萬善同歸集 2.69

2.69

「或發大願者，萬行之因。能長慈悲，不斷佛種；大事成辦，所作剋終；成道利生，皆因弘誓。是以有行無願，其行必孤；有願無行，其願必虛。行願相從，自他兼利。《華嚴經》云：『不發大願，魔所攝持；樂處寂滅，斷除煩惱，魔所攝持；永斷生死，魔所攝持；捨菩薩行，魔所攝持；不化眾生，魔所攝持。』《智論》云：『作福無願，無所樹立；願為導師，能有所成。譬如銷金，隨師所作，金無定也。菩薩亦爾，修淨土願，然後得之。以是故知，因願獲果。』又云：『若能一發心言：「願我當作佛，滅一切眾生苦。」雖未斷煩惱，未行難事，以心口重故，勝一切眾生。』《大莊嚴論》云：『佛國事大，獨行功德，不能成就，要須願力。如牛雖力挽車，要須御者能有所至；淨佛國土，由願引成。』以願力故，福德增長，不失不壞，常見佛故。

"Or making great vows is the cause of the myriad practices. It can nurture loving-kindness and compassion, ensure the non-interruption of the buddha-seed, accomplish the great affair, and bring what is undertaken to completion; achieving the path and benefiting sentient beings are all due to vast vows. Therefore, if there is practice without vows, that practice is bound to be isolated; if there are vows without practice, those vows are bound to be hollow. When practice and vows accompany each other, both self and other are benefited. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says: 'Not making great vows is being seized by Māra; delighting in dwelling in quiescence and eradicating defilements is being seized by Māra; eternally cutting off saṃsāra is being seized by Māra; abandoning bodhisattva practices is being seized by Māra; not transforming sentient beings is being seized by Māra.' The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says: 'Performing merit without vows leaves nothing established; vows are the guides that can accomplish things. Just as when melting gold, it follows whatever the smith creates, for gold has no fixed form. Bodhisattvas are also like this: they cultivate vows for a pure land, and afterward attain it. Hence we know that through vows the fruit is obtained.' It also says: 'If one can generate a single thought, saying: "May I become a buddha and extinguish the suffering of all sentient beings," although one has not yet severed defilements or practiced difficult deeds, because mind and speech are weight-bearing, one surpasses all sentient beings.' The Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra says: 'Buddha-lands are a great matter; solitary practice of merit cannot accomplish them—the power of vows is required. Just as an ox, though strong enough to pull a cart, requires a driver to reach a destination; the purification of a buddha-land is led to completion by vows.' Because of the power of vows, merit increases, is neither lost nor destroyed, and one constantly sees buddhas.