龍舒增廣淨土文 3.12

3.12

譬如人入大城中，必先覓安下處，却出幹事，抵暮昏黑則有投宿之地。先覓安下處者，修淨土之謂也。抵暮昏黑者，大限到來之謂也。有投宿之地者，生蓮花中不落惡趣之謂也。又如春月遠行，先須備雨具，驟雨忽至，則無淋灕狼狽之患。先備雨具者，修淨土之謂。驟雨忽至者，大命將盡之謂也。無淋灕狼狽之患者，不至沈淪惡趣受諸苦惱之謂也。且先覓安下處者，不害其幹事。先備雨具者，不害其行遠塗。是修淨土者，皆不妨一切世務，人何為而不修乎？予一相識，平生多殺魚之罪，晚年得疾有似中風。予憐其罪惡疾苦，乃往見之，勸念阿彌陀佛。堅不肯念，但與予說雜。豈非無惡業所障、疾病所昏，已不能迴心念善。閉眼之後將奈之何？故修此者宜急早回首也。世間晝必有夜、寒必有暑，人所共知，不可隱者。若曰生必有死，人乃諱之，不肯說出。何大蔽也。蓋不知所謂我者，初不曾死，唯業緣盡而去耳。故不可不修淨土，以求蓮華中生，而受清靈之身無極之壽，以脫一切生死苦惱也。

For instance, when a person enters a great city, he must first find a place of lodging, and only then go out to attend to business; when evening darkness arrives, he then has a place to stay. Finding a lodging place first refers to cultivating the Pure Land. The arrival of evening darkness refers to the coming of the end of one's life. Having a place to stay refers to being born within a lotus and not falling into the evil destinies. Again, it is like setting out on a long journey in the spring months: one must first prepare rain gear, so that when a sudden downpour comes unexpectedly, there is no trouble of being drenched and distressed. Preparing rain gear first refers to cultivating the Pure Land. The sudden arrival of a downpour refers to the impending end of one's life. Being free from the trouble of being drenched and distressed refers to not sinking into the evil destinies to suffer diverse torments. Furthermore, finding a lodging place first does not hinder one's business. Preparing rain gear first does not hinder one's journey over distant roads. Thus, cultivating the Pure Land does not hinder any worldly affairs at all; why should people not cultivate it? An acquaintance of mine had accumulated the sin of killing many fish throughout his life; in his late years, he contracted an illness resembling a stroke. Pitying his sinful evils and painful sickness, I went to visit him and exhorted him to recite Amitābha Buddha. He adamantly refused to recite, only speaking of miscellaneous matters with me. Was this not because, obstructed by evil karma and muddled by disease, he was already incapable of turning his mind to mindful goodness? After he closes his eyes, what can be done for him? Therefore, those who cultivate this must turn around as early as possible. In the world, day is necessarily followed by night, and cold is necessarily followed by heat; this is known to everyone and cannot be hidden. Yet when it is said that birth must have death, people taboo it and refuse to speak of it. What a great delusion! For they do not know that what is called the 'self' has never died; it only departs when karmic conditions are exhausted. Therefore, one must cultivate the Pure Land to seek birth within a lotus, receive a pure and ethereal body with limitless lifespan, and escape all the suffering of birth and death.