樂邦文類 3.58

3.58

不願生淨土則已，願生淨土則無不得生。不生則已，一生則永不退轉，世尊所謂阿鞞跋致、阿惟越致者歟。夫具縛有漏凡夫，初憑信念得生彼土，而三毒邪見未能頓忘，何以知其不退轉耶？蓋以彌陀願力常所攝持，大光常照、上善常聚、壽命永劫，水鳥樹林、風聲樂響，演暢妙乘。聞其聲者，念佛念法念僧之心未甞聞斷故也。眾生病之，佛為醫王、法為良藥、僧為視病人，三者現前，病不得而萌矣。以是而言，則一生淨土，何從而有退轉哉？錢唐僧監法寶大師從雅，平生修舉彌陀教觀、參究宗風，樂為偈頌，頗得其趣。又精於醫術，多施藥以濟人。人或以貨資酬之，則曰非我能也，三寶之功。必轉施三寶。乃造寶閣，立彌陀大像，環以九品菩薩。海藏經典在其後，清淨蓮池在其前，定觀奧室分列左右。誓延行人，資給長懺，以結淨土之緣。豈獨以比丘身慕佛大醫用法良藥而已者哉？實能運慈施療，利與眾同也。其於念三寶之心，可謂不敢間斷矣。入是道場者，觀一切相為非相，則能見彌陀之全體。觀一切法如幻法，則能入淨土之真境。觀我身之無我，則能具比丘之正見。故從一如來而見無量如來，入一淨土而周無量淨土，悟一法身而融無量法身矣。無念而念、無證而證、無修而修、淨土果海豈易量哉？法寶僧監建立寶閣淨土道場，誘集淨業之侶，以期安養。則報緣之至，必果遂其所願也。元祐元年上元日，左朝散郎尚書主客員外郎輕車都尉賜紫金魚袋無為楊傑述。

If one does not vow to be born in the Pure Land, that is the end of it; but if one vows to be born in the Pure Land, there is none who fails to be born there. If one is not born there, that is the end of it; but once born there, one never retrogresses—is this not what the World-Honoured One called avinivartanīya or avaivartika? Now, an ordinary person burdened with fetters and defilements initially relies on the power of faith to attain birth in that land, yet has not been able to suddenly cast away the three poisons and false views; how do we know they do not retrogress? It is because they are constantly embraced and sustained by the power of Amitābha's vows: his great light constantly shines upon them, superior good beings constantly assemble there, life spans last for eternal kalpas, and the water, birds, tree groves, sounds of the wind, and resonance of music all proclaim the wondrous vehicle. For those who hear these sounds, the thought of mindfulness of the Buddha, mindfulness of the Dharma, and mindfulness of the Saṅgha has never been heard to be interrupted. When sentient beings fall ill, the Buddha is the King of Physicians, the Dharma is the good medicine, and the Saṅgha is the nurse tending the sick: when these three are present before them, illness cannot arise. Spoken of in this way, once one is born in the Pure Land, whence could there be any retrogression? Master Fabao Congya, the Monastic Controller of Qiantang, throughout his life cultivated and practiced the teachings and contemplations of Amitābha, investigated the ancestral Chan style, and delighted in composing verses and hymns, attaining much of their true flavor. He was also skilled in the medical arts and frequently distributed medicine to help people. When people offered money or wealth to reward him, he would say: 'This is not my ability, but the merit of the Three Jewels,' and he would certainly pass it on to offer it to the Three Jewels. Thereupon he constructed a treasure pavilion and erected a great image of Amitābha, encircled by the bodhisattvas of the nine grades. The ocean storehouse of scriptures lay behind it, the pure lotus pond was in front of it, and the profound chambers for concentrated contemplation were arrayed to the left and right. He vowed to invite practitioners and provide for long-term repentance rituals, thereby forging affinities with the Pure Land. How could it be that he merely, in the form of a monk, admired the Buddha as the great physician and used the Dharma as the good medicine? He was truly able to exercise compassion, dispense healing, and share the benefit with the multitude. His mind of mindfulness of the Three Jewels can truly be said not to have dared to pause! Those who enter this bodhimaṇḍa, if they contemplate all marks as non-marks, will be able to see the complete body of Amitābha. If they contemplate all dharmas as illusory dharmas, they will be able to enter the true realm of the Pure Land. If they contemplate their own bodies as non-self, they will be able to possess the right view of a monk. Thus, from one Tathāgata they see immeasurable Tathāgatas, entering one Pure Land they encompass immeasurable Pure Lands, and awakening to one dharmakāya they merge with immeasurable dharmakāyas. Mindfulness without thought, realization without realization, cultivation without cultivation—how could the ocean of the Pure Land fruit be easily measured? Monastic Controller Fabao has erected this Pure Land bodhimaṇḍa of the treasure pavilion to guide and assemble companions of pure karma, aspiring to the Peaceful Nurture. When the fruition of their karmic conditions arrives, they will certainly accomplish what they vowed. On the day of the Shangyuan Festival in the first year of the Yuanyou era [1086], recounted by Yang Jie, Master of Non-action, Court Gentleman of the Left for Dispersion, Supernumerary Gentleman of the Bureau of Reception in the Ministry of Rites, Light Chariot Commandant, bestowed with the Purple Robe and Gold Fish Bag.