寶王三昧念佛直指 1.36

1.36

念佛三昧稱為寶王者，蓋於一切三昧之中最上三昧者也。首獨唱於廬山，後遍流於天下，歷代所修往生非一，著文於世、證驗良多，自昔至今富於編簡，若禪若教無不尊崇、是聖是凡悉皆景仰。但末代淺根因藥致病，以極樂淨土不求之於西方，而求之於分別緣影。多流此見，內懷痛傷，嗟彼唐喪其功，雖修無感。乃以淨土諸經及各宗疏鈔，採其奧旨述以成編。雖其言之不文，莫敢裁於胸臆，自為警省敢聞於人，故以「寶王三昧念佛直指」定其名焉。

The reason the buddha-mindfulness samādhi is called the Jewel King is that it is the supreme samādhi among all samādhis. First advocated alone at Mount Lu, it later spread throughout all under heaven. Across the generations, those who cultivated it and attained rebirth have not been few; writings on it in the world and verified proofs are very numerous, abundant in books and records from antiquity to the present, revered without exception by both Chan and doctrinal schools, looked up to by both sages and ordinary people alike. Yet those of shallow capacity in the final age turn the medicine into illness: instead of seeking the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī in the West, they seek it in the conditioned shadows of discursive thinking. As many succumb to this view, I feel deep grief within, lamenting that they waste their efforts in vain, cultivating without response. Thereupon, relying on the Pure Land sūtras and the commentaries and subcommentaries of the various schools, I extracted their profound purports and composed this collection. Although its words are unpolished, I dared not formulate them from my own mind; having written it for my own admonition and reflection, I venture to let it be heard by others, and have thus titled it Direct Pointers to Buddha-Mindfulness of the Jewel King Samādhi.