廬山蓮宗寶鑑 6.8

6.8

有淨業弟子問蓮宗慈照導師云：「弟子專修念佛三昧，可得用布施、持戒、供養作福不？」師答曰：「汝能專念彌陀，若不持戒則有毀犯罪、若不布施則長慳貪業、若不供養三寶則有慢業、若不恭敬一切則有輕人罪。是故毀犯即墮地獄、慳貪即墮餓鬼、我慢則常在惡道、輕人則世世貧賤，似此惡業障蔽，欲生淨土其可得乎？如此念佛之人，譬如旱田栽穀，欲望收成，不可得也。故肇法師云『有為雖偽，棄之則佛道難成；無為雖真，執之則慧性不朗。』汝今欲修念佛三昧，得生淨土，速成佛果菩提者，須是專以念佛為正行，更以福德為兼修。晨夕常勤供養三寶，禮拜懺悔、布施持戒，潔白三業增助淨緣，諸惡莫作、眾善奉行，所修一切善根悉皆回向淨土，成就念佛功德，速證菩提。」可謂順水行船，更如艣棹矣。

A disciple of pure karma asked the Lotus School's guiding master Cizhao: 'Can a disciple who exclusively cultivates the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi use giving, keeping the precepts, and making offerings to create merit?' The Master answered, saying: 'If you can exclusively recite Amitābha, yet do not keep the precepts, there is the offense of breaking them; if you do not practice giving, you increase the karma of stinginess and greed; if you do not make offerings to the Three Jewels, there is the karma of arrogance; if you do not respect everyone, there is the sin of looking down upon others. Therefore, breaking precepts leads to falling into hell; stinginess and greed lead to falling into hungry ghosts; arrogance keeps one constantly in the evil paths; looking down upon others brings poverty and lowliness life after life. With such evil karma obscuring you, how could you attain birth in the Pure Land? For such a practitioner of buddhānusmṛti, it is like planting grain in a dry, barren field and hoping for a harvest—it cannot be attained. Therefore, Master Zhao said: "Although the conditioned is illusory, if one abandons it, the Buddha Path is hard to achieve; although the unconditioned is real, if one clings to it, the nature of wisdom will not be bright." Now, if you wish to cultivate the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi, attain rebirth in the Pure Land, and swiftly accomplish the fruit of buddhahood and bodhi, you must exclusively take buddhānusmṛti as the right practice, and additionally cultivate merit and virtue as an auxiliary practice. Morning and evening, constantly and diligently make offerings to the Three Jewels, bow in prostration and repent, practice giving and keep the precepts, purify the three karmas to increase and aid pure conditions, do no evil, practice all goods, and dedicate all cultivated roots of goodness toward the Pure Land, fulfilling the merit of buddhānusmṛti and swiftly realizing bodhi.' This can be called rowing a boat downstream while also adding oars and sculls.