廬山蓮宗寶鑑 4.61

4.61

公諱傑，字次公，無為郡人，道號無為子。雄才俊邁，年少登科，官至尚書主客郎提點兩浙刑獄事。而又尊崇佛法、明悟禪宗，江西臨濟下棒喝之輩猶謂常流。復闡揚彌陀教觀接誘方來，括其所談乃謂眾生根有利鈍，其近而易知簡而易行者，唯西方淨土也。但能一心觀念總攝散心，仗彌陀願力直超安養，更無他趣決取成功矣。龍樹所謂易行之道，依他力故也。公作天台十疑論序、王古直指淨土決疑集序、法寶僧監、彌陀寶閣記、安樂國三十讚，備陳西方要律，誠為萬世往生龜鑑矣。公有輔道集，專記佛乘，東坡作序，其略曰「無為子宿稟靈機、遍參知識，凡所謂具爍羅眼者，次公目擊而道存焉。公晚年作監司郡守，乃畫丈六彌陀尊像，隨行觀念。至壽終時，感佛來迎，端坐而化。辭世頌曰『生亦無可戀，死亦無可捨。太虛空中，之乎者也。將錯就錯，西方極樂。』宣和中有荊王夫人神遊淨土，見公坐蓮華上，則往生必矣。然則本朝士大夫洪贊淨方入正定聚者，唯公洎王敏仲侍郎二人而已。豈非天欲久其道，世必生其人者歟。」

The gentleman's taboo name was Jie, and his courtesy name was Cigong; a native of Wuwei Commandery, his Daoist title was Wuweizi ("Master of Non-action"). Possessing heroic talent and extraordinary ability, he passed the imperial examinations at an early age and rose in office to Director of the Bureau of Receptions in the Ministry of Rites and Surveillance Vice Commissioner of Liangzhe. Furthermore, he revered the Buddha-Dharma and clearly understood the Chan lineage, regarding even those who wielded sticks and shouts under the Linji lineage of Jiangxi as ordinary fellows. He also propagated the teachings and contemplations of Amitābha to guide newcomers. Summarizing what he discussed, he maintained that the capacities of sentient beings include the sharp and the dull, and that which is proximate and easy to know, simple and easy to practice, is solely the Western Pure Land. If one can only single-mindedly contemplate and recollect, gathering in the scattered mind, and rely on the power of Amitābha's vow, one directly transcends to Sukhāvatī, definitively securing success without any other destination. This is what Nāgārjuna termed the Path of Easy Practice, because it relies on other-power. The gentleman composed the "Preface to the Tiantai Ten Doubts Treatise", the "Preface to Wang Gu's Direct Pointing to the Pure Land Resolving Doubts Collection", the *Mirror of the Dharma Jewel Sangha*, the *Record of the Precious Pavilion of Amitābha*, and the *Thirty Praises of the Land of Peace and Bliss*, fully setting forth the essential regulations of the West, truly serving as a guide for rebirth across myriad generations. The gentleman had the *Collection for Assisting the Way*, devoted to recording the Buddha Vehicle. Dongpo composed a preface for it, which stated in brief: "Wuweizi was endowed by nature with spiritual capacity and visited good spiritual friends far and wide. Wherever there were those said to possess the glittering vajra eye, Cigong saw them and the Way was present therein." In his later years, when serving as a surveillance commissioner and commandery prefect, he painted a sixteen-foot image of the revered Amitābha, which accompanied him as he traveled and practiced contemplation. When his life came to an end, he was met by the Buddha's arrival, and passed away sitting upright. His farewell verse stated: "In birth there is nothing to cling to; / in death there is nothing to abandon. / In the midst of the great empty space, / mere grammatical particles! / Making the best of the mistake, / the Western Sukhāvatī." During the Xuanhe reign, the wife of the Prince of Jing had her spirit journey to the Pure Land, where she saw the gentleman sitting upon a lotus flower; thus his rebirth was certain. Indeed, among the scholar-officials of our dynasty who grandly praised the Pure Land and entered the stage of right determination, there were only the gentleman and Vice Minister Wang Minzhong. How could it not be that when Heaven wishes to perpetuate its Way, the world must give birth to such men?