佛祖統紀 26.8

26.8

Dharma Master Shandao: it is not known where he was from. During the Zhenguan reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty, he saw Chan Master Daochuo of Xihe holding a nine-grade bodhimaṇḍa, expounding and reciting the Visualization Sūtra. Overjoyed, he said, 'This is truly the crucial ford for entering Buddhahood. Cultivating other practices is circuitous, obstructed, and hard to complete; only this gate of contemplation swiftly transcends birth and death.' Thereupon, with diligent devotion, he engaged in ascetic practice, bowing and reciting day and night. He then went to the capital, inspiring and rousing the four assemblies. Whenever he entered his chamber, he would kneel on both knees to recite the Buddha's name, not stopping until his strength was exhausted; even in freezing winter, he would inevitably sweat profusely. When he emerged, he would expound the Pure Land Dharma-gate for others. For more than thirty years, he never lay down to sleep even for a moment. He practiced the pratyutpanna-samādhi circumambulations and the Fangdeng repentance; he protected and maintained the precepts without the slightest breach. The fine food he was given he sent to the kitchen, sustaining himself on coarse and plain fare; curds and clarified butter never passed his lips. Whatever donations and offerings he received, he used to copy one hundred thousand rolls of the Amitābha Sūtra and paint three hundred walls of Pure Land transformations. Wherever he went, he repaired ruined monasteries and abandoned pagodas; he kept lamps burning continuously year in, year out. He never had others carry his three robes, water bottle, or alms-bowl. When walking, he did not join the crowd, lest worldly affairs be discussed. Countless were the monastics and laity in Chang'an who received the Pure Land Dharma-gate from him. Among those converted by him, some recited the Amitābha Sūtra from one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand times, and some made a daily practice of reciting the Buddha's name ten thousand to one hundred thousand times; some attained the Buddha-recitation samādhi, and those who attained rebirth in the Pure Land were beyond recording. Someone asked, 'Does reciting the Buddha's name indeed bring rebirth in the Pure Land?' The master replied, 'As you recite, so will your vow be fulfilled.' He then recited [the name] himself once, and a beam of light issued from his mouth; reciting ten to a hundred times, the lights were also like this. His verse of exhortation says: / 'Gradually the skin turns to chicken skin and hair turns crane-white; / Look and see how tottering the gait becomes. / Even if gold and jade fill the hall, / How can one escape debility, decay, old age, and sickness? / Though there be a thousand kinds of pleasure, / Impermanence will in the end arrive. / There is only the shortcut of cultivation: / Merely recite Amitābha Buddha!' / Later, he suddenly said to people, 'This body is loathsome; I am going to return to the West.' He then climbed a willow tree, faced the west, and made this vow: 'May the Buddha receive me and the bodhisattvas assist me, so that I do not lose right mindfulness and obtain rebirth in Anyang!' Having spoken, he cast himself down and ended his life. When Emperor Gaozong learned that light had issued from his mouth as he recited the Buddha's name and of the utmost sincerity with which he gave up his life, he bestowed upon his monastery the name Guangming (Radiance).