樂邦文類 4.99

4.99

對曰：魔非無也。若謂發願求生淨土，承佛接引必是魔者，則佛誤人生魔宮矣。普賢教人發願云「願我臨欲命終時，面見彼佛阿彌陀。」龍樹菩薩、歷代聖賢，咸有著述（云云），豈俱令人發狂願生魔宮耶？子作此說，斷佛種子，非魔是何？請為子略陳魔相及降魔法。夫魔有四種，謂煩惱、陰、死及天魔。若欲降之者，如《大集經》云「斷集諦是降煩惱魔，知苦諦是降陰魔，修道諦是降天魔，證滅諦是降死魔。」又《智論》云「得菩薩道故破煩惱魔，得法性身破陰魔，得法性又破死魔。常一心，破一切處心不著，入不動三昧故破天魔。」然天魔最為難識，以能變現為佛菩薩像故。又《涅槃經》云「佛去世後，後五百歲中，魔道漸興。魔作比丘，壞亂佛法。」又禪門云「魔鬼入心，破正戒、破正見、破威儀、破淨命，不敬三寶父母師長、或毀壞經書形像塔寺，作諸罪逆，斷滅善根。現平等相，毀他修善，云非正道。或說無因無果。如是邪說，壞亂正法。具如九十六種外道經中一一分別。」惡魔之相，又誰識之？又智者禪門中，教人辨魔有三法：一者了知見聞覺知皆無所有，不受不著，亦不憂戚亦不分別；若是魔者，彼即自滅。二者但反觀見聞覺知之心，不見生處。如是觀時，魔便滅謝。三者若作此觀不即去者，但當正念，勿生懼想。正念不動，知魔界如即佛界如，一如無二如，於魔無所捨、於佛無所取，佛法現前，魔自退去。辨魔佛之真偽，乃學教有教眼者識之。若悠悠之徒，或命終之時風刀解體，精神荒越、怕怖章惶，又何暇辨魔佛之真偽哉，然火就燥、水流濕，邪不干正。或有一生之中以淳淨心堅固諦信，至誠禮誦悔過發願。吾知此人若身若心，則與彌陀氣類交接。《智論》云「如風吹樹，斜勢西傾。及其倒時，必當西倒。習善得生，亦復如是。」脫更有人，願力且薄、罪障又重，臨終相現，稱佛垂救。以佛力故，魔無能為。若人合生安養淨土，而為魔奪，乃是佛之力不如魔之力耶？故《大品般若》云「若人書寫般若波羅蜜經，乃至修行。是佛力故，魔不能為留難。」又諸大乘經中，菩薩天仙金剛力士各有誓願，令修行人魔不得便。故南山云：「韋馱將軍，最多洪護。若見魔屬惑亂比丘，則悽惶奔赴，應時剪除。」今之生淨土人，設為魔蔽，諸佛菩薩并護法神將豈不救耶？原夫命終見佛，佛從心現，淨土廣博現亦從心。子迷指歸，妄有排毀，吾恐有拔舌之痛，伊匪堪也。設或有人死生魔宮者，以修行時多雜魔業。魔業者，倚附佛法、邀名射利，外現清白、內唯腐臭，詐偽欺罔、吾我自高，截他人千尺之長為半分、揚自己一句之少為萬斛。此人氣分與魔交接，命終之日，儻不淪三惡道則生魔宮。向所謂水流濕亦可例也。若免三惡得生魔宮，斯亦幸矣。況大自在天本是大權，故《淨名經》云「作魔王者，皆是住不思議解脫菩薩，以方便故教化眾生。」故經中魔王，帶萬二千天女惑持世菩薩。時維摩詰一為說法，是諸魔女俱證無盡燈三昧。向謂幸矣，乃此是也。奉願自後修行之徒，但自內照修淨土心，是淳淨心耶？是魔業心耶？萬法唯心，心淨佛迎、心垢魔接，於理易了，奚須致疑？更有一類教眼盲者，貪慢溢腹、是非填膺，平安之時，四魔之中三不能識；臨終之際，恐生魔宮。口言降天魔，而中心存坐脫之法，願於豪貴家記生為人。又一何可笑。

I reply: Demons are not non-existent. But if one claims that making a vow to seek rebirth in the Pure Land and receiving the Buddha's welcoming and leading must be a demon, then the Buddha would be misleading people into the palace of demons! Samantabhadra instructed people to make vows, saying: 'May I, when approaching the end of life, see that Buddha Amitābha face to face.' Nāgārjuna Bodhisattva and the sages and worthies of past generations have all written works [on this]—could they all be leading people to make insane vows to be born into the palace of demons? In making this statement, you sever the Buddha-seed; if you are not a demon, what are you? Please let me briefly explain the marks of demons and the methods for subduing them. There are four kinds of demons: the afflictions, the skandhas, death, and the celestial demons. If one wishes to subdue them, as the Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra says: 'Severing the truth of origination is subduing the demon of afflictions; knowing the truth of suffering is subduing the demon of the skandhas; cultivating the truth of the path is subduing the celestial demons; and realizing the truth of cessation is subduing the demon of death.' Again, the Da zhidu lun says: 'By attaining the bodhisattva path, one destroys the demon of afflictions; by attaining the dharmatā-body, one destroys the demon of the skandhas; by attaining the dharmatā, one further destroys the demon of death. Constantly having single-mindedness, destroying attachment of mind in all places, and entering the immovable samādhi, one destroys the celestial demons.' Yet celestial demons are the most difficult to recognize, because they can manifest in the guise of buddhas and bodhisattvas. Moreover, the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, in the final five hundred years, the demonic path will gradually flourish. Demons will act as monks and corrupt the Buddha's Dharma.' Again, the Chan tradition states: 'Demons and ghosts enter the mind, destroying the correct precepts, destroying correct view, destroying decorum, and destroying pure livelihood. They show no reverence to the Three Jewels, parents, or teachers; or they destroy scriptures, images, stupas, and temples, committing all manner of sins and transgressions, and severing roots of goodness. Manifesting an appearance of equanimity, they slander others' cultivation of good, saying it is not the correct path. Or they speak of there being no cause and no fruit. Such false doctrines corrupt the correct Dharma. These are each distinguished in detail as in the scriptures of the ninety-six kinds of non-Buddhist teachings.' Who can recognize the marks of these evil demons? Furthermore, in Zhiyi's Chan texts, he teaches three methods for people to discern demons: First, realize that all seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing are non-existent, neither accepting nor clinging to them, neither sorrowing nor making distinctions; if it is a demon, it will naturally perish. Second, simply turn inward to contemplate the mind of seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing, and see no place where it arises. When one contemplates in this way, the demon will perish and fade away. Third, if one makes this contemplation and it does not immediately depart, one should simply maintain correct mindfulness and not give rise to fearful thoughts. With correct mindfulness unmoved, knowing that the suchness of the realm of demons is just the suchness of the realm of buddhas, and that the single suchness has no second suchness, with nothing to abandon regarding demons and nothing to grasp regarding buddhas, the Buddha-Dharma appears before one and the demon naturally retreats. To discern the real from the false between demons and buddhas is something known by those who study the teachings and possess the eye of the teachings. As for ordinary people, when their lives end and the wind-knives dismember their bodies, their mental spirits are bewildered and desolate, terrified and panic-stricken—what leisure would they have to discern the real from the false between demons and buddhas? However, fire seeks out dryness and water flows to moisture; the heterodox does not interfere with the orthodox. If throughout a lifetime someone has a pure mind with firm and sincere faith, wholeheartedly bowing, reciting, repenting, and making vows, I know that whether in body or mind, this person's breath and kind will intercommune with Amitābha. The Da zhidu lun says: 'It is like a tree blown by the wind, with an inclined posture leaning to the west. When it falls, it is sure to fall to the west. Habituating goodness to attain rebirth is also like this.' If there should be someone whose power of vows is weak and whose karmic hindrances are heavy, yet at death signs appear and they call upon the Buddha to grant rescue: because of the Buddha's power, demons can do nothing. If someone destined to be reborn in the Peaceful Nurture Pure Land could be snatched away by demons, would that mean the Buddha's power is inferior to that of demons? Therefore, the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says: 'If a person writes out the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, or even practices it, by the Buddha's power demons will be unable to cause difficulties.' Moreover, in all the Mahāyāna sutras, bodhisattvas, devas, ṛṣis, and vajra-wielding warriors each have their vows to prevent demons from gaining advantage over practitioners. Thus Nanshan said: 'General Weituo provides the greatest vast protection. If he sees the retinues of demons confusing monks, he rushes forth in anxious haste to eliminate them on the spot.' If a person destined for rebirth in the Pure Land today were obscured by demons, would the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and Dharma-protecting spirit-generals not come to their rescue? After all, seeing the Buddha at the end of life is the Buddha manifesting from the mind; the vast Pure Land manifesting is also from the mind. You are confused about the true objective and make reckless slander; I fear the agony of having your tongue pulled out will be unbearable for you. If someone dies and is born into a demon's palace, it is because when cultivating practice they were heavily mixed with demonic deeds. Demonic deeds mean: relying on the Buddha-Dharma to court fame and pursue profit, outwardly appearing pure while inwardly utterly rotten, being deceitful, fraudulent, and arrogant with self-conceit, cutting short another's thousand feet of virtue to half an inch while praising one's own single word of virtue as ten thousand bushels. The breath of such a person commingles with demons; on the day of their death, if they do not sink into the three evil paths, they are born into a demon's palace. This can also be illustrated by the earlier saying that water flows to moisture. If they avoid the three evils and manage to be born into a demon's palace, that is already fortunate! Furthermore, Maheśvara is originally a great expedient manifestation; thus the Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: 'Those who act as demon kings are all bodhisattvas abiding in inconceivable liberation, who teach and transform living beings through expedients.' Therefore, the demon king in the sutra led twelve thousand heavenly maidens to tempt 持世 Bodhisattva. At that time, Vimalakīrti preached the Dharma for them once, and all these demon maidens realized the samādhi of the inexhaustible lamp. What I previously called fortunate refers to this. I respectfully hope that practitioners hereafter will simply look inward to examine their mind that cultivates the Pure Land: Is it a pure mind? Or is it a mind of demonic deeds? The myriad dharmas are mind-only: when the mind is pure, the Buddha welcomes; when the mind is defiled, demons receive. The principle is easy to understand, so why raise doubts? There is yet another class whose eye of the teachings is blind, whose bellies overflow with greed and arrogance, and whose chests are filled with right and wrong. In times of peace, they cannot recognize three out of the four demons; at the point of death, they fear being born into a demon's palace. With their mouths they speak of subduing celestial demons, while in their hearts they harbor techniques of shedding the body while seated, wishing to be reborn as a human in an aristocratic family. How laughable this is!