念佛三昧寶王論 3.34

3.34

The Master said: "When standing, see them standing before you; when in a carriage, see them leaning upon the crossbar—only then proceed." The Book of Han says: "When sitting, see Yao upon the wall; when eating, see Yao in the soup. Such is the way in which the Way cannot be parted from for an instant." Even so, this is merely the Way of the mundane realm. The Śūraṅgama Sūtra says: "If sentient beings remember the Buddha and are mindful of the Buddha, in the present or the future they will certainly see the Buddha; without relying on expedients, their minds will open of themselves." I say that cultivating the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi should also be like "standing before you", "leaning upon the crossbar", and seeing Yao. Walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, one should always recollect and be mindful—why worry about not seeing the Buddha? This is truly the essential ford for leaving the world and attaining the Way! Those who cultivate this samādhi should take Sukhāvatī as their aim. For Amida's vow-power takes welcoming and guiding all living beings as its task, its great light shining everywhere, gathering them in without forsaking. All who hold mindfulness will attain rebirth—how broad is this benefit! How could it be merely an empty visualization like seeing Yao upon the wall or in the soup? On the third day of the eleventh month of the seventh year of Zhenghe, aboard a boat in the territory of Fuli, because I examined the Treatise on the Jewel King of Buddha-Mindfulness Samādhi by the Tang monk Feixi, I reflected upon the words of our Master and the Han historian, which accord with the Buddha's like matching tallies. I therefore recorded this upon this scroll, hoping to view it from time to time to spur myself on. May all who see and hear it also exert themselves! Respectfully written by Huang Bosi, Changru.