[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [樂邦文類](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1969a) › 2.187 # 樂邦文類 2.187 樂邦文類 2.187 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [2.187](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1969a.2.187) 夫以念為念、以生為生者，常見之所失也。以無念為無念、以無生為無生者，邪見之所惑也。念而無念、生而無生者，第一義諦也。是以實際理地不受一塵，則上無諸佛之可念、下無淨土之可生。佛事門中不捨一法，則總攝諸根。蓋有念佛三昧，還原要術，示開往生一門，所以終日念佛而不乖於無念，熾然往生而不乖於無生，故能凡聖各住自位而感應道交，東西不相往來而神遷淨剎。此不可得而致詰也。故經云「若人聞說阿彌陀佛，執持名號，乃至是人終時，心不顛倒，即得往生阿彌陀佛極樂國土。」夫如來世尊雖分折攝二門、現居淨穢兩土，然本聖之意，豈直以娑婆國土丘陵坑坎、五趣雜居、土石諸山、穢惡充滿，以是為可厭？極樂世界黃金為地、行樹參空、樓聳七珍、華敷四色，以是為可忻？蓋以初心入道，忍力未淳，須託淨緣，以為增上。何則？娑婆國土，釋迦已滅、彌勒未生；極樂世界，阿彌陀佛現在說法。娑婆國土，觀音、勢至徒仰嘉名；極樂世界，彼二上人親為勝友。娑婆國土，諸魔競作，惱亂行人；極樂世界，大光明中，決無魔事。娑婆國土，邪聲雜亂，女色妖婬；極樂世界，水鳥樹林咸宣妙法，正報清淨，實無女人。然則修行緣具，無若西方，淺信之人橫生疑謗。竊甞論之。此方之人，無不厭俗舍之喧煩、慕蘭若之寂靜，故有捨家出家則殷勤讚歎。而娑婆眾苦，何止俗舍之喧煩？極樂優游，豈直蘭若之寂靜？知出家為美，而不願往生，其惑一也。萬里辛勤遠求知識者，蓋以發明大事、決擇死生。而彌陀世尊，色心業勝、願力洪深，一演圓音，無不明契。願參知識，而不欲見佛，其惑二也。叢林廣眾，皆樂棲遲；少眾道場，不欲依附。而極樂世界，一生補處其數甚多，諸上善人俱會一處。既欲親近叢林，而不慕清淨海眾，其惑三也。此方之人，上壽不過百歲，而童癡老耄、疾病相仍，昏沈睡眠常居太半。菩薩猶昏隔陰、聲聞尚昧出胎，則尺璧寸陰，十喪其九，而未登不退，可謂寒心。西方之人壽命無量，一託蓮苞更無死苦，相續無間直至菩提，所以便獲阿惟越致，佛階決定可期。流轉娑婆促景，而迷於淨土長年，其惑四也。若乃位居不退，果證無生，在欲無欲、居塵不塵，方能興無緣慈、運同體悲，迴入塵勞，和光五濁。其有淺聞單慧，或與少善相應，便謂永出四流、高超十地，詆訶淨土、耽戀娑婆，掩目空歸，宛然流浪，並肩牛馬，接武泥犁。不知自是何人，擬比大權菩薩，其惑五也。故經曰「應當發願願生彼國」。則不信諸佛誠言、不願往生淨土，豈不甚迷哉？若夫信佛言而生淨土，則累繫之所不能拘、劫波之所不能害，謝人間之八苦、無天上之五衰，尚無惡道之名，何況有實？唯顯一乘之法，決定無三。歸依一體三寶、奉事十方如來，佛光照體，萬惑潛消，法味資神，六通具足，三十七品助道法應念圓成、三十二應隨類身遍塵剎土，周旋五趣、普被諸根，不動一心，遍行三昧，洒定水於三千、引眾生於火宅，自利利他皆悉圓滿。然則唯心淨土自性彌陀，蓋解脫之要門，乃修行之捷徑。是以了義大乘無不指歸淨土，前賢後聖自他皆願往生。凡以欲得度人，先須自度故也。嗚呼！人無遠慮，必有近憂。一失人身，萬劫深悔。故率大海眾，各念彌陀佛，百聲千聲乃至萬聲，迴向同緣，願生彼國。竊冀蓮池勝會金地法明，綺互相資必諧斯願。操舟順水，更加櫓棹之功，則十萬之遙可不勞而至也。 > Now, to take mindfulness as mindfulness and birth as birth is the error of the eternalist view. To take non-mindfulness as non-mindfulness and non-birth as non-birth is the confusion of wrong views. Mindful yet free of mindfulness, born yet free of birth—this is the supreme truth. Therefore, on the ground of ultimate reality not a single speck of dust is admitted; thus above there are no buddhas to be mindful of, and below there is no Pure Land to be born into. Within the gate of Buddhist activities not a single phenomenon is discarded; thus it completely gathers in all faculties. Because there is the buddha-mindfulness samādhi, the essential technique for returning to the source, the single gate of rebirth is revealed and opened. For this reason, one may be mindful of the Buddha all day without running contrary to non-mindfulness, and aspire intensely for rebirth without running contrary to non-birth. Thus commoners and sages each abide in their own positions while spiritual resonance and response intertwine, and east and west do not travel back and forth while the spirit is transported to the pure realm. This cannot be probed by cross-examination. Thus the sūtra says: 'If a person hears of Amitābha Buddha and upholds his name, and at the end of their life their mind is not inverted, they will immediately attain rebirth in Amitābha Buddha’s Land of Ultimate Bliss.' Now, although the Tathāgata, the World-Honoured One, divided the two gates of subjugation and attraction and manifested dwelling in the two lands of pure and defiled, yet what was the original intention of the sage? Could it be merely that because the Sahā world is full of hills, pits, ravines, the mixed dwelling of the five destinies, mountains of earth and rock, and filled with filth and evil, that it is to be loathed? Or that because the Land of Ultimate Bliss has gold for ground, rows of trees piercing the sky, towers rising with seven treasures, and flowers blooming in four colours, that it is to be rejoiced in? It is rather because when beginners enter the path, their power of forbearance is not yet mature, and they must rely on pure conditions to serve as an augmenting factor. Why is this? In the Sahā world, Śākyamuni has already passed into extinction and Maitreya has not yet been born; in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, Amitābha Buddha is presently expounding the Dharma. In the Sahā world, one merely looks up to the fine names of Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta; in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, those two superior beings are personally excellent friends. In the Sahā world, diverse māras vie to arise and disturb practitioners; in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, amidst the great radiance, there are definitely no māra-affairs. In the Sahā world, heterodox sounds are chaotic and female beauty is bewitching and lustful; in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, the water, birds, and groves all proclaim the wondrous Dharma, the primary reward is pure, and there are truly no women. Thus, for the completeness of conditions for cultivation, none compares to the West; yet people of shallow faith give rise to unreasonable doubts and slanders. Let us privately discuss this. Among the people of this land, none fails to loathe the clamour of worldly homes and long for the tranquility of an araṇya; therefore, when someone renounces home and goes forth, they praise them with earnest devotion. Yet the many sufferings of Sahā—how could they stop at the clamour of worldly homes? And the leisure of Ultimate Bliss—how could it be merely the tranquility of an araṇya? Knowing renunciation to be beautiful yet not wishing for rebirth: this is the first delusion. Those who painstakingly travel ten thousand miles to seek a spiritual friend far away do so to clarify the great matter and resolve life and death. Yet the World-Honoured One Amitābha has superior bodily and mental karma and vast, profound vow-power; once he expounds the perfect voice, there is none who does not clearly comprehend. Wishing to visit a spiritual friend yet not desiring to see the Buddha: this is the second delusion. People all delight in dwelling amidst the vast assemblies of large monasteries, and do not wish to rely upon practice places with few people. Yet in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, the candidates for supreme enlightenment in one lifetime are exceedingly numerous, and superior good people all assemble in one place. Wishing to draw near to large monasteries yet not longing for the pure ocean-wide assembly: this is the third delusion. Among the people of this land, the longest lifespan does not exceed a hundred years, and childish folly, senility, and illnesses follow one upon another, with torpor and sleep often occupying more than half of it. Bodhisattvas are still clouded by the interval between lives, and śrāvakas are still deluded when emerging from the womb; thus of every foot of jade and inch of time, nine-tenths are lost, and not yet having attained non-retrogression, it may well be called chilling to the heart. The lifespan of people in the Western land is immeasurable; once entrusted to a lotus calyx there is no further suffering of death, continuing without interruption directly to bodhi; hence they immediately obtain avaivartika, and the rank of buddhahood can be definitely anticipated. Drifting in the fleeting moments of Sahā while bewildered about the long years of the Pure Land: this is the fourth delusion. Only when one dwells in the rank of non-retrogression and realizes the fruit of non-arising, being free of desire amidst desire and free of dust amidst dust, can one give rise to unconditioned loving-kindness, exercise the compassion of identity, return into the toils of defilement, and harmonize one's light with the five turbidities. If someone of shallow learning and meager wisdom, or one who accords with some slight goodness, then declares that they have permanently transcended the four currents and soared high above the ten grounds, decrying the Pure Land while clinging fondly to Sahā—shutting their eyes they return empty-handed, drifting as before, walking shoulder to shoulder with oxen and horses, and treading heel to heel into Naraka. Not knowing what manner of person they are, they liken themselves to bodhisattvas of great skillful means: this is the fifth delusion. Therefore the sūtra says: 'You should make vows and wish to be born in that land.' Then not to believe the sincere words of the buddhas and not to wish for rebirth in the Pure Land—is that not exceedingly deluded? Now if one believes the Buddha's words and is born in the Pure Land, then the fetters of accumulated karma cannot bind one, and the end of a kalpa cannot harm one; one leaves behind the eight sufferings of the human world and is free from the five degenerations of the heavens; even the names of the evil destinies do not exist, let alone their reality! Only the teaching of the One Vehicle is displayed; there are definitely not three. Taking refuge in the one-essence Three Jewels and serving the Tathāgatas of the ten directions, the Buddha's light shines on one's body, the myriad delusions imperceptibly vanish, the flavor of the Dharma nourishes the spirit, and the six supernatural powers are fully possessed; the thirty-seven factors of awakening are perfectly accomplished at a thought, and the thirty-two responsive manifestation bodies pervade dust-mote lands, revolving through the five destinies and universally covering all faculties; without moving the one mind, one practices samādhi everywhere, sprinkling the water of concentration upon the trichiliocosm and leading sentient beings out of the burning house, with self-benefit and benefiting others all completely fulfilled. Thus, the mind-only Pure Land and the self-nature Amitābha are truly the essential gate to liberation and the shortcut for cultivation. Therefore, the definitive Great Vehicle without exception points toward and returns to the Pure Land; former sages and later saints, both for themselves and others, all vow to be reborn there. It is all because to save others, one must first save oneself. Alas! If one has no distant thoughts, one will surely have immediate worries. Once the human body is lost, there will be deep regrets for ten thousand kalpas. Therefore, leading the great ocean-wide assembly, let each be mindful of Amitābha Buddha—a hundred recitations, a thousand recitations, even ten thousand recitations—dedicating it to common conditions and vowing to be born in that land. We humbly hope that the excellent assembly of the Lotus Pond and the Dharma brightness of the golden ground will mutually assist each other and surely fulfill this vow. If one steers a boat downstream and adds the labour of oars and sculls, then the distance of a hundred thousand \[leagues\] can be reached without toil. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 2.186](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1969a.2.186) - [Next: 2.188](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1969a.2.188) - [Up: 2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1969a.2) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1969a~en-mt.2.187) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [龍舒增廣淨土文](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1970.11.4) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1969a.2.187](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1969a.2.187) · Pramāṇa