樂邦文類 4.144

4.144

問：學佛道者，心散難檢。今欲一以貫之，專西方念一佛，踐不退地，袪有漏心，乘扁舟於黃金之池、禮彌陀於白玉之殿，以通三世、希沾九品，不亦可乎？對曰：龍樹《十住婆沙論》云「菩薩道有難行行，如陸地乘舟也。有易行行，如水路乘舟也。」阿彌陀佛本願之力，若人聞名稱念、自歸彼國，如舟得水又遇便風，一舉千里，不亦易哉。則釋迦如來、父王眷屬、六萬釋種，皆生極樂土。蓋佛與此界眾生緣深，故專注一境，不亦良哉。

Question: For those who study the Buddha Way, the mind is distracted and difficult to control. Now, wishing to unify it with a single thread, exclusively being mindful of one Buddha in the West, treading the ground of non-retrogression, casting away the defiled mind, riding a skiff on the golden pond, paying homage to Amitābha in the white jade hall, so as to penetrate the three periods of time and hope to obtain the nine grades—is this not acceptable? Answer: Nāgārjuna's Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā states: 'The bodhisattva path has the practice of difficult practice, like riding a boat on land. It has the practice of easy practice, like riding a boat on water.' Through the power of Amitābha Buddha's original vow, if a person hears the name, recites it, and takes refuge in that land, it is like a boat finding water and meeting a favorable wind, traveling a thousand miles in a single bound—is it not easy indeed? Thus Śākyamuni Tathāgata, his royal father, his family, and sixty thousand members of the Śākya clan were all reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Because the Buddha has deep affinities with the sentient beings of this realm, exclusively focusing on a single realm—is it not excellent indeed?