[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [六祖大師法寶壇經](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2008) › 1.57 # 六祖大師法寶壇經 1.57 六祖大師法寶壇經 1.57 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [1.57](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2008.1.57) 眾皆頂禮云：「若此處見，何須更願往生？願和尚慈悲，便現西方，普令得見。」 > Amitābha in the snap of a finger. Your Lordship, just practice the ten \[types of\] good. Why would you want to be reborn \[in the Pure Land\]? If you do not eradicate the ten \[types of \] evil from your minds, what buddha will come to escort you \[to the Western Paradise\]? If you are enlightened to the sudden Dharma (teaching) of birthlessness, seeing the Western \[Paradise is a matter of \] a mere instant. If you recite the Buddha’s \[name\] and seek rebirth \[in the Pure Land\] without being enlightened, how will you ever be able to travel such a long road? > > “I will move the Western \[Paradise\] for you in an instant, so you will be able to see it right in front of you. Do you all want to see it or not?” > > Those in the assembly all bowed their heads to the ground and said, “If we could see it here, how could we then want to be reborn there? We ask that in Your Reverence’s compassion you manifest the Western \[Paradise\] for us all to see!” > > The master said, “\[All of you in this\] great assembly, \[understand that\] the very form-bodies of people in this world are the city walls \[of the Pure Land\]. Your eyes, ears, nose, and tongue are the gates \[of the Pure Land\]. Externally, you have five gates, and within is the gate of the sensory mind. The mind is the ground, and the nature is the king. The king resides on the mind-ground, and the nature exists just as a king exists. When the nature goes, the king is absent.When the nature is present, the body and mind continue. When the nature departs, the body disintegrates. ‘Buddha’ acts within the nature—don’t look for it outside your bodies! When one is deluded as to the self-nature, one is a sentient being, but when one realizes the self-nature, one is a buddha. > > “Compassion is Avalokiteśvara, joy and equanimity are Mahāsthamaprāpta, the ability to purify is Śākyamuni, and universal directness is Amitābha. > > The self is Sumeru, desire is the ocean’s water, and the afflictions are the waves. The poisons are the evil dragons, the falsenesses are the ghosts and spirits, the enervating defilements are the fishes, lust and anger are the hells, and stupidity is the animals. > > “Good friends, if you always practice the ten \[types of\] good, you will go to heaven. By eliminating the \[false conception of the\] self, Sumeru will fall; by destroying desire, the ocean’s waters will dry up; by eliminating the afflictions, the waves will be extinguished; by eradicating the poisons, the fishes will be extirpated. > > “The Tathāgata, who has realized the nature in his own mind-ground, releases a great refulgence and illuminates the six gates without; its purity can destroy all the heavens of the six desires. By illuminating the self-nature within, the three poisons are eliminated, and all the transgressions \[leading to\] the hells are dissolved in an instant. Clearly penetrating within and without, it is no different from the Western \[Paradise\]. If you do not cultivate in this fashion, how could you ever arrive there?” > > When those in the great assembly heard this explanation, they all saw their natures. They all bowed and sighed, “How excellent!” They cried out, “We wish that all the sentient beings throughout the dharmadhātu could all become enlightened instantaneously!” > > The master said, “Good friends, if you wish to cultivate this practice, you may do so either as a householder or in a monastery. Householders who are able to practice this are like those persons of the East whose minds \[harbor\] good. Those in the monastery who do not cultivate it are like those people of the West whose minds \[harbor\] evil. It is only that the mind should be pure—then it is the Western \[Paradise\] of the self-nature!” > > Lord Wei asked further, “How can householders cultivate this practice? I hope you will teach us this.” The master said, “I will recite a formless verse for this great assembly. Just cultivate according to this, doing exactly as if you were always with me. If you do not cultivate according to this, what benefit would it be to take the tonsure and leave home \[to become a monk\]?” The verse goes: > > With the mind universally \[the same\], why labor to maintain > > the precepts? > > Number Four: Meditation and Wisdom > > With practice direct, what use is it to cultivate dhyāna? > > Gratitude is to be filial in supporting one’s parents > — John R. McRae 2000, The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch - [Previous: 1.56](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2008.1.56) - [Next: 1.58](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2008.1.58) - [Up: 1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2008.1) ## Translations (2) - [The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2008~en-bdk.1.57) — John R. McRae 2000, English - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2008~en-mt.1.57) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2008.1.57](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2008.1.57) · Pramāṇa