廬山蓮宗寶鑑 6.24

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.