樂邦遺稿 1.111

1.111

靈芝大智律師《觀經義疏》曰「有人發願，願未得道前，所生之處值佛聞法、童真出家。今謂若生淨土，則任運值佛、出家為僧。秖由不知淨土，故有此願。亦猶徐陵願云『願却來人間不高不下處託生、童真出家。』彼在儒流，不在言責。禪講宗師率多此見，甞試語曰：汝今已得男子出家，秖合便求出離。何乃復求男子，再願出家？略無勝進乎？」

Vinaya Master Lingzhi Dazhi's Guan jing yishu says: 'There are people who make vows, wishing that before they attain the Way, wherever they are born, they may meet a Buddha, hear the Dharma, and become monks as chaste youths. I say now that if one is born in the Pure Land, one will naturally meet the Buddha and become a monk. It is only because they do not know the Pure Land that they have this vow. It is also like Xu Ling's vow, saying: "I vow to return to the human realm, take birth in a place that is neither high nor low, and become a monk as a chaste youth." He was among the Confucian literati, so he is not subject to rebuke. Yet masters of Chan and doctrinal lectures mostly hold this view. I once tried saying to them: "You have now already obtained a male body and become a monk, so you should simply seek liberation. Why then seek a male body again and vow to become a monk again? Is there no superior progress at all?"'