西方合論 6

English (machine translation) 6

Language: English

All the worthy and noble act in accordance with the mind. The Dharma-nature is boundless; the ocean of practice is unfathomable. Therefore, within a single kṣaṇa, practice may fulfill three asaṃkhyeya kalpas; or across kalpas numerous as the sands of the Ganges, one may not yet accomplish a single thought-moment. The tracks of birds flying through the air demarcate the stages; the sun through tears and flowers in the wind reveal the images of past and present. Walking without legs, apart from Amitābha where could one go? Moving swiftly without haste, one knows the Western Land is not distant. This is like the five colors dissolving when reaching profound black, or the myriad streams finding their ultimate limit in the sea. Now, summarizing the various practices of the Mahāyāna into a single practice, five gates are briefly demonstrated:

6.3

First, the practice of faithful mind. Second, the practice of śamatha and vipaśyanā. Third, the practice of the six pāramitās.

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Fourth, the practice of compassion and vows. Fifth, the practice of accordance with the Dharma.

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First, regarding the practice of faithful mind, the sūtra says: “Faith is the origin of the Way and the mother of merits.” None of the myriad practices does not take faith as its correct cause; even when the fruit of bodhi is perfected, it is merely the fulfillment of this faculty of faith. It is like a grain seed falling to the ground: by the time it bears fruit, it is no different from the initial seed; like a young bamboo shoot reaching to heaven: when it grows into a cluster of leaves, it is fundamentally the original stalk. Initial-mind bodhisattvas without exception achieve completion relying on this power of faith. Therefore, under the gate of the Lotus School, one relies wholly on this faith as the root. First: to believe that Amitābha Buddha’s immovable wisdom and fundamental wisdom are no different from one's own. It is like the great empty sky: when the sun shines it is bright, and when clouds arrive it is obscured, yet the empty sky fundamentally has neither of these; furthermore, both clouds and sun are identical with the empty sky. Second: to believe that Amitābha Buddha, since making his vows, through nayutas of kalpas, has performed all kinds of difficult and unbearable practices, and I too am able to practice them. Why is this? Recalling that through beginningless kalpas I drifted and drowned in the three evil destinies, enduring the suffering of birth, the suffering of death, the suffering of wearing fur and horns, the suffering of iron beds and bronze pillars—I was able to endure all these useless sufferings; how much more so the current myriad bodhisattva practices for saving sentient beings—how could I be unable to do them? Third: to believe that Amitābha Buddha's immeasurable wisdom, immeasurable supernatural powers, and accomplishment of immeasurable vows and the like will also be attained by me. Why is this? The Tathāgata's self-nature upāya possesses such inconceivable things, and I share the same inherently pure nature of self-essence with the Tathāgata. Fourth: to believe that Amitābha Buddha neither goes nor comes, and I too neither go nor come; the Western Land and this land are not separated by the tip of a hair; if one wishes to see, one sees immediately. Why is this? Because all buddhas take the Dharma-nature as their body and land. Fifth: to believe that Amitābha Buddha’s cultivation passing through kalpas until realizing the fruit did not shift a single kṣaṇa; I now also do not shift a single kṣaṇa, equal in stage to all buddhas. Why is this? Because divisions of time are subsumed under karma, and in the ocean of the dharmadhātu karma cannot be found. Such faithful understanding is called the initial mind entering the Way, the practice of faith in all buddhas' pure lands.

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Second, regarding the practice of śamatha and vipaśyanā: in various vaipulya sūtras such as the Perfect Enlightenment, Śūraṅgama, and Avataṃsaka Sūtras, ancient and modern scholars have broadly established gates of contemplation. Yet only the Tiantai school's threefold contemplation is the most direct, revealing the trap and snare for the one mind and grasping the essentials of all dharmas; as a shortcut for cultivation, nothing surpasses this. The essential tenet of the Western Land naturally possesses the sixteen correct contemplations; yet each and every contemplation completely contains these three meanings. Therefore, when Tiantai expounded the sūtra, he directly subsumed those sixteen under the three truths. The Miaozong chao states: “The three virtuous essences in the nature are the three bodies of the buddhas; precisely these three virtues and three bodies are the threefold contemplation of our one mind. If it were not so, there would be a buddha outside contemplation, and the object would not be identical with the mind; how could it be called the contemplation of the absolute of the perfect school? One may also take Amitābha's three bodies as the dharmakāya, our threefold contemplation as prajñā, and seeing the Buddha upon completing contemplation as liberation: mentioning one includes three, like the new letter ‘i’. Since contemplating the Buddha is thus, contemplating the dependent and primary [rewards] is in principle no different.” As this is extensive in the commentary and subcommentary, it cannot be fully related. As for Chan Master Wenling, he entered the gate of the threefold contemplation purely through a single recitation of the Buddha's name. Saying that the contemplation of the three truths is present in the recitation: for instance, with one recitation of the Buddha's name, one immediately understands that this subjective reciting essence is empty, and the recited object is without characteristics; this is recitation abiding in the contemplation of emptiness, and the recited Buddha is the nirmāṇakāya, with the mind shattering the delusions of view and thought. Although the subjective reciting essence is empty and the recited object is without characteristics, this does not hinder the subjective recitation from being clear and the recited object from being distinct; this is recitation abiding in the contemplation of the provisional, and the recited Buddha is the saṃbhogakāya, with the mind shattering the delusions of dust and sand. Exactly when the subjective and objective recitation are empty, the subjective and objective recitation are distinct; exactly when the subjective and objective recitation are distinct, the subjective and objective recitation are quiescent. Emptiness and the provisional mutually abiding is recitation abiding in the contemplation of the middle, and the recited Buddha is the dharmakāya, with the mind shattering the delusion of ignorance. This furthermore takes the cause of buddhānusmṛti to completely fulfill the three truths and purify those four lands, like taking a single dust mote and transforming the great earth into gold; this is called the inconceivable gate of contemplation of the perfect interfusion of the dharmadhātu.

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Third is the practice of the six perfections. The Awakening of Faith says: 'From their initial correct faith onward, as bodhisattvas are about to complete the first asaṃkhyeya [kalpa], within the Dharma of tathatā they deeply understand that what is presently practiced is free from signs: knowing that the essence of Dharma-nature is free from stinginess and greed, they practice dāna-pāramitā in accordance [with it]; because Dharma-nature is without defilement and free from the faults of the five desires, they practice śīla-pāramitā in accordance [with it]; because Dharma-nature is without suffering and free from anger and vexation, they practice kṣānti-pāramitā in accordance [with it]; because Dharma-nature is free from marks of body and mind and free from indolence, they practice vīrya-pāramitā in accordance [with it]; because Dharma-nature is eternally concentrated and its essence is free from distraction, they practice dhyāna-pāramitā in accordance [with it]; because the essence of Dharma-nature is luminous and free from ignorance, they practice prajñā-pāramitā in accordance [with it].' Thus the Dazhidu lun says: 'A bodhisattva contemplates all dharmas as ultimately empty and does not give rise to a mind of stinginess and greed. Why is this? Because in ultimate emptiness there is no stinginess or greed, for the root of stinginess and greed has been severed'—and so on until—'Because prajñā-pāramitā is ultimately empty, they constantly do not give rise to a deluded mind. Why? Because the Buddha taught that in all dharmas there is neither giving nor receiving, neither precepts nor transgression, and so forth, up to neither wisdom nor folly.' It also says: 'Although a bodhisattva does not perceive giving, with a pure and empty mind they practice giving, thinking thus: "This gift is empty and without existence, yet because sentient beings need it, I give it to them. Just as a small child takes earth to be gold and silver, and an elder does not perceive it as gold and silver, yet gives it according to [the child's] wish, so ultimately nothing is given." The remaining five practices are likewise.' This is called the bodhisattva's practice of the six perfections. As for those who cultivate the Pure Land, although they lack such differentiated names and marks, they nevertheless do not depart from a single practice, endowed with these six meanings: First, renouncing all miscellaneous thoughts is practicing giving; moreover, mindfully recollecting the Buddha without abiding in the thought of renunciation is giving of the nature. Second, being pure in thought after thought is practicing precepts; moreover, mindfully recollecting the Buddha without seeking the cessation of thought is the precepts of the nature. Third, having worldly thoughts exhausted and weakened is practicing patience; moreover, mindfully recollecting the Buddha without concerning oneself with destroying thought is the patience of the nature. Fourth, carrying recollection through to the end without retreating is practicing vigor; moreover, a single thought being precisely it without clinging to asceticism is the vigor of the nature. Fifth, attaining the samādhi of recollection is practicing concentration; moreover, thought after thought being the Buddha without craving the taste of dhyāna is the great concentration. Sixth, fully realizing that the cause of recollecting the Buddha is that thought itself is the Buddha is practicing wisdom; moreover, thought being fundamentally non-existent and the Buddha fundamentally not non-existent, not falling into nihilism or eternalism, is the wisdom of all modes. Therefore, the single gate of buddhānusmṛti can subsume all practices. Why is this? Because buddhānusmṛti is the Dharma-gate of one mind, and outside the mind there are no other practices; yet it also does not discard other practices, for to discard other practices would be to discard the mind.

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Fourth is the practice of compassionate vows. For all buddhas and bodhisattvas, the sea of nature is inexhaustible, offerings are inexhaustible, precepts and giving are inexhaustible, and so forth, up to benefiting beings being inexhaustible. As Samantabhadra made his ten great vows: 'When the realm of space and the realm of sentient beings have an end, my vows will also have an end; yet as body, speech, and mind karma never tire or weary, they are named the king of vows.' All buddhas without exception accomplish such a king of vows to realize the fruit of nirvāṇa. Therefore, Bodhisattva Vasubandhu's five gates of mindfulness for the Pure Land take the former four—prostration, praise, making vows, and contemplation—as the accomplishment of the gate of entering merit; and dedicating [merit] to all afflicted sentient beings to uproot the suffering of the world as the accomplishment of the gate of exiting merit. A bodhisattva cultivating the five gates of mindfulness swiftly attains anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi.

6.9

An objection asks: 'Buddhas and sentient beings fundamentally do not exist. As the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra says: "A bodhisattva contemplates sentient beings as an echo to a call; as foam gathered on water; as the solidity of a banana tree; as a flash of lightning lasting long; as form in the formless realm; as a sprout of scorched grain; as an unshakeable bodhisattva having greed, anger, or breaking the precepts; as a buddha's habit energies of affliction; as what was seen in a dream after awakening: a bodhisattva contemplates sentient beings like this." If so, sentient beings are fundamentally empty; are not the bodhisattva's various vows to benefit beings like eyes seeing flowers in the sky?'

6.10

The reply is: 'In the Dazhidu lun, the Buddha taught: "When it says here that there is no buddha, it breaks attachment to the conception of a buddha; it does not mean grasping the sign of no buddha." Therefore, one should know: to say there are no sentient beings breaks the conception of sentient beings; it does not mean grasping the sign of no sentient beings. As the Vimalakīrti says: "After making this contemplation, the bodhisattva says to himself: 'I shall expound such a Dharma for sentient beings'—this is true compassion." Thus we know that the bodhisattva does not grasp the sign of no sentient beings; furthermore, expounding this Dharma is truly benefiting sentient beings and a true compassionate vow, with no other separate task of delivering sentient beings. Furthermore, as in the Prajñāpāramitā-sūtras, the bodhisattva deeply enters great compassion just as a loving father sees his son die for the sake of a worthless object: the father pities him intensely, for this child died merely on account of an illusion. All buddhas are also like this: they know that all dharmas are empty and ultimately unattainable, yet sentient beings do not know it; because sentient beings do not know it, they become defiled and attached within empty dharmas, and because of attached causes and conditions, they fall into the great hells; therefore, [buddhas] deeply enter great compassion. If so, all buddhas give rise to kindness and mobilize compassion precisely because sentient beings are empty, and because sentient beings enter saṃsāra under delusion; how could there be any reason to extinguish compassionate vows instead? Thus we know that the bodhisattva's various deliverances of sentient beings are a profound penetration into the meaning of no sentient beings. Why is this? If one perceives sentient beings to exist, there is a self, and the mind of compassion is inferior; how could one practice such acts of benefit? Moreover, former virtuous masters said: "Before abiding in the ultimate stage, it is entirely the gate of self-benefit: from the initial mind of the ten faiths, passing through the ten abidings, ten practices, ten dedications, and ten grounds, up to samyaksaṃbodhi, Samantabhadra before the Buddha is still the gate of self-benefit and benefiting others; only upon ascending to the stage of wondrous enlightenment is Samantabhadra after the Buddha the practice of benefiting others." As the Buddha told the bhikṣus: "The karmic retribution of merit is extremely deep; none knows the division of gratitude as I do. Although I have reached its very depths and bottom, because I originally possessed an insatiable mind of aspiration I became a buddha, and therefore even now I do not cease; though there is no further merit to be obtained, my mind of aspiration does not rest." One should know that the sea of practice is boundless; it cannot be plumbed to its bottom with a ten-foot pole or a one-foot stick. Just as a foolish child, seeing someone point to a pole before the gate and say it reaches halfway to heaven, reckons and says: "From earth to heaven is merely about two poles high"; the sophistry concerning the Buddha's Dharma is also like this.'

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Fifth is practice that accords with the Dharma. In the ocean of the Dharma-realm, things are limitless and boundless; the bodhisattva's ocean of practice is likewise limitless and boundless. Applying color to empty space, powder and ink are wasted effort; the Dharma-realm has no fixed direction, of what use are ruts and tracks? Therefore, the bodhisattva's practice of svabhāva is neither existent nor non-existent, neither practice nor non-practice; it is solely practice that accords with the Dharma in unfettered freedom. First, a bodhisattva delivers all sentient beings into ultimate nirvāṇa without remainder, yet the realm of sentient beings does not decrease. Just as puppets taking the stage display grief and laughter clearly, yet are merely clay and fundamentally empty and non-existent, this is practice that accords with the Dharma. Second, a bodhisattva practices the five uninterrupted deeds without vexation or anger; arriving in the hells, they are free from all defilements of sin; arriving among animals, they are free from faults such as ignorance and arrogance. Just as a courtesan whose wandering spirit follows her lover and even gives birth to a child, while her body constantly remains before her parents, this is practice that accords with the Dharma. Third, a bodhisattva enters samādhi in their own body and arises from samādhi in another body; enters samādhi in one body and arises from samādhi in many bodies; enters samādhi from a sentient body and arises from an insentient body. Just as a fierce tiger animates a corpse so that it bows and dances purely according to the tiger's desire, while the corpse itself is fundamentally unconscious, this is practice that accords with the Dharma. Fourth, within the body of a single minute sentient being, a bodhisattva turns the great wheel of Dharma, lights the great torch of Dharma, and roars the great thunder of Dharma, so that Māra's palaces are crushed and the great earth quakes, delivering limitless and boundless sentient beings, yet this minute sentient being is unaware and unconscious of it. Just as the musician of the heavenly sovereign fled into the nostril of a young maiden and could not be found anywhere, yet this maiden was unaware and unconscious of it, this is practice that accords with the Dharma. Fifth, if a bodhisattva wishes to abide long in the world, they expand an instant into limitless, countless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas; if they wish to abide briefly in the world, they contract limitless, countless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas into an instant. Just as a small child watches revolving lanterns with galloping horses, calculating their number or head and tail without ever finding them, this is practice that accords with the Dharma. Therefore, if one realizes such inconceivable practice, within a single thought the pure lands of all buddhas of the three times are completely subsumed without remainder; this is called the bodhisattva's practice of adorning the pure land. It can be seen by illuminating it with non-conceptual wisdom; it is not something that emotional calculation can conjecture. Why is this? Because svabhāva transcends all measurement.

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Comprehensive Treatise on the Western Land, Fascicle Six (End)

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西方合論 — Classical Chinese