樂邦文類 2.91

2.91

維西方淨土者，瓊林寶網珠閣瑤池，超倍剎於玉毫、耀千光於沙界。諸佛同讚、群賢所宗，遍告、曼殊咸願生乎其國，天親、彌勒皆誓往於彼方。大聖尚然，況常徒者也。至若散因定業、少善多福，截五道而長騖、睠九品以高升，直到薩雲無復退轉。故彼佛本願云：設我得佛，十方眾生至心信樂，欲生我國，乃至十念，若不生者，不取正覺；唯除五逆、誹謗正法（五逆者，出佛身血、破和合僧、殺阿羅漢、殺父、殺母也）。今既幸無逆罪、不謗大乘，豈有願求而不遂也？況復十六觀云：下品下生者，具足諸罪，四重五逆、謗方等法，地獄火現，十念稱佛，地獄猛火化為涼風，即生彼土。斯則又許逆罪之輩十念得生，況無此罪者乎？推此而言，宜各自信。凡願生者，無不遂心。故天台智者臨終讚曰：四十八願，莊嚴淨土，華池寶樹，易往無人。火車相現，一念改悔尚得往生，況戒定熏修。淨行道力，實不唐捐。又本願云：十方眾生，聞我名號，繫念我國，迴向欲生。若不果遂者，誓不成佛。又應校量業行久近者，十念信樂尚生彼國，況復一日信樂者，況復一月一年一生而信樂者耶？又應校量滅罪輕重者，一念滅八十億劫生死重罪（重罪者即前五逆也），一念稱佛滅罪既爾，況復十念所滅罪耶？況復一日一月一年一生念佛所滅罪耶？重逆尚滅，況輕罪乎？又應校量念佛功德比餘善根優劣之相者，經云「若人以四事極好之物，供養三千大千世界滿中阿羅漢辟支聖人，所得福德，不如有人一合掌、一稱南無佛陀。如彼大千聖福，假使百分千分、百千億分、算數譬喻皆所不及，一稱佛名者功德無量。」一稱佛名功德尚爾，況復十念佛者？況復一日一月一年一生念阿彌陀佛者所得功德耶？復次應知念佛之人，現世安隱，眾聖守護、離諸災厄。且近校量今時風俗競祭鬼神，求其福祐、望得安隱，信邪殺命、造罪結冤，必無福慶而可利人，虛招來生地獄罪報。易曰「積不善之家，必有餘殃。」殺生害命，祖承祭法，非一朝一夕，豈非積不善耶？殃咎何疑也。若言殺生非不善者，古今帝王何故仁慈化世、勝殘去殺，禽魚遂性令登壽域，咸稱善耶？然祭祀之法，天竺韋陀、支那祀典，既未逃於世論，真誘俗之權方。周公雖稱事神不達彙征之道、仲尼焉能事鬼，蓋迷六趣之源。老氏經既混於九流，莊子未移於百氏，惟釋宗所辨曲盡其理，天趣在上、人居其次、修羅處中、鬼畜斯下。今以人事鬼，其猶俛首就足、抑君奉民，何逆之甚也。又鬼有邪力，事之既久，物黨方類，死墮其中，世其迷哉。且三界大師萬德慈父，歸之者罪滅、尚之者福生。諸經具說，若能暫歸三寶、受持一佛名者，現世當獲十種勝利：一者晝夜常得一切諸天、大力神將、河沙眷屬隱形守護。二者常得二十五大菩薩，如觀世音等，及一切菩薩常隨守護。三者常為諸佛晝夜護念，阿彌陀佛常放光明攝受此人。四者一切惡鬼，若夜叉、若羅剎皆不能害，一切毒蛇毒龍毒藥悉不能中。五者一切火難水難、冤賊刀箭、牢獄枷柚、橫死枉死悉皆不受。六者先所作罪皆悉消滅，所殺冤命彼蒙解脫，更無執對。七者夜夢正直，或復夢見阿彌陀佛勝妙色像。八者心常歡喜，顏色光澤、氣力充盛，所作吉利。九者常為一切世間人民恭敬供養、歡喜禮拜，猶如敬佛。十者命終之時，心無怖畏，正念歡喜，現前得見阿彌陀佛及諸聖眾持金蓮臺，接引往生西方淨土，盡未來際受勝妙樂。諸有智人請觀念佛所獲現世福利功德，豈同世人祠祀之法現無福利、未來受苦耶？又復當信一切大乘經典皆讚西方莊嚴淨土，勸令往生。若《華嚴》、《方等》、《般若》、《法華》、《涅槃》諸部諸經，皆示行相及讚功德。又諸菩薩天親、龍樹，皆各造論稱讚淨土。又此方諸法師禪師，各造論著疏光讚西方，道安法師《往生論》六卷；慧遠法師造《觀經疏》一卷；天台智者造《十疑論》、《觀經疏》、《彌陀經疏》各一卷；道綽禪師撰《安樂集》三卷；善導和尚立五會教勸人念佛，造《觀經疏》一卷，《二十四讚》、《六時禮文》各一卷；懷感法師得念佛三昧，造《決疑論》七卷；慈愍三藏撰《淨土慈悲集》三卷；慈恩法師造《彌陀經疏》二卷；鎮國沙門澄觀造《觀經疏》一卷。有誰聞此眾聖稱楊誘勸往生而不信樂？除彼不肖人癡瞑無智者。斯更復引自古及今西天東夏道俗士女往生高人三十三條，顯驗之事，具示將來諸有賢達，願共往生云也。

Regarding the Western Pure Land: with jade forests, jeweled nets, pearl pavilions, and beryl pools, it surpasses the myriad lands within the white curl of the brow, radiating a thousand beams of light across sand-like realms. Praised in unison by all Buddhas, revered by the assembly of sages, Samantabhadra and Mañjuśrī all vowed to be born in that land, and Vasubandhu and Maitreya both pledged to go to that quarter. If it is so even for the great sages, how much more so for ordinary people! As for dispersed causes and concentrated karma, small goodness and great fortune: one cuts across the five paths to gallop afar, and looking up to the nine grades, ascends high, going straight to sarvajñā without falling back into retrogression. Therefore that Buddha's original vow states: 'If, when I attain buddhahood, the sentient beings of the ten directions with utmost mind of faith and joy desire to be born in my land, down to ten recitations, should they not be born there, may I not attain correct awakening; excluded only are those who commit the five heinous sins and revile the correct Dharma' (the five heinous sins are shedding the Buddha's blood, disrupting the harmonious saṅgha, killing an arhat, killing one's father, and killing one's mother). Now, being fortunate enough to be free of heinous sins and not to revile the Mahāyāna, how could any vow or petition fail to be fulfilled? Moreover, the Sixteen Contemplations states: 'Those of the lowest birth of the lowest grade possess all manner of sins—the four gravest offenses, the five heinous sins, and slandering the Vaipulya teachings. When the fires of hell appear, if they invoke the Buddha ten times, the fierce fires of hell turn into a cool breeze, and they immediately attain rebirth in that land.' This, then, also permits those guilty of heinous sins to attain rebirth through ten recitations; how much more so for those without such sins? Inferring from this, each should have faith in oneself. All who vow to be born will without exception have their hearts' desires fulfilled. Therefore, the Tiantai Master of Wisdom praised on the verge of death, saying: 'The forty-eight vows adorn the Pure Land; with lotus pools and jeweled trees, it is easy to go there, yet there is no one. Even when the fiery chariot appears, one who repents in a single thought can still attain rebirth; how much more so for those who cultivate with precepts and samādhi! The power of the path of pure practice is truly not in vain.' Furthermore, the original vow states: 'If sentient beings of the ten directions hear my name, fasten their mindfulness on my land, and transfer merit desiring to be born, should it not be fulfilled, I vow not to become a Buddha.' Furthermore, one should evaluate the duration of the karma and practice: if one who has faith and joy for ten recitations can still be born in that land, how much more so one who has faith and joy for a day, how much more so one who has faith and joy for a month, a year, or an entire lifetime! Furthermore, one should evaluate the gravity of expiating sins: a single thought eliminates the heavy sins of birth and death of eighty billion kalpas (the heavy sins are the aforementioned five heinous sins); if expiating sins by a single thought of invoking the Buddha is already thus, how much more so the sins expiated by ten recitations? How much more so the sins expiated by buddha-mindfulness for a day, a month, a year, or an entire lifetime! When even heavy heinous offenses are expiated, how much more so minor offenses? Furthermore, one should evaluate the superior and inferior characteristics of the merit of buddha-mindfulness compared to other roots of goodness: the sūtra states, 'If a person were to make offerings of the four requisites of the finest quality to arhats and pratyekabuddha sages filling a great trichiliocosm, the merit obtained would not equal that of a person joining their palms together and once saying "Namo Buddhāya". The merit of those sages of the great chiliocosm, even if multiplied a hundredfold, a thousandfold, a hundred-thousand-fold, or by any calculation or metaphor, could not match it; the merit of one who invokes the Buddha's name once is immeasurable.' If the merit of invoking the Buddha's name once is already like this, how much more so for one who is mindful of the Buddha ten times? How much more so the merit obtained by one who is mindful of Amitābha Buddha for a day, a month, a year, or an entire lifetime! Furthermore, one should know that a person of buddha-mindfulness is peaceful and secure in this present life, protected by all sages, and free from all calamities and disasters. Now let us closely evaluate the customs of the present age, where people compete to sacrifice to ghosts and spirits, seeking their blessings and protection in hopes of obtaining peace and security: believing in heterodoxy and killing living beings, they commit sins and form enmities; there is certainly no auspicious fortune that can benefit people, but only the vain invitation of retribution in the hells of future lives. The Book of Changes states: 'A family that accumulates unwholesomeness will surely have remaining calamities.' Taking life and harming living beings, inheriting sacrificial rules from ancestors, has not been a matter of one morning or one evening; is it not accumulating unwholesomeness? How could there be any doubt about calamities and blunders? If one says taking life is not unwholesome, why then have emperors of ancient and modern times transformed the world with benevolence, overcome cruelty, abolished killing, and let birds and fish fulfill their nature to enter the realm of longevity, all of which is called wholesome? Yet the methods of sacrifice—the Vedas of India and the sacrificial canons of China—have not escaped worldly discourse; they are truly expedient means to lure the vulgar. Although the Duke of Zhou spoke of serving spirits, he did not comprehend the way of the assembly; how could Confucius serve ghosts? They were simply deluded about the source of the six destinies. The classic of Laozi was already mixed among the nine schools; Zhuangzi had not yet shifted among the hundred masters. Only what is distinguished by the Buddhist school exhausts its principle in every detail: the heavenly destiny is on high, human beings dwell next, asuras dwell in the middle, and ghosts and animals are below. Now, for humans to serve ghosts is like bowing one's head to reach one's feet, or putting down the lord to serve the commoners; how could anything be more inverted? Moreover, ghosts have heterodox powers; if one serves them for a long time, drawing near to their kind, at death one falls among them; how deluded is the world! Furthermore, the Great Master of the Three Realms, the Kind Father of Ten Thousand Virtues: those who take refuge in him have their sins eliminated, and those who esteem him have blessings engendered. Various sūtras expound in full that if one can temporarily take refuge in the Three Jewels and uphold the name of a single Buddha, one will obtain ten kinds of excellent benefits in the present life: First, day and night one will constantly be invisibly protected by all devas, mighty spirit generals, and retinues [as numerous as] the sands of the Ganges. Second, one will constantly be accompanied and protected by the twenty-five great bodhisattvas, such as Avalokiteśvara and others, and all bodhisattvas. Third, one will constantly be protected and kept in mind day and night by all Buddhas, and Amitābha Buddha will constantly emit light to gather in this person. Fourth, all evil ghosts, whether yakṣas or rākṣasas, cannot harm them, and all poisonous snakes, poisonous dragons, and poisons cannot afflict them. Fifth, one will never suffer any calamity of fire, calamity of water, enemy thieves, knives and arrows, prisons and shackles, or premature and wrongful death. Sixth, all previously committed sins will be extinguished, and the lives of those killed who bear enmity will receive liberation and hold no further grievances. Seventh, dreams at night will be upright, or one may dream of the supreme and wondrous physical form of Amitābha Buddha. Eighth, the heart will always be joyful, the complexion glowing and lustrous, energy and vitality abundant, and whatever one does will be auspicious. Ninth, one will constantly be revered, offered to, and joyfully prostrated before by all people of the world, just as they revere the Buddha. Tenth, at the end of life, the mind will be without fear, mindful and joyful, and one will behold before one's eyes Amitābha Buddha and all the holy assembly holding a golden lotus pedestal to welcome and lead one to rebirth in the Western Pure Land, where one will experience supreme and wondrous joy to the end of the future. Let all wise people please observe the worldly blessings and merits obtained in the present life by buddha-mindfulness: how could it be the same as the sacrificial practices of worldly people, which have no blessings in the present and bring suffering in the future? Furthermore, one should believe that all Mahāyāna scriptures praise the adorned Pure Land of the West and exhort rebirth there. In the various sections and sūtras of the Avataṃsaka, Vaipulya, Prajñā, Lotus, and Nirvāṇa, they all demonstrate the characteristics of practice and praise the merit. Moreover, the bodhisattvas Vasubandhu and Nāgārjuna each composed treatises praising the Pure Land. Furthermore, the various Dharma masters and Chan masters of this land each composed treatises and commentaries to glorify and praise the West: Dharma Master Dao'an's Treatise on Rebirth in six fascicles; Dharma Master Huiyuan's Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra in one fascicle; Tiantai Zhiyi's Treatise on Ten Doubts, Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra, and Commentary on the Amitābha Sūtra, each in one fascicle; Chan Master Daochuo's Collection of Peace and Joy in three fascicles; Upādhyāya Shandao's establishment of the five-assembly teaching to exhort people to buddha-mindfulness, his Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra in one fascicle, his Twenty-four Praises, and Liturgy for the Six Periods of the Day in one fascicle each; Dharma Master Huaigan's attainment of the buddha-mindfulness samādhi, his Treatise Resolving Doubts in seven fascicles; Tripiṭaka Master Cimin's Compassion Collection on the Pure Land in three fascicles; Dharma Master Ci'en's Commentary on the Amitābha Sūtra in two fascicles; and State-protecting Śramaṇa Chengguan's Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra in one fascicle. Who, hearing this praising, guiding, and exhortation to rebirth by all the holy ones, would not have faith and joy—except for those unworthy persons who are foolish, blind, and without wisdom? Here, furthermore, I cite thirty-three items of evidential verification regarding eminent men and women, both monastic and lay, of the Western Heaven and Eastern Xia from antiquity to the present who attained rebirth, presenting them in full to all worthy and eminent persons of the future, with the vow that we may attain rebirth together.