廬山蓮宗寶鑑 8

English (machine translation) 8

Language: English

8.1

Explanation of the Direct Formula for Buddhānusmṛti and Rebirth

The way of the Pure Land and the single gate of rebirth are fully recorded in the various sūtras, bright as the midday sun. It is truly the method for practitioners to enter the Path, and the resting place of the spirit for those who practice buddhānusmṛti. In the mindfulness of non-mindfulness, to be mindful is to be mindful of Amitābha; in the arising of non-arising, to be born is to be born in the Pure Land. For this reason, profound bodhisattvas, masters and models of past generations, eminent ministers, great scholars, commoners, and women who have faithfully believed in this path, formed vows, and progressed in cultivation are beyond count. What is their intent? They will not rest until they are born in the Pure Land and behold Amitābha. One must know that the Buddha originally has no body, nor does he have a land; they are entirely induced by the purity of sentient beings' minds. Does not the sūtra say, 'This mind creates the Buddha, this mind is the Buddha; the ocean of right and universal knowledge of all Buddhas arises from mental ideation'? Therefore Great Master Tiantai explained it, saying: 'The Buddha is fundamentally non-existent; he exists because the mind is pure. It is truly because when the minds of sentient beings are pure, the Dharma-essence manifests before them; when the minds of sentient beings are defiled, they circulate in the paths of suffering. This is the constant principle; what doubt could there be? In terms of the complete and actual teaching's exposition that the mind alone inherently possesses everything, this or that, defiled or pure, none goes beyond a single thought of our mind. Mind is the source of creating sins and the root of achieving Buddhahood—the so-called "with merely a spark of mind, the three thousand are complete." Since the three thousand phenomena already possess the ten realms and ten suchnesses, and the three kinds of worlds mutually possess and manifest them, then if one abandons this, where else should one seek the land of Sukhāvatī? Not only is the Pure Land Mind-only, but even hell is Mind-only.' He also said: 'The primary and dependent retributions of Avīci entirely tend toward the personal mind of the ultimate sage; the body and land of Vairocana do not exceed a single thought of the lowly ordinary person. The moment one gives rise to views of awakening or delusion, one enters a deviant stream; only when one makes no distinction between defiled and pure does one return to the right path. Mountains of knives and trees of swords are entirely empty flowers; jewel isles and golden lotuses all become dream events. Only with such an experience does one begin to understand true cultivation. If one has not yet reached this, one should rely on the expedient and gradual to apply further effort, deeply believing that Amitābha Buddha is one's own fundamental nature. Value lies in bowing, reciting, repenting, and contemplating, wherever walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, illuminating with the three contemplations and harmonizing with the one mind; the entirety of wisdom generates the objective sphere, and the entirety of the objective sphere is the mind. Thus one knows that the Buddha's primary and dependent aspects are both possessed and created by the mind. Truly believe that the Pure Land and Amitābha are clearly reflected between mind and eye! For instance, polishing copper to make a mirror necessarily requires applying effort; directly causing dust and grime to be purified without remainder, the original substance is roundly bright and naturally manifests, and all forms and images are without concealment. One should know that regarding the images in the mirror: if one says they exist, one cannot grasp and hold them; if one says they do not exist, their forms and images are distinctly visible. The so-called "existence is not definitively existent, non-existence is not definitively non-existent; both existence and non-existence are cast aside, spontaneously in the middle." How magnificent is this inconceivable objective realm, the path of the wondrous contemplation of Mind-only! If one wishes to realize this path, one must be clear about the cause. One should know that the cause encompasses the ocean of fruition, and the fruition penetrates the source of the cause. From beginning to end, it does not depart from a single thought; from cause to fruition, it lies solely in the initial mind. If one can skillfully cultivate such a cause here, at the end of life one will certainly obtain such a fruition. Thus one knows that single-mindedly practicing buddhānusmṛti is the cause, and rebirth in the Pure Land is the fruition. Beginning from hearing and having faith, having faith to cultivate, accumulating the work of pure karma, and attaining the fulfillment of meritorious conditions—when the time arrives, the great principle is evident, and regarding death as returning home, how could one not rejoice? Therefore, I directly present this straight formula for rebirth, clearly pointing to the road back home. Believing this now without doubt, one will not err when stepping out the door in the future. In this way, why worry that the land of Sukhāvatī will not be attained? Amitābha of one's own nature can definitely be seen; and achieving pure practices together with the array of sages and assembly of worthies, advancing through the stages to the ultimate, is truly only this path.'

8.3

Parents Reaching Rebirth in the Pure Land at the End of Life

8.4

Firmly believing in the Pure Land and generating the mind to purify the Buddha is the time of planting seeds in the lotus pond. Single-mindedly practicing buddhānusmṛti and adorning with all virtues is the time of the lotus flower emerging from the water. When the merit of buddhānusmṛti is perfected and conditions for the Pure Land are ripe, it is the time of the flower opening to see the Buddha. A disciple of the Buddha serving the Buddha certainly first serves their parents, earnestly maintaining filial thoughts without abandoning them for an instant, accommodating the feelings of their parents and observing their expressions; if their health should falter in the least, one strives to harmonize it. Furthermore, one should reflect that the candle in the wind does not remain still, and must prepare for the moment of rebirth arriving. In advance, gather into a single document all the good conditions and good deeds cultivated by the parents throughout their lives along with the merits accumulated by others in assisting them, and read it to the parents from time to time, making the parents' hearts feel joyful. Furthermore, one should urge them to face west whether sitting or lying down, not forgetting the Pure Land. One should also face east to display an image of Amitābha, urge them to single-mindedly recite the Buddha's name, burn incense and strike the chime, personally leading everyone to harmonize their voices, constantly keeping the sound of the Buddha's name continuous and uninterrupted. Do not let worldly emotional grief and clinging cause them to lose right mindfulness. At the time of relinquishing this retribution body, one must be even more attentive; naturally, all the sages will come to welcome them to rebirth in the Pure Land, and within the precious lotus flower they will definitely attain Buddhahood. This is precisely the time when a filial child should attend upon their parents; they should not become lax. This is the great matter of a filial child serving their parents at the end of life. Regarding this as filial piety, such filial piety is supreme! Moreover, since ancient times, those who practiced buddhānusmṛti and attained rebirth in the West have been more than a few. I briefly present several cases as mirrors for practitioners of buddhānusmṛti: the ruler of the country of Uḍḍiyāna beheld all the sages coming to welcome him; Empress Wen of the Sui ascended upon wondrous fragrance and departed to the west; Old Woman Yao requested the Buddha to wait for her; and the Prince of Song attended his mother and they returned together. These can truly be called directly leaping into the ground of the Tathāgata.

8.5

Three Doubts at the End of Life

8.6

School Master Cizhao's Ten Admonitory Gateways to the Pure Land says: "Those who practice buddhānusmṛti harbour three doubts at the end of life that prevent birth in the Pure Land: First, doubting: 'The karma I have created in this life is exceedingly heavy, and my practice has lasted only a short time; I fear I will not attain birth.' Second, doubting: 'I owe debts to others, or have unfulfilled wishes in mind, and my greed, anger, and delusion have not yet ceased; I fear I will not attain birth.' Third, doubting: 'Although I recite Amitābha, I fear the Buddha will not come to welcome me at the end of life.' Having these three doubts, one turns doubt into an obstacle, loses right mindfulness, and fails to attain rebirth." Therefore, practitioners of buddhānusmṛti must decisively believe in the clear intent of the Buddhist sūtras and never give rise to doubt. A sūtra says: "Reciting Amitābha Buddha's name once eliminates the grave sins of birth and death spanning eighty kotis of kalpas." From the highest level of an undisturbed single mind down to success in ten recitations, he welcomes one to the nine grades of lotus blossoms and bids farewell to the five turbidities. If in mind after mind one is unclouded, and thought after thought does not err, then doubtful feelings will be severed forever, and rebirth will be assured. As the saying goes: / A journey of a hundred thousand kotis is reached in the snap of a finger; / The slightest hesitation separates one by a thousand mountains.

8.7

Four Barriers at the End of Life

8.8

Regarding the four barriers, School Master Cizhao's Ten Admonitory Gateways to the Pure Land says: "Although an ordinary person has faith and practices buddhānusmṛti, owing to the heavy obstacles of past karma they ought to fall into hell; yet, by relying on the Buddha's power, the heavy is exchanged for the light while upon their bed and pillow. If, owing to the suffering of illness, they repent and awaken in body and mind, they shall be born in the Pure Land. An ignorant person does not comprehend this matter, but instead says: 'Now that I practice buddhānusmṛti, I still suffer from illness,' and in turn slanders Amitābha. Due to this single malicious thought, they go straight into hell. This is the first barrier. Second: although they keep the precepts and practice buddhānusmṛti, their mouths speak of the Pure Land while their minds yearn for Sahā; they do not seek supramundane roots of goodness, but cherish the enduring prosperity of family affairs. Consequently, when afflicted with illness at the end of life, they fear death and cling to life, believing children's advice to summon spirits and invoke ghosts, burn paper money, transform spirit horses, and slaughter living beings. Because this mind is perverse, there is no Buddha to embrace and protect them; due to this, they wander and fall into the three wretched paths. This is the second barrier. Third: whether because their medicine requires wine and meat, or because relatives press and urge them, this person lacks decisive faith and loses their roots of goodness; at the end of life, they are dragged before the King [Yama] to be judged at his discretion. This is the third barrier. Fourth: at the time of the end of life, they contemplate their livelihood, cling to wealth, and yearn for their relatives; unable to let go in mind, they lose right mindfulness. Thus, within their household they fall into the ghost realm, becoming a haunting affliction, or turning into a stingy dog, or taking the form of a snake, guarding their family just as when they were alive. This is the fourth barrier." Hence Judicial Commissioner Yang said: "Without deep craving, one is not born in Sahā; without unified mindfulness, one is not born in the Pure Land." Truly these words are real! All who cultivate the Pure Land must appraise the real and dispel superficial thoughts, focusing contemplation in serene mindfulness to recite Amitābha. Laying down the entire body and mind, if one can only hold firm to this single thought, one can shatter those four barriers, and the lotus terrace of the Pure Land will certainly not be far away. As the saying goes: / With the single phrase "Amitābha" free of other thoughts, / Without wasting the snap of a finger, one reaches the West.

8.9

Summary on Resolving Doubts at the End of Life

8.10

Whenever those who practice buddhānusmṛti wish to be born in the Pure Land, let them constantly reflect that everything in the world is impermanent: what is formed must decay, and what is born must die. If one does not hear the Buddha-Dharma for oneself, then shedding bodies and taking bodies, one transmigrates through the three realms, with no time of liberation across the four forms of birth and six destinies. Now having the affinity to hear the true Dharma and cultivate pure karma, taking only the Buddha as one's mindfulness, shedding this recompense body one shall be born in the Pure Land, enter that lotus womb to experience all delights, forever escape birth and death, and never regress from bodhi. This is indeed the life's crowning achievement of a great man! As soon as illness arrives, one must forge ahead, open and untroubled in body and mind, giving rise to no doubts or anxieties. One should sit upright facing west, focusing one's contemplation on Amitābha Buddha together with the bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, as well as countless transformed Buddhas appearing before one, with a single mind reciting "Namo Amitābha Buddha," sound after sound without interruption. Regarding all affairs of the world, one must neither ponder them nor cling to them with longing. If thoughts arise in the mind, one must promptly recite the Buddha's name, eliminating karmic obstacles with thought after thought. If the sick person is groggy and weary and unable to recite on their own, those attending the sick should use skillful means to alert, encourage, and instruct them. Applying the mind in this way to assist them until life ends, with just this single thought they are assured of rebirth in the Pure Land; if their life has not yet ended, they will naturally attain peace. Take care never to give rise to thoughts of clinging to the world. Let what should live live, and let what should die die; simply prepare for rebirth—what need is there for doubts and anxieties? If one understands this principle, it is like shedding tattered rags to don supreme robes; once relinquishing the mortal body, one immediately ascends to the Buddha stage. How marvelous! How magnificent! How supreme! How consummate! If one hears heavenly music or extraordinary fragrance, or sees a golden lotus jewel throne, these are sacred realms appearing before one; take care not to doubt them as demonic phenomena. A sūtra says: "Those who cultivate pure karma rely on the power of the Buddha's vows, taking the contemplation of the Buddha's jewel form as their realm; hence, like a person close to the emperor, who would dare trespass against them?" Moreover, Amitābha Buddha has the power of great compassion, the power of great vows, the power of great wisdom, the power of great samādhi, the power of great awe-inspiring spiritual penetrations, the power to thoroughly crush heresy, the power to subdue demons, the power of the divine eye to see far, the power of the divine ear to hear afar, the power to thoroughly perceive others' minds, and the power of light shining everywhere to embrace sentient beings; having such inconceivable, measureless, and most supreme powers of merit, could he fail to protect and uphold the person cultivating buddhānusmṛti at the end of life, causing them to be free of demonic obstacles and born in the Pure Land? As the saying goes: / Grinding the bones and crushing the body cannot suffice to repay it; / A single phrase clearly understood transcends billions of kalpas.

8.11

Monk Sengji Directs His Contemplation to the West at the End of Life

8.12

When Monk Sengji, a disciple of the Venerable of Mount Lu, was at the point of death, the Venerable bequeathed him a candle, saying: "You may direct your contemplation to the West." Holding the candle, Ji directed his contemplation to the Golden Countenance, gathering his mind without distraction, and furthermore requested the assembly of monks to recite the Sixteen Contemplations Sūtra. At the fifth watch, Ji handed the candle to his fellow monk and took a brief nap. Upon waking, he said: "In a dream I saw Amitābha Buddha lower his hands to guide and receive me. I must now depart." Having spoken, he passed away lying on his right side. Were this not the cultivation and perfuming of precepts, samādhi, and wisdom, how could he have spoken so gently with a calm countenance upon the shore of birth and death? As the saying goes: / Having found the path, one proceeds without hindrance; / Effortlessly passing over the barrier of birth and death.

8.13

Upādhyāya Shandao's Text on Right Mindfulness for Rebirth at the End of Life

8.14

Zhiguizi asked: "Of the affairs of the world, none is greater than birth and death. Once a single breath does not return, one belongs to the next world; once a single thought goes astray, one falls into transmigration. I have repeatedly received your instructions on the method of buddhānusmṛti for rebirth, and its principle is very clear. Yet I fear that when illness comes and death arrives, consciousness will be scattered and disordered, and I still worry that others will confuse and disturb right mindfulness, causing me to forget and lose the pure cause. I prostrate and hope you will re-demonstrate the method of the return path, so that I may be freed from the suffering of sinking." The Master said: "Good indeed is your question! For anyone who at the end of life wishes to be born in the Pure Land, they must not fear death, but should constantly reflect that this body has much suffering, with impure evil karma entangled in various ways. If one can shed this defiled body, transcend and be born in the Pure Land to receive measureless delight, and be liberated from the painful destinies of birth and death, this is truly a gratifying event, like shedding tattered clothes to exchange them for precious garments; one should simply let go of body and mind and give rise to no yearning attachment. Whenever one meets with illness, one should reflect on impermanence and single-mindedly await death, admonishing family members, attendants to the sick, and visitors inquiring after health: 'Whenever you come before me, recite the Buddha's name for me; do not speak idle, miscellaneous worldly chatter, nor family affairs of right and wrong, nor is there any need for gentle words of consolation and wishes for peace and happiness—these are all illusory, useless words. If the illness worsens and the end approaches, relatives must not weep, shed tears, or utter sounds of sighing and grief, confusing and disturbing the mental consciousness and causing the loss of right mindfulness. You should only recite the Buddha's name together in one voice, and wait until the breath has completely ceased before weeping in mourning. The moment there is the slightest thought of yearning for the world, it becomes a hindrance and one cannot attain liberation. If one can have a person who clearly understands the Pure Land frequently come to spur and encourage one, it is a tremendous blessing.' If one relies on this, rebirth is assured without doubt." He also asked: "May one still seek a doctor and take medicine?" The reply was: "Seeking a doctor and taking medicine fundamentally do not conflict. However, medicine can only heal disease, not destiny; when life has run its course, what can medicine do? If one slaughters animal lives to make medicine in pursuit of bodily health, this must not be done. I have often seen worldly people maintain a vegetarian fast on account of illness, and having just attained a slight recovery, the physician again assists the medicine with wine, meat, and blood, and the illness recurs. Know with conviction that the Buddha's power can rescue, while wine and meat are of no benefit." He also asked: "What about petitioning spirits and praying for blessings?" The reply was: "The length of a human life is already determined at birth; how could one rely on ghosts and spirits to prolong it? If one is confused, believes in heresy, slaughters living beings, and makes offerings to spirits and ghosts, one only increases karmic guilt and instead diminishes longevity. If one's great lifespan has expired, what can petty ghosts do? Empty panic and self-terror are entirely of no avail. One should strictly beware of this. One should paste this text before one's eyes and look at it constantly, to avoid forgetting it in moments of peril." He also asked: "Can a person who has never practiced buddhānusmṛti during their life still use it?" The reply was: "Whether monks or laypeople who have never practiced buddhānusmṛti use this method, all will attain rebirth without any doubt. I have often seen worldly people be extremely diligent in ordinary times reciting the Buddha's name, making praises, and making vows to seek birth in the West. Yet when illness comes, they fear death, and speak not at all of the matter of rebirth and liberation. Only when their breath is spent, life is exhausted, and consciousness is cast into the netherworld, do people first strike the bell with ten recitations—just like locking the gate after the thief has departed, what help is that? The gate of death is a momentous matter; one must exert effort oneself. If a single thought errs at the outset, one will suffer through kalpas—who will take one's place? Think on it! Think on it! When there are no affairs, one should vigorously uphold this method; this is the great matter at the end of life." As the saying goes: / A broad, open road leads to the West; / Return straight home, and ask not for the ford.

8.15

Transformed Buddhas Coming to Welcome

8.16

The Zongjing lu states: "Someone asked: 'Outside the mind there is no Buddha; seeing the Buddha is the mind. Why then does the teaching say that there are transformation buddhas coming to welcome [beings] to be born in the various pure lands?' The answer states: 'The true Buddha of the dharmakāya originally has no arising or cessation; arising in transformation from the real, he guides the deluded faculties. Because the transformation is the real itself, and the real and the response are of one bound, [he] neither comes nor goes, responding in accordance with the minds of sentient beings. Furthermore, because the transformation body is itself the real, it is said to have no coming or going; streaming forth transformations from the real, there appear to be departures and returns. That is, it comes through the mark of not coming; it is seen through the mark of not being seen. Coming without coming, it is like the moon suddenly appearing; being seen without being seen, it is like moving clouds abruptly emerging.' Question: 'As explained above, the true essence is completely calm and unmoving, and the transformation mark comes without coming; this is precisely another Buddha outside the mind coming to welcome [one]. How does this prove that one's own mind is the Buddha?' The answer states: 'This is due to the power of the Tathāgata's original vows and merits, which causes those sentient beings who have karmic affinity to contemplate with focused minds, enabling their own minds to see the Buddha coming to welcome them; it is not that the buddhas actually send forth transformation bodies to come and receive them. It is simply that the timing and capacities of those with affinities happen to coincide, enabling their own minds to see the Buddha coming to welcome them. Thus the Buddha's body is tranquil, constantly serene, with neither going nor coming; the conscious minds of sentient beings, relying on the power of the Buddha's original vows, in a single thought undergo transformations of going and coming. Like images on a mirror's surface, or deeds done in a dream: the forms in the mirror are neither inside nor outside; the matters in a dream neither exist nor do not exist. They merely arise from the mind and are not related to an external transformation by the Buddha. A practitioner of true faith genuinely intends to be born in the Western Sukhāvatī world. With a single-minded thought, he upholds the single phrase "Amitābha Buddha"; this single thought alone is our original teacher; this single thought alone is the transformation buddha; this single thought alone is a fierce general who shatters the hells; this single thought alone is a precious sword that cuts down the multitudes of heterodoxies; this single thought alone is a bright lamp that dispels darkness; this single thought alone is a great boat that ferries across the ocean of suffering; this single thought alone is an excellent remedy to escape birth and death; this single thought alone is a direct path to transcend the three realms; this single thought alone is Amitābha of one's own nature; this single thought alone reaches the Mind-only Pure Land. One need only remember to keep this single phrase "Amitābha Buddha" in mind and never let it slip away: thought after thought constantly manifest before one, thought after thought never departing from the mind. When there is nothing to do, practice buddhānusmṛti like this; when there is business, practice buddhānusmṛti like this; in peace and joy, practice buddhānusmṛti like this; in illness and suffering, practice buddhānusmṛti like this; in life, practice buddhānusmṛti like this; in death, practice buddhānusmṛti like this. When this single thought is clearly understood and not obscure, why would one need to ask others to search for the homeward journey?' It can truly be called: 'Steering the boat depends entirely on the helmsman; those who attain it together roam the path of nirvāṇa.'

8.17

Bodhisattva Xianshou's Verse in Praise of Buddhānusmṛti at the Time of Death

8.18

[The Buddha] also emits a light called 'Seeing the Buddha'; / this light awakens those about to die, / causing them, following their mindfulness, to see the Tathāgata / and at the end of life to attain birth in his pure realm. / Seeing one about to die, encouraging buddhānusmṛti, / and showing the venerable image to be gazed upon, / causing one to take deep refuge and have faith in the Buddha: / therefore one attains the realization of this radiance.

8.19

Repentance Master Ciyun Zunshi of Tianzhu said: "The first four lines praise the Buddha's emission of light: those who see this light are said to 'see the Buddha', which enables them to attain rebirth in the Pure Land at the end of life. The latter four lines praise the cause by which the Buddha cultivated this light: that cause is simply encouraging dying people to practice buddhānusmṛti, and showing them the Buddha's image so that seeing it they give rise to faith; therefore, upon attaining buddhahood, he obtained this light. Now, with this verse, I generally exhort everyone to believe and accept: whenever relatives or anyone else is about to die, first place this image before their bed, let their eyes see it, and exhort them to practice buddhānusmṛti. If pressed by severe pain, or having lacked prior faith and being unwilling to recite, one must also employ various skillful means to encourage them to recite the Buddha's name; down to ten recitations, heavy sins are eradicated, and they are born in the Buddha's pure land. This single benefit is inconceivable. If one can exhort a single person to be born in the Pure Land, even if one does not cultivate oneself, one ought to attain birth in the Pure Land; how much more so when becoming a buddha in the future, being able to emit light that shines on all sentient beings to see the Buddha at the end of their lives! One often sees worldly people, out of affection, gathering their heads together in weeping without thinking of rescuing them; this is called being a bad friend. How bitter! How bitter! Ensnared by worldly affection, one falls into the evil destinies with no time of release, and even compassionate parents and filial sons can do nothing about it." Thinking on this, how could one not exert oneself? It may truly be said: 'I universally vow that all drowning sentient beings / may swiftly proceed to the realm of the Buddha of Immeasurable Light.'

8.20

Discussion of the Higher and Lower Retributions According to the Quantity of Emotion and Contemplative Thought

8.21

The Śūraṅgama-sūtra states: "The Buddha said to Ānanda: 'Birth and death in all worlds continue without interruption: birth follows habitual tendencies, and death follows transformation and flow. At the time of death, before one has shed the touch of warmth, the wholesome and unwholesome deeds of a lifetime all appear at once. One of pure contemplative thought will soar, and will certainly be born in heaven. If, within this soaring mind, there are conjoined blessings, conjoined wisdom, and pure vows, one's mind will naturally open and one will see the buddhas of the ten directions and all pure lands, attaining rebirth according to one's vows. With little emotion and much contemplative thought, one will rise lightly but not far, becoming a flying immortal. With emotion and contemplative thought in equal balance, one neither flies nor sinks, being born among humans. Where contemplative thought is bright, one is intelligent; where emotion is murky, one is dull. With much emotion and little contemplative thought, one flows into the animal realm: heavily, among furred beasts; lightly, among winged fowl. With seven parts emotion and three parts contemplative thought, one sinks below the water wheel, is born at the edge of the fire, receives the vapor of fierce flames, and becomes a hungry ghost constantly being burned; water can harm one, and one has neither food nor drink for hundreds of thousands of kalpas. With nine parts emotion and one part contemplative thought, one penetrates down into the fire wheel, lightly being born in the Intermittent Hell, heavily being born in the Avīci Hell. With pure emotion, one immediately sinks into the Avīci Hell. If within this sinking mind one has slandered the Great Vehicle, broken the Buddha's prohibitive precepts, deceitfully expounded the Dharma, falsely coveted the alms of the faithful, improperly accepted reverence, or committed the five heinous crimes or the ten grave offenses, one is further reborn in the Avīci Hells of the ten directions.'"

8.22

The Superiority and Inferiority of Retribution Brought by Wholesome and Unwholesome Deeds at the End of Life

8.23

The Sūtra of the Guardian of the Realm states: "The Buddha said: 'If a person at the time of death knows the time of arrival in advance, maintains clear correct mindfulness, washes, puts on clean clothes, and passes away in the auspicious posture, with light shining upon the body and seeing the Buddha's physical marks, with all wholesome signs manifesting together, know for certain that this person will definitely be born in the Pure Land. If a person practices buddhānusmṛti and upholds the precepts without a vigorous mind, and at the end of life has neither wholesome signs nor unwholesome signs, neither received by the underworld nor gathered in by Sukhāvatī, passing away as if in sleep—such a person has not severed doubts and is born in the City of Doubt; enjoying pleasure for five hundred years, they must cultivate faith and vows again before returning to the Pure Land. If a person gives rise to a mind of compassion, with correct mindfulness manifesting before them, feeling no love or craving for wealth, wife, or children, with clear eye expression, looking up with a smile, contemplating that the heavenly palace will come to welcome them, hearing heavenly music with their ears, and seeing heavenly children with their eyes, upon shedding this retribution body they will definitely be born in the heavenly realm. If a person generates a gentle mind, gives rise to a mind of merit, has no sickness or disaster in the body, is mindful of parents, wife, and children, is not confused in mind regarding good and evil, and with an upright mind bequeaths their family wealth, taking their leave and departing, they will definitely be born in the human realm. If a person glares at their relatives with wicked eyes, raises hands to clutch at empty space, defecates and urinates unconsciously, has a foul-smelling body, both eyes red, lies face down, curls up on the left side with all hundred joints aching, or sees evil signs, is unable to speak, groans and cries out as karmic creditors appear before them, has a scattered, crazed, and inverted consciousness, the entire body cold as ice, hands clenched in deathly fists, and the body stiff as stone, this person upon death will definitely enter hell. If a person is fond of licking their lips, has a body hot as fire, constantly suffers from hunger and thirst, loves to talk of food and drink, holds the mouth open without closing it, is greedy and attached to wealth, has difficulty drawing their last breath, and departs with eyes wide open, this person will definitely enter the hungry ghosts. If a person is afflicted with severe illness, as if amidst clouds and mist with a dim and scattered mental spirit, fears hearing the Buddha's name, has a great desire to eat the taste of blood and flesh, refuses to accept exhortation and transformation, is passionately attached to wife and children, curls the fingers and toes, sweats all over the body, utters rough and grating sounds, and chews foam in the mouth—if these signs manifest fully, they will definitely enter the animal realm.'"

8.24

Ten Circumstances at Death in Which Buddhānusmṛti Cannot Be Achieved, Exhorting Advance Cultivation

8.25

Ordinary beings have heavy karma and everywhere cling to life; if they do not prepare their efforts in advance, at the end of life they will not be able to practice buddhānusmṛti. The Tiantai Shiyi lun states: 'Mindfulness of the Buddha at the end of life is called the final mind; because that mind is fierce and sharp, with a single mindfulness of the Buddha's name one is born in the Pure Land. Because at the point of death that mind is courageous, strong, and decisive, it surpasses the power of practice of a hundred years. Someone asked: If by buddhānusmṛti at the end of life one immediately attains rebirth, why rely on cultivating superior karma in advance? The answer states: A person's lifespan is difficult to foresee, whether short or long; one may suddenly be afflicted with disease and become unconscious, or die suddenly and untimely. Since one lacks wholesome deeds during life, it will be difficult to escape the disasters of the future life. One must prepare wholesome conditions in advance, precisely out of fear and precaution against this fault. There are ten kinds of circumstances at death where one cannot achieve buddhānusmṛti: first, one might not meet a good friend; second, disease and suffering may enwrap the body so that the mind is darkened and the nature disordered; third, hemiplegia and loss of speech may prevent one from reciting the name; fourth, frenzy and loss of mind may make focused contemplation impossible to achieve; fifth, one may encounter fire or water with no leisure for sincerity; sixth, one may suddenly meet tigers or wolves and be struck with panic and haste; seventh, at the critical moment an evil friend may destroy one's aspiration for the Way; eighth, overeating may lead to a fatal coma; ninth, in battle among military troops one may suddenly die; tenth, one may fall from a high cliff and sustain fatal injuries to life. Therefore, know that at the end of life it is difficult to guarantee good fortune or misfortune; one must practice and cultivate beforehand.' It can truly be called: 'Prepare during idle times for use in moments of urgency, so as to avoid confusion of hands and feet when the time arrives.'

8.26

Precious Mirror of the Lotus School of Mount Lu: Correct Secrets of Buddhānusmṛti for Rebirth in the Pure Land, Fascicle Eight (End)

Linked texts (1)

廬山蓮宗寶鑑 — Classical Chinese