廬山蓮宗寶鑑 4

English (machine translation) 4

Language: English

The Buddha is created from the mind; the Way relies on humans to propagate it. In propagating the Way, there is nothing more essential than buddhānusmṛti. Buddhānusmṛti is precisely rectifying the mind; because the mind is rectified, it can accord with the Way. The ultimate source of the Way is called the Buddha. “Buddha” means awakened: all sentient beings possess this nature of fundamental awakening; yet because of an error in a single thought, they are unawakened. Chancellor Pei said: “Those who all day long are fully awakened and yet have never been fully awakened are sentient beings; that which is fully endowed with complete awakening and abides in sustaining complete awakening is the Tathāgata.” Therefore, the Bhagavat attained the Way in Magadha, spoke of existence and discussed emptiness, observed capacities and dispensed teachings; beyond all methods, he separately opened the single gate of buddhānusmṛti, severing the root source of the multitude of sufferings and serving as the essential road to enter the stream of sages. Thus the sūtra says: Passing from here to the west over a hundred thousand kotis of Buddha-lands, there is a world named Sukhāvatī, and in that land is a Buddha named Amitābha. In that realm there are no three poisons and eight difficulties, but rather the myriad wondrous adornments of the seven jewels. Taking the Dharma as body and the host of sages as companions, if one can sincerely and faithfully make vows and take refuge in that land, one will immediately attain rebirth, transcend beyond the three realms and nine existences, and realize the unexcelled wondrous Way of all Buddhas. These words are not deceptive. Ever since the great teaching flowed eastward, it flourished through Fotudeng. From Deng, Dao'an was obtained, and within [Dao]'an's gate was Master Yuan: his precepts like jewels, his doctrine like an ocean, with the posture of a dragon and the brilliance of a phoenix; thereupon, the foundational order of the doctrinal gate was henceforth fully prepared. The master composed poems on the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi to personally encourage others; at that time, the worthy of the Jin admired the master’s virtue, vied to hasten to the place of right awakening to investigate this Way together. His fame stirred emperors and kings, and his Way was honored throughout the age: Dao'an of Vast Virtue praised him as his top disciple, and Kumārajīva joined with him as an eminent friend; the breadth of his knowledge and capacity singularly surpassed past and present. As for speaking out boldly for the sake of the Way, acting as a patriarchal master for ten thousand generations, and extending abundance to humans and devas—that was Master Yuan. In the Sui there was Zhiyi; in the Wei there was Tanluan; in the Tang there was Shandao—they greatly revitalized the school's style. In the Song there was Master Tan, who annotated the Ambrosia, and Xingchang, who formed the society. Cijue encouraged practice; Dhyāna Master [Yongming Yan]shou fused the ten thousand good deeds into a common return; Master Yuanzong condensed the various sūtras to compose the repentance [rituals]; they broadly provided expedients and thoroughly exhausted compassion. Therefore, our patriarch wished to cause the sentient beings of the great earth to see the Amitābha of their own nature, realize the Mind-only Pure Land, and universally awaken to the wondrous Way of bodhi; he thus established the four characters “Universal Awakening to the Wondrous Way” (Pujue Miaodao) as the contemplation of the definitive lineage. These four characters are a single mirror that thoroughly illuminates boundlessly, sharing a single essence and function. How do we know it is so? To sum it up, it is like a person's single body, having head, eyes, hands, and feet as its functions, which have never been a single entity that could be divided. Unless one’s vows are vast and compassion profound, who could win the trust of the world and later generations? I venture to discuss it thus: Equality across the realm of sentient beings is named “Universal” (pu); wisdom penetrating this principle is named “Awakening” (jue); virtuous function without bound is named “Wondrous” (miao); that which the thousand sages tread is named “Way” (dao). Moreover, “Universal” is the essence of one's own mind pervading the ten directions; “Awakening” is the function of one's own mind illuminating with wisdom and free from delusion; “Wondrous” is the practice of one's own mind benefiting beings according with their capacities; “Way” is the principle of one's own mind penetrating centrality and correctness. This Way is that which the Buddhas of the sands of the Ganges have verified; this Way is that which the ancestral masters through the ages have attained; those reborn in the Pure Land throughout the ten directions have already learned this Way; future practitioners should also learn this Way. Furthermore, all Buddhas and bodhisattvas manifest in the world as great guides, each having compassionate vows never to abandon sentient beings, appearing as kings, ministers, generals, chancellors, lay practitioners, and magistrates, leaving the world or remaining at home, operating contrary [to conventions] or according with transformation—there are none who do not awaken these people by means of this Way. The myriad spirits of the three realms, from limitless kalpas down to the present day, have come and gone in the six destinies like ants revolving upon a millstone, with no means of escape. The Buddhas and patriarchs, pitying them, established expedients to guide them, causing them to head toward that to which I head. That to which I head is neither the six destinies nor the three vehicles; it is the destination of the Tathāgata's right awakening. Those who have attained the Way to which I head also use this Way to transform those who have not yet reached it, bringing them to this destination. This is like a single lamp lighting hundreds of thousands of lamps, continuing the flame and sharing the radiance, blazing in the present and illuminating the ancient. This principle of buddhānusmṛti is the method of rectifying the mind, rectifying the host of beings and returning them to the right path. As it is transmitted successively without end, it is therefore called the inexhaustible lamp. How could the doctrine of Universal Awakening to the Wondrous Way be mere words? It means that everyone can become a Buddha, regardless of whether one is monastic or lay, regardless of whether faculties are sharp or dull, with no distinction between this and that, no high or low, equal in a single nature alone. Gaining it constitutes awakening, losing it constitutes delusion—they are merely a single principle. Through delusion one becomes an ordinary being, through awakening one becomes a sage; for the deluded, phenomena are separated, but principle is not separated; for those who have lost it, they lose it themselves, but nature is not lost. Hence we know that those who cultivate the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi are rectifying their minds. When this mind is rectified, the nature accords with principle; having attained nature according with principle, the six dusts cannot defile it, and the myriad conditions cannot move it. Moving and functioning within the single emptiness, solitary and still in the domain of ten thousand transformations, without moving from one's fundamental place one roams the ten directions, transcending to the ground of Sukhāvatī, ascending to the hall of Quiet Radiance, dwelling on the summit of the mountain of nirvāṇa, and having an audience with the unexcelled Dharma King. How consummate is the meaning of Universal Awakening to the Wondrous Way and the rectification of the mind! For those who do not know this meaning, where can effort be applied, and where can wisdom be generated? They are like blind people, ignorant of the light of the sun and moon, walking into great perils; how can one recount the ditches and trenches into which they fall? Alas! The holy age is far removed, and people mostly hold erroneous interpretations. Although it is the right path, they all fall into heterodox sects; mediocre and confused sorts are nothing more than conscious beings, which causes the multitude of heterodoxies to deceive and confuse, and various factions to blaze up together. Right and wrong arise like swarming bees, prattling about emptiness and existence, cutting off empty space and disparaging each other. Some cling to phenomenal aspects and refuse to relinquish them; some follow conforming conditions without self-awareness; some guard withered wood and call it concentration; some rely on cleverness and call it wisdom; some rush down unprincipled paths and call it capability; some borrow the power of ghosts and spirits and call it supernatural penetration; some are unrestrained in body and mind and call it unhinderedness; some transmit secretly mouth to ear and call it an esoteric formula; some cling to the characters “Universal” and “Awakening” of our school; some proclaim the characters “Wondrous” and “Way” of other schools. These all privately steal this mirror to enter those heterodox realms, resulting in its being obscured by dust and filth, dimming the school's essence; although they obtain the name of this mirror, they do not obtain its function. Little do they know that Cizhao had a profound intention in establishing these four characters; the confused do not know this and, clinging to them, lose the proper measure. Furthermore, there are those who claim that staying at home is the teaching of Amitābha, while leaving home is the teaching of Śākyamuni; they venerate themselves as patriarchs, cling to doctrines as sects, harbor the grasping mind of self and other and encounter obstructions at every turn, being constrained by biased, heterodox, and inferior understandings, affirming themselves and denying others. If we, as descendants of the Buddhas and patriarchs, cannot shatter their attachments and dispel their confusions, how can we unveil the wisdom sun in the darkened thoroughfare? My heart aches for the hanging-in-the-balance of the Buddhas' and patriarchs' wisdom-life even more than having flesh sliced from my own body; mindful of repaying the deep grace of the Buddhas and patriarchs, I find no peace in sleeping or eating; mindful of the Buddha’s children across all quarters taking mistaken paths in cultivation, it is no different from being hung upside down. Although I cannot reach even one ten-thousandth of the ancients, yet this mind is not deceitful. I have constantly applied myself earnestly to this: respectfully examining the biographies of eminent monks, searching everywhere for the true traces of earlier sages, investigating their source, selecting their reality, and compiling whatever principle warrants and whatever phenomena exist. What was lacking I supplemented, what was redundant I cut out, what was concealed I illuminated, and what was broken I linked together, hoping that cultivators of pure karma a thousand years hence will reflect on the Way through these words and drink water while knowing its source, recognize the legacy of ancient sages and embody the standard of former masters, continue and exalt the Buddha's lineage, broadly illuminate the fine teachings, perpetuate the wisdom-life endlessly, and transmit the true lamp perpetually. Was it not said earlier that the four characters are a single mirror that thoroughly illuminates boundlessly? May those who embody this Way be careful not to neglect it!

4.3

Historical Facts of Patriarch Yuan

4.4

The Master's taboo name was Huiyuan. He was a native of Loufan in Yanmen, modern Daizhou in Hedong, and his secular surname was Jia. He was born in the jiawu year of the Yanxi era of the Shi-Zhao dynasty, which was the ninth year of the Xianhe era of Emperor Cheng of Jin. When the Master was twelve years old, he accompanied his maternal uncle of the Linghu clan to study in Xu and Luo, becoming widely versed in the Six Classics and especially conversant in the Zhouyi, the Zhuangzi, and the Laozi. At the age of twenty-one, wishing to cross the Yangtze River to live in reclusion together with Fan Xuanzi, he found the roads blocked by warfare in the Central Plains. Hearing that Dharma Master Dao'an was residing at Mount Taihang, he went together with his younger brother Huichi to join him. Upon hearing him expound the Prajñāpāramitā-sūtras, he was thoroughly and greatly awakened, and lamented, saying: 'Confucianism, Daoism, and the nine schools are mere chaff and husks.' He and his brother cast off their hairpins and had their heads shaved. He constantly took the Great Dharma as his own duty. Dao'an praised him, saying: 'If the Way is to flow into the Central Realm, will it not rest upon Yuan?' In the ninth year of the Taiyuan era of Emperor Xiaowu, he arrived at Mount Lu, planted his staff upon the ground, and said: 'If there is a spring, I shall reside here.' Suddenly a spring gushed forth, whereupon he cut the reeds to make a hut. When he expounded the Nirvāṇa-sūtra, he moved the mountain deity to display spirit efficacy, providing timber, while thunder and rain cleared the ground. The prefect of Jiangzhou, amazed by this miraculous omen, memorialized the throne to bestow the monastery name Donglin, and its hall was named Shenyun ('Spiritedly Moved'). In the eleventh year of the Taiyuan era, the monastery was completed. Because the scriptures and vinaya were not yet complete in the southeast and the methods of dhyāna were unheard of, the Master separately established a dhyāna chamber within the monastery and invited a dhyāna master to lead the assembly in the practice of dhyāna. He dispatched disciples across the desert to seek dhyāna scriptures, so that the four assemblies of the Jiangbiao region might all cultivate and practice them, wishing to cause the transformative influence of the Mahāyāna to spread from the north to the south. He often said that the method of dhyāna is profound and subtle, not to be transmitted to those without talent, whereas the essential gateway for entering the Way that is of supreme merit and easy to progress in is none other than buddhānusmṛti. The disciples and followers who came and went numbered three thousand, among whom were one hundred and twenty-three persons of true faith. Thereupon, with Liu Yimin and other eighteen worthies as leaders, before an image of Amitāyus Buddha, they established a fast and made vows to jointly cultivate the Western Pure Land, forming the White Lotus Society. Yimin composed the vow text, and the Master himself composed the preface to the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi. Relying on his talent, Xie Lingyun was haughty toward others, yet upon once seeing the Master he reverently submitted in his heart; he excavated ponds, planted lotuses, and sought admission into the society, but the Master barred him on account of his distracted mind. The mountain had many snakes. There was a practitioner whose origins were unknown who once attended upon the Master and was skilled at expelling snakes; to this day he is called the Snake-Expelling Holy One. Where the Master resided, flowing springs encircled the monastery and descended into Tiger Brook; whenever he saw off guests, he took the brook as the boundary. Once, when the Master was seeing off Tao Yuanming and Lu Xiujing, their discussion of the Way was so harmonious that they crossed the brook without realizing it, and laughed heartily together. Later generations thus transmitted the painting of the 'Three Laughs'. At that time, Dharma Master Kumārajīva exchanged letters with him, calling the Master the Bodhisattva Protector of the Dharma in the East. The foreign monks all stated that in the land of Han there was a Mahāyāna Daoist; whenever they burned incense and paid homage, they turned to face the east, bowed their heads, and dedicated their hearts to Mount Lu. The Yao ruler admired and received his virtues of the Way, his faith and direction continuing uninterrupted. In the first year of the Long'an era of Emperor An of Jin, Huan Xuan advised the emperor to weed out monks and nuns, stating that Mount Lu was the dwelling of moral virtue and not subject to search and purge; the Master sent a letter to Xuan, and they were entirely exempted. In the first year of the Yuanxing era, Xuan renewed the proposal of Yu Bing, wishing to make śramaṇas pay full homage to the sovereign; the Master again debated and argued in writing, and the matter was thereupon dropped. When Emperor An returned to the capital from Jiangling, the Auxiliary State General He Wuji advised the Master to await and welcome him, but he pleaded illness and did not rise. The emperor dispatched an envoy to console and inquire after the Master, who submitted a memorial reporting his state to the emperor, and the emperor answered him with a generous edict. On the first day of the eleventh month in the yimao year of the Yixi era, the Master entered samādhi; on the seventeenth day he emerged from samādhi and saw the purple-gold body of Amitābha Buddha filling the realm of space. The Longshu Jingtu Wen records that Master Yuan beheld the holy signs three times, but remained profound and spoke not of it. For thirty years, the Master's shadow did not leave the mountain, nor his footsteps enter the secular world. On the first day of the eighth month in the bingchen year, he manifested illness; by the sixth day he was gravely ill. Elders and venerable monks requested that he drink fermented black-bean wine, but he did not permit it. They also requested that he drink honey water, whereupon he ordered a vinaya master to inspect the canon, but it was not found [permitted]. He then gathered his disciples and left his final instructions, saying: 'From the year I knew my destiny, I entrusted my work to this mountain. Knowing that the time of my end must come, I severed my ties with external conditions to seek my aspiration. Unawares, my body has declined along with my fortune, and I am already eighty-three. Now that the time has arrived, I wish to lay my bones beneath the pine grove, using the ridge itself as my tomb, blending into the appearance of earth and trees. This is the ritual of the ancients; do not go against it. If only the spiritual principle remains undarkened and my sincerity is conveyed, the World-Honoured One of Great Compassion will surely protect me through the Way.' Having finished speaking, he passed away. His disciples, together with the prefect and officials of Xunyang, conveyed his whole body and buried it on the Western Ridge, piling stones to make a stūpa. Emperor An posthumously bestowed on him the titles 'Venerable of Mount Lu', 'Grand Minister of Honglu', and 'Master of the White Lotus Society'. For the Stūpa of Congealed Tranquility, Xie Lingyun erected a stele to commemorate his virtue, with a preface by Zhang Ye. His Kuangshan ji in ten fascicles circulates in the world.

4.5

Posthumous Titles of Ancestral Master Yuan Across Successive Dynasties

4.6

In the Yixi era of Emperor An of Jin, posthumously titled 'Venerable of Mount Lu, Grand Minister of Honglu, Master of the White Lotus Society'.

4.7

In the wuchen year of the Dazhong era of Tang, posthumously titled 'Great Master Bianjue' (Discriminating Enlightenment).

4.8

In the third year of the Shengyuan era of Southern Tang, posthumously titled 'Great Master Zhengjue' (Right Enlightenment).

4.9

In the third year of the Taiping Xingguo era of Song, posthumously titled 'Great Master Yuanwu' (Perfect Awakening).

4.10

In the second year of the Qiandao era of Song, posthumously titled 'Great Dharma Master of Universal, Pervasive, Right Enlightenment and Perfect Awakening'.

4.11

Record on Inscribing the Portrait Hall of Ancestral Master Yuan by Great Master Mingjiao

4.12

Although scholars have seen the deeds of Master Yuan, few are able to exhaustively fathom them; causing the world not to clearly see the virtue of the former worthy is also the fault of later students. When I read the Biographies of Eminent Monks, the Records of the Lotus Society, and the New and Old Records of Jiujiang, I was most fond of six deeds of Master Yuan, considering them worthy of exhortation; thereupon I have cited and explained them, displaying them in his portrait hall to show to those who come after. Lu Xiujing was a scholar of heterodox teachings, yet he saw him off across Tiger Brook: this was not rejecting words on account of the person. Tao Yuanming was indulged in wine, yet he associated with him: this was overlooking minor conventions to grasp his broad-mindedness. The eminent monk Bhadra was expelled for displaying miracles, yet he invited and praised him: this was valuing the discerning to correct jealousy toward the worthy. Xie Lingyun was rejected because of his distracted mind and ultimately perished by execution: this was discerning his capacity to be cautious about his end. Lu Xun was about to rebel, yet [the Master] grasped his hand and recalled their old friendship: this was trusting in the Way within himself. Huan Xuan displayed formidable power, yet [the Master] confronted him and would not yield: this was possessing great integrity. In general, human feelings past and present are all to fear power and seek illicit escape, to forget righteousness and avoid suspicion, to desire fame and remain blind to reality, to align with power and shrink from isolation, to feign proper conduct out of fear of burden, and to consider oneself right while blaming others. Who, with the Way honoured throughout a generation as a teacher of worthies, would willingly follow others for a single word? Who, possessing innate superior virtue and pure and incorruptible conduct, would willingly consort with the realm of drunkenness to exalt someone's broad-mindedness? Who would bend the dignity of a teacher of men to pay homage to a banished guest and bring forth his worthiness? Who would reject a man of eminent fame, not admitting him to the teaching, and thereby achieve a complete end? Who would not avoid calamity for the sake of righteousness, remain affectionate toward old friends, and trust in the Way? Who, confronting the power of commanders and in the midst of violent executions and slaughter, would maintain the Way without bending and preserve their integrity? This is why Master Yuan's breadth of understanding and capacity stood out unique between past and present. As for bearing the ultimate teaching, expanding the holy Way, and bestowing abundance upon gods and men, this cannot be fully told by someone as unlearned as me. How holy, how worthy, how magnificent! When the great earth sighs with breath and the winds of the six directions are pure: this is the fame of Master Yuan. When the autumn colours cover the four seas and the divine mountain towers in the midst: this is the pure loftiness of Master Yuan. A dragon among men, a phoenix among monks, long bowing to Chao and Xu: this is the exemplary conduct of Master Yuan. White clouds and vermilion ravines, jade trees and jasper grass: this is the dwelling place of Master Yuan. Born after the Master, I both admire and lament. Looking upon his remaining portrait, I bow my head in homage, wishing to write this humble text upon the wall of the room.

4.13

Names and Surnames of the Eighteen Great Worthies of Mount Lu

4.14

Ancestral Master Yuan (taboo name Huiyuan, surname Jia, native of Loufan in Yanmen).

4.15

Dharma Master Yong (taboo name Huiyong, surname Fan, native of Henei).

4.16

Dharma Master Chi (taboo name Huichi, younger brother of Master Yuan; served Dharma Master Dao'an together with his elder brother).

4.17

Dharma Master Sheng (taboo name Daosheng, from the Wei clan, native of Juye, sojourner in Pengcheng, of a lineage of officials).

4.18

Venerable Buddhayaśas (translated here as Jueming ['Awareness Brightness'], of the brāhmaṇa caste of the country of Jibin).

4.19

Venerable Buddhabhadra (translated here as Juexian ['Awareness Worthy'], descendant of King Amṛtodana).

4.20

Dharma Master Rui (taboo name Huirui, native of Jizhou).

4.21

Dharma Master Shun (taboo name Tanshun, native of Huanglong).

4.22

Dharma Master Jing (taboo name Daojing, of the Wang clan of Langya; accompanied his grandfather Yizhi to govern Jiangzhou).

4.23

Dharma Master Heng (taboo name Tanheng, native of Hedong; left home as a youth, surname unknown).

4.24

Dharma Master Bing (taboo name Daobing, of the Chen clan of Yingchuan).

4.25

Dharma Master Shen (taboo name Tanshen, native of Guangling, surname unknown).

4.26

Liu Yimin (taboo name Chengzhi, style Zhongsi, native of Juli in Pengcheng, descendant of King Yuan of Chu of the Han).

4.27

Attendant Gentleman Cavalier Lei (taboo name Cizong, style Zhonglun, native of Nanchang).

4.28

Crown Prince's Retainer Zong (taboo name Bing, style Shaowen, native of Nanyang).

4.29

Zhizhong Attendant Zhang (taboo name Ye, style Laimin).

4.30

Attendant Gentleman Cavalier Zhang (taboo name Quan, style Xiushuo, clansman of Laimin).

4.31

Retired Scholar of Penetrating Reclusion Zhou (taboo name Xuzhi, style Daozu, native of Guangwu in Yanmen).

4.32

Poem Inscribed on the Portrait Hall of the Eighteen Worthies by Chan Master Guanxiu

4.33

Beside the white lotus pond stands the old portrait hall, / Liu and Lei's noble character was completely of dragon-like grace. / Together they disdained the nobility of emperors and lords; / They loved only the supreme longevity of the sovereign teacher's single Dharma. / Tao the Magistrate was so often drunk he could not be summoned; / Xie the Duke had a disordered mind and found no path to enter. / Who, arriving here, will ponder their lofty traces? / The wind dots moss patterns across the low wall.

4.34

Discerning Ancestral Master Yuan's Attainment of the Way

4.35

The Book of Rites states: "To praise one's ancestors where they had no merit is deception; to fail to know of their goodness is lack of clarity; to know it and not transmit it is unbenevolence. These three are the shame of the noble person." Ah! For us followers of the Buddha's learning, how could it be otherwise? Our ancestor Master Yuan was illustrious in his practice and stages, vast and great in merit and virtue. I foolishly partake in his teaching as a descendant of its endstream; unworthy, unsophisticated, shallow in learning, and sparse in talent, I have been unable to inherit and continue the ancestral lineage, and indeed have disappointed his compassionate shelter. Whenever I read the Mingjiao ji, how could I not feel deeply ashamed? Furthermore, I once observed Dhyāna Master Xiu of Shishi stating in his comprehensive treatise: "One hundred years after Confucius, there was Meng Ke; at that time the Way of Confucius was on the verge of decline. Ke thereupon vigorously practiced his Way and revived it. Humbly considering the eastward flow of the Buddhist teachings, after altogether three hundred years there was Master Yuan. At that time the śramaṇas were gradually flourishing, yet none had stood out independently to codify standard models and become the universal ancestral teacher of the realm as Master Yuan did; through him the Buddha's Way first revived. Indeed, one may say that Master Yuan possessed great merit regarding the Śākya clan, just like Mencius in the school of Confucius. Together with eminent monks and court officials he cultivated the Pure Society; his Way moved emperors and kings, and his Dharma flowed throughout the realm." Later practitioners of buddhānusmṛti do not know the beginning and end of our ancestor and have lost his source and stream. One often sees those of scarce fortune and icchantikas in the world falsely compiling the Record of Attaining the Way on Mount Lu, adorning it with empty words, all of which are groundless claims; they deceive and confuse faithful devotees, widely circulating among people's ears and eyes, and even down to the present day it has not been corrected. Thereupon, consulting the Great Canon, the Hongming ji, and the Biographies of Eminent Monks, examining their essential details, I briefly raise seven matters to shatter the assembly's delusions, for those of discerning knowledge to judge: Master Yuan was ordained under Dharma Master Dao'an of Mount Taihang; the false tradition that his master was the Venerable Candana is the first falsehood. Falsely regarding Dao'an as Master Yuan's disciple is the second falsehood. Master Yuan's shadow did not leave the mountain for thirty years, and his feet did not enter the secular world; falsely claiming that he was kidnapped at Baizhuang is the third falsehood. The Jin emperor summoned him three times, but Master Yuan pleaded illness and did not go; falsely claiming that he sold himself as a slave to Chancellor Cui is the fourth falsehood. Dao'an had a flesh bracelet on his arm; falsely attributing this to Master Yuan is the fifth falsehood. His dying command was to expose his corpse beneath the pines, and his whole body was buried on the western ridge, as attested by the Ningji Pagoda standing today; falsely claiming that Master Yuan boarded a decorated boat and ascended to Tuṣita is the sixth falsehood. Dharma Master Daosheng lectured on the sūtras at Tiger Hill, pointing to the stones as a pledge, whereupon the stones nodded; falsely attributing this to Master Yuan is the seventh falsehood. How sorrowful that treacherous and flattering people in the world do not know the Patriarch's true virtue, listen on the road and speak on the street, falsely adorning so many insolent matters, broadcasting ugliness to later generations, inviting ridicule from all quarters, and slandering and desecrating holy virtue! When discerning people see this and do not investigate its origins, how can they not disdain and insult our Patriarch? How could this not be the crime of shedding the Buddha's blood among the five deadly transgressions? I once observed that during the Yuanjia era of the Song dynasty, the monks Caiguan and Huiyan, along with Xie Lingyun, retranslated the Nirvāṇa-sūtra, adding and subtracting from its words; as a result, they dreamed of a divine being rebuking them: "How dare you lightly desecrate the sacred scriptures with ordinary sentiments!" Guan and the others were terrified and stopped. Furthermore, Huilin found favor with the emperor through his talent and learning, known at the time as the "Black-robed Chancellor"; he personally authored the Baihei lun disparaging Buddhism, and immediately contracted an evil disease, his flesh ulcerating until he died. If it is like this, when falsely fabricating biographies of the Patriarch, can one not fear the three wretched paths and the hells? All of my like-minded comrades, scrutinize Master Yuan's true deeds from beginning to end, proclaim them painfully to all quarters, and illuminate the ancestral Way, so that the injustices suffered by the former sage may be vindicated here.

4.36

Great Master Śramaṇa Tanluan of Bigu

4.37

The master was a native of Yanmen. In his youth he traveled to Mount Wutai; moved by its numinous wonders, he vowed to renounce the secular world, becoming thoroughly steeped in the literary principles of both the sudden and gradual of the triyāna. Once, while suffering from illness, he traveled to Fenzhou; suddenly he saw the dark clouds completely disperse, the heavenly gate wide open, and the tiers and stages of the six desire heavens repeated above and below. Just as Luan blinked his eyes, his illness was immediately cured. Thereupon Luan earnestly applied his mind to the Buddha's Way, always feeling as though he could not catch up, opening the ignorant and guiding the secular without distinguishing near or far. At first, Luan was fond of occult arts; hearing that Tao the Recluse had attained the method of long life, he traveled far to approach him. Tao bestowed ten scrolls of immortal scriptures upon Luan; Luan bounded with joy and was self-satisfied, believing that the arts of the divine immortals were certainly genuine. Later he returned to Luoyang and met Bodhiruci, finding great affinity with him. He asked Ruci: "Does the Buddha's Way have long life? Can it ward off old age and attain deathlessness?" Ruci smiled and replied: "Long life and deathlessness are our Buddha's Way." He then handed him the Guan Wuliangshou jing, saying: "If you recite this, then in the three realms you will no longer be born, and in the six destinies you will no longer wander; waxing and waning, rise and fall, good and bad fortune, success and failure can no longer arise. As for its lifespan, there is the kalpa stone, and there are the sands of the Ganges; the number of sands and stones has an end, but the count of this lifespan has no limit. This is the long life of our Golden Immortal." Luan received his words, suddenly gave rise to deep faith, and thereupon burned the immortal scriptures he had studied and devoted himself exclusively to the Guan jing. Whenever he attained its principles in the Guan jing, he cultivated the karma of the three blessings and visualized the nine grades; though seasons changed with heat and cold and illnesses arrived, he never flagged in his initial resolve. The ruler of the Wei pitied his aspiration, and further praised his self-cultivation and converting of others, in which his holy practice was vast, naming him "Divine Luan" and imperially ordering him to dwell at Dayan Temple in Bingzhou; shortly thereafter he moved to Xuanzhong Temple in Fenzhou. One evening, as Luan was reciting, an Indian monk arrived with an imposing air, entered his chamber, and said: "I am Nāgārjuna. I dwell in the Pure Land; because you have the aspiration for the Pure Land, I have come to see you." Luan asked: "What instruction do you have for me?" Nāgārjuna said: "What has already gone cannot be overtaken; the future cannot yet be pursued; where is the present now? The white colt cannot be turned back." Having finished speaking, he disappeared. Deeming what he had seen to be extraordinary, Luan knew for certain that the time of death and birth had arrived. He immediately gathered several hundred disciples and fully laid out his admonitions, stating that living beings in the four modes of birth toil without end, the various sufferings of hell cannot but be feared, and the pure karma of the nine grades cannot but be cultivated. He then bade his disciples to chant Amitābha Buddha in unison with a loud voice; Luan faced west, closed his eyes, bowed his head to the ground, and manifested passing away. At that time, clerics and laypeople alike heard the sounds of stringed and wind instruments coming from the west, which only fell silent after a long while.

4.38

Great Master Zhizhe of Tiantai

4.39

The master's taboo name was Zhiyi, his courtesy name was De'an, and his surname was Chen, a native of Yingchuan. His mother, Lady Xu, dreamed of fragrant smoke of five colors encircling her body, whereupon she became pregnant. On the day of his birth, a divine light illuminated the room; his eyes had double pupils, and his eyebrows displayed eight colors. As a young child, upon seeing an image he would bow, and upon meeting a monk he would certainly prostrate. At the age of eighteen, he went to Guoyuan Temple in Xiangzhou to leave household life, reciting the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra and also mastering the vinaya pitaka. By nature he delighted in practicing dhyāna; thereupon he traveled to Mount Dasu to pay homage to Dhyāna Master Huisi, serving him as a master. When Master Si caught sight of him, he said: "Formerly on Vulture Peak we listened together to the Lotus; pursued by past karmic connections, you have come again today." He then transmitted the Lotus Samādhi to him. For three weeks he recited the sūtra, arriving at the "Chapter on the Ancient Deeds of the Medicine King": "This is true vigor; this is called the true offering of Dharma." Upon reaching this sentence, his body and mind opened up, and in stillness he entered samādhi, illuminating the Lotus as Xihe shining upon the myriad phenomena, and penetrating all dharmas' marks like a pure breeze wandering through the great void. When he was about to report his realization to the master, the master said: "Were it not for you, none would have realized it; were it not for me, none could recognize it. What you have realized is the preliminary expedient of the Lotus Samādhi, attaining the revolving dhāraṇī; among those who expound the Dharma, you are foremost. Later you will propagate the Dharma in the capital of Ye, subduing the masters of the time. In your later years you will enter Tiantai, subduing Māra and advancing in practice." When his converting affinities had ceased, he manifested illness and announced his passing before the Great Stone Statue in Xinchang. When his disciples inquired about the direction of his rebirth, he replied: "My various masters and friends have all come with Avalokiteśvara to welcome me." By night, his attendants saw a Buddha arrive, twice the size of the Great Stone Statue. On the verge of passing, he expounded various Dharma gates, instructed them to chant the titles of the Wuliangshou jing and the Guan jing, and looking upon the great assembly, joined his palms in praise: "The forty-eight vows adorn the Pure Land; the flower ponds and jeweled trees are easy to reach, yet no one goes. When the marks of the fire cart appear, with a single thought of remorse and reform one can still attain rebirth; how much more so for the holy practice and power of the Way cultivated and perfumed by precepts and samādhi—truly it is not in vain!" Having finished speaking, he recited the names of the Three Jewels and suddenly passed away. Later, a monk sought to know the place of his rebirth, and dreamed of Avalokiteśvara's golden form tens of feet high, with Zhizhe following behind, who said to the monk: "Have your doubts been resolved?" Confirming it again, Zhizhe had indeed been reborn in the western direction.

4.40

Upādhyāya Shandao of the Capital

4.41

Shi Shandao: During the Zhenguan era of the Tang, he traveled throughout the realm in search of the ford of the Way. Seeing Chan Master Chuo of Xihe performing the Vaipulya repentance and conducting a practice-site for the nine grades of the Pure Land to expound the Guan jing, Shandao rejoiced greatly and said: "This is truly the essential ford for entering buddhahood. Cultivating other practices is roundabout and difficult to accomplish; only this gate of contemplation swiftly transcends birth and death. I have found it!" Thereupon he was earnest, diligent, and rigorous, as if putting out a fire on his head. Proceeding on to the capital, he inspired and aroused the fourfold assembly; whether highborn or lowly, even butchers and wine merchants among his disciples were aroused to awakening. Whenever Shandao entered the Buddha hall, he would join his palms, kneel on his right knee, and single-mindedly practice buddhānusmṛti, never resting until his strength was exhausted; even in freezing cold he was bathed in sweat, a sign demonstrating his utmost sincerity. When he came out, he would preach the Pure Land teaching to others, converting both monastics and laypeople to generate the mind set on the Way and cultivate Pure Land practice, never for a moment failing to bring benefit. For over thirty years he had no separate sleeping quarters and did not sleep even for a brief moment; except when bathing, he never took off his robes. He took the practice of the pratyutpanna-samādhi and bowing to the Buddha in the Vaipulya [repentance] as his sole responsibility. Guarding the precepts and upholding the rules, he did not violate them in the slightest; he never raised his eyes to look at a woman, cut off all thought of fame and gain, and kept far away from frivolous banter. Wherever he went he made offerings with a pure body; the requisites of food, drink, and clothing—the four kinds of offerings—he never enjoyed for himself, but dedicated and distributed all of them. Good food he sent to the main kitchen to offer to the assembly, while he ate only coarse food to sustain his body, never consuming milk, curd, or ghee. With all the donations he received, he had over one hundred thousand fascicles of the Amitābha-sūtra copied, and over three hundred wall-paintings of the Pure Land transformation tableau executed. Wherever he went, seeing ruined saṅghārāmas and old brick stūpas or temples, he renovated them all; the lamps he lit were kept burning year after year without cessation. He never had others wash or carry his three robes, bowl, or water bottle. From beginning to end without change he converted all those with karmic affinity. He always walked alone and would not travel with the crowd, fearing that conversing with others about worldly affairs would hinder his cultivation of practice. As for those who briefly paid homage to him and heard him teach a little of the Dharma, or who joined him in the practice-site and personally received his instruction, or who, without having seen or heard him, unrolled and sought out his teachings, or who transmitted the Pure Land Dharma gate from one to another: monastics and lay people throughout the capital and various prefectures even threw themselves from high peaks, cast their lives into deep springs, or cast themselves down from high branches to burn their bodies as an offering. Of those heard of far and near, there were over one hundred such people; those who cultivated pure conduct and abandoned wives and children, those who recited the Amitābha-sūtra from one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand times, those who recited the name of Amitābha Buddha from fifteen thousand to one hundred thousand times a day, and those who attained the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi and attained rebirth in the Pure Land, were beyond count. Someone once asked Shandao: "Does the good deed of buddhānusmṛti bring rebirth in the Pure Land?" He replied: "As you recite, so your wish will be fulfilled." Thereupon Shandao himself recited Amitābha Buddha; with each recitation, a ray of light came forth from his mouth, and so it was from ten recitations up to hundreds and thousands of recitations. Shandao said to people: "This body is repulsive, oppressed by many sufferings; feelings and falsities change and shift without a moment's rest." He then climbed a willow tree in front of his temple, faced west, and made a vow: "May the Buddha's spiritual power swiftly receive me, and may Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta also come to assist me, so that this mind of mine does not lose right mindfulness, does not give rise to terror, and never suffers the slightest retrogradation in the Dharma of Amitābha!" When the vow was finished, he stood upright on the tree and passed away. At that time, the scholar-officials of the capital turned their hearts to him with devout faith, and together collected his bones to bury them. Emperor Gaozong, learning that light came forth from his mouth when he practiced buddhānusmṛti, and knowing of his utmost diligence at the time he cast off his retribution body, bestowed upon the temple the plaque "Guangming" (Radiance). The brief biography by Tianzhu Repentance Master [Zun]shi states: The transformation body of Amitābha arrived in Chang'an and heard the sound of water lapping on the bank. The Master then said: "This indicates that one can practice buddhānusmṛti." He then established the five-tone teaching and widely exhorted and converted people. Those of utmost faith saw Buddhas emerge from the Master's mouth when he practiced buddhānusmṛti. After three years, the entire city of Chang'an was transformed. The matters regarding his buddhānusmṛti are found in his separate biography. Later there was Great Master Fazhao, who was the later incarnation of Shandao. During the time of Emperor Dezong, he practiced the five-tone teaching in Bingzhou and converted people to practice buddhānusmṛti. In Chang'an, the Emperor frequently heard the sound of buddhānusmṛti coming from the northeast; he dispatched an envoy to search for it, who reached Dakang and indeed saw Master Zhao exhorting people to practice buddhānusmṛti. The Emperor then welcomed him into the palace, used Liu Qiu's rope bed, and had him teach the palace ladies the five-tone buddhānusmṛti. These matters are clearly set forth in his principal biography.

4.42

Great Master Fazhao of the Golden Terrace

4.43

Shi Fazhao: In the second year of the Dali era of the Tang, he dwelt at Yunfeng Temple in Hengzhou; his compassion, forbearance, precepts, and concentration were respected by the times. One morning while eating in the saṅgha hall, he saw in his bowl clouds of five colors; within the clouds was a temple, to the northeast of which was a great mountain, and in the mountain was a ravine. To the north of the ravine was a stone gate; about five li beyond the gate was another temple with a golden plaque inscribed: "Great Sage Bamboo Grove Temple." Although Zhao saw this with his own eyes, he still harbored feelings of doubt and perplexity. On another day at mealtime, he again saw in his bowl five-colored clouds; the clouds revealed several temples, devoid of foul mountains and forests, purely a golden realm, where pools, terraces, and towers were interspersed with various jewels, and ten thousand bodhisattvas dwelt within. In their midst were the adornments and pure lands of various Buddhas, with all manner of supreme signs. Delighted by what he saw, Zhao inquired about it. Two monks, Jiayan and Tanhui, said: "The transformations of the holy and divine cannot be fathomed by ordinary sentiments. If we consider the configuration of the mountains and streams, it is Wutai!" In the summer of the fourth year, Zhao opened a practice-site for five-tone buddhānusmṛti at Hudong Temple in Hengzhou. On the second day of the sixth month of that year, auspicious clouds of five colors covered the temple, and within the clouds were also towers, atop which were several Indian monks over a zhang tall, holding tin staffs and circumambulating. He also saw Amitābha Buddha and two bodhisattvas, their bodies vast and tall, equal to the realm of empty space. When evening came, outside the practice-site Zhao met an old man who said: "You previously made a vow to pay homage to the Great Sage in the golden realm; why do you now stop?" Zhao said: "The times are difficult and the roads perilous; how can I not stop?" The old man said: "If you can just go quickly, then go! Why think it difficult?" Before Zhao had time to reply, the old man vanished. Because of the supreme and wondrous things he had seen, Zhao renewed his vow: "I vow to offer this body to pay homage to the Great Sage; even if there be massed fires or rivers of ice, I will never turn back or become lax." On the thirteenth day of the eighth month of that year, together with several like-minded companions, he set out from Nanyue; as it turned out, there were no perils. On the fifth day of the fourth month of the fifth year, he arrived at Wutai County and saw from afar several rays of light south of the temple. On the sixth day he reached Foguang Temple, which was exactly as he had seen in his bowl, without the slightest discrepancy. At the fourth watch of that night, an extraordinary light again came from the north and shone upon Zhao. Not knowing what to make of it, Zhao asked: "What omen is this? Does it bode good or ill?" A monk said: "This is the Great Sage's inconceivable light gathering in your body and mind. Why do you ask?" Hearing this, Zhao straightaway put on full ceremonial vestments and went forward to a temple. About five li northeast of the temple there was indeed a mountain, the mountain had a ravine, and north of the ravine was a stone gate. Beside the gate were two boys, one named Sudhana and the other named Nanda, who led Zhao through the gate heading north. After nearly five li, he saw a golden gate with a tower above it; beside the tower was another temple, and at the temple gate was a large golden plaque inscribed: "Great Sage Bamboo Grove Temple." The temple was about twenty li in circumference, with over one hundred courtyards, every one of which had a jeweled stūpa; the ground was made of yellow gold, and flowering terraces and jade trees filled its interior. Zhao entered the lecture hall of the temple and saw Mañjuśrī in the west and Samantabhadra in the east, both seated upon elevated lion thrones. Zhao bowed before the two bodhisattvas and asked: "Worldly beings of the degenerate age have shallow, inferior wisdom and discernment, and the mind-ground of Buddha-nature has no way of being revealed. May I ask which Dharma gate is the most essential to cultivate? I pray only that the Great Sages sever my net of doubts." Mañjuśrī said: "Now is precisely the right time for your inquiry. Among all gates of practice, none surpasses buddhānusmṛti. In kalpas past, it was because of buddhānusmṛti that I attained the knowledge of all aspects. Therefore, the prajñāpāramitā of all dharmas, profound dhyāna-concentration, and even the ocean of right and universal knowledge of all Buddhas are all born from buddhānusmṛti." Zhao said: "How should one contemplate?" Mañjuśrī said: "To the west of this world is Amitābha Buddha; that Buddha's vow-power is inconceivable. You should continuously practice mindfulness without interruption, and after your life ends you will definitely attain rebirth." When these words were spoken, the two great bodhisattvas extended their golden arms to pat Zhao's crown and bestowed a prediction upon him: "Because of the inconceivability of buddhānusmṛti, you will ultimately realize supreme awakening. If good men and good women wish to quickly escape, they should practice buddhānusmṛti." At that time, the two bodhisattvas recited gāthās to each other, and upon hearing them, Zhao leaped with even greater joy. Mañjuśrī further said: "You may go and make a pilgrimage to the courtyards of the various bodhisattvas to receive their instructions." Following his words, Zhao went around to request instructions. Next he reached a garden of flowers made of the seven jewels; emerging from the garden, he bowed before the Great Sages to take his leave. He saw the earlier two boys, Sudhana and Nanda, escort him outside the gate; Zhao bowed again, and when he raised his head, both had vanished. On the thirteenth day, Zhao went with over fifty monks to the Diamond Cave, where Wuzhuo had seen the Great Sage; suddenly he saw that the ground was vast, adorned, and pure, with palaces formed of lapis lazuli and various jewels. Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra, together with about ten thousand bodhisattvas, and Buddhapāli among them, were present. After Zhao saw this, he returned to the temple with the assembly. At the third watch of that night, from the west tower of the Huayan Courtyard, he again saw five lamps, each over a foot square, beside the rocky ravine to the east of the temple. Zhao said: "I pray that they divide into a hundred lamps to gather on one side." The lamps divided according to his wish. He prayed again that they divide into a thousand torches, and the torches did likewise; rows aligned with rows and lights interfused with lights, and the extraordinary radiance within the lights spread throughout the mountains and wilderness. Zhao again proceeded to the Diamond Cave, praying to see the Great Sage. Around the third watch, he saw an Indian monk who called himself Buddhapāli, who led him into the temple. On the first day of the twelfth month, inside the buddhānusmṛti practice-site at the Huayan Courtyard, he repeatedly recalled how the two bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra had said that he would ultimately realize supreme awakening, and had further prophesied that by reciting Amitābha Buddha he would definitely attain rebirth. Thereupon he practiced buddhānusmṛti with single-minded devotion. While practicing right mindfulness, he suddenly saw the previous Indian monk enter the practice-site and say: "The flower terrace of your Pure Land has appeared. In three years the flower will open, and you shall depart. However, why do you not make the various temples of the Bamboo Grove that you saw known to all living beings?" Hearing this, Zhao recalled what he had seen in the past, and so engaged craftsmen to carve the stone and specially built a temple at the site of the Bamboo Grove Temple he had seen, naming it "Bamboo Grove." When the temple was completed, Zhao said: "My task is done. Why should I linger here long?" Within a few days, he passed away.

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廬山蓮宗寶鑑 — Classical Chinese