廬山蓮宗寶鑑 4.55

4.55

The Duke's surname was Wen, and his taboo name was Yanbo. When he served as the prefect of Luoyang, he once observed a fast and went to Long'an Temple to pay homage to a sacred image. Suddenly seeing that the image had broken and fallen to the ground, he showed not the slightest reverent regard, but merely gazed at it and walked out. A monk by his side asked, "Why do you not make obeisance?" The Duke replied, "Since the image is already ruined, to what should I bow?" The monk said, "An ancient worthy declared: 'It is like the earth of the public highway: people dig it up to make an image; the wise know it is highway earth, while the common person says an image has arisen. Later, when an official wishes to travel, the image is used once more to fill the road. The image fundamentally neither arises nor ceases, and the road likewise has neither new nor old.'" Upon hearing this, the Duke had an awakening. From then on, he aspired toward the Way with great vigor, focusing exclusively on chanting the name of Amitābha Buddha and expecting rebirth in the Pure Land, never neglecting his morning incense and evening sitting meditation in the least. He always made this vow: "May I be ever diligent / and vigorously cultivate all good. / May I comprehend the Mind lineage, / and broadly deliver all sentient beings." Whenever he saw anyone, he would exhort them to buddhānusmṛti, vowing to forge bonds with a hundred thousand people to be reborn together in the Pure Land. Upāsaka Ruru praised him in verse: "I know the Duke's spirit is as vast as the heavens, / vowing to forge a hundred thousand bonds for the Western Direction. / Seeking no livelihood for his own single person, / may everyone board the ferry-boat together!"