廬山蓮宗寶鑑 6

English (machine translation) 6

Language: English

6.1

Exposition on the Correct Practice of Buddhānusmṛti

Now, the realm of constant light is originally without form or mark; when there is a response, it takes shape. Since the essential path to bodhi has been opened, without practice one cannot arrive. The Vimalakīrti-sūtra says: "Ratnakūṭa, son of the five hundred elders, said to the Buddha: 'I have already aroused the aspiration for anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi; I wish to hear how one attains the purity of a buddha-land, and I wish you to preach the bodhisattva's practice for the Pure Land.' The Buddha said: 'Ratnakūṭa! Sentient beings are the bodhisattva's Pure Land.'" Dharma Master Zhao said: "The ultimate person is empty and without mark, taking shape only in response to things." If the form has no fixed essence, how much less could the land have permanence? Because sentient beings are of myriad kinds and their karmic actions differ, different conversions are variously received, causing their retributions to not be uniform. Therefore, to the pure, it responds with gems and jade; to the defiled, it responds with sand and gravel. Excellence and vileness belong to them; for me there is no fixed state. The land of no fixed state is called the true land. Thus, the purity or defilement of the land is bound to sentient beings; hence it is said that the classes of sentient beings are the bodhisattva's Pure Land. Now, as for the Tathāgata's Pure Land, because it takes placelessness as its essence, sentient beings of mixed actions look at the same thing and see differently; because they see differently, purity and defilement arise, and because it is placeless, the true land is formed. As for grasping at its purity or defilement, that is the retribution of sentient beings; tracing back to its placelessness, that is the truth of the buddha-land. How could one distinguish its purity or defilement only after separating distinct regions, different places, and ordinary versus sage lands? Dharma Master Daosheng said: "As for the practitioner of the Pure Land, practice brings about the Pure Land; it does not fabricate it. If one wished to fabricate the land, it would be of the same class as sentient beings. To prevent any arbitrary fabrication, one must first clarify the root of fabrication to express the meaning of attainment, and only then explain the practice." Dharma Master [Kumāra]jīva said: "When Ratnakūṭa asked about the marks of the Pure Land, the World-Honoured One answered, 'Sentient beings are the bodhisattva's Pure Land,' which explains the cause upon the fruit." State Preceptor Qingliang said: "Within the minds of all buddhas, sentient beings newly and freshly become buddhas; within the minds of sentient beings, the Pure Land realizes the true from moment to moment." The sūtra says: "The bodhisattva acquires a pure buddha-land in accordance with the sentient beings he transforms, in order to benefit all sentient beings. For example, if a person wishes to build a palace upon an open ground, he may do so at will without obstruction; but if he does so in empty space, he can never complete it. The bodhisattva is like this: wishing to accomplish sentient beings, he vows to acquire a buddha-land; it is not in emptiness. You should know that the straightforward mind, the profound mind, and the Mahāyāna mind are the bodhisattva's Pure Land." Dharma Master Zhao said: "The purity of the land must come from sentient beings; the purity of sentient beings must rely on the manifold practices. When the practices are pure, sentient beings are pure; when sentient beings are pure, the buddha-land is pure. This is an inevitable principle that cannot err. The land's lack of crookedness arises from the straightforward mind; hence it is said that the straightforward mind is the bodhisattva's Pure Land. The straightforward mind means being honest and straightforward without flattery; this mind is the root of the myriad practices." Dharma Master Sheng said: "Planting the mind and sowing virtue so deeply and firmly that it is hard to uproot is the profound mind. Riding upon the eighty thousand practices to carry all under heaven without leaving a single person behind is the Mahāyāna mind." These three minds are the practices of beginners. If one wishes to propagate the Great Way, one must first have a straightforward mind. Once the mind is truly straightforward, one can enter deeply into practice; once entering into practice is deep, it broadly operates without limit. This is the sequence of the three minds. Equipped with these three minds, one next cultivates the six perfections up to the myriad practices. Dharma Master [Kumāra]jīva said: "The straightforward mind is the sincere mind; the beginning of arousing the aspiration lies in sincerity. The understanding of the Way becoming increasingly clear is called the profound mind. Rightly heading toward buddha-wisdom is called the Mahāyāna mind." The sūtra says: "Giving, moral discipline, patience, diligence, dhyāna meditation, and wisdom are the bodhisattva's Pure Land. The four immeasurable minds and the four means of embrace are the bodhisattva's Pure Land. Expedient means are the bodhisattva's Pure Land. The thirty-seven factors [of enlightenment] are the bodhisattva's Pure Land. Dedication [of merit] is the bodhisattva's Pure Land. The ten virtuous actions are the bodhisattva's Pure Land." In this way, Ratnakūṭa, in accordance with his straightforward mind, the bodhisattva is able to initiate practice; in accordance with his initiating practice, he attains the profound mind; in accordance with his profound mind, his intent is subdued; in accordance with his intent being subdued, he practices as preached; in accordance with his practicing as preached, he is able to dedicate [merit]; in accordance with his dedicating [merit], he has expedient means; in accordance with his expedient means, he accomplishes sentient beings; in accordance with his accomplishing sentient beings, the buddha-land is pure; in accordance with the buddha-land being pure, his preaching of the Dharma is pure; in accordance with his preaching of the Dharma being pure, his wisdom is pure; in accordance with his wisdom being pure, his mind is pure; in accordance with his mind being pure, all his merits are pure. Dharma Master [Kumāra]jīva said: "The straightforward mind means having faith in the Buddha's Dharma with a sincere mind. Once faith is established, one can initiate all kinds of good deeds; once all kinds of good deeds are accumulated, one's mind turns more profound; when the profound mind is steadfast, one does not follow manifold evils. Abandoning evil and following good is called subduing the mind; once the mind is subdued, whenever one encounters good one practices it; whenever one encounters good and practices it, one is able to practice what is hard to practice; being able to practice what is hard to practice, one is equipped with the myriad goods; equipped with the myriad goods, one can dedicate them toward the Buddha Way; directing toward it and ever advancing is the power of expedient means. There are three essentials of expedient means: first, being good at one's own practice without grasping at marks; second, not grasping at realization; third, being good at transforming sentient beings. Equipped with these three, one attains the Pure Land. Once the land is pure, sentient beings are purely purified; when sentient beings are purely purified, they share the same virtue as the transforming lord; hence it is said that all are pure." Although various sūtras explain at length the practice for the pure realm, they have not clarified the stages of the practice. Now this explanation clarifies what is utmost, deep, and broad; it cannot be transcended all at once. One should seek it through a path and tread it in an orderly manner. Therefore, it is said that the traces of initiating practice begin with the straightforward mind; the straightforward mind is none other than the true mind. Who among sentient beings does not have this mind? It is simply that they confuse themselves and are neither conscious nor aware. Thus, the Sixth Patriarch, the Great Master, said: "A single thought of fairness and straightforwardness is Amitābha; a single thought of deviousness and danger is a sentient being." This is because when people dwell in the defiled world, ignorance is actively manifest; their mouths speak of the straightforward mind, but their actions are full of flattery and crookedness, drowning in the sea of suffering unable to escape. For this reason, the Buddha had compassionate pity on them, showed them expedient means, and guided them with buddhānusmṛti to subdue their chaotic minds, causing them to renounce deviousness and danger and return to the correct and true, directly enabling sentient beings to be born in the Pure Land. Therefore, the Baowang lun says: "When a clear gem is dropped into turbid water, the turbid water cannot but become clear; when buddha-recollection is cast into a chaotic mind, the chaotic mind cannot but become buddha." Hence, due to buddhānusmṛti the straightforward mind is revealed; due to the straightforward mind one practices manifold goods; and by practicing manifold goods one attains the buddha's Pure Land. How could this not be the expedient power of wisdom of the buddhas and patriarchs? Dharma Master Zhao said: "One who accumulates virtue thus purifies the mind; when the mind is pure, there is no virtue that is not pure." Dharma Master Sheng said: "Meritorious practice is the extraordinarily superior cause of the Pure Land; merit and virtue are the extraordinarily subtle fruit of the Pure Land. Cause and fruit of the Pure Land are simply the echo and shadow of the mind. Therefore it is said: 'If one wishes to attain the Pure Land, one must purify one's mind,' as it is said, when the sound is harmonious, the echo accords, and when the form is upright, the shadow is straight."

6.3

Effort in Cultivation and Advancement

6.4

The doctrine that the Pure Land is Mind-only having already been made clear, everyone knows of its existence, but one must arrive there in person before resting content. If one wishes to realize this path, one should take right faith as the gate of entry and cultivation of the mind as the right practice. Right practice refers to the effort applied and the deeds carried out. These efforts and deeds are termed pure karma, which is the provision for rebirth in the Western [Pure Land]. These actions and karmas depend on each person's cultivation; because the capacities of all people have greater or lesser strength, and their faculties and wisdom are shallow or deep, their actions and practices are not uniform. People of supreme capacity and wisdom awaken directly on their own: recognizing their own original mind and seeing their own original nature, [they realize that] this is precisely Amitābha. This is the realm of the Tathāgata's unanchored and unattached supreme vehicle, of which there is not one in ten thousand. Those who are unable to awaken suddenly must firmly believe in the Pure Land, single-mindedly recite the Buddha's name, and progress gradually, relying on the power of Amitābha Buddha's vows for protection and support, while applying genuine effort in their own single thought—just like holding fast to a bridge pillar while washing oneself: not one in ten thousand will fail. Although it is called the single gate of buddhānusmṛti, in truth its meaning is boundless. Therefore, the patriarchs established teachings to encompass both the sharp and the dull, possessing both real and expedient, deep and shallow, sudden and gradual—all of which can be practiced. Those of superior capacity investigate and practice seated meditation; those of medium capacity visualize and recite, cultivating and making prostrations during the six periods of the day, diligent and focused day and night; down to those who succeed with ten recitations—all rests in single-minded practice. Each has its active aspects, stages, and gradations; according to one's strength of practice, all can advance. This gate of practice is the path to achieving the fruit of buddhahood and bodhi. One must have confidence in oneself and practice by oneself, cultivate oneself and deliver oneself. The essential point lies in establishing a great resolve, giving rise to great vows, undertaking the effort on one's own, and striving forward, not treating it lightly. For example, with a burden of one hundred and twenty catties, when the critical moment arrives, only by shouldering it oneself does one finish the matter. It decidedly does not consist in being skilled at speaking, eloquence, or widely cultivating human affinities; it decidedly does not consist in having lineages, transmissions, or artificial affectations; it decidedly does not consist in widely setting up altars or lighting many sticks of incense and candles. This is because clinging to phenomenal forms leads to delusion regarding the right principle, and yielding to sound and form goes against the true lineage—it is like counting another's treasures while possessing not half a coin of one's own, or selling good medicine while unable to cure one's own illness. Therefore, Patriarch Yuan said: 'He who grasps its purport is like one lighting a lamp in a dark room; he who misses its meaning is like one who stays fixed on the finger and loses sight of the moon.' Failing to realize no-mind, every arising of thought is deviant; the sun of wisdom is repeatedly obscured by dark clouds, and adventitious defilements increasingly veil the mirror of the mind. Consequently, thoughts and deliberations race to and fro, passions and desires struggle in turmoil, pacification never ceases, and restraint remains arduous. Falling into the indeterminate, one vainly stagnates in dullness; desiring to attain something, one immediately joins all sorts of wrong livelihood. Lacking any point of departure, it is difficult to speak of right samādhi; without any prospect of entering the dharmadhātu, one perpetually remains in the cage of dust. Those who cultivate the Pure Land must clearly confront life and death; it is not something finished merely by talking. One must remember that impermanence is swift and time waits for no man; one must treat it as a single focused task to succeed. If one half advances and half retreats, seeming to believe yet seeming to doubt, when all is said and done, what matter can be accomplished? How could one transcend saṃsāra? If one's faith is sufficient, then starting today give rise to great valor and great vigor; do not ask whether you understand or not, whether you see the nature or not—just hold fast to this single phrase, 'Namo Amituofo', unshakable as if leaning against Mount Sumeru. Focus your mind and unify your intent, whether investigating in recitation, visualizing in recitation, recollecting in recitation, or reciting ten times; whether silently reciting, exclusively reciting, fastening mindfulness in recitation, or reciting with prostrations; mindful of this here and now, constantly recollecting and constantly reciting, reciting morning and evening, reciting walking and sitting, with mental thoughts not passing in vain and the Buddha's name not leaving the mind. Day after day and hour after hour, never let it go, continuing uninterruptedly—like a hen brooding over an egg, constantly keeping the warmth continuous—this is precisely the succession of pure mindfulness. Adding the illumination of wisdom, one knows that the Pure Land is none other than one's own mind. This is the progressive effort of people of superior wisdom. Holding firm like this, being master of oneself, and relying securely, even if realms of suffering or joy, adversity or favor appear before you, simply recite Amitābha Buddha. Have not a single thought of deviation, not a single thought of retreat or laziness, not a single thought of scattered distraction, until the end of your life never having any other thought, resolutely determined to be born in the Western Realm of Sukhāvatī. If one can truly apply effort in this manner, then the ignorance and karmic obstacles of life and death accumulated over kalpas will naturally dissolve and vanish, and the defilements and habitual outflows will naturally be purified without residue. Seeing Amitābha face to face, not departing from one's original thought, with effort accomplished and practice fulfilled, aided by the power of vows, at the end of life one will certainly be born in the superior grade. If one's strength is not yet sufficient, one should cultivate according to one's capacity; even if unable to apply effort exclusively, one must still make prostrations and recite morning and night. Even though household ties may be complicated and tedious, never forget the ten recitations of the name. Day after day, apply the mind with vigorous spirit, accumulate merit and practice, make vows and give rise to the resolve, pledging to bring this life to an end and ascend together to the pure realm. It may well be said: The waters must head toward the sea; the clouds will surely return to the mountains.

6.5

Livelihood in Support of the Path

6.6

For lay bodhisattvas and eminent practitioners of buddhānusmṛti, attending the vegetarian feasts of donors daily and sitting idly enjoying offerings from humans and gods is not the ordinary path; it is not as good as managing a livelihood. When one has the intention to cultivate, how could work and chores interfere? Whether sowing seeds in the fields, doing business in the marketplace, possessing abundant family wealth, or daily seeking a pint or a peck, one should consider that diligence brings no indolence and frugality yields surplus; using this to cultivate oneself makes one a true child of the Buddha. If one is extravagant and lazy, with one's livelihood bleak and destitute, then even though one wishes to cultivate, it cannot be achieved. Know with certainty that governing the world and supporting life both accord with the right Dharma; skills and crafts bring abundant benefit to all beings. If one wishes to cultivate the right cause of pure karma, one should use livelihood to support the path. Therefore, Old Huang of Tanzhou always cultivated while smithing iron; Layman Pang made a living supporting the path by selling bamboo baskets; Yu [Mi] painted images of Amitābha as his trade; and Dai Fo'an made matches to sustain his body. Truly, it may be said: 'A day without work is a day without food.'

6.7

Creating Merit to Aid Conditions

6.8

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.

6.9

Eliminating Evil and Adopting Good

6.10

The Pure Land Ten Gates of Admonition states: 'Those who cultivate the Pure Land must eliminate evil and adopt good; only then can they achieve merit. If a person, although reciting Amitābha, has vehement jealousy, it is called a hidden sharp knife; at the end of life, the force of the winds will dismantle their body, with all hundred joints in agony. Or if one says, "I can keep the precepts, but others cannot," showing arrogance toward teachers and monks and looking down on everyone with slander, in the present life one diminishes one's blessings, shortens one's lifespan, and dies of consumption coughing up blood. If a practitioner of buddhānusmṛti has not yet cleansed dust and defilement, whenever evil thoughts arise, one must examine oneself: whether there is a mind of stinginess and greed, anger and hatred, ignorant craving, envy and jealousy, deceit and falsehood, self and ego, conceit and arrogance, flattery and crookedness, wrong views, contempt and disrespect, subject and object, or any unwholesome mind produced by following defilement amidst adverse or favorable circumstances—if such should arise, one must immediately recite the Buddha's name aloud, gather the mind, and return to correctness, not allowing evil thoughts to continue, eliminating them entirely at once so they never arise again. As for the mind of deep faith, sincere mind, mind of vows and dedication, mind of compassion, humble mind, impartial mind, expedient mind, mind of patience, mind of keeping precepts, mind of joy and giving, mind of dhyāna-concentration, vigorous mind, bodhicitta, and all wholesome minds—one must constantly guard and protect them. Furthermore, one must avoid unchaste conduct, cut off evil codes of discipline, take care not to raise chickens, dogs, pigs, or sheep, and refrain from hunting and fishing. Know that all the superior good persons in the Realm of Sukhāvatī attained rebirth in the Pure Land and non-retrogression from bodhi precisely because they abandoned evil conditions and practiced wholesome karma. Practitioners of buddhānusmṛti should learn after the Buddha; they must take the elimination of evil and the adoption of good as their mirror and admonition. If only one can cultivate according to this, it is the right practice of the Pure Land.' Truly, it can be said: Boundless wild clouds are swept away by the wind; a round, bright moon shines in the center of the sky.

6.11

Rescuing Beings in the Dark Destinies

6.12

Sons of the Śākya, śramaṇas, and lay bodhisattvas, having cultivated pure karma for the Western [Pure Land], should give rise to vast compassion, advance in practice according to the Dharma, skillfully follow the Buddha's teachings, understand causes and recognize effects, discern what is right and distinguish what is wrong, amass the provisions of supramundane merit and wisdom, and perfect the equal and wondrous merit of a great hero. Therefore, the Śākya Honoured One repeatedly admonished: 'Wherever my disciples dwell, they should bestow Dharma food to rescue all sentient beings of the dharmadhātu, relieve their extreme suffering of hunger and thirst, and transform them so that they turn together toward bodhi. If one does not bestow food, one lacks a compassionate heart. Such a person is not my disciple, but a member of an evil multitude.' The sūtras contain clear texts on this. If one carefully observes all sentient beings, they do not understand their own nature; through stinginess, greed, jealousy, anger, hatred, and ignorance, amidst humans, gods, ghosts, animals, hells, and asuras, they are scorched by hunger and thirst, grieving and suffering, in the dark, long night, seeking escape without foreseeable time. Deducing it through principle, there are none who were not our parents in past lives; as the Buddha explained, all have been our enemies and kin over cumulative kalpas. Therefore, we exercise the compassion of Avalokiteśvara and cultivate the vows of practice of Samantabhadra, vowing to rescue them together so that all escape drowning. Those with means should prepare vegetarian feasts and arrange offerings; those without means should empower food with mantras and bestow it upon living beings. The extraordinary merit of bestowing food is vast and immeasurable, complete with wondrous benefits beyond words. Briefly mentioning a few items to proclaim to the virtuous: Once the mind of giving is aroused, wondrous practice is fully manifest, completing the three kinds of giving, fulfilling the cultivation of the six pāramitās, benefiting others and benefiting oneself, awakening oneself and awakening others, skillfully gathering supramundane merit and wisdom, perpetually making them provisions for the Pure Land, broadly planting foundations, and perfecting substance and function. Even down to burying dried bones, interring exposed corpses, universally offering repentance on behalf of dark spirits, constructing bridges and public wells to facilitate travelers, and bestowing food, drink, and money according to one's means: whenever seeing poverty, cold, and hunger, grieve with deep pity; toward the lonely, elderly, decrepit, and disabled, redouble compassionate thoughts, constantly maintaining the thought of aiding and bringing true compassion to its utmost. In cultivating all roots of goodness, vow completely that all sentient beings attain buddhahood; dedicating these superior benefits to the Western [Pure Land], universally hope that sentient beings jointly ascend to the shore of enlightenment. For this reason, Emperor Wu of the Xiao Liang dynasty established the Water and Land Ritual, and Tripiṭaka [Master] Amoghavajra provided the method for rescuing the solitary [spirits]. Truly, it can be said: A single rain pervades the sandy realms; all minds revive in the eternal night.

6.13

Releasing Living Beings

6.14

If one wishes to approach bodhi, a mind of compassion is the foundation; whenever cultivating pure karma, succouring living creatures comes first. Consider the flying birds, running beasts, and swimming fish with their scales: some are trapped in nets and snares, or confined in coops and cages; their cheeks pierced, their wings bound back, their feet tied and hanging upside down; about to face the boiling cauldron and fire, on the verge of meeting the knife and chopping block. Grieving, fearful, terrified, and panicking, they look to the clouds and their spirits vanish; remembering the woods and springs, their courage is shattered. Though knowing death is ten-thousand-fold, they still hope for a single chance at life, looking about and crying out mournfully to seek rescue. Therefore, disciples, feeling pity, spend their wealth to ransom their lives, opening cages and releasing pens, severing bonds and untying the suspended. Bestowing water, burning incense, joining palms, and chanting vows, when the deed of Dharma-giving is complete, they release them peacefully, whether letting them loose into ponds or taking them out to forests and wilds—all unfolding the mind of compassion through the Buddha's way. Extending upward to humankind and downward to ants, wherever they can save from death, there is none whose life they do not liberate. Since they liberate life, long life naturally follows; dedicating this superior benefit toward the West, they universally vow that all living beings will together achieve the Buddha way. Thus the Elder revived the fish, the novice monk saved the ants, Zheng Changtu burned fishing nets, Dhyāna Master Yi established release ponds, Yang Bao treated the sick sparrow, and Minzhong cast back the shrimp and clams. Patriarch Yuan had a verse on refraining from killing, and Dhyāna Master Man spoke on precepts and releasing life. It may truly be said: attentively undoing the clove-blossom knots, one lets loose the unhindered spring upon the branches.

6.15

Simultaneous Cultivation of the Six Perfections and the Ten Thousand Practices

6.16

The six perfections are the six pāramitās of giving, keeping the precepts, patience, diligence, dhyāna meditation, and wisdom. If people who practice buddhānusmṛti exclusively cultivate samādhi and study the supramundane, they must reach the ultimate good. One must know that the six perfections and the ten thousand practices do not go beyond the one mind. Within the one mind, all dharmas are fully present, just as bathing in the great ocean has already made use of the waters of every river. It is like forming ten thousand kinds of incense into a single pill: if one burns that one pill, it possesses all fragrances. It is like a person searching for treasure who obtains the king of wish-fulfilling gems: all kinds of treasures arise without end. How is it known to be so? By grasping and upholding the single phrase "Amitābha Buddha," samādhi is attained. In a single thought, one accords with principle and all dharmas appear before one; the six perfections and the ten thousand practices are all completely fulfilled. With giving, the mind has no defiled attachment; with keeping the precepts, delusive conditions do not arise; with patience, both subject and object are forgotten; with diligence, the mind is without interruption; with dhyāna meditation, motion and stillness are both stilled; with wisdom, not a hairsbreadth is established. Thus from within one perfection emerge immeasurable perfections; within each perfection, it is like Indra's net. If one only knows that the one mind is fundamentally empty, the ten thousand practices will naturally be complete. Therefore, the eighty-four thousand Dharma-doors, the eighty-four thousand kinds of wisdom, and the eighty-four thousand merits are all born from the one thought of the mind of buddhānusmṛti. In the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, Bodhisattva Bhadraśrī says: "When disciples of the Buddha use their minds skillfully at all times, they obtain all superior and wondrous merits." It can truly be called: one nature completely penetrates all natures; one dharma universally encompasses all dharmas.

6.17

The Great Being Vimalakīrti Demonstrates the Eight Dharmas of the Pure Land

6.18

The Vimalakīrti-sūtra says: "A bodhisattva of the Sarvagandhasugandhā world asked: 'Accomplishing how many dharmas does a bodhisattva practice in this world without blemish and take birth in the Pure Land?' Vimalakīrti said: 'A bodhisattva accomplishes eight dharmas to practice in this world without blemish and take birth in the Pure Land. What are the eight? Benefiting living beings without expecting a reward; bearing all afflictions on behalf of all living beings; dedicating all merits one produces to them; being equal-minded toward living beings, humble and without hindrance; regarding all bodhisattvas as the Buddha, and hearing sūtras not heard before without doubting them; not going contrary to the śrāvakas; not being jealous of others' offerings nor proud of one's own gain, but subduing one's mind therein; constantly examining one's own faults and not speaking of others' shortcomings, always seeking all merits with single-mindedness. These are the eight dharmas by which one practices without blemish and is born in the Pure Land.'"

6.19

Comparative Clarification of the Difficulty and Ease of Cultivation

6.20

In the defiled realm of Sahā, the multitude of sufferings gathers, and seeking the Way is difficult to accomplish; in the joyful country of the Pure Land, all goods assemble, and one ascends to the stage of non-retrogression. For those who recite the name, all buddhas protectively remember them and they attain rebirth; for those who bring forth the bodhi mind, Amitābha's light shines on them and they advance. Bodhisattvas and arhats are their companions; water, birds, and groves all practice buddhānusmṛti. The wondrous Dharma is constantly heard beside their ears, and greed and anger abruptly cease in their minds; their joy is inexhaustible, and how could their lifespan have an end? Once born in that land, one immediately attains the avinivartanīya stage. How could it compare to the human and heavenly paths, where whichever way one looks there are many opposing and agreeable conditions, or to the path of the expedient vehicles, where wholesome roots are rarely complete and round? The three sages before the grounds had not yet seen the Way and lost mindfulness; Śāriputra, at the sixth stage of abiding, still encountered bad conditions and had a thought of retreat. Therefore, those who withdrew from their seats at the assembly of the Lotus Sūtra numbered five thousand, and those who lost the Way in the Ratnakūṭa-sūtra were still numerous. Considering that it was so even in the Buddha's lifetime, how could it not be so in the present age? The Huayan helun states: 'A question asks: "As the Nirvāṇa-sūtra says, 'If one hears the two words "eternal abiding", one will not fall into hell for seven kalpas.' The Avataṃsaka-sūtra says, 'Even if one hears the Tathāgata's name and the Dharma he preached, and does not produce faith and understanding, it can still form a seed.' Why is it still said that the mind of the sixth abiding and the bodhisattvas before the grounds have retrogression?" The answer says: "When entering the Way from the state of an ordinary person, superior understanding is not yet formed. Deeming oneself to have attained what has not yet been attained, one gives rise to arrogance; not drawing near superior friends and not respecting the worthy and good, because of indolence and arrogance, one stays long among humans and devas, following agreeable and opposing conditions. As soon as an evil thought arises, hell is immediately formed. If one has single-minded faith without arrogance and constantly seeks superior friends, then one does not have this fault. Why is this? In the expedient teachings, the mind of the sixth abiding and the three sages before the grounds have not seen the Way at all; the practices and karmic actions they cultivate are all conditioned. Whenever there is ignorance, it is only subdued; if there is strength, then they do not retrogress and lose it; only upon reaching the eighth ground do they begin to enter unmotivated practice."' From this we know that practitioners of the three vehicles pass through asaṃkhyeya-kalpas and their meritorious practice is without success, whereas the gate of buddhānusmṛti attains the stage of non-retrogression in the snap of a finger. Therefore, those who are born in the Pure Land have only good and no evil, so their stage has no retrogression, and they are determined to become buddhas. Thus the Amitābha-sūtra says: 'Living beings born in the Land of Utmost Bliss are all avaivartikas'—this is it. Alas, beginners have shallow faith, and without other-power it is difficult to advance and cultivate; our Buddha's vows are deep, and wherever there is a connection, he gathers all in. One must believe that studying the Way through other gates is like an ant climbing a high mountain, while rebirth in the Pure Land is like a windblown sail traveling on a favorable current: Amitābha guides one to proceed directly to bodhi; all the sages hold one up to surpass the three realms far above; in the highest grade one immediately ascends to the fruit of buddhahood, and even the lowest birth surpasses the heavenly palace. Universally believe and have no doubts; together cultivate non-retrogression.

6.21

Tiantai Demonstrates the Pure Land's Two Practice-Gates of Aspiration and Revulsion

6.22

The Shiyi lun says: "One who wishes to be born in the Pure Land must possess the two practices of revulsion and aspiration: First is the practice of revulsion and departure. Constantly contemplate that this body is impure with pus, blood, feces, urine, foul discharges, and stinking filth. First, contemplate that worldly people are born from sensual desire, greed, and love; this is impurity of the seed. Second, contemplate the union of the parents' red and white [fluids]; this is impurity of receiving birth. Third, residing in the womb; this is impurity of the dwelling place. Fourth, while in the womb, feeding only on the mother's blood; this is impurity of consumption. Fifth, when the ten months are fulfilled and exiting the birth canal; this is impurity of initial birth. Sixth, pus and blood within the body; this is impurity of the entire body. Seventh, after death, swelling, rotting, and decaying; this is ultimate impurity. Contemplating one's own body being like this, contemplating others is also so. Next, contemplate that the defiled realm of Sahā gathers all sufferings together: birth, old age, sickness, and death; the suffering of meeting the hated; the suffering of separation from the loved; sorrow, grief, and afflictions; the three wretched paths and eight difficulties; transmigration in the six destinies; the impermanence and destruction of earth, water, fire, and wind; greed, anger, ignorance, and arrogance giving rise to thoughts upon encountering conditions—one should feel revulsion and abandon them. Once revulsion arises, the Pure Land is certain to be accomplished. Second is the practice of joyful aspiration. Seeking rebirth in the Pure Land is for the sake of wishing to rescue all living beings from suffering. Therefore, longing in mind and giving rise to thought, one joyfully takes conditions from the Western pure land adorned with the hundred treasures, the golden ground, jeweled groves, and radiant flower-pools; possessing sovereign spiritual superknowledges to go to other regions at will; severing birth and death forever with no further affliction; Amitābha Buddha's physical marks and brilliant light; spontaneous awakening to Dharma-doors; natural food and clothing; and all gates of joy. Therefore one must have joyful aspiration."

6.23

Bodhimaṇḍa of Pure Karma

6.24

Now, as for pure karma, it is the wondrous practice of formlessness and non-action, the profound teaching of non-defilement and non-stagnation. As for the place of practice (bodhimaṇḍa), it is that which is upheld by all buddhas of the three periods of time, the domain of bodhi and correct awakening. How could it be measured by names, marks, or quantities? Is it not beyond what intellectual knowledge, subject and object, can recount? If one captures its essential purport, one takes sincerity and reverence as adornment, and takes vows and practice as regulations. Therefore, in the Vimalakīrti-sūtra, the manifold characteristics of the place of practice are shown, and the Dharma society of the ancestral master Yuan has an explanatory text of its procedures and regulations. Hence, those who understand this meaning enter into the true mark: object and wisdom unite, phenomena and principle merge; they kindle the incense of the fivefold dharmakāya, and illumine the thousand-beamed candle of wisdom. Severing all thoughts and anxieties, this is called pure fasting and cultivation; characterized by reverence and dignity, this is called equal offering. Walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, they never depart from the place of practice; every movement and action is nothing but a Buddha work. Thought after thought, Amitābha appears in the world; mind after mind, bodhisattvas radiate light. Every step of the way is the West, and every stride ascends to the treasure place. Not a single dharma is not the True Dharma, and every sound uttered is the complete sound. When a single thought is produced, gods and dragons protect and support it; when a single order is enacted, the demon kings lose heart. In this, the assembly at the Holy Eagle Peak is vividly unscattered; this is named truly offering Dharma to the Tathāgata. In terms of merit, it is limitless and boundless; in terms of fruition, it is inconceivable and ineffable. If one prays for blessings by this means, what blessing will not arrive? If one delivers living beings by this means, all who have life are delivered. This is called true and actual merit; this is called the place of practice for pure karma.
Now, alas, in this final era there are foolish people of this kind who do not examine their own minds and do not know the Buddha's principle. Clinging to external objects as real, they cultivate practice exclusively attached to marks. Here they hold several assemblies at a place of practice; there they burn several catties of incense and candles. In such-and-such a place they convert so-and-so many people; at the confessional precepts they make so-and-so many rounds of fundraising at such-and-such a time: "I am the transmission master Zhang's lineage," "He is the senior master Li's disciple," "That one has the generation character Pu," "This one has the lineage character Jue." They do not consider where the root comes from, vainly contending over branches with no true basis. Moreover, speaking in gibberish and making wild assertions, at every turn approving this and condemning that, they interpret the Buddhist sūtras falsely and secretly transmit spurious teachings. Beating their mouths like drums, playing with entangling vines, contending about self and contending about others, discussing higher and discussing lower, they commit no few blunders and make many disgraceful spectacles. Not knowing shame, they are thus like this; how could they understand remorse, acting so wildly?
They turn the one real path of the Pure Land into a miscellaneous theater, and take the name of Amitābha's myriad virtues and sing it as a folk song. They lose the ancestral master's correct eye and blunt the teachings of the Lotus School, so that those of discernment grieve in secret, and those who understand look on in astonishment.
Furthermore, there are those who strike cymbals and beat drums while reciting dhāraṇīs, encroaching on the ritual services of the monastic order; they cast spells on water, write talismans, and talk of misfortunes and blessings, behaving like spirit-mediums and shamans. They dispatch the devas, chase the dead and arrest ghosts, shout at and revile the Three Jewels, cure illnesses, and expel evil spirits. With a hundred sorts of deviousness and ten thousand kinds of bizarreness, rushing about on foot to serve as slaves to others, hurrying and scrambling heedless of their lives to chase after followers. When reading and reciting, nine out of ten are errors and blunders; when bowing and chanting, seven out of eight are babble and confusion. Opening the sūtra they nod off; putting away the sūtra they gossip about family affairs. Heads gathered and knocking together, playing with ghostliness, clumping in gangs and swarming in packs to raise empty brawls, they do not consider causes and conditions, nor do they heed sins and faults. Borrowing the vast Dharma gate of the buddhas and patriarchs, they receive the bows and offerings of humans and devas. If [considered] fine, it may indeed seem fine, but if [considered] wholesome, it is not yet wholesome.
If one holds the Buddha's precepts and dwells within the Buddha's gate, one should learn the Way of the Tathāgata, recite the Buddha's sūtras, and practice the Buddha's deeds; only then does one fulfill the intention of the ancestral masters. If one has not yet been able to enter the holy and transcend the worldly, one should only fear lacking the virtue to respond to offerings, like a table wipe that cannot be without dirt and defilement. To oneself, it is like a whetstone: it cannot avoid being worn away. If one can awaken to the fundamental essence, it is best to turn back. Originally, when one turned to the Buddha and observed the fasts, what was it ultimately for? Since one cannot rescue oneself from birth and death, how does that compare to stepping back oneself, examining oneself and cultivating practice, exclusively reciting Amitābha, diligently seeking repentance, drawing near to wise persons to investigate the Buddha's principle, and going to a quiet place to substantively investigate the mind-king? At once make the waves subside in the sea of karma, and bring forth the black dragon's pearl to illuminate heaven and earth, bringing oneself to perfection and benefiting others. If one encounters a place of practice for receiving offerings, take care not to be heedless or contemptuous; accord with the regulations without transgression, and comply with the Fasting Sūtra to honor the Dharma; then right before you, you will attain the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi. This alone is a gate of ease and joy: above, it can repay the four kindnesses; below, it can pull out and rescue those in the three realms of existence. Truly, one will not have been a disciple of the Buddha in vain, nor will one have let down one's own spiritual nature. Faith and vows assist each other, and practice and understanding are both fully equipped. Treading in this manner, one is the Amitābha of the present; cultivating from this point on, one is truly the eyes of humans and devas. This is a great condition indeed; how could it be a minor benefit? Do you understand?
On the high peak of the green mountain, one sees the sky is broad;
When the white lotus blooms, one smells the fragrance of the water.

6.25

Practicing Oneself and Transforming Others

6.26

The Buddha said: "Not having been delivered oneself, yet first desiring to deliver others, is the aspiration of a bodhisattva; having already perfected self-awakening, then awakening others, is the Tathāgata's responding to the world." Therefore, our ancestral master of the Lotus School established the single gate of buddhānusmṛti, matching practice and understanding, benefiting oneself and benefiting others, possessing methods to transform beings and retaining principle in instructing people. He was called a Guide, dedicated to demonstrating and guiding people through the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi, universally causing them to transcend the world. Therefore, the teaching spread throughout the world, and all people looked up to it.
Teachers of today do not comprehend its Way and are confined to names and marks. They gather many disciples but do not cultivate real practice; they bear the name of a teacher of humans in vain, having no Dharma to teach people, yet they desire people to respect and revere them. Lacking virtue while receiving people's respect is truly shameful. A sūtra says: "Whoever wishes to deliver others must first seek to deliver themselves." The Vimalakīrti[-sūtra] says: "If one cannot cure one's own illness, how can one cure the illness of others?" Furthermore, the Hell Retribution Sūtra says: "If one is not pure oneself and teaches others to be pure, there is no such possibility." The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says: "For example, suppose two people each have relatives drowning in water. One person, overcome with distress, enters the water directly to save them; because he lacks skillful means, both drown together. The other person possesses skillful means: he goes and gets a boat or raft, boards it to rescue and pick them up, and all are delivered from the peril of drowning." Therefore, if one who is a teacher of others has the mind to deliver people but lacks the wisdom to deliver people, how can they sit upright with folded hands, with an empty belly and a haughty mind, unwilling to draw near to an enlightened master, knowing only to arrogantly receive people's prostrations, respect, and offerings? Because they crave empty reputation, they truly plant the foundation of disaster. It is like an ordinary man falsely styling himself an emperor and bringing destruction upon himself. This is what was referred to earlier as rescuing people without skillful means; how could one act so recklessly?
In general, for one who is a teacher of others wishing to deliver disciples, one must contemplate the causal stage of cultivation of the buddhas and patriarchs from of old, the source and flow of their attainment of the Way, the authentic seal of the transmission of the lineage, and the Dharma gate of buddhānusmṛti. Investigating each one clearly, personally believing and personally practicing, cultivating each one and perfecting each one, first benefiting oneself and then benefiting others—this is boarding the boat of Amitābha's great vow-power to rescue and receive those drowning in the sea of suffering; is it not fitting that both should be benefited and saved? This is what is called awakening later-awakened ones by means of those who awakened first. Personally believing in this Dharma gate, one also teaches people to believe in this Dharma gate; personally practicing this Way, one also teaches people to practice this Way; personally vowing to be reborn in the Pure Land, one also teaches people to make vows to be reborn in the Pure Land; personally seeing the Amitābha of one's fundamental nature, one also teaches people to see the Amitābha of their fundamental nature. Applying the mind in this way, is this not performing the practice of a bodhisattva?
Master and disciples each receive the correct cause and together practice the correct path, progressively transforming and delivering all living beings to the utmost limits of the future, all awakening to the Buddha vehicle and together escaping birth and death. How could the power of their merit be easily measured? Functioning as a teacher of others in this way, what dissatisfaction could there be? If it is not so, delusion and awakening are two different paths, and the retributions of the correct and the heterodox differ. One might say: inside the cave of the golden-haired one, a lion is born; beneath the wild fox's crag, a fox emerges.

6.27

Examining the Mind through Phenomena

6.28

Chan Master Yongming Yanshou's Record of Personal Practice states: 'With reverence I reflect that the ancient sages never boasted of their abilities; looking back upon former worthies, none advertised their own virtue. Yet the Buddhist scriptures contain the teaching of first practicing oneself and then transforming others, and the Confucian school highlights the text that one should not avoid recommending one's own kin. The Master often instructed his disciples, saying: "Because of examining the Hongming ji, [I found that] a former worthy had a gate of examining the three karmas, which stated: 'When the sentiment of self-reproach remains dim and the intention of careful scrutiny is not yet manifest, one should examine the mind through concrete actions. Knowing that in all one practices one falls short, trepidation and shame will increasingly grow. What is meant by examining? Examine this body of mine: from dawn to noon, from noon to dusk, from dusk to night, from night to dawn, and even in a single hour, a single quarter-hour, a single thought, a single instant—how many minds, how many deeds, how many virtues, and how many evils [have occurred]? How many minds sought to crush afflictions? How many minds sought to subdue the hostility of Māra? How many minds were mindful of the Three Jewels and the Four Noble Truths? How many minds realized suffering, emptiness, and impermanence? How many minds were mindful of repaying the compassionate kindness of parents? How many minds vowed to undergo suffering on behalf of sentient beings? How many minds gave rise to thoughts of the bodhisattva's path? How many minds wished to practice generosity and keep the precepts? How many minds wished to practice patience and vigor? How many minds wished for dhyāna to manifest wisdom? How many minds wished compassionately to deliver the five destinies? How many minds wished to encourage and practice what is difficult to practice? How many minds wished to transcend and accomplish what is difficult to accomplish? How many minds wished to endure suffering to establish the Buddha-Dharma? How many minds wished to become a Buddha to transform and deliver all beings? Having examined the mind above, next examine the mouth. In the periods of time mentioned above, since dawn, how many sentences of profound meaning have I been able to expound? How many scriptures have I been able to read and annotate? How many texts have I been able to recite with comprehension? How many times have I praised the Buddha's merit? How many times have I dedicated merit and made vows? Next examine the body: in the periods of time mentioned above, how many times have I bowed my body in prostration to the Buddha, and how many bows? How many times have I bowed my body in reverence to the Dharma and the Saṅgha? How many times have I labored to sweep a stūpa and plaster the ground? How many times have I burned incense, scattered flowers, and lit lamps? How many times have I swept away dust and dirt and properly arranged offerings? How many times have I hung banners on the stūpa pillar and joined my palms in offering? How many times have I circumambulated the Buddha with reverence, ten, a hundred, or a thousand circuits? Examining in this manner, those that accord with principle are exceedingly few, while those that violate the Way are extremely numerous. Pure white karma is barely worth mentioning, while heavy obstacles of affliction loom densely before one's eyes; dark hindrances progressively accumulate—by what means can one attain liberation? Examining as above, one has no merit even to save oneself; how could one have leisure to deliberate over the good and evil of others? Therefore, one must take the three karmas to discipline and reproach oneself, knowing how much good and how much evil one has done. Hence, if one does not first examine and reproach oneself, how can one transform and guide all capacities?' Therefore, for the sake of delivering sentient beings, the bodhisattva first practices himself. Thus the Vimalakīrti-sūtra says: 'With immeasurable wealth he gathers in the poor; with pure observance of precepts he gathers in those who violate prohibitions; with forbearance and disciplined practice he gathers in the wrathful; with great vigor he gathers in the indolent; with single-minded dhyāna he gathers in the distracted; with decisive wisdom he gathers in the unwise.' Furthermore, a sūtra states: 'One keeps the precepts oneself and encourages others to keep the precepts; one sits in meditation oneself and encourages others to sit in meditation.' The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa states: 'Our fundamental teacher Śākyamuni Buddha did not abandon the merit of threading a needle.' Patriarch Nāgārjuna Bodhisattva explained: 'It is like a hundred-year-old grandfather dancing. Why? For the sake of teaching his children and grandchildren.' How much more so when one has not yet abided in the ultimate stage: it is entirely the gate of self-benefit. From the initial mind of the ten faiths, progressing through the ten abodes, the ten practices, the ten dedications, and the ten grounds, up to equal enlightenment, the stage of Samantabhadra before buddhahood is still self-benefit. As for the gate of benefiting others, ascending to the stage of wondrous enlightenment up to Samantabhadra after buddhahood—only then is it the practice of benefiting others."' Because the master spoke this himself, two or three points have been compiled and recorded. Since the practice of antidotes is admirable, the gate of gathering and transforming will not fall away; the vehicle and the precepts are both urgent, and the expedient and the real are practiced in tandem. Substance and function encompass each other; principle and phenomena are unhindered. Now I cite the concluding verses of the Wanshan tonggui ji to reveal complete cultivation. The hymn says:

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廬山蓮宗寶鑑 — Classical Chinese