龍舒增廣淨土文 4.36

4.36

The characters of the dhāraṇī were originally not characters of the Buddha's country, but were those used by the sūtra translators; many people find these characters difficult to recognize and do not read them. When the Buddha first spoke them, there were only sounds. Now preserving their sounds and substituting easily recognized characters does not lose the Buddha's original intent, and there is no need for further doubt. Moreover, punctuation in the world is mostly erroneous; now I have matched the identical punctuation from two places in the canon, so there is also no need for doubt. If one recites this mantra, Amitābha Buddha will always dwell atop one's head, not allowing enemies to do harm; in the present life one will be secure and at peace, and at the end of life be reborn [in the Pure Land] at will. If one completes two hundred thousand recitations, the sprout of bodhi will grow. At three hundred thousand recitations, before long one will see Amitābha Buddha face to face. In the Jin dynasty, when Dharma Master [Hui]yuan recited this mantra, a divine person came from the west holding a silver dais and said: 'When the Dharma Master's lifespan ends, you will ride this to be born in Amitābha Buddha's land.' The assembly heard what sounded like music playing in the sky, and an extraordinary fragrance did not dissipate for several days.