樂邦遺稿 1.129

1.129

《會宗》「問曰：《般舟經》中令念念想阿彌陀佛，此則心有想也。而經後乃云『心有想則癡，無想即涅槃。』前後相違何耶？答曰：彼經初明觀想彌陀，不可無念。後約三昧功成，見十方佛住立空中，此時當了我心佛心同一真性不可思議，故云『有想則癡，無想即涅槃。』非謂從初不得觀想也。又復無念無生之智，佛地方成。今人未入觀行之門，便說無生無念，豈知馬鳴所教從念至於無念、從說至於無說。《文殊般若經》云『如人學射，久習即巧。後雖無心，箭發皆中。若人欲入一行三昧，專稱名字，念念相續，即於念中見十方佛。』是知以念止念、以言遣言，皆佛祖修行之正轍也。」

The Collection Reconciling [the Teachings] [states]: "Question: In the Pratyutpanna Sūtra, it causes one to contemplate Amitābha thought after thought; this means having thought in the mind. Yet later the sūtra says: 'If the mind has thought, that is folly; being without thought is nirvāṇa.' Why do the beginning and the end contradict each other? Answer: In that sūtra, the initial clarification of contemplating Amitābha requires that one cannot be without mindfulness. Later, when the achievement of samādhi is complete and one sees the buddhas of the ten directions standing in space, at that time one must understand that one's own mind and the Buddha's mind share the same inconceivable true nature; hence it says: 'Having thought is folly; being without thought is nirvāṇa.' It does not mean that one should not engage in contemplation from the very beginning. Furthermore, the wisdom of no-thought and non-arising is achieved only at the stage of buddhahood. When people today have not yet entered the gate of contemplative practice and immediately speak of non-arising and no-thought, how could they understand that what Aśvaghoṣa taught was to proceed from mindfulness to no-thought, and from speech to no-speech? The Mañjuśrī Prajñā Sūtra says: 'Like a person learning archery: with long practice, skill is acquired; later, though without deliberate mind, every arrow shot hits the mark. If a person wishes to enter the One Practice Samādhi, let them focus solely on reciting the name, thought after thought in unbroken succession; then right within mindfulness they will see the buddhas of the ten directions.' From this we know that using mindfulness to halt mindfulness and using words to dispel words are the correct path of cultivation of the buddhas and patriarchs."