淨土或問 1.10

1.10

問曰：淨土攝機誠乎其廣矣。愚不敢復議矣。然亦嘗聞有惟心淨土、本性彌陀之說，愚竊喜之。及觀淨土經論，所謂淨土者，十萬億土外之極樂也。所謂彌陀者，極樂國中之教主也。是則彼我條然，遠在惟心本性之外矣。果何謂耶？答曰：汝言局矣。不識汝心之廣大而明妙者矣。《楞嚴》云「色身外洎山河虛空大地，咸是妙明真心中物。」又云「諸法所生，惟心所現。」安有佛土而不在吾心者哉？當知淨土惟心，心外無土，如大海之現群漚，無一漚能外海也。惟心淨土，土外無心，猶眾塵之依大地，無一塵不名地也。又當知先聖有云：惟此一心，具四種土：一曰凡聖同居、二曰方便有餘、三曰實報無障礙、四曰常寂光也。一凡聖同居土者，自分二類：初曰同居穢、次曰同居淨。初同居穢土者，娑婆之類是也。居其中者有凡有聖，而凡聖各二。凡居二者：一者惡眾生，即四趣也；二善眾生，即人天也。聖居二者：一實聖，即四果、辟支、通教六地、別十住、圓十信後心，通惑雖盡，報身猶有，皆名實也；二權聖，謂方便、實報、寂光土中法身菩薩及妙覺佛，為利有緣，應生同居，皆是權也。是等與凡共住，故云凡聖同居、四趣共住，故云穢土也。次同居淨土者，且如極樂國，雖果報殊勝非餘可比，然亦凡聖同居。何以故？雖無四趣而有人天，以生彼土者未必悉是得道之人。如經云「犯重罪者，臨終懺悔念佛，即得往生。」故知雖具惑染，亦得居也。聖居權實，類前可知，但以無四惡趣，故名為淨。或曰：具明土相，復多不同。如無動界，雖是淨土，猶有男女及須彌等。淨土既其不同，穢土亦應不等也。二方便有餘土者，二乘三種菩薩證方便道者之所居也。何則？若修二觀，斷通惑盡，塵沙、別惑無明未斷，捨分段身而生界外，受法性身，即有變易。所居之土名有餘者，無明不斷也。名方便者，方便行人之所居也。故《釋論》曰「出三界外有淨土，聲聞辟支佛出生其中受法性身，非分段生也。」三實報無障礙土者，無有二乘，純諸法身菩薩所居。破無明顯法性，得真實果，而無明未盡、潤無漏業，受法性報身，亦名果報國。《仁王經》云「三賢十聖住果報」是也。以觀實相、發真無漏所得果報，故名為實。修因無定、色心無礙，故名真實無障礙土。《華嚴》明因陀羅網世界是也。四常寂光土者，妙覺極智所照如如法界之理，名之為國，亦名法性土。但真如佛性非身非土而說身土，離身無土、離土無身。名其土者，一法二義。《普賢觀》毘盧遮那住處名常寂光，前二土是應，即應佛所居；第三亦應亦報，即報佛所居；第四但是真淨，非應非報，法身所居。又云「常即法身、寂即解脫、光即般若，如世伊三點，不縱橫並，別名祕密藏，諸佛如來所遊居處，真常究境極為淨土。」由是觀之，所謂十方微塵國土者，惟吾心中之土也；三世恒沙諸佛者，惟吾心中之佛也。知此則知無一土不依吾心而建立，無一佛不由吾性而發現。然則十萬億外之極樂，獨非惟心之淨土乎？極樂國中之教主，獨非本性之彌陀乎？又當知惟此一心具含十界，身土融通重重無礙。又當知心佛眾生三無差別、生佛互現，念念交參。所以言「諸佛心內眾生塵塵極樂，眾生心中諸佛念念彌陀。」又云「十方淨穢卷懷同在於剎那，一念色心羅列遍收於法界。」並天真本具，非緣起新成。一念既然，一塵亦爾。故能一一塵中一切剎，一一心中一切心，一一心塵復互周，重重無塵無障礙。一時頓現非隱顯，一切圓成非勝劣。若神珠之頓含眾寶，猶帝網之交映千光。我心既然，生佛體等。如此則方了「遷神億剎，實生乎自己心中；孕質九蓮，豈逃剎那際內。」又云「極樂遍在一切處，舉一而全收也。」如帝釋殿上千珠寶網，千珠光影咸入一珠，一珠光影遍入千珠。雖珠珠互遍，此珠不可為彼、彼珠不可為此，參而不雜、離亦不分，一一遍彰，亦無所在。極樂淨土即千珠之一，十萬億國亦各千珠之一，至若三乘人天，下至地獄餓鬼畜生脩羅，一一無非千珠之一。阿彌陀佛亦千珠直示一珠，見一佛即見十方諸佛，亦見十方九界眾生。微塵剎海十世古今一印頓圓，無餘法矣。如上所引，皆佛祖聖賢遞相發揚之明訓也。知此則知諸剎諸塵塵塵皆唯心之極樂也，一塵一佛佛佛皆本性之彌陀也。復何疑哉？

Question: The capacity of the Pure Land to gather beings is indeed vast; in my ignorance, I dare not debate it further. However, I have also heard the teaching of 'the Pure Land of mind-only, the Amitābha of one's inherent nature', and in my ignorance I rejoiced at it. Yet when I look at the Pure Land sūtras and treatises, the so-called Pure Land is Sukhāvatī, a hundred thousand koṭis of lands away; the so-called Amitābha is the teaching master in that land of Sukhāvatī. In that case, that [realm] and oneself are distinctly separate, far outside mind-only and inherent nature. What does this really mean?

Answer: Your words are narrow; you do not understand the vastness, luminosity, and wonder of your own mind. The Śūraṅgama[-sūtra] says: 'From the physical body on out to the mountains, rivers, empty space, and the great earth, all are things within the wondrously luminous true mind.' It also says: 'All dharmas that arise are manifestations of the mind only.' How could there be any Buddha-land that is not within our own mind? One should know that the Pure Land is mind-only, and outside the mind there is no land—just as the great ocean manifests myriad bubbles, and not a single bubble can be outside the ocean. Mind-only is the Pure Land, and outside the land there is no mind—just as the myriad particles of dust depend upon the great earth, and there is not a single particle of dust that is not called earth.

Moreover, one should know that earlier sages said: 'This one mind possesses four kinds of lands: first, [the Land of] Common Residence of Ordinary Beings and Sages; second, [the Land of] Expedience with Remainder; third, [the Land of] True Reward and Non-obstruction; fourth, [the Land of] Eternally Quiescent Light.'

First, the Land of Common Residence of Ordinary Beings and Sages is itself divided into two classes: the first is the defiled land of common residence; the second is the pure land of common residence. First, the defiled land of common residence is of the kind like the Sahā [world]. Those dwelling within it include ordinary beings and sages, and each comprises two types. The two types of ordinary dwellers are: first, evil sentient beings, namely the four destinies; second, good sentient beings, namely humans and devas. The two types of sage dwellers are: first, real sages, namely the four fruits [of the śrāvaka], pratyekabuddhas, the sixth ground of the Shared Teaching, the ten abodes of the Distinct Teaching, and the final mind of the ten faiths of the Perfect Teaching—although their shared defilements are exhausted, they still possess a recompense body, and thus are all called real; second, provisional sages, referring to the dharmakāya bodhisattvas and wondrously enlightened Buddhas in the lands of Expedience, True Reward, and Quiescent Light, who, in order to benefit those with affinity, respond by taking birth in the land of Common Residence, and thus are all provisional. Because such beings dwell together with ordinary beings, it is called 'common residence of ordinary beings and sages'; because they dwell together with the four destinies, it is called a 'defiled land'.

Next, as for the pure land of common residence, taking the land of Sukhāvatī as an example, although its retributive reward is supreme and beyond compare with others, it is nevertheless also a common residence of ordinary beings and sages. Why is this? Although it is free of the four destinies, it has humans and devas, because those born in that land are not necessarily all persons who have attained the Path. As the sūtra says: 'Those who commit grave transgressions, by repenting and practicing buddhānusmṛti at the end of life, immediately attain rebirth.' Therefore we know that even though beings possess defilements and afflictions, they can still dwell there. As for the provisional and real sages who dwell there, they can be understood by analogy to the previous case; it is named 'pure' solely because it lacks the four evil destinies.

Some may say: 'When the characteristics of lands are fully explained, there are furthermore many differences. For instance, the realm of Akṣobhya, although a pure land, still has men, women, Mount Sumeru, and so forth. Since pure lands are not identical, defiled lands must likewise vary.'

Second, the Land of Expedience with Remainder is the dwelling place of those of the two vehicles and the three kinds of bodhisattvas who have realized the path of expedience. Why? If they practice the two contemplations and completely sever the shared defilements, but have not yet severed the dust-sand defilements, distinct defilements, and ignorance, they abandon the body of fragmented birth and death and are born outside the realms, receiving a body of dharma-nature, which undergoes transformation birth and death. The land in which they dwell is named 'with remainder' because their ignorance is not yet severed; it is named 'expedience' because it is dwelled in by practitioners of expedience. Therefore, the [Mahāprajñāpāramitā-]śāstra says: 'Outside the three realms there is a pure land; śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas are born therein, receiving a body of dharma-nature, which is not fragmented birth.'

Third, the Land of True Reward and Non-obstruction has no adherents of the two vehicles, being dwelled in purely by dharmakāya bodhisattvas. Having broken through ignorance to reveal the dharma-nature, they attain the true fruition; yet because ignorance is not exhausted, they nourish untainted karma and receive a reward body of dharma-nature, which is also named the 'country of fruition reward'. The Benevolent Kings Sūtra says: 'The three [ranks of] worthies and ten [stages of] sages dwell in fruition reward'—this is it. Because it is the fruition reward obtained by contemplating the true mark and giving rise to true untaintedness, it is named 'true'; because the cultivation of causes is without fixed limit, and form and mind are unimpeded, it is named the 'land of true non-obstruction'. In the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, the explanation of the worlds of Indra's net refers to this.

Fourth, the Land of Eternally Quiescent Light is where the principle of the tathatā dharmadhātu, illuminated by the supreme wisdom of wondrous enlightenment, is termed a 'country'; it is also named the 'dharma-nature land'. However, true suchness and Buddha-nature are neither body nor land, yet are spoken of as body and land; apart from the body there is no land, and apart from the land there is no body. Naming it a 'land' is one dharma with two meanings. The Contemplation of Samantabhadra states that the dwelling place of Vairocana is named 'Eternally Quiescent Light'. The first two lands are responsive, being the dwelling places of responsive Buddhas; the third is both responsive and reward, being the dwelling place of reward Buddhas; the fourth is solely true and pure, neither responsive nor reward, being the dwelling place of the dharmakāya. It also says: 'Eternity is the dharmakāya, quiescence is liberation, and light is prajñā—like the three dots of the worldly letter *i*, neither vertical nor horizontal nor parallel, separately named the secret treasury, the roaming and dwelling place of the Buddha Tathāgatas, the truly eternal, ultimate, and supreme Pure Land.'

Viewed from this, the so-called lands of dust particles throughout the ten directions are nothing other than lands within our own minds; the Buddhas like sands of the Ganges throughout the three times are nothing other than Buddhas within our own minds. Knowing this, one knows that there is not a single land that is not established in reliance upon our mind, and not a single Buddha that is not revealed from our nature. If so, could Sukhāvatī, a hundred thousand koṭis away, alone fail to be the Pure Land of mind-only? Could the teaching master in the land of Sukhāvatī alone fail to be the Amitābha of our inherent nature?

Moreover, one should know that this one mind fully contains the ten realms, with body and land interfusing, layer upon layer without obstruction. Moreover, one should know that mind, Buddha, and sentient beings are three without distinction; sentient beings and Buddhas mutually manifest, moment by moment interpenetrating. Therefore it is said: 'Sentient beings within the minds of all Buddhas are, dust by dust, Sukhāvatī; Buddhas within the minds of sentient beings are, thought by thought, Amitābha.' And it is said: 'The pure and defiled of the ten directions are enfolded together in an instant; the forms and minds of a single thought-moment are laid out to encompass the entire dharmadhātu.' Both are naturally and inherently possessed, not newly formed through dependent origination. Since a single thought is thus, a single dust particle is also thus. Therefore, in each single dust particle are all kṣetras; in each single mind are all minds; each mind and dust particle again mutually pervade, layer upon layer without dust and without obstruction. They manifest all at once, neither hidden nor revealed; all are completely perfected, neither superior nor inferior. It is like a miraculous jewel suddenly containing myriad treasures; it is like Indra's net mutually reflecting a thousand lights. Since my mind is thus, sentient beings and Buddhas are identical in substance.

Only in this way does one understand that 'shifting one's spirit across koṭis of kṣetras is truly born within one's own mind; conceiving one's substance within the nine lotuses—how could it escape the span of an instant?' And it is said: 'Sukhāvatī is universally present everywhere, gathering all in raising a single one.' Like the jewel net of a thousand pearls on the palace of Śakra, the reflections and lights of a thousand pearls all enter into a single pearl, and the reflection and light of a single pearl pervade the thousand pearls. Although pearl and pearl mutually pervade, this pearl cannot become that pearl, and that pearl cannot become this pearl; they mingle without confusion, and separate without dividing; each is universally manifest, yet has no fixed location. The Pure Land of Sukhāvatī is just one of the thousand pearls; the hundred thousand koṭis of lands are also each one of the thousand pearls; and up to the three vehicles, humans, and devas, down to the hells, hungry ghosts, animals, and asuras, each and every one is nothing other than one of the thousand pearls. Amitābha Buddha is also a direct display of one pearl among the thousand pearls: seeing one Buddha is seeing the Buddhas of the ten directions, and seeing the sentient beings of the nine realms in the ten directions. The ocean of kṣetras like dust particles and the past and present of the ten times are all at once perfected in a single seal, with no remaining dharmas. All the citations above are the clear instructions passed down from Buddhas, patriarchs, sages, and worthies. Knowing this, one knows that all lands and all dust particles, dust by dust, are the Sukhāvatī of mind-only; each dust particle and each Buddha, Buddha by Buddha, are the Amitābha of inherent nature. What doubt could there still be?