往生集 2.80

2.80

Zhang Shangying of the Song dynasty was initially stirred by his wife, Lady Xiang, to focus his mind on Buddhist texts, taking the sobriquet Layman Wujin. He once composed a text of making vows, saying: "Reflecting upon this world, where the five turbidities confuse the mind, there is neither the power of correct contemplation nor the power of the elucidating cause; the mind-only nature of oneself cannot be comprehended or realized. Reverently following the golden teachings spoken by the mouth of the Bhagavat Śākyamuni, I exclusively contemplate Amitābha, seeking the gathering and reception of that Bhagavat's vow-power, so that when my retribution is complete, I may be reborn in Sukhāvatī—just like riding a boat downstream, arriving without exerting one's own effort."