth? Therefore, we know that because the karmic capacity was absent, he did not encourage it. Third, regarding 'the text of encouragement is incomplete': sūtras such as the Suiyuan wangsheng jing and the Bhaiṣajyaguru Sūtra, although pointing to pure lands of other directions and encouraging people to attain rebirth there, do not have comprehensive texts. What is comprehensive? For example, in the Guan jing and other sūtras encouraging rebirth in the West: first, ordinary people are revealed; second, the future is clarified; third, the committing of sins is made clear; fourth, there is the testimony of the Buddhas of the ten directions extending their tongues; fifth, there are multiple texts of sūtras bearing identical witness. Relying on them to cultivate and study, there are no doubts or obstacles; therefore, this karma for the Western pure land is easy to rely on and practice. Since the other sūtras lack the aforementioned texts and have only a sentence or two encouraging rebirth, they are difficult to rely upon. Why should one abandon vast and numerous passages and take up minor sūtra texts? Furthermore, the sūtra texts encourage relying on nītārtha sūtras and not relying on neyārtha sūtras. The Tripiṭaka Master explained that there are four kinds of nītārtha and neyārtha sūtras, whose meanings have already been fully set forth in the Commentary on the Guan jing. Now, this teaching of the Pure Land possesses all four meanings and is a nītārtha sūtra; therefore, one can rely on it to cultivate pure practices. Although the textual meaning of other sūtras expounds pure lands, they do not possess the four meanings and are neyārtha; it is difficult to rely on them to cultivate pure karma.
5.6
Question: Treatises say that at the end of life, taking birth occurs only while abiding in upekṣā-vedanā. Why does the Guan jing state, 'Dancing with great joy, one sees one's own body mounted on the vajra seat'? Since prīti-vedanā is strong, how could one give up life?
5.7
Explanation: One master explains: Taking birth in an impure land has no holy beings to welcome one, so one ends life solely while dwelling in a mind of upekṣā-vedanā. Taking birth in a pure land has the holy assembly coming to welcome one, so when the practitioner ends their life, by receiving the compassionate empowerment of the Great Sage's power, they can also end life in the state of prīti-vedanā. The treatises mostly speak on the basis of taking birth in an impure land, so they make this statement; it cannot serve as a precedent. Another says: Attaining rebirth in the pure land also occurs with life ending while dwelling in a mind of upekṣā-vedanā, because the nature of the mind of upekṣā-vedanā is weak and pliant, thus according with that end of life, whereas the mind of prīti-vedanā is strong and cannot give up life. When the sūtra speaks of 'dancing with great joy' and so forth, this refers to the mind on the verge of death, not the mind at the exact moment of death. The sūtra and the treatises each rely on one meaning, and they do not contradict each other.
5.8
Question: In the Guan jing it is said, 'At the brink of death, one recitation or ten recitations will also secure rebirth in the Pure Land.' The Amitābha Sūtra says, 'For one day to seven days with single-minded unperturbed focus, only then is one born in the pure land.' The Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra says, 'To the end of one's physical life, single-mindedly and exclusively being mindful of the Buddha, only then does one attain rebirth in Sukhāvatī.' If one only attains rebirth by being mindful of the Buddha to the end of one's life, then one day to seven days, or one recitation to ten recitations, would be empty talk. If one recitation or ten recitations and so forth also secure rebirth, why is it necessary to further teach seven days, or practicing mindfulness of the Buddha exclusively to the end of one's life?
5.9
The explanation says: One recitation, ten recitations, one day to seven days, and to the end of one's physical life—all achieve rebirth in the Sukhāvatī world; none of these is empty talk, and all are true words. The Great Holy World-Honoured One speaks what is real and true; how could there be any falsity or erroneous teaching? However, when sentient beings practicing buddhānusmṛti hear the teachings on the Pure Land, some are early and some are late; when they generate the aspiration [for awakening], some are tardy and some are swift; and their lifespans may be long or short. Therefore the sūtras explain it differently. If on the verge of death someone only then meets a virtuous friend who instructs them, and upon generating the mind they practice buddhānusmṛti, they will also attain rebirth; though they ascend to purity, this corresponds only to the lower class. If one's lifespan has not yet run out and several days pass before dying, or if for one day, two days, or even over many days they are able to recite the Buddha's name completely free from distraction, then in accordance with their lifespan they are instructed to invoke the Buddha's name for one day or more. If their lifespan is long and they do not die young for many days, they are instructed to invoke the Buddha's name to the end of their lifespan. One cannot instruct someone whose life is pressing and brief to practice buddhānusmṛti for a long time, nor can one instruct someone living a full hundred years to recite the name for merely one day. Therefore the texts of all three sūtras encourage buddhānusmṛti; each accords with a particular principle, and so their instructions for mindfulness differ, yet they do not obstruct each other and their meanings do not contradict. Thus the Guan jing addresses those approaching death: as few as one recitation or ten recitations will also achieve rebirth. The Amitābha Sūtra addresses those who will die after several days: being able to practice buddhānusmṛti will also bring rebirth in the pure land. The Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra addresses those of long life who do not die quickly: their long cultivation of merit is greatest, or they cultivate mindfulness for extended times and long days. Furthermore, these three distinctions correspond to the cultivation of the three grades: the superior speaks of one's whole life, the intermediate speaks of days, and the inferior speaks of moments of time. Because within each of the nine grades there are many varieties, although all attain rebirth and are entirely free from suffering, the timing of the lotus opening and awakening to the Way differs. The differences in the sūtras' teachings are due to this intent.
5.10
The objection asks: This Sahā world possesses ten excellent matters that the other pure lands lack. Furthermore, cultivating the Way in this realm for one day and one night surpasses one hundred years in the Sukhāvatī world. According to these scriptural passages, cultivating the Way in this defiled land surpasses taking birth in the pure land. Why, then, is one urged to be reborn in the West?
5.11
The explanation says: If it were as you object, none of the doctrinal teachings on the Pure Land ought to be spoken. Since the benefits stated in the sūtras cited above are absent in the pure lands, why do the various Pure Land teachings repeatedly and earnestly exhort people to vow to be reborn there? What is the purpose? Now, these two sūtras praise and exhort differently according to the capacities [of beings]. Praising those who remain here is meant to enable bodhisattvas, even though dwelling in a defiled land, not to lose their own practice, to be able to benefit suffering sentient beings abundantly, and because their practice of great compassion is supreme, dwelling in the defiled land is praised. There are other bodhisattvas who, dwelling in the defiled land, encounter evil conditions and commit numerous offenses; therefore the Tathāgata exhorts those sentient beings to be born in the pure land to sever evil conditions forever and avoid cyclic existence—hence he exhorts bodhisattvas to be born in the pure land. The intents of these two sūtras correspond to two distinct types of bodhisattva faculties. How could one cite the passages from sūtras like the Vimalakīrti praising the bodhisattvas who dwell in the defiled land and benefit sentient beings, and then immediately claim: 'I will merely cultivate the Way in this defiled land; why would I need to be born in that pure land?' Although we know that one day of cultivating the Way here equals one hundred years there, nonetheless, because seeing Buddhas and meeting virtuous spiritual friends are rare here, while encountering bad companions and conditions for retrogression are numerous, one is urged to be reborn in the pure land. As the twenty-eighth section, the Sūryarahasya section of the Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra, says: 'Good man! All the sentient beings in that Buddha-world have firm and solid afflictions, and their fetters are profound and heavy. Their forms are ugly and vile; they frequently give rise to arrogance, harsh speech, and duplicity, and remain far from truthful words. Though foolish in reality, they display the appearance of wisdom; though frequently giving rise to stinginess and greed, they display the appearance of renunciation and giving; though filled with flattery and deceit, they display the appearance of straightforwardness; though their minds are mostly turbid and confused, they display the appearance of purity; though filled with jealousy, they display the appearance of gentleness; though delighting in alienating others, they display the appearance of harmony; though frequently giving rise to wrong views, they display the appearance of right views. The sentient beings of that land follow women's words, and therefore they cut off their roots of goodness and augment the three evil destinies. Good man, could you now serve as my messenger to go to that land?' and so on. At that time, the Bodhisattva Sūryarahasya said to the Buddha: 'World-Honoured One, I can go there to proclaim this dhāraṇī, but I feel terror regarding that land. Why? Because the Tathāgata just now proclaimed to me that the sentient beings of that land have many vices and evils, being like those born deaf, born blind, and born mute, and they follow women's wishes. World-Honoured One, if anyone follows women's wishes, know that such a person permanently cuts off their roots of goodness.' The Buddha said: 'Good man, you should not act for present benefit and afterward [regret it]; you must go simply to proclaim it for the benefit of all sentient beings, and do not give rise to doubt. Good man, are you not the Vimalakīrti of that land? Why do you give rise to fear? Furthermore, there are immeasurable and countless bodhisattvas whose minds are agitated and anxious; with utmost sincerity they fix their thoughts, wishing to approach and pay homage to Śākyamuni Tathāgata and the great assembly, and desiring to listen to and receive the subtle and wondrous great scriptures. Such a great assembly all share the single intention to go to that realm; for their sake I wish to speak of a great matter. Why? Because the minds of this great assembly are not yet settled; if they go to that realm, they might develop inversions and draw near to bad companions.' That Buddha told him: 'Good man, you should not give rise to feelings of fear. Those who are called unsettled bodhisattvas are bodhisattvas in the initial stages of retrogressive practice, named "unsettled." Because they are unsettled, it is feared that coming to this place they may encounter bad conditions, retrogress, and commit evil. Bodhisattvas of that land, merely coming temporarily to this Sahā world, still feel fear and dare not come here.' A practitioner today is not yet an irreversible bodhisattva, and yet wishes to dwell in the Sahā world to cultivate the Way without wishing to be reborn in the West—this is a grave error. The seventy-eighth fascicle of the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra cites the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra, saying: 'Mañjuśrī purposefully asked the Buddha: "World-Honoured One, among all defiled lands, what matters are easy to find and what matters are difficult to find? Among all pure lands, what matters are easy to find and what matters are difficult to find?" "Good man! In all defiled lands, eight matters are easy to find and two matters are difficult to find. What are the eight matters that are easy to find? First, non-Buddhists; second, suffering sentient beings; third, differences in the rise and fall of lineages and family power; fourth, practicing evil deeds; fifth, violating the precepts (śīla); sixth, evil destinies; seventh, the inferior vehicle; eighth, bodhisattvas of inferior aspiration and application. What are the two matters that are difficult to find? First, the gathering and roaming of bodhisattvas of superior aspiration and application; second, the appearance of a Tathāgata in the world. Good man! In all pure lands, the opposite is true: know that the eight matters are extremely difficult to find, and the two matters are easy to find."' For these reasons, rebirth in the pure land is frequently encouraged.
5.12
The objection asks: In the pure land there are no three evil destinies, yet there are apparitional birds preaching the Dharma. In the pure land there are no real women; are there also apparitional women preaching the Dharma or not?
5.13
The explanation says: There are two explanations. One explanation says: There are only apparitional birds and no apparitional women. Why? Because the sūtras only state that there are apparitional birds, and do not state that there are apparitional women. If there were, the sūtra texts would also have stated it. Furthermore, the Pure Land Treatise states: 'Women and those with defective sense faculties, as well as the seed of the two vehicles, are not born there.' The objection counters: The sūtras state that the apparitional adornments of the pure land—how could they be described exhaustively? The Chengzan jingtu jing says: 'Even if the World-Honoured One were to abide in the world for hundreds of thousands of kalpas, manifesting countless tongues to describe the adornments of that pure land, they could not be exhausted.' How can one say they do not exist merely because they are not mentioned? The second explanation says: That realm has apparitional women. As the Guanyin shouji jing says: 'Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva manifests countless women'—is this not an instance of apparitional women? The Guyinsheng wang jing states: 'Amitābha Buddha has a father and a mother.' To transform those of lower rank, women are manifested; to transform those of higher rank, it is taught that there are no women. There is no contradiction between these.
5.14
The objection asks: As the Mile fawen jing states: 'The ten recitations are not the mindfulness of ordinary fools, nor are they mindfulness mixed with fetters.' How can ordinary, foolish sentient beings fully endowed with afflictions produce that mindfulness which is unmixed with fetters?
5.15
The explanation says: When it says 'not the mindfulness of ordinary fools,' does it mean it is the mindfulness of holy persons? When it says 'mindfulness unmixed with fetters,' does it mean the mindfulness of those who have completely severed afflictions? The intent of this sūtra is to clarify that it is not the mindfulness of ordinary fools, but not to state that it is the mindfulness of holy persons; it is to clarify that it is mindfulness unmixed with fetters, but not to explain it as the mindfulness of those who have severed delusions. It merely aims to clarify that these ten kinds of mindfulness are able to abandon the place of wandering in the Sahā world and accord with the causes that generate supramundane liberation. Ordinary, foolish sentient beings mostly delight in the defiled lands of the three realms, taking birth in accordance with the stream of saṃsāra and increasing the karma of afflictions and various fetters. Now, cultivating the ten recitations and vowing to be born in the pure land turns against the stream of saṃsāra, overturns onto the path of nirvāṇa, turns toward the holy Dharma, and accords with the gateway of severing delusions. Therefore it is said to be 'not the mindfulness of ordinary fools' and 'mindfulness unmixed with fetters.' Just as the full bhikṣu precepts and so forth are called precepts received by the noble, does that mean ordinary persons ought not to receive them? This is just the same, and can be understood by analogy.
5.16
The objection asks: If mindfulness of Amitābha Buddha brings rebirth in the West, it requires many days and years to be born in the pure land, and one must also diligently, sincerely, and vigorously invoke the Buddha's name for a long duration. But if one can also be born in the pure land by practicing buddhānusmṛti with utmost sincerity at the point of death, then consider this: in a human lifespan of a hundred years, pleasures are few and worries are many; parting is easy and reunion is difficult; moments of joyful entertainment are brief. One should simply pursue the five desires, give free rein to the six emotions, hold candles to make merry through the night, and gather for revelry night after night—and then on the day of death invoke the Buddha with a single utterance to instantly attain rebirth and permanently transcend all sufferings! Why is it necessary to endure long-term austerities and earnest devotion, practicing the four cultivations without wearying and keeping the three karmas never idle? Since both equally allow one to cross beyond Sahā, why go to the trouble of long-term austerities?
5.17
I explain: There are several points here. One cannot hear the pure teaching beforehand and cast it aside without practicing it, waiting until the time of death to finally practice buddhānusmṛti. First, if your desire to be reborn in the pure Buddha land is merely out of a wish to escape this suffering and affliction to be born in that Western direction, without seeking unexcelled bodhi and without practicing the bodhisattva path, but only wanting to indulge your desires among jeweled trees and give free rein to your whims on precious terraces, without wishing to awaken to the unproduced, then you cling to this single thought at the verge of death. But if it is for the sake of setting your intention on the fruit of buddhahood to realize sambodhi, pitying sentient beings so as to quickly realize correct awakening, fearing that in this defiled land you might regress from bodhi, and going to that pure land only to augment the practice of wondrous deeds, ascend to the non-regressing stage, and save suffering sentient beings, then you would wish to fully cultivate the myriad practices continuously for a long time. Why, upon hearing the pure Dharma now, would you refuse to practice it, and instead engage in pride and luxury, broadly indulging in heedlessness, only practicing buddhānusmṛti at the verge of death to attain rebirth? If you wish to seek the supreme great fruit earnestly, generating the bodhicitta and vowing to be reborn in the pure land, what you should lament is drifting through birth and death, sinking from beginningless time. Hearing the teaching of the Western Pure Land expounded, your body's hairs should all stand on end as if plucked out; you should weep tears like rain, lamenting that you heard this Dharma so late, only in this life. You should then be diligent day and night, single-minded and unflagging. How could you hear the Buddha's pure teaching, yet further indulge your six senses, committing the ten unwholesome deeds day and night, postponing it until your dying day to finally recite the Buddha's name? Such shameless talk—how could it be reasonable? Furthermore, if reciting the Buddha's name at the verge of death and reciting the name over a long time were of no different efficacy and their awakening to the Way had no distinction, one might concede to your words to postpone it until later. However, as recitations increase, each thought increases the Way, and the effort is not in vain: karmic guilt becomes subtler while blessings and virtues gradually grow superior, accomplishing the higher grades and swiftly awakening to the unproduced. The benefits being different, how could one cultivate only a single thought? Moreover, coarse clothes and fine robes, plain food and delicate dishes—both serve to cover the body and eliminate hunger and thirst; yet you discard those ragged clothes to wear silk and satin, and refuse defiled food to seek delicious banquets. How much more so when the greater or lesser extent of buddhānusmṛti produces different efficacy; yet you immediately abandon that long-term practice to cling to this brief recitation! Coveting fine clothes and food, you have never spoken in this way; yet upon hearing of cultivating pure practice, you discard the long to take up the short. These are the shameless words of your defilements—the speech of demons and ghosts, disrupting and ruining the Buddha's Dharma, completely devoid of even a single thought of wanting to be reborn. Seeing others practice austere asceticism with long-term, focused sincerity, you intentionally utter these words, ruining their pure intention, harming yourself and harming others. You must deeply recognize this! Furthermore, hearing the pure Dharma expounded at this time, you have no suffering or affliction within and possess good conditions without, yet you refuse to practice and wait for death to practice buddhānusmṛti. Although reciting the Buddha's name at the verge of death can also bring rebirth, among such people not one in ten thousand succeeds. Perhaps a good friend might not be encountered by chance; or myriad sufferings may afflict the body so that there is no leisure to practice buddhānusmṛti; or one may suffer a stroke and be unable to speak, unable to recite the name; or one may become mad and lose one's mind, so how could one focus one's thoughts? Or one may suddenly encounter flood or fire with no time for sincerity; or one may abruptly meet jackals and wolves and end one's life prematurely; or one may meet an evil companion who ruins one's faithful mind; or one may drink excessive alcohol and die in a drunken stupor; or one may suddenly die in the midst of military combat; or one may fall from a high cliff, making it difficult to cultivate correct practice. There are so many obstacles and difficulties that they can hardly all be recounted. One must not solely neglect practice and indulge in these five desires, merely saying that a single thought on one's dying day will immediately bring rebirth. You should generate a mind of vigor, eliminate thoughts of indolence, urge on the three karmas, spur yourself during the six periods of the day, and study diligently day and night, racing against time. Once reborn in the pure land, you will be forever free from hindrances and fetters, and will remain non-regressing all the way to bodhi. The benefits are vast and extensive; you should apply your mind to this.
5.18
Question: The Praising the Pure Land Sūtra says, 'Being born there, one quickly realizes unexcelled, correct, and complete bodhi.' Since cultivating the Way there for a hundred years corresponds to a single day here, how can one quickly realize unexcelled great bodhi?
5.19
I explain: Considering it, one day of cultivating the Way in the midst of suffering here may surpass a hundred years there; however, encountering evil conditions, one regresses for many kalpas, and so it is rather slow. Although a hundred years there is identical to a single day here, one only progresses without regressing, and thus it is called 'quickly realizing unexcelled bodhi.' It is like a person who walks swiftly but rests for long periods, so that arriving at the destination ahead is delayed. Cultivating the Way here for one day surpasses a hundred years there, but the Buddha did not call this 'quickly realizing bodhi.' It is like a person who walks slowly but does not stop along the way, arriving quickly at the destination ahead; hence it is called 'quickly realizing bodhi.'
5.20
Question: The words of buddhānusmṛti are few, and learning it is not difficult. For a person at the verge of death, time is extremely fleeting, and with the addition of suffering and affliction, they cannot cultivate much of the profound Buddha-Dharma such as morality, concentration, and wisdom. For those who have not yet reached death, during a long time there is no suffering to oppress their mental faculties; why do you not have them contemplate emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, cultivate the factors of awakening, and broadly study all profound Dharma gates, instead of mostly encouraging sentient beings solely to practice buddhānusmṛti? What is the meaning of this?
5.21
I explain: For a practitioner cultivating pure land karma throughout a lifetime, we do not exclusively advocate practicing buddhānusmṛti alone. However, practitioners have sharp or dull faculties, and their learning has depths and shallows; therefore the sūtras distinguish the two approaches of concentrated and dispersed, and people form the distinctions of the nine grades. For those of sharp faculties whose minds are tranquil, they are taught to cultivate the profound and equal Dharma gates of contemplating with signs and without signs. As for those of dull faculties who are scattered and distracted, they exclusively practice the karmas of the three blessings and the three classes; we not only advise buddhānusmṛti, but also cultivate various Dharma gates. If they are unable to practice broadly, buddhānusmṛti also brings rebirth in the pure land. Furthermore, the Dharma gate of buddhānusmṛti can be deep or shallow, spanning both the concentrated and the dispersed, so that both those of great faculties and those of minor practices can cultivate it. The concentrated begins with ordinary persons and ends with the ten bhūmis, practicing the profound and wondrous buddhānusmṛti-samādhi, which is praised together as inconceivable in the Avataṃsaka, the Nirvāṇa, the Mañjuśrī Prajñā, the Mahāsaṃnipāta, the Bhadrapāla, and the Guanfo sanmei. For instance, when Sudhana asked the monk Guṇamegha about cultivating bodhisattva practices, the monk Guṇamegha taught him only the method of buddhānusmṛti-samādhi. This is a profound Dharma. The dispersed means that all sentient beings, whether walking or sitting, at all times and places, can practice buddhānusmṛti without hindering their various affairs, and even at the end of life, their practice is accomplished. Furthermore, although there are holy words for cultivating various practices to attain rebirth in the West, the sūtra texts speak of them rarely; whereas the teachings that rebirth is attained through buddhānusmṛti are extremely numerous, of which I will briefly present three to five to enlighten the confused. First, as the Amitābha Sūtra exclusively says that reciting Amitābha brings rebirth in the West, the buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges in the six directions extend their tongues together to verify that practitioners of buddhānusmṛti all attain rebirth. In the Guan jing, the texts in the three places—the highest level of the lower grade, the middle level of the lower grade, and the lowest level of the lower grade—all state that by solely reciting Amitābha one attains rebirth in the pure land. It also says, 'Sentient beings of buddhānusmṛti are embraced and never forsaken.' The Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra also says, 'Though the practices of the higher, middle, and lower classes have depths and shallows, all exclusively and single-mindedly recite Amitābha to attain rebirth in Sukhāvatī.' Furthermore, among the forty-eight vast vows, a separate vow is made regarding the gate of buddhānusmṛti, saying, 'Even down to ten recitations, if they are not reborn, may I not attain correct awakening.' In addition, sūtras such as the Pratyutpanna-samādhi, the Mahāsaṃnipāta, and the Bhadrapāla teach sentient beings to single-mindedly and exclusively recite Amitābha for seven days and seven nights; after seeing the Buddha, they ask the Buddha, 'By practicing what Dharma do sentient beings attain rebirth in the pure land?' Amitābha answers, 'Those who wish to be born in my land should constantly recite my name without resting, and they will be born in my land.' Furthermore, the Gu yinsheng tuoluoni jing also teaches sentient beings to recite Amitābha for ten days and ten nights to attain rebirth in the Buddha's land. In addition, the Avataṃsaka Sūtra says, 'Through buddhānusmṛti-samādhi one will definitely see the Buddha, and after life ends, be born before the Buddha.' Seeing someone at the verge of death, it encourages buddhānusmṛti, and also displays the venerable image to cause them to gaze with reverence. In addition, the Zhancha jing says, 'If one wishes to be reborn in the Buddha lands of the ten directions, one should recite the name of the Buddha of that land, and one will immediately attain rebirth.' Countless such Mahāyāna sūtra passages predominantly say that rebirth in the pure land is attained through buddhānusmṛti. Now, encouraging buddhānusmṛti does not block the other wondrous practices cultivated; it is just that those who practice buddhānusmṛti are encouraged and praised in many sūtras, and whether walking or sitting, up to the end of life, all can perform this practice of buddhānusmṛti. Deeming it secure and convenient, we therefore encourage its practice.
5.22
Question: Having been born in that pure land without yet having entered the holy stream, since one is an ordinary person endowed with all defilements, how could one not give rise to various unwholesome karmas? If they do arise, it would contradict the original vow which states, 'In my land, sentient beings do not have even the name of what is unwholesome.' How is this to be reconciled and explained?
5.23
I explain: Although an ordinary person born there has not yet attained the holy fruit, all unwholesome [deeds] no longer manifest in activity. However, there are naturally many reasons why unwholesomeness does not become active. Either because the noble path has already arisen to sever those latent defilements; or because cultivating the skillful means of the noble path suppresses their active manifestation; or because of the absence of evil objects, they cannot arise; or because always encountering good conditions, there is no occasion to commit sins; or because various superior provisions prevent faults from arising; or because by relying on the Buddha's original vow, evil cannot arise. Although there are seeds of delusion, they cannot manifest in activity. Therefore, the Praising the Pure Land Sūtra says, 'Although the various wondrous fragrant flowers cause those who see them to feel physical and mental delight, they do not increase sentient beings' craving and attachment.' It also says, 'The water of eight virtues can cause those who drink it to increase various superior wholesome roots.' It is like the rice of the Buddha of Fragrant Accumulation serving to perform Buddha-deeds. Due to these many conditions, various evils do not arise.
5.24
Question: Sūtras say, 'There are four kinds of karma: first, karma experienced in the present life; second, karma experienced in the next life; third, karma experienced in subsequent lives; and fourth, indeterminate karma. The first three are determinate karma, because they definitely induce retribution. The last one is indeterminate karma, because it may or may not induce retribution.' There are also eight kinds of karma: first, karma determinate in retribution but indeterminate in time; second, karma determinate in time but indeterminate in retribution; third, karma determinate in both time and retribution; fourth, karma indeterminate in both time and retribution. The first and third are determinate karma; the second and fourth are indeterminate karma. Sūtras state that 'the five rebellious sins are karma experienced in the next life,' which means they are karma determinate in both time and retribution. How is it that the Guan jing states, 'The sins of the five rebellious acts are extinguished, and rebirth in the Western direction is attained'?
5.25
I explain: Regarding these four and eight kinds of karma, within the neyārtha teachings of the nine divisions, the Buddha, with intentional meaning for ordinary people who do not believe in karma and its fruit, spoke of determinate retributions. In the nītārtha teachings of the Mahāyāna, all karmas are spoken of as entirely indeterminate. As the nineteenth fascicle of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'Jīvaka expounded the method of confession for King Ajātaśatru, and his sins were extinguished. Moreover, your minister has heard the Buddha say: cultivating a single wholesome thought can destroy a hundred kinds of evil, just as a little poison can harm sentient beings; a little good is also like this, capable of destroying great evil.' Furthermore, the thirty-first [fascicle] says: 'Good son! There are sentient beings who take karma and conditions lightly and do not believe; for the sake of delivering them, I spoke in this way. Good son! All actions committed have light and heavy. Both light and heavy karma further have two types: first, determinate; second, indeterminate.' It also says: 'There may be heavy karma that can be made light, or light karma that can be made heavy. A person of wisdom, through the power of wisdom, can cause the extremely heavy karma of hell to be experienced lightly in the present life; an ignorant person causes light karma of the present life to be experienced heavily in hell.' King Ajātaśatru, having confessed his sins, did not enter hell, and Aṅgulimāla attained arhatship. The Yogācārabhūmi says: 'What has not attained liberation is called determinate karma; what has attained liberation is called indeterminate karma.' Various such Mahāyāna sūtras and treatises all state that the five rebellious sins and so forth are all called indeterminate karma, and all can be eliminated. Now, since the Guan jing is a Mahāyāna scripture and clarifies that through reciting Amitābha the sins of the five rebellious acts are extinguished, what doubt can there be?
5.26
Question: In the various treatises, sūtras are commonly cited as stating that there are dark-dark karma, bright-bright karma, mixed karma, and neither-dark-nor-bright karma without maturation. 'Dark-dark karma' is unwholesome karma of the desire realm. 'Bright-bright karma' is wholesome karma of the form and formless realms. 'Mixed karma' is wholesome karma of the desire realm. 'Neither-dark-nor-bright karma without maturation' is uncontaminated karma. We do not yet know: among these four karmas, by which karma is the presently created karma for the Western [Direction] subsumed?
5.27
Explanation: Some say that among the four karmas, it is subsumed by the two karmas: bright-bright karma and mixed karma. Because dark-dark karma is unwholesome, it can only induce [rebirth in] the three destinations; how could it bring about retribution in a pure land? Uncontaminated karma cannot induce retribution: although its essence is pure, it is not a cause of maturation; thus only the remaining two karmas induce retribution in a pure land. If one has not yet attained the concentration of the higher realms and cultivates karma for the Western [Direction] with a mind of the desire realm, one uses mixed karma to achieve rebirth in the Western [Direction]. If one has already subdued the afflictions of desire and attained a pure mind of the higher realms to be born in the Western [Direction], one uses bright-bright karma to be born in the pure land. Others say this is not so: these three kinds of karma are all distinguished in terms of the wholesome and unwholesome rebirth destinies of the two realms of desire and form in a defiled land; they are not discussed in terms of bright-bright and other wholesome karmas for rebirth in the Western [Direction]. Furthermore, mixed karma is the karma of humans and devas of the desire realm, which can bring about mixed retribution: although one experiences pleasant fruits, one also incurs painful retribution; therefore one experiences painful and pleasant fruits in the desire realm. When one achieves rebirth in the pure land, there are no sufferings at all—it is solely peaceful and joyful; how could mixed karma be allowed to be the cause of a pure land? If only bright-bright karma were the cause of a pure land, then if one has not yet attained the concentrations of the four dhyānas, by cause of what karma would one be born in the Western [Direction]? Therefore we know that the correct cause of the pure land is not subsumed by the aforementioned karmas. That the aforementioned four karmas do not fully subsume all phenomena—how does that obstruct the principle? Moreover, there are texts stating that the karma of the formless realm is not subsumed by the four karmas. Based on this, we can know by analogy that the four karmas do not exhaustively subsume all karmas.
5.28
Question: Furthermore, treatises of both the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna cite sūtras stating that there are three kinds of karma: sinful, meritorious, and immovable. We do not yet know: among these three kinds of karma, by using which kind of karma does one attain rebirth in the Land of Utmost Bliss?
5.29
Explanation: Some say that among the three karmas, one uses meritorious karma and immovable karma to be born in the Western [Direction]. The three kinds of merits are precisely meritorious karma. If, during the sixteen contemplations, one attains a concentrated mind of the higher realms, that is immovable karma. Others say it is not subsumed by the three karmas, because the three karmas are all stated in reference to the karma of defiled lands and are not discussed in reference to a pure land; therefore, pure land karma is not [one of] the three karmas.
5.30
Question: We do not yet know: how many kinds of superior benefits are there in attaining birth in the Western [Direction] that encourage sentient beings to seek rebirth there?
5.31
Explanation: Relying on the Chengzan jingtu jing, the Guan jing, and the forty-eight vast vows in the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, thirty benefits are briefly presented. What are the thirty? 1. The benefit of enjoying a pure Buddha land adorned with various virtues. 2. The benefit of Mahāyāna Dharma joy. 3. The benefit of drawing close to and making offerings to Amitāyus Buddha. 4. The benefit of traveling throughout the ten directions to make offerings to all Buddhas. 5. The benefit of hearing the Dharma and receiving predictions [of awakening] from all Buddhas. 6. The benefit of swiftly completing the provisions of merit and wisdom. 7. The benefit of quickly realizing unexcelled, complete, and perfect awakening (anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi). 8. The benefit of gathering together in one assembly with all the great beings. 9. The benefit of constantly remaining non-retrograde. 10. The benefit of immeasurable practices and vows advancing thought after thought. 11. The benefit of parrots and śārikās proclaiming the sounds of the Dharma. 12. The benefit of pure breezes moving the trees like heavenly ensembles. 13. The benefit of flowing maṇi-water proclaiming suffering and emptiness. 14. The benefit of various musical sounds playing various Dharma notes. 15. The benefit of eternally cutting off the three destinations among the forty-eight vast vows. 16. The benefit of a body of genuine golden colour. 17. The benefit of appearances having neither beauty nor ugliness. 18. The benefit of possessing the five supernormal knowledges. 19. The benefit of abiding in the stage of certainty (samyaktvaniyata-rāśi). 20. The benefit of having no unwholesome things. 21. The benefit of a long and distant lifespan. 22. The benefit of clothing and food appearing naturally. 23. The benefit of experiencing only all kinds of joy. 24. The benefit of the thirty-two physical marks. 25. The benefit of having no precious women. 26. The benefit of having no Hīnayāna. 27. The benefit of being free from the eight conditions of adversity. 28. The benefit of attaining the three patiences in the Dharma. 29. The benefit of the body having radiance, shining constantly day and night. 30. The benefit of attaining the strength of Nārāyaṇa. Brief mention is made of these thirty benefits; at length, they are immeasurable and boundless, and for this reason rebirth in the Western [Direction] is encouraged. If one remains in the Sahā [world], drifting long in saṃsāra, there are only thirty detriments; how could there ever be those benefits?
5.32
Question: The Maitreyaparipṛcchā Sūtra states that one attains rebirth only by cultivating ten kinds of thoughts: 1. Constantly giving rise to a mind of loving-kindness toward all sentient beings; 2. Not destroying their practices toward all sentient beings—if one destroys them, one will ultimately not attain rebirth; 3. Deeply giving rise to a mind of compassion toward all sentient beings, without a mind of cruelty; 4. Generating a mind to protect the Dharma without sparing one's body and life; 5. Not giving rise to defamation against any Dharma; 6. Generating a resolute mind in forbearance, with a deep mind that is pure and does not crave gains and offerings; 7. Generating a mind aspiring for the knowledge of all aspects (sarvākārajñatā), constantly mindful of it day after day without cessation; 8. Giving rise to a mind of respect toward all sentient beings, eliminating arrogance and speaking with humility; 9. Not generating craving or attachment to worldly talk, keeping the mind close to awakening, with the intention for the Way giving rise deeply to causes and conditions of various wholesome roots; 10. Not giving rise to a clamorous and distracted mind, rightly minding the contemplation of the Buddha while eliminating all concepts. In accordance with this sūtra text, the ten thoughts are naturally different. Why then does one attain rebirth merely by reciting the name of Amitābha Buddha ten times? Is this not an error?
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Linked texts (1)
- 釋淨土群疑論 — Classical Chinese