往生集 1.85

1.85

唐善導。貞觀中。見西河綽禪師九品道場。喜曰。此真入佛之津要。修餘行業。迂僻難成。惟此法門。速超生死。於是勤篤精苦。晝夜禮誦。激發四眾。每入室互跪。念佛非力竭不休。出則為人演說淨土。三十餘年不暫睡眠。好食送厨。粗惡自奉。凡有䞋施。用寫彌陀經十萬卷。淨土變相三百壁。修營廢墜。燃燈續明。三衣瓶鉢。不使人持。行不共眾。恐談世事。從其化者甚眾。有誦彌陀經十萬至五十萬遍者。有念佛日課萬聲至十萬聲者。得念佛三昧。往生淨土者。莫能紀述。或問。念佛生淨土耶。師曰。如汝所念。遂汝所願。乃自念一聲。有一光明從其口出。十至於百。光亦如之。其勸世偈曰。漸漸雞皮鶴髮。看看行步龍鍾。假饒金玉滿堂。豈免衰殘病苦。任汝千般快樂。無常終是到來。惟有徑路修行。但念阿彌陀佛。忽謂人曰。此身可厭。吾將西歸。乃登柳樹。向西祝曰。願佛接我。菩薩助我。令我不失正念往生淨土。言已投身而逝。高宗皇帝知其事。賜寺額曰光明云。

Shandao of the Tang dynasty, during the Zhenguan era, saw the nine-grades bodhimaṇḍa of Chan Master Daochuo of Xihe, and rejoiced, saying, “This is truly the essential crossing for entering Buddhahood. Cultivating other practices is circuitous, deviated, and difficult to accomplish; only this Dharma gate allows one to swiftly transcend saṃsāra.” Thereupon, with diligent devotion and arduous asceticism, he paid homage and recited day and night, inspiring the fourfold assembly. Whenever he entered his chamber, he would kneel on both knees and practice buddhamanasikāra, never resting until his strength was exhausted; when he went out, he expounded the Pure Land for others. For more than thirty years he never slept even for a moment. He sent fine food to the kitchen and provided only coarse and poor food for himself. Whenever he received donations, he used them to copy one hundred thousand scrolls of the Amitābha Sūtra, paint three hundred wall murals of the Pure Land transformation tableau, repair what was dilapidated, and light lamps to keep the brightness burning continuously. He did not permit anyone to carry his three robes, water bottle, or alms-bowl. When walking, he did not accompany the multitude, fearing they would converse about worldly affairs. Those who followed his transformation were extremely numerous: there were those who recited the Amitābha Sūtra from one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand times; there were those whose daily quota of buddhamanasikāra was ten thousand to one hundred thousand recitations; and those who attained the buddhānusmṛti-samādhi and achieved rebirth in the Pure Land could not be recorded in full. Someone once asked, “Does practicing buddhamanasikāra indeed bring rebirth in the Pure Land?” The Master said, “As you practice mindfulness, so will your wish be fulfilled.” He then recited once himself, and a ray of light emerged from his mouth; when he recited ten to a hundred times, the lights were also like this. His verse admonishing the world says: “Gradually comes chicken-skin and crane-white hair; / Behold how one’s gait becomes tottering and frail. / Even if gold and jade fill the hall, / How can one escape decline, decrepitude, and the pain of sickness? / Let yourself have a thousand kinds of pleasure, / Impermanence will arrive in the end. / There is only the direct path of cultivation: / Merely be mindful of Amitābha Buddha.” Suddenly he 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 prayed, saying, “May the Buddha receive me and the bodhisattvas assist me, so that I do not lose right mindfulness and obtain rebirth in the Pure Land.” Having spoken, he cast himself down and passed away. When Emperor Gaozong learned of this affair, he bestowed upon the temple the plaque inscribed “Guangming” (Radiance).