樂邦文類 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

1.1

Preface to the Collected Writings on the Land of Bliss

In antiquity, the Sugata took pity on sentient beings revolving through the various realms of suffering, and pointed them toward the Land of Bliss so that they might take refuge. The unseen praises of various sages and the rebirths obtained by venerable elders are manifold; recorded in the scriptures of India, they are set forth as brilliantly as the stars. But when later followers gradually drifted astray, they generally sought [the Pure Land] through sounds and forms without knowing to seek it in their own minds. Therefore Dajian revealed it to be mind-only, enabling them to understand that those who wish to attain the Pure Land must purify their own minds; this is the purport of the Sugata's preaching on the contemplation of the Buddha, showing that "this mind is the Buddha." This possesses the three minds and the ten minds, and is the method for rebirth; this is Dharmākara's setting forth of supreme vows, his causal practice wherein his mind was quiescent and his resolve unattached. But when later followers gradually drifted astray, they generally took a subordinate view of the nine grades and were contentedly complacent within their fetters. If one is contentedly complacent within fetters, then the Buddhas need not have appeared in the world to deliver beings, and sentient beings would wander endlessly. If one does not seek within the mind, then the more one seeks, the farther away one gets, and the contemplation of the three sages would wholly pursue marks externally. The sages applied medicine on account of illness, yet sentient beings aggravate their illness on account of the medicine—is this not lamentable? Therefore, proclaiming the Land of Bliss is how those who are in identity in principle are led to rely on prajñā for practice and realization, saving them from wandering on the wheel of suffering. Speaking of mind-only is how practitioners of contemplation are led to base themselves on the dharmakāya for liberation, beholding the three sages within the true and constant. The Sugata pointed human beings to the jewel storehouse, and Dajian opened it with the primal key; Dajian showed human beings the causal flower, and the Sugata received human beings into the fruition stage. To unfold the flower while neglecting the fruit is as if there were no flower; to possess the storehouse while being unable to open it is as if there were no storehouse. Can those who attend to the Land of Bliss set aside mind-only? Past and present are the past and present of my mind, extending through the three periods of time without limit. Buddha-lands are the lands of my mind, broadly extending without bound and inexhaustible. Purified as the four sages and defiled as the six commoners, these are the four sages and six commoners of my mind. If one does not speak of mind-only, where else could one seek the Land of Bliss? If one truly understands mind-only, one cannot possibly fail to attend to the Land of Bliss. Unthinking, sentient life from beginningless time has falsely produced birth within non-arising and clung to a self within no-self; their habituation to the three fetters and ten afflictions has lasted long indeed. Without relying on the boat of the compassionate vows to lodge their spirits in the sacred domain, even bodhisattvas are still confounded by the transition between skandhas, and śrāvakas are bewildered upon emerging from the womb—how then could those of lower capacity expect to attain non-retrogression on their own? Mañjuśrī is the guide of the seven Buddhas: it is not that he had not realized the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas, yet he received the prediction of rebirth. Sudhana is one who perfected within a single lifetime the fruits of vast kalpas: it is not that he had not heard the ultimate truth, yet he made vows to be guided back. If one does not attend to the Land of Bliss, through what practice could one exhaust the wondrousness of mind-only? The Amitābha Buddha within my mind is adorned in the causal stage; the supreme land of my mind is the Land of Bliss. In our primordial origin, I and Amitābha Buddha are neither two nor different: I was deluded and wandered, becoming a sentient being within the Buddha's mind; the Buddha awakened, practiced, and attained realization, becoming the Buddha within the sentient being's mind. My mind is the Buddha's mind—I cannot obtain a separate "I"; the Buddha's mind is my mind—the Buddha cannot be obtained as an "other." The Buddha who cannot be obtained as an other delivers sentient beings thought after thought, without interruption from me. Yet sentient beings cling to the illusory self that cannot be obtained as "I," turning their backs on awakening to unite with dust, toiling in delusion and darkness within the three realms. How lamentable! Therefore, thoroughly cultivating the Land of Bliss is precisely how one thoroughly cultivates one's own mind. Thoroughly cultivating one's own mind is precisely how one leaves behind delusion and realizes that in which one is identical with Amitābha Buddha. The Buddhas realize nothing else: they completely realize the original nature of sentient beings. Whatever Amitābha Buddha possesses, I also possess, because it does not depart from my mind. The Land of Bliss is not a mark, because it is my mind. It is not an empty absence of marks, because marks are identical with non-marks. When marks are identical with non-marks, circumstantial and primary rewards are both true, and sentient beings and Buddhas are of the same substance. When circumstantial and primary rewards are both true, and sentient beings and Buddhas are of the same substance, then the past Dharmaghoṣarāja Tathāgata of the Land of Bliss has never entered extinction, the future Guṇaparvatarāja Tathāgata has long since attained buddhahood, and the present Amitābha Tathāgata, though beyond a hundred thousand koṭis of buddha-lands, is not separated from us in the least. The eighty-four thousand secondary marks are seen in accordance with every thought: my mind does not go, and that Buddha does not come, like a lamp in a mirror, like the moon in the water. The mirror does not grasp the lamp, yet the lamp naturally appears in the mirror; the moon does not enter the water, yet the water constantly contains the moon. Everywhere is thus; every dharma is thus. The mark of the white curl of hair between the brows is constantly contemplated yet is not a contemplation; one is reborn on the jeweled dais without arising. Being thus, is it to be called mind-only? Is it to be called the Land of Bliss? I cannot know. The Superior One of Luting carved the printing blocks for the Collected Writings on the Land of Bliss compiled by Master Xiaozong, and asked me for words. Examining the fascicles, I thereupon bowed to the Buddhas and patriarchs, expressing my modest views to accompany it.

1.3

Composed by Yan Ne, Metropolitan Graduate, Minister of Personnel, and Grand Academician of the Wuying Palace, from Haiyu

1.4

Preface to the Collected Writings on the Land of Bliss

1.5

Once the Way of the Zhou had passed away, the hundred schools each contended in the world with their doctrines. In time these gradually subsided, and only the three teachings of Ruism, Laozi, and Śākya ran nearly parallel. For the most part they all take exhorting goodness and restraining evil as their primary aim; their words differ, but their goal is one. Yet the school of Śākya is even more flourishing than that of Daoism. I have not often read Buddhist books, and originally had no intention of flattering the Buddha; only with regard to the precepts "commit no evil, practice all goods" have I not dared to let them depart from my mind for an instant. The Buddha's original intent seems not to go beyond this. In the world, there are those who practice the teaching of the Western Pure Land. Their doctrine says: Common mortals are born in the evil world of the five turbidities; entangling networks of karma envelop them, so that they cannot escape birth and death or halt [their drifting on] the sea of suffering. Mahāvīra, out of necessity, specifically pointed to a single direction, causing people to tie their minds and focus single-mindedly. If one truly proceeds by this means, one reaches that which has no directional location. Even so, if one does not find the gate and enter it, it is all in vain. Little do they know that this teaching is rooted in the one mind; what the one mind directs will necessarily manifest in good. Thus the Buddha pointed out, "This mind creates the Buddha; this mind is the Buddha." The ocean of the correct and universal knowledge of all Buddhas arises from mental contemplation; therefore one should single-mindedly tie one's thoughts to it. If one considers it on this basis, then Amitābha's fruition-awakening is precisely my nature, and the distant land of Ultimate Bliss is precisely my mind. Where a single thought reaches, its functional application is without deficiency; what question could there be of high and low, far and near? The monk Zongxiao turned his attention to the scriptural teachings and arranged them into this book. The scriptures and treatises of the great canon and the writings of Ruists and Buddhists past and present contained therein are all teachings of the Western Pure Land: some elucidate profound meanings to awaken those who have not yet understood; some demonstrate clear responses to encourage those who are to come; down to long prose passages, short verses, fragments of words, and single characters, none are not fully provided. His skillful use of body and mind is indeed commendable. One day he brought it to show me, and made a request, saying: "I have devoted my attention to this for years, and now intend to carve it on printing blocks to turn the one into the many, displaying it widely to scholars. If I could obtain a word to crown its head and lead people to give rise to faith and give rise to practice, then my painstaking compilation and engraving will not have been in vain." I took the book and read it: what the various masters show possesses considerable depth of interest, truly capable of clarifying the great purport of rebirth and inspiring goodness in people's minds. Deliberating and investigating its principle, I see that the inherent nature of human beings is originally clear in itself; beginningless delusion and falsehood, if not greedy, then stingy, is the root of the illness from which all sufferings arise. If one is to be made to leave suffering and distress behind and obtain peace and stability, one must apply this remedy to cure it. It is like an extraordinary physician using medicine: once the root of the illness is removed, the original constitution is as before. It is also like a bright mirror gathering dust: if rubbed and polished with vigor, its original brightness is restored as of old. Being so, this book is truly a strategy for restoring one's nature and returning to the origin; how could it be set aside? Alas! The Way is near at hand, one need not seek it afar; the matter is easy, one need not seek it through difficulty. In former times, when Master Wuzhuo paid homage at Mount Wutai, he saw Mañjuśrī speak a verse saying: "The jeweled stupa ultimately turns to dust; / With a single thought of pure mind one achieves right awakening." The Buddhadharma is limitless, but this saying covers it all. Since the Buddha-land takes mind as its root, those who seek the western return should solely and skillfully purify their minds, and nothing more; there is decidedly no other method.

1.6

Preface by Wang Dayou, Academician of the Fuwen Hall, Grand Master of Pure Offerings, retired from office, on the day of the Zhongyuan festival in the gengshen year of Qingyuan [1200 CE]

1.7

Compiled by the Śramaṇa Zongxiao of Shizhi in Siming

1.8

During the Qiandao era [1165–1173], the Deshou Palace personally dipped the imperial brush and wrote in large characters the two words "Lotus Society," bestowing it on the Defense Commissioner and Route Area Commander of Western Zhejiang, Zhang [Yan]. With dragons soaring and phoenixes dancing, the eight methods of calligraphy were fully complete—truly a rare auspicious omen of the Yellow River and Luo River charts in this world! I humbly reflect that Emperor Gaozong molded the realm under heaven with the transformative influence of Yao and Shun; with his merit accomplished he did not remain in place, casting off the myriad chariots as if discarding a worn shoe. In the leisure of his retirement, he let his mind roam through the inner scriptures, and furthermore wished to revive the custom of buddha-mindfulness of Mount Lu; hence he made this gesture. Examining the records of emperors and kings since antiquity who flourished the Buddhist teaching, some established stupas and monasteries, some translated scriptures and treatises, and some ordained monks and nuns on a wide scale; but never have I heard of one who wielded the brush and moistened the ink to promote the Pure Land, enabling all people to ascend and emerge from the five turbidities like our sagely sovereign. To this day, both within and beyond the four seas, societies are established following the ancient ways, and the sound of buddha-mindfulness fills the ears in grand abundance. Thus we know that supreme virtue is like the wind and the people's response is like the grass: it happens spontaneously without expecting it. Let me try to discuss it.

1.9

Our Buddha, the Benevolent One, took birth in Kapilavastu. Without attachment to the precious throne of a wheel-turning king, he went directly to the Snowy Mountains to sit in quiet meditation. Having attained the Way, he expounded the teachings according to individuals' capacities, so that the teachings of the Hinayana and Mahayana, the provisional and the perfect, differed. Finally, at the sublime assembly of the Lotus Sūtra, the single path was without partiality; opening the provisional vehicles, he brought them all back to the real truth. Thus the original intent of his appearing in the world only then was fully expressed. Moreover, reflecting that the faculties of people in future generations would be dull and dim, unable to seek liberation on their own, [he showed that] only through Amitābha's original vows in establishing the land of Ultimate Bliss can one cut horizontally across the river of craving and directly transcend to the stage of buddhahood. Therefore, he repeatedly and earnestly urged rebirth across the various Mahayana sūtras. This was truly the Tathāgata's extraordinary and wondrous expedient means, examining and taking pity on the sunken and drowning, like the father departing yet leaving behind the medicine. However, when the great teaching flowed eastward, people were still unaware. But Dharma Master Huiyuan of the Eastern Jin, whose spiritual capacity was outstandingly manifested, opened this source of transformation: channeling water to plant lotuses, he formed a Pure Land Society. At that time, there were one hundred and twenty-three participants, with eighteen great worthies, such as Liu Yimin, as their leaders. From then on, the path of the samādhi of buddha-mindfulness flourished. Down to the present, more than eight hundred years later, their legacy and glorious deeds remain stern and alive; thus Defense Commissioner Zhang was able to carry out this practice, following in their footsteps from afar. Indeed, one who undertakes learning must seek a teacher, and one who advances in practice must rely on the Dharma. Therefore, the rise of this society took Amitābha exclusively as its principal guide and the various sūtras as its compass. Since the Jin and Tang dynasties, eminent monks and great scholars have all composed writings praising this matter. Although the principles explained therein vary in depth and the diction is skilled or plain, they are like myriad streams flowing eastward together into the boundless ocean, allowing all who drink of them to partake of the single taste. As I, Zongxiao, gradually approach the evening of life, I have awakened to the fragility and transience of the world. Looking up with reverence to Emperor Gaozong, whose Way equals heaven and earth and whose virtue surpasses Fu Xi and the Yellow Emperor, yet who still propagated the supreme teaching to instruct the ignorant masses—how much more should I, who shamefully occupy a place among the monastic assembly, dare to neglect the path of contemplation and practice? Thereupon, I brought together the various sūtras and gathered the numerous writings, reading them prostrate with the intention of finding a good guide. Although their subtle phrases and profound meanings are not easily fathomed, having savored and investigated them for years, I have also roughly grasped their outline. Reflecting that the Sui pearl and He jade are the supreme treasures of the realm, if one were to box and conceal them, who among people could share in them? Thereupon, during my leisure days, I compiled what I had obtained in sequential order, beginning with sūtras and dhāraṇīs and ending with poems and verses, comprising fourteen sections in total, over two hundred and twenty items, divided into five fascicles, and titled it 'Collected Writings on the Land of Bliss' (Lebang wenlei), modeled after the Confucian Liu Zongzhi's 'Classified Writings of the Western Han'. As for whatever has not been fully gathered here, those who share my aspirations will surely continue it in due time.

1.10

Sūtras (forty-six passages in total)

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Table of Contents of Sūtras and Treatises from the Great Canon Devoted to the Pure Land

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Lotus Sūtra: The beginning of Amitābha's salvific affinity in trace manifestation.

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Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka Sūtra: The prophecies and names of the three sages based on their vows.

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Sūtra on the Production of Bodhisattvas: Amitābha's causal practices accomplishing sentient beings.

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Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra: Dharmākara making vows to adorn the wondrous land.

1.16

Sūtra of Verses on Amitābha: The marks of Amitābha's original vows in taking his land.

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Śūraṅgama Sūtra: Mahāsthāmaprāpta attaining complete penetration through buddha-mindfulness.

1.18

Sūtra of the King of Drum Sound: The city, parents, and relatives of Amitābha's land.

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Amitābha Sūtra: Ultimate Bliss is past a hundred thousand koṭis of buddha-lands.

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Amitābha Sūtra: Seven days without distraction moves the Buddha and achieves rebirth.

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Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Sūtra: Practicing the three kinds of actions leads to rebirth in the West.

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Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Sūtra: First cultivating the contemplation of the sun, directing thought to the West.

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Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Sūtra: The eighth contemplation of the image contemplates the Buddha with reference to the mind.

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Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Sūtra: Possessing the three kinds of mind immediately brings rebirth.

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Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Sūtra: For the lowest grade of the lowest birth, ten mindfulnesses complete the achievement.

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Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Sūtra: Vaidehī and her maids all attain rebirth.

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Amitābha Sūtra: Due to a mind of doubt, one is born on the border of the Western realm.

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Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra: Not understanding the Buddha's wisdom, one takes birth in the womb-palace.

1.29

Sūtra on Bodhisattvas Dwelling in the Womb: Giving rise to an attached mind, one falls into the Land of Indolence and Arrogance.

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Sūtra of Equal Enlightenment: Śrāvakas in the Pure Land practice and realize the fruit.

1.31

Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra: Excluding those who commit the five heinous acts and slander the Dharma from attaining rebirth.

1.32

Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra: The causal practices and marks of rebirth for the three tiers.

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Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra: Comparing the differences of cultivating good in the two lands.

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Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra: The numerous bodhisattvas reborn in the Pure Land.

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Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra: At the extinction of the Dharma, the sūtra is preserved for a hundred years to deliver people.

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Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra: Exhorting each to be diligent and strive to seek it.

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Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra: The light of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life shines universally.

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Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra: Precious bowls and food are naturally abundant.

1.39

Avataṃsaka Sūtra: Comparing the length of day and night in the two lands.

1.40

Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra Spoken by Mañjuśrī: Cultivating the single-practice samādhi by exclusively reciting the Buddha's name.

1.41

Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra: Cultivating the standing-buddha samādhi by exclusively keeping Amitābha in mind.

1.42

Great Vaipulya Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra: Cultivating the standing-buddha samādhi through the contemplation method of the Middle Way.

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Avataṃsaka Sūtra: Elder Vimukta attains the gateway of mind-only buddha-mindfulness.

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Avataṃsaka Sūtra: Depending on Samantabhadra's vows, one attains rebirth in Ultimate Bliss.

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Lotus Sūtra: Hearing the sūtra and practicing accordingly, one immediately attains rebirth.

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Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra: Giving rise to the ten kinds of mind, one is able to be born in Ultimate Bliss.

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Sūtra on Rebirth According to Vow: The Sahā world is turbid and evil, so the West is particularly praised.

1.48

Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūryagarbha Sūtra: In buddha-mindfulness, according to the mind, one sees the Buddha as large or small.

1.49

Sūtra of Maudgalyāyana's Questions: The land of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life is easy to reach and easy to attain.

1.50

Sūtra on the Ten Rebirths: Bodhisattvas protect and guard persons of buddha-mindfulness.

1.51

Sūtra on the Samādhi of Contemplating the Buddha: The Buddha foretells that Mañjuśrī will be born in Ultimate Bliss.

1.52

Mañjuśrī's Vow Sūtra: Mañjuśrī makes vows seeking rebirth in Ultimate Bliss.

1.53

Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra: The Buddha foretells Nāgārjuna's rebirth in the Land of Bliss.

1.54

Sūtra on Shanxin Moqin: Shanxin loathes womanhood and seeks rebirth in the West.

1.55

Śūraṅgama Sūtra: Discussing higher and lower retribution based on the proportion of emotion and thought.

1.56

Sūtra on the Lord Who Protects the Realm: Good and evil at life's end move superior or inferior retribution.

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Dhāraṇīs (ten in total)

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Ritual Manual for Cultivating Contemplation and Making Offerings to the Buddha of Immeasurable Life (Three dhāraṇīs extracted from this ritual manual below):

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Fist Mudrā Mantra of the Tathāgata of Immeasurable Life

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Root Mudrā Mantra of the Tathāgata of Immeasurable Life

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Heart Mantra of the Tathāgata of Immeasurable Life

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Uṣṇīṣavijayā Dhāraṇī Sūtra (One dhāraṇī extracted from this sūtra below):

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Dhāraṇī Dharma-Gate of the Tathāgata of Immeasurable Life

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Amoghapāśakalparāja Sūtra (Three dhāraṇīs extracted from this sūtra below):

1.65

Single-Syllable Mantra; Universal Liberation Heart Mantra; Amogha Great Consecration Light Mantra.

1.66

Record of the Inconceivable Divine Power of Amitābha

1.67

Uprooting all Karmic Obstacles and Attaining Rebirth [in the Pure Land Dhāraṇī]

1.68

Treatises (six passages in total)

1.69

Treatise on the Sutra of Immeasurable Life: The verses on rebirth and the practice of the five gates.

1.70

Vibhāṣā Treatise: Mindfulness of the Buddha as the easy path of practice.

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Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom: Those who delight in accumulating abundant merits seek rebirth in the pure land.

1.72

Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom: Śākyamuni and Amitābha each have pure and defiled lands.

1.73

Treatise on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna: For those in the Sahā world who do not encounter a Buddha, it specifically encourages mindfulness.

1.74

Essential Methods of Contemplation: Sharp and dull faculties contemplate the Buddha's marks and characteristics.

1.75

The Honorable Name of Amitābha Buddha

1.76

Catalogue of Sutras and Treatises in the Canon That Exclusively Discuss the Pure Land

1.77

In compiling this anthology, the reason I first present the sutras and treatises is that I wish practitioners of pure karma to attend to the fundamentals. These various sutras and treatises are scattered throughout the great canon; now I record their titles and case markers to facilitate convenient consultation.

1.78

The Sutra on the Immeasurable, Pure, and Equal Enlightenment Spoken by the Buddha, one work in two fascicles; Nai case.

1.79

Translated by the Yuezhi Tripiṭaka master Lokakṣema of the Later Han.

1.80

"Immeasurable, Pure, and Equal Enlightenment" is an alternative name for Amitāyus Buddha. The four characters "pure and equal" express the meaning of "life" [in Amitāyus]. "Enlightenment" (jue) is the Chinese word for Buddha.

1.81

The Sutra on Amitābha Spoken by the Buddha, one work in two fascicles; Nai case.

1.82

Translated by the Yuezhi Tripiṭaka master Zhi Qian of the Wu dynasty.

1.83

This sutra is also titled The Sutra on the Transference to the Path of Humans by Amitâ-saṃyak-saṃbuddha Sarva-buddhatā.

1.84

The Sutra on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Spoken by the Buddha, one work in two fascicles; Nai case.

1.85

Translated by the Tripiṭaka master Saṅghavarman of the Cao Wei.

1.86

This sutra also had a translation by Dharmarakṣa from the Yongjia era of the Jin, which is currently missing from the canon. The "larger version" referred to in the Tiantai commentary on the Contemplation Sutra is precisely Dharmarakṣa's translation.

1.87

The Assembly of the Tathāgata of Immeasurable Life in the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra, fascicles 17 and 18; Shi case.

1.88

Translated by the Tripiṭaka master Bodhiruci of the Great Tang.

1.89

The Ratnakūṭa collects forty-nine assemblies of various Vaipulya Mahāyāna sutras; the seventh is the Assembly of Immeasurable Life.

1.90

The Mahāyāna Sutra on the Adornment of Immeasurable Life Spoken by the Buddha, one work in three fascicles; Bing case.

1.91

Translated upon imperial order by the Western Indian Tripiṭaka master Faxian during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Great Song.

1.92

Among the five sutras above, the Equal Enlightenment and the Amitābha both translate twenty-four vows of the bhikṣu Dharmākara. The Immeasurable Life and the Great Ratnakūṭa assembly translate forty-eight vows. There is in circulation a separate single-fascicle text titled Forty-Eight Vows Sutra, which was extracted from the Sutra of Immeasurable Life, not an independent text. Furthermore, the Sutra on the Adornment of Immeasurable Life translates thirty-one vows. The Fuxing states: "The numbers of vows differ because the versions and traditions vary; there is no need to reconcile them." However, reading the five sutras closely, their beginnings and endings are generally the same, seeming to derive from the same Sanskrit original; the differences lie merely in the translators expanding or abridging as appropriate. Yet when Jingxi spoke of "versions and traditions varying," he showed that while the Buddha's preaching was one, it adapted unevenly to faculties, resulting in differences in both compilation and translation. Thus, as to whether they are the same or different, I do not dare make a definitive judgment; let the reader examine them carefully. Among the five translations, the textual formulation is clearest in the Cao Wei version, which is why ancestral masters have mostly cited it in their writings.

1.93

The Sutra on Amitābha Spoken by the Buddha, one fascicle; Yang case.

1.94

Translated by the Tripiṭaka master Kumārajīva of the Yao Qin.

1.95

The Tiantai commentary on the Contemplation Sutra designates this sutra as the "smaller version" and the preceding Sutra of Immeasurable Life as the "larger version." The Sutra on the Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life stands between the two and corresponds in meaning to the "middle version."

1.96

The Sutra in Praise of the Pure Land and the Embracing Protection of the Buddhas, one fascicle; Yang case.

1.97

Translated by the Tripiṭaka master Xuanzang of the Great Tang.

1.98

The two sutras above are different translations of the same text. The Qin version lists the praises of the Buddhas of the six directions, while the Tang translation includes the praises of the Buddhas of the ten directions; this is also a difference in the translators' expansion or abridgment suited to their times. The Longshu Pure Land Writings claims that the Qin version dropped the four directions, but this fails to understand the textual variations in translation.

1.99

The Sutra on the Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Spoken by the Buddha, one fascicle; Yang case.

1.100

Translated by Kālayaśas during the Yuanjia era of the Song.

1.101

This is a single-translation sutra with no duplicate translation in the canon; it is also titled The Sutra on Purifying Karmic Obstructions and Being Born Before the Buddhas.

1.102

The Later-Translated Sutra of Verses on Amitābha Buddha, one fascicle; Yang case.

1.103

Later Han; translator lost.

1.104

This sutra consists solely of fifty-six lines of verse; its literary style of exposition is terse and archaic, beyond the critique of past or present.

1.105

The Dhāraṇī Sutra of the Sound of the Drum King Amitābha, one fascicle; Gao case.

1.106

Translator lost.

1.107

When the above two sutras are called "lost translations," it means that the translators' names are lost. Some uninformed people take it to mean that they were not translated. If they were not translated, they would be Sanskrit manuscripts!

1.108

The Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra, one work in three fascicles; Zui case.

1.109

Translated by the Yuezhi Tripiṭaka master Lokakṣema of the Later Han.

1.110

The canon contains the Mahāvaipulya Mahāsaṃnipāta Bhadrapāla Sūtra and the Bapo Sūtra, which are both different translations of the same text as the Pratyutpanna. It specifically teaches the samādhi in which the present Buddhas all stand before one, contemplating and reciting [the name of] Amitābha for ninety days. It is the sutra upon which the constantly walking samādhi of the Mohe zhiguan is based.

1.111

The Supreme Dhāraṇī Sūtra of the Tathāgata's Uṣṇīṣa Spoken by the Buddha, one fascicle; Gao case.

1.112

Translated upon imperial order by the Western Indian Tripiṭaka master Fatian during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Great Song.

1.113

In this sutra, Amitāyus Buddha expounds a divine mantra to prolong the lifespans of sentient beings, so that when their lives end, they immediately attain rebirth in Sukhāvatī.

1.114

Ritual Manual for Cultivating Contemplation and Making Offerings to the Tathāgata of Immeasurable Life, one fascicle; Heng case.

1.115

Translated upon imperial order by the Tripiṭaka master Amoghavajra of Daxingshan Monastery.

1.116

In this ritual manual, one sets up an altar and recites mantras with the sole aim of rebirth.

1.117

Upadeśa on the Sutra of Immeasurable Life, one fascicle; Tang case.

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Composed by Bodhisattva Vasubandhu; translated by the Indian Tripiṭaka master Bodhiruci of the Northern Wei.

1.119

"Bosouloudou" is translated here as Tianqin (Vasubandhu). The Treatise on Rebirth referred to in Tiantai's Treatise on Ten Doubts is precisely this. This treatise comprehensively elaborates the Pure Land sutras; if one can contemplate it, it greatly aids pure practice.

1.120

Account of the Inconceivable Divine Power of the Amitābha Sutra; Yang case.

1.121

This account does not record the author's name; it is bound in the same fascicle with the smaller Amitābha Sutra, and includes the Divine Mantra for Rebirth.

1.122

Collected Rites of Repentance from Various Sutras, two fascicles; Qun case.

1.123

The upper fascicle was compiled by the Tang śramaṇa Zhisheng: the first half of the fascicle offers universal reverence to all Buddhas, while the second half specifically uses verses to revere and praise the Western Pure Land, as well as texts for repentance and making vows. In the lower fascicle, the monk Shandao selects and demonstrates the essentials for the exclusive cultivation of the Western Land, and collects the verses of the ancestral masters praising the Pure Land throughout the six periods of the day.

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The above sixteen sutras, treatises, accounts, and collections all exclusively discuss the Pure Land. Therefore, the Treatise on Ten Doubts says: "In the canon there are several tens of sutras and treatises that earnestly instruct and encourage birth in the Western Land." When former worthies claimed that the Pure Land had only seven sutras, were they not being careless?

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Lotus Sutra: The beginning of Amitābha's teaching affinity in the trace.

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The chapter on the "Parable of the Conjured City" states: "In the past there was a Buddha named Mahābhijñā-jñānābhibhū. Before that Buddha left home, he had sixteen sons, all of whom left home as youths to become śrāmaṇeras. At that time, after that Buddha had preached this sutra, he entered a quiet room for eighty-four thousand kalpas. Thereupon, the sixteen bodhisattvas, knowing that the Buddha had entered the room, each mounted a Dharma throne and expounded the Sutra of the Wondrous Dharma Lotus in full for the four assemblies, each delivering sentient beings as numerous as the sands of six million eight hundred thousand koṭis of nayutas of Ganges rivers. The sentient beings transformed by these sixteen bodhisattvas were born life after life together with the bodhisattvas. Those sixteen śrāmaṇeras are now preaching the Dharma in the ten directions." It further states: "Among the two Buddhas in the west, one is named Amitābha, and the sixteenth is myself, Śākyamuni. The sentient beings transformed at that time are you bhikṣus, as well as the śrāvaka disciples in future ages after my parinirvāṇa. When the Tathāgata knows that the time of his nirvāṇa has arrived, he gathers the bodhisattvas and the assembly of śrāvakas to preach this sutra for them."

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The Tiantai school clarifies the origin and trace of the Lotus Sutra; within the trace, Mahābhijñā comes first. This passage contains three points: first, forming a mutual affinity in the past (from "Thereupon, the sixteen bodhisattvas"); second, meeting again in the interval (from "The sentient beings transformed by these sixteen bodhisattvas"); third, preaching the Lotus Sutra again today (from "When the Tathāgata"). These three encompass the entirety of the trace's period of transforming others. As it is with Śākyamuni, so it is with Amitābha. Because the sixteen princes recapitulated the teaching during the time of Mahābhijñā to form affinities for beings, each of those princes attained buddhahood, the one in the west being named Amitābha. Verifying the cause by the effect, Amitābha was the ninth prince at that time, preaching to the assembly; thus we clearly know that Amitābha formed affinities for beings. Therefore, the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra, fascicle 6, states: "Mahābhijñā was the origin of forging Mahāyāna connections. That Buddha preached the sutra for eight thousand kalpas, and the sixteen princes recapitulated it for eighty-four thousand kalpas. Among the audience at that time, some were awakened right on their seats, some attained entry during the intermediate period, and some only now received conversion"; this is precisely what it means. Appraising it in this way, not only does it reveal that all Buddhas share the same path of teaching, but it also lets us know that all who have been born into the Pure Land throughout antiquity and modern times are the very assembly with whom the ninth prince formed affinities back then.

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Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka Sūtra: The names and predictions of the three sages based on their vows.

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In the past, past asaṃkhyeya kalpas numerous as the sands of the Ganges, there was a world named Śāntā, and the kalpa was named Subhāra. There was a wheel-turning king named Araṇemin who ruled over the four continents. He had a great minister named Samudrareṇu, who was of the brahmin lineage. At that time, a son was born [to the minister] endowed with the thirty-two marks and eighty minor signs, with a permanent aura of light one fathom across. When he was born, hundreds of thousands of devas came together to make offerings to him, and they therefore gave him the name Ratnagarbha. Later he went forth from the household life, shaved his hair and beard, and attained the path of bodhi, being likewise titled Ratnagarbha Tathāgata. He extensively expounded the true Dharma for the sacred king, and the king invited the Tathāgata and the assembled sages to receive offerings for three months. The king had one thousand sons; the king and his thousand sons thus made offerings for a full two hundred and fifty years, each confessing to the Buddha and the saṅgha of monks where they had fallen short. At that time, the Tathāgata entered samādhi and emitted a great brilliant light, manifesting the worlds of the ten directions—some worlds corrupt and vile with the five turbidities, and some worlds pure and wondrously subtle. The king addressed the Buddha, saying: 'Bodhisattvas, by what karma do they adopt a pure world? By what karma do they adopt an impure world?' The Buddha said: 'Bodhisattvas, by the power of vows, adopt a pure land and depart from the evils of the five turbidities. There are other bodhisattvas who, by the power of vows, seek the evils of the five turbidities.' The king said: 'I now truly wish to attain bodhi and do not wish to adopt an impure buddha land. I have already previously sat upright for ten years contemplating the adornment of a pure buddha land. I now make this vow: I vow that when I attain the path, there will be no hells, animals, or hungry ghosts within the world; all sentient beings will be of a golden colour, with no distinction between humans and devas; there will be no women; all will equally be apparitionally born, with measureless lifespans. The world will be pure and free of foul reek, and all its palaces will be diversely adorned like those of the sixth heaven. If there are sentient beings in other buddha worlds who hear my name, cultivate roots of goodness, and wish to be born in my realm, I vow that at the end of their lives they are certain to attain rebirth, excluding only those who commit the five heinous acts, slander the noble ones, or destroy the true Dharma (the *Anyang ji* says: 'The *Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka Sūtra* contains twenty-four vows, but the text is only summarized here').' After the wheel-turning king had made his profound vows, the Buddha told him: 'Great King! In the western direction, past hundreds of thousands of koṭis of buddha lands, you see there is the Dharmaghoṣarāja Tathāgata, whose world is pure and adorned entirely as the Great King has vowed. After four such Buddhas appear and enter extinction, passing one asaṃkhyeya of kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges and entering a second asaṃkhyeya of kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, that world will then change its name to Sukhāvatī. You shall at that time attain buddhahood, with the title Amitāyus Tathāgata and so forth.' At that time, Ratnagarbha Tathāgata soon conferred a prophecy upon the first prince, Animiṣa, saying: 'You contemplate all the sentient beings among devas, humans, and the three evil destinies, generate a mind of great compassion, wish to sever all the suffering and distress of sentient beings, and wish to cause sentient beings to dwell in peace and bliss; I now confer upon you the name Avalokiteśvara.' After Amitāyus Buddha enters parinirvāṇa, that land will change its name to the World Accomplished of All Rare Jewels, whose various adornments the world of Sukhāvatī cannot match. When you attain the path of bodhi, your title will be Guṇaparvatarāja Tathāgata. He also told the second prince, Nimi: 'What you now vow is to adopt a great world. In accordance with your vow, you shall attain the path of bodhi, with the title Supratiṣṭhitamaṇiparvatarāja Tathāgata. Because you adopted a great world, you are therefore given the name Mahāsthāmaprāpta (The causal vows, prophecies, kalpas, lands, and names of the three sages span the second and third [fascicles] of the sūtra; the above is merely a brief record).'

1.130

*Sūtra on the Bodhisattva Generating the Single Direction*: Amitābha's Causal Practices Bring Sentient Beings to Fulfillment

1.131

The Buddha said: 'I recall that in the past, vast, measureless, boundless asaṃkhyeya kalpas ago, there was a Buddha named Ratnaguṇavīryaprabhāsarddhikalparāja. When that Buddha was about to enter nirvāṇa, he extensively expounded the fundamental dhāraṇī of the Dharma to the assembly. At that time, there was a wheel-turning king named Agnidhara. The king had a prince named Acintyaprabhāvācāra, sixteen years of age. Hearing this fundamental Dharma from that Tathāgata, he diligently cultivated and practiced it for seventy thousand years, never sleeping nor reclining, sitting upright in one place, not coveting wealth, jewels, or the royal throne, and taking no pleasure in his own body. He encountered ninety billion hundreds of thousands of nayutas of Buddhas; he was able to hear, uphold, cultivate, and practice all the teachings of liberation of the Buddhas, grew weary of household life, shaved his hair, and became a śramaṇa. Having done so, he cultivated this dhāraṇī for another ninety thousand years, and further analyzed and revealed it for sentient beings. In a single lifetime, he vigorously taught and transformed them, causing eighty billion hundreds of thousands of nayutas of sentient beings to bring forth the mind of awakening, accumulating merit and gathering virtue to abide in the stage of non-retrogression. Could the bhikṣu Acintyaprabhāvācāra at that time be anyone else? He was none other than Amitābha Tathāgata (The sūtra is in the case marked *zhi* in the Great Canon).'

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*Sūtra of Immeasurable Life*: Bhikṣu Dharmākara Makes Vows to Adorn the Wondrous Land

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Long ago in the past, Dīpaṅkara Buddha appeared in the world, and sequentially in this manner up to the fifty-third Buddha, named Lokeśvararāja. In that Buddha's world, there was a king who, hearing the Buddha expound the Dharma, felt joy in his heart; he renounced his country and his kingship and became a śramaṇa named Dharmākara, gifted with eminent talent and courageous wisdom, surpassing the worldly. The Buddha expounded the Dharma, saying: 'It is like the great ocean: if a person measures it with a dry measure, passing through kalpas, he can still reach the bottom and obtain its wondrous jewels. If a person with utmost sincerity and diligence seeks the path without ceasing, what vow could he fail to obtain?' The Buddha accordingly expounded extensively on the goodness and badness of the devas and humans, and the coarseness and subtlety of the lands, across twenty-one billion buddha realms. Having heard this expounded, Dharmākara witnessed them all. He brought forth supreme vows; his mind was serene, and his resolve had no attachments. He addressed the Buddha again, saying: 'May you graciously listen and observe. In accordance with what I vow, I shall explain it fully. If, when I attain buddhahood, there should be hells, hungry ghosts, or animals in my land, may I not attain correct awakening,' and so forth. After Dharmākara had spoken the forty-eight vows, the great earth trembled and the heavens rained wondrous flowers. Dharmākara, sincere and truthful without falsehood, transcended the world and single-mindedly concentrated his resolve on adorning the wondrous land, teaching, transforming, and establishing countless sentient beings to abide in the unsurpassed, correct, and true path. He has now already attained buddhahood and presently abides in the western world of Sukhāvatī. That land is adorned with the seven jewels in wondrous beauty, surpassing the realms of the ten directions. It has no Mount Sumeru, sun, moon, great ocean, streams, ditches, wells, or valleys, nor the four evil destinies; nor are there spring, summer, autumn, or winter, being neither cold nor hot, always harmonious and temperate. It is solely because it is a land forged by the karmic actions of the power of virtue and goodness of those sentient beings that it can be so.

1.134

*Sūtra of Gāthās on Amitābha*: The Manifestation of Amitābha's Original Vows in Adopting the Land

1.135

Contemplate only the bhikṣu of the Dharma,
who followed the King Abundant in the World;
Making vows compared to all Buddhas,
he pledged twenty-four articles.
In lifetime after lifetime he saw Buddhas,
innumerable as hundreds of millions;
Never abandoning the practices of his past lives,
his merit and virtue were finally perfected.
The world is named Purity,
and the Buddha attained is titled Immeasurable;
The borders of the land are flat and even,
abundant in joy with many superior beings.
The Buddha's lifespan is like the sands of the ten directions,
his light universally boundless;
The bodhisattvas and disciples
cannot be counted or measured.
If you wish to see that Buddha,
do not doubt and do not worry;
Those with doubt remain in the womb,
not opening for five hundred years.
Those without doubt are born on the base of the seat,
joining their palms before Immeasurable [Life];
Wishing to traverse the ten directions,
they return in an instant.

1.136

*Śūraṅgama Sūtra*: Mahāsthāmaprāpta Obtains Perfect Penetration through Buddha-Mindfulness

1.137

The Dharma Prince Mahāsthāmaprāpta, together with the fifty-two bodhisattvas who were his peers, then arose from their seats, prostrated at the Buddha's feet, and addressed the Buddha, saying: 'I recall in the past, kalpas ago as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, there was a Buddha who appeared in the world named Amitaprabha. Twelve Tathāgatas followed in succession in one kalpa, the last Buddha being named Prabhāsottama. That Buddha taught me the buddha-mindfulness samādhi. Suppose there are two people: one single-mindedly remembers, while the other single-mindedly forgets. If these two people meet, it is as though they do not meet; if they see each other, it is as though they do not see each other. If both remember each other, their mutual recollection becomes deep. In this way, from life to life, they are like a form and its shadow, never parting. The Tathāgatas of the ten directions pity and care for sentient beings like a mother remembering her child. If the child runs away, of what use is her remembering? If the child remembers the mother just as the mother remembers the child, mother and child through successive lives will not be estranged. If the minds of sentient beings remember the Buddha and are mindful of the Buddha, they will certainly see the Buddha in the present or in the future; not far from the Buddha, without relying on expedients, their minds will open of themselves. Just as one scented by incense has fragrance upon his body, this is called adornment with fragrance and light. Originally in my causal ground, through the mind of buddha-mindfulness I entered the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas. Now in this world, I gather those who practice buddha-mindfulness to return to the Pure Land. The Buddha asks about perfect penetration: without making distinctions, gathering in all six sense organs with pure mindfulness continuing in succession to attain samādhi, this is foremost.'

1.138

The commentary by Changshui says: 'Amitāyus is also named Amitaprabha. "One single-mindedly remembers" refers to the Buddha; "one single-mindedly forgets" refers to those who are not mindful. For such sentient beings, seeing the Buddha is uncertain, hence it says "if they meet, it is as though they do not meet," and so forth. When the Buddha and sentient beings are reciprocally aligned in recollection, they are like a form and its shadow. As for the mind of buddha-mindfulness, initially, with a mind subject to arising and ceasing, one directs oneself toward the marks and signs of the Buddha, concentrating on a single realm without interruption, seeing the marks and signs of the Buddha like an image appearing in a mirror. Furthermore, one contemplates that the Buddha who is the object of mindfulness is entirely illusory, originally lacking self-nature, manifesting from mental recollection. Thus, as for the mind capable of mindfulness: whether already arisen or not yet arisen, from where does it come? Not seeing a single dharma, it is ultimately empty and quiescent, originally free from thought. That which is free from the mark of thought is equal to the realm of empty space, with nowhere it does not pervade. The single mark of the dharmadhātu is itself the Tathāgata's impartial dharmakāya; therefore it is said to enter the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas. Since I have attained liberation, sentient beings are no different from me; this nature of non-difference mutually implicates one another, so I gather all who are mindful of the Buddha. Mindfulness belongs to the mental sense-base, and the mind is that on which all sense organs rely, hence it says "gathering in all." Mindfulness is itself non-thought, hence it says "pure mindfulness." Not being interrupted by [deluded] thoughts, it is said to "continue in succession."' The *Collected Explanations* says: 'Examining practice through realization, the mind of buddha-mindfulness cannot be understood merely in terms of phenomena: with mindfulness preserving the threefold contemplation, the Buddha possessing the trikāya, and the mind shattering the three delusions, only then can one enter the stage of the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas.'

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*Sūtra of the Drum-Sound King*: Amitābha's Country, City, Parents, and Kin

1.140

The Buddha, at the Dharma assembly in the great city of Campā, spoke of Amitābha Buddha of the western world of Sukhāvatī: if a person can uphold the name, when he approaches the end of life, that Buddha and the great assembly will go to that person's place and cause him to see them; having seen them, he will be filled with joy. The place where he is born will forever leave behind the form of the womb and defiled desires, being spontaneously born by transformation within a jewelled lotus flower. That country is named Śuddhavilāsa; its city is ten thousand yojanas in length and breadth, filled within with the kṣatriya lineage. Amitābha Buddha's father is named Candrottara, a wheel-turning sacred king; his mother is named Visiṣṭarūpā; his son is named Candraprabha; the disciple who serves him is named Vimalakīrti; the disciple foremost in wisdom is named Prabhādhara; the disciple foremost in psychic power and diligence is named Mahāpariṇāma; the lord of Māras is named Ajita; and there is a Devadatta named Śānta. If a person recites this Great Dhāraṇī of the Drum-Sound King, for ten days and ten nights, during the six periods, single-mindedly being mindful of and reverently worshipping that Buddha, with firm right mindfulness, entirely eradicating distraction, with thought after thought uninterrupted, within ten days he is certain to see that Buddha, and see the Tathāgatas of the ten directions and the places where they dwell, excluding only those with heavy hindrances and dull faculties who are unable to perceive them (the dhāraṇī is extensive and not recorded here).

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樂邦文類 — Classical Chinese