樂邦文類 1.5

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.