樂邦文類 3

English (machine translation) 3

Language: English

3.1

Compiled by the Śramaṇa Zongxiao of Shizhi, Siming

3.3

"Record of the Pure Land Cloister at Longxing Temple" by Liu Zihou of the Ministry of Rites

3.4

"Stele for the Nameless Monk of Yuezhou" by the same author

3.5

"Record of Painting a Western Pure Land Banner" by Bai Juyi of the Hanlin Academy

3.6

"Stele for the Master of the White Lotus Society in Qiantang" by Dharma Master Zhiyuan of Gushan

3.7

"Record of the Seven-Jeweled Amitābha Image at Jingci Temple" by Judicial Commissioner Yang Jie

3.8

"Record of Constructing the Amitābha Jewel Pavilion" by the same author

3.9

"Record of the Pure Land Cloister at Yanqing Temple" by Court Awaiting Chen Guan

3.10

"Record of the Rebuilding of the Pure Land Cloister at Yanqing Temple" by Head Monk Qingzhe of Puan

3.11

"Record of the Standing Images of the Three Sages at Kaiyuan Temple" by Vinaya Master of Great Wisdom Yuanzhao

3.12

"Record of Making an Amitābha Image at Wuliang Cloister" by the same author

3.13

"Record of Anyang Hermitage at Lingshan" by Supervising Secretary Cheng Ju

3.14

"Record of the Lotus Society Written by Emperor Gaozong" by General Commander Zhang Lun

3.15

"Record of the Amitābha Stūpa on Mount Nanyue" by Chan Master Fachong of Mu'an

3.16

Record of the Pure Land Bodhimaṇḍa at Chengjiang, by Chan Master Fazhen Shouyi

3.17

Record of the Painted Wall of the Lotus Society at Baoji Cloister, by Zhongli Song, Director of the Bureau of Seals

3.18

Record of the Rebirth of Lady Yueguo, Consort of the Prince of Jing, by Huang Ce, Auxiliary Academician of Zhen'ge Pavilion

3.19

Record of the Rebirth of Vice Director Ma, by the same [author as above]

3.20

Record of the Rebirth of Lady Guangping, by Wang Yining, Academician Awaiting Orders

3.21

Record of the Śarīra Stūpa of the Hedong Parrot, by Wei Gao, Governor of Chengdu

3.23

Biography of the Bodhisattva of Fivefold Abhijñā in India Inviting the Buddha

3.24

Biography of Dharma Master Yuan, First Patriarch of the Lotus Society under the Eastern Jin

3.25

Biographies of the Five Dharma Masters Who Succeeded as Patriarchs of the Lotus Society Through Successive Generations

3.26

Biography of Monastic Controller Fayue of the Capital under the Liang

3.27

Biography of Dharma Master Shenluan of Bigu under the Later Wei

3.28

Biography of Chan Master Daozhen of Mount Lu under the Liang

3.29

Biography of Dharma Master Fazhi of Tiantai under the Sui

3.30

Biography of Chan Master Zhijue of Yongming under the Great Song

3.31

Biography of the Chaste and Resolute Retired Scholar Yu Shen under the Liang

3.32

Biography of Judicial Commissioner Yang, the Master of Non-contrivance (Wuwei Zi), under the Great Song

3.33

Biography of Administrator Wang of Guangzhou under the Great Song

3.34

Biography of Hu Xuanyi of Qiantang under the Great Song

3.35

Biography of Layman Wang Xuzhong of Longshu under the Great Song

3.36

Biography of Lady Zhu, Ruyi, of Mingzhou under the Great Song

3.37

Record of the Restoration of the Pure Land Cloister at Longxing Monastery

Tens of thousands of li to the west of the Central Realm, there is a country named Shendu (India), the land where Śākyamuni Tathāgata manifested. That Buddha said: Traversing past a hundred thousand kotis of buddha-lands to the west, there is a world named Ultimate Bliss, and the Buddha is titled Amitāyus Tathāgata. In that land there are no three poisons or eight difficulties; many treasures serve as its adornment. Its people have no ten fetters or nine vexations; the multitude of sages serve as their companions. If there are those who with sincere mind and great vows return their minds to this land, provided their power of mindfulness is complete, they will be reborn in that land, and thereafter transcend beyond the three realms, never to retrogress from the Buddha path. His words do not deceive! In the Jin era, Dharma Master Yuan of Mount Lu composed a chant on the buddha-mindfulness samādhi, greatly exhorting [people] at the time. Afterwards, Great Master Yi of Tiantai composed the Treatise Clarifying the Ten Doubts about the Pure Land, broadly proclaiming its teaching; thorough, minute, and wondrous, all those who are deluded rely upon it. Indeed, those who have left behind wondrous traces upon their departure have been extremely numerous. Li Chengzhi, former Prefect of Yongzhou, together with the monk Falin, established a Pure Land hall on the eastern side of Longxing Monastery, where they constantly venerated these matters. Down to the present, more than twenty years have elapsed: its corners were ruined and broken, and its holy icons had collapsed and fallen. It happened that Superior Xun came to dwell beneath its eaves and began to restore it. This Superior cultivates the Supreme Vehicle and understands the primary truth; without any trace of substantializing emptiness or analyzing form, he attains the true source; grasping that designations are borrowed from conditioned existence and conventional non-existence, he enters into the true mark. Objects harmonize with wisdom, and phenomena unite with principle; therefore, although the cause of rebirth also involves appearances and functions, he did not abandon it, but vowed to repair this building to open the way for later students. A faithful layman painted an image of the Buddha, with the Dharma marks fully complete. The current Prefect, Lord Feng, built a main gate to designate its location. I thereupon extended the four eaves all around and surrounded them with cloistered corridors, painted images of the two Mahāsattvas, and added silk canopies, streamers, and banners to bring it to completion. Alas! If there are those who can seek the birth of non-birth, let them know that the raft lies right here! Thereupon I wrote the Tiantai Ten Doubts on the walls of the building, so that those who view it may give rise to faith.

3.40

Stele for the Nameless Upādhyāya of Yuezhou

3.41

By the same [author as above]

3.42

On such-and-such a year, month, and day, the Great Upādhyāya of Yuezhou passed away at Sheng'an Monastery. He had been a monk for a certain number of years, and his age was such-and-such; he had a personal name but no surname, and the world did not know his hometown, his lineage, or his undertakings. When someone inquired, he would reply, saying: 'Nature is my surname. Its source has no beginning; its lineage has no end; inherited from the Śākya Master, it binds to the root of the Dao. Am I without a surname? Fajian (Dharma Sword) is what is called my name. In reality, name itself does not exist—how then could my name remain?' He also said: 'The ocean of nature is my homeland, and the dharmadhātu is my dwelling. Precepts are its walls, and wisdom is its gates: guarded by them, one is secure; abiding in them, one is at peace. Are my village and neighborhood not complete? The gates of deliverance and the requisites of the path are infinite in number; the bodhisattvas and mahāsattvas are boundless in multitude. I am kin to them and they are not different from me. Is my lineage not grand?' What could be heard of his path was like this. Yet he solely recited the Lotus Sūtra and the Diamond Prajñā Sūtra, their recitations numbering in the tens of millions. Some criticized him for engaging in conditioned action, to which he said: 'I have never done anything.' Alas! As the Buddha's way grew ever more distant, deviant doctrines competed to arise, and only the Great Master of Tiantai grasped his teaching. The Upādhyāya inherited the original lineage and complied with the Middle Way, so that all who received his instruction did not lose their school's source. Living beings drift along, their destinations confounded and chaotic; only the direct path to Ultimate Bliss succeeds in being their refuge. The Upādhyāya diligently sought with upright sincerity to accomplish the ultimate vow, so that all who listened and believed were not deluded about its path. Some criticized him for leaving traces, to which he said: 'I have never walked.' At first, he lived at Longxing Monastery in Fangzhou, and later moved to this prefecture, establishing a bodhimaṇḍa on the northern peak of Mount Laṅkā, not stepping beyond the threshold for fifty years. Those whom the Upādhyāya revered and served were all exalted and virtuous persons of the age. When he first left home, the one he served and relied upon was Master Zhuoran, who resided at Mount Li in Nanyang and was buried in Yuezhou. The one from whom he received the full precepts was Master Daoying, who resided in Jingzhou. The foremost of his disciples was Master Huaiyuan, who resided at Anguo Monastery in Changsha, upheld the Vinaya methods of Nanyue, and came each year to attend upon the Master. Present at his passing, he thereupon buried him on such-and-such a day a certain number of paces east of Master Zhuoran's stūpa. The inscription reads:

3.43

The Dao is rooted in the One, / yet branches into disparate gates; / taking nature as one's surname, / one returns to its root.
Nameless, yet bearing a name, / the master's teaching is revered; / provisionally used to instruct beings, / it is not where one truly abides.
Not dwelling in a vast hometown, / not holding close a great clan, / profound intention shines brightly within, / while empty stillness manifests benevolence without.
The Sage has bequeathed words, / to be investigated and pursued with diligence; / yet only through diligence and silence, / does one pass away like a floating cloud.
The teachings, long enduring, grew faint; / the world rarely investigated or explained them.
Thereupon arose Great Wisdom (Zhiyi), / issuing forth from his authentic gate,
Revealing it in proximity, / to cause the people to become entirely renewed.
When passions stir, change arises, / and beings are submerged and lost thereby;
Thereupon the Land of Bliss is bestowed, / joining in the source of transformation.
The master used it to guide and lead, / that the people would not be benighted.
The Dao's function is non-active, / the spiritual practice leaves no trace;
Darkness and brightness are both as such, / life and death are equally tranquil.
The Dharma was entrusted to later students, / bestowed without wearying;
Buried alongside our teacher, / do not forget the true abode.
Inscribing this illustrious epitaph, / engraved upon this dark stone.

3.44

Record of the Painted Hanging Scroll of the Western Pure Land

3.45

By Bai Juyi of the Hanlin Academy

3.46

Our Fundamental Teacher Śākyamuni Tathāgata spoke these words: Passing from here to the west beyond a hundred thousand kotis of buddha-lands, there is a world named Ultimate Bliss, because it is free of the eight sufferings and the four evil paths. That land is named Pure Land, because it is free of the karmas of the three poisons and the five turbidities. That Buddha is named Amitābha, because his lifespan is immeasurable, his vows are immeasurable, and his merit, marks, and radiant light are immeasurable. Carefully observing the dust-mote-like sentient beings of this Sahā world, regardless of whether they are wise or foolish, noble or base, young or old—whenever any of them gives rise to the thought of taking refuge in the Buddha, in raising their hands and joining their palms, they must first face the west. When there are those who suffer terror, adversity, and affliction, in opening their mouths and emitting sound, they must first recite 'Amitābha Buddha'. Furthermore, whether casting metal, shaping clay, carving stone, weaving cloth, or even imprinting water or gathering sand in children's play, none do not take Amitābha Buddha as the foremost. They know not why it is so, yet it is so. Looking at it from this, it is clear that that Tathāgata has great vows toward these sentient beings, and these sentient beings have great karmic affinity with that land. Were it not so, the buddhas of the east, south, north, past, present, and future are so numerous—why would it be uniquely like this? Why would it be uniquely like this? I, Grand Master for Palace Counsel, Junior Preceptor of the Crown Prince, Supreme Pillar of State, Founding Baron of Pingyi County, and Recipient of the Purple and Gold Fish Bag, Tang dynasty, Bai Juyi, being in my declining and twilight years and stricken with paralysis, thereupon gave up thirty thousand of my salary cash and commanded the artisan Du Zongjing to paint, according to the two sūtras of Amitābha and Amitāyus, a painting of the Western World, nine feet high and thirteen feet wide. Amitābha, the Honoured Buddha, sits in the centre; the two Mahāsattvas, Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, attend on his left and right; humans and devas gaze up in reverence, and retinue surrounds them. Pavilions, celestial musicians, waters, trees, flowers, and birds are adorned with the seven treasures and displayed in the five colours, resplendent and magnificent—merit and virtue brought to fulfillment. The disciple Juyi burned incense, bowed his head, knelt before the Buddha, gave rise to a mind of compassion, and made a broad and great vow, wishing that this merit be transferred to all sentient beings. May all sentient beings—those aged like me and afflicted with illness like me—depart from suffering and attain bliss, sever evil and cultivate good; and without departing Jambudvīpa, may they behold the Western Realm, the great light of the white curl responding to their mindfulness to welcome them, and in the highest grade of the blue lotus, be reborn according to their vows. From the present body to the end of the future, may they always be able to draw near and make offerings. Desiring to restate this vow, I praise in verse, saying:

3.47

The pure land of the world of Ultimate Bliss / is free from all evil paths and manifold sufferings; / may all who are like this aged body, suffering from illness, / together be born in the dwelling of Amitāyus Buddha.

3.48

Stele for the Leader of the White Lotus Society of Qiantang

3.49

By Dharma Master Zhiyuan of Gushan

3.50

On the twelfth day of the first spring month in the fourth year of the Tianxi era of the holy Song dynasty [1020], Master Chang, the Great Master Yuanjing and leader of the White Lotus Society, entered quiescent extinction at the upper thatched hall of his home temple, Zhaoging, at West Lake in Qiantang, at sixty-two years of age and forty-four monastic rains. On the third day of the following second month, his disciples, weeping and sobbing, conveyed his complete body and entombed it to the right behind the stupa of Chan Master Niaoke on Mount Lingyin, erecting a pagoda to mark it as the ritual prescribes. In the winter of that year, the foremost among his disciples, named Xubai, who was able to shoulder the master's Way, personally recorded his deeds and came twice to my dwelling, requesting my words to transmit the master's virtues and carve them on an abundant stele, saying: 'This was the late master's bequeathed intention.' I could not decline his request, so I composed an account and prefaced it. Now, as for the teachings of the Western Sage, they are pure, tranquil, and free of contrived action, benevolent, compassionate, and non-killing. Their profound expressions and subtle discourses, their vast meanings and deep intentions, provide fully for all pupils of the Central Realm who receive their transforming influence. Those who grasp the lesser and nearer aspects turn to the good and keep far from evil; those who attain the greater and farther aspects return to the origin and recover their nature. Ah! Master Yuan of Mount Lu surely grasped the greater and farther aspects! He lived purely in secluded retirement, cultivated words to establish sincerity; his discernment was sufficient to manifest the subtle, and his conduct was sufficient to serve as a model. Therefore, the worthy men of his time looked up to his loftiness and aspired to his clarity, and from this arose the matter of forming a society. People down to the present day praise it, yet none have been able to succeed him. Only the master [Shengchang], being strict and precise in principle and conduct, and pure and plain in cultivating the mind, heard the wind of Mount Lu and took pleasure in it. He said: 'A horse that longs for Ji is also of the Ji lineage. Although I have no likeness [to the worthy], dare I forget the admonition to emulate them?' Thereupon he rectified his body and cleansed his mind, and made a vow to organize a society, saying: 'Guiding others in the Way must rely upon a place; revering the spirit must depend upon an image; practicing the transformation must rely upon words.' Deeming West Lake to be the most superb retreat in the realm, he delighted in its secluded quiet and showed his fine withdrawal. Deeming the Buddha of Immeasurable Life to be the one to whom all living beings look up, he carved sandalwood to fashion his form. Deeming the 'Chapter on Pure Conduct' in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra to be the essential mechanism for attaining sagehood, he pricked his own blood to write out its verses. Once the place was secured, the image completed, and the words set into practice, the worthy gentlemen of the court esteemed his righteousness, and his reputation spread throughout the country. Consequently, prime ministers, renowned officials, regional chiefs, and prefects also heard the master's style and delighted in it: some sought seclusion to inquire about the Way, some beheld the image and recognized the truth, and some examined the sūtras and grasped their meaning. For over thirty years they were friends of absolute harmony; those who joined the companions of the White Lotus numbered one hundred and twenty-three in all. Such was his accomplishment in transforming others! This demonstrates that in succeeding to Mount Lu, the society of West Lake suffered no sense of shame. Let us attempt to consider this: Master Yuan was a sage of the high stages; our master was a worthy of the initial mind. In truth, their levels were different, and their titles and reputations distinct. Yet Yuan emerged during the declining Jin, while our master was born in a sagely dynasty; those whom the former summoned were all recluses and hermits, while those who came to the latter were all prominent and exalted figures. Balancing their long and short points, past and present stand as equals; is this not grand and splendid? The master would often turn to his disciples and say: 'Since the beginning of our dynasty, the sash-wearing literati have honored antiquity in their writing, for the most part imitating Tuizhi's [Han Yu's] character and making it their aim to suppress and banish the Śākya clan. Therefore, I borrowed the traces of Master Yuan and made use of forming a society; many of them have followed my transformative influence. Their numerous steles and clustered eulogies praise and extol the Buddha-Dharma, serving as covenants of refuge, which is precisely enough to clear the brambles from divergent paths and serve as a wall and moat to defend our teaching. The world does not understand me, and some consider me one who devises novelty to court fame; but I am not of that sort.' A superior person said: 'In the past, Yaoshan Weiyan was able to turn the heart of Li Ao, enabling him to understand the Buddha, and the biographies of monks praised him for it. Now these many worthies aspire toward the true mark and venerate the Great Awakened One, returning in homage to the sea of nature and reaching together the sky of ultimate meaning—without the master's strength, who could have done this?' His merit in protecting the Dharma is indeed unexcelled in his age! The master's taboo name was Shengchang, his courtesy name was Zaowei, and his secular surname was Yan; his family had for generations been natives of Qiantang. At the age of seven, he grew weary of the mundane world; at seventeen, he received full ordination. As for the auspicious omens of his conception, the preceptors under whom he studied, the excellence of his lecturing and practicing Chan, and the matters of tempering his name and disciplining his conduct—these are all recorded in the stele prefaces by the guests of the society and various worthies, as well as in the account of conduct compiled by his disciples; they will not be repeated here, and only the Way of his establishing the society has been directly recorded. The inscription reads:

3.51

The greatness of the Western Sage / only Yuan attained it; / The loftiness of Mount Lu / only our Master took pleasure in it. / The society of West Lake / the host of worthies admired it; / Having a beginning and having an end, / neither ground down nor stained dark. / When my conditions came to an end, / I passed into extinction here; / My spirit roams in the realm of non-being, / while my name is spread throughout this sagely era. / If you wish to know my Way, / gaze upon this abundant stele.

3.52

Record of the Seven-Treasure Amitābha Image of Jingci Temple

3.53

By Judicial Commissioner Yang Jie

3.54

At the Jingci Bodhimaṇḍa on the South Mountain of Hangzhou, the monk and Great Master Fazhen, Shouyi, joined with like-minded companions and dānapatis to make an image of Amitābha Buddha using gold, silver, pearls, coral, amber, tridacna, and agate. Its sagely marks were extraordinary and wondrous, and its efficacious responses were not just one. The Master of Non-action [Yang Jie] gazed up at it and praised it, [saying]: 'Pulverize the seven treasures into fine dust, and gather the jewel-dust into a Buddha's body—seeing the jewel-dust is seeing the Buddha, and there is no Buddha that is not jewels; seeing the Buddha's body is seeing the jewels, and there are no jewels that are not the Buddha. The seven treasures are worldly treasures; sentient beings greedily grasp them without satisfaction, become angry when they cannot obtain them, and in their folly cannot awaken—these are the causes of the evil destinies. Once the seven treasures have been made into the revered image, they are no longer for worldly use, but are supermundane treasures. Those who encounter this treasure image should give rise to reverence, strictly observe the prohibitive precepts, solidly stabilize their power of concentration, and penetrate through to wisdom—these are the causes of the Pure Land. The Buddha's body is equal to the great void, hence it does not possess the five viscera. Taking the minds of sentient beings as his mind, the people in the gathering each wrote down one vow of Amitābha; with every forty-eight persons, the vows of Amitābha were complete, and all were deposited inside the body, showing that vow after vow, he never forgets sentient beings. His curled topknots number one thousand two hundred, each filled with relics, manifesting the firmness of the power of his vows. On the day the image was completed, they bathed the Tathāgata with eight kinds of scented water, representing the water of eight merits. People drank it at will, sharing alike in the taste of amṛta. When one body is pure, all bodies are pure; when one thought is pure, all thoughts are pure. Therefore, without leaving the Sahā world, one suddenly transcends to the Utmost Bliss; with a single sight of the treasure image, one accomplishes a great condition. How could this be reachable by thought or discussion?' Thereupon he composed a verse, which says:

3.55

Gathering and compounding the seven treasures / creates the body of the Tathāgata. / The treasures are precisely the Buddha; / outside the Buddha there are no treasures. / The Buddha is precisely the treasures; / outside the treasures there is no Buddha. / In the realm of non-duality, / all Pure Lands are manifested. / Praising, rejoicing, and circumambulating, / in thought after thought there is Amitābha. / May we, together with all sentient beings, / jointly transcend to the Utmost Bliss.

3.56

Record on Erecting the Treasure Pavilion of Amitābha

3.57

By the same as above

3.58

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.

3.59

Record of the Pure Land Cloister at Yanqing Temple

3.60

By Chen Guan, Auxiliary Academician

3.61

The abbot monks of Yanqing Monastery in Mingzhou have had lecture seats for generations, taking the Tiantai contemplative practice as their school. Ever since Grand Master Fazhi Zhili, whose practice and learning were both lofty, the assembly of listeners turned their hearts toward him. Those who succeeded him were likewise all worthy men, now for more than a hundred years. Occasionally there were men of ascetic practice and rigorous cultivation who came to rely upon this bodhimaṇḍa. During the Yuanfeng era, the monk Jieran cultivated the method of the Western Pure Land, sitting without lying down for a period of three years. When his period was fulfilled, he said to his fellow practitioners, the monks Huiguan, Zhongzhang, and Zongyue: “Each of us occupies a single room to accomplish this supreme causal condition. But as later arrivals grow more numerous, the rooms do not increase. Now in the western corner of Yanqing there is still vacant land. If we could obtain more than twenty million cash, construct more than sixty bays of buildings, erect a precious pavilion in the center, set up a sixteen-foot body of Amitābha flanked by Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, and encircle it with sixteen chambers—each chamber having two bays, with the images of the three sages arrayed outside and serving inside as a place for dhyāna contemplation; with the hall overlooking a pool of water, the water producing lotus flowers—then without leaving the midst of defilement, an unworldly realm would be thrown wide open. The stations of mindfulness would all be quiescent, completely devoid of disparate conditions, so as to solidify an unwavering mind and reveal the land of peace and bliss. Thus to comply with the Buddha’s compassion and requite the country's benevolence—how could it be for just the four of us alone? Such is my wish; can it be accomplished?” Huiguan and the others replied: “With a mind that operates naturally without artificial effort, we shall perform conditioned deeds of benefit. Siming has many generous and faithful donors; why worry that it will not be accomplished?” From then on, daily managing and monthly accumulating, seven winters and summers passed. Of all that Jieran wished to do, not one failed to accord with his intention. At the outset, Jieran burned two fingers of his hand, vowing that he would surely accomplish this. On the day of its completion in the third month of the second year of the Yuanfu era, he set out an offering to a thousand buddhas and further burned three fingers to augment his pure vow. Having accomplished what was difficult to accomplish, and having renounced what was difficult to renounce, yet when one traces the motive of his mind, there was no selfish intention. Thereupon, among those who saw or heard of it, none failed to rejoice in accord; men devoted to pure practice leapt with joyful celebration, and the sixteen chambers were never left vacant. Those whose terms were completed departed, and those who generated the aspiration arrived. As for those who relied upon this supreme realm and attained wholesome benefits, who knows how many people there were? Now, the teaching of the Pure Land was spoken by ancient buddhas; men of sincere mind accept it truly without doubt. In the Tathāgata’s account of the nine grades, utmost sincerity is taken as the very highest; in the Wise One’s composition of the Ten Treatises, the complete bonds of a doubting mind are shattered. When bonds are untied and emotional attachments forgotten, when consciousness disperses and wisdom appears, then why should one falsely seek Amitābha's pure realm elsewhere? It is like facing a bright mirror and seeing one’s own face: those who attain it do not do so through sensory consciousness, and how could the benighted understand it through emotion? Transcending the conditioning of consciousness without delusion, crossing beyond emotional dust to reach it alone—is this not solely through sincerity? Therefore it is said: “Sincerity is accomplishment”; accomplishing oneself and accomplishing others is simply this. It is like the pure full moon appearing everywhere in all waters: the reflections are not one, yet the moon's substance is not two; gathering the scattered streams, it equalizes their return, convening the ten directions to unify them into one. It is also like ten mirrors encircling [a center] with a single lamp burning within: their light and forms intermingle, so that east and west cannot be distinguished. Yet directions have their assigned positions, and it is not that the western mirror is absent; names are established following appearances, but the west is not inherently west. When wisdom and principle are fused, what realm could one cling to? How could one use the views of clinging to directions while still in bondage to measure the Tathāgata’s unobstructed realm? Cien said: “Commoners have heavy karma and produce greed everywhere. If one does not definitely point to one direction, how could one tether the mind in single-minded focus?” This good spiritual friend supported the teaching according to people's inclinations, specifically protecting the Dharma-character school. Yet when discussing the relative superiority of Peaceful Nurture and the Tuṣita [Heaven of] Contentment, to promote rebirth [in the Pure Land] is deemed the most supreme. Thus we know that penetrating men are without stinginess, for stinginess breeds much selfishness. That the object is strong and habits are heavy is because contemplation is shallow and the mind is superficial. That it is easy to go yet no one does is truly because doubt is deep and hindrances are heavy. If one wishes to eliminate all defilements and hindrances completely, one must make determination one’s mind. Though wet firewood be like a mountain, a tiny spark can ignite it; a dark room of a thousand years is suddenly brightened by the sunlight. Śākyamuni’s skillful means were exceedingly deep; the Immeasurable Life [Buddha] expounds the Dharma without interruption; Avalokiteśvara is like a mother mindful of her child; Mahāsthāmaprāpta is like a child remembering its mother. How could one not follow the tracks and models of the ancient sages? What is there to renounce in an illusory, empty realm? Elder Vimukta did not go to the Land of Peace and Bliss, while the Great Being Samantabhadra personally beheld the Immeasurable Light. The one who personally beheld did not move in the first place; the one who did not go went in just this way. Only when there is universal fusion without obstruction are the empty and the provisional both the middle; if distinctions are not forgotten, how can one avoid mutual disputes between the provisional and the real? If it is like this, there will be no day when the mind is at peace; when could forbearance ever be attained? Thus one knows that only when every thought is present right before one will there definitively be no retrogression. Therefore it is said: “If I do not definitively achieve equal and right awakening, I vow not to take bodhi. If there is retrogression from the bodhicitta, I vow not to take right awakening.” These were Bhikṣu Dharmākara's fundamental vows, and what all superior wholesome persons follow and learn. If one generates such a mind, practices such practice, gives rise to such vows, and aims for such fruit, without contravening Dharmākara's great vows, then those who lodge their tracks in this monastery and dwell their minds in these chambers are all persons of avaivartika. How could there be an end to its supreme benefit? When the monk Jieran voiced a single wholesome thought, the faithful of Siming responded like an echo. And as for how he benefited an entire region, its breadth was like this. Could one fail to record this affair? The current abbot of Yanqing, Great Master Mingzhi (Zhongli), is the great-grandson of Fazhi. His religious practice is complete and substantial, trusted and admired by others. Capable of cultivating the Pure Land contemplation with a sincere mind, he greatly assisted in Jieran's enterprise; hence I record it together. On the first day of the eighth month of the first year of the Daguan era, recorded by Chen Guan of Yanping.

3.62

The Caotang lu says: “Chen Yingzhong’s ‘Record of the Pure Land Cloister’ profoundly penetrates the innermost sanctum of the Buddhas and Patriarchs.” When speaking of the Pure Land today, some grasp it according to the Buddha but lose it according to the Patriarchs, or grasp it according to principle but lose it according to phenomena. Gaining in this aspect, they inevitably lose in that. Yet Master Liao, in not several hundred words, encompassed the various teachings and captured the totality of the Pure Land; was he not indeed endowed with lofty natural talent? Now, this record is lofty and has certainly long been widely praised. As for Duke Chao (Shuozhi) composing the stele for Master Mingzhi, surging with the Tiantai school and vigorous in literary style, grandly praised and admired by the world, it truly runs neck and neck with Master Liao’s record. His record states: “The Master always used the Pure Land gate to entice his students, wishing to make everyone know that Śākyamuni has a pure land and Amitābha comes to this defiled land. What was aspired to in the mind at other times would one day surely be beheld by the eyes. Thereupon, relying on the Contemplation Sūtra of Sixteen Contemplations, he brought it forth for viewing: he made a great image of Amitābha overlooking the pool, encircled by sixteen contemplation huts. In the lotus pool, ducklings swim and heavenly phoenixes soar; the contemplatives sit like withered trees, with human voices cut off. Once one enters this realm, the mind of the Way is magnified a hundredfold. Far beyond discussing faith and disbelief, one naturally doubts whether one’s own body is sage or commoner. The expenses ran into millions, yet the more donors were refused, the more they came. The construction was measured in years, but was completed in less than a full year. The monk who took charge of its labor was named Jieran; without toiling or boasting, it was as if he had never had anything to do with it. Truly, this realm did not exist in antiquity, and today one knows not why it exists. Since it did not exist in the Two Zhe regions, it did not exist anywhere in the world. Could the Lotus Bodhimaṇḍa built by Master Zun of Mount Zhiheng in the Tang surpass this?”

3.63

Record of the Renovation of the Pure Land Cloister at Yanqing

3.64

Puan, Chief Monk Qingzhe

3.65

The true eternally quiescent light is originally bright and wondrous; suddenly a thought arises and one suffers this drift and fall. The Sagely One of Great Awakening, wishing to make them turn back from their delusion and return to their origin, devised provisional and skillful means to gradually entice them. Therefore Śākyamuni manifested the defiled land to make them revile it, and Amitābha manifested the pure land to make them take joy in it; or, joyfully taking delight, they cultivate pure practice and will surely be reborn in that land. There, the realm is supreme and wondrous, and all helps bring forth the true and constant; thus listening to the wind in the branches, right mindfulness is accomplished, and ascending the jeweled towers, samādhi is manifested, naturally attaining the Way without relying on expedient means. Therefore, the Pure Land gate is also a shortcut for returning to the source. However, as for those who broadly propagated the way of the Pure Land, only Master Yuan of Mount Lu, together with extraordinary and eminent worthies, formed the Lotus Society beneath Incense Burner Peak, cultivating the buddha-mindfulness samādhi and aspiring for rebirth in the pure land. From this, later generations all honored and upheld it. When it came to Dhyāna Master Nanyue, he first dwelt on Mount Dasu, transmitting Nāgārjuna’s school of the single nature, establishing separate dhyāna chambers to show people cultivation and realization. Therefore, when Tiantai Zhiyi first arrived at this mountain, he was entrusted with the Samantabhadra bodhimaṇḍa and cultivated the Lotus Samādhi, thereby bringing forth the great dhāraṇī and entering the Buddha’s realm. From then on, all within the four quarters took it as a model. This shows that although the ancients’ bequeathed models differed, their return to the source was one. During the Yuanfu era of the sacred Song, the monk Jieran continued the ancient models and established the work of the Buddha's transformation. In the vacant and secluded corner to the west of Yanqing, he built a great precious pavilion, encircled by sixteen chambers, named after the sixteen contemplations according to the sūtra. Vermilion railings wound about, and clear blue ponds glistened, portraying the pure realm of the Land of Bliss. The images were carved from sandalwood, and lotuses were planted in the ponds, continuing the style of the Lotus Society of Mount Lu. The repentance chambers were meticulous and strict, and the dhyāna halls were profoundly quiet, complying with the system of the Dasu bodhimaṇḍa. Only those who maintained their resolve and served the Way dwelt there. With morning incense and evening lamps, non-arising buddha-work cleared the spirit for internal reflection; those who opened into clear awakening to the quiescent-light realm of their own mind were many. This was a supreme and peerless site in Siming; yet as years and months grew distant, the buildings fell into ruin, and practitioners of samādhi had no way to be at peace. In the dingchou year of the Shaoxing era, there was the monk (Qingrun), who lamented that the supreme realm was about to collapse and thought to sharpen his blade on this task. Viewing his own strength as frail and hard to move people, he thereupon reported this matter to the abbot, Dharma Master Juewun. The Master said: “Affairs value sincerity. If true sincerity once comes forth, it can even move and evoke all buddhas; what donor could it fail to move? Moreover, you have already been able to initiate the chamber of ‘Wondrous Touch Clearly Manifested’, enabling people to fully awaken to the cause of water and accomplish the dwelling of a son of the Buddha. Could this not have been brought about by sincerity?” When (Qingrun) heard these words, he held them firmly in mind, and thereupon appealed to generous donors, who followed in unison. Some donated timber of phoebe and nanmu, or bamboo of Guiji, so that pillars and beams that were tilted were straightened, and rafters and lattices that were worm-eaten and rotten were made new. Overturning the green tiles and arranging the drainage gutters, they brought it about that there was no leaking from above or dampness from below. Surrounding it on all four sides were railings to block the sun, doors, windows, casements, and tables, paved stairs and steps, and a painted precious pavilion. Along the riverbank, they built high walls steep and tall, so that those in the quiet chambers contemplating principle would not know the clamor of the market streets or the staining of the red dust. Thus, renewed in scale and beauty, it was just as on the day the great mansion was first completed, sufficient to let in the curtained moon and burn cypress incense; dwellers' wondrous practice does not cease, and donors' planting of merit is inexhaustible. That the style of Donglin and the way of Nanyue are restored without going far—the achievement stems from this! Managing it for four years, the entire enterprise was completed, expending three thousand strings of cash and inscribing two thousand names, so that people of this land, without taking a single step, may witness with their own eyes beyond a hundred thousand kotis of lands the wind singing through jeweled leaves and the waves rippling in golden channels, lucid as an autumn jade well polished; they immediately feel that they have already reached their home country and suddenly forgotten the visitor's defilements. This is like one fleeing through an empty expanse who suddenly hears footsteps—how delightful is this! Causing all people to set out because of this, namely contemplating the circumstantial and primary [rewards] of Peaceful Nurture, all is stimulated and vividly enlivened by this realm; comparing the merit of its renovation, nothing could be greater. Written on the day of the winter solstice in the fifth year of the Qiandao era by the monk (Qingzhe).

3.66

Record of the Standing Images of the Three Sages at Kaiyuan Monastery

3.67

Vinaya Master Dazhi Yuanzhao

3.68

The standing images of the Three Sages appear in the Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Sūtra. Śākyamuni, the World-Honoured One, through his unconditioned great compassion, feeling deep pity for those in the Sahā world who had not yet been delivered, broadly opened the Pure Land Dharma door and intricately revealed the buddha-mindfulness samādhi. Intending to have their spirits dwell in the pure realm, he therefore directed them to fasten their thoughts upon sagely causes; hence the sixteen wondrous contemplations were established. Thus, the setting sun suspended like a hanging drum indicates its direction; great water congealing into ice portrays its jewelled ground; and the groves, springs, and multistoried pavilions are contemplated in sequence. All are adorned with hundreds of treasures, unequalled in the world; their brilliant light and hues are beyond fully naming. When he was just about to proclaim broadly the contemplation of that Buddha's bodily radiance, marks, and signs, as well as the hierarchical grades of the assembled multitude, suddenly in the open sky there appeared the Three Sages, causing Vaidehī to see them, which served as the occasion for her petition. The sūtra states: "The Buddha told Vaidehī, 'I will now analyze and explain for you the dharmas for eliminating suffering and distress.' As he spoke these words, the Buddha of Immeasurable Life stood in the air, with Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta attending and standing on his left and right. Vaidehī said to the Buddha, 'Now, through the Buddha's power, I have been able to see that Buddha and the two bodhisattvas. How should future sentient beings contemplate so that they may see them?' The Buddha told her to contemplate first the floral throne, next the physical image, and then the Buddha's body, his attendants on the left and right, and the disciples of the nine grades." The buddha-mindfulness samādhi was thereby made complete. Ever since Master Yuan of Mount Lu, monastic dwellings throughout the world have formed societies for fastening mindfulness upon the Pure Land and erected standing images of the Three Sages of Amitābha; this originated from this very sūtra and is clearly seen in this text. In Siming, at Mount Linggui in Cixi, the monk Jieshen of Fuyuan Hermitage, ever since entering the Way and receiving the full precepts, has constantly upheld this sūtra and has been devoted in intention to the pure karma for many years. Considering that cultivating oneself alone is not as good as guiding others, and practicing for a brief time is not as good as preserving it for the long term, he then raised funds among faithful donors and went in person to Qiantang, ordering craftsmen to carve standing images of the Three Sages. Journeying back and forth across a thousand miles of rivers and mountains, managing this over several years, he finally brought it to completion. Costing several thousand strings of cash, they were erected in the Repentance Hall of the Canon Courtyard at Kaiyuan Monastery south of the city. When the fourfold assembly gazed upon them, they marvelled at what they had never seen before. One day, taking a boat across the river, he arrived at Zhiyuan Hermitage, unpacked his robes to enter the summer retreat, burned incense, bowed his head, and requested an inscription. As I humbly share his dedication to this path, I gladly wrote it for him. Someone asked: "The sūtra says, 'The Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, are the dharmadhātu-body, entering into the mental thoughts of all sentient beings.' Now, carving wood into an image makes it out of mundane materials. Using this as a Buddha—I do not know whether that is permissible?" I replied: "The Buddha's body is markless, yet it is also not apart from marks. Because it is markless, among all mundane and supramundane dharmas, not a single one is the Buddha. Even the eighty-four thousand or thirty-two marks are themselves non-marks; how much more so other things? Hence it is said: 'Free from all marks is called the Buddhas.' Because it is not apart from marks, among all mundane and supramundane dharmas, not a single one is not the Buddha; how much more so the marks and signs? Hence it is said: 'One should know that all dharmas are themselves the Buddhadharma.' If one can realize that these marks are non-marks, and non-marks are marks, then mountains, rivers, lands, grasses, trees, fine dust motes, the four modes of birth, the six destinies, fluttering insects, and crawling creatures—none are not the substance of the dharmakāya of all Buddhas. How much more so casting metal, blending clay, carving wood, or painting and sculpting in order to adorn the marks and signs: could these alone not be the Buddha? All wise persons should contemplate this image: timber, plaster, cloth, glue, lacquer, gold, and pigments are brought together dependent on those many conditions. Seeking among the many conditions, they are all mundane things, each with its own name and substance; which of them is the Buddha? Yet conditions have no fixed mark, and things have no fixed name. Once designated as the Buddha, none among all the many conditions is not the Buddha's substance. How could one abandon this and seek a Buddha elsewhere? Therefore the Avataṃsaka Sūtra says, 'Form and marks are not the Buddha; sounds and voices are likewise so. Yet not apart from forms and sounds does one behold the Buddha's supernatural powers.' If contemplated in this way, one does not abide in marks nor is one apart from marks; principle and phenomena are one and the same; the ultimate and conventional are non-dual. Although one is facing an image, this is truly seeing the Buddha. The sūtra says: 'If after the Buddha's passing, one erects physical images and supports them with offerings, this person will in a future life definitely attain the pure samādhi of buddha-mindfulness.' From this we know that for maintaining the Dharma in the Latter Age, the establishment of images is supreme; those of superior, middling, and inferior capacities all receive benefit. Thus, carving red sandalwood was first initiated by King Udayana in the Western Regions; white cotton cloth and pigments first flowed with Kāśyapa Mātaṅga and Dharmaratna into the Eastern Xia. The transmissions of models having spread widely, auspicious responses have been especially numerous: living beings gaze at the marks and thereby know where to take refuge, and the Buddha's transformation rides the wind to abide long. Those with sincere minds realize the fundamental and directly attain the Supreme Vehicle; even raising a hand or bowing the head ultimately becomes a causal seed. Strictly evaluating their salvation of beings, how could it be fully told? Whoever enters this sanctuary should exercise all the more reverence and caution."

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樂邦文類 — Classical Chinese