樂邦文類 3.65

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).