西方合論 1.2

1.2

儒以三綱五常，奠乾坤而正人類；至於截生死逆流，出三界火宅，必資佛教。十方三世佛，而阿彌陀為第一也；諸佛各有所攝受之淨土，而西方極樂世界為第一也。念佛求生淨土，功行觀門無窮；而執持名號，一心不亂為第一也。古今聖賢，讚淨土教念佛，如天台《十疑論》、永明《萬善同歸》、天如《或問》、龍舒《淨土文》，諸書已詳；而義類散見，卷帙分函，至大明雲棲大師《彌陀疏鈔》，為集大成。又有楚公安袁石公先生諱宏道者，所著《西方合論》，會通異同，決釋疑滯，闡發玄奧，直指趣歸。佛經而祖緯之，兄舉而弟揚之，誠儒家之無著、天親，論部之馬鳴、龍樹。可謂：現宰官居士身，而弘同居同事攝矣。念佛至此，方為圓教；淨土得此，方稱惟心。達理之士，宜人手一編，日披數次。顧《疏鈔》已盛行于世，而《合論》或罕識其文。今末法式微，劫運方起，娑婆四眾，速宜願生，而不無宗教之岐路、禪淨之疑情，使蓮花忽開忽謝、淨域若近若遠，此阿彌陀佛所為悲切以急需，而假廣長舌相于袁氏之書以疾呼也。

Confucianism uses the three bonds and five constants to establish heaven and earth and rectify humanity; as for stemming the counter-current of saṃsāra and escaping the burning house of the traidhātuka, one must rely on the Buddha's teaching. Among the buddhas of the ten directions and the three times, Amitābha is foremost; among the pure lands embraced and received by the various buddhas, the Western Land of Sukhāvatī is foremost. In buddhānusmṛti and seeking rebirth in the Pure Land, the merit, practices, and contemplation gates are limitless; yet holding fast to the name with single-minded unconfoundedness is foremost. Sages and worthies past and present have praised the Pure Land and taught buddhānusmṛti: works such as Tiantai's Shiyi lun, Yongming's Wanshan tonggui, Tianru's Huowen, and Longshu's Jingtu wen have already treated it in detail; yet their doctrinal categories are scattered and their fascicles divided into separate cases, until the Commentary and Subcommentary on the Amitābha-sūtra by Master Yunqi of the great Ming brought them together into a grand synthesis. There is also Master Yuan Shigong, taboo name Hongdao, of Gong'an in Chu, who composed the Comprehensive Treatise on the Western Land: it synthesises differences and agreements, resolves doubts and blockages, reveals profound subtleties, and points directly to the final resort. The buddha preached the sūtras and the patriarchs wove them; the elder brother presented them and the younger brother propagated them—truly, they are the Asaṅga and Vasubandhu of the Confucian school, the Aśvaghoṣa and Nāgārjuna of the treatise department. It may be said that, manifesting the bodies of officials and upāsakas, they propagated the samgraha-vastu of sharing identity and sharing action. Only when buddhānusmṛti reaches this point is it the perfect teaching; only when the Pure Land attains this can it truly be called 'mind-only'. Men of penetrating discernment should keep a copy in hand and peruse it several times a day. While the Commentary and Subcommentary already circulates widely in the world, the Comprehensive Treatise is perhaps rarely recognised in its text. Now in the decline of the Final Dharma, when the kalpa's fortunes are stirring, the fourfold assembly of the Sahā world should swiftly make the vow for rebirth; yet there are not lacking divergent paths between doctrinal schools and Chan, and doubts between Chan and Pure Land, causing the lotus flowers to suddenly open and suddenly wither, and the Pure Land to seem near and far. This is why Amitābha is in deep sorrow and urgent need, borrowing the form of the broad and long tongue in Master Yuan's book to utter a swift cry.