萬善同歸集 1.84

1.84

答：「九品經文自有昇降，上下該攝，不出二心：一、定心：如修定習觀，上品往生。二、專心：但念名號，眾善資熏，迴向發願，得成末品。仍須一生歸命，盡報精修。坐臥之間，常面西向。當行道禮敬之際，念佛發願之時，懇苦翹誠，無諸異念。如就刑戮，若在狴牢，怨賊所追，水火所逼。一心求救，願脫苦輪。速證無生，廣度含識；紹隆三寶，誓報四恩。如斯志誠，必不虛棄。如或言行不稱，信力輕微；無念念相續之心，有數數間斷之意。恃此懈怠，臨終望生，但為業障所遮，恐難值其善友；風火逼迫，正念不成。何以故？如今是因，臨終是果，應預因實，果則不虛。聲和則響順，形直則影端故也。如要臨終，十念成就，但預辦津梁，合集功德，迴向此時，念念不虧，即無慮矣。夫善惡二輪、苦樂二報，皆三業所造、四緣所生、六因所成、五果所攝。若一念心，瞋恚邪淫，即地獄業；慳貪不施，即餓鬼業；愚癡闇蔽，即畜生業；我慢貢高，即修羅業；堅持五戒，即人業；精修十善，即天業；證悟人空，即聲聞業；知緣性離，即緣覺業；六度齊修，即菩薩業；真慈平等，即佛業。若心淨，即香臺寶樹，淨剎化生；心垢則丘陵坑坎，穢土稟質。皆是等倫之果，能感增上之緣。是以離自心源，更無別體。《維摩經》云：『欲得淨土，但淨其心；隨其心淨，即佛土淨。』又經云：『心垢故眾生垢；心淨故眾生淨。』《華嚴經》云：『譬如心王寶，隨心見眾色；眾生心淨故，得見清淨剎。』《大集經》云：『欲淨汝界，但淨汝心。』故知一切歸心，萬法由我；欲得淨果，但行淨因。如水性趣下，火性騰上，勢數如是，何足疑焉？」

Answer: "The text on the nine grades of rebirth naturally has higher and lower levels, and encompassing above and below, it does not go beyond two kinds of mind: first, the concentrated mind—such as cultivating concentration and practicing contemplation, which brings rebirth of the superior grade; second, the focused mind—merely reciting the name, supported and perfumed by the myriad good deeds, dedicating them and making aspirations, which achieves the lowest grade. One must still take refuge for one's whole life, practicing diligently to the end of one's retribution. When sitting or lying down, always face west. At the time of circumambulation and paying reverence, at the moment of reciting the Buddha's name and making vows, be earnest, sincere, and lofty, free of any extraneous thoughts. Act as if facing execution, as if in prison, pursued by bandits and enemies, pressed by fire and flood. With a single mind seek rescue, wishing to escape the wheel of suffering, swiftly realize the unproduced, broadly deliver conscious beings, continue and exalt the Three Jewels, and vow to repay the four debts of gratitude. Sincerity of intent such as this will surely not be abandoned in vain. If one's words and deeds do not match, one's power of faith is feeble, one lacks the mind of continuous thought after thought, and harbors inclinations toward frequent interruption; if, relying on such indolence, one hopes for rebirth at the end of life, one will only be veiled by karmic obstructions, and it is to be feared that it will be difficult to meet a good friend; pressed by wind and fire, right mindfulness will not be formed. Why is this? The present is the cause, and the end of life is the fruit. When the cause is prepared in advance with substance, the fruit will not be in vain. For when the sound is harmonious, the echo accords; when the form is straight, the shadow is upright. If one wishes at the end of life to accomplish the ten recitations, one need only prepare the bridge and ferry in advance, amass and gather merits, dedicate them to this moment, and keep thoughts without remiss, and there will be no worry. Now, the two wheels of good and evil and the two retributions of suffering and pleasure are all created by the three karmas, produced by the four conditions, accomplished by the six causes, and subsumed under the five fruits. If in a single thought-moment the mind harbors anger and sexual misconduct, that is the karma of the hells; if stingy and greedy, unwilling to give, that is the karma of the hungry ghosts; if foolish and benighted, that is the karma of animals; if haughty and conceited, that is the karma of asuras; if firmly upholding the five precepts, that is human karma; if diligently cultivating the ten goods, that is divine karma; if realizing and awakening to the emptiness of the person, that is śrāvaka karma; if knowing that the nature of conditions is dissociated, that is pratyekabuddha karma; if cultivating the six perfections together, that is bodhisattva karma; if possessing true loving-kindness and impartiality, that is Buddha karma. If the mind is pure, then there are fragrant terraces and jeweled trees, and transformative birth in a pure land; if the mind is defiled, then there are hills, ravines, and pits, taking form in an impure land. These are all fruits of comparable kind, capable of inducing predominant conditions. Therefore, apart from the source of one's own mind, there is no other substance. The Vimalakīrti Sūtra states: 'If one wishes to attain a pure land, one must purify one's mind; as one's mind becomes pure, the Buddha-land becomes pure.' Another sūtra states: 'Because the mind is defiled, sentient beings are defiled; because the mind is pure, sentient beings are pure.' The Avataṃsaka Sūtra states: 'Like the jewel of the mind-king, manifesting all colors according to the mind, because the minds of sentient beings are pure, they are able to see a pure land.' The Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra states: 'If you wish to purify your realm, just purify your mind.' Thus we know that all things return to the mind, and the myriad phenomena stem from oneself. If you wish to obtain the pure fruit, simply practice the pure cause. Just as the nature of water trends downward and the nature of fire ascends, their momentum and law being thus, how could there be any doubt?"