少室六門 1.90

1.90

問。如經說言。至心念佛。必得往生西方淨土。以此一門。即應成佛。何假觀心。求於解脫。答。夫念佛者。當須正念。了義為正。不了義為邪。正念必得往生。邪念云何到彼哉。佛者覺也。所謂覺察身心。勿令起惡也。念者憶也。所謂憶持戒行。不忘精進。了如是義。名之為念。故知念在於心。非在於言。因筌求魚。得魚忘筌。因言求意。得意忘言。既稱念佛之名。須知念佛之道。若心無實。口誦空名。三毒內臻。人我填臆。將無明心。向外求佛。徒爾虛功。且如誦之與念。義理懸殊。在口曰誦。在心曰念。故知念從心起。名為覺行之門。誦在口中。即是音聲之相。執外求理。終無是處。故知過去諸聖所修念佛。皆非外說。只推內心。心即眾善之源。心為萬德之主。涅槃常樂。由真心生。三界輪迴亦從心起。心是出世之門戶。心是解脫之關津。知門戶者豈慮難入。識關津者何憂不通。

Question: The sūtras state that by being mindful of the Buddha with the utmost mind, one will certainly attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land. Through this one gate alone, one should accomplish buddhahood; why rely on contemplating the mind to seek vimokṣa? Answer: When mindful of the Buddha, one must have right mindfulness. Definitive meaning is right; non-definitive meaning is wrong. Right mindfulness will certainly attain rebirth; how could wrong mindfulness reach that place? 'Buddha' means 'awakening'—namely, examining body and mind so as not to allow evil to arise. 'Mindfulness' means 'recollection'—namely, recollecting and upholding the practice of the precepts without forgetting vigorous exertion. Understanding this meaning is called mindfulness. Therefore know that mindfulness is in the mind, not in words. Relying on the trap to seek fish, once the fish is caught, the trap is forgotten; relying on words to seek the meaning, once the meaning is grasped, the words are forgotten. Having spoken the name of mindfulness of the Buddha, one must know the path of mindfulness of the Buddha. If the mind has no reality while the mouth recites an empty name, with the three poisons gathering within and self and other filling the breast, using a mind of avidyā to seek the Buddha externally is merely wasted effort. Furthermore, as between reciting and mindfulness, their meanings are vastly different: what is on the mouth is called reciting; what is in the mind is called mindfulness. Therefore know that mindfulness arises from the mind and is called the gate of awakened practice, while reciting is in the mouth, which is merely the mark of sound. Clinging to the external to seek the principle is in the end without possibility. Therefore know that the mindfulness of the Buddha cultivated by all sages of the past was never about external speech, but only investigated the inner mind. The mind is the source of all good; the mind is the master of myriad virtues. The eternal bliss of nirvāṇa is born from the true mind; transmigration in the traidhātuka also arises from the mind. The mind is the doorway to world-transcendence; the mind is the checkpoint to vimokṣa. For one who knows the doorway, why worry about difficulty in entering? For one who recognizes the checkpoint, why fret over lack of passage?