萬善同歸集 1.74

1.74

答：「唯心佛土者，了心方生。《如來不思議境界經》云：『三世一切諸佛，皆無所有，唯依自心。菩薩若能了知諸佛及一切法，皆唯心量，得隨順忍，或入初地。捨身速生妙喜世界，或生極樂淨佛土中。』故知：識心方生唯心淨土，著境秖墮所緣境中。既明因果無差，乃知心外無法。又平等之門，無生之旨，雖即仰教生信，其乃力量未充，觀淺心浮，境強習重；須生佛國，以仗勝緣，忍力易成，速行菩薩道。《起信論》云：『眾生初學是法，欲求正信，其心怯弱，以住於此娑婆世界，自畏不能常值諸佛，親承供養。懼謂信心難可成就，意欲退者，當知如來有勝方便，攝護信心。謂以專意念佛因緣，隨願得生他方佛土，常見於佛，永離惡道。如修多羅說：「若人專念西方極樂世界阿彌陀佛，所修善根，回向願求生彼世界，即得往生；常見佛故，終無有退。」若觀彼佛真如法身，常勤修習，畢竟得生，住正定故。』《往生論》云：『遊戲地獄門者，生彼國土，得無生忍已，還入生死國，教化地獄，救苦眾生。以此因緣，求生淨土。』《十疑論》云：『智者熾然求生淨土，達生體不可得，即真無生，此謂心淨故即佛土淨。愚者為生所縛，聞生即作生解，聞無生即作無生解；不知生即無生，無生即生。不達此理，橫相是非，此是謗法邪見人也。』《群疑論》問云：『諸佛國土亦復皆空，觀眾生如第五大，何得取著有相，捨此生彼？』答：『諸佛說法，不離二諦。以真統俗，無俗不真；以俗會真，萬法宛爾。經云：「成就一切法，而離諸法相。」成就一切法者，世諦諸法也；而離諸法者，第一義諦無相也。又經云：「雖知諸佛國及與眾生空，常修淨土行，教化諸群生。」汝但見說圓成實性，無相之教，破遍計所執、畢竟空無之文；不信說依他起性、因緣之教，即是不信因果之人，說於諸法斷滅相者。』《摩訶衍》云：『菩薩不離諸佛者，而作是言：「我於因地遇惡知識，誹謗般若墮於惡道，經無量劫雖未得出，復於一時依善知識，教行念佛三昧，其時即能併遣諸障，方得解脫，有斯大益故，不願離佛。」』故《華嚴》偈云：『寧於無量劫，具受一切苦；終不遠如來，不覩自在力。』」

Answer: "Regarding the mind-only Buddha land, one is born there only by understanding the mind. The *Sūtra on the Inconceivable Realm of the Tathāgata* says: 'All Buddhas of the three periods of time are nonexistent; they depend solely upon one's own mind. If a bodhisattva can understand that all Buddhas and all dharmas are merely mental projections, they will attain the patience of compliance, or enter the first bhūmi. Casting off the body, they will swiftly be born in the world of Abhirati, or be born in the pure Buddha land of Sukhāvatī.' Hence we know: only when understanding the mind is one born into the mind-only pure land; clinging to objects only causes one to fall into the objective realm of conditions. Once it is clear that cause and effect do not deviate, one then knows there is no dharma outside the mind. Furthermore, regarding the gate of equality and the import of non-arising: even if one gives rise to faith by looking up to the teachings, one's power is not yet sufficient, one's contemplation is shallow, one's mind is flighty, external conditions are forceful, and habits are heavy; one must be born in a Buddha land to rely on superior conditions, so that the power of patience may be easily accomplished and the bodhisattva path swiftly traversed. The *Awakening of Faith* says: 'When sentient beings first study this teaching and wish to seek right faith, their minds are timid and weak. Because they dwell in this Sahā world, they themselves fear that they cannot constantly meet the Buddhas and personally attend upon and make offerings to them. Fearing that their faithful mind will be difficult to accomplish, and wishing to fall back, they should know that the Tathāgata has superior upāya to protect and preserve their faithful mind. That is, by the condition of single-mindedly being mindful of the Buddha, according to their aspiration they will attain birth in another Buddha land, constantly see the Buddha, and forever leave the bad destinies. As a sūtra says: "If a person single-mindedly is mindful of Amitābha Buddha of the Western world of Sukhāvatī, and dedicates the roots of goodness they have cultivated with the vow seeking to be born in that world, they will attain rebirth; because they constantly see the Buddha, in the end they will never fall back." If they contemplate that Buddha's tathatā dharmakāya and constantly and diligently practice it, they will ultimately attain rebirth, because they abide in right samādhi.' The *Treatise on Rebirth* says: 'As for sporting in the gates of hell: having been born in that land and attained the patience of the non-arising of dharmas, they return to the lands of birth and death to transform hell and save suffering sentient beings. Due to this condition, they seek rebirth in the pure land.' The *Treatise on the Ten Doubts* says: 'Wise persons ardently seek rebirth in the pure land and penetrate that the essence of birth cannot be obtained; this is true non-arising. This means that because the mind is pure, the Buddha land is pure. Foolish persons are bound by birth: hearing of "birth," they interpret it as birth; hearing of "non-arising," they interpret it as non-arising. They do not know that birth is non-arising, and non-arising is birth. Not penetrating this principle, they arbitrarily dispute right and wrong; these are persons of wrong views who slander the Dharma.' The *Treatise on Resolving Doubts* asks: 'The lands of all Buddhas are also all empty, and sentient beings are viewed like a fifth element; how can one grasp at phenomenal marks and abandon this to be born there?' It answers: 'When all Buddhas teach the Dharma, they do not depart from the two truths. Using the ultimate truth to unify the conventional, there is no conventional that is not ultimate; using the conventional to convene with the ultimate, the myriad dharmas remain distinct. A sūtra says: "Accomplishing all dharmas while remaining free from the marks of all dharmas." "Accomplishing all dharmas" refers to the dharmas of conventional truth; "remaining free from all dharmas" refers to the marklessness of the supreme truth. Furthermore, a sūtra says: "Although knowing that the lands of all Buddhas and sentient beings are empty, one constantly cultivates pure land practices to instruct and transform all living beings." You only see the teachings on the perfected nature and marklessness, and the passages that refute the imagined nature and speak of ultimate emptiness and non-existence; you do not believe the teachings that speak of the dependent nature and causes and conditions. Such a person does not believe in cause and effect and speaks of marks of annihilation regarding all dharmas.' *Mahāyāna* says: 'The bodhisattva does not leave all Buddhas, saying: "In my causal ground I encountered evil friends, slandered prajñā, and fell into bad destinies; though passing through immeasurable kalpas I could not escape. Later at one time I relied upon a kalyāṇamitra who taught me to practice the recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi; at that time I was immediately able to dispel all obstructions and only then attained liberation. Because there is such great benefit, I do not wish to leave the Buddha."' Therefore a verse in the *Avataṃsaka Sūtra* says: / 'Rather through immeasurable kalpas / fully endure all sufferings / than ever be distant from the Tathāgata, / not beholding his sovereign power.'"