廬山蓮宗寶鑑 8.16

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.'