寶王三昧念佛直指 2

English (machine translation) 2

Language: English

2.1

Compiled by the Śramaṇa Miaoye of the Yin River in Siming

2.2

Exhortation to Abstain from Killing, Chapter Ten

The Prime Minister, Lord Pei Meixiu, once composed the 'Preface to the Commentary on the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment', which states in brief: 'Whatever possesses blood and breath must have awareness, and all that have awareness must be of one substance—the so-called truly pure, luminous, and marvelous, emptily pervasive and spiritually cognizant, towering and solely abiding.' Viewed from this perspective, we know that the most minute creatures that fly and wriggle, as well as those of large bodies such as lions, elephants, and giant serpents, together with the marvelous mind of perfect enlightenment of the Buddhas of the ten directions, are emptily pervasive, spiritually cognizant, and of identical true purity—how could any distinction of superior and inferior be made? Since sentient beings and Buddhas are identical, although humans are supremely spiritual, are they not also of identical substance and nature with them, jointly endowed with the physical substance of the four elements and the five phases? Being born together between heaven and earth, creatures such as the rat of Xu and the swallow of Wei correspond above to celestial patterns and resemble the sun and moon; they can conversely govern humans' disasters and blessings—how could they fail to equal human beings? Once this principle is understood, one knows that humans and animal species are equal in nature and heavenly fellowship. Since they are without difference, how can one indulge one's fleeting violence, take advantage of their slightness and weakness, and stealthily carry out slaughter? Furthermore, the reason they differ from humans is merely that they are pulled by the extremely heavy evil karma of beginningless delusion, and thus, unawares and unawares, change their heads and alter their faces, receiving physical forms as diverse species; it is not that their mental substance is different. Since the substance is not different, and we dwell together with those species in birth and death, how can one flay their skin and bones, rend their flesh and blood, intestines, stomach, liver, and gall, or weigh and trade them, boil and fry them in a hundred ways, chew their bodies, indulging in their sweetness, merely to sate our greed for an instant and gratify our mouths and bellies, never fearing the pain of long kalpas in the future evil destinies? This may be called an extreme failure. Although humans may claim to be superior to them, it is only that the confrontation with karma has not yet arrived—are they truly superior to them? Furthermore, among those species, there are those whose retributions are ending and who will become humans or devas, and there are sages, Buddhas, and bodhisattvas who manifest as their kind. Blinded by our obstructions, we do not recognise them; how can we kill the bodies and lives they hold most dear and precious merely to gratify our momentary appetite? When suddenly our human karmic retribution ends, we may instead fall inferior to them; why claim that those species are our food and must definitely be inferior to us? Moreover, our own bodies were once the same as those species, and those species were the same as us; throughout the various species, we have mutually been fathers, mothers, brothers, wives, children, sisters, and all kinds of kin. As our physical forms shifted and flowed, our minds also became deluded and submerged, no longer recognising one another, falsely deeming them inferior. Killing and eating them now is killing our parents and former cherished relatives. Furthermore, our body is not separate from the four elements, so it is also killing our own former body of the four elements. Moreover, the Buddha said: 'All sentient beings possess the buddha-nature.' Because they are bound to become Buddhas in the future, we should still make offerings and attend upon them with the thought of them as parents; how can we bear to kill them? If one kills them, this is also killing a future Buddha. How could one not be terrified? Alas! Those who kill and harm today do not understand past causes. When they were relatives, in adversity they often generated antagonism; from kinship arose enmity, and from enmity hatred was forged. Enmity and hatred connected feud to feud, never lost from lifetime to lifetime, so that they give birth to each other and kill each other in turn without end, like the ocean tides that wax and wane, coming and going, unable to cease of themselves. Reflecting upon them and examining oneself, how could one not be deeply grieved? Therefore, in the Fanwang jing, not only is killing oneself prohibited, but even instructing others, expedient praise, vows, curses, and other teachings, as well as the causes, conditions, methods, and karmas [of killing], are all commanded to be severed forever. These are the Buddha's sincere admonitions. If we do not cease devouring one another, we will surely cause those wicked seekers—farmers, hunters, fishers, and trappers—to multiply more and more, leaving all sentient beings moving on water, land, and in the air nowhere to hide. As soon as they fall into their hands, their fur, feathers, scales, and shells are instantly damaged and destroyed; before their mournful cries have ceased, they are served as food, or traded for other things to nourish our bodies. How do they not know that the mind of all creatures fearing death and clinging to life is originally identical to our own? If one can recognise them as past relatives and jointly sever the karma of killing, one will also be able to fulfill the way of filial piety. The sutra says: 'Filial piety is named precept.' Thus, refraining from killing is filial piety. Furthermore, those creatures possess an innate foreknowledge; in seeking escape, they choose no time, and in fleeing, they choose no place. Moreover, heaven and earth are vast, and there are places where they could sustain themselves. That they now cannot preserve their lives and happen to encounter humans and must fall into human hands is because past causes cannot be escaped. Since past causes cannot be escaped, one should deeply contemplate and bitterly abstain from present causes. If one fails to abstain, the karma of mutual killing and harm will surely drag one into their species as before; how could one escape it? The sutra says: 'Even after hundreds of thousands of kalpas, the karma created does not perish; when conditions and causes converge, the retribution is received by oneself.' How could these be empty words? Therefore, our World-Honoured One, the fully Pure Awakened One, manifested his form among humans, and in various Dharma assemblies repeatedly and earnestly gave this admonition against killing, not merely two or three times. Moreover, he placed this precept at the head of all vehicles, and within the pure conduct (brahmacarya) it is exceedingly strict. Furthermore, he manifested the great King Virūḍhaka exterminating the Śākya clan, where the Buddha also suffered a headache, as well as the retribution of the golden spear, bequeathing warnings to the world so that people would know that cause and effect are inescapable and would jointly cease killing. How could one not believe it? If some say that the Buddha certainly did not have such things and merely manifested them for the sake of beings, then the sage would be guilty of deceiving people. Since the Buddha is without fault, how could this not be real? Since this is real, if even the Buddha was subject to it, how much more so ordinary people? Thus we know that the principle of karmic retribution follows like a shadow following a form. Furthermore, consider ordinary people who are friendly throughout their lives: if there is but one contrary word or the offense of a single object, they still harbor resentment unto death; how much more so when the cold blade is applied and their flesh is freely devoured—can such deep hatred ever be forgotten? Moreover, even secular classics contain the admonitions not to encircle fully, not to catch the whole flock, to angle with a hook but not use a net, and not to shoot at roosting birds with arrows, as well as not bearing to eat meat after hearing its cries. These are quite similar to our Buddha's gradual teaching in the Tripiṭaka permitting the consumption of the three kinds of clean meat. Although not like the Mahāyāna Vaipulya teachings that entirely stop the karma of killing, they are nonetheless gradual steps toward stopping killing. Even gradual steps toward stopping killing received praise for 'supreme virtue reaching even birds and beasts'; how much more so if one eats entirely vegetarian food, wears hempen robes on one's body, and focuses one's mind purely on kindness and patience without harming a single thing, allowing each to fulfill its life—would not such virtuous transformation be boundless and praiseworthy? Furthermore, ancient sages would not leave even dry bones exposed; dry bones have no consciousness, yet out of an unbearable heart they buried them; how much less should creatures endowed with life, blood, flesh, and the same sentience be killed and eaten? Laozi said: 'Galloping and hunting make the human heart go mad.' It is also said: 'Shooting flying birds and chasing running beasts, digging up hibernating creatures and disturbing nests.' Giving rein to violent killing and injury, improper cooking and slaughtering, and even harming and killing creatures in walking, standing, sitting, lying, or any physical action—for these, between heaven, earth, and the empty sky, there must be the Arbiter of Destiny, who reverently executes the virtue of the Sovereign on High in loving life. In accordance with their gravity or lightness, he records them all with his brush without missing a hair's breadth, causing the perpetrators in life to have their lifespans curtailed and to encounter adversities, and after death to fall into hells to undergo manifold sufferings: all the mountains of knives and trees of swords, hacking and chopping, frying and boiling, drawing out intestines and pulling out lungs, flaying skin and eating flesh, cutting bones and scraping marrow, severing heads and gouging eyes, burning feet and roasting hands—there are none among the great hells they do not experience, their lifespans beyond comparison even by brushing a rock or the sands of dust. Even if the retribution in those great hells comes to an end, for hundreds of thousands of kalpas they again fall among the hungry ghosts, and for such kalpas they again fall among animals. Among animals, they must repay one death for each one killed. If the mind of killing was severe, for killing one they may repay thousands, tens of thousands, or even boundlessly, before finally encountering the person they killed as before, being either killed or eaten, to repay their past debts without the error of a grain or dram. If they previously had slight good deeds and managed to be born among humans, they will still be impoverished, orphaned, and wretched for lifetimes, afflicted with many illnesses and short-lived, epileptic and demented, blind, deaf, mute, suffering from scabies, leprosy, ulcers, carbuncles, pus, blood, and manifold declines, adorning themselves with hundreds of thousands of such sufferings, all kinds of hostile circumstances converging upon their bodies, abandoned by relatives, unbearable to endure. All these arise because their karma of killing was deep, hence they receive such extreme suffering. Therefore, the Imperial Lord of Zitong has a chapter on refraining from killing in his Huashu. The Book of Documents also states: 'Upon those who do evil, a hundred misfortunes descend.' Is this not indeed so? Moreover, diverse species also possess benevolent hearts, so in principle they must not be killed. The lamb kneels to nurse, and the filial bird returns to feed its parents; they have the propriety of practicing filial piety. The northern dog protects its master, and the xiezhi does not yield; they have the capacity for loyalty and uprightness. Bees and ants have ruler and minister; mandarin ducks have husband and wife; wild geese fly in fraternal order; birds chirp in harmonious friendship. Observing those multitudes of living beings, how do they differ from humans? Although humans are supremely spiritual, they conversely cannot extend the compassion of identical substance to sentient beings, and further kill their lives to nourish their own single self—can they be called spiritual? Can they be called benevolent? Furthermore, when Grand Master Lu Gen asked Nanquan: 'Is it right for this disciple to eat meat, or is it right not to eat meat?' Nanquan said: 'Eating is the Grand Master's salary; not eating is the Grand Master's blessing.' The meaning is also clear. Even when secular society hosts banquets for guests and conducts seasonal sacrificial rites, are there not duckweed, algae, melons, fruits, and assorted delicacies that can be offered in ritual, so that the way of fasting and precepts may be preserved intact? For example, as the sutra relates, formerly the son of a butcher sought to leave the household. Because he refused to kill, his father shut the son together with a knife and a sheep in a secret room, saying: 'If you do not kill the sheep, I will kill you.' The son thereupon killed himself. By virtue of this merit, he was immediately born in heaven, enjoying heavenly bliss for many kalpas. From this we know that those who do not kill, having been born in good realms, will surely preserve their bodies well, obtain the retribution of long life lifetime after lifetime, and furthermore their virtue will extend far to their descendants for generations. Yet now the Buddhadharma is about to perish, like a single thread holding nine bronze cauldrons. Many who are disciples of the Buddha cannot embody the Buddha's compassion; they drink and dine with utter indifference, and seeing vegetarian people, they instead slander them as Hīnayāna, as demon heads, and even compare them to cattle and sheep, geese and pigs, or claim that their hearts are too vicious, exposing their faults with a hundred varieties of flattering words. Although heavenly spirits gaze upon such wicked people with wrath, deeming them man-eating rākṣasas, how is it that worldly people, upon hearing their kind, instead call them forthright and upright? Alas! This is an omen that the Buddhadharma is about to perish, which one must not fail to recognise. Master Yan Zichan, regarding a fish, still uttered the sigh, 'It has found its place!'; King Xuan of Qi could not bear [the slaughter of an ox], which was called a 'technique of benevolence that does no harm.' The Record of Rites contains the discourse that killing beasts [unseasonably] is unfilial, and the scholar who saved ants was selected in the highest grade of the civil examinations. One should know that whether killing or not killing, the harm and benefit are crystal clear. How much less should the fourfold assembly of our Śākya lineage practice this karma of killing? The Śūraṅgama says: 'Because a human eats a sheep, when the sheep dies it becomes a human, and when the human dies he becomes a sheep. You repay my life, and I repay your debt. Due to these causes and conditions, through hundreds of thousands of kalpas they remain constantly in birth and death.' It also says: 'Life after life, death after death, they come mutually to devour each other; evil karma arises together, exhausting the limits of the future.' The Lotus Sutra says: 'Farmers, hunters, fishers, and trappers, those who kill and harm for profit, and those who sell meat to make a living—do not approach any of them.' There is also a verse: 'If one wishes to kill living beings, / one should contemplate one's own body: / one's own body must not be killed, / and the lives of creatures are no different.' Are not such sincere admonitions crystal clear? There may be people of perverse views who claim that those sentient beings are all falsely born and falsely die, that offenses and blessings are originally empty, and that killing them brings no retribution. Then why do they not say that we also falsely seek and falsely eat, that flavors on the tongue are originally empty, and that eating them brings no benefit? Therefore, since there is a greedy mind, how could there not be an environment of retribution? If one says, 'What is the use of these creatures if not eaten?', then centipedes, snakes, and vipers are all useless—can one eat them? What has been stated above is to examine oneself to compare with others, non-killing in equality, which is the path practiced respectively by benevolent persons. If we, sons who have left the household, wish to cultivate the buddha-mindfulness samādhi, precisely desiring to purify the three karmas, untie enmities and dissolve knots, and be born in the Pure Land, how could we not sever the killing and eating [of flesh], and thereby obstruct ourselves at the time of death? Throughout the Great Canon of Sutras there are extensive teachings; the Buddhas speak with one voice, from beginning to end without duality, and the sacred instructions of the three teachings are all alike in this—how could they be fully cited in a single sheet of paper? It is only hoped that sentient beings of the dharmadhātu, hearing these principles and import, will embody the Way and love life, ascend together to benevolence and longevity, fully live out their natural lifespans, and be free from all knots of enmity. Furthermore, if they can convert people in accord with the Dharma, fulfilling the sage's path of compassionate relief, causing both others and oneself to fully realise the compassionate mind, they will surely arrive together in the Lotus Realm and attain perfect awakening.

2.4

Chapter 11: Exhortation to Uphold the Multitude of Precepts

2.5

A confused person asked: "Now having heard the explanation of the direct pointing to buddha-mindfulness on abstaining from killing, it may indeed be said to point to the essence and accord with the capacity, complete in both phenomena and principle, truly a teaching that benefits the world and profits beings. May I venture to ask: is it only this karma of killing that should be strictly abstained from? Or should all other evils such as stealing, sexual misconduct, and lying likewise be profoundly abstained from? If all should be abstained from, why was the explanation brief?" / I answered: "Alas! What words are these? Have you not heard that the sūtras speak of being fully endowed with the multitude of precepts? Why would it only be abstaining from killing? It is only that the karma of killing is the heaviest, pervasive among both the noble and the lowly, and hard for people to eliminate. Therefore, at the very beginning of the primary practice, people are first made to cut off killing so that they may be endowed with the multitude of precepts; thus it was explained in detail. How could the essence of the precepts involve choosing some and discarding others? Furthermore, if the virtue of the precepts is not cultivated, upon what can practice be established? Just as when a vessel is to store clarified butter, one must first wash away its impurities. The cultivator of samādhi is also like this: only when the multitude of precepts are pure can it be achieved. Even if one's past karma is deep and heavy and cannot be cut off abruptly, one must still use skillful means to restrain it, exhorting one's own mind, examining oneself and repenting errors, cultivating the four applications of mindfulness, completely understanding that the world has little joy and much suffering, is impermanent and subject to decay, soon wearing away, and that all dharmas are impure, like dreams and illusions, devoid of self. One should devise various skillful means so as to surely cut it off; how could one follow deluded thoughts and lose one's mastery? Furthermore, even if the virtue of the precepts is complete, if one does not make body and mind tranquil and settled, ceaselessly put an end to worldly skills and miscellaneous arts, and cast aside all things, whether good or evil, that can divide one's thoughts, how can one single-mindedly cultivate this samādhi? If samādhi is not unified, by what means could rebirth occur? However, the beginningless karmic consciousness of all sentient beings now completely pervades the dharmadhātu; if even a single worldly thought arises, one is dragged away by such worldly afflictions and demonic hordes, one's entire body sinking down, with no hope of escape. For example, though a swimming fish is carefree, a single thread can bind it; its harm is not small. If it is so even with mental thoughts, how much more so with bodily actions? Now having cultivated this samādhi, one precisely desires to hit the target with a single mind like an arrow, not waiting for the exhaustion of this bodily retribution, leaping out of the dense forest and definitively attaining rebirth in the Pure Land. How could one lose the precepts and climb upon conditions, following habitual routine in intention and action, causing the samādhi to fail and entering the evil destinies once more? Could this not be deeply lamentable? If one indeed hears this and does not observe the precepts, then at the end of life there will be no verification; do not say that the Buddha's power lacks efficacy."

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Chapter 12: Encouraging the Arousing of the Power of Diligence

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Diligence means not retrogressing because of the eight worldly winds, and not slackening in one's practice because of differing views of body and mind or any causal conditions of illness, great or small; hence it is called diligence. When practitioners, having followed the exhortation, permanently cut off the karma of killing, gradually become endowed with the multitude of precepts, and wish to enter samādhi: within samādhi, if they are confused and disturbed internally or externally by any of the two demons, harsh or gentle, and their practice undergoes retrogression, they should fortify their will and redouble their diligence, like a vajra banner that cannot be destroyed, like Mount Sumeru that cannot be shaken, like the great ocean that no multitude of poisons can ruin. Even if a practitioner hears a buddha bestow a prophecy, saying, "Although you now cultivate this practice, you shall certainly not be reborn in that Land of Peaceful Nourishment," they should immediately reply: "Excellent, World-Honoured One! I previously received the Buddha's prophecy seeking rebirth in Sukhāvatī. Śākyamuni Buddha said: 'All sentient beings should generate vows and wish to be reborn in that land.' He did not exclude even women, those with defective faculties, or those of the ten evils, five heinous crimes, and the Avīci hell; how much less me! Though my cultivation of the Path is now slight, I do not commit the five heinous crimes and my repetitions exceed ten recitations; I must surely attain rebirth. How could the Buddha deceive himself and be willing to violate his fundamental vow? Moreover, the buddhas of the ten directions have displayed the appearance of a broad and long tongue to verify this matter. Therefore, I now definitively seek rebirth and dare not retrogress." This is called the practitioner's valiant power of the vajra banner. If even a buddha's prophecy cannot make their initial intention retrogress, how could heavenly demons, evil retinues, worldly conditions of flood, fire, thieves, and aggressive wickedness, or the emotional attachments of wives and concubines shake my practice and vows? Someone may ask: "I see worldly people who cultivate yet do not attain rebirth; why is this?" / I answer: "It is because their views are divergent and their practice is not solemn." / Question: "If so, then is their effort lost in vain?" / Answer: "How could their effort be in vain? They too will certainly rely on the vow-power of Amitābha; if they are not reborn in this life, they will certainly be reborn in the second life; if not reborn in the second life, they will certainly be reborn in the third life. If they have even a single thought and a single movement turning toward that Buddha, they will surely attain rebirth in many future lives. This is called 'all attaining non-retrogression'; how could there be any who are not reborn? Therefore know that those who are reborn in that land attain non-retrogression, and those who cultivate this practice also attain non-retrogression. However, those who are reborn in later lives vainly suffer the pain of saṃsāra for many kalpas; therefore, one must make the decision within a single lifetime. How could one divide one's own intention and fall among those who attain rebirth in other lives? If among them there are those compelled by past karma whose vows and practice are deficient, they should constantly and single-mindedly recite this Dhāraṇī for Uprooting All Light and Heavy Karmic Obstacles and Attaining Rebirth in the Pure Land. If one upholds it once, all the transgressions of the five heinous crimes, ten evils, and so forth in one's body will immediately be extinguished. If one upholds it one hundred thousand times, one will attain not forgetting the bodhicitta. If one upholds it two hundred thousand times, one will stimulate the sprout of bodhi to grow. If one upholds it three hundred thousand times, Amitābha Buddha will constantly dwell upon the crown of one's head, and one will definitively be reborn in the Pure Land. Although this dhāraṇī recited in the world is from this canon, its sounds and punctuations are mostly erroneous; what is transmitted now was translated by the recent Tripiṭaka Master Śārapā, which is the most detailed and essential compared to other editions. Those who cultivate this practice should therefore recite it as the direct pointing of the primary practice. It is now appended here. The dhāraṇī says:

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Also named the Fundamental Dhāraṇī of the Tathāgata Amitāyus. Reciting this, one attains great diligence and is swiftly reborn in the Pure Land.

2.10

Chapter 13: Primary Practice

2.11

Although the two realms of circumstantial and primary [rewards] down to diligence described above are all complete and wondrous, they are all methods of seeking rebirth and not yet the primary practice. What is set forth below is the essential purport of the primary practice. What is meant by primary practice? When practitioners have generated this resolve, they must make body and mind pure and enter the place of practice. First, they should contemplate: I and all sentient beings in the ocean of dust-mote lands throughout empty space are constantly in the great ocean of birth and death, drifting and sinking through kalpas without cessation, having nowhere to return and no one to save us within the six destinies. If I do not cause them all to attain liberation, how can it be called primary practice? Thereupon, viewing friends and foes alike, upon this very realm they arouse great compassion, vast and universally covering like the measure of empty space. Again, they think: My present body is like a cluster of sores and tumors, a accumulation of enmity, karma, and suffering; if I do not bestow this upon sentient beings and equally cultivate samādhi to cause them to be liberated, I will violate the Buddha's admonitions and go against my own fundamental vow. Sentient beings suffering pain is deeply pitiable; I now generate the resolve, like a lion king emerging from its den, seeking no companion and seeking no protector, yawning, roaring, and subduing all, definitively not retrogressing on account of those vile demons and evil hordes. Once such a great mind is established, they then examine the primary practice of buddha-mindfulness of the ancient worthies: they should select a naturally quiet direction and a place not previously defiled. For the expenses, one must first exhaust all one's own possessions before one may beg from others. Properly establishing the place of practice: below with fragrant clay, above suspending a jewelled canopy, in the centre enshrining images of the three bodies and nine grades, making it exceedingly solemn and pure. Arranging banners and flowers, with the articles of offering fully prepared, making all lustrous, pure, and subtly wondrous. Next, putting on fresh, clean clothes, burning incense, lighting lamps, and laying out sitting mats. All good roots possessed from beginningless time are universally dedicated to the Pure Land for the sake of sentient beings, adorning practice and vows. If one does not dedicate them like this, how could the cause for rebirth be obtained? Thereupon, the three minds are completely aroused, the five limbs cast down in sincere devotion; contemplating the Buddha's marks and characteristics, kneeling with palms joined, and even guiding the mind to universally encompass all sentient beings in the boundless ocean of lands and this body of mine, which from the past until now has wandered without returning, deeply lamentable. Weeping with tears and lamentation, begging the Buddha to bestow compassion, heedless of this body falling like a great mountain, taking refuge in the Three Jewels. Holding fragrant flowers in hand, visualizing them pervading the dharmadhātu, inviting the Buddha and praising virtues, paying homage and throwing oneself down in sincere devotion, opening the belly and washing the intestines to confess faults and transgressions, cultivating the five repentances, circumambulating and taking refuge. Thereupon, sitting upright facing west, contemplating the Buddha's marks and characteristics, reciting sūtras and being mindful of the Buddha, walking in meditation entering and leaving, training and practicing during the six periods of the day and night with a fixed period. If obstacles are deep and one has not yet had a response, taking death as the limit, in the midst of which one must not for a single kṣaṇa think of worldly five desires. With such a single mind, if one is not reborn, then our Buddha is a great liar. Therefore the spirit of this samādhi is like this. This samādhi is praised by all buddhas and followed in common by all sages; in the beginning it was proclaimed at Mount Lu, and in the end it flowed throughout the realm; transmissions and propagation through successive generations have all taken this as the final resort. However, though the ritual liturgies of samādhi are many, only that composed by Ciyun is balanced in detail and brevity; one should savour it thoroughly. This is the first, supreme stage, extremely profound; students within it should exhaust their strength and be careful not to abandon this to pursue that. If faculties are unequal and the superior practice is difficult to complete, one must also stay in a clean room, making the inside and outside pure and solemn, establishing practice according to one's wish, paying homage to the Buddha and repenting. Setting a certain number of sessions each day, diligent with a single mind, vowing not to regret midway. Whether exclusively reciting sūtras, exclusively upholding dhāraṇīs, or merely grasping and holding the name directly seeking rebirth, or being able to deeply penetrate the Dharma's meaning and contemplate the Buddha's circumstantial and primary [rewards], if one reaches the point of seeing auspicious signs, one will know that sins are extinguished, conditions are deep, and one will also be reborn in that land. As the sūtra says: 'One cannot attain rebirth in that land with few good roots, blessings, and virtuous causal conditions. If there are those who hear of Amitābha Buddha, grasp and hold his name for one day, two days, or up to seven days, single-mindedly without distraction, when that person's life ends, the Buddha together with the assembly of sages will appear before them to receive and guide them, and they will immediately attain rebirth.' Therefore know that grasping and holding the name is itself many good roots and many blessings and virtuous causal conditions. There are also those who cannot completely cut off worldly conditions, who also cultivate worldly goods, have firm faith without doubt in the Land of Bliss, longing and yearning thought after thought without forgetting, practicing as they wish among the previous gates of practice, taking this as their refuge within the four deportments, reaching that source whenever encountering realms, and striving to practice skillful means whenever approaching affairs; at the end of their lives, they will surely be reborn there. However, although these practices differ in detail and brevity, their Dharma-power is originally equal; only because the application of mind may be slow or swift, the Buddha's response may also be delayed or rapid, which students must not fail to know. There is also Ciyun's method of ten recitations: every morning after washing and rinsing, one should also practice it in a quiet place facing west. This is truly the initial cause for rebirth in Sukhāvatī, a vow that must never be lost. As for the characteristics of practice above, their meaning has been fully explained in detail; it may be said that the meaning has no remaining reserve. Someone said: "When I practice buddha-mindfulness, although I employ body and mouth, my mental thoughts flutter about and cannot be controlled. How then should I apply the mind so that it is not scattered?" / Answer: "If you can employ the mindfulness of body and mouth, do not speak of it being scattered; as long as it is uninterrupted and unceasing, it will naturally become single-minded, and it can also be called single-minded. Just take ceaseless practice as the measure, and certainly there is no need to worry about scatteredness. For instance, when parents lose a beloved child or a dragon loses its life-jewel, they do not expect the mind to be unified, yet the mind is naturally unified; how could it be made unified by controlling it? This mind is originally uncontrollable; it truly lies in the practitioner's diligence or remissness."

2.12

Chapter 14: Separately Explaining Samādhi Cultivated while on a Journey

2.13

"The place of practice having been prepared, the offerings arranged, and everything done according to the ritual without exception, how could one idly waste time? One ought, then, relying on the teachings, to operate with contemplative wisdom, interpret by means of the wondrous realm, and, based on this supreme mind, establish unconditioned practice; then the ocean of birth and death will surely dry up, and the Pure Land will certainly be attained." At that time, a guest was seated there, easy and poised, solemn and elegant, with an innate countenance devoid of fear. He suddenly made prostrations and asked: "Observing the Master's instructions now, I know that the operation of the mind is vast and encompasses both the profound and the shallow. Yet, these are all statements that one must establish a place of practice, fully prepare the offerings, and only then abide peacefully in quietude so as to begin the cultivation. As for someone like me, born among the junior generation, my faculties are dull and my hearing is limited. From the past to the present, I have drifted over lakes and seas, wandering through regions and towns, coming and going. Although I wish to abide in quietude and advance in practice, estimating my strength, I have been unable to do so. If it were possible, right while traveling, without relying on a place of practice, to practice the Path during the six periods of the day, to keep the three karmas free of fault, to chant dhāraṇīs and uphold sūtras, to recite the Name and prostrate in repentance, fully adhering to ritual in hopes of being reborn in Sukhāvatī, with the same merit and practice as in a place of practice—then people like us might indeed be able to practice it. I humbly pray that your vast compassion will illuminate teachings not yet heard and deign to confer expedient means from beginning to end." [The Master] replied: "Great indeed is your question! Worldly people, when wishing to cultivate samādhi, say that all the hundreds of necessary matters must be fully provided for before they can set out upon the practice. Now, your resolve may truly be called outstanding among your peers. Were it not for this question, my store of understanding would not have been brought forth so that other capacities might be universally reached. For when the sages bestow their teachings, it is like rain of a single flavor: the three herbs and two trees each attain luxuriant growth. How much more so with the buddha-mindfulness samādhi, which universally gathers in all capacities! If you seek with certainty to be reborn in the Pure Land, you should know that within the four postures, all can serve as the functioning of the Path; how could it be obstructed merely by being on a journey? If you wish to establish practice based on this, initially you must first establish a mind free of deceit: conceal your virtues and reveal your shortcomings, be careful not to boast, and from beneath your very heels make sure that both inner and outer are steady. Next, you must cast aside all conditions, rest from the myriad affairs, and beforehand become thoroughly versed in the Pure Land sūtras, dhāraṇīs, and the repentance ritual of the five repentances so as to make them utterly fluent. Furthermore, you should train in the deportment of your practice, ensuring that it is dignified and solemn. Then, as stated before, give rise to genuine faith, exercise great compassion and wisdom universally on behalf of sentient beings, and contemplating in accord with principle the pure and defiled of the two lands, truly feel revulsion and joy toward the two retributions of suffering and bliss. Embarking upon practice from this basis, since you are on a journey and your dwelling is not fixed, like clouds and water, you need not adorn a place of practice. Simply purify your body and mind, wear garments that are clean and fitting according to your means, and on the six days of fasting—or wherever you happen to be staying—prepare modest offerings of incense and flowers to make offerings to the Three Jewels, expressing your giving. Right before the Three Jewels, bow, kneel, and touch your forehead to the ground, establish vast vows, and swear never to retrogress. Wherever you abide or take birth, take this as your refuge, and never harbor regret in your mind. Though there are no adornments of a place of practice, starting from that very day until the end of your bodily life, cultivate this practice daily during the six periods of the day, without being dogmatic about the presence or absence of incense and lamps." [The guest] asked: "Since samādhi requires a single mind, yet human affairs have ten thousand strands, how should one cultivate so that the Buddha's work and worldly affairs do not obstruct each other?" [The Master] replied: "For example, it is like catching a bird and putting it into a cage; though its body is in the cage, its mind longs for the garden and forest, and the two do not obstruct each other. The cage binds only the body, but cannot bind its mind that seeks to get out; affairs constrain only the body, but can they constrain my resolve to vow to go? The so-called three realms are like the cage, this body is like the bird, seeking to get out is vowing to go, and the garden and forest are the Pure Land. Therefore, know that the myriad strands of deluded conditions do not obstruct the true mind. How much more so when, amidst traveling, other affairs bring few vexations; not interfering with others, body and mind are at ease, which is the very best time to advance in practice." [The guest] asked: "I pray that you will explain the sequence of the Dharma gate in further detail, so that those who advance in practice will not be confused when facing circumstances." [The Master] replied: "The three periods of the day and three periods of the night, without discrepancy in their division of time, are its sequence. Now, when on a journey, when the first period of the day arrives, if there is a place with an image, or if you carry an image with you, you should either recite orally and bow with the body, or recite silently and bow with the body, cultivating facing the image. If there is no buddha image, you may face a sūtra scroll, or simply face west and bow from afar, or, except toward the east, cultivate bowing facing any direction, fully observing the rites as in a place of practice. If at times you are on the road, boarding a boat, or have unavoidable activities of bodily maintenance and motion that cannot be cast aside, then the Buddha's work and worldly affairs are operated together. Moreover, you should consider that these worldly affairs are originally meant to nourish the body; if my body practices the Path, the effort is likewise not wasted, and thus it is of one substance with samādhi." [The guest] asked: "I have heard that the mind cannot be used for two purposes; gaining one, it loses the other. How can two matters be operated together?" [The Master] replied: "Have you not heard the analogy of the caged bird? It has already made this clear. Furthermore, as with the single mind, there is no impediment to the eyes seeing, ears hearing, body acting, and mind recollecting; its responsive functions are inexhaustible, so how could they be limited to two matters? Since its functioning is inexhaustible, amidst all those activities and motions, you should with a single mind uphold and recite one fascicle of the Small Amitābha Sūtra, or the Highest Grade, or the Chapter on Mahāsthāmaprāpta from the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, and recite the Pure Land dhāraṇī three, seven, or up to more than a hundred times. Also recite the Buddha's name three hundred, five hundred, up to a thousand times, or countlessly. This serves as the preliminary Buddha-work for entering repentance; having dedicated the merit, you then enter the repentance. Its ritual of bowing and repentance is fully set forth in the Repentance Ritual of Ciyun. From universal reverence, next bowing to the Three Jewels, offering incense and praising the Buddha, prostrating in repentance, up to circumambulating and taking refuge—in all of these, following the text, meaning, and sections, vividly visualize this body of mine respectfully facing before the Buddha of the Pure Land, or kneeling, bowing, gazing upon, and circumambulating before the bodily image of the Buddha in a place of practice, making everything clear and distinct without allowing confusion. When the bowing is finished, contemplate the Buddha and the white curl of hair and so forth, stopping according to the measure of time. Thereupon, reciting the sūtras, dhāraṇīs, and the Buddha's name as before and completing the dedication of merit, this constitutes the Buddha-work of the first period of the day. Because this visualized bowing is identical to the practice in a place of practice, it differs only in the addition of bodily bowing. Moreover, although the sound of one's chanting may be raised or lowered according to the pleasantness or unpleasantness of the people and environment, the voice and silence should be half and half, deep, vast, and dignified, so that people at one's shoulders can faintly hear it; strictly avoid speaking much with people. Also, before engaging in tasks, you may first burn a stick of incense before the Buddha. If that is still not possible, simply pick up any object with your hand to serve as incense, scatter it beforehand, and when the time comes, merely operate the visualization. During the remaining time, it is only proper to sit alone and walk alone, staying far away from noisy confusion, gathering with groups for idle chatter, joking and bantering, mocking, laughing, singing, sighing, composing poetry, and playing with brush and inkstone, which cause people to forget and lose right mindfulness. This is the Buddha-work of the first period of the day. The middle and final periods of the day, as well as the three periods of the night, are also like this; this is the practice of the six periods. Consider that in the night, when people are settled and the environment is quiet, the application of effort should properly differ from the day. Since the practitioner regards the matter of birth and death as great, how could one follow laxity and sleep at will? Even when passing through extremes of cold and heat, take care not to remove your clothing; keep your Dharma robes and recitation beads close by, and do not let hand towels and clean water leave the corner of your seat; whatever may be needed should all be prepared in advance. Moreover, you should observe whether the roots of faith of others are deep or shallow, neither vexing others nor causing them disgust; where there is no impediment, you should let out your voice slightly, like a qin or se zither, delicate yet deep and heavy, loud without being shrill, causing heavenly spirits to rejoice and descend to protect, and ghosts and animals to hear the sound and attain liberation; then its merit will be all the deeper. Whether in a boat or in the low, cramped quarters of another's house, in all cases observe the environment and the people, advance with a single mind, and employ expedient adaptations to fulfill your practice. Under no circumstances should you point out people's faults or expose people's evils within these situations, nor should you exhaust yourself to please people or flatter people's virtues. Even if you encounter favorable times and places, or if there are other affairs and strange people posing obstructions, you should also choose a secluded spot, sit upright facing west, join your palms to your chest, adjusting your voice or silence as appropriate, and perform the visualized bowing as before, which is no different from during activity. Furthermore, if during activity the matter is finished and the body becomes free, regardless of whether the repentance is much or little, even if a single phrase and a single prostration have not been completed, you should immediately continue the chanting with unbroken sound, and complete the bodily bowing before that Buddha. If, while prostrating upright before the Buddha, there are suddenly urgent matters to attend to, likewise regardless of whether the repentance is much or little, even if a single phrase and a single prostration have not been completed, you should immediately complete the visualized bowing wherever you are acting; strictly avoid restarting the repentance when not much of it has been entered. Moreover, this visualized bowing on a journey arises out of unavoidable circumstances; when one has leisure, one must not also use visualized bowing and thereby slacken one's body. Nor should one add this visualized bowing to times of activity while inversely throwing away free time. Toward those of shallow faith, one must not rashly urge cultivation; toward those of deep faith, one cannot fail to secretly enlighten them so that they personally assent to it. Nor should one cause the merit of transformation to be attributed to oneself, just as spring nurtures things without its merit being seen. That which is cultivated relying on a place of practice is called easy practice amidst favorable conditions. That which is cultivated while on a journey is called easy practice amidst adverse conditions. If one compares easy practice amidst adverse conditions to easy practice amidst favorable conditions, they are far apart like heaven and earth; the merit of easy practice amidst adverse conditions is far more prominent." [The guest] asked: "Is this visualized bowing the same as bodily bowing?" [The Master] replied: "It is the same. Have you not heard that among the three karmas, the mind is the master of body and speech? When the master focuses its thought, how could it fail to reach body and speech? Furthermore, as with the principle in the repentance of directing the mind to incense, flowers, and the universal reach of this body and mind, is it not also merely a matter of mindfulness and visualization? You may understand this by analogy." [The guest] asked: "If so, by merely visualizing the bowing with the mind, may one not operate body and speech?" [The Master] replied: "Although the mental karma is supreme, if body and speech are fully present, it is called the complete cultivation of the three karmas. The meaning of silent recitation can be understood by this analogy. Moreover, if one can make up the bowing during free time according to the count of this visualized bowing, one's practice will be especially vigorous." [The guest] asked: "Outside of the practice of the six periods, how should one use the mind?" [The Master] replied: "Either by contemplating the Buddha's marks and characteristics, upholding dhāraṇīs and reciting sūtras, reciting the Name and bowing the head, and so forth, never abandoning them thought after thought, striving for rebirth within a set time. Like a traveler on the road, walking briskly brings quick arrival, while walking slowly brings late arrival. One should use the mind in this way. If a person's physical and mental strength is weak and cannot fully cultivate the practice of the six periods, merely set a fixed schedule of sūtras and repentances, three or five periods daily; although there is no harm in increasing them, one must not randomly increase or decrease them at will and alter the practice one has established." [The guest] asked: "The teaching of samādhi while on a journey is harmonious and sequential, rarely heard in the world. If so, is cultivating relying on a place of practice unnecessary?" [The Master] replied: "It is like a person who falls into the sea and, seeking a boat without finding one, suddenly encounters a floating log; seizing it for the time being, he can reach the shore. In the absence of a boat, how could he abandon the log and bring about his own death? How much more so when on a journey, going or staying according to the host's dislike or delight, one attains freedom from hang-ups; how could one not advance one's efforts? The above is the samādhi cultivated while on a journey. The realm of this samādhi is exceedingly profound, its functions and efficacy are vast, tallying with the Buddha's wondrous mind, and cannot be fully praised; among the four samādhis, it is called the neither-walking-nor-sitting samādhi, and is also called the samādhi that accords with the four postures. It specifically caters to great capacities, while those of small wisdom and small roots benefit according to their share. Comparing this samādhi to that in a place of practice, bodily bowing may be lacking, but the remaining deportment is the same. You should diligently accept and uphold this samādhi, turning your resolve westward with single-mindedness; strictly avoid procrastination and falling into lingering in birth and death." What has been set forth above constitutes the proper practice. I also observe that among the people of today, there are some who aspire to this Path, but as soon as they hear that it is easy, they immediately think of it as easy and falsely claim to have attained realization; as soon as they hear that it is difficult, they immediately give rise to retrogression and despair, entirely losing their resolve. Even if there are those whose faith is rather earnest, they drift into the thickets of heterodox views, transmitting them in secret to mislead many people. Their transmitted methods take thousands of forms and shapes, even to the point of being unmentionable; they are all able to ensnare people's minds and make them personally assent to them, so that improper practices gradually expand and both teacher and disciple fall together. How could they match the earnestness of your right mind in asking this question? The guest bowed and said: "I have traveled hardship-filled roads on journeys for a long time. Whenever I thought of the impermanence of birth and death, I wished to cultivate but was unable to. Merely worrying over the sustenance of mouth and body, I regretted that I could not begin practice in a Dharma-practice place. Now, by fortunate karmic affinity from past lives, I have been able to hear this teaching; it may truly be called like sweet dew pouring onto the crown of the head, cooling to the very bone. I dare say I am resolved to accept and uphold it. As of today, turning grievances into friendship, I harbor no remaining regrets; from now on, I lay down body and mind, like setting down a heavy burden, comfortable and at ease. I vow from life to life and birth to birth to revere, accept, and uphold it, swearing not to retrogress even if my life-faculty is cut off, and to make all Dharma gates universally understood. Wherever I am, whether at home or traveling, amidst adverse or favorable conditions, it will not obstruct the functioning of the Path, and together we will accomplish the samādhi. This may truly be called a great blessing for all sentient beings, a great blessing for those who study Buddhism! Since this can be cultivated, we know that for all those who rush about in worldly affairs, wander in the four quarters, laboring at trade and peddling, innkeepers and market stallholders, merchants carrying burdens along roads, the hundred artisans and craftsmen, men and women, old and young, slaves, maidservants, and eunuchs who are driven by others and lack autonomy—amidst all their walking, standing, sitting, lying down, putting on clothes, eating, speaking, remaining silent, moving, being still, and even being imprisoned, amidst joy, anger, sorrow, and delight, there is no time when it cannot be cultivated. How much more so for the fourfold assembly of renunciants and the four classes of laypeople, who have homes to dwell in, leisure to cultivate, and possess all they desire with autonomy—how could they not advance their practice?" The guest also said: "Now there are those who hear that Sukhāvatī is as distant as more than a hundred billion buddha-lands, and gaze at the road with fear of its distance. Hearing that those reborn there are mostly in the position of one more birth to buddhahood, they feel ashamed that their own persons cannot reach it. What of them?" [The Master] replied: "How could they know that, as stated above, the empty realms of the ten directions are entirely our own mind? When the mind is pure, a hundred billion is not far; when the mind is defiled, one's own eyelashes are still distant. Just aim for purity of mind; why calculate the journey? Just as during a brief sleep one dreams of traveling a thousand li, how could ordinary time be used for comparison? Since in principle there is a land in which to be born, you must never say that merely being able to purify the mind is sufficient, without needing to be reborn in that land." [The guest] then bowed again and said: "Yes! I respectfully accept your instruction." He also said: "When I first heard this discourse, having never heard it before, I thought that the Master was merely following his own mind in conferring these words. Now hearing the name of the samādhi, I realize that it comes from the sacred scriptures and truly accords with the capacities of beings, like the blue sky and the bright sun; it may truly be called an admonition and instruction for later learners. How could it be an accommodation spoken just for me? I wish to record it with a brush, so that it may forever serve as instruction for the future. I further pray that you will deign to demonstrate the fine and subtle proper practice gates from beginning to end as cultivated in a place of practice, universally benefiting this age. Then the blessing would be all the greater." I said: "Excellent! I shall fulfill your wish and speak of it to them." The guest then bowed modestly and withdrew. The guest's name was Xingyi, styled Zhixi. He himself said that he had once read Chan Master Zhijue's Collection of the Common End of Ten Thousand Good Deeds very thoroughly, and later traveled to Mount Lu, where he saw the vestige sites of Founding Ancestor Master Yuan, whereupon he gave rise to the vow of buddha-mindfulness.

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寶王三昧念佛直指 — Classical Chinese