念佛鏡 1.15

1.15

夫念佛三昧，如明鏡照萬象，八萬四千其猶影像，三乘、五乘從是得入，諒是海藏之至要，趣道之妙門，如守母以識子，得本而知末，提綱而孔孔皆動，牽衣而縷縷俱來矣！所以《華嚴》譬如以獅子筋為琴絃，音聲一奏，一切餘絃悉皆斷壞矣！世有一般師，輕蔑彌陀，偏勸菩薩，令持陀羅尼修禪定，是錯之甚者乎！西方之外別無觀音之土，九品來應悉擎蓮臺，形像妙觀說是心是佛。是故百丈、智覺等皆開張淨土，均勸念佛，言積于萬卷，書滿于海內。特可備於輕蔑者之金錍者，其惟二師之《念佛鏡》乎！門分十一，導於萬機，疑立二三，蕩於群惑，可謂澆世念佛之寶鏡，四輩安神之華屋者也！

Now, the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi is like a bright mirror reflecting the myriad phenomena; the eighty-four thousand [teachings] are like its shadows. The triyāna and five vehicles gain entrance from this. It is indeed the supreme essential of the ocean-treasury, the wonderful gate for proceeding toward the Way! It is like keeping the mother to recognize the child, gaining the root to understand the branches; lifting the head-rope of a net, every mesh moves; pulling the garment, every thread follows along! Therefore, the *Avataṃsaka* uses the metaphor of strings made of lion's sinews on a lute: once a single sound is played, all the remaining strings snap and break! In the world there are a sort of teachers who disparage Amitābha and exclusively encourage [practices for] bodhisattvas, having them uphold dhāraṇīs and cultivate meditative concentration—how great is their error! Outside the West there is no other land of Avalokiteśvara; those coming to respond to the nine grades all lift up lotus pedestals, and the wonderful contemplation of forms and images explains that "this mind is the Buddha." For this reason, Baizhang, Zhijue, and others all opened up the Pure Land and equally exhorted buddhānusmṛti; their words accumulated in ten thousand scrolls, and their writings filled the realm within the seas. But what can especially serve as a golden lancet [to remove the cataracts of] those who disparage it is solely the *Nianfo jing* in eleven sections by the two masters! Divided into eleven sections, it guides the myriad capacities; establishing two or three doubts, it sweeps away all delusions. It may truly be called a precious mirror of buddhānusmṛti for a decadent age, and a splendid mansion for settling the minds of the four classes of disciples!