樂邦文類 3.134

3.134

This biography by Cigong truly must not be discarded. However, his discussion of phenomena and principle overriding each other is not equal to what the Tiantai school refers to as the perfect contemplation wherein phenomena and principle are fully present in a single thought. As for his statement that having single-minded faith without doubt is itself uninterruptedness, this single phrase was the turning point for the Departmental Officer. In former times, when Shandao transformed people, he said: 'If someone wishes to quickly attain rebirth, they should arouse uninterrupted practice, which means reverently bowing, chanting the name and praising, recollecting and contemplating, dedicating merit and making vows, thought after thought continuing in succession, without being interrupted by other karma; hence it is called uninterrupted practice. Furthermore, if greed, anger, or delusion should come to interrupt, one simply repents as soon as one commits an offense, not allowing it to separate into another thought, another day, or another hour, constantly keeping oneself pure; this too is called uninterrupted practice. If one can vow never to cease until the end of one's life, one is definitively reborn.' This text appears in the Great Canon under the Rituals of Repentance and Worship from Various Scriptures, box Qun. When Cigong read the canon and showed the conditions of the Pure Land to the Departmental Officer, was it not just like this?