龍舒增廣淨土文 1.181

1.181

淨土之說多見於日用之間，而其餘功乃見於身後。不知者止以為身後之事而已，殊不知其大有益於生前也。何則？佛之所以訓人者無非善，與儒教之所以訓人，何以異哉？唯其名有不同耳。故其以淨土為心，則見於日用之間者，意之所念、口之所言、身之所為，無適而非善。善則為君子、為大賢，現世則人敬之、神祐之，福祿可增、壽命可永。由是言之，則從佛之言而以淨土為心者，孰謂無益於生前乎？其次為業緣所奪而不能專志於此。苟有志焉者，亦惡緣可以自此而省、善緣可以自此而增。惡緣省而不已，終必至於絕其惡；善緣增而不已，終必至於純乎善。惡既絕矣、善既純矣，非為君子而何？非為大賢而何？由是言之，則從佛之言而以淨土為心者，孰謂無益於生前乎？又其次不知禮義之所在、不知刑罰之可畏，惟氣勢之為尚、惟勢力之為趨。苟知以淨土為心，則亦必知省己而自咎，所為雖不能皆合於禮義，亦必近於禮義矣；雖不能盡超乎刑罰，亦必遠於刑罰矣。漸可以脫小人之域，而終為君子之歸。庸人稍知佛理者，世必目為善人。此其效也。由是言之，則從佛之言而以淨土為心者，孰謂無益於生前乎？或曰：從孔子之言而以儒教為心，豈不益於生前乎。何必淨土哉？曰：此世間法耳，非出世間法。世間法則不出於輪迴，出世間法則直脫輪迴外。淨土既益於生前，又益於身後者，以其兼出世間法故也。

The doctrine of the Pure Land is mostly manifested in daily life, while its remaining merit is seen after death. Those who do not understand it merely think it is an affair of after death, completely unaware that it brings great benefit during life. Why is this? That by which the Buddha instructs people is none other than goodness; how does it differ from that by which the teachings of the Ru instruct people? It is only that their names are different. Therefore, when one takes the Pure Land as one's mind, then what is manifested in daily life—what the mind thinks, what the mouth speaks, and what the body does—is entirely good. If one is good, one becomes a noble person and a great worthy; in this present life, people revere them, spirits protect them, their blessings and emoluments can increase, and their life span can be prolonged. Speaking from this, then for those who follow the Buddha's words and take the Pure Land as their mind, who could say that it has no benefit during life? Next are those who are swayed by karmic conditions and cannot concentrate their intention upon this. If they merely have the aspiration, their evil conditions can from this point diminish, and their good conditions can from this point increase. If evil conditions diminish unceasingly, in the end they will certainly bring about the cessation of their evil; if good conditions increase unceasingly, in the end they will certainly attain pure goodness. When evil has ceased and goodness is pure, what are they if not a noble person? What are they if not a great worthy? Speaking from this, then for those who follow the Buddha's words and take the Pure Land as their mind, who could say that it has no benefit during life? Furthermore, next are those who do not know where propriety and righteousness lie and do not know that punishments are to be feared, only prizing overbearing power and only pursuing influence. If they know to take the Pure Land as their mind, they will also certainly know to examine themselves and blame themselves; though what they do cannot entirely accord with propriety and righteousness, it will certainly approach propriety and righteousness; though they cannot completely transcend punishments, they will certainly keep far from punishments. Gradually they can escape the realm of petty persons and ultimately return to being noble persons. If common people slightly understand Buddhist principles, the world will certainly regard them as good persons. This is its efficacy. Speaking from this, then for those who follow the Buddha's words and take the Pure Land as their mind, who could say that it has no benefit during life? Someone may ask: 'If one follows Confucius's words and takes Confucian teachings as one's mind, does it not also benefit life? What need is there for the Pure Land?' The answer is: 'This is merely mundane phenomena, not supramundane phenomena. Mundane phenomena do not take one out of saṃsāra, while supramundane phenomena directly deliver one beyond saṃsāra. The Pure Land both benefits life and benefits after death because it embraces supramundane phenomena.'