龍舒增廣淨土文 1.191

1.191

佛眼見無量劫事故，自古及今無所不見。又戒人妄語，以不自妄語以誑人；又戒人有我，必不自有我以夸人，故其言誠可師法。按《楞嚴經》云，有十種仙，皆壽千萬載，數盡復入輪迴。為不曾了得真性，故與六道眾生同名七趣，是皆輪迴中人也。世人學仙者，萬不得一；縱使得之，亦不免輪迴，為著於形神而不能捨去也。且形神者，乃真性中所現之妄想，非為真實。故寒山詩云「饒汝得仙人，恰似守屍鬼。」非若佛家之生死自如而無所拘也。近自數百年來，得仙唯鍾離、呂公，而學鍾雖、呂公者豈止千萬？自予親知間，數亦不少，終皆死亡埋于下土。是平生空費心力，終無所益也。欲求長生，莫如淨土。生淨土者壽數無量，其為長生也大矣。不知修此法門而學神仙，是捨目前之美玉而求不可必得之碔砆，豈不惑哉？或云：淨土乃閉眼後事，有何證驗？答云：淨土傳備載感應，豈無證驗哉。況神仙者有所得，則甚祕而不傳，以謂泄天機而有罪。佛法門唯恐傳之不廣，直欲度盡眾生而後已。是其慈悲廣大不易測量，非神仙之可比也。

Because the Buddha's eye sees matters of immeasurable kalpas, he has seen everything from ancient times to the present. Moreover, he precepts people against lying, so he himself would never speak falsely to deceive others; he also precepts people against grasping at a self, so he himself would never hold a self to boast before others. Therefore, his words can truly be taken as an exemplar. According to the *Śūraṅgama-sūtra*, there are ten kinds of immortals, all of whose lifespans last for tens of millions of years, but when their allotment is exhausted, they enter saṃsāra again. Because they have never thoroughly realized the true nature, they are collectively termed the "seven destinies" along with the beings of the six realms; they are all beings within saṃsāra. Among worldly people who study immortality, not one in ten thousand succeeds; even if they attain it, they still do not escape saṃsāra, because they cling to physical form and spirit and cannot let them go. Furthermore, physical form and spirit are illusory thoughts appearing within the true nature, not reality. Therefore, Hanshan's poem says: "Even if you become an immortal, / You are just like a ghost guarding a corpse." It is not like the Buddhist freedom over birth and death, unrestricted by anything. Recently, over several hundred years, the only ones who attained immortality were Zhongli and Master Lü. Yet how could those studying Zhongli and Master Lü be limited to tens of thousands? Among my own relatives and acquaintances, their numbers are not few either, but all ended in death and were buried in the soil. This is to expend mind and effort in vain during one's lifetime, ultimately bringing no benefit. If one wishes to seek long life, nothing compares to the Pure Land. Those born in the Pure Land have an immeasurable lifespan; its longevity is vast indeed. To not know how to cultivate this Dharma gate and instead study spirit immortals is to cast aside fine jade before one's eyes and seek chalcedony that cannot even be obtained for certain; is this not confusion? Someone said: "The Pure Land is an affair after closing one's eyes; what verification is there?" I reply: "The biographies of the Pure Land record stimuli and responses in full; how could there be no verification? Furthermore, when spirit immortals attain something, they keep it extremely secret and do not transmit it, considering that leaking heavenly secrets brings guilt. The Buddha's Dharma gate only fears that it will not be spread widely, wishing solely to liberate all sentient beings to the end. His boundless compassion is difficult to fathom, not something spirit immortals can equal."