廬山蓮宗寶鑑 4.41

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.