廬山蓮宗寶鑑 7

English (machine translation) 7

Language: English

7.1

Discourse on the Proper Vows of Buddhānusmṛti

Principle is guided by wisdom; practice arises from vows. When practice and vows are balanced, principle and wisdom are both complete. When principle and wisdom are both complete, then in every single thought there is only Amitābha, and every kṣetra and every dust-mote is the Pure Land. If not by the power of great vows and practice, how could one attain this? For everyone to realize this samādhi, the essential point lies in making faith and vows their deep foundation. A vow is delight and desire: desiring to be born in the Western Pure Land and delighting to see Amitābha Buddha, one thus makes this vow. Therefore, relying on the power of great vows, one directly aims to arrive there. For this reason, Cizhao said: 'At all times make vows, delighting in and longing for rebirth; daily pray that you do not retrogress. If there is no resolve of vows, one's good roots will sink and drown.' The Avataṃsaka-sūtra says: 'Not giving rise to great vows is the work of Māra.' Therefore, Samantabhadra broadens the boundless ocean of vows, and Amitābha has the forty-eight gates of vows. From this we know that all the Buddhas of the ten directions and the ancient worthies of antiquity all attained bodhi through the power of vows. If one does not arouse a mind of vow and joy, one will not accomplish the practice of vow and joy; hence it is said that the Dharma-gate is vast, but without vows nothing is accomplished. Therefore the Buddha accords with people's minds and fulfills their vows. How much more so when one exclusively cultivates buddhānusmṛti and vows to be born in the Pure Land—how could it not follow one's mind and fulfill one's vows? A repentance liturgy says: 'May I never retrogress from the bodhi-mind; may I definitely be born in Sukhāvatī; may I swiftly behold Amitābha Buddha. May I have no other thought throughout this life; may the Mind-only Pure Land alone accompany me.' Furthermore, the Amitābha-sūtra says: 'If there are those who believe, they should make vows and vow to be born in that land.' Furthermore, a repentance liturgy says: 'Sentient beings are boundless, I vow to deliver them; afflictions are endless, I vow to sever them; Dharma-doors are measureless, I vow to learn them; the Buddha-Way is supreme, I vow to accomplish it.' These are called the Four Great Vows. Thus our Cizhao, compiling the repentance liturgy and fearing that people would cling to phenomena and become confused about principle, said: 'Sentient beings of one's own nature, I vow to deliver; afflictions of one's own nature, I vow to sever; Dharma-doors of one's own nature, I vow to learn; the Buddha-Way of one's own nature, I vow to accomplish.' These four phrases directly clarify the true principle, desiring that all people within their own nature deliver all sentient beings of false thoughts—namely the minds of deviant delusion, mixed thoughts, greed, folly, jealousy, hatred, malice, and so forth—and therefore causing them to make great vows to deliver their own nature by themselves. Furthermore, within one's own nature, sever all afflictions—namely worldly defilements, karmic consciousness, and evil thoughts of deviant thinking, which are like floating clouds covering one's own nature so that its bright light cannot appear—and therefore causing them to make great vows to sever them by themselves, never allowing them to arise. Furthermore, within one's own nature, cultivate and learn all Dharma-doors—namely buddhānusmṛti-samādhi and the measureless Dharma-doors of compassion, wisdom, practice, and vows—and therefore causing them to make great vows to awaken and cultivate on their own, constantly without retrogressing right up to bodhi, not taking a little as sufficient. Furthermore, within one's own nature, believe with confidence that there is a Buddha, make great vows, constantly contemplate oneself, and vow to accomplish the Buddha's bodhi oneself. This is Cizhao's earnest grandmotherly compassion, clearly opening a gate for later generations. It only requires that all of you have self-confidence and self-affirmation, enter from here, awaken to the Amitābha of one's own nature, reach the Mind-only Pure Land, enter the realm of the Buddhas, and accomplish unexcelled bodhi. Alas, the good people of the world do not know this intention and seek elsewhere outside; how does this differ from holding a wish-fulfilling pearl and going around begging? Can one not be deluded? May all who see and hear this mutually encourage each other, together arouse correct mindfulness, set out early on the profound path, realize former faults, understand subsequent stages, establish great determination, exert great courage, make great vows, and vow to deliver boundless sentient beings, vow to sever endless afflictions, vow to learn measureless Dharma-doors, vow to be born in the Western realm of Sukhāvatī to see Amitābha Buddha, and vow together with all good people to consummate the unexcelled Buddha-Way. It may be said: 'If the spring wind is not obtained, flowers will not bloom; for flowers to flourish, they must rely on the power of the spring wind.'

7.3

Exhortation to Arouse Great Vows

7.4

Cizhao said: 'If there is practice without vow, that practice will surely be solitary; if there is vow without practice, that vow will surely be hollow; without practice and without vow, one stays in Jambudvīpa in vain; with both practice and vow, one enters straightway into the unconditioned—this indeed is the root of the Buddhas' and patriarchs' cultivation of pure karma.' Observing faithful people nowadays taking refuge in Buddhist assemblies: some generate the aspiration for the sake of illness and suffering, some raise the thought to repay their parents, some to protect and support their households, and some observe the dietary precepts out of dread for sins. Though they have faith, they lack practice and vows; though they speak of buddhānusmṛti, they do not reach its root source. Whenever they cultivate wholesome connections, it is only to fulfill personal wishes; rarely do any make vows to practice buddhānusmṛti and seek rebirth in the Pure Land for the sake of their own birth and death. The words of prayer and dedication at incense-and-candle sanctuaries are often merely offerings to gods and spirits to avert disasters and prolong life. Thus they conflict with the original intent of the sūtras and repentances and do not accord with the fundamental vows of the Buddhas. Even if they cultivate and recite for a whole lifetime, failing to comprehend the principle and intention and misapplying their effort, this is what is called counting others' treasures all day long without having half a coin of one's own. That they fail to attain rebirth in the Pure Land at the end of life is simply because they lack practice and vows. Furthermore, there is a class of foolish people who, upon approaching the Buddha to receive precepts, burn incense and vow before the Three Jewels, saying: 'If I break the precepts, I am willing to suffer affliction with foul disease and fall into hell forever,' or saying that their left eye will bleed and their right eye will discharge pus, binding themselves willingly in the manner of an official bond. Often one sees them having words without heart, violating the dietary precepts and breaking the moral rules; willingly receiving retribution, how could the agony be endured? They willingly enter the gate of degradation and bring about the omen of their own ruin. Little do they know that the Buddhas and patriarchs arouse compassion and exercise mercy—when did they ever teach people to do this? These are all errors of false teachers who mistakenly take curses and penalties for vows. How profound is such delusion! I have often felt pity and urged them to make correct vows together, seeking rebirth in the Pure Land and wishing to become Buddhas together. But they say: 'I am an ordinary being. How could I dare hope to be reborn in the Pure Land and become a Buddha? Having such a thought would just be another delusion.' I replied to them, saying: 'Not so. Good friends! The Buddha is awakening, and the Pure Land is the mind. Who does not possess this mind? Awakening is the Buddha, delusion is sentient beings.' Worldly people turn their backs on awakening and conform to dust, transmigrating through the three realms, the four modes of birth, and the six destinies, receiving beautiful and ugly retributions according to the conditions of wholesome and unwholesome karma—all because they mistakenly identify the four elements as their own body and the six sense objects as real, drifting day and night in pursuit of these illusory realms without ever briefly reflecting back upon themselves. From youth to old age they worry only about household matters; unable to secure wealth to their satisfaction, the more they have, the more they seek, greedy without satiety. Though they speak of accumulating goodness, serving the Buddha, bowing, making merit, and burning incense, they only wish for wealth, honor, splendor, and immortality. The moment they do a little bit of good, they have several prayers wishing for protection: grain filling the barns, silk multiplying ten-thousandfold, descendants illustrious and honored, cattle and horses multiplying. The moment something does not go their way, they resent the Buddha for not protecting them; only when wealth and joy increase daily do they say the gods and dragons have responded. Such greedy scheming is precisely the delusion! Unaware of this themselves, they turn around and call the teaching of practicing buddhānusmṛti to seek rebirth in the Pure Land a 'delusion'—is this not a great inversion? Everything called making merit belongs to the conditioned; it is a worldly, defiled cause, not the path of practice of unconditioned world-transcendence. Disciples of the Buddha should reflect well: today having the condition to encounter the Buddha-Dharma, you must investigate the root and not squabble over the branches; turn the light around in a single thought to cultivate the world-transcending Dharma, vow to abandon Sahā and vow to be reborn in the Pure Land, just like a long-time traveler in a foreign land yearning to return to his old home. How could this mind that vows to be reborn in the Pure Land and vows to become a Buddha be compared to the delusions of ordinary beings? Do you not see what the repentance says: 'I vow that when my life draws to an end, / all obstacles will be utterly removed; / seeing face-to-face that Buddha Amitābha, / I shall instantly be reborn in the realm of peace and joy'? This may indeed be called: once you set foot on the path by which you came, only then do you realize that before, you used your mind in vain.

7.5

Patriarch Cizhao's Verse and Preface on Instructing Practitioners of Buddhānusmṛti to Make Vows

7.6

The Essentials of Amitābha states: 'For those who practice buddhānusmṛti, the most pressing matter is failing to correspond properly. Why is that? Although they are said to uphold precepts and practice buddhānusmṛti, they have never resolved to vow for rebirth in the Pure Land; they just bury their heads and let the days pass, losing the wholesome benefit themselves. Generally, in practicing buddhānusmṛti, one must first generate the aspiration. If one wishes to transcend birth and death and be reborn in the Pure Land, one must make the great vow one's primary intention. One must constantly practice buddhānusmṛti, making prostrations to Amitābha with single-minded devotion morning and evening. Like paying court to an emperor, never missing the appointed times, one draws nearer and closer day by day. When mind and mouth correspond with the Buddha, one is not far from the Buddha. Reciting with the mouth, contemplating with the mind, and yearning with the mind to see the Buddha, making deep and weighty vows with firm faith and no doubt—as days and years go by and the practice matures, the samādhi will naturally be accomplished, and when life ends, Amitābha will welcome you and the Pure Land will appear before you. Further vow that in this present life you will always encounter good friends and never meet teachers of wrong views, so that they do not delude your mind and you do not give rise to laxity. If it is like this, practicing buddhānusmṛti with deep faith and making vows, then the three of faith, practice, and vows are not deficient. Seeing the Buddha at the end of life does not come from the outside; it is entirely the manifestation of Mind-only. Just as a seed in the ground sprouts when encountering spring—how could it come from the outside? It all emerges from the ground. Cultivation today is also like this: when faith and vows of buddhānusmṛti are stored in the ground of the eighth consciousness, the Pure Land and Amitābha that manifest at the end of life do not come from the outside; they all emerge from one's own mind.' The verse says:

7.7

'All dharmas are born from the mind,
all dharmas perish from the mind;
our Buddha, the Great Śramaṇa,
always spoke in this manner.
Upholding precepts without faith and vows,
one cannot be reborn in the Pure Land;
one obtains only human and heavenly blessings—
when blessings are exhausted, one suffers transmigration,
turning repeatedly, hard to escape.
Reading sūtras without the eye of wisdom,
one does not recognize the Buddha's profound meaning;
though gaining cleverness in future lives,
with a confused mind, it is hard to escape.
It is better to practice buddhānusmṛti:
in the present life there is no fame or profit,
walking or sitting, no superfluous talk—
this then is Amitābha.
By the power of making vows and holding precepts,
dedicating them for rebirth in the Land of Joy,
this precisely accords with the practice to maintain,
not one will fail among a thousand.
Spoken by the golden mouth of Śākyamuni,
Amitābha personally embraces and receives.
All Buddhas protect and keep them in mind,
all the devas well guard and sustain them.
Seeing this practitioner of buddhānusmṛti,
they are not far from the Buddha;
they ought to sit in the place of awakening,
turn the great wheel of the Dharma,
and broadly deliver boundless sentient beings.
Just like a poor woman
pregnant with a wheel-turning king,
all the devas constantly cherish and guard her,
yet the poor woman herself does not know
that she has a noble son in her womb.
Now this practitioner of buddhānusmṛti,
their situation is also like this:
recalling the Buddha and constantly mindful of the Buddha,
before long they will become a Buddha;
all the Buddhas well guard and sustain them.
That person does not know themselves:
"I ought to be reborn in the Pure Land,"
yet they wish, in a future life,
to be born again among humans.
Just like the house of a poor person,
where there is a hidden treasure underground,
the treasure guardian constantly guards it,
not allowing it to be lost.
The poor person does not know themselves
that there is a treasure store within the house;
day after day they pursue wage labor,
seeking food and clothing to sustain themselves.
Now this practitioner of buddhānusmṛti,
their situation is also like this:
they do not know that a practitioner of buddhānusmṛti
fully possesses the tathāgatagarbha,
yet they themselves say, "I have no share in it,"
and wish instead to be born among humans.
Just like a sick person's house,
which possesses genuine, wondrous medicine,
yet not knowing the nature of the wondrous medicine,
they cannot cure their own illness,
every day by their bed and pillow
they endure boundless agony.
Now this practitioner of buddhānusmṛti,
their situation is also like this:
they do not know that the mind of buddhānusmṛti
can extinguish the disease of greed and anger,
can be a great medicine king,
can be a great treasury of jewels,
benefiting and rescuing all people,
can be a great Dharma king,
sheltering and protecting all beings;
yet they consider themselves an ordinary person
unable to be reborn in the Pure Land,
and merely uphold fasts and precepts on their own,
vowing to be human in future lives,
to cultivate further by turns,
only then being able to be reborn in that land.
Often one sees practitioners
regularly speaking like this,
not matching Amitābha's vow,
not according with the Pure Land sūtras;
wrong views veil their minds,
in the end it is hard to escape—
it is not an obstacle caused by others,
it is entirely their own mind obstructing itself;
if they fail to attain rebirth in this life,
one mistake becomes a hundred mistakes.
I urge you practitioners
to believe what our Tathāgata says:
the Buddha has no words that are not true,
how could they be false and deceitful words?
Just be diligent on your own,
seeking the Pure Land with single-mindedness;
using the wind to blow upon the fire,
little effort is spent.
Fortunately possessing the mind of buddhānusmṛti,
dedicate your vows to transcend the three realms.
Encountering treasure and not taking treasure,
encountering food and enduring hunger and cold—
alas, great heroes,
who fail to see the true meaning!
Now I briefly urge and praise,
pass it along by turns to others,
widely propagate it on my behalf,
acting as envoys of the Tathāgata;
truly being disciples of all Buddhas,
this is truly called repaying the Buddha's kindness.
I universally vow that you practice as taught,
and be reborn together in the Land of Sukhāvatī.'

7.8

Seeking Rebirth in the Pure Land Consists in Making Vows

7.9

The eighth fascicle of the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states: 'Question: "Since the practices and deeds of the bodhisattvas are pure, they naturally obtain superior retributions; why must they establish vows and only then attain them? Furthermore, just as a farming family obtains grain, how could they wait for a vow?" Answer: "Creating merit without vows leaves nothing established. The vow serves as the guide, able to bring about achievement. As the Buddha said: if a person cultivates slight merit and slight precepts, unaware of the correct cause of liberation, and hearing tell of the pleasures of humans and devas, their mind constantly aspires and delights in them, after the end of life they will each be born among them; this is entirely brought about by the power of vows. A bodhisattva's seeking rebirth in the Pure Land depends upon strong and firm aspirations, and only then is it attained. From this it is known that due to the power of that vow, one receives the superior fruit."' An ancient master of virtue said: 'The Buddha-fruit is far and supreme, yet ascending to it has its steps; the Dharma-cloud is lofty and ultimate, yet reaching it has its stages. When the great mind is first generated, its profound virtue illuminates future lives; as soon as the vast vow is raised, the wondrous resolve pervades the realm of space. A single thought arousing resolve is an auspicious flower of dust-like eons; half a moment of devout reverence is the amṛta of the great trichiliocosm.' The Mahālaṃkāra-śāstra states: 'The great matter of a Buddha-land cannot be accomplished by solitary practice of merit alone; it requires the assistance of the power of vows to guide and accomplish it. Because of the power of vows, blessed virtue increases and is neither lost nor destroyed, and one will be reborn in a Buddha-land and see the Buddha according to one's vows.' The Avataṃsaka-sūtra says: 'When that person's life draws to an end, in the final instant, all faculties are scattered and destroyed, all relatives are left behind, and all majesty and power fall away, up to elephants, horses, carriages, vehicles, and hidden stores of precious jewels—none of these will follow any longer. Only this King of Vows does not leave them behind, guiding them forward at all times, so that in an instant they are reborn in the World of Sukhāvatī.'

7.10

Venerable Shandao's Ritual for Cultivation and Making Vows

7.11

When cultivating the Pure Land, entering contemplation, and going to sleep, one should make this vow. Whether sitting or standing, single-mindedly join the palms, face directly toward the west, recite the names of Amitābha Buddha, Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta, and the pure great ocean assembly of bodhisattvas ten times, and then make the vow, saying: 'This disciple is currently an ordinary being of birth and death, with grave karmic obstacles, transmigrating through the six destinies with ineffable suffering. Having now met a spiritual friend and heard of Amitābha's name and the merits of his fundamental vow, I single-mindedly recite his name and seek rebirth. May the Buddha, with great compassion, not abandon me, but pity and receive me. I, the disciple [so-and-so], do not know the marks, characteristics, and light of the Buddha's body. May the Buddha manifest himself to let me see him, as well as let me see Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta, and the bodhisattvas. May he enable me clearly to behold the pure adornments, radiance, and wondrous marks of that world.' Having made this vow, with single-minded right mindfulness, enter contemplation at will, or make the vow and go to sleep when retiring. Some will behold them at the very moment of making the vow, while others will behold them in their sleep. Just maintain an exclusive resolve, and your vow will naturally be fulfilled.

7.12

Vice Director Bai's Text on Making Vows to Seek Rebirth in the Pure Land

7.13

The record states: 'Our fundamental teacher Śākyamuni Tathāgata spoke these words: Going west from here past a hundred thousand koṭis of Buddha-lands, there is a world named Sukhāvatī, because it is free of the eight sufferings and the four evil destinies. That land is named Pure Land, because it is free of the three poisons and the five turbidities. That Buddha is named Amitābha, because his lifespan is immeasurable, his vows are immeasurable, and his merit, marks, and radiance are immeasurable. When carefully examining this Sahā world, among sentient beings, whether wise or foolish, noble or lowly, young or elderly, whenever they give rise to the mind to take refuge in the Buddha, they raise their hands, join their palms, and face west; whenever they have fears, distress, and afflictions, they open their mouths and utter a sound, always first reciting the name of Amitābha Buddha. Furthermore, when casting metal, molding clay, carving stone, embroidering silk, or even imprinting water and piling up sand in children's play, none do not take Amitābha as the foremost, doing so spontaneously without knowing why. From this observation, it is evident that that Tathāgata has a great vow toward these sentient beings, and that these sentient beings have great karmic affinity with that land. Were it not so, then as the Buddhas of south, north, east, west, past, present, and future are exceedingly numerous, why would it be only like this? Why would it be only like this! Bai Juyi, Grand Master for Palace Accord and Junior Preceptor of the Crown Prince under the Tang, in the years of his decline and old age, was afflicted with wind-stroke paralysis. Thereupon he gave his salary and ordered the artisan Du Jingzong to paint a complete Western World based on the two sūtras, the *Amitābha* and *Wuliangshou*, nine feet high and thirteen feet wide. Amitābha Buddha sits in the center; the two great beings Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta attend on his left and right; humans and devas gaze in reverence, and their retinues surround them. Towers, pavilions, instrumental music, water, trees, flowers, and birds, adorned with the seven treasures and displayed in five colors, are resplendent and radiant, their merits perfected. Disciple Juyi burns incense, bows his head, kneels before the Buddha, gives rise to a compassionate mind, and makes a great vow: May this merit be dedicated to all sentient beings. All sentient beings who are old like me or sick like me—may they leave suffering and obtain bliss, sever evil and cultivate good; without leaving the southern continent, may they behold the western quarter; may the great light of the white curl respond to their thought and appear; may they attain rebirth as they wish on the highest grade of the blue lotus. From the present body to the end of the future, may they constantly draw near and make offerings.' Desiring to restate this meaning, he uttered a praise, saying: / 'The World of Sukhāvatī, the pure land, / Is free of all evil destinies and all sufferings. / May those who are old and sick like myself / Be reborn together in the abode of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life.'

7.14

Ping Jichuan's Text on Donating Sūtras and Making Vows for the Pure Land

7.15

It states in brief: 'In my single act of donating sūtras, two kinds of giving are complete. Why? Redeeming sūtras with wealth is called the giving of wealth; transmitting the Dharma through sūtras is called the giving of Dharma. According to what the Buddha taught, through the giving of wealth one will obtain in future lives the retribution of blessings and virtue among devas and humans; through the giving of Dharma one will obtain worldly wisdom and intellectual acuity. Being retributions of the mundane world, one should know that both retributions are causes of saṃsāra and the root of suffering. I now make a vow: may both these retributions be transformed so that at the end of my life I am adorned and reborn in the Western World of Sukhāvatī, taking the lotus flower as my womb and lodging my essence within it; may I see the Buddha, hear the Dharma, awaken to the forbearance of non-arising, ascend the stage of non-retrogression, enter the bodhisattva ranks, and return to the worlds of the ten directions and the five turbidities, universally manifesting my body to perform Buddha-work. Taking today's causes of the two kinds of giving—wealth and Dharma—may I, like Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva possessing great compassion, roam through the five destinies, manifest forms according to their kinds, speak various wondrous teachings to awaken those not yet enlightened, cause them forever to leave the paths of suffering and attain wisdom, and enable all sentient beings universally to attain Buddhahood. Such is my vow in donating sūtras.'

7.16

The above is from the stele on donating sūtras. When Censor Ping donated the sūtras, he did not seek wealth, rank, or cleverness on the path of humans and devas, but dedicated all of this merit toward the Pure Land, wishing to see Amitābha; he can indeed be called a Mahāyāna person of lofty wisdom who deeply penetrated the Buddha's principle. Alas, seeing those of the lotus societies who recite the Buddha's name all day long yet seek worldly blessings in future lives—is this not an error? Wishing that all people be reborn together in the Pure Land, I have presented Censor Ping's vow on donating sūtras to serve as a model for everyone. Whenever cultivating blessings and reciting the Buddha's name, down to the slightest strand of goodness, one should always make a vow and dedicate it to the West. Having a destination to return to, at the end of life one will certainly be reborn in the Pure Land.

7.17

Precious Mirror of the Lotus School of Mount Lu, Fascicle 7: Proper Vows of Buddhānusmṛti (End)

Linked texts (1)

廬山蓮宗寶鑑 — Classical Chinese