念佛鏡 1.6

1.6

噫！彌陀甚易持，淨土甚易往，眾生不能持、不能往，佛如眾生何？夫造惡業入苦趣，念彌陀生極樂，二者皆佛言也。世人憂墮地獄而疑往生者，不亦惑哉？晉慧遠法師與當時高士劉遺民等，結白蓮社於廬山，蓋致精誠於此。爾其後七百年，僧、俗修持獲感者非一，咸見于淨土傳記，豈誣也哉？然讚輔彌陀教觀者，其書山積，唯

Alas! Amitābha is very easy to uphold; the pure land is very easy to go to. If sentient beings cannot uphold it and cannot go there, what can the Buddha do for sentient beings? Committing evil karma leads into the miserable destinies; practicing mindfulness of Amitābha brings rebirth in Sukhāvatī: both are the Buddha's words. For worldly people to worry about falling into hell and yet doubt rebirth—is this not delusion? Dharma Master Huiyuan of the Jin dynasty and the worthy gentlemen of that time, such as Liu Yimin, formed the White Lotus Society at Mount Lu, precisely putting forth their utmost sincerity in this. In the seven hundred years thereafter, not a few monastics and laypeople attained spiritual resonance through their practice; all are seen in the biographies of the pure land. How could they be false? Yet, while books praising and assisting the teachings and contemplations of Amitābha pile up like mountains, only