淨土或問 1.32

1.32

The questioner asked: "Is the practice of uninterrupted mindfulness not indeed what I desire? But my power of stability is not yet established, and my thoughts have no master. Either past learning is not forgotten, or errant thoughts arise chaotically; either when coming into contact with external conditions I fail to keep firm watch, or feelings and thoughts flutter profusely and cannot be suppressed. Unawares, thoughts run east and dart west; in the blink of an eye they have gone thousands and myriads of miles. Or again, if I become entangled with the slightest worldly affair, five days, ten days, half a month, or a whole month go by without my being able to shake it off—how is it merely interrupted? To speak of it brings shame; to think of it brings sorrow. What strategy then should be used to remedy this?"

He replied: "Alas! This is the common malady of practitioners throughout the world. When you experience interruption, if you do not painfully apply the whip, your mindfulness in exclusive, uninterrupted practice will never achieve its term. I have heard that the ancients had three strategies for painfully applying the whip. Now I present them to you again; you should listen attentively. The first is called repaying debts of gratitude; the second is called determining one's resolve; the third is called seeking verification.

"First, concerning repaying debts of gratitude: since you are practicing for the Pure Land, you should be mindful of repaying debts of gratitude. We need not even speak for now of the debt to the Buddha or the debt to the state—take merely the debt of your parents' rearing: is that not a heavy debt? The virtue of your teachers in moulding you: is that not a heavy virtue? When you first left the household, you said you wished to repay these heavy debts; later, when on pilgrimage, you also said you wished to repay these heavy virtues. Leaving your native village and departing your well for twenty or thirty years, you paid no heed at all to the hardships and difficulties of your parents and teachers; when your parents grew old and fell ill you did not attend them; and upon hearing of their deaths you did not return. Now they may be suffering retribution and torment in the three wretched realms, hoping you will rescue them, hoping you will deliver them. Yet your mindfulness is interrupted from moment to moment, and the Pure Land is not achieved. If the Pure Land is not achieved, you cannot even rescue yourself. If you cannot rescue yourself, how will you rescue them? Since you cannot rescue them, you are a person who forgets kindness and betrays righteousness, one of great unfilialness. The sūtra says: 'The sin of unfilialness leads to falling into hell.' Thus, a single thought of interruption is itself the karma of hell!

"Moreover, you wear clothes without raising silkworms and eat food without ploughing; the monk's quarters and bedding are provided ready-made for your use. You ought to cultivate pure karma diligently, seeking to repay the kindness of faithful donors. A patriarch said: 'This is taken by depriving the donor's wife and children. If the eye of the Way is not clear, even for a drop of water or an inch of thread you must pull the plough and drag the harrow to repay them before you are done.' Yet your mindfulness is interrupted from moment to moment, and the Pure Land is not achieved. If the Pure Land is not achieved, retribution must be paid. Thus, a single thought of interruption is itself the karma of animals!

"Second, concerning determining one's resolve: if you learn exclusive practice, your resolve must be determined. You have spent your whole life practicing Chan, yet you have not awakened to Chan; and when it comes to examining the scriptures, you do not understand the teachings either. Having come to this pass, your worldly thoughts are still not dead: you still want to speak a few words of Chan, still want to speak a few words of doctrine, still want to write a few characters, still want to compose a few poems. Your feelings are hooked at both ends, and your thoughts are divided along four paths. A patriarch said: 'The slightest clinging of thought is the causal factor for the three wretched realms; in the flash of a thought's arising, there is fetter for myriad kalpas.' Yet your resolve is undetermined and your feelings and thoughts are manifold; because of these manifold thoughts, correct mindfulness is interrupted. Thus, a single thought of interruption is itself the karma of being fettered in the three wretched realms!

"Furthermore, in guarding the basis of the precepts, your resolve is undetermined: perhaps due to body and mouth you run after desires from moment to moment. It is said in the teachings: 'Better to pour molten copper down the throat than to receive food and drink from others with a mouth that has broken the precepts. Better to wrap hot iron around the body than to receive clothing from others with a body that has broken the precepts.' How much more so when, because various precepts are not strictly kept, errant thoughts stir falsely, and because of these false stirrings exclusive practice is interrupted! Thus, a single thought of interruption: how could it be merely the karma of hot iron and molten copper?

"Furthermore, in severing hatred and attachment, your resolve is undetermined: with regard to empty fame and fleeting gain you constantly fail to see through them. When fame and gain belong to you, greed and attachment arise; when fame and gain belong to others, hatred and jealousy arise. The ancients said: 'Craving fame and craving gain, together you hasten to the class of ghosts. Pursuing attachment and pursuing hatred, together you enter the pit of fire.' Yet because of this attachment and hatred, you interrupt the Pure Land. Thus, a single thought of interruption is itself the karma of hungry ghosts and the pit of fire!

"Third, concerning seeking verification: since you learn exclusive practice, you ought to seek efficacious verification. Now your hair is white and your face wrinkled; the signs of death appear before you. Who knows how many days remain before your end? Right in front of your eyes, you must see the Buddha! Consider Dharma Master Huiyuan of Mount Lu: during his life, three times he received the stroking of his crown by the Buddha. Consider also Dharma Master Huaigan: upon reciting the Buddha's name, he was able to see the Buddha. Consider also Dharma Master Shaokang: when he chanted the Buddha's name once, the assembly saw a buddha fly out from his mouth; when he chanted the Buddha's name ten times, ten buddhas flew out from his mouth, like strung pearls. Such efficacious verifications number tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands! If your mind is without interruption, seeing the Buddha is not difficult; if an interrupted mind arises, you definitely will not see the Buddha. Once you do not see the Buddha, you have no affinity with the Buddha. Having no affinity with the Buddha, rebirth in the Pure Land is difficult. If not reborn in the Pure Land, you will certainly fall into the evil destinies. Thus, a single thought of interruption is itself the karma of the three wretched evil destinies! Guard against it, guard against it!

"With the three strategies above, you must painfully whip yourself, causing thought not to depart from the Buddha and the Buddha not to depart from thought, so that with the resonance between stimulus and response, you see the Buddha in the present. Once you have seen the Buddha of the Land of Bliss, you immediately see the buddhas of the ten directions. Once you have seen the buddhas of the ten directions, you immediately see the inherently pure Buddha of your own nature. Once you have seen the inherently pure Buddha of your own nature, then great functioning appears before you. Thereafter, you extend your compassionate vows and broadly transform all sentient beings. This is called Pure Land Chan, and is also called Chan Pure Land. Thus, what Yongming said: 'Where there is Chan and there is Pure Land, it is like a tiger with horns: a teacher of humanity in the present life, a buddha or patriarch in the life to come'—how could this not be verified here? Strive, strive!"

Thereupon the Chan elder was both joyful and startled, dazed for a long time as if having lost something. The old master Tianru then told him again: "When Chan and the Pure Land are both understood, they are completely understood together. Outside of mind there are no phenomena; do not misunderstand this!"

The elder then touched his forehead to the ground, bowed twice, and said: "I am most fortunate! Now I know where to return!" He gave thanks and withdrew.