龍舒增廣淨土文 7.8

7.8

有哲老者，住京師大剎，四十年不睡，坐禪精苦。如此坐化，後紙襖亦燒出舍利。中官有以三十千買一紙襖者，以其有舍利故也，其効驗已如此。若修西方，必為不退轉地菩薩，即生死自如矣，却來此世界濟渡眾生，有何不可？不知修此，乃生大富貴處，一生多受憂苦，可哀也哉。縱使受大富貴，亦終有盡，依舊輪迴。或云：以哲老之精修，今生多受憂苦，何也？答云：佛言「假令百千劫，所作業不亡。因緣會遇時，果報還自受。」永嘉大師亦云「了則業障本來空，未了應須還宿債。」以哲老不曾了得生死大事，今世生於大富貴處，乃前生願心也。多受憂苦者，乃因緣會遇而還千百世之宿債也。若生西方，則宿債不須還矣。何則？死生自如故。雖入一切眾生生死界中，不作濟渡，一性已不昧而超脫三界，豈須還宿債哉？且以哲老之精修，猶不能超脫三界。豈非三界之岸極高、其苦海極深、其波濤極急，故不易超脫乎。修西方而超脫者，伏佛力也。有佛而不倚仗，猶窮賤餓人見富貴者而不倚仗，哀哉。

There was Elder Zhe, who resided in a great monastery in the capital. For forty years he did not sleep, sitting in meditation with bitter diligence. Dying seated in this manner, afterwards his paper-padded robes were cremated and yielded śarīra. An eunuch bought one of his paper robes for thirty thousand cash, precisely because it possessed śarīra; his efficacy was already such as this. Had he cultivated [rebirth in] the West, he would certainly have become a bodhisattva of the stage of non-retrogression, immediately at ease with birth and death. Then, what would prevent him from coming back to this world to cross over sentient beings? Not knowing to cultivate this, he was instead reborn into great wealth and nobility, where he endured much sorrow and suffering all his life—how lamentable! Even if one enjoys great wealth and nobility, it ultimately comes to an end, and one transmigrates as before. Someone said: "Given Elder Zhe's diligent cultivation, why did he endure much sorrow and suffering in this life?" I reply: The Buddha said, "Even after hundreds of thousands of kalpas, the karma created does not perish. When the conditions meet, one still receives the retribution oneself." Master Yongjia also said, "When awakened, the karmic obstacles are fundamentally empty; when unawakened, one must pay back past debts." Because Elder Zhe had not yet settled the great matter of birth and death, his birth in a place of great wealth and nobility in this life was due to the vow of his previous life. That he endured much sorrow and suffering was due to the meeting of conditions to pay back the past debts of hundreds and thousands of lifetimes. If one is born in the West, past debts do not need to be paid back. Why is this? Because one is at ease with birth and death. Even when entering into the realm of birth and death of all sentient beings to ferry them across, one's singular nature is already unobscured and transcends the three realms; how could one need to pay back past debts? Furthermore, with such diligent cultivation as Elder Zhe's, he was still unable to transcend the three realms. Is it not because the shores of the three realms are extremely high, its sea of suffering extremely deep, and its surging waves extremely swift, so that it is not easy to transcend? Those who cultivate [the path to] the West and transcend do so by relying on the Buddha's power. To have a Buddha and not rely on him is like a destitute and starving person seeing a wealthy man and not relying on him—how lamentable!